Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Gunmen open fire on bus in Pakistan, 18 killed
Mon,27 Feb 2012 10:56 PM PST
Reuters - PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in the northern Pakistani district of Kohistan in an apparent sectarian attack on Tuesday, killing 18 people, police officials said. "All the people on board were Shi'ites, and at the moment it looks like they were targeted by armed men from the local Sunni community," a senior police official told Reuters. The bus was traveling from central Pakistan city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, to the northern town of Gilgit. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S., Egypt lurch into perilous limbo on NGO case
Mon,27 Feb 2012 10:29 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. hopes for a quick end to its dispute with Egypt over pro-democracy groups have been dashed, stranding both countries in a dangerous limbo as pressures build on a security partnership that is vital to Washington. The Obama administration had hoped the row over Egypt's raids on U.S.-funded groups and its travel bans on a handful of U.S. citizens would conclude this month with a face-saving deal that would release the Americans and put U.S. ties with Cairo back on track. ... Full Story | Top |
Woman in iconic tsunami photo looks to future
Mon,27 Feb 2012 10:21 PM PST
Reuters -  ISHINOMAKI, Japan (Reuters) - The young Japanese woman clutches a beige blanket tight around her shoulders as she stares into the distance. Behind her hulks twisted metal and splintered wood left by the tsunami that devastated Ishinomaki, her hometown. The photograph, taken by Tadashi Okubo at the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, was picked up by Reuters and other agencies around the world, becoming an iconic image of the March 11 disaster that killed 20,000 people. The woman's name is Yuko Sugimoto. She is now 29 years old. When the photo was taken, around 7 a.m. ...
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Yahoo threatens Facebook as patent war looms
Mon,27 Feb 2012 09:24 PM PST
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo has demanded licensing fees from Facebook for use of its technology, the companies said on Monday, potentially engulfing social media in the patent battles and lawsuits raging across much of the tech sector. Yahoo has asserted claims on patents that include the technical mechanisms in the Facebook's ads, privacy controls, news feed and messaging service, according to a source briefed on the matter. ...
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Fukushima: Japan leaders feared "devil's chain reaction"
Mon,27 Feb 2012 07:31 PM PST
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's prime minister ordered workers to remain at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear plant last March as fears mounted of a "devil's chain reaction" that would force tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo, a new investigative report shows. Then-premier Naoto Kan and his staff began referring to a worst case scenario that could threaten Japan's existence as a nation around three days after the March 11 disaster, according to the report by a panel set up by a private think-tank. ... Full Story | Top |
Insight: Conflict looms in South China Sea oil rush
Mon,27 Feb 2012 07:02 PM PST
Reuters -  PUERTO PRINCESA, Philippines (Reuters) - When Lieutenant-General Juancho Sabban received an urgent phone call from an oil company saying two Chinese vessels were threatening to ram their survey ship, the Philippine commander's message was clear: don't move, we will come to the rescue. Within hours, a Philippine surveillance plane, patrol ships and light attack aircraft arrived in the disputed area of Reed Bank in the South China Sea. By then the Chinese boats had left after chasing away the survey ship, Veritas Voyager, hired by U.K.-based Forum Energy Plc. ...
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Venezuela stands by Syria diesel supplies
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:50 PM PST
Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela has sent at least two shipments of diesel fuel to Syria recently and will continue to supply President Bashar al-Assad's government "whenever required" despite Western sanctions, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday. Ramirez was confirming information this month showing President Hugo Chavez's administration had emerged as a rare supplier of diesel to Syria, potentially undermining Western measures over its crackdown on anti-government protests. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. cites "heightened threat"; 9 killed in Afghan airport bomb
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:36 PM PST
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber killed nine people in an attack on a military airport in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, officials said, the latest bloodshed since copies of the Koran were burned at a NATO base last week. There was no official indication the explosion at the gates of Jalalabad airport was linked to the deadly protests, but the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack as "revenge" for the Koran burnings. ...
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Stanford defense rests without calling Stanford
Mon,27 Feb 2012 04:05 PM PST
Reuters -  HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas financier Allen Stanford's attorneys wound up their defense in his criminal fraud trial on Monday without calling Stanford himself to the stand, ending suspense over whether he would testify. Stanford, 61, is accused of bilking investors from more than 100 countries by selling fraudulent certificates of deposit from Stanford International Bank in Antigua, and then using those deposits to finance his own lifestyle. His trial began on January 23 in federal court in Houston. ...
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Syria approves new constitution amid bloodshed
Mon,27 Feb 2012 03:25 PM PST
Reuters -  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian artillery pounded rebel-held areas of Homs as President Bashar al-Assad's government announced that voters had overwhelmingly approved a new constitution in a referendum derided as a sham by his critics at home and abroad. The outside world has proved powerless to halt the killing in Syria, where repression of initially peaceful protests has spawned an armed insurrection by army deserters and others. ...
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Stanford defense rests without calling Stanford
Mon,27 Feb 2012 03:02 PM PST
Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas financier Allen Stanford's attorneys wound up their defense in his criminal fraud trial on Monday without calling Stanford himself to testify. The move ended suspense over whether the accused Ponzi schemer would take the witness stand - a gambit that some legal experts called risky. Stanford, 61, is accused of bilking investors from more than 100 countries by selling fraudulent certificates of deposit from Stanford International Bank in Antigua, and then using those deposits to finance his own lifestyle. His trial began on January 23 in federal court in Houston. ...
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TransCanada chops up Keystone XL to push it ahead
Mon,27 Feb 2012 02:19 PM PST
Reuters -  CALGARY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp said on Monday it will build the southern leg of its $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline first, skirting a full-blown U.S. review and giving President Barack Obama ammunition to hit back at Republicans who have blasted his energy policy. Building the portion of the contentious pipeline that would run to Texas refineries from the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub before the northern section would help remove a pinch-point that has led to deep price discounts for U.S. and Canadian crude and forced refiners to rely more heavily on imports. ...
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Saleh hands "difficult phase" over to new Yemen
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:34 PM PST
Reuters -  SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's new president took over on Monday from Ali Abdullah Saleh, his predecessor of 33 years, saying the impoverished Arab state faced a "complex and difficult phase" after a year of violent political turmoil over Saleh's fate. Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office after elections last week in which he was the sole candidate to replace Saleh, the target of mass protests that came to be matched by open warfare among rival wings of Yemen's military and tribal militias. ...
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Iraq militia hands over last missing U.S. soldier's remains
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:19 PM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Shi'ite militia has handed over the body of the last U.S. soldier missing in Iraq, closing a final chapter of the war two months after U.S. troops left and more than five years after the soldier vanished while secretly visiting his wife in Baghdad. A source in Shi'ite militia Asaib al-Haq said the group had acted as an "intermediary" in handing the body of American soldier Ahmed al-Taie to the Iraqi government. The source denied the group was behind his abduction and killing. ...
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U.S. cites "heightened threat"; 9 killed in Afghan airport bomb
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:09 PM PST
Reuters - Seven U.S. military trainers were wounded on Sunday when a grenade was thrown at their base in northern Afghanistan, police said, underscoring the depth of anti-Western fury over the inadvertent burning of copies of the Koran at a NATO base. Despite an apology from U.S. President Barack Obama, riots raged across the country for a sixth day against the desecration of the Muslim holy book last week at the biggest NATO base in Afghanistan. Some protesters hoisted the white Taliban flag. With few signs of the crisis abating, the U.S. ...
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U.S. murders at heart of Afghan ministry raise questions
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:09 PM PST
Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - The two high-ranking U.S. officers were sitting at the nerve centre of one of the most heavily-guarded buildings in Afghanistan when their killer walked into their shared office and shot them both in the head. The audacity of the attack stunned both NATO and the Afghan government - the gunman had managed to get his weapon through crowded offices and past door after door secured with electronic locks into the heart of Afghanistan's Ministy of Interior. The killing of Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John D. ... Full Story | Top |
Costa Cruises liner adrift after fire on board
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:02 PM PST
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - A liner owned by the same company as the Costa Concordia, on which at least 25 people died when it ran aground off Italy last month, was adrift in the Indian Ocean on Monday after a fire in the engine room left it without power, the company said. Costa Cruises said the fire on the 29,000-tonne Costa Allegra had been put out and none of the passengers or crew were hurt. The cause of the fire was still unclear. The giant Costa Concordia capsized on January 13 after hitting rocks off the island of Giglio. ...
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Police, Murdoch aides stalled hacking probes, inquiry told
Mon,27 Feb 2012 12:27 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - British police and officials from Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World newspaper stalled early attempts to investigate allegations of phone hacking by its journalists, a British judicial inquiry was told on Monday. Investigators for London's Metropolitan Police Service had evidence in 2006 that "hundreds" of victims had been targeted for possible phone hacking by the News of the World, a former police commander said. But officers had other priorities and insufficient resources to pursue the matter as thoroughly as they could have, a lawyer for the inquiry said. ...
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Attempt to kill Russia's Putin foiled: security agencies
Mon,27 Feb 2012 11:30 AM PST
Reuters -  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Security services in Russia and Ukraine said on Monday they had foiled a plot to kill Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, but his opponents ridiculed the announcement as a campaign stunt six days before he runs in Russia's presidential election. Russia's pro-government Channel One television said two men arrested belonged to a group seeking an Islamist state in Russia's North Caucasus. A computer seized contained numerous video files showing Putin's motorcade moving about Moscow, said the report. ...
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Canadian banks play "O Canada" card to grow abroad
Mon,27 Feb 2012 09:51 AM PST
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - When Royal Bank of Canada created advertising for its European wealth management business last year, it built some ads around the image of a shimmering gold maple leaf, playing on Canada's reputation for financial prudence. Embarking on an aggressive expansion, Canada's largest bank wanted to emphasize its roots in a country whose banking sector wins plaudits as the soundest in the world. With Europe's debt crisis dominating the headlines, it was a message designed to resonate with prospective customers. ...
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Syria's once urbane Assad shows ruthless streak
Mon,27 Feb 2012 09:27 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - As a smiling President Bashar al-Assad and his British-born wife Asma cast their votes for a new constitution, his troops were shelling desperate civilians and rebels in Syria's third city of Homs, heart of a revolt against his rule. Lacking Saddam Hussein's thuggish swagger or Muammar Gaddafi's quirky menace, Syria's soft-spoken leader Assad looks an unlikely entrant to the Middle East's array of autocrats with blood on their hands. ... Full Story | Top |
"The Artist" paints golden picture at Oscars
Mon,27 Feb 2012 08:55 AM PST
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood showed some love for its history at the Oscars on Sunday, giving its best film award and four others to silent movie "The Artist" in a ceremony that recalled why cinema is special to so many people. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also gave Oscars to Meryl Streep playing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," marking Streep's third Academy Award in 17 nominations, and veteran Christopher Plummer made history by becoming the oldest winner ever at age 82 with his role as an elderly gay man in "Beginners. ...
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Qatar PM calls for arming Syrian rebels
Mon,27 Feb 2012 08:20 AM PST
Reuters - OSLO (Reuters) - The international community should provide arms to Syria's opposition and Arab countries should take the lead in providing a safe haven for rebels inside Syria, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said on Monday. "I think we should do whatever is necessary to help them, including giving them weapons to defend themselves," the prime minister said during a visit to Norway. While the West has dismissed talk of a Libya-style NATO role to support the opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Gulf Arab states have pushed for a more forceful stance. ... Full Story | Top |
No clear successor to Assad's "coup-proof" rule in Syria
Mon,27 Feb 2012 08:20 AM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration along with its Arab and European allies are trying to push Syria's leader from power, but U.S. officials acknowledge they see no good candidates to replace him, either inside the government or from the nation's fractured opposition. That is due in no small part, the officials and experts on Syria said, to President Bashar al-Assad's determination to "coup proof" his rule to ensure no challenge emerged from within. ... Full Story | Top |
EU hits Syria with more sanctions, but little else
Mon,27 Feb 2012 08:20 AM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed new sanctions against Syria Monday, targeting its central bank and seven cabinet ministers to try to curb funding for the government and increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad. The measures, expected to be enforced this week, include prohibiting trade in gold and other precious metals with Syrian state institutions and a ban on cargo flights from Syria operated by the country's carriers. ... Full Story | Top |
Costa Cruises liner calls for help after fire on board
Mon,27 Feb 2012 07:23 AM PST
Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - A liner owned by the same company as the Costa Concordia, which ran aground off Italy last month, sent out a distress signal in the Indian Ocean on Monday after a fire in the engine room left it without power, the company said. Costa Cruises said the fire on the Costa Allegra had been put out and no passengers were hurt. At least 25 people died when the Costa Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio last month. The Costa Allegra, with 636 passengers and 413 crew on board, was sailing some 200 miles south west of the Seychelles, the company said. ... Full Story | Top |
Do fence me in: Israel closing Sinai loopholes
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:54 AM PST
Reuters -  SINAI BORDER, Israel (Reuters) - It may be only a "dumb" fence, but it's a big one. Israel hopes it will protect the remote Sinai border from infiltration by enemies exploiting the wandering ways of Bedouin tribes and a perceived surge in lawlessness following Egypt's political upheavals. ...
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Tunisia leader, Bill Clinton among Nobel nominees
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:26 AM PST
Reuters -  OSLO (Reuters) - Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton may be among the hundreds of nominees for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, rights activists say. The list of nominees, which is now officially closed for this year, is secret and Nobel officials would not comment on its contents. But experts have begun speculating about who is on the list and some people eligible to nominate candidates have publicized their suggestions. The committee added the final names for consideration on Friday. ...
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New Syria constitution won 89.4 percent approval: State TV
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:25 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Around 89 percent of Syrians approved a new constitution, proposed by President Bashar al-Assad, in a referendum on Sunday, state television said on Monday. Constitutional reforms are aimed at quelling the growing rebellion against the Assad family's 42 years in power, but Assad's opponents and the West have the dismissed the reforms and the referendum as a sham. Turnout in the referendum was 57.4 percent, state television said. (Reporting by Erika Solomon; Editing by Tim Pearce) Full Story | Top |
Iran may be "struggling" with new nuclear machines
Mon,27 Feb 2012 06:23 AM PST
Reuters - VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is still relying on old technology to expand its nuclear program, in what may be a sign it is having difficulties developing modern machines that could speed up production of potential bomb material. A report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog last week said Iran was significantly stepping up its uranium enrichment, a finding that sent oil prices higher on fears tensions between with the West could escalate into military conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
Millions of Indian workers to strike on Tuesday
Mon,27 Feb 2012 05:13 AM PST
Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Millions of workers of all political hues will go on strike across India on Tuesday to express their anger at soaring prices and to back demands for improved rights for employees, trade unions and political activists said. The strike, which will include workers from state-run phone companies, bus drivers and postal workers, is a new headache for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government as it grapples with weakening economic growth and faces elections in several states. ... Full Story | Top |
Japan cities press utility to switch from nuclear
Mon,27 Feb 2012 04:52 AM PST
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Three of Japan's major cities called for Kansai Electric Power Co, its second largest nuclear generator, to draw up a plan to switch to other energy sources nearly a year after the country suffered the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years. The mayors of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, home to a total of 5.7 million people, on Monday submitted questions on prospects for alternative energy supplies and price incentives to curb demand. The cities hold a total 12 percent stake in Kansai. ... Full Story | Top |
French Afghan withdrawal would concern few staff
Mon,27 Feb 2012 04:35 AM PST
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's preparations to withdraw non-military personnel from Afghanistan due to violent protests over the burning of the Koran at a U.S. military base should concern only a couple of dozen people, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. France has condemned attacks over the Koran desecration that have killed more than 30 people and said on Sunday it was making arrangements to pull out French nationals working as advisers supporting the rebuilding of public institutions. ... Full Story | Top |
Hungarian village helps itself out of poverty
Mon,27 Feb 2012 04:25 AM PST
Reuters - ROZSALY, Hungary (Reuters) - Laszlo Jaroka herds swine for a living in eastern Hungary, at the furthest edge of the European Union - employed by his village under a unique scheme to help struggling locals make ends meet. Rozsaly, near the border with Romania and Ukraine in one of the country's poorest regions, pays local workers to grow crops and raise livestock to help the village feed itself and ease the poverty that has affected it for generations. ... Full Story | Top |
Israel seen slow to dig in as Iran war talk simmers
Mon,27 Feb 2012 04:16 AM PST
Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's civil defenses are not ready to protect the population in a missile war, an opposition lawmaker said on Monday, fuelling debate about the feasibility of an attack on Iran's nuclear program. Almost one in four Israelis lack access to bomb shelters, whether communal or reinforced rooms in private homes, said Zeev Bielski, chairman of a parliamentary panel on Israel's home defense preparations. "Are we prepared for a war? No," he told Reuters. "Things are moving too slowly and we are wasting very precious time. ... Full Story | Top |
Three killed in Canadian train derailment
Mon,27 Feb 2012 02:43 AM PST
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - A passenger train derailed near Burlington in southern Ontario on Sunday, killing at least three people, according to the train operator VIA Rail. "There were 75 passengers on board the train at the time of the accident. There are reports of several injuries to passengers and three fatalities," VIA Rail said in a statement. The six-carriage train, which was travelling from Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Toronto, derailed at 1530 EST (2030 GMT). ...
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Dutch parliament debates Greek bailout on Tuesday
Mon,27 Feb 2012 02:41 AM PST
Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands will hold a parliamentary debate on the Greek bailout on Tuesday afternoon, with the government expected to secure majority support for the 130 billion euro rescue package. The Dutch government, a minority coalition between the Liberal and Christian Democrat parties, usually relies on the opposition Labour Party for support in such debates because its main ally, Geert Wilders' Freedom Party, strongly opposes bailouts for Greece and other euro zone peripheral economies. ... Full Story | Top |
Swedish minister: Iran's talks offer "satisfactory"
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:53 AM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An offer of negotiations from Iran is "basically satisfactory" and talks with global powers on Tehran's nuclear program could start soon, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Monday. Facing sanctions that could cripple its oil exports, Iran said this month it wanted to resume the talks, frozen since January last year. But six big powers, represented by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, have yet to respond to the offer. ... Full Story | Top |
Detained Tibetans stage hunger strike in Nepal
Mon,27 Feb 2012 01:48 AM PST
Reuters - KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Thirteen Tibetans, detained last week for protesting against China in front of the United Nations office in Nepal, started an indefinite hunger strike on Monday to press for their release, the president of the Tibetan Youth Congress in Nepal said. The activists, including two women, were demanding U.N. intervention in their homeland after a series of self-immolations against Chinese rule there. Tsewang Dolma quoted the protesters as saying the detentions, since Friday, were a violation of human rights. "The hunger strike is to demand their release," she said. ... Full Story | Top |
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