Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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U.S. sees "more of the same" from new North Korea leader
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:48 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New North Korean leader Kim Jung-un looks unlikely to depart from the nuclear brinkmanship, threats to his region and repression of his father and grandfather, the top U.S. military commander for the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday. "He's a Kim, and he's surrounded by an uncle and Kim Jong-il's sister and others that I think are guiding his actions," said Admiral Robert Willard, head of U.S. Pacific Command. "So in that sense, we would expect ... more of the same. The strategy has been successful through two generations," he told a U.S. ...
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Iran: two worlds meet, over tea
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:22 PM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Mina and Mohammad stood on opposite sides of the political barricades when protests against Iran's rulers erupted into mass street violence; she, a student demanding democratic reform, he a member of the hard-line Basij militia that helped crush the greatest challenge ever to the Islamic Republic. Now the two, both 27, are brought together for the first time in a small sitting room in central Tehran. Two years have passed. ... Full Story | Top |
Suspect told police he killed randomly in Ohio school
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:17 PM PST
Reuters -  CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - A 17-year-old student suspected of a shooting rampage at an Ohio high school that killed three teenagers and wounded two others has confessed to opening fire on students he chose at random, prosecutors said Tuesday. The student, identified by authorities as T.J. Lane, appeared in Geauga County, Ohio Juvenile Court, where he was ordered detained following Monday's shooting at Chardon High School. Lane has confessed to police to taking a knife and a .22-caliber pistol into the high school cafeteria and firing 10 rounds at randomly selected students, prosecutors said. ...
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China tells Arab League it backs humanitarian aid for Syria
Tue,28 Feb 2012 09:26 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China backs international efforts to send humanitarian aid to Syria, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said, after Western powers proposed a United Nations resolution authorizing humanitarian aid. It was not clear whether Yang's remarks mean China will consider the proposed new U. N. Security Council resolution. China is one of the five permanent members of the Council which have the power to veto such resolutions. ... Full Story | Top |
More than 7,500 killed in Syria, U.N. says
Tue,28 Feb 2012 07:36 PM PST
Reuters -  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could be classified as a war criminal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as the United Nations announced more than 7,500 civilians had been killed by his forces since the start of the revolt. At least 25 people were killed in the shelling of opposition strongholds by Syrian forces on Tuesday, activists said. In Homs alone, opposition groups said hundreds of civilians had been killed or wounded in the 24-day-old assault. ...
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Australia to probe new Indonesia cattle cruelty video
Tue,28 Feb 2012 06:04 PM PST
Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia will investigate new images appearing to show cattle being mistreated at an Indonesian abattoir, and could reimpose an export ban on the slaughterhouse if it broke animal welfare rules, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said on Wednesday. Australia suspended live cattle exports to Indonesia for a month in 2011 after a video showing cows being beaten and whipped before slaughter was aired on Australian television. The footage outraged many Australians, while the government response angered farmers who said the move jeopardized Australian jobs. ... Full Story | Top |
Guatemala extradites alleged drug kingpin to U.S.
Tue,28 Feb 2012 05:15 PM PST
Reuters - GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - A Guatemalan court on Tuesday ruled to extradite the country's alleged top drug trafficker to the United States, as the Central American nation stepped up an offensive against organized crime. Juan 'Chamale' Ortiz-Lopez, who was arrested in March 2011 and is currently being detained in Guatemala, is charged in a Florida federal court with trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States. He faces a maximum life sentence if convicted. The Florida indictment argues that Ortiz-Lopez, 42, is Guatemala's most important drug smuggler. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. drafts outline of new U.N. Syria resolution
Tue,28 Feb 2012 04:08 PM PST
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States has drafted an outline for a new U.N. Security Council resolution demanding access for humanitarian aid workers in besieged Syrian towns and an end to the violence there, Western envoys said on Tuesday. The latest push for action on Syria by the 15-nation council comes after Russia and China twice vetoed resolutions that would have condemned Damascus' 11-month crackdown on pro-democracy protests and demanded an end to the violence, saying Western and Arab nations were seeking Libya-style "regime change" in Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
Wrecked ship's officers plead guilty to NZ grounding
Tue,28 Feb 2012 04:06 PM PST
Reuters -  WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The Filipino captain and second officer of a container ship wrecked on a reef off a popular New Zealand holiday spot pleaded guilty on Wednesday to causing the country's worst environmental disaster in decades, maritime officials said. The two men, whose identities have been suppressed, now face sentences that include hefty fines and years in jail. They were charged in early October after the 47,230-tonne Liberian-flagged Rena struck a reef about 20 km (12 miles) off Tauranga, New Zealand's biggest export port. ...
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Irish vote, German court add euro zone uncertainty
Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:35 PM PST
Reuters -  DUBLIN/KARLSRUHE, Germany (Reuters) - A planned referendum in Ireland and a German court ruling cast new uncertainty on Tuesday over efforts to overcome the euro zone's debt crisis, just when a flood of central bank money appeared to be calming financial markets. Ireland's prickly electorate, which has twice voted "No" to European Union treaties before reversing itself, will get another chance to keep Europe on tenterhooks with a referendum on a fiscal compact on budget discipline agreed last month. ...
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Syria civilian death toll "well over 7,500": U.N.
Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:35 PM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can be classified as a war criminal, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said as the United Nations announced more than 7,500 civilians had been killed by his forces since the start of the revolt. At least 25 people were killed in the shelling of opposition strongholds by Syrian forces on Tuesday, activists said. In Homs alone, opposition groups said hundreds of civilians had been killed or wounded in the 24-day-old assault. ...
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Timeline: Crackdown on protests in Syria
Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:33 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Following is a timeline of events in Syria since protests began. March 16, 2011 - Security forces break up gathering of 150 protesters in Damascus holding pictures of imprisoned relatives. April 19 - Government passes bill lifting 48 years of emergency rule. April 22 - Security forces and gunmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad kill at least 100 protesters, rights group says. May 23 - European Union imposes sanctions on Assad and nine other senior government officials. July 31 - Syrian tanks storm Hama after a month-long siege, killing at least 80 people, residents say. ... Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Sanctions imposed on Syria
Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:32 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Here are details of sanctions imposed on Syria as the European Union agreed on Monday to freeze the assets of Syria's central bank, adding to the pressure on President Bashar al-Assad and his government. * EU: - The EU put 13 Syrian officials on its sanctions list on May 17. They were subject to asset freezes and travel bans, part of a package of sanctions which included an arms embargo. ... Full Story | Top |
Ohio school shooter confesses as death toll climbs
Tue,28 Feb 2012 03:01 PM PST
Reuters - CHARDON, Ohio (Reuters) - The 17-year-old boy held in a shooting rampage at an Ohio high school has confessed to opening fire on fellow students he picked at random, prosecutors said on Tuesday, as two more teenagers died, bringing the death toll to three. Prosecutors identified the shooter as T.J. Lane and said he has admitted to taking a knife and a .22-caliber pistol into the cafeteria at Chardon High School in a town 35 miles east of Cleveland on Monday and firing 10 rounds. Students Demetrius Hewlin and Russell King Jr. ...
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China's military build-up seen independent of U.S. moves
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:53 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's military build-up looks likely to continue "unabated" and independent of recent U.S. moves to reposition forces in Asia, the U.S. military commander for the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday. Admiral Robert Willard, head of U.S. Pacific Command, said Washington's policy of rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region has drawn China's attention since it was unveiled last year, but did not drive Beijing's build-up. "We've not seen Chinese military growth affected by the announcement, nor do we expect it to be. ...
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U.S. sees 'more of the same' from new N.Korea leader
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:48 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New North Korean leader Kim Jung-un looks unlikely to depart from the nuclear brinkmanship, threats to his region and repression of his father and grandfather, the top U.S. military commander for the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday. "He's a Kim, and he's surrounded by an uncle and Kim Jong-il's sister and others that I think are guiding his actions," said Admiral Robert Willard, head of U.S. Pacific Command. "So in that sense, we would expect ... more of the same. The strategy has been successful through two generations," he told a U.S. ...
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Iran says making nuclear bombs a "great sin"
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:45 PM PST
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran, facing growing international pressure over its nuclear program, called for more talks with the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Tuesday and condemned production of atomic weapons as a "great sin." Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have stalled and Western powers have grown increasingly concerned over the possible military dimensions of Tehran's atomic work. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, in a speech to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
Venezuela says Chavez fine after Cuba surgery
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:42 PM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - Surgeons removed a lesion from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's pelvis and the socialist leader is in "good physical condition" after the operation, his vice president said on Tuesday. Chavez, 57, had new surgery in Cuba despite his previous insistence that he had been cured of cancer after two procedures by doctors in Havana last year. The latest health setback has fueled fresh doubts about Chavez's health, his ability to campaign for re-election in October and his fitness to govern the South American nation for another six-year term if he wins. ...
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Yahoo threatens Facebook as patent war looms
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:41 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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U.S.-raised captive set to plead guilty at Guantanamo
Tue,28 Feb 2012 02:26 PM PST
Reuters - GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - A U.S.-raised prisoner is set to plead guilty at the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday, admitting he was an al Qaeda operative and agreeing to help prosecute other terrorism suspects in exchange for leniency. Lawyers for Pakistani defendant Majid Khan, who turned 32 on Tuesday, are asking for a 25- to 40-year sentence, but he is likely to serve far less under a plea deal that remains sealed. Appearing in a top-security courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S., Egypt lurch into risky limbo on NGO case
Tue,28 Feb 2012 01:57 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. hopes for a quick end to its dispute with Egypt over pro-democracy groups have been put on hold, 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 Washington's ties with Cairo back on track. ... Full Story | Top |
France's Sarkozy edges up in election polls
Tue,28 Feb 2012 01:47 PM PST
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy moved closer to Socialist election frontrunner Francois Hollande in an opinion poll published on Tuesday, two weeks after he formally entered the race for April's presidential vote. Several surveys of voters' intentions for the first-round ballot on April 22 show Sarkozy, who has battled bleak popularity ratings and economic gloom, gaining on Hollande since he began campaigning in mid-February. ...
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Egyptian judge resigns from NGO case
Tue,28 Feb 2012 01:24 PM PST
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian judge handling the trial of dozens of democracy activists, including 16 Americans, accused of illegally receiving funds from abroad, said on Tuesday he would resign, state news agency MENA said. "Judge Mahmud Mohamed Shukry held a five minute meeting with lawyers today and after it he announced he would step down from the case because he felt embarrassed," a judiciary source who attended the judge's meeting with the lawyers told Reuters, but asked not to be named. The exact reason for his resignation was not immediately clear. ... Full Story | Top |
Top French court strikes down genocide bill
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:58 AM PST
Reuters -  PARIS/ANKARA (Reuters) - France's highest legal authority ruled Tuesday that a new law that would have made it illegal to deny the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago was unconstitutional, a move quickly welcomed by Turkey. The decision by France's Constitutional Council invalidates the law, which President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to ratify by the end of February, and appeared to set the stage for a thaw in diplomatic ties between Ankara and Paris. ...
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Syria storms out of U.N. rights meeting
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:55 AM PST
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva stormed out of the U.N. Human Rights Council Tuesday after demanding angrily that countries stop "inciting sectarianism and providing arms" to opposition forces in his country. Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui said sanctions were preventing Damascus from buying medicines and fuel and then abruptly left the Geneva forum's emergency debate called at the request of Gulf countries and Turkey, and backed by the West. ... Full Story | Top |
Oil report may give Obama wiggle room on Iran sanctions
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:27 AM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. government report on the global oil markets due on Wednesday could help determine how tough the Obama administration will be enforcing sanctions against Iran and provide information it needs to combat rising oil prices. The Energy Information Administration Wednesday morning will give a snapshot of global petroleum prices and production in countries besides Iran. The report, which the Obama administration pushed for, is required by the National Defense Authorization Act spelling out the Iran sanctions, signed into law two months ago. ... Full Story | Top |
Georgia to end visas for Russians
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:12 AM PST
Reuters - TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia will abolish visas for Russians as it tries to attract bigger investment, President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Tuesday in a rare gesture of goodwill between the former Soviet republics which fought a war in 2008. The Kremlin has refused to have any contact with Saakashvili since Russia crushed an assault by Georgia's U.S.-trained military on the Russian-backed rebel region of South Ossetia in August 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
ECB edict leaves Greek banks reliant on emergency aid
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:09 AM PST
Reuters -  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank announced on Tuesday it would no longer allow borrowing against Greek government bonds, a temporary move that will force Greek lenders to turn to their national central bank for emergency funding. While such downgrades were expected, S&P moved before the euro zone could activate a deal to offset the impact of the ECB's obligation to temporarily suspend the use of Greek bonds as collateral in its funding operations. ...
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Belarus orders out EU, Polish envoys over sanctions
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:04 AM PST
Reuters - MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus on Tuesday told the ambassador of the European Union and that of Poland to leave the country and recalled its own envoys from Brussels and Warsaw, sparking anger in the EU and plunging relations between Minsk and the 27-member bloc to a new low. The Belarussian foreign ministry made the announcement just as the EU was widening its sanctions against the ex-Soviet republic, imposing travel restrictions on 21 judges and senior police officers because of Belarus's poor human rights record under President Alexander Lukashenko. ... Full Story | Top |
EU country ambassadors to leave Belarus in retaliation
Tue,28 Feb 2012 11:04 AM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU country ambassadors in Minsk will be withdrawn in solidarity after Belarus called on the EU and Polish ambassadors to leave, EU diplomats said on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Belarus had called on the head of the EU delegation to Belarus and the ambassador of Poland to Belarus to return to their capitals for consultations. Minsk also said it was recalling its own envoys from Brussels and Warsaw and could take "other measures to protect its interests" under further pressure. ... Full Story | Top |
Belarus orders out EU, Polish envoys over sanctions
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:56 AM PST
Reuters - MINSK (Reuters) - Belarus on Tuesday told the ambassador of the European Union and that of Poland to leave the country and recalled its own envoys from Brussels and Warsaw, sparking anger in the EU and plunging relations between Minsk and the 27-member bloc to a new low. The Belarussian foreign ministry made the announcement just as the EU was widening its sanctions against the ex-Soviet republic, imposing travel restrictions on 21 judges and senior police officers because of Belarus's poor human rights record under President Alexander Lukashenko. ... Full Story | Top |
NATO urges focus on Afghan stability after Koran burnings
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NATO must remain focused on fostering stability in Afghanistan despite the protests and violence that have gripped the country following the burning of copies of the Koran on a NATO military base, the alliance's head said on Tuesday. "Despite the tragedy of this incident and the challenges we face, we must not lose sight of our goal, a stable Afghanistan. That is in all of our interest; that must remain the focus of our shared effort," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said during an alliance seminar in Washington. ...
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UK seeks transit accords to ship home Afghan kit
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:53 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is seeking transit accords with central Asian countries to enable it to ship billions of dollars of military equipment home from Afghanistan after 2014 while lessening its reliance on the uncertain Pakistan route, officials said on Tuesday. Pakistan shut down a key overland supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan last November after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a U.S. air attack on the Afghan border, sending U.S.-Pakistan relations plunging. The closure underlined the importance of having alternative routes to supply NATO forces in Afghanistan. ... Full Story | Top |
Bahrain should shelve trials linked to protests: rights group
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:45 AM PST
Reuters - MANAMA (Reuters) - Bahrain should drop cases against doctors and leaders of last year's protest movement because of unfair and politically motivated trials, and Western countries should suspend military sales, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. The New York-based group said the trials in civilian courts were as flawed as they were when they began in military courts last year after the Gulf Arab state imposed martial law to crush pro-democracy protests led by majority Shi'ite Muslims. ... Full Story | Top |
Iran election highlights deepening power struggle
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:44 AM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliamentary election this Friday is a potentially decisive battle in the struggle between political and religious hardliners, but it is unlikely to alter Tehran's stand on its deadlock with the West over its nuclear program. It will be the first poll since the country's disputed presidential election in 2009, which led to eight months of bloody street protests by Iranians demanding reform. ... Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Iran's parliamentary election process
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:44 AM PST
Reuters - TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranians will vote on Friday in a parliamentary election that is a contest between loyalists to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Sidelined since a disputed presidential election in 2009, leading pro-reform groups are not taking part in the vote because they say it is not "free and fair." They are looking beyond this election to the presidential race next year instead. ... Full Story | Top |
Wounded British journalist rescued from Syria
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:28 AM PST
Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - A British photographer wounded in a Syrian army bombardment of Homs was smuggled safely into neighboring Lebanon on Tuesday, but several Syrians were killed in the rescue and the fate of other journalists trapped with him was unclear. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had been informed that French journalist Edith Bouvier, whose femur was shattered during heavy shelling of Homs's rebel-held Baba Amro district, had been evacuated, but he later dampened expectations. "It has not been confirmed that today she is safe in Lebanon," Sarkozy said. ... Full Story | Top |
UK police loaned horse to key Murdoch executive
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:02 AM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior newspaper executives was given a retired police horse to ride at her country house, police said on Tuesday, one of the more unusual disclosures in a phone-hacking scandal that has shaken the British media. The London force said it had loaned the horse to Rebekah Brooks -- a Murdoch favorite who ran his UK newspaper arm and edited two of his bestselling tabloids. ... Full Story | Top |
Greece cuts minimum wage as austerity drive begins
Tue,28 Feb 2012 10:01 AM PST
Reuters - ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek ministers agreed deep cuts to the minimum wage on Tuesday, slashing living standards for low-paid workers as Athens began implementing measures demanded by international lenders in return for a 130 billion euro rescue package. Cabinet approved the cuts, which will hit workers already struggling after more than four years of deep recession, as it signed off on a series of steps agreed in principle by parliament last week, a government official said. ... Full Story | Top |
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