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| Afghans to visit Pakistan for talks with ex-Taliban chief Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:52 AM PDT  KABUL (Reuters) - Senior Afghan officials will travel to Pakistan soon to speak to former Taliban No.2 leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar following a breakthrough in negotiations during a London summit, the Afghan presidential palace said on Wednesday. Baradar is a long-time friend of reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and is seen by some in Afghanistan as the key to restarting peace talks. British Prime Minister David Cameron is hosting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London this week for talks on the stalled peace process. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader-ministry source Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:43 AM PDT  By Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities have detained senior Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, an Interior Ministry source said on Wednesday, the latest arrest in a government crackdown against the Islamist movement. Erian, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, was taken into custody from a residence in New Cairo where he had been in hiding. "Yes, he's been arrested and details will soon be released," the source told Reuters. The state news agency MENA said Erian was arrested in New Cairo but gave no further details. ... Full Story | Top |
| Freed French hostages leave Niger after 3 years in Sahara Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:22 AM PDT NIAMEY (Reuters) - Four Frenchmen held hostage in the Sahara desert by al Qaeda-linked gunmen for three years left Niger on a French government plane on Wednesday morning. The men, who were kidnapped in 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a subsidiary of construction group Vinci in northern Niger, were freed on Tuesday after secret talks. A Reuters correspondent at Niamey airport said the four men boarded the jet with two French ministers, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, dispatched to pick them up. "I am very happy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite low rating, Myanmar business climate improving Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:03 AM PDT By Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - For a country rolling out economic reforms at a startling pace, Myanmar's lowly ranking among the likes of Eritrea and Chad for ease of doing business might set off alarm bells for would-be foreign investors. The good news for firms seeking to tap the country's natural resources, tourism potential and urgent infrastructure needs is Myanmar is making progress in preventing the rampant graft, bureaucracy and cronyism that under military rule made it one of the world's riskiest places to do business, according to the International Finance Corp (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank. Myanmar's inaugural ranking of 182 from 189 countries covered in the World Bank's annual Doing Business report on Tuesday should not be taken at face value, said Charles Schneider, the resident IFC representative in Yangon. Since replacing a military regime in March 2011, Myanmar's quasi-civilian government has introduced a wave of economic, political and social reforms, which convinced Western countries to restart development aid and suspend most of the sanctions that for two decades prohibited trade and investment. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Starvation in Syria: a war tactic Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:53 PM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - One Syrian security official called it the "Starvation Until Submission Campaign", blocking food and medicine from entering and people from leaving besieged areas of Syria. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have used partial sieges to root out rebel forces from residential areas during the civil war. But a recent tightening of blockades around areas near the capital is causing starvation and death, residents and medical staff say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan Fukushima panel proposals include Tepco breakup: source Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:45 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese ruling party panel will recommend proposals for handling the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant that include breaking up the facility's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, a person familiar with the process said on Wednesday. The task force of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party favors reorganizing Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, by creating a unit within the company to handle the key functions of decommissioning the reactors and cleaning up massive amounts of toxic water, the source told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dogged by dissent, Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:29 PM PDT  By Dedi Hayoun OFER PRISON, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday, the second stage of a limited amnesty designed to help U.S.-sponsored peace talks that have been dogged by divisions on both sides. The inmates, convicted of murder in the killing of Israelis before or just after interim accords were signed two decades ago, were bussed from jail at midnight to welcoming parties in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's president to pardon indigenous teacher under new law Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:29 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said on Tuesday that an indigenous teacher imprisoned for the slayings of seven policemen would be the first person he would pardon under a new law widening the scope of executive reprieves. Alberto Patishtan was arrested in 2000 for the murder of the policemen, who were killed in an ambush in Chiapas state. He was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 60 years in prison, but denies committing the crime. Human rights groups say he was imprisoned on trumped-up charges. ... Full Story | Top |
| Peru PM Jimenez resigns, more cabinet changes pending Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:23 PM PDT LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's Prime Minister Juan Jimenez said on Tuesday he is leaving President Ollanta Humala's government and that other cabinet changes will soon be announced by his successor - a local governor and former business manager. Jimenez, a human rights lawyer, said in a televised interview that he will be replaced by Cesar Villanueva, the regional president of the northern department of San Martin. "Every cabinet has its end," Jimenez told journalist Alvarez Rodrich on local cable channel ATV. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's anti-pollution drive risks running out of gas Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:39 PM PDT  By Adam Rose and David Stanway BEIJING (Reuters) - A chronic shortage of natural gas is hurting China's plan to move away from burning coal to heat homes and offices, raising the prospect of more choking air pollution this winter and beyond. The problem is worst in northern China, where air pollution mainly caused by decades of reliance on coal has lowered life expectancy by an estimated 5.5 years compared to the south, Chinese and international researchers said in July. ... Full Story | Top |
| China suspects Tiananmen crash a suicide attack, sources say Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:37 PM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities investigating what could be Beijing's first major suicide attack searched on Tuesday for two men from Muslim-dominated Xinjiang after three people suspected to be from the restive region drove an SUV into a crowd at Tiananmen Square and set it on fire. They killed themselves and two tourists on Monday in the square, the heart of China's power structure and the focal point of the mass 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations brutally crushed the military. ... Full Story | Top |
| About 10 migrants die, 50 missing in failed Sahara crossing Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 04:13 PM PDT NIAMEY (Reuters) - Around 10 migrants from Niger have died of thirst and 50 are missing after one of the vehicles they were travelling in broke down in the Sahara, the governor of the Niger's northern region of Agadez said on Tuesday. Although the number of West Africans seeking to reach Europe has dropped in recent years, the route across the Sahara is still used by some migrants from the region and those from farther afield. Hundreds of those who make it to the Mediterranean have drowned trying to cross in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghans tried to court Pakistani militant seized by U.S. Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:55 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. apprehension of a Pakistani Taliban commander last month came during a failed attempt by Afghan officials to form an alliance with his militant group, a Western official said on Tuesday, confirming some details in a New York Times report. The United States this month confirmed the arrest of Latif Mehsud, a trusted deputy to Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, during a military operation that heightened tensions with the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. ... Full Story | Top |
| India's 'Common Man' aims to sweep out the grand old parties Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:26 PM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An upstart political party forged in the crucible of an anti-corruption movement that swept India two years ago was long dismissed as irrelevant and slightly eccentric. But the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party has suddenly up-ended the calculations of mainstream parties in the race for control of the capital, Delhi, which goes to the polls in December and will set the stage for a national election due by May. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina's Supreme Court upholds controversial media law Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:42 PM PDT  By Guido Nejamkis and Anthony Esposito BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a controversial media law that government proponents applauded as an effort to reduce market concentration but opponents viewed as state meddling aimed at quieting dissent. The ruling, which will require media conglomerate Grupo Clarin to divest some of its units, comes as a relief for President Cristina Fernandez's government only a few days after a setback in midterm elections. The government has championed the reform as the start of a new era of media diversity. ... Full Story | Top |
| CN Rail talks with union stretch on, still optimistic for deal Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:25 PM PDT  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian National Railway Co said on Tuesday it still hopes to negotiate a new deal with the Teamsters union and avoid a labor disruption, after talks assisted by government-appointed mediators stretched into the early morning. Canada's largest railway and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union, which represents some 3,300 conductors and other workers, are now in a legal position for a strike or lockout after providing 72 hours notice. Neither side has yet served notice. ... Full Story | Top |
| Damascus, rebels coordinate to let 1,800 civilians flee siege Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:19 PM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - A rare moment of coordination between the Syrian government and rebels enabled 1,800 civilians to flee a besieged town on the edge of Damascus on Tuesday, but thousands remain trapped with little food, water or medicine. A source in the Ministry for Social Affairs said the evacuation from Mouadamiya had gone ahead with the help of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and some civil groups. "I was living in terror and now I am free and safe with the army, thank God," a resident of Mouadamiya told a Reuters reporter on condition of anonymity. "There is no food or water. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian Senate committee delays decision on Berlusconi vote Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:18 PM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - An Italian Senate Committee on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether a vote to expel former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from the upper house should be secret, further delaying the moment when his political fate will be sealed. The vote in the full Senate will decide the future of the billionaire media magnate, who has dominated Italian politics for the past two decades. Another Senate committee recommended earlier this month that Berlusconi, 77, should lose his seat following a conviction for tax fraud. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic chaotic, half population need help, U.N. says Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:13 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council gave the go-ahead on Tuesday for troops to be sent to Central African Republic to protect a U.N. political mission in the virtually lawless country where a senior aid official said half the population needs help. The landlocked, mineral-rich nation of 4.6 million people has slipped into chaos since northern Seleka rebels seized the capital, Bangui, and ousted President Francois Bozize in March. U.N. officials and rights groups say both sides may have committed war crimes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four French hostages kidnapped in Niger freed Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:10 PM PDT By Kader Mazou and John Irish NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) - Four French hostages kidnapped in Niger by al Qaeda's north African wing have been released following secret talks with officials from the West African country, ending three years in captivity. Pierre Legrand, Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dol and Marc Feret were kidnapped by AQIM in September 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a subsidiary of construction group Vinci in Arlit in Niger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bachelet may win Chile election in first round, poll shows Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 01:32 PM PDT  By Rosalba O'Brien SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Center-left former President Michelle Bachelet holds a huge lead in Chile's presidential election this year and may attract enough support to win outright in the first round, a key poll showed on Tuesday. Around 47 percent of Chileans questioned by pollster CEP said they would vote for Bachelet if the election were held this Sunday, while 14 percent backed right-wing candidate Evelyn Matthei and 10 percent supported independent economist Franco Parisi. Twenty-five percent in the poll said they would definitely not or probably not vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers criticize Egypt aid cuts, consider changing law Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 01:31 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday they were unhappy about cuts in Washington's aid to Egypt announced earlier this month after authorities in Cairo used violence to put down protests. They also said they were considering changes to a U.S. law that bars sending assistance to governments that have been deemed to have seized power through a coup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt and Brotherhood should pursue reconciliation: minister Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 01:00 PM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed government and the Muslim Brotherhood should seek reconciliation, a senior minister said on Tuesday, voicing a rare plea to seek compromise with a group branded "terrorists" by many of his cabinet colleagues. The army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July when security forces killed hundreds of its members and jailed thousands, including Mursi, who is due to appear in court on Monday on charges of inciting violence. Yet street protests regularly erupt and Islamist militants have intensified their attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fewer North Koreans fleeing to South Korea, U.N. rights envoy says Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:57 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Fewer North Koreans are fleeing to South Korea, possibly due to tighter border control and cases of asylum seekers being returned home by China, a U.N. rights envoy said on Tuesday. Marzuki Darusman, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation in North Korea, said that in the first nine months of this year 1,041 North Koreans arrived in South Korea, compared to 1,509 people for all of 2012 and 2,706 people in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polio outbreak in Syria threatens whole region, WHO says Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:51 PM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Polio has broken out among young children in northeast Syria after probably originating in Pakistan and poses a threat to millions of children across the Middle East, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The crippling disease, which is caused by a virus transmitted via contaminated food and water, could spread especially fast in Syria, where civil war has led to falling vaccination rates. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lays out strict limits on coal funding abroad Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:39 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said Tuesday it plans to use its leverage within global development banks to limit financing for coal-fired power plants abroad, part of Washington's international strategy to combat climate change. The U.S. Treasury said it would only support funding for coal plants in the world's poorest countries if they have no other efficient or economical alternative for their energy needs. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Syria outbreak, polio exploits conflict once more Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:24 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - With the world tantalizingly close to wiping out polio, conflict in Syria has allowed the crippling disease to take hold again, putting at risk the rest of the region as well as plans for global eradication. War, unrest and poverty have often hindered the long fight against polio, but experts say these obstacles can be overcome, even in Syria where the highly contagious virus has taken advantage of a fall in vaccination rates due to the fighting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya oil crisis deepens as protesters shun talks Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's oil crisis deepened on Tuesday after protesters blocking western fields shunned talks and locals denied that an eastern terminal would reopen, frustrating government efforts to end three months of disruptions. Libya's oil exports have dropped to less than 10 percent of capacity or 90,000 barrels per day, Reuters calculations show, as renewed protests this week halted operations at western ports and fields, supporting global oil prices. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK energy bosses blame politicians for price rises Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  By William James and Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - The six energy companies that dominate Britain's energy market defended steep price hikes on Tuesday, blaming rising costs and political interference as a panel of lawmakers accused them of abusing their market position at consumers' expense. Lawmakers summoned energy executives after four of Britain's "big six" energy suppliers raised charges for heating homes by more than three times the rate of inflation, stirring a political debate about the cost of living and angering voters on the eve of winter. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU presidency proposes new weakening of EU car rules Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Lithuania, holder of the EU presidency, has made a new proposal to weaken rules on how much carbon new cars can emit from 2020, in line with demands from Germany and its luxury manufacturers, EU diplomats said. The proposal is stoking anger in Brussels, where Germany's negotiating tactics are regarded as heavy-handed. The latest compromise would allow a phase-in of a 95 grams per kilometer (g/km) limit on auto carbon dioxide emissions until 2022 and increase the number of supercredits, a mechanism that gives companies more flexibility, the diplomats said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech left leader gains ground in post-election party row Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:09 AM PDT  PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka gained ground on Tuesday against rivals trying to depose him as party chief and candidate for prime minister, after an unconvincing election win last weekend. The split in the center-left party has crippled attempts to start talks on forming a government between the Social Democrats and two centrist parties, the new anti-corruption movement ANO and the Christian Democrats. The Social Democrats won the election with 20.5 percent of the vote, much less than 30 percent the party had hoped for. ... Full Story | Top |
| Moldovan dancer says she was Concordia captain's lover Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:55 AM PDT By Cristiano Corvino GROSSETO, Italy (Reuters) - A young Moldovan dancer who was on the bridge of the Costa Concordia cruise liner with Captain Francesco Schettino when it capsized last year told an Italian court on Tuesday she had been his lover. Domnica Cemortan had previously denied any affair with Schettino, who faces multiple charges including manslaughter, and her confession may prompt prosecutors to query the quality of her testimony, which had shown him in a positive light. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. urges end of U.S. embargo on Cuba for 22nd time Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:42 AM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for the 22nd time to condemn the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, whose foreign minister said the American policy in place since 1959 was barbaric and amounted to genocide. There were 188 votes for the non-binding resolution, entitled "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba," in the 193-nation General Assembly. The only country that joined the United States in voting against the resolution was Israel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan arrests seven university professors in crackdown on protests Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:41 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese authorities arrested seven university professors, a human rights lawyer said on Tuesday, extending a crackdown on opposition activists after fuel price increases touched off the country's worst unrest for years. The Khartoum government cut fuel subsidies to ease a financial crunch aggravated by the secession of oil-producing South Sudan in 2011. The move doubled pump prices overnight and triggered violent protests in which dozens of people were killed and more than 700 people arrested. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollande says four French hostages kidnapped in Niger freed Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:34 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Four French hostages kidnapped by al Qaeda's north African arm three years ago in Niger have been released, President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday. Speaking during a state visit to Slovakia, Hollande said they would return as soon as possible to France. "I want to express all my gratitude to the President of Niger who obtained the release of our compatriots," Hollande said during a news conference in Bratislava. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. inspectors hold 'very productive' nuclear talks with Iran Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran held "very productive" talks this week on how to advance a long-blocked investigation into Iranian atomic activities and will meet again in Tehran next month, they said in a rare joint statement on Tuesday. The relatively upbeat announcement by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency may further buoy hopes for a negotiated solution to the international standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions after the June election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking to reduce tension with the West. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus DNA tests rule out link to lost British toddler Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:24 AM PDT NICOSIA (Reuters) - DNA tests in Cyprus have definitively ruled out the possibility that a Romanian man is Ben Needham, a British toddler who went missing on a Greek island 22 years ago, authorities said on Tuesday. The man had been identified as resembling how Ben would look today. The child, aged 21 months, vanished without trace from his grandparents' home on the Greek island of Kos in 1991. Ben's family have maintained a campaign to find him, and have publicized images of what he might look like today. ... Full Story | Top |
| British justice on trial in phone-hacking trial, jury told Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - The jury trying the editors of one of Rupert Murdoch's former newspapers over phone hacking were told on Tuesday that British justice itself would be on trial. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, former editors of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, are accused of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, celebrities, and victims of crime to obtain exclusive news. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man found guilty of rape, mutilation that shocked South Africa Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:09 AM PDT JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African court found a 21-year-old man guilty on Tuesday of the rape, mutilation and murder of a teenager in a case that shocked a nation with one of the world's highest levels of sexual violence. The 17-year-old victim, Anene Booysen, was found at a building site in the town of Bredasdorp, 130 km (80 miles) east of Cape Town, in February with wounds that included a slit from her stomach down to her genitals. Johannes Kana confessed to raping Booysen but denied disembowelling her. Sentencing is expected on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Abyei, Sudan welcome U.N.-backed referendum in disputed region Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Ilya Gridneff ABYEI (Reuters) - Abyei and Sudanese officials welcomed a push by the African Union to involve the U.N. Security Council in helping plan a referendum to resolve a dispute in the remote border region. The AU last year promised Abyei a plebiscite in October 2013 but shied away from the proposal, and has since discouraged the unilateral referendum that ended on Tuesday, with some analysts saying the outcome could trigger violence. ... Full Story | Top |
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