| West and Russia split over Syria; massacre in Homs Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The West clashed with Russia at the United Nations Security Council over Syria, as activists and the Damascus government traded blame for a massacre of civilians in the city of Homs. The conflict appeared to inch closer to civil war with the exiled Syrian National Council (SNC) saying it was preparing to arm anti-government rebels with foreign help. But the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad remained fragmented. SNC representatives were to meet at 0800 GMT on Tuesday in Ankara with U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, who held talks with Assad on Saturday and Sunday. ...
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| Afghans urge exit after killings; U.S. says timetable unchanged Posted:  KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The massacre of 16 villagers by a U.S. soldier triggered angry calls from Afghans for an immediate American exit even as the Obama administration vowed on Monday that the killings would not alter U.S. plans for the war. Just days before Sunday's attack, Kabul and Washington had made significant progress in negotiations on a strategic partnership agreement that would allow American advisers and special forces to stay in Afghanistan after most foreign combat troops leave at the end of 2014. But securing a full deal may be far more difficult now after a U.S. ...
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| Israel, Gaza militants agree to truce: Egypt official Posted:  GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and militant factions in the Gaza Strip have agreed to an Egyptian-mediated truce to end four days of cross-border violence in which 25 Palestinians have been killed, a senior Egyptian security official told Reuters on Tuesday. The official said in a telephone call from Cairo that both sides had "agreed to end the current operations", with Israel giving an unusual undertaking to "stop assassinations", and an overall agreement "to begin a comprehensive and mutual calm". The agreement was expected to take effect at 1 a.m. local time (2300 GMT). ...
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| Iran executed 670 in 2011, says U.N. investigator Posted: GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran executed some 670 people last year, most of them for drug crimes that do not merit capital punishment under international law and more than 20 for offences against Islam, a United Nations investigator said on Monday. The investigator, former Maldives foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed, also reported what he said were a wide range of violations by Iran of U.N. human rights accords, from abuse of minorities to persecution of homosexuals and labor unions. Shaheed was delivering his first report to the U.N. ... |
| In spotlight, Uganda says Congo slows hunt for Kony Posted:  KAMPALA (Reuters) - Responding to an Internet campaign backed by celebrities who want Uganda to capture fugitive warlord Joseph Kony and save child soldiers, the government complained on Monday it needed more help from its African neighbors. In particular, a Ugandan spokesman said, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was obstructing its U.S.-backed hunt for Kony and the remnants of his Lord's Resistance Army, seven years after the feared rebel group was largely driven out of Uganda. ...
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| Gunmen kill nine in Baghdad goldsmith shop heist Posted:  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen with rifles and hand grenades blasted their way into a row of Baghdad goldsmiths shops on Monday, killing nine people and wounding 15, and escaping with gold and cash, police said. Police said the gunmen stormed the al-Aswad gold market in Baghdad's northeastern Ur district. They killed two gold shop owners, two policemen, two soldiers and three passers-by. Hospital sources confirmed the death toll. "Gunmen in two to three vehicles broke into the gold shops and started firing. ...
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| Turkey court releases journalists in conspiracy case Posted: ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court released four journalists on Monday pending trial on accusations they were part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government, in a case that has become a focus for criticism of Turkey's record on media freedom. Among the four released were Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik, two well-known investigative reporters held for just over a year in a top-security prison outside Istanbul. Six other defendants, mostly journalists, were still in custody. ... |
| Putin critics say U.S. should open trade with Russia Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Several leaders of Russia's fragmented opposition urged the United States on Monday to remove a largely symbolic Cold War trade provision, in a rare display of unity. They included anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and other organizers of demonstrations against Vladimir Putin who recognize the need to refocus their protest movement away from the street after his election as president but have found a common policy agenda elusive. In an open letter they criticized U.S. ...
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| Fear as death squads hunt Iraq's gays and "emos" Posted:  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The man holds up two pictures of his friend, which tell the story of what it now means to be gay in Iraq. One photograph, which the man keeps on his mobile phone, is a portrait of a handsome youth with a stylish haircut. The other, a printed snapshot taken last month, shows the body of the same young man lying sprawled in the back of a white pickup truck, his head disfigured by blunt trauma. According to a police report, Saif Asmar was found bludgeoned to death in the afternoon on February 17. ...
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| Venezuela's Chavez home in a week facing more cancer therapy Posted:  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he will be home from Cuba in a week and start radiation therapy for cancer that could leave him weakened ahead of his re-election bid on October 7. Chatting for more than two hours in a televised address from Havana, where he is recovering from a third surgery to treat cancer in his pelvic area, Chavez seemed eager to show he is fully in command of the government despite his illness. ...
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| Afghan man recounts US soldier's shooting spree Posted:  An Afghan man recounted Monday the harrowing tale of how an American soldier on a killing spree burst into his home in the middle of the night, searched the rooms, then dropped to a knee and shot his father in the thigh as he emerged from a bedroom.
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| NATO: Afghanistan rampage won't affect timeline Posted:  The alleged slaying of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan will not affect plans to turn over security operations to local troops, NATO and member countries said Monday, calling for a quick investigation into the deaths.
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| Israeli plans for Iran go back years Posted:  For more than a decade, Israel has systematically built up its military specifically for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. It has sent its air force on long-distance training missions, procured American-made "bunker-busting" bombs and bolstered its missile defenses.
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| Lost mural by Leonardo may have been discovered Posted:  Researchers may have discovered traces of a lost mural by Leonardo da Vinci by poking a probe through cracks in a 16th-century fresco painted on the wall of one of Florence's most famous buildings.
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| Greece swaps bonds worth $232.5 billion Posted:  Greece implemented the biggest debt writedown in history on Monday, swapping the bulk of its privately-held bonds with new ones worth less than half their original value.
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| British court: Right-to-die case can proceed Posted:  In a case that challenges Britain's definition of murder, a severely disabled man who says his life has no "privacy or dignity" will be granted a hearing on his request that a doctor be allowed to give him a lethal injection.
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| Turkey: 4 journalists released in coup plot trial Posted: Four Turkish journalists were freed from jail Monday, a year after they were detained in a case that has raised fears for press freedom in the country. Two pledged to immediately tackle sensitive subjects again, including the killing of an ethnic Armenian journalist. |
| Argentine-Falklands conflict touches both to core Posted:  Ever since seafaring explorers happened upon these uninhabited islands in the 16th century, people have been fighting over them.
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| Activists: Civilians killed in Syria reprisals Posted:  Syrian activists said Monday that pro-government gunmen killed at least 16 people, including some children, in a rebel stronghold recaptured by the government, fueling concerns the government is carrying out reprisals in territory it has taken back.
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| US and Russia clash over Syria at UN Posted:  The United States and Russia clashed over Syria at the United Nations on Monday after the U.N.'s chief urged the divided Security Council to speak with one voice and help the Mideast nation "pull back from the brink of a deeper catastrophe."
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