| Embarrassed by rocket crash, North Korea may try nuclear test Posted:  PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt. The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength. ...
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| Six die as violence mars Syria truce, protests muted Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad shot dead five protesters after Friday prayers, activists reported, while the government said an army officer was killed as violence marred a ceasefire brokered by international peace envoy Kofi Annan. At the United Nations, Russia said it was not satisfied with a Western-Arab draft resolution authorizing an advance U.N. team to monitor the fragile ceasefire which aims to end 13 months of bloodshed during the uprising against Assad, an ally of Moscow. ...
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| Ocampo ends World Bank bid, backs Nigerian Posted:  WASHINGTON/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo on Friday withdrew his candidacy for World Bank president, leaving two candidates in a race that he said had turned highly political. With the World Bank board meeting on Monday to pick a new president, Ocampo said he hoped emerging market nations would rally behind one candidate, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Okonjo-Iweala is now the sole candidate from developing nations in a race against U.S. nominee Jim Yong Kim, a Korean-American health expert who appears almost certain to win the post. ...
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| British PM, Suu Kyi back suspension of Myanmar sanctions Posted:  YANGON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi gave powerful backing on Friday for suspending sanctions on the country, a stark shift in stance and a boon for a pariah state eager to come in from the cold. Cameron, the first Western leader to visit Myanmar in decades, and Nobel laureate Suu Kyi said at a news conference in Yangon sanctions should be suspended, but not lifted altogether to pressure the quasi-civilian government to continue reforms. ...
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| In "dream city" for Syria refugees, hope of return dims Posted:  KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Life is starting to look more permanent for the Syrian refugees in Kilis. There are no tents in the Turkish camp. Instead, thousands of white cubicles sit in endless rows. With every grey brick laid along the paths that criss-cross the sea of container houses, Terkia Zarzoureh feels she is further from returning to her home across the border. ...
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| Analysis: IMF funds drive caught in global power shift Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tensions among some of the world's leading economies are on a boil over a plan to raise new resources for the International Monetary Fund to contain the euro zone debt crisis and a quest by emerging economies to win more say in the global lender. World finance leaders gathering in Washington next week will focus on proposals for countries to contribute more money to the IMF so it is better prepared in case of a fallout from any further escalation of Europe's debt crises. ...
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| Obama urged at summit to focus on Latin America Posted:  CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Washington should turn back to alliances with neighbors in Latin America rather than focus on faraway conflicts like Afghanistan, Colombia's president said on Friday before welcoming U.S. President Barack Obama to the Americas Summit. U.S. influence has waned in recent years in a region it traditionally saw as its backyard, allowing China to gain ground and emerge as the No. 1 trade partner with various countries, including regional powerhouse Brazil. ...
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| Powers seek to ease nuclear deadlock with Iran Posted: ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Iran and world powers have a rare chance on Saturday to halt a downward diplomatic spiral over Tehran's nuclear program and ease fears of a new Middle East war when they resume stalled talks, but diplomats warn against expecting quick results. The negotiations in Istanbul, the first between Iran and the six powers in 15 months, are unlikely to yield any major breakthrough but Western diplomats hope at last to see readiness from Tehran to start discuss issues of substance. ... |
| Bissau army hold president, former premier in coup Posted:  BISSAU (Reuters) - Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau have detained the country's interim president and the former prime minister, cutting short an unfinished presidential election in West Africa's second military power grab in a month. A military spokesman confirmed the detentions of ex-premier and presidential election front-runner Carlos Gomes Junior and interim President Raimundo Pereira, following assaults by armed soldiers on their homes on Thursday evening. ...
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| Yemen army clashes with Islamists, at least 34 killed Posted:  ADEN (Reuters) - At least 34 people, mostly Islamist militants, were killed near the southern Yemeni city of Lawdar on Friday in clashes between government forces and an al-Qaeda-linked group, official and tribal sources said. Yemen's military launched an offensive five days ago against Islamic insurgents who attacked a military camp outside Lawdar. It intensified operations on Friday, sending an elite anti-terrorism unit from the capital Sanaa to join the fight, according to local officials. ...
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| UN to vote Saturday on observers for Syria Posted:  The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Saturday on a resolution authorizing the deployment of the first wave of U.N. military observers to monitor a cease-fire between the Syrian government and opposition fighters which appears to be largely holding.
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| Failed launch is setback for NKorea's new leader Posted:  North Korea's much-touted satellite launch ended in a nearly $1 billion failure, bringing humiliation to the country's new young leader and condemnation from a host of nations. The United Nations Security Council deplored the launch but stopped short of imposing new penalties in response.
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| Ex-UN chief Annan back on front line in Syria Posted:  Five years after handing over the reins of the United Nations, Kofi Annan is back on the front line trying to end the Arab Spring's longest conflict and one of its bloodiest with diplomatic skills honed over half a century.
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| Syria truce largely holds but 6 killed in protests Posted:  Syrian forces used live fire, tear gas and clubs to beat back tens of thousands of protesters who took to the streets across the country Friday in powerful and often jubilant displays of defiance. But a U.N.-brokered truce largely held up without the widespread, bloody offensives that have pushed the nation toward civil war.
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| Iran, 6 powers may make progress at nuclear talks Posted:  After years of failure, Iran and the six world powers may finally make some progress on nuclear negotiations when they meet again Saturday if each side shows willingness to offer concessions the other seeks.
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| Obama will play defense at Summit of Americas Posted:  Barack Obama will be on the defensive heading into this weekend's Summit of the Americas, with the U.S. stubbornly clinging to positions opposed by most Latin American and Caribbean leaders as its influence in the region wanes. The American president, who arrived in this steamy Caribbean port Friday afternoon, can expect even some of Washington's friendliest allies to protest U.S. insistence on excluding communist Cuba from the gathering.
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| Military: Guinea-Bissau prime minister arrested Posted:  Soldiers have arrested the prime minister of this tiny nation known for transiting cocaine to Europe, a military spokesman said Friday, the latest instability to roil a coup-prone West African country where no leader in nearly 40 years has finished his time in office.
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| Security Council deplores NKorea rocket launch Posted: The U.N. Security Council deplored North Korea's rocket launch on Friday, saying it violates two council resolutions but stopped short of imposing any new sanctions against the reclusive Asian nation. |
| In Colombia, Obama seeks to focus on US economy Posted:  Putting an election year spin on his international agenda, President Barack Obama on Friday cast Latin America's rapid rise as a business opportunity for the U.S. economy. On his way to a regional summit in Colombia, he told voters in Florida, "While I'm in Colombia talking with other leaders, I'm going to be thinking about you."
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| Spain's banks borrow record amount in March Posted: Spanish stocks sank and its borrowing costs rose Friday after the government released data showing the country's banks borrowed a record €316.3 billion ($415.9 billion) from the European Central Bank in March. |
