| More U.N. monitors heading to Syria as 13 people killed Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - An additional 30 United Nations monitors should arrive in Syria in the coming week to join an advance team of seven observing a fragile week-long ceasefire which has failed to end bloodshed in the country, a spokesman for envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday. At least 23 people were killed, 10 of them in a roadside bomb targeting security forces and most of the others in shelling by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on the city of Homs, further undermining the truce. ...
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| Pakistani plane crashes with 127 on board Posted:  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani airliner with 127 people on board crashed in bad weather as it came in to land in Islamabad on Friday, scattering wreckage and leaving no sign of survivors. The Boeing 737, operated by local airline Bhoja Air, was flying to the capital from Pakistan's biggest city and business hub Karachi. It crashed into wheat fields more than 5 miles from the airport. Rawal Khan Maitla, director general of Emergency Disaster Management for the Capital Development Authority, said there were no survivors. ...
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| Analysis: Assad foes doubt Syria truce but have few options Posted:  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Barely had the first U.N. ceasefire monitors set foot on Syrian soil this week than Bashar al-Assad's enemies were discussing the likelihood of the mission failing and warning of punitive measures against the Syrian president. The emir of Qatar gave Syria's flawed truce a three percent chance of holding while U.S. officials, pointing to continued army shelling of rebel strongholds, questioned whether there was any point adding to the handful of international monitors in place. France said it put no faith in the ceasefire because Assad was not sincere and even U.N. ...
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| South Sudan withdraws from oil area, easing border crisis Posted:  JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Friday it would withdraw its troops from the disputed Heglig oil region more than a week after seizing it from Sudan, pulling the countries back from the brink of a full-blown war. Sudan quickly declared victory, saying its armed forces had "liberated" the area by force as thousands of people poured onto the streets of Khartoum cheering, dancing, honking car horns and waving flags. ...
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| Cherie Blair, England soccer star among new phone-hacking claimants Posted:  LONDON (Reuters) - England soccer star Wayne Rooney and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wife Cherie are among a new group of 46 people suing over alleged phone-hacking by Rupert Murdoch's News of the World newspaper, court documents showed on Friday. Other celebrities listed included singer James Blunt, soccer players Ryan Giggs and Peter Crouch and former England rugby union player Matt Dawson. ...
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| 43 killed in Mexico after truck, bus collide Posted:  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - At least 43 people were killed when a cargo truck crashed into a bus on a highway in eastern Mexico, in one of the worst traffic accidents the country has suffered in recent years. Pictures of the crash site near the municipality of Alamo Temapache in Veracruz state showed the side of the bus ripped open, with seats mangled by the impact and debris and luggage strewn across the road. Mexican officials said the vehicles were traveling in opposite directions along the highway early on Friday when the rear trailer of the truck decoupled, smashing into the bus. ...
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| Britain's Cameron offered air tanker as VIP jet Posted:  (Reuters) - Senior British politicians and royals might consider making foreign visits in converted air force refueling jets after a row over the use of a rented Boeing for a trade mission to tout European-made Airbus planes. Britain's aerospace industry lobby group said proposals were being drawn up by the industry that could allow Prime Minister David Cameron and even Queen Elizabeth to use modified Airbus jetliners that double as refueling planes. ...
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| Egyptians mass to demand army retreat from power Posted:  CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians demanded on Friday that their military rulers stick to a pledge to hand over power by mid-year after a row over who can run in the presidential election raised doubts about the army's commitment to democracy. Two leading Islamist candidates, one representing the Muslim Brotherhood who was seen as the frontrunner, were among those disqualified this week from a vote that starts on May 23-24, drawing a storm of criticism from supporters and the candidates. ...
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| Mexico's conservatives bet on woman presidential hopeful Posted:  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling conservatives took a bold step by becoming the first major party to nominate a woman presidential candidate, but Josefina Vazquez Mota is struggling to close a big gap with the front-runner, hamstrung by internal party divisions. Three weeks into a compressed campaign season before the July 1 vote, Vazquez Mota trails Enrique Pena Nieto from the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, by double digits in most opinion polls. ...
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| Argentina seeks Petrobras collaboration in YPF Posted:  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Argentine Planning Minister Julio De Vido approached Brazil and its state-run oil company Petrobras on Friday to invite greater investment and collaboration with oil company YPF, which the government announced this week it would seize. Brazilian Energy Minister Lobao responded after the meetings that Petrobras' investments in its southern neighbor would remain at roughly $500 million in 2012, unchanged from 2011. Although he did not dismiss Vido's call for Petrobras to double its oil and gas output in Argentina, he said it would only happen "in due time. ...
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| Sudan and S. Sudan claim control of oil town Posted:  Sudan and South Sudan both claimed to be in control of a contested oil town near the countries' ill-defined border on Friday after the south said it was withdrawing its troops to avert a return to war.
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| Norwegian gunman describes hunting down teenagers Posted:  Norwegians who lost loved ones on Utoya island relived the horror Friday as far-right fanatic Anders Behring Breivik described in harrowing detail how he gunned down teenagers as they fled in panic or froze before him, paralyzed with fear.
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| Syrian forces fire on anti-regime protesters Posted:  Syrian troops fired tear gas and bullets on thousands of protesters who spilled out of mosques after noon prayers Friday, activists said. State media reported that bombs and shootings killed 17 soldiers as the latest diplomatic efforts failed to halt more than 13 months of bloodshed in the country.
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| Mexico preps shelters as volcano roars, spews ash Posted:  The white-capped volcano that looms over Mexico City emitted a terrifying low-pitched roar Friday and spewed roiling towers of ash and steam as it vented the pressure built up by a massive chamber of magma beneath its slopes. Authorities prepared evacuation routes, ambulances and shelters in the event of a bigger explosion.
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| Pakistani plane carrying 127 crashes amid storm Posted:  Emergency workers with flashlights searched the smoldering wreckage of a passenger jet carrying 127 people that crashed into a muddy wheat field Friday while trying to land in a violent thunderstorm at Islamabad's main airport.
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| Tens of thousands protest military rule in Egypt Posted:  Egypt's Islamist and secular forces sought to relaunch the street uprising against Egypt's ruling military Friday, packing Cairo's Tahrir Square with tens of thousands of protesters in the biggest rally in months and accusing the generals of manipulating upcoming presidential elections to preserve their power.
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| Europe, Russia propose rival resolutions on Syria Posted:  European nations and Russia proposed rival U.N. resolutions Friday morning, both calling for expanding the number of U.N. cease-fire monitors in Syria from 30 to 300 but disagreeing on possible sanctions and on how quickly the larger observer force should get on the ground.
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| EU delays vote on labeling oil sands oil dirty Posted: The European Commission will delay asking members to approve a measure that would label oil from oil sands as worse for climate change than crude oil — a temporary victory for Canada, where such oil is produced. |
| IMF announces $430 billion to boost resources Posted:  The International Monetary Fund says it has raised more than $430 billion in an effort to assure finance markets that it has sufficient firepower to handle any new problems from Europe's prolonged debt crisis.
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| Bahrain protesters swell ahead of F1 weekend Posted:  Anti-government protesters flooded a main highway in a march stretching for miles and security forces fired tear gas in breakaway clashes Friday as Bahrain's leaders struggled to contain opposition anger while under the world's spotlight as the island nation hosts the Formula One Grand Prix.
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