| Exclusive: Tunisia to extradite former Gaddafi PM to Libya Posted: 22 May 2012 08:17 AM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia will extradite former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's prime minister to Libya and the handover could take place in "days or weeks", Justice Minister Noureddine Bouheiri said on Tuesday. Should he be handed over, Al Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi would be the first senior official to be sent back for trial under Libya's transitional leadership and his extradition could establish a precedent for other countries who have given refuge to or arrested members of Gaddafi's old entourage. ...
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| Hollande set for EU summit showdown with Merkel Posted: 22 May 2012 03:08 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will explore ways of breathing life into their stricken economies at a summit on Wednesday, but the issue of euro-zone bonds and whether they can help alleviate two years of debt turmoil will dominate the meeting. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, where the economy and banking system are at the frontline of the crisis, will meet newly elected French President Francois Hollande in Paris ahead of the evening summit to discuss policy positions - a marked shift away from the traditional Franco-German axis. ...
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| Afghans back Chicago deal, warn West to keep promises Posted: 22 May 2012 09:25 AM PDT  KABUL (Reuters) - People in Afghanistan were surprisingly optimistic on Tuesday about NATO's plan to pull combat troops out of their war-ravaged nation by the end of 2014, but warned Western leaders to stick to aid and security promises. A Chicago summit meeting of the 28-member bloc, attended also by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other world leaders, endorsed an exit strategy on Monday that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year. ...
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| Rebels say Syria police kill two, U.N. monitors dispute Posted: 22 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said police had opened fire and killed two people on Tuesday when a crowd turned out to greet a team of U.N. ceasefire monitors in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor. A United Nations spokeswoman said the team had heard gunfire but said they had not seen any casualties. The U.N. team was part of a contingent of about 260 unarmed observers sent to Syria to monitor an internationally-brokered ceasefire in the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and opponents trying to overthrow him. ...
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| North Korea to boost nuclear deterrent after U.S. pressure Posted: 22 May 2012 01:36 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea intensified its war of words against the United States on Tuesday, vowing to strengthen its nuclear deterrent after Washington warned Pyongyang of further sanctions if it did not abandon its atomic program. Last week, world leaders meeting in the United States said North Korea needed to adhere to international norms on nuclear issues and that it would face deeper isolation if it "continues down the path of provocation". ...
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| Insight: EU foreign policy chief Ashton stays out of the spotlight Posted: 22 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - For an insight into the world of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, consider the tale of a humble asterisk. In late February, EU chief negotiator Robert Cooper was nearing a compromise that would bring Serbia and breakaway province Kosovo closer to EU membership and get around their disputes over Kosovo's right to exist. The scheme would allow Kosovo to sign regional agreements, but only with an asterisk next to its name to indicate its lack of U.N. recognition. ...
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| IAEA chief says nears deal with Iran ahead of 6-power talks Posted: 22 May 2012 02:12 PM PDT VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog director said on Tuesday he expected to sign a deal with Iran soon to unblock an investigation into suspected work on atom bombs, potentially brightening prospects for big-power talks with Tehran to stop a drift toward conflict. Yukiya Amano was summarizing the outcome of rare talks he conducted in Tehran on Monday, two days before six powers meet Iran's security council chief in Baghdad to test Iranian willingness to curb its nuclear program in a transparent way. ... |
| Small bomb found in Argentina ahead of Uribe visit Posted: 22 May 2012 02:28 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine police on Tuesday defused an explosive device hidden in a theater where former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was scheduled to speak, raising suspicions that left-wing Colombian rebels may have been involved. Uribe, who cracked down on drug-running guerrillas during his two terms as president, was due to appear at a leadership conference on Wednesday at the Gran Rex theater in downtown Buenos Aires. The bomb would have been detonated at about 4 p.m. ...
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| Mali coup leader condemns beating of president Posted: 22 May 2012 02:54 PM PDT  BAMAKO (Reuters) - The leader of Mali's March 22 coup condemned the beating of the interim president by demonstrators and called on Tuesday for a peaceful transition of power in the West African country. Caretaker President Dioncounda Traore suffered minor head injuries when protesters stormed his palace, in the latest setback for efforts to stabilize Mali after the coup and deal with a subsequent revolt by northern separatists and Islamists. ...
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| South Sudan says Sudan bombs, Shells its territory Posted: 22 May 2012 12:49 PM PDT  JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan said Sudan attacked it with aerial bombing raids and ground artillery on Monday and Tuesday, accusing Khartoum of trying to sabotage international efforts for peace talks which the African Union hopes to restart next week. Juba said its armed forces could retaliate if Sudan made further assaults, raising the prospect of a return to the fighting which the United Nations and the AU are seeking to prevent. ...
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| UN nuclear chief : Deal with Iran reached on probe Posted: 22 May 2012 02:29 PM PDT  Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the U.N. nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the U.N. nuclear chief said Tuesday.
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| Hezbollah appeals for calm after Syria kidnapping Posted: 22 May 2012 12:20 PM PDT  The leader of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah appealed for calm Tuesday after people blocked roads and burned tires in Beirut to protest the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiites in neighboring Syria.
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| APNewsBreak: NKorea upgrading rocket launch site Posted: 22 May 2012 02:33 PM PDT  Satellite imagery shows North Korea is upgrading its old launch site in the secretive country's northeast to handle larger rockets, like space launch vehicles and intercontinental missiles, a U.S. institute claimed Tuesday.
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| Egypt's presidential race is haunted by the past Posted: 22 May 2012 02:21 PM PDT  Egypt's presidential campaign has been full of startling moments. At one point, ousted President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister rode into a rally on a white horse like a knight, promising to restore Mubarak-era stability and ensure secular rule.
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| Legion's latest admission revives hypocrisy charge Posted: 22 May 2012 01:25 PM PDT The Legion of Christ religious order, already discredited for concealing the crimes of its pedophile founder, suffered another blow to its credibility Tuesday after its superior admitted he knew in 2005 that his most prominent priest had fathered a child, yet allowed him to keep teaching and preaching about morality. |
| Russian lawmakers slap big sanctions on protesters Posted: 22 May 2012 07:17 AM PDT  President Vladimir Putin targeted those who dare oppose him Tuesday, introducing draconian new fines for protesters and handing out Kremlin jobs to widely detested lieutenants despite the public anger they have generated.
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| Hunt for trafficker terrorizes Honduran villagers Posted: 22 May 2012 03:21 PM PDT  A fearsome rattle of gunfire from the sky. The roar of helicopters descending on a tiny, Honduran town. And the sound of commandos speaking in English as they battered down doors and detained locals in the hunt for a drug trafficker.
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| Taliban, Afghan neighbors could hamper NATO's exit Posted: 22 May 2012 12:48 PM PDT  The NATO summit's plan to "responsibly wind down" the Afghan war is not entirely in the hands of President Barack Obama and his fellow world leaders.
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| NKorea vows to push ahead with nuclear program Posted: 22 May 2012 12:34 PM PDT  North Korea on Tuesday vowed to push ahead with its nuclear program because of what it called U.S. hostility, as an outside analysis of satellite images suggested it has ramped up work at its nuclear test site over the past month.
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| Cuba's first daughter has gone beyond Castro name Posted: 22 May 2012 12:20 PM PDT  She has her uncle's penchant for speaking her mind. From her father, she inherited a disciplined tenacity.
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| UN nuclear chief : Deal with Iran reached on probe Posted: 22 May 2012 02:29 PM PDT Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the U.N. nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the U.N. nuclear chief said Tuesday. |
| Iran signals wider UN access as nuclear talks loom Posted: 22 May 2012 12:59 PM PDT  Iran made the first move Tuesday in attempts to gain an edge in nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers: It agreed in principle to allow U.N. inspectors to restart probes into a military site suspected of harboring tests related to atomic weapons.
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| ONU: Acuerdo con Irán en inspección nuclear Posted: 22 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT  Pese a ciertas diferencias que perduran fue logrado un acuerdo entre Irán y el organismo nuclear de las Naciones Unidas que permitirá a sus observadores reanudar la inspección de instalaciones atómicas, ante la sospecha de que el gobierno de Teherán trabaja secretamente para producir ojivas nucleares, dijo el martes el director de la AIEA.
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| Jefe de agencia atómica de ONU dice llega a acuerdo con Irán Posted: 22 May 2012 02:20 AM PDT  El director general de la Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica dijo el martes que había llegado a un acuerdo con Irán para inspecciones de sospechas de fabricación de armas atómicas y agregó que el acuerdo será firmado "dentro de poco".
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