| Syrian army moves on rebels in Aleppo, Damascus Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:23 PM PDT  ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian forces stormed the last rebel stronghold in the capital Damascus in tanks and armored vehicles on Friday and blasted artillery at rebels in Aleppo, where the United Nations said the army was preparing a massive assault. The violence came within hours of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan quitting as international peace envoy for Syria, underlining the impotence of mediation efforts in the 17-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. A senior U.N. ...
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| British coalition faces rift over political reform Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:58 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - The junior party in Britain's coalition government said on Friday the two-year-old alliance was entering "uncharted territory" after reports that Prime Minister David Cameron planned to drop promised parliamentary reforms. Newspapers said Cameron was set to abandon reforms to parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, that have been championed by his Liberal Democrat partners after he failed to overcome opposition within his own Conservatives. Cameron's office said talks on the Lords were still in progress and that an announcement would be made in due course. ...
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| Some Turks call foul over Obama-Erdogan bat photo Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:20 PM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A photograph of U.S. President Barack Obama holding a baseball bat while talking on the phone to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was intended to show their close relationship, a White House spokeswoman said, after the photo caused a stir in Turkey. The two leaders spoke on Monday to discuss the crisis in Syria, after which the photograph of Obama seated at his desk, talking on the phone while holding a bat autographed by black-American baseball great Hank Aaron, was released by the White House. ...
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| U.S., Pakistan appear to make little headway in spy meet Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:15 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Pakistani spy chiefs exchanged grievances in their first official meeting this week, sources familiar with the discussions said on Friday, but it was unclear if the two uneasy allies made any progress to end deep divisions on militants living in Pakistani tribal areas or on U.S. drone strikes. Lieutenant-General Zaheer ul-Islam, who was named in March to head the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), on his first official visit to Washington met on Thursday with CIA Director David Petraeus at CIA headquarters. ...
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| China to hold Gu Kailai murder trial on Aug. 9: sources Posted: 03 Aug 2012 09:02 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China will open the murder trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xilai, on August 9, two sources said on Friday, a case at the center of a scandal that has rocked the government and could bring Gu the death penalty. Both sources requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the case, and provided no other details. China only last week formally announced Gu's indictment on charges of murdering a British man in November. ...
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| Putin "cheated us again," Russian band lawyer says Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:53 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Members of an all-woman Russian punk band on trial for staging a protest at the altar of Moscow's main cathedral will likely receive long jail terms despite President Vladimir Putin saying they should not be judged too harshly, a defense lawyer said. A Moscow court refused to hear most defense witnesses called to testify on Friday on behalf of the protest action by the Pussy Riot band, dimming hopes among human rights groups that Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 29, could escape lengthy sentences. ...
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| Germany should use armed drones: defense minister Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:42 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany, which used unmanned aircraft in warfare during World War Two, should deploy armed drones in its military, its defense minister said. "A drone is nothing more than a plane without a pilot," Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere told the daily "Die Welt" in an article to appear on Saturday. He said he was in favor of the German armed forces using armed drones, according to an advance copy of the article. "Planes can be armed so why shouldn't unmanned aircraft be allowed to be armed as well? I don't understand that," he added. ...
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| Two killed in Mexico coal mine explosion, four trapped Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:09 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two miners were killed in a coal mine collapse in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila Friday morning, and four more remain trapped, an emergency rescue team source on the site told Reuters. One miner was rescued earlier, according to a separate report from the mine operator. The explosion was triggered when a large amount of methane gas ignited, causing the collapse of 100 tonnes of coal, mine owner Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) said in a statement. Nearly 300 miners evacuated the mine without incident, the company said. ... |
| Clinton hails gay rights activists in wary Uganda Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT  KAMPALA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday praised activists who opposed a tough draft law in Uganda targeting gays and lesbians, calling them an inspiration for others struggling to secure equal rights around the world. Clinton presented a coalition of Ugandan rights groups with the State Department's 2011 Human Rights Defender Award, a signal to African and Islamic nations that Washington will not backtrack in its fight against the legal and political persecution of homosexuals. ...
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| France seizes Paris house of Equatorial Guinea leader's son Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:05 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French investigators have seized a Paris townhouse belonging to the son of Equatorial Guinea's president as part of a money-laundering probe, a judicial source said on Friday. Millions of euros worth of art, antiques and other valuables were seized in February from the same six-floor building which is owned by Teodoro Obiang, agriculture minister and son of the small oil-rich African state's president. Two French judges issued arrest warrants last month for Obiang on money laundering charges, saying they suspected he had siphoned off state funds to buy property in France. ...
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| In Syria, mortars kill 15 in Damascus refugee camp Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:55 PM PDT  Activists say that in the latest violence in the Syrian capital, mortars have struck a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, killing 15 people.
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| European bank willing to buy bonds to save euro Posted: 02 Aug 2012 03:21 PM PDT  The European Central Bank is preparing to unleash its financial might and buy government bonds to help drive down borrowing costs in debt-ridden countries like Spain and Italy, caught in the grip of what president Mario Draghi called a "worsening crisis."
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| Delays snarl traffic to London's Olympic park Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:36 AM PDT Severe delays were reported Friday morning on a busy subway line serving Olympic venues, on the day that the athletics competition gets under way. |
| EYES ON LONDON: Lochte moving on, NBC ad windfall Posted: 03 Aug 2012 12:30 AM PDT  Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:
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| Afghans fear what will happen when troops leave Posted: 02 Aug 2012 12:14 PM PDT  Asadullah Ramin has lost all hope in his homeland — he's so worried about what will happen when U.S. and international troops leave that he's ready to pay a smuggler to whisk his family out of Afghanistan.
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| Lima, Peru, park is the cat's meow for felines Posted: 02 Aug 2012 10:52 AM PDT  It's the cat's meow, a corner of the central park of Lima's upscale seaside Miraflores district.
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| Parents found guilty of murdering daughter in UK Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:34 AM PDT  A British court has found a mother and father guilty of murdering their teen-age daughter in a so-called honor killing.
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| Chile bans marketing of toys in children's food Posted: 01 Aug 2012 06:40 PM PDT  A new law in Chile aims to take some of the fun out of fast-food by forcing McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and other restaurants to stop including toys and other goodies with children's meals.
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