| Under Xi, China seeks to cool row with Japan over islands Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:29 PM PDT  By David Lague HONG KONG (Reuters) - In a break from months of saber rattling, China under new President Xi Jinping appears to be moderating its approach to a potentially explosive territorial dispute with Japan and taking measures to prevent accidental conflict. Ahead of Xi's appointment last Thursday, General Liu Yuan, a senior People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer close to the new leader, warned of the danger of war with Japan in a series of conciliatory commentaries and public remarks at odds with earlier bellicose rhetoric from military hawks. ...
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| Cyprus parliament to vote on savings levy Posted: 16 Mar 2013 05:03 PM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament will decide on Sunday whether savers must pay a levy on bank deposits under terms for an international bailout to avert bankruptcy - with approval far from certain. The euro zone demand on Saturday that savers pay up to 10 percent of deposits as a condition for the 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout drew fury in the eastern Mediterranean island and caused some jitters elsewhere in the region. ...
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| Italy parliament elects speakers as tensions continue Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:50 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie and Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-left alliance scraped a narrow victory in a vote to appoint the new speakers of parliament on Saturday but the fragile margin of success underlined how hard it will be to form a stable government after last month's deadlocked election. The appointment of the speakers was parliament's first act since the February election, in which the center-left formation of Pier Luigi Bersani won a lower house majority but not enough to control the Senate and form a government. ...
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| Kenya's Odinga challenges election defeat in top court Posted: 16 Mar 2013 08:22 AM PDT  By Drazen Jorgic and Humphrey Malalo NAIROBI (Reuters) - Defeated presidential contender Raila Odinga challenged his election loss in court on Saturday, alleging widespread ballot rigging in a fresh test of Kenyan democracy five years after a disputed vote triggered deadly tribal violence. Shortly before the petition was filed, police outside the Supreme Court fired teargas to disperse a rally of around 100 Odinga backers. They were urged by the outgoing prime minister to stay calm and trust in the law to resolve his complaint. ...
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| U.S. aims to clinch Afghan deal on prisoner transfer Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:21 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke in a call on Saturday about efforts to quickly resolve one of the most vexing issues in the two countries' relations, the delayed transfer to Afghan control of a key detention center. The Pentagon said the two men "agreed to use the next week to conduct intensive work with a view to concluding an agreement," spokesman George Little said in a statement. ...
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| Rebels fight Sudanese government troops in south Darfur Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:11 PM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese rebels said on Saturday they had killed more than 200 soldiers in South Darfur, but the government said its troops had suffered only a "number" of casualties and repulsed an ambush. War broke out in the western region of Darfur over a decade ago and has raged ever since despite two peace accords and the presence of the world's largest peacekeeping mission. ... |
| Syrian general, 20 soldiers defect: opposition Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:55 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A brigadier general and about 20 soldiers defected from the Syrian army in two separate incidents on Saturday, activists said, in another sign that the strength of President Bashar al-Assad's armed forces is diminishing. Brigadier General Mohammed Khalouf appeared dressed in a camouflage military uniform in a video on Al Arabiya news channel and said he had planned his escape with the opposition movement for some time. "It is not possible for anyone to accept any of the ideas of this regime unless they have achieved special interests," he said in the video. ...
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| Zimbabwe votes on curbs to president's power Posted: 16 Mar 2013 10:54 AM PDT  By MacDonald Dzirutwe CHITUNGWIZA, Zimbabwe (Reuters) - Zimbabweans voted on Saturday in a referendum expected to endorse a new constitution that would trim presidential powers and pave the way for an election to decide whether Robert Mugabe extends his three-decade rule. Mugabe, Africa's oldest president at 89, has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980 and has been accused of waging violent crackdowns on the opposition and weakening state institutions like the cabinet and parliament. ...
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| Pakistan government ends unprecedented full term amid criticism Posted: 16 Mar 2013 12:07 PM PDT  By Mubasher Bukhari and Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's elected government completed its full five-year term on Saturday, the first in the country's turbulent history to do so, leaving a legacy of Taliban violence, sectarian unrest, chronic power cuts and a fragile economy. Parliament was dissolved at midnight after completing its term, and a caretaker administration will manage the government until general elections which must take place within 90 days. ...
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| French oppose pension changes, diesel tax: poll Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:06 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Most French people oppose ending inflation-linked rises for private-sector pensions, a poll showed on Saturday, highlighting the challenge facing the government as it prepares broader changes to the pension system. Some 75 percent of respondents reject a deal on Wednesday in which unions and employers agreed on adjusting private sector pensions by less than the rate of inflation, the Ifop poll for the Journal du Dimanche newspaper showed. ...
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| Jews in Greece mark WWII Nazi deportation Posted: 16 Mar 2013 04:15 PM PDT  THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Jewish residents of this northern Greek city on Saturday marked the 70th anniversary of the roundup and deportation of its Jews to Nazi extermination camps during World War II.
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| Argentina: Boot camp for a politically savvy pope Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:36 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Pope Francis has honed his leadership skills in one of the most difficult classrooms on the planet: Argentina, where politics has long been a blood sport practiced only by the brave.
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| In Twitter era, new pope not a social media maven Posted: 16 Mar 2013 03:04 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Pope Francis has 1.2 billion followers in the Roman Catholic Church, but he's not following a single one of them on Facebook or Twitter.
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| Obama aim: Keep Mideast troubles from boiling over Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:52 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Barack Obama steps into the Middle East's political cauldron this coming week, he won't be seeking any grand resolution for the region's vexing problems.
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| Pope explains name, urges 'church for the poor' Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:49 PM PDT  VATICAN CITY (AP) — The focus of Pope Francis' papacy began to emerge Saturday as he offered some intimate insights into the conclave that elected him pontiff, describing how he was immediately inspired to name himself after St. Francis of Assisi because he wants to see a church that is "for the poor."
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| High-ranking Syrian general defects from army Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:14 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — One of the highest-ranking military officers yet to abandon Syrian President Bashar Assad defected to neighboring Jordan and said in an interview aired Saturday that morale among those still inside the regime had collapsed.
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| Swiss tourist gang-raped in central India Posted: 16 Mar 2013 02:16 PM PDT  NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian media are reporting that a Swiss tourist was gang-raped in the central state of Madhya Pradesh and that 13 men are being questioned.
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| Pakistan government ends historic 5-year term Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:25 PM PDT  ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's government passed a major milestone Saturday, with the parliament becoming the first democratically chosen body to finish its five-year term in a country that has faced three military coups and persistent political turmoil.
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| Hagel, Karzai seek deal on detainees within 1 week Posted: 16 Mar 2013 10:36 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has held new talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on a nettlesome disagreement over the stalled transfer of a key detention center to Afghan control. |
| Cypriots' president defends bailout deal Posted: 16 Mar 2013 11:52 AM PDT  NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus' president said Saturday that the decision to force bank depositors to share the burden of a €10 billion ($13 billion) bailout package from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund was done to save his country from financial ruin.
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| Pakistan's government resigns, smoothing way towards elections Posted: 16 Mar 2013 01:27 PM PDT Pakistan's government passed a major milestone Saturday, with the parliament becoming the first democratically chosen body to finish its term in a country that has faced three military coups and persistent political turmoil. |
| Swiss tourist gang raped in India, say police Posted: 16 Mar 2013 08:40 AM PDT The gang rape of a Swiss tourist while camping with her husband in India puts the international spotlight (again) on sexual violence against women in the South Asia nation. |
| In interviews, new Pope Francis confirms commitment to poor Posted: 16 Mar 2013 07:42 AM PDT Pope Francis offered intimate insights Saturday into the moments after his election, telling journalists that he was immediately inspired to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi because of his work for peace and the poor — and that he himself would like to see "a poor church and a church for the poor." |
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