| France assures Israel it will stand firm on Iran deal Posted: 17 Nov 2013 11:16 AM PST  By Jeffrey Heller and Elizabeth Pineau JERUSALEM (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande assured Israel on Sunday that France would continue to oppose an easing of economic sanctions against Iran until it was convinced Tehran had given up any pursuit of nuclear weapons. Hollande's pledge could help underpin an intensive campaign by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convince Israel's main ally, the United States, and other leading powers to toughen terms of a proposed nuclear deal with Iran ahead of negotiations reconvening this week in Geneva. Differences over how to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons have opened a rift between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama, whose relationship has long been fraught.
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| Boeing airliner crashes in Russia, 50 killed Posted: 17 Nov 2013 12:29 PM PST  By Douglas Busvine and Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Boeing 737 airliner crashed on Sunday in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people on board and spotlighting the poor safety record of regional airlines that ply internal routes across the world's largest nation. The son of the president of the oil-rich province of Tatarstan and the regional head of the FSB intelligence service were named among those killed when the plane exploded in a ball of fire on hitting the runway. The Tatarstan airlines flight from Moscow had been trying to abort its landing in order to make a second approach when it crashed, killing all 44 passengers and six crew on board, emergency officials said. Flight U363 took off from Moscow's Domodedovo airport at 6:25 pm (1425 GMT) and crashed just over an hour later, emergency officials said.
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| Clashes stoke tension before Mozambique local election Posted: 17 Nov 2013 11:12 AM PST  By Pascal Fletcher MAPUTO (Reuters) - Clashes in Mozambique's second city of Beira between rival party supporters and riot police injured more than 20 people and stoked tension ahead of local elections this week that will test opposition to the Frelimo government. In the municipal elections on Wednesday, the Frelimo party which has ruled the southern African state since independence in 1975 faces an emerging challenge from the smaller Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), after the main opposition party and former rebel group Renamo decided to boycott the vote. Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama is a fugitive after the government army overran his jungle camp last month, following sporadic ambushes and skirmishes by Renamo guerrillas which have persisted mostly in central Sofala province. These attacks have revived painful memories of the devastating 1975-1992 civil war between Renamo and Frelimo and foreign donors have urged President Armando Guebuza's government to preserve peace like "a treasure".
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| Bachelet has big lead in Chile election but will face runoff Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:32 PM PST  By Rosalba O'Brien and Anthony Esposito SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Leftist candidate Michelle Bachelet was the clear winner in Chile's presidential election on Sunday, although she will have to wait until a second round runoff next month to seal her victory. With nine candidates running, the vote was fractured and Bachelet, seeking her second term as president, fell short of the 50 percent she needed for an outright first-round victory. Bachelet, who led Chile between 2006 and 2010 as its first female president, had just over 46 percent support with 83 percent of votes counted on Sunday night. Evelyn Matthei of the ruling right-wing coalition was second with around 25 percent.
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| Coercion complaints underscore challenge to EU's Kosovo accord Posted: 17 Nov 2013 12:59 PM PST  By Matt Robinson and Branislav Krstic MITROVICA, Kosovo (Reuters) - Low turnout and complaints of coercion in a re-run election in northern Kosovo on Sunday underscored the challenge facing the European Union in implementing an accord designed to end the country's ethnic partition. Under tight security from NATO soldiers and EU police, voting passed off peacefully in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, two weeks after masked men hurling teargas halted the original poll. ...
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| Turkey's Kemalists see secularist legacy under threat Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:09 PM PST  By Humeyra Pamuk and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - For decades his picture dominated Turkey, piercing blue eyes staring from hoardings, keeping watch over city streets and army barracks. Schoolyards echoed every morning to his oath: "Happy is he who can say 'I am a Turk!'" Now that oath rings out no more and the image of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the secular republic, seems for some to be retreating into the shadows, victim of a new ruling class they suspect of cherishing a new more 'Islamic' Turkey. Turkey's "Kemalists" flinch at Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan advising women on the number of children they should have, fostering restrictions on alcohol and expressing moral outrage over male and female students living together in the same house or flat. The natural place to turn, as in hard times before, was to Ataturk's tomb, the Anitkabir, a columned stone monument atop a hill in Ankara.
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| Egypt train crash kills 20 people Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:52 PM PST More than 20 people died when a train crashed into a pick-up truck and a minibus near Cairo, state newspaper al-Ahram said on its website early on Monday. Egypt's transport network has come under attack last year when fifty people, mostly children, were killed after a train crashed into a school bus South of Cairo. Roads and railways in Egypt have a poor safety record and locals have long complained that successive governments have failed to enforce even basic safeguards, leading to a string of deadly crashes. The country's worst train disaster was in 2002 when a fire ripped through seven carriages of an overcrowded passenger train, killing at least 360 people. |
| Eight members of one family killed in northern Mexico: media Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:41 PM PST  Eight family members, including three children, were killed in their home on Sunday in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, local media reported. Some reports said the family were shot, while others said they were stabbed. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was until a few years ago considered the most violent city in the world as gangs battled for control of drug trafficking routes. In September, a group of gunmen killed 10 people, including a 6-year-old girl, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez.
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| Two Muslim converts due in court over British soldier's killing Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:02 PM PST Two Muslim converts accused of hacking to death a British soldier in broad daylight on a London street go on trial this week in a case that has shocked many in Britain. British Prime Minister David Cameron described the killing at the time as a betrayal of Islam and an attack on the British way of life. Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, a veteran of the Afghan war, was killed on May 22 not far from an army barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, a murder that provoked disgust and fears of an anti-Muslim backlash. Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, will appear at London's Old Bailey central criminal court to deny murdering Rigby, conspiracy to murder a police officer and the attempted murder of a police officer. |
| Libya's deputy spy chief kidnapped at airport Posted: 17 Nov 2013 03:54 PM PST By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's deputy intelligence chief was kidnapped outside Tripoli's international airport on Sunday, a month after the prime minister was snatched by militiamen. The kidnapping, and clashes in the capital that have killed dozens of people, highlight Libya's struggle to curb rival militias and hardline Islamists who refuse to disarm two years after they helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising. Tripoli city leaders on Sunday called for street protests and strikes at shops, schools and universities to press Libya's government to drive out militiamen blamed for the clashes on Friday and Saturday that killed 46 people. |
| French hostage held nearly a year escapes in Nigeria Posted: 17 Nov 2013 03:45 PM PST  A French engineer abducted by Islamist militants in Nigeria last year has managed to escape, slipping out of his cell and hailing a taxi to take him to police, officials said Sunday. President Francois Hollande announced that Francis Collomp, 63, was free after being taken by Islamist militants on December 19, 2012, in the state of Katsina in northern Nigeria. Collomp escaped in the northern city of Zaria on Saturday while his captors were praying, said Femi Adenaike Adeleye, the police commissioner in the regional capital of Kaduna. And yesterday they did not lock the door to his cell," Adeleye said.
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| Bachelet takes first round in Chile's presidential race Posted: 17 Nov 2013 03:29 PM PST  Socialist Michelle Bachelet won a first round of Chile's presidential race Sunday, with voters putting her on track to replace a conservative after a likely runoff next month, early returns showed. Bachelet, Chile's first woman president who worked as the head of UN Women after her first term in office, is now eyeing a potential non-consecutive second term as the leader of the South American nation with the highest per capita income. She was leading with 46.63 percent of the vote against conservative Evelyn Matthei, at 25.23 percent, with 54.63 percent of the votes tallied. If Bachelet, who is seeking to succeed conservative billionaire President Sebastian Pinera, does not get over 50 percent of the ballots, a run-off -- also the country's first between two women -- will be held December 15.
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| Bachelet has big lead in Chile election but may face runoff Posted: 17 Nov 2013 03:11 PM PST By Rosalba O'Brien SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Leftist candidate Michelle Bachelet was the clear winner in Chile's presidential election on Sunday, although she may have to wait until a second round runoff next month to seal her victory. With nine candidates running, the vote was fractured and Bachelet, seeking her second term as president, was falling short of the 50 percent she needed for an outright first-round victory. Bachelet, who led Chile between 2006 and 2010 as its first female president, had 46.6 percent support with 54.6 percent of votes counted on Sunday night. Evelyn Matthei of the ruling right-wing coalition was second with 25.2 percent. |
| Guinea police shoot dead teen protester Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:59 PM PST  Police in Guinea shot dead a teenager during a violent protest over an alleged attempt to kidnap a radio journalist on Sunday, his family said. Abdoul Aziz Balde, 15, was "mortally wounded by a bullet fired by a police officer" as security forces and protesters clashed in the capital Conakry, a family member said. The demonstration erupted after private broadcaster Planet FM reported that armed men had come to the radio station looking to kidnap director and journalist Mandian Sidibe, witnesses said. A mob of listeners then launched a search for the armed men, which turned into a protest as demonstrators put up barricades in several neighbourhoods of Conakry.
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| Hamilton content with Mercedes body of work Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:58 PM PST  Lewis Hamilton said his new Mercedes chassis had transformed his competitiveness in Sundayâ s United States Grand Prix, enabling him to finish fourth. â The car was night and day different compared to where it was in Abu Dhabi, so I'm sure the new tub helped," he said. Hamilton had struggled to match the performance of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the recent Indian and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He resisted late pressure from Ferrariâ s Fernando Alonso to retain his position.
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| Libya's capital goes on strike over militia attack Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:56 PM PST  TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Residents of the Libyan capital launched a general strike Sunday and held protests, demanding the city's myriad of powerful militias be disbanded after violence in which nearly 50 people were killed over the weekend.
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| Bachelet leads in Chile presidential vote count Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:56 PM PST  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Michelle Bachelet is far ahead as votes are being counted in Chile's presidential election, but she is running short of the outright majority needed to avoid a Dec. 15 runoff.
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| Chile media projects strong Bachelet lead but sees runoff Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:49 PM PST SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Center-left Michelle Bachelet held a big lead in Chile's presidential election but fell short of the 50 percent of votes necessary to avoid a runoff, according to a media projection on Sunday. Bachelet was seen taking 45.7 percent of the vote, radio Bio-Bio said. Her second-place rival, Evelyn Matthei, the candidate for the right-wing governing coalition, had 24.9 percent. Red-hot favorite Bachelet, who governed Chile from 2006 to 2010, is widely expected to win a potential December runoff. (Reporting by Santiago newsroom; Editing by Bill Trott) |
| 'Alarming exploitation' of workers in Qatar: Amnesty Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:48 PM PST  (Reuters) - Qatar's construction industry is rife with abuse of migrant workers who are "treated like cattle" and live in squalid accommodation exposed to overflowing sewage, Amnesty International said in a report on Sunday. The country will host the 2022 World Cup and Amnesty called on world soccer's governing body FIFA to work with the Qatari authorities to stamp out abuses of workers who mainly come from South Asia. "Our findings indicate an alarming level of exploitation in the construction sector in Qatar," said Amnesty secretary general Salil Shetty. "FIFA has a duty to send a strong public message that it will not tolerate human rights abuses on construction projects related to the World Cup." "It is simply inexcusable in one of the richest countries in the world, that so many migrant workers are being ruthlessly exploited, deprived of their pay and left struggling to survive," "Construction companies and the Qatari authorities alike are failing migrant workers.
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| 'Thor' stays Marvel-ous atop box office Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:45 PM PST  Marvel superhero Thor hammered rivals for a second straight weekend at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday. "Thor: The Dark World," the latest blockbuster based on Marvel's iconic comic book character, took a hefty $38.5 million in its second weekend, figures from Exhibitor Relations showed. Starring Australian heartthrob Chris Hemsworth as the hammer-wielding son of Odin, the movie is a follow-up to the franchise's 2011 money-spinning first instalment, "Thor." Debuting strong in second place was romantic comedy "The Best Man Holiday," a sequel 15 years in the making to "The Best Man," in which the college friends reunite over Christmas and reignite romance and rivalries.
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| Cameroon says army repulses attack from Central African Republic Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:42 PM PST Assailants from the Central African Republic raided a village in eastern Cameroon but the army repulsed the attack, killing five gunmen, Cameroon Defense Minister Edgar Allain Mebe Ngo'o said on Sunday. One Cameroonian soldier and one villager died in the fighting after the army deployed troops to the Kadei Division of East Region on Saturday night, he said in a statement. The attack is the latest in a series of deadly cross-border raids since the Central African Republic, which is rich in minerals, descended into chaos after mostly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted President Francois Bozize in March. Authorities in Cameroon say the attackers could be searching for food and money in a region considered the breadbasket of central Africa. |
| Fast-moving killer storm, tornadoes batter Midwest Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:36 PM PST By James B. Kelleher CHICAGO (Reuters) - A fast-moving storm system triggered multiple tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana on Sunday, killing at least two people, injuring about 40 and flattening large parts of the city of Washington, Illinois as it crashed across the Midwest, officials said. The storm created tornadoes in Bone Gap and Miller City, Illinois, in Mount Carmel, Noblesville and Vincennes in Indiana, and in Paducah, Kentucky, the National Weather Service said. The storm also forced the Chicago Bears to halt their game against the Baltimore Ravens and encourage fans at Soldier Field to seek shelter as the storm roared in. Chicago's two major airports also briefly stopped traffic with the metropolitan area was under a tornado watch. |
| Gunmen kill eight members of one family in northern Mexico: media Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:25 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Gunmen entered a house and shot and killed eight people from one family on Sunday in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, local media reported. The eight family members included men, women and children, national Reforma newspaper said, citing a state official. Among the dead were two four-year-old girls, reported El Diario de Juarez on its website. Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, was until a few years ago considered the most violent city in the world as gangs battled for control of drug trafficking routes. ... |
| Ethiopians back from Saudi recall beatings, robbery, jail Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:19 PM PST  When Abdallah Awele moved to Saudi Arabia from Ethiopia last year, he thought he would land a good job and earn enough money to send home to his family. "When I was in Saudi Arabia, I was successful, I was saving a lot of money and I had nice things. Abdallah was one of at least 23,000 Ethiopians living illegally in Saudi Arabia, and part of a group of close to 400 flown home on Friday after being expelled. "I had 3,500 Saudi Arabian riyals (930 dollars, 690 euros).
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| Serbs redo vote in tense northern Kosovo city Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:11 PM PST  MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP) — Minority Serbs in a tense northern Kosovo city cast ballots under tight security on Sunday, redoing a vote that was derailed when masked men attacked staff and destroyed voting materials.
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| Bachelet favored as Chileans elect president Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:10 PM PST  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Michelle Bachelet was the heavy favorite to return to the presidency as Chileans voted Sunday, with supporters hoping she can fulfill promises to reform a dictatorship-era system they say keeps workers poor and indebted to the privileged few.
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| Irish president to make historic state visit to Britain Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:09 PM PST  President Michael D. Higgins is to become the first Irish head of state to make a state visit to Britain, in another symbolic step forward for relations between the neighbouring countries. The visit in April will come three years after Britain's Queen Elizabeth made a groundbreaking trip to the republic, which experts said put Anglo-Irish relations on a new footing. Higgins's Aras an Uachtarain official residence confirmed he has accepted an invitation for a three-day state visit.
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| Boeing plane crashes in Russia, 50 on board killed Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:39 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — A Boeing 737 jetliner crashed and burst into flames Sunday night while trying to land at the airport in the Russian city of Kazan, killing all 50 people aboard in the latest in a string of deadly crashes across the country.
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| Abbas to AFP: peace talks will run full course Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:39 PM PST  Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Peace talks with Israel will continue for the full nine months agreed with Washington "regardless of what happens on the ground," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told AFP on Sunday. He also called for an international probe to determine who killed Yasser Arafat after scientists said it was likely he had been poisoned. Abbas was speaking in an exclusive interview at his Muqataa headquarters in Ramallah a day ahead of a key visit by French President Francois Hollande for talks expected to focus on the peace process. "We have committed to continue the negotiations for nine months, regardless of what happens on the ground," he told AFP.
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| Chile's Bachelet favored to win Chile's presidency Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:38 PM PST  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chileans seemed likely to return Michelle Bachelet to the presidency Sunday, with supporters hoping she can fulfill promises to reform a dictatorship-era system they say keeps workers poor and indebted to the privileged few.
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| Insured losses from Typhoon Haiyan may be $300 million to $700 million Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:37 PM PST (Reuters) - Typhoon Haiyan could inflict between $6.5 billion and $14.5 billion in total damages, but because insurance penetration in the Philippines in low, insured losses will likely only range between $300 million and $700 million, according to risk modeling firm AIR Worldwide. The Philippines is facing an enormous rebuilding task from Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 3,681 people. Some 1,186 are still missing and many isolated communities have yet to receive significant aid despite a massive international relief effort. ... |
| Villagers mob U.S. aid choppers as Philippine relief effort spreads Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:37 PM PST  By Aubrey Belford CABUNGAAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Mobbed by hungry villagers, U.S. military helicopters dropped desperately needed aid into remote areas of the typhoon-ravaged central Philippines, as survivors of the disaster flocked to ruined churches on Sunday to pray for their uncertain future. The Philippines is facing up to an enormous rebuilding task from Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 3,974 people and left 1,186 missing, with many isolated communities yet to receive significant aid despite a massive international relief effort. Philippine authorities and international aid agencies face a mounting humanitarian crisis, with the number of people displaced by the catastrophe estimated at 4 million, up from 900,000 late last week. President Benigno Aquino, caught off guard by the scale of the disaster and criticized by some for the sometimes chaotic response, visited affected areas on Sunday.
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| Former heavyweight champ Haye facing retirement Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:32 PM PST  Former world heavyweight champion David Haye said Sunday he was contemplating retirement on medical grounds after revealing he has a severe shoulder injury. "It's a crushing blow for me," he said in a statement issued by his Hayemaker Promotions company. The 33-year-old former World Boxing Association (WBA) champion underwent a five-hour operation to reconstruct his right shoulder in Germany on Thursday but has since been told to "seriously consider" retirement. "I genuinely believed the shoulder injury wasn't that bad," Haye insisted.
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| As fighting flares, Syrians pour into Lebanon Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:30 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of Syrians poured into Lebanon, taking shelter in wedding halls and makeshift shacks after fleeing heavy fighting in a mountainous region across the border in Syria, while a massive explosion Sunday targeting a government building outside Damascus killed at least 31 soldiers. |
| Amnesty: World Cup Qatar's chance to end labour abuse Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:27 PM PST  Amnesty International Monday criticised "alarming" exploitation of construction workers in Qatar, urging it to seize the opportunity of hosting the 2022 World Cup to demonstrate its commitment to human rights. In a report, it also urged world football governing body FIFA to press the Gulf state to improve the conditions of foreign labourers, most of whom are Asian. Doha rejects claims of slavery-style conditions on its construction sites in the world's wealthiest nation per capita. "Our findings indicate an alarming level of exploitation in the construction sector in Qatar," said Amnesty Secretary General Salil Shetty, calling abuses "widespread" and "not isolated cases".
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| Iran says next nuclear talks will be 'difficult' Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:24 PM PST  Iran said Sunday nuclear talks with world powers this week will be "difficult," as France made four demands for a deal with Tehran and Israel warned against a "nightmare" accord. Negotiations between Iran and the so-called P5+1 -- Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China plus Germany -- restart in Geneva on Wednesday after the last round failed to seal a deal. Top diplomats insisted they were closing in on an interim agreement that would see Iran curb or freeze parts of its nuclear programme for some relief from crippling sanctions. "No agreement will be reached without securing the rights of the Iranian nation" on its nuclear programme and uranium enrichment, he added.
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| France firm on Iran nuclear issue, Hollande tells Israel Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:22 PM PST  France will never tolerate nuclear proliferation, President Francois Hollande vowed on Sunday as Israel expressed "grave concern" about a looming deal between world powers and Iran. As the French leader arrived in Israel on his first state visit, the question of how to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions loomed large over his talks with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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| Bachelet poised for big win as Chile votes for president Posted: 17 Nov 2013 01:05 PM PST  Chile's former president Michelle Bachelet appeared poised Sunday to reclaim the office, as her South American nation voted on a replacement for conservative leader Sebastian Pinera. Bachelet, 62, deemed the far and away favorite among nine candidates, held a commanding lead in recent opinion polls showing she had close to the 50 percent needed to win in the first round of balloting and avoid a runoff.
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