| Ukraine police smash pro-Europe protest, opposition to call strike Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:23 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Thomas Grove KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's political opposition said on Saturday it would call a general strike to force the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovich's government after police used batons and stun grenades to break up pro-Europe protests. Some 10,000 protesters regrouped in Kiev, flooding a square outside a church. Further rallies were planned for Sunday in the capital Kiev and other cities. Helmeted police stormed an encampment in Kiev's Independence Square where protesters were singing and warming themselves by campfires early in the morning, the opposition said.
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| At least one killed as Thai anti-government protests turn violent Posted: 30 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Martin Petty BANGKOK (Reuters) - At least one person was shot dead and 10 were wounded after anti-government protesters clashed with supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Saturday, the first bloodshed in a week of demonstrations aimed at toppling her administration. Fighting intensified after anti-government protesters attacked a bus they believed was full of government "red shirt" supporters. As darkness fell, gunfire erupted outside a sports stadium in Bangkok's Ramkamhaeng area where about 70,000 red-shirted supporters of Yingluck and her brother, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had gathered for a rally. A gunman fired into Ramkamhaeng University, where hundreds of anti-government protesters had retreated after trying to block people from entering the stadium, witnesses said.
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| Leading Egyptian activist turns himself in Posted: 30 Nov 2013 07:14 AM PST  Ahmad Maher, a symbol of the popular uprising that ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011, turned himself in to the authorities on Saturday after an order was issued for his arrest for defying a new law restricting demonstrations. The protest law, passed a week ago by the army-backed interim government, has provoked an outcry among rights groups. The army deposed elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi on July 3, following mass protests against his rule, and the country has seen widespread unrest since. On Thursday, police arrested activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, also known for his role in the anti-Mubarak uprising.
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| Syrian PM, visiting ally Iran, says government winning civil war Posted: 30 Nov 2013 09:50 AM PST  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Prime Minister Wael Halki said on Saturday Syrian government forces were winning the war with rebels and would not rest while a single enemy fighter remained at large. Maintaining Syria's unyielding response to Western calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside, Halki said the era of "threats and intimidation has gone, never to return, while the era of victory and pride is being created now on Syrian soil". He was speaking during a visit to Iran, which has provided military support and billions of dollars in economic aid to Assad during a 2-1/2-year-old civil war which has killed 100,000 people and shows little sign of being halted by diplomacy. Assad, whose forces have consolidated their hold around Damascus and central Syria this year, faces little internal pressure to make concessions to his opponents as long as he maintains military momentum and Iranian support.
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| Central African Republic interim leader denies genocide threat Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:40 PM PST  By Joe Penney BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic transitional leader Michel Djotodia on Saturday denied European assertions that his country was on the brink of genocide and all-out inter-religious war. The impoverished but mineral-rich nation of 4.6 million has descended into chaos since Djotodia led Seleka rebels, many of them from neighboring Chad and Sudan, to the riverside capital in March, ousting President Francois Bozize. Though Djotodia has dissolved the rebel coalition, which has been accused of human rights abuses, his government's failure to stem the violence has prompted calls at the U.N. Security Council for international intervention to restore order. France is preparing to boost its force in its anarchic former colony to at least 1,000 soldiers once a U.N. resolution is passed next week to improve security until a 3,600-strong African Union (AU) force is operational.
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| Brazil's Rousseff improves odds of 2014 re-election: poll Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:30 PM PST  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has improved her odds of re-election since last month, while her potential rivals have lost ground, according to a Datafolha opinion poll published by Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Saturday. Rousseff, a pragmatic leftist expected to seek a second term next October, won 47 percent support in the most widely expected matchup - up from 42 percent in last month's poll. ...
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| A jail by another name - China labor camps now drug detox centers Posted: 30 Nov 2013 04:20 PM PST  By John Ruwitch KUNMING, China (Reuters) - Li Zhongying was freed from a Chinese labor camp ahead of schedule in September because, guards told her, the government was scrapping 're-education through labor', a heavily criticized penal system created in the 1950s. Many of China's re-education through labor camps, instead of being abolished in line with a ruling Communist Party announcement this month, are being turned into compulsory drug rehabilitation centers where inmates can be incarcerated for two years or more without trial. Human rights activists and freed inmates said drug offenders were still being forced to do factory work, as has been the practice under the re-education through labor system, colloquially known as 'laojiao'. New York-based Human Rights Watch estimates more than 60 percent of the 160,000 people in labor camps at the start of the year were there for drug offenses.
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| US urges 'immediate release' of elderly American held in N. Korea Posted: 30 Nov 2013 04:05 PM PST  The United States called Saturday for the "immediate release" of Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Californian detained in North Korea. "Given Mr Newman's advanced age and health conditions, we urge the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) to release Mr Newman so he may return home and reunite with his family," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. In addition to calling for Newman's "immediate release," Hayden also urged Pyongyang to free another American, Kenneth Bae.
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| Gulf widens between Britain and EU nations Posted: 30 Nov 2013 04:03 PM PST  The difference in attitudes towards the European Union between Britain and its continental partners is widening on both sides, a poll of people in four countries showed on Saturday. The survey in the Observer newspaper, carried out by Opinium in Britain, France, Germany and Poland, shows Britons regard the bloc much more negatively. But other EU nations also increasingly think that Britain brings few benefits to the 28-nation union. But on the question of whether Britain is a "positive force" in the EU, only 9 percent of Germans, 15 percent of French and 33 percent of Poles agree.
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| Eight dead as police helicopter crashes into Scottish pub Posted: 30 Nov 2013 03:48 PM PST By Russell Cheyne GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) - Eight people were killed and 14 others seriously injured when a police helicopter crashed into the roof of a packed Glasgow pub, trapping many inside in choking dust and debris, Scottish police said on Saturday, Witnesses said the helicopter dropped from the sky like a stone onto the busy Clutha Pub in Scotland's biggest city on Friday night while more than 100 people were crammed inside, listening to a live music concert. The helicopter crew - two police officers and the civilian pilot - were among the dead and the others were discovered inside the wreckage of the building, Chief Constable of Police Scotland Stephen House told reporters. The 12-metre (40 foot) helicopter - a twin-engine Eurocopter EC135 T2, made by a subsidiary of EADS - spiraled into the pub in the center of Glasgow, destroying part of the roof. "Until the helicopter is out of the way we won't know what ... is going on underneath." Immediately after the crash, revelers caked in dust and blood rushed out into the street. |
| Pakistan promises to help Afghans meet former Taliban chief Posted: 30 Nov 2013 03:46 PM PST  By Mirwais Harooni and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised Afghanistan on Saturday that he would help arrange further meetings between Afghan officials and a former Taliban commander as part of renewed efforts to revive a defunct peace process. Pakistan announced it would release the insurgent group's former second-in-command, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in September. Afghan officials believe he still retains enough influence within the Taliban to help rekindle peace talks. In a first such meeting, an Afghan delegation travelled to Pakistan about 10 days ago to meet the former commander, who remains under the close supervision of his Pakistani minders.
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| Eight killed as Scottish helicopter crashes into pub Posted: 30 Nov 2013 03:40 PM PST Eight people were killed when a police helicopter crashed through the roof of a packed Glasgow pub, police said on Saturday, plunging Scotland into mourning on its national day. Fourteen people lay seriously injured in hospitals across Scotland's biggest city after the chopper smashed into The Clutha pub, where over 100 people had been watching a band play on Friday night. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond called it a "black day" and ordered flags to fly at half-mast, while a minute's silence was held ahead of a football match between Falkirk and Rangers. While Scotland should have been celebrating St Andrew's Day emergency services were combing through the rubble and friends and relatives were praying their loved ones were not among the dead. |
| U.S. airlines give China flight plans for new defense zone Posted: 30 Nov 2013 03:32 PM PST  By Marina Lopes and Lesley Wroughton NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. airlines United, American and Delta, have notified Chinese authorities of flight plans when traveling through an air defense zone Beijing has declared over the East China Sea, following U.S. government advice. The United States said on Friday it expected U.S. carriers to operate in line with so-called notices to airmen issued by foreign countries, although it added that the decision did "not indicate U.S. government acceptance of China's requirements. Airline industry officials said the U.S. government generally expects U.S. carriers operating internationally to comply with notices issued by foreign countries. In contrast, two major airlines in Japan, the United States' close ally, have agreed with the Japanese government that they would fly through the zone without notifying China.
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| Hagel voices U.S. concern over new Egyptian law limiting protest Posted: 30 Nov 2013 03:08 PM PST Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel telephoned his Egyptian counterpart on Saturday to voice U.S. concerns about a new Egyptian law that curbs protests and has prompted the arrest of a group of Egyptian girls and political activists, a spokesman said. Hagel, in a call to Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday morning, said the Egyptian government's approach to free speech would be seen as a demonstration of its "commitment to a non-violent, inclusive and sustainable democratic transition," Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog said in a statement. The U.S. defense chief is considered an important channel of communications with Egypt because of the close military ties between the two countries. The United States provides Egypt with about $1.55 billion in aid annually, most of it military assistance. |
| Egypt appeal for female protesters set for Dec 7 Posted: 30 Nov 2013 02:25 PM PST  A court in the Egyptian city of Alexandria is to hear an appeal on December 7 from 14 Islamist women protesters sentenced to 11 years in jail, their lawyer said Saturday. Ayman Dali told AFP that an appeal by seven other girls, all under the age of 18 and part of the same case, will also be heard that day by a separate court for juveniles. On Wednesday, an Egyptian court in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria sentenced the women who it said were members of the Muslim Brotherhood movement to 11 years in jail. The verdicts triggered an outcry from activists and rights groups, with some calling on Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour to pardon them.
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| Ethiopia, Kenya win to share top spot Posted: 30 Nov 2013 02:24 PM PST  Favourites Ethiopia and Kenya register identical 3-1 wins over Zanzibar and South Sudan Saturday to move level on points in Group A of the Cecafa Challenge Cup Championship. Ethiopia dominated the first half with their attacking football as their strikers caused havoc with their pace. Yassin Salah went close to giving them the lead after only two minutes but he shot agonisingly over the bar. Three minutes later skipper Fasika Asfaw made no mistake when he tapped in the ball from close range.
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| CS Sfaxien win third CAF Confederation Cup Posted: 30 Nov 2013 02:18 PM PST  CS Sfaxien of Tunisia won a third CAF Confederation Cup with a 3-2 aggregate victory over TP Mazembe despite losing the final second leg 2-1 on Saturday. Mazembe from DR Congo, who have also won the CAF Champions League four times, in 1967, 1968, 2009 and 2010, overturned the two-goal deficit they suffered in Tunisia a week ago. But Tunisia international Fahkreddine Ben Youssef's brave header in the 88th minute proved to be the decisive goal to deny the home team a first success in the competition and hand Sfaxien a third Confederation Cup trophy, having also won in 2007 and 2008. They pocketed prize money of $660,000 (485,000 euros) and will square up against CAF Champions League winners Al Ahly of Egypt in next year's CAF Super Cup.
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| Italy's Paris win's men's World Cup downhill Posted: 30 Nov 2013 02:14 PM PST  Lake Louise (Canada) (AFP) - Italy's Dominik Paris won the first downhill of the men's alpine World Cup season on Saturday, clocking 1min 49.90sec on the Lake Louise Olympic course to edge Austrian Klaus Kroell. Kroell was second at snowy Lake Louise in 1:49.93, and France's Adrien Theaux was third in 1:50.01. The winner of the 2011-12 World Cup downhill globe broke his humerus (upper arm bone) in a fall during the super-G in last season's final weekend of racing at the Swiss resort of Lenzerheide. Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, who completed a downhill/super-G double on the same course last year, settled for fourth place, 0.23sec behind the winner.
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| U.S. calls on North Korea to release war veteran Posted: 30 Nov 2013 02:06 PM PST  By Lesley Wroughton and Jack Kim WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States called on North Korea on Saturday to release an elderly U.S. military veteran held in custody since last month and who Pyongyang accused of killing civilians during the Korean War 60 years ago. Swedish embassy officials were granted access on Saturday to visit Merrill E. Newman, the State Department said, the first access by Western officials to him since his arrest. Newman, an 85-year old former special forces officer, was detained at the end of a trip to North Korea. "On November 30, the DPRK permitted the Embassy of Sweden, protecting power for issues involving U.S. citizens in North Korea, consular access to U.S. citizen Merrill Newman," a State Department official said in a statement.
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| Swedish diplomats visit U.S. citizen detained in North Korea Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:51 PM PST Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang visited 85-year-old U.S. Korean War veteran Merrill Newman in custody on Saturday, the State Department said, the first access to him by Western officials since his arrest in late October. "The DPRK permitted the Embassy of Sweden, protecting power for issues involving U.S. citizens in North Korea, consular access to U.S. citizen Merrill Newman," a State Department official said in a statement. "Given Mr. Newman's advanced age and health conditions, we urge the DPRK to release Mr. Newman so he may return home and reunite with his family," the official added. |
| NKorea says American apologizes for 'hostile acts' Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:39 PM PST  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea state media claimed Saturday that an elderly U.S. tourist detained for more than a month has apologized for alleged crimes during the Korean War and for "hostile acts" against the state during a recent trip.
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| World War I battlefield soil laid at London memorial Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:29 PM PST  Soil from World War I battlefields in Belgium was laid in a memorial garden in London on Saturday ahead of the 100th anniversary next year of the start of the conflict. Seventy bags of "sacred soil" gathered by more than 1,000 British and Belgian schoolchildren earlier this year arrived in Britain by Belgian warship on Friday. On Saturday, a horsedrawn army gun carriage took the bags past landmarks including Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral to the new memorial garden at Wellington barracks in central London. The soil was blessed in a ceremony at the Guards' Chapel before eight-year-old schoolboy Patrick Casey was given the honour of pouring a crucible of soil taken from all the battlefields into the heart of the garden.
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| Baa Baas ruin Fiji Centenary celebrations Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:25 PM PST  South African hooker Bismarck du Plessis was the star of the show, scoring two tries as Fiji's Centenary celebrations turned sour against the Barbarians at Twickenham. Missing several experienced internationals, with the game being played outside of the international window, it seemed inevitable Fiji would be on the receiving end of a Barbarians mauling, and so it proved. But the experience and dominance upfront of the Barbarians -- Du Plessis devastating in the 50 minutes he played -- eventually told as the Fijians collapsed after the break.
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| US urges 'immediate release' of elderly American in N. Korea Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:20 PM PST  Washington (AFP) - The United States called Saturday for the "immediate release" of Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Californian detained in North Korea since last month.
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| Libya municipal council polls kick off Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:16 PM PST  Benghazi (Libya) (AFP) - The first in a series of elections across Libya were held Saturday in four towns of the south and in the restive east to replace local councils set up after the 2011 revolution. The voting is seen as a test for the Libyan authorities who took over after veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi was overthrown and killed in the armed revolt. But it comes at a time of growing political tensions and chronic insecurity that have cast doubt over the ability of the interim rulers to complete Libya's transition to democracy. Libya held its first vote ever after more than 40 years under Kadhafi in July 2012 to choose the General National Congress, the country's highest political authority.
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| Large protests over Bedouin resettlement in Israel Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:11 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Large protests over a plan to resettle nomadic Bedouin Arabs in Israel's southern Negev desert caused injuries Saturday and led to some arrests as well as condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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| Nigeria's Boko Haram kills 24 in two separate attacks Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:09 PM PST  Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Suspected Boko Haram militants killed 24 people in two separate attacks in northern Nigeria, eyewitnesses said on Saturday, just as the military vowed to ramp up security over Christmas. "They killed seven fishermen, injured 15 others and burnt some local boats and nets used for catching fish," fisherman Ibrahim Gambo said in Maiduguri, where he had brought his brother for treatment. Human Rights Watch on Friday said Boko Haram fighters were carrying out reprisals on civilians in retaliation for intelligence on supposed militant activity passed to the military by civilian vigilante groups. In Sabon Garin, villagers told reporters that the attack happened at about 11:35 pm (2235 GMT) on Thursday and those responsible were chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) as they arrived.
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| White House urges North Korea to release U.S. citizen Newman Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:08 PM PST The White House urged North Korea on Saturday to release Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old U.S. veteran of the Korean War who has been held in North Korean custody since last month. "Given Mr. Newman's advanced age and health conditions, we urge the DPRK to release Mr. Newman so he may return home and reunite with his family," said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. The White House also urged North Korean authorities to release Kenneth Bae, an American who has been held in the country for more than a year. |
| US urging North Korea to release detained American Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is urging North Korea to release an 85-year-old American who's been detained for more than a month. |
| Egypt panel begins voting on draft constitution Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:03 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — The panel amending Egypt's suspended constitution began voting Saturday on some 250 changes, the first step toward democratic rule following the July military coup that ousted the country's president.
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| Carmakers rev up for return to Iran market Posted: 30 Nov 2013 01:03 PM PST  Major carmakers and parts suppliers showed up in Tehran on Saturday to assess the Iranian market's "considerable potential," just one week after Iran's historic nuclear agreement with world powers. The International Conference of the Automotive Industry, the first such event in Iran, has brought together more than 150 companies from around the globe, according to organisers. The key industry has been battered for more than a year by Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. Iran and world powers reached an interim deal last week in Geneva, with Tehran agreeing to partially roll back its nuclear work in exchange for limited sanctions relief, including measures imposed on the car industry.
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| Ukraine opposition seeks early polls after protest crackdown Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:55 PM PST  Ukraine's opposition on Saturday called for early elections after riot police brutally broke up a pro-Europe rally, leaving dozens injured in a crackdown on protests against President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to salvage a key EU deal. The agreement would have brought Ukraine closer to the EU and away from historical master Moscow, which put pressure on the ex-Soviet country -- still reliant on Russia for energy and as an export market -- to turn its back on the deal with Brussels. The government announced it was halting work to sign the accord a week before the summit, sparking the biggest protests in Ukraine since the 2004 pro-West Orange Revolution. "I am deeply outraged by events that took place on Independence Square overnight," the president said in a statement Saturday.
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| Scottish holiday marred by police helicopter crash Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:47 PM PST GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland's official holiday was transformed into a grim day of mourning Saturday as emergency crews searched the wreckage of a riverside pub smashed by a falling police helicopter. At least eight people died and more than a dozen remained hospitalized with serious injuries. |
| Ukrainian demonstrators converge outside monastery Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:46 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — About 10,000 anti-government demonstrators angry about Ukraine's refusal to sign a pro-European Union agreement converged Saturday on a square outside a monastery where protesters driven away in a pre-dawn clash with police were taking shelter.
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| Helicopter crash casts pall over Scotland national day Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:41 PM PST  The pubs were festooned with flags for Scotland's Saint Andrew's Day festivities, but a day after a police helicopter made a fatal plunge into a Glasgow bar, nobody felt like celebrating. Desperate friends waited all day on Saturday at the edge of a police cordon set up around the Clutha pub, hoping for news of loved ones who were inside the packed city-centre nightspot on Friday night when the police helicopter came down. At the Clutha's nearby rival, the Scotia, blue-and-white Scottish flags hung behind the bar to mark Saint Andrew's Day, the national day of Scotland's patron saint, along with gaudy Christmas decorations. "You stay hopeful, but..." He trailed off, his eyes on the tarpaulin-covered wreck sticking out of the Clutha's ruined roof.
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| Last-gasp Saracens preserve Premiership lead Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:40 PM PST  George Kruis scored a late match-winning try as Saracens beat Sale 24-19 on Saturday to preserve their grip on first place in the English Premiership. Inspired by former England fly-half Danny Cipriani, who scored a try, a conversion, a picture-perfect drop goal and a penalty, Sale had led with six minutes to play, only for Kruis to make a decisive late contribution at Allianz Park. The lock forced his way over in the left-hand corner in the 74th minute, with Charlie Hodgson converting and adding a penalty before replacement Nick Macleod gave Sale a deserved bonus point with a penalty. The result left Saracens with eight wins from nine Premiership matches this season, but director of rugby Mark McCall praised Sale for their battling performance.
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| A look at key articles in Egyptian draft charter Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:40 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's draft constitution is made up of a four-page preamble and 247 articles. On Saturday, the country's 50-member constituent assembly voted on 138 articles, limiting the scope of Islamic law, or Shariah, in legislation and introducing new articles seen as victory to rights advocates.
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| Respectful Ramsey sends Arsenal clear Posted: 30 Nov 2013 12:31 PM PST  Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Aaron Ramsey's brace inspired Arsenal to a 3-0 win at Cardiff City on Saturday that sent Arsene Wenger's side seven points clear at the top of the Premier League. The former Cardiff academy starlet, who joined the Gunners as a 17-year-old, bagged a brilliant first-half header and added a second in stoppage time -- his 13th goal of the season -- after Mathieu Flamini had made it 2-0 with a late strike. It was no more than Arsenal deserved on a day when Ramsey once again proved his worth to the north London club. The visitors might have taken the lead inside two minutes when Jack Wilshere shifted the ball from right foot to left before striking the Cardiff bar with goalkeeper David Marshall beaten.
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