| Kerry meets Iran foreign minister to close gaps in nuclear talks Posted: 08 Nov 2013 11:19 AM PST  By Yeganeh Torbati and Lesley Wroughton GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday important gaps needed to be bridged in high-stakes talks with Iran on curbing its nuclear program and he began talks with Tehran's foreign minister to try to clinch an interim deal. "I want to emphasize there is not an agreement at this point," Kerry said shortly after arriving in Geneva, tempering expectations of an imminent breakthrough that could reduce the risk of a Middle East war over Iran's nuclear aspirations. Iran spelled out a major difference soon afterwards, with a member of its negotiating team, Majid Takt-Ravanchi, telling Mehr news agency that oil and banking sanctions imposed on Tehran should be eased during the first phase of any deal. The powers have offered Iran access to up to $50 billion in Iranian funds frozen abroad for many years but ruled out any broad dilution of sanctions in the early going of an agreement.
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| Afghan troop deaths climb but U.S. says transition on track Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:47 PM PST  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghanistan troop casualties climbed 79 percent during key fighting months this year as the still-resistant Taliban kept up the pace of its attacks and NATO forces moved into a support role in preparation to end their combat mission, the Pentagon said on Friday. The data came in a Defense Department report to Congress that also showed NATO casualties falling 59 percent during the April-September period under review. The Pentagon did not provide the number of casualties for either year. Despite the jump in Afghan casualties and high attrition rates in the Afghan army, the report was broadly upbeat about the Afghan National Security Forces, or ANSF.
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| U.S., Germany discuss intelligence cooperation after Merkel affair Posted: 08 Nov 2013 12:44 PM PST  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After disclosures that the U.S. National Security Agency tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone, Washington and Berlin are discussing new rules to govern dealings between their spy agencies, U.S. and European officials said. Senior German officials, including the chiefs of Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, and its domestic security agency, the BfV, met with Obama administration and U.S. intelligence officials last weekend to discuss how to reshape intelligence cooperation. Such a promise would be an unusual step for the United States, but it would be easy for the Obama administration to make because current rules governing the National Security Agency and other U.S. spy agencies already prohibit spying for commercial benefit.
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| Suspected car bomb near Somali hotel kills at least six Posted: 08 Nov 2013 11:28 AM PST By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suspected car bomb attack outside a popular hotel in the Somali capital on Friday evening killed at least six people and left the area covered with blood and burning vehicles, a senior police officer said. Mogadishu has often been the target of attacks by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-aligned Islamist group that was driven out of the capital by African troops two years ago. Friday's attack and others in recent months that have targeted offices of the United Nations, restaurants and other sites highlight the challenge faced by the Somali government as it tries to rebuild the nation after two decades of conflict. "We understand a car laden with explosives was parked in front of the hotel," Farah Aden, a senior police officer, told Reuters. |
| Jordan looks set to take Saudi Security Council seat: Western diplomats Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:10 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Jordan appears set to take the traditional Arab seat on the U.N. Security Council after Saudi Arabia rejected the position in protest at the body's failure to end the Syria war and act on other Middle East issues, Western diplomats said on Friday. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly elected Saudi Arabia last month to the Security Council for a two-year term from January 1, but in a surprise move, Riyadh declined the position a day after the vote. While Saudi Arabia has made its decision known in a Foreign Ministry statement, it has not officially notified the United Nations. Most U.N. diplomats believe a formal letter needs to be received from Riyadh before a new election can be held.
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| Turkey asks missile defence bidders to extend offers Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:45 PM PST  Turkey has asked bidders in a missile defense system tender to extend the validity of their bids, Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz said on Friday, keeping its options open despite provisionally awarding the deal to China. The NATO member's decision to choose the $3.4 billion offer from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) raised concerns among Turkey's Western allies as the Chinese company is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. So we said, extend the validity of your bids, this is what we have asked." Turkey announced in September it had chosen China's FD-2000 missile defence system over rival offers from Franco/Italian Eurosam SAMP/T and U.S.-listed Raytheon Co. It said China offered the most competitive terms and would allow co-production in Turkey.
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| Four held in Andy Murray 'gun scare' Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:56 PM PST  British police said Friday they had arrested four men on suspicion of brandishing a gun at tennis star Andy Murray, although media reports suggest they were fans with nothing more threatening than a tennis racquet. According to the Sun newspaper, the men tapped on the window of Murray's stationary car after a book-signing in London on Wednesday, trying to get him to sign a racquet. "Police were called at 17:00 (GMT) on Wednesday by a member of the public reporting that they had seen a male in a Mercedes car in Avenue Road (northwest London) in possession of a firearm," the police statement said.
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| U.S. says Suriname president's son wanted to host Hezbollah Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:48 PM PST  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A son of Suriname's president invited people he thought were from the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah to set up a base in his country to attack Americans in exchange for millions of U.S. dollars, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. Federal prosecutors who already were pursuing drug charges against Dino Bouterse, a son of President Desi Bouterse, filed the latest allegation in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The younger Bouterse's defense team said in a statement that he "is not, and never has been a supporter of any terrorist organization and never intended to render aid to such an organization." Dino Bouterse held a senior counterterrorism post in the South American country, but was arrested in Panama in August and sent to New York to face charges of smuggling cocaine into the United States. According to a superseding indictment, U.S. authorities recorded conversations Bouterse had with unnamed people and at least one U.S. agent who posed as members of Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
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| One of world's strongest storms lashes Philippines Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:40 PM PST  MANILA, Philippines (AP) — One of the strongest storms on record slammed into the central Philippines, killing at least four people, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and knocking out power and communications in several provinces. But the nation appeared to avoid a major disaster because the rapidly moving typhoon blew away before wreaking more damage, officials said.
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| Toronto mayor pressured to quit after video rant Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:34 PM PST  Toronto (Canada) (AFP) - Toronto's embattled Mayor Rob Ford faced mounting pressure Friday to quit, as his lawyer announced he was considering addiction treatment after admitting to smoking crack cocaine and having alcohol problems. Ford has not been charged with any crime.
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| Kerry mounts diplomatic push on Iran nuclear talks Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:12 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — With a boost from Russia and China, Secretary of State John Kerry mounted a major diplomatic push Friday to reach an interim nuclear deal with Iran, despite fierce opposition from Israel and uncertainty in Congress.
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| US reporter detained by Venezuelan authorities Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:01 PM PST MIAMI (AP) — A Miami Herald journalist was detained by Venezuelan authorities while reporting on politics and the chronic shortages in the South American country, the newspaper said Friday. |
| Tests: No poison in Chilean poet Neruda's remains Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:55 PM PST  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The four-decade mystery of whether Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda was poisoned was seemingly cleared up on Friday, when forensic test results showed no chemical agents in his bones. But his family and driver were not satisfied and said they'll request more proof.
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| Iran nuclear talks in Geneva to resume Saturday morning: U.S. Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:33 PM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Negotiations between Iran and six world powers will resume on Saturday morning after top diplomats from the United States, Iran and European Union made progress during talks on Tehran's nuclear program, a senior U.S. State Department official said. "Over the course of the evening, we continued to make progress as we worked to narrow the gaps," the official said late on Friday after Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met for five hours. ... |
| Obama calls Netanyahu amid Israel fury at proposed Iran deal Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:08 PM PST  President Barack Obama Friday called Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli prime minister slammed a proposed interim nuclear deal with Iran, in an extraordinary public breach with the United States. The White House signaled frustration with Netanyahu as negotiators from key world powers and Tehran strove for a breakthrough in talks in Geneva that offer the best hope in years of ending the atomic showdown peacefully. But Netanyahu's complaint that the proposed agreement was "very bad" won immediate support in Congress, where the Israeli leader maintains close ties and where there are nascent efforts to tie Obama's hands in any deal with Iran.
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| Iran says after nuclear talks with U.S., EU 'lots of work' remains Posted: 08 Nov 2013 03:02 PM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - A top Iranian negotiator said a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was productive but that much work remained to reach a deal on the Islamic state's nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Kerry and Ashton held a five-hour meeting in Geneva on Friday evening to try to narrow differences in the search for an agreement to end a decade-old nuclear standoff. ... |
| AP Photos: Bolivians bless skulls at festival Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:57 PM PST  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Hundreds of Bolivians carried human skulls to the chapel at La Paz cemetery for blessing on Friday, asking for health, money, love and other favors as part of an annual highland festival.
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| Greek coastguard holds suspect ship carrying arms Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:56 PM PST Greek authorities have detained a cargo ship carrying large quantities of weapons and ammunition, the country's coastguard said on Friday. The vessel was lacking proper U.N. documents for arms shipments in conflict zones and the size of its cargo appeared to be larger than indicated on its loading documents, a coastguard official said on condition of anonymity. |
| Local fight with Mexican cartel a small victory Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:55 PM PST  TEPALCATEPEC, Mexico (AP) — For lime grower Hipolito Mora, it was time to organize and pick up arms when a packing company controlled by a brutal drug cartel refused to buy his fruit. For Bishop Miguel Patino Velazquez, it was seeing civilians forced to fight back with their own guns that made him speak out. For Leticia, a lime picker too afraid of retribution to give her last name, it was the day she saw a taxi driver kidnapped in front of his two young children that convinced her to join those taking the law into their own hands.
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| Rickets making a comeback in the UK, doctors say Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:52 PM PST  LONDON (AP) — Rickets, the childhood disease that once caused an epidemic of bowed legs and curved spines during the Victorian era, is making a shocking comeback in 21st-century Britain.
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| U.S, Iran, EU held 'good' nuclear talks, end for the night Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:52 PM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held "good" nuclear talks on Friday and have broken for the night, an EU spokesman said. Kerry later told journalists when he arrived back at his hotel in Geneva shortly before midnight (6 p.m. ET): "We're working hard." The meeting between Zarif, Kerry and Ashton began around 6:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. ET) (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl, Louis Charbonneau and Lesley Wroughton, Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Sandra Maler) |
| British MPs to quiz Guardian editor on Snowden leaks Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:48 PM PST  British lawmakers will grill the editor of the Guardian next month over the newspaper's publication of intelligence leaks by Edward Snowden, it said on Friday. "Alan (Rusbridger) has been invited to give evidence to the home affairs select committee and looks forward to appearing next month," a spokeswoman for the daily told AFP. The Guardian has been accused of endangering national security by publishing information about US and British spying programmes leaked by Snowden, a former contractor with the US National Security Agency (NSA). But its chairman, opposition Labour MP Keith Vaz, said last month that it would be investigating "elements of the Guardian's involvement in, and publication of, the Snowden leaks" as part of a wider inquiry into counter-terrorism.
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| Lawyer says Toronto mayor 'considering' rehab Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:39 PM PST  TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is considering entering a rehab program, his lawyer said Friday, in the first indication that the mayor might bow to heavy pressure to seek help — if not step aside — after he admitted to smoking crack and a video surfaced of him ranting and threatening to kill someone.
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| Obama spars with Louisiana governor over healthcare law Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:36 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A trip by President Barack Obama to the Port of New Orleans on Friday was an opportunity for him to focus on the economy and divert attention from the troubled launch of his signature healthcare insurance program. Instead, the visit turned into a spat over Obamacare with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a possible Republican presidential contender. Jindal met Air Force One when it landed and attended Obama's speech to a crowd of about 650 people on a wharf on the Mississippi River. Obama first delivered a pitch for the creation of jobs by fixing roads, dredging ports and modernizing the U.S. air traffic control system.
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| Qatari fund invests in BlackBerry Posted: 08 Nov 2013 02:12 PM PST  A Qatari sovereign wealth fund was among a small group of investors who recently contributed $1 billion to Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, US securities filings showed Friday. Qatar Holding LLC joined the group led by BlackBerry's largest shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc. in making the cash infusion after the company abandoned hopes of finding a buyer earlier this month. Fairfax had offered to buy the rest of BlackBerry and take it private but backed off at the last minute, opting instead for new management and cash to give it breathing room to restructure. BlackBerry helped create a culture of mobile users glued to smartphones.
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| Lee opens World Cup season with a win Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:51 PM PST  Calgary (Canada) (AFP) - World record-holder Lee Sang-Hwa of South Korea won the season-opening Speed Skating World Cup women's 500m on Friday in 36.91sec.
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| Tuareg rebels killed in battle with Malian troops Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST Up to three fighters from the MNLA Tuareg separatist group were killed in a clash with the Malian army in the north of the country on Friday, a security source, a U.N. spokesman and a resident said. Tuareg rebels seized control of the northern town of Kidal and some surrounding areas after a French-led military offensive in January drove out Islamist militants who had occupied northern Mali. A Malian army official said MNLA fighters attacked a joint patrol of Malian and U.N. troops near the town of Menaka early on Friday. "The MNLA fighters fired first. |
| Drones kill five al-Qaeda suspects in southern Yemen Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:35 PM PST Five suspected al Qaeda fighters have been killed by two drone strikes in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, the country's interior ministry said on Friday. A ministry statement said the militants were killed on Thursday but did not say whether the drones were launched by Yemen or the United States. However, local officials in Abyan, which was a stronghold for Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other militant groups during an uprising that ousted veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year, told Reuters the drones were American. AQAP is regarded by the United States as one of the most active wings of the militant network, posing a serious threat to Western interests including oil tanker traffic in the Gulf. |
| Army and militants clash in conflict-scarred Mali Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:29 PM PST  Bamako (AFP) - Insurgents launched an attack on the Malian army in the rebel-hit country's northeast on Friday, military sources said, in renewed fighting ahead of planned peace talks with the government.
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| At least four dead, many wounded in Mogadishu hotel car bombing Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:27 PM PST  At least four people including a government official were killed Friday in an Islamist militant car bomb attack outside a top hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, officials said. Police and security forces immediately sealed off the area after the huge blast outside the Maka al Mukarama hotel, popular with officials and businessmen. A Somali government official said the evening attack bore all the hallmarks of the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab. A police official at the scene said there were 11 dead, while a doctor at Mogadishu's Madina Hospital said 22 people had been admitted for treatment.
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| Mexico frees 61 kidnap victims held near U.S. border Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:24 PM PST MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican authorities freed 61 kidnapping victims in the northern border city of Reynosa, the government said on Friday, liberating a mix of foreign nationals that included at least nine minors and one American. The raid, which took place on Thursday in four separate buildings in Reynosa, freed captives from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexico and the United States, government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said at a news conference in the capital. ... |
| One of world's strongest storms hits Philippines Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:13 PM PST MANILA, Philippines (AP) — One of the strongest storms on record slammed into the central Philippines on Friday, killing at least four people, forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes and knocking out power and communications in several provinces. But the nation appeared to avoid a major disaster because the rapidly moving typhoon blew away before wreaking more damage, officials said. |
| US charges Suriname leader's son over Hezbollah ties Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:11 PM PST  The United States charged the son of Suriname President Desi Bouterse on Friday with attempting to supply weapons to Hezbollah and allow its fighters a base to attack American targets. Dino Bouterse, extradited from Panama to the US in August, already faces charges of plotting to import 22 pounds (10 kilograms) of cocaine into the United States and of holding an anti-tank weapon during the offense. "Today we add an additional charge of attempting to support Hezbollah to Dino Bouterse's alleged crimes connected to a cocaine-smuggling conspiracy," said US attorney Preet Bharara. He was arrested after a meeting with undercover US agents posing as Hezbollah associates to discuss hosting 30 to 60 Hezbollah members in Suriname for training and operations.
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| Murray blasts 'unprofessional' Troicki, Cilic Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST  Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Friday blasted Viktor Troicki and Marin Cilic as "unprofessional" after both were handed doping bans with the British star backing the drug testing system. Troicki is serving a 12-month ban for failing to supply a blood sample on demand at the Monte Carlo Masters in April when he claimed he was too ill.
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| 20 mn kids to get polio vaccine after Syria outbreak Posted: 08 Nov 2013 12:57 PM PST  Emergency plans are under way to vaccinate more than 20 million children in the Middle East after polio resurfaced in war-torn Syria, the United Nations said on Friday. Unveiling the region's largest-ever polio campaign, the UN Children's Fund (Unicef) and World Health Organisation (WHO) said vaccinations would be carried out over six months in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria and Turkey. The initiative was announced 10 days after the WHO reported that polio had re-emerged in Syria for the first time in 14 years, leaving 10 children paralysed. Preliminary evidence suggests the virus in this outbreak -- and also polio samples found in sewage in Egypt, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip -- came from Pakistan, one of the disease's last bastions, the agencies added.
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| Greek coastguard halts ship carrying 20,000 Kalashnikovs Posted: 08 Nov 2013 12:55 PM PST  The Greek coastguard on Friday intercepted a Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship in the southeastern Aegean Sea with around 20,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles on board, officials said. The cargo ship, Nour M, was taken to the island of Rhodes where its Turkish captain and seven crew members were placed under arrest, coastguard sources said. In a statement, the coastguard said efforts to give a full account of the firearms and ammunition on board the cargo ship were ongoing. The state-run Athens News Agency reported that the vessel, which was intercepted near the Greek island of Symi, had set sail from Ukraine and was destined for the Turkish port of Iskenderun.
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| Red Cross evacuates 44 wounded from Yemen's Dammaj Posted: 08 Nov 2013 12:54 PM PST The Red Cross evacuated 44 people wounded in clashes between Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim fighters in the Yemeni town of Dammaj on Friday, the second such operation in under a week, the humanitarian agency said. It also rescued a woman who was eight months pregnant, her two children and two other children accompanying an injured parent, said Cedric Schweizer, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Sectarian rivalry between Sunni Salafists and Shi'ite Houthis in Dammaj has cast a shadow over reconciliation efforts in Yemen, a neighbor of oil exporter Saudi Arabia and home to one of al Qaeda's most active wings. |
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