| Iran sees progress in talks with powers on nuclear deal implementation Posted: 10 Dec 2013 01:29 PM PST  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Senior Iranian officials indicated on Tuesday that progress was being achieved in expert-level talks between Tehran and six world powers over the implementation of a landmark nuclear deal. The goal is to work out details on implementing the November 24 interim accord under which Iran will curb its disputed nuclear program in return for some easing of sanctions that have battered its oil-dependent economy. "The discussions are very smooth," Hamid Baeedinejad, head of the Iranian delegation, said after the second day of talks. "We have made our views known to each other with regard to the implementation aspects of each and every measure.
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| Uruguay becomes first country to legalize marijuana trade Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:49 PM PST  By Malena Castaldi and Felipe Llambias MONTEVIDEO (Reuters) - Uruguay became the first country to legalize the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana on Tuesday, a pioneering social experiment that will be closely watched by other nations debating drug liberalization. A government-sponsored bill approved by 16-13 votes in the Senate provides for regulation of the cultivation, distribution and consumption of marijuana and is aimed at wresting the business from criminals in the small South American nation. Backers of the law, some smoking joints, gathered near Congress holding green balloons, Jamaican flags in homage to Bob Marley and a sign saying: "Cultivating freedom, Uruguay grows." Cannabis consumers will be able to buy a maximum of 40 grams (1.4 ounces) each month from licensed pharmacies as long as they are Uruguayan residents over the age of 18 and registered on a government database that will monitor their monthly purchases. When the law is implemented in 120 days, Uruguayans will be able to grow six marijuana plants in their homes a year, or as much as 480 grams (about 17 ounces), and form smoking clubs of 15 to 45 members that can grow up to 99 plants per year.
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| Ukrainian police enter square occupied by protesters Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:30 PM PST  Ukrainian riot police reoccupied part of the square in central Kiev on Wednesday where protesters have been demonstrating against the government's decision to pull out of negotiations on a trade pact with the European Union and rebuild economic ties with Russia. Reuters witnesses said a singer on a stage in the center of Independence Square urged police not to carry out their orders and not to harm the protesters. Some of the protesters held their mobile phones in the air like candles and sang the national anthem.
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| Czech parties reach deal to form center-left government Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:39 PM PST The Czech Republic's Social Democrats reached a coalition deal with two other parties late on Tuesday, agreeing to leave taxes on companies and high earners unchanged next year to help clear the way for a center-left government to take power. The leftist Social Democrats, winners by a slim margin of an October parliamentary election, are looking to return to government for the first time since 2006 in a coalition with the centrist ANO movement and the Christian Democrats. Tax policy had been the main sticking point in coalition talks, with ANO, founded two years ago by billionaire businessman Andrej Babis, opposed to higher taxes. We have agreed on controversial areas that have lingered until now," Bohuslav Sobotka, the Social Democratic party chairman and likely next prime minister, said after talks with the parties that lasted more than five hours. |
| Nicaragua's assembly approves plan to end presidential term limits Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:23 PM PST  Nicaragua's national assembly on Tuesday approved a constitutional change to remove presidential term limits, which could allow incumbent Daniel Ortega stay in power for years and raises concerns about democracy in the country. Approval of the plan put forward last month by Ortega's ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front must now be ratified by the assembly next year before it can take effect. The U.S. government has criticized the plan, saying it could undermine democracy in Nicaragua and hurt the country's economic development. Opposition politicians in Nicaragua have also attacked the plan.
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| In Cuba, scattered protests, detentions mark human rights day Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:04 PM PST  By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban dissidents and government employees mounted rival gatherings across the Communist-run Caribbean island on Tuesday, marking the 65th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations. While a handshake between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro during ceremonies in South Africa honoring Nelson Mandela provided a moment of cordiality between the long-time foes, 15 Cuban dissidents held a seminar on human rights in the upscale Havana district of Miramar. Around 20 members of the dissident group Ladies in White were pounced upon and quickly shoved into waiting vehicles by security personnel and government supporters when they arrived at a busy intersection in the capital. The organization charged many other members were stopped by state security agents from attending what was billed as a rally and march for human rights.
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| Ukrainian police storm Kiev's Independence Square Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:52 PM PST  Ukrainian security forces stormed Kiev's Independence Square early Wednesday, occupying the area protesters had held for over a week and ripping down their tents. Thousands of Berkut anti-riot police surrounded the square and then entered the area, using their sheer numbers to force the demonstrators away, an AFP correspondent said. The police also smashed down the barricades that the protesters had put up around the Independence Square, which they have occupied without the presence of security forces until now. Thousands of protesters had been defying sub-freezing temperatures to protest President Viktor Yanukovych's rejection of an EU pact in protests that started almost three weeks ago.
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| Uruguay OK's first national market for legal pot Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:46 PM PST  MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay's Senate approved the world's first national marketplace for legal marijuana Tuesday, an audacious and risky experiment that puts the government in charge of growing, selling and using a drug that is illegal almost everywhere else.
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| Nairobi mall attackers may have escaped: NYC police Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:34 PM PST  The four attackers responsible for killing at least 67 people at a Kenyan shopping mall may have escaped due to lax security, according to a New York police report released Tuesday. The victims aged eight to 78, from 13 different countries, were killed at the Westgate mall in Nairobi during a terrifying assault claimed by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab terror group. The media speculated the gunmen may have escaped in the chaos of the September fighting, although security sources in Kenya said they died in a final stand off with commandos. The New York police report said the last confirmed sighting of the attackers on the mall's CCTV system was on September 22 at 00:54 hours, 12 hours after the start of the attack.
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| Canada vows to defend Santa Claus Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:19 PM PST  Canada vowed Tuesday to defend the North Pole and Santa Claus, insisting the mythical figure is a citizen, after Russia ordered its military to step up its Arctic presence. Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, cited Canada's claim of the North Pole to bash an opposition party in Parliament. "We are defending the north further by making a claim on the North Pole," he said. "We know that the (opposition) Liberals do not think that the North Pole or Santa Claus are in Canada.
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| Violence kills 7 as Argentina celebrates democracy Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:15 PM PST  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Many Argentines armed and barricaded themselves in their homes and stores in fear of looting mobs Tuesday as the nation's celebration of 30 years of uninterrupted democracy was marred by police strikes for higher pay.
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| Police move on protest camp in Ukrainian capital Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:12 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of police started storming a protest camp in the central square of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday, clashing with demonstrators as they tried to dismantle barricades.
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| Hollande visits CAR after two French troops killed Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:03 PM PST Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - President Francois Hollande on Tuesday said France's intervention in the Central African Republic was necessary to avoid a bloodbath, as he arrived on a mission to shore up morale after two elite French soldiers were killed. Hollande flew into the curfew-bound capital Bangui from Johannesburg after attending a memorial service for South African peace icon Nelson Mandela. Upon arrival, the French leader paid tribute to his country's two fallen soldiers, bowing before their coffins at a base at Bangui airport. "In Bangui itself, nearly 400 people were killed... There was no time to procrastinate," he added, referring to a day of bloodshed last week. |
| Japan household helper plan shows wider immigration dilemma Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:53 PM PST  By Lisa Twaronite TOKYO (Reuters) - During the early days of "Abenomics," U.S. businesses were optimistic they could convince Japan's government to make a small change to the nation's tight immigration rules to let more household helpers into the country. But a year after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office, an idea that some thought might be an easy win for immigration reform while meeting a stated aim of Abe's growth strategy has made no apparent progress. If Abe's government drags its feet on one small step, it suggests scant prospects for any broader measures to let in foreign workers any time soon - which many experts say will be necessary for Japan to sustain its economic growth in the face of a rapidly shrinking workforce. "Japan needs to let in more foreign workers to solve its population problem," said Hidenori Sakanaka, former head of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau.
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| Obama-Castro handshake - a sign of Mandela-like reconciliation? Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:52 PM PST  By Rosa-Tania Valdes HAVANA (Reuters) - For sure it's just what Nelson Mandela would have wanted, but does it amount to more than that? The historic handshake between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuba's Raul Castro at a memorial for Mandela on Tuesday in Johannesburg was greeted on the streets of Cuba with surprise and hopes of improved relations. Reaction was more muted in Miami, where Cuban exiles have had a hard time accepting Mandela's respect for Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Castro's smile as Obama moved to shake his hand on the way to speak at the ceremony was seen by many Cubans as a signal of reconciliation, after more than a half-century of bitter ideological and political differences between the two countries whose shores are separated by only 90 miles.
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| Argentina marks three decades of democracy Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:48 PM PST  Thousands of people on Tuesday celebrated Argentina's thirtieth anniversary of return to democratic rule, voicing some satisfaction though it has been a bumpy ride. "Achieving democracy was anything but easy. Today, 30 years later, this is really a day to celebrate," said Laura Bernstein, 35, a supporter of President Cristina Kirchner's government. Argentina has been rocked this week as at least nine people were killed in provincial cities where police out on strike pushing for better pay sent people brazenly looting supermarkets and shopping centers.
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| Comet ISON pronounced dead: Sun is chief suspect Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:46 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Comet ISON, once optimistically called the comet of the century, is dead, the victim of a way-too-close brush with the sun. It was barely a year old.
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| EPA tells court U.S. mercury, toxics rule is legally justified Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:45 PM PST  By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. environmental regulator argued in court on Tuesday that its rule limiting mercury and hazardous air pollutants is "appropriate and necessary," not an improper interpretation of the federal Clean Air Act as industry groups and some states contend. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second most powerful court in the country behind the Supreme Court, heard two cases challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's first rules to crack down on mercury from the country's fleet of electric generating units. The EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) applies to 1,400 of the country's largest power plants and would come into force in 2015, or in some cases, 2016. The EPA has said that MATS could prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths, and generate $90 billion in health benefits, each year.
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| U.S. 'nowhere near' decision to pull all troops out of Afghanistan Posted: 10 Dec 2013 03:31 PM PST  By Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is 'nowhere near' deciding to pull out all troops from Afghanistan at the end of 2014, a top U.S. official said on Tuesday, despite mounting frustration President Hamid Karzai has not signed a security deal allowing the military to remain there after next year. "I have no doubt that the (bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan) ultimately will be concluded," Ambassador James Dobbins, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. While Dobbins said that an ongoing delay to finalizing the deal - which U.S. officials had hoped Karzai would sign weeks ago - would impose "damages and costs" on Afghans, he said the Obama administration was not on the verge of abandoning its effort to extend its troop presence.
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| 2 French troops die disarming C. African rebels Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:52 PM PST  BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — More than 500 people have been killed over the past week in sectarian fighting in Central African Republic, aid officials said Tuesday, as France reported that gunmen killed two of its soldiers who were part of the intervention to disarm thousands of rebels accused of attacking civilians.
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| Stunning City fightback ends Bayern's record run Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:49 PM PST  Munich (Germany) (AFP) - Manchester City fought back from two goals down to earn a 3-2 win at Bayern Munich on Tuesday and break the holders' record 10-match Champions League winning streak. The German giants also suffered their first defeat in major competition since coach Pep Guardiola took charge in June. Bayern also fell to their first home defeat -- after 18 wins in Munich -- since losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal in last season's knock-out stages of the Champions League in March. "Perhaps we needed a defeat to remind us of a few things," said Guardiola, whose Bayern are on a 40-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga.
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| Obama shakes hands with Cuba's Raul Castro Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:41 PM PST  HAVANA (AP) — It was the briefest of moments, just seconds, two presidents shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries amid a gaggle of world leaders together to honor the late Nelson Mandela.
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| Romania: lawmakers again reject Canadian project Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:34 PM PST BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's lower house of Parliament has rejected an amendment to a mining law that would have allowed a Canadian company to go ahead with plans to build Europe's largest open cast gold mine. |
| Nicaragua Congress votes to scrap term limits Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:34 PM PST  Nicaragua's Congress Tuesday approved a constitutional reform that, if ratified, would scrap term limits, enabling President Daniel Ortega to seek reelection in 2016 and indefinitely, an official said. Thanks to the overwhelming majority Ortega's ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front enjoys in the Congress, the bill easily cleared its first hurdle by a vote of 64 to 26. The proposed changes would eliminate term limits on the presidency and allow the appointment of active duty police and military officials to government offices currently reserved for civilians. "Ortega's supporters, with extreme political shortsightedness, are pushing Nicaragua to the depths of a new civil war," warned opposition lawmaker Armando Herrera.
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| Obama hails Mandela as "last great liberator" Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:29 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Amid cheers and song for the prisoner who became peacemaker, President Barack Obama energized tens of thousands of spectators and nearly 100 visiting heads of state Tuesday with a plea for the world to emulate Nelson Mandela, "the last great liberator of the 20th century."
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| Trial of Hariri murder suspects delayed over public holiday Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:26 PM PST  The trial of the alleged killers of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri will open on January 16, three days later than originally planned because of a Muslim holiday, the UN-backed tribunal said Tuesday. The decision was made after consulting the parties to the case at the trial chamber's last public hearing in The Hague. Four members of militant Shiite group Hezbollah are to be tried in absentia for the suicide bombing that killed billionaire Hariri and 22 others on the Beirut seafront in 2005. A fifth wanted suspect, Hassan Habib Merhi, was indicted in October after a pre-trial judge confirmed that he was "accused of being involved in the 14 February 2005 attack".
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| United find home comforts with Shakhtar win Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:25 PM PST  Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Manchester United drew a line beneath recent back-to-back home defeats by overcoming Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday to secure top spot in Champions League Group A. Beaten 1-0 by first Everton and then Newcastle United in their last two home games, United survived several near-misses against the Ukrainian champions before prevailing through a second-half goal from Phil Jones. As well as eliminating Shakhtar, the result gave United three home victories in the group phase for the first time since they last won the competition in 2007-08. Manager David Moyes can now look forward to a favourable tie in the last 16 when the draw is made next Monday, while Shakhtar slip into the Europa League due to Bayer Leverkusen's 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in the other group game.
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| Weapons watchdog receives Nobel Peace Prize Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:22 PM PST  OSLO, Norway (AP) — Recalling the "burning, blinding and suffocating" horrors of chemical weapons, the head of a watchdog trying to consign them to history accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on Tuesday, as prize winners in medicine, physics and other categories also took bows for their awards.
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| Gunmen abduct Syria's leading human rights lawyer Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:07 PM PST  NABEK, Syria (AP) — Masked gunmen abducted a leading Syrian human rights lawyer and three other prominent activists in a rebel-held Damascus suburb Tuesday in a new sign that al-Qaida linked militants who have joined the fight against President Bashar Assad are trying to silence rivals in the opposition movement.
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| Obama shakes hands with Cuba's Castro at Mandela memorial Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:06 PM PST  Soweto (South Africa) (AFP) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday shook hands with Raul Castro, leader of America's Cold War foe Cuba, in a rare gesture at the memorial service in South Africa for Nelson Mandela. Obama offered the handshake before taking the stage to eulogise Mandela, but minutes later, made a clear swipe at states like Cuba, saying those who proclaim Mandela's legacy must honour its meaning by easing curbs on freedom. The handshake between Obama and the brother who took over the duties of longtime Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was seen by millions around the world on live television.
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| Qaeda kidnappers silence journalist survivors of Syria bombs Posted: 10 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST  From Baba Amr to Aleppo, they braved countless army bombardments to tell the world about the suffering of Syrians, but two Spanish journalists have fallen prey to another danger: Al-Qaeda kidnappers. Reporter Javier Espinosa and photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova have been held since September 16 by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), according to a statement released Tuesday by the Spanish journalists' families. "Embedded" with rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, the journalists had been working in battered Deir Ezzor province in eastern Syria on their last trip. Espinosa has ventured into rebel areas of Syria a dozen times since the anti-Assad revolt broke out in 2011.
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| Syria regime closes in on strategic rebel-held town Posted: 10 Dec 2013 01:59 PM PST  Syria's army on Tuesday trained its sights on the town of Yabrud, the last rebel stronghold in the strategic Qalamoun region near Lebanon's border, after a string of battlefield victories. The town is believed to be where a group of nuns from the historic Christian hamlet of Maalula have been transferred, reportedly in the hands of jihadist rebels from Al-Nusra Front. In Spain, meanwhile, El Mundo newspaper said Spanish journalists Javier Espinosa and Ricardo Garcia Vilanova have gone missing in northern Syria. The pair are believed to have been kidnapped in September by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, but El Mundo's director Pedro Ramirez said "we believe they are alive and we believe they are well".
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| Kerry, Congress spar over Iran nuclear deal Posted: 10 Dec 2013 01:54 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration and Congress clashed Tuesday over the historic nuclear deal with Iran, exposing deep rifts over a U.S. pledge to refrain from any new sanctions over the next six months in exchange for concessions on enriching uranium. The disagreement could have broad consequences for the U.S. diplomatic effort to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
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| Ukraine president digs in heels over Russia ties despite protests Posted: 10 Dec 2013 01:48 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Gareth Jones KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich gave no ground on Tuesday to protesters who want Kiev to move closer to the European Union, insisting his government needs to deepen trade ties with Russia instead. In his first public appearance since meeting Russia's President Vladimir Putin last Friday, Yanukovich ignored the demands of pro-Europe protesters, hundreds of thousands of whom have taken to the streets in the past two weeks, including thousands camped out round-the-clock in freezing temperatures. |
| Irish Catholic watchdog issues child abuse report Posted: 10 Dec 2013 01:45 PM PST LONDON (AP) — Only 12 of the hundreds of staff members accused of child abuse in Ireland's Christian Brothers order since the mid-1970s have been convicted, the watchdog of the country's Catholic Church said Tuesday. |
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