| Beirut bomb kills Lebanese ex-minister who opposed Assad Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:03 PM PST By Samia Nakhoul and Stephen Kalin BEIRUT (Reuters) - Former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in a massive bomb blast on Friday which one of his political allies blamed on the Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. The attack in Beirut killed five other people and threw Lebanon, which has been drawn into neighboring Syria's conflict, into further turmoil after a series of sectarian bombings aimed at Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims over the past year. Former prime minister Saad al-Hariri accused Hezbollah of involvement in the killing of Chatah, his 62-year-old political adviser, saying it was "a new message of terrorism". "As far as we are concerned the suspects ... are those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said , referring to the upcoming trial in The Hague of five Hezbollah members suspected of killing his father Rafik in 2005. |
| Israel plans 1,400 more West Bank settlement homes, official says Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:21 PM PST  Israel plans to build 1,400 homes in its settlements in the occupied West Bank and will announce the projects next week after releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners, an Israeli official said on Friday. The Palestinians have said any further expansion of Israeli settlements on land they seek for a state could derail U.S.-brokered peace talks that resumed in July after a three-year break and are set to last until April. The United States said Israel had informed it of plans to release the group of prisoners on December 30, a day later than expected. The release of about two dozen Palestinians, the third group to be freed since the peace talks resumed, is seen by the United States as a vital confidence-building measure.
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| Mali's government presents treason case against former president Posted: 27 Dec 2013 04:32 PM PST  By Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's government said on Friday it had presented to the country's highest court a case for high treason against former President Amadou Toumani Toure, who was toppled in a coup d'etat last year. A communique from the prime minister's office said the case before the National Assembly accused Toure of failing in his duty as commander of Mali's armed forces to prevent foreign forces from seizing national territory. The March 2012 coup was prompted by Toure's failure to quell a Tuareg separatist uprising in northern Mali. The takeover, however, allowed armed Islamist groups to seize control of the northern two-thirds of Mali.
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| India seeks possible U.S. tax violations as stand hardens in row Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:23 PM PST  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has sought details about staff in American schools in the country for possible tax violations and revoked ID cards of U.S. consular officials and their families, retaliatory steps for the arrest of an Indian diplomat in New York. The measures suggest that the two countries are no closer to a resolution of a diplomatic dispute over the treatment of Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade this month on charges of visa fraud and underpayment of her housekeeper. Khobragade, who has denied the charges, was handcuffed and strip-searched while in custody, sparking outrage in India. An Indian government official said on Friday that New Delhi had asked the U.S. embassy to provide details about people working in American schools and other U.S. government facilities to determine if they had permission to do so and if they were paying taxes that are mandatory under Indian law.
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| Four killed, scores wounded in clashes across Egypt Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:53 PM PST By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Muslim Brotherhood supporters and police clashed across Egypt on Friday, leaving at least four dead in protests after the army-backed government declared the group a terrorist organization. The violence broke out after Friday prayers and the health ministry said 87 people were wounded in the clashes, which flared in Cairo and at least four other cities. A second man was killed in Minya, a bastion of Islamist support south of Cairo, and a third person was killed in the capital, the interior ministry said, without providing further details. Security forces detained at least 265 Brotherhood supporters nationwide, including at least 28 women, the ministry also said. |
| Hollande wants bigger U.N. role in Central African Republic Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:53 PM PST  French President Francois Hollande has asked the United Nations to play a bigger role in the Central African Republic, Hollande's office said in a statement on Friday. France deployed a 1,600 strong peacekeeping mission in its former colony this month to stop massacres between Muslim and Christian militias, but the U.N.-backed intervention is struggling to restore security in the country. "(The president) has asked the United Nations to play a more important role during the transition in Central African Republic," Hollande's office said of his phone call with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
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| Writer: China detains Tibetan monk and supporters Posted: 27 Dec 2013 04:19 PM PST  BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have detained a highly regarded Tibetan monk and 16 of his supporters, a Tibetan writer said Friday, as Beijing tightens its grip over the region.
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| Cameron 'unreasonable' on EU immigration says Lech Walesa Posted: 27 Dec 2013 04:05 PM PST  Gdansk (Poland) (AFP) - Lech Walesa, Poland's anti-communist icon, on Friday accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of being "unreasonable and shortsighted" in tightening benefit rules for migrants from eastern EU states. "Britain earned a lot (of money) on Poles finishing off communism, he (Cameron) shouldn't forget it and he should tally it all up," Walesa told AFP, pointing to the economic boom sparked by the reunification of Europe after the demise of communism in 1989. Poland was among 10 mostly ex-communist countries to join the European Union in 2004, when Britain and Ireland were among the few older members to fully open their labour markets for newcomers. Cameron has termed that open door policy a "monumental mistake".
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| Penguins lose Dupuis for season to knee injury Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:48 PM PST  Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Pascal Dupuis is expected to miss the remainder of the National Hockey League season after suffering a right knee injury, the team said Friday. The 34-year-old Canadian has 182 career goals in 837 NHL appearances with Minnesota, Atlanta, the New York Rangers and the Penguins, including seven in 39 games this season. Dupuis will undergo surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament after being hurt Monday at Ottawa when Penguins captain Sidney Crosby fell into Dupuis' knee after being hip checked by Senators defenseman Marc Methot.
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| US boy, 9, is youngest to reach Aconcagua summit Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:47 PM PST  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A 9-year-old boy from Southern California has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua mountain, which at 22,841 feet (6,962 meters) is the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres.
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| Protests target Turkish PM assailed by graft scandal Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:40 PM PST  Turkish police broke up protests late Friday calling for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign over a corruption scandal that has savaged his government, prompted party resignations and pushed the country's currency to a record low. Police forcibly dispersed thousands of anti-government demonstrators in Ankara and Istanbul who had been calling for the government to step down. In Istanbul, clashes took place, with some protesters shooting fireworks at police, who responded with water cannon, plastic bullets and tear gas. Hundreds of protesters who had gathered in a central square in Ankara were also made to leave by riot police.
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| Russia says Syrian toxin removal deadline will be missed Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:30 PM PST  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Deadly toxins that were to have been removed from Syria by December 31 under an international effort to rid the country of its chemical arsenal have not yet been delivered to port to be put on ships, a Russian diplomat was quoted as saying on Friday. The deadline will be missed because toxins that can be used to make sarin, VX gas and other agents were being packed up and still faced a potentially hazardous trip to the port of Latakia, RIA news agency quoted Mikhail Ulyanov as saying. Syria has agreed to abandon its chemical weapons by next June under a deal proposed by Russia and hashed out with the United States, after an August 21 sarin gas attack that Western nations blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's government. Damascus agreed to transport the "most critical" chemicals, including around 20 tons of mustard nerve agent, out of the northern port of Latakia by December 31 to be safely destroyed abroad away from the war zone.
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| South Sudan government agrees to end hostilities Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:25 PM PST JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan's government agreed Friday at a meeting of East African leaders to end hostilities against rebels accused of trying to overthrow the young country, but the cease-fire was quickly thrown into doubt because the head of the rebellion was not invited. |
| Rescue of icebound Antarctic ship faces setback Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:25 PM PST  SYDNEY (AP) — A Chinese icebreaker that was en route to rescue a ship trapped in Antarctic ice was forced to turn back on Saturday after being unable to push its way through the heavy sea ice.
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| Zimbabwe's envoy to Australia asks for asylum: media Posted: 27 Dec 2013 03:05 PM PST  Zimbabwe's ambassador to Australia is asking Canberra for asylum, lashing out at her country's "illegitimate" government and voicing fears for her safety if she returns home at the end of her posting next week, reports said Saturday. Jacqueline Zwambila condemned President Robert Mugabe's government, and said she has moved out of her official residence but has no intention of using her business class ticket to return home, the Canberra Times reported. "I don't feel safe about returning to Zimbabwe at all," said Zwambila, who is aligned with Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "Once the elections of 31 July were stolen by the current government -- which is illegitimate -- I knew that this was the end of the line," Zwambila, whose tenure as ambassador ends on Tuesday, said in a video posted on the Canberra Times website.
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| South Sudan offers olive branch to rebels, releases prisoners Posted: 27 Dec 2013 02:37 PM PST  By Aaron Maasho and Richard Lough JUBA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - South Sudan said on Friday it was ready for a ceasefire and would release eight of 11 senior politicians arrested over an alleged coup plot, raising hopes it was edging towards a deal to end ethnic-based fighting ravaging the world's newest nation. There was no immediate reaction from Riek Machar, the former vice president who the government accuses of starting the conflict that has spread quickly over the landlocked state, threatening its vital oil industry. Fighting between rival groups of soldiers erupted in the capital Juba on December 15, then triggered clashes in half of South Sudan's 10 states - often along ethnic lines, between Machar's group, the Nuer, and President Salva Kiir's Dinka. The U.N. Security Council approved plans on Tuesday to almost double the number of U.N. peacekeepers in South Sudan to 12,500 troops and 1,323 police in a bid to protect some 63,000 civilians sheltering at its bases.
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| Libya's Hariga port to resume exports within days-oil official Posted: 27 Dec 2013 02:06 PM PST  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya's eastern Hariga port will resume oil exports within days after protesters agreed to end a four month blockage, an oil official said on Friday. A reopening would be a victory for Prime Minister Ali Zeidan who has been trying to end such blockades, which have reduced Libya's oil output to 250,000 bpd from 1.4 million bpd in July, cutting much needed revenue for rebuilding the state. The protesters in the east, which was the cradle of the revolt that ousted veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi, also have their own victory, of sorts, as Libyan authorities are building a new oil headquarters there, moving it from the capital Tripoli in the west, to appease their calls for greater autonomy. Tribesmen and other protesters have occupied Hariga, located in Tobruk in the far east of Libya, since August to press their financial and autonomy demands despite several government attempts to reopen the terminal.
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| Rescue of stranded Antarctic ship stalls Posted: 27 Dec 2013 02:05 PM PST  A Chinese icebreaker has failed to reach a scientific expedition vessel trapped off Antarctica, stalling the rescue mission after it was unable to break through thick ice, Australian maritime authorities said Saturday. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is coordinating the rescue of the Russian passenger ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, said the icebreaker came within six-and-a-half nautical miles of the ship but had to stop. "The Chinese vessel unfortunately encountered some heavy ice that it's not capable of breaking through," AMSA spokeswoman Andrea Hayward-Maher told AFP. "So unfortunately it won't be able to continue through to the Akademik Shokalskiy.
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| Egypt: 5 killed as police clash with protesters Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:53 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — With water cannons and tear gas, Egyptian riot police battled on Friday with hundreds of rock-throwing supporters of ousted ex-President Mohammed Morsi in clashes across the country that left five dead, according to officials.
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| No regrets say Greenpeace Arctic activists after UK return Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:38 PM PST  Five British Greenpeace activists arrived home in defiant mood on Friday after Russia granted them an amnesty to halt their prosecution for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic. Precisely 100 days after they were arrested on a Greenpeace ship, they flew from Saint Petersburg to Paris and then took a Eurostar train to London. Anthony Perrett, Phil Ball, Iain Rogers, Alex Harris and video journalist Kieron Bryan smiled as they posed for a scrum of photographers before emotional family reunions in the arrivals hall of St Pancras station. He said conditions in the prison in the Arctic Circle city of Murmansk, where the group of 30 activists were first held, were "a real challenge" and admitted he had experienced "quite a few dark moments".
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| Officials: Iran talks hit bump over enrichment Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:27 PM PST VIENNA (AP) — Iran is taking steps to improve its ability to speed up uranium enrichment that could delay implementation of a nuclear deal with six world powers because Tehran's moves are opposed by the United States and its allies. |
| Egypt: 3 killed as police clash with protesters Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:22 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — With water cannons and tear gas, Egyptian riot police battled on Friday with hundreds of rock-throwing supporters of ousted ex-President Mohammed Morsi in clashes across the country that left three dead, according to officials.
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| 3rd spacewalk in a week at space station Posted: 27 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST MOSCOW (AP) — Two Russian astronauts have completed a spacewalk that included an unsuccessful attempt to install cameras on the exterior of the International Space Station. |
| Argentina court grants abortion for teen rape victim Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:40 PM PST  A court in Argentina ruled Friday that a 14-year old rape victim could have an abortion, overturning a lower court decision barring the girl from seeking the procedure which had triggered outrage. The teen and her mother, who live in the city of Salta, one of the most conservative in Argentina, sought an abortion at an area hospital. But a family court judge in a December 17 ruling denied her petition to terminate her pregnancy, instead ordering the girl to give birth and surrender the baby for adoption. The lower court decision had provoked an outcry by women's groups which maintained that the judge had exceeded his authority.
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| Arak reactor cannot make plutonium for bomb: Iran Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:38 PM PST  Iran's Arak heavy water reactor is incapable of producing plutonium for use in a nuclear weapon, a major fear of the West, Tehran's atomic chief said Friday. "The Arak research reactor cannot produce plutonium that could be used to make an atomic bomb since the plutonium will remain in the reactor's core for a year," Ali Akbar Salehi told the ISNA news agency.
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| Two Libya army officers killed in Benghazi Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:36 PM PST  Benghazi (Libya) (AFP) - Two Libyan army officers have been killed in the past 48 hours in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 revolt against Moamer Kadhafi, officials and medics said. The restive east has seen frequent attacks on security forces as the weak government in Tripoli has struggled to exert control over former rebels who have refused to disarm or join the security forces. A security source said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Zouei, 39, was killed in a drive-by shooting as he headed to a mosque for Friday prayers. Another officer, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Soueiri, was shot dead on Thursday, the security source said.
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| Beirut car bomb kills Lebanese critic of Syria Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:33 PM PST  A huge car bomb blast in central Beirut Friday killed six people including an influential member of a coalition opposed to the Syrian regime, leaving cars ablaze and buildings wrecked. Tensions have soared in Lebanon since the outbreak of the war in neighbouring Syria, as the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement has sent troops to back the regime while their rivals in the Western-backed March 14 coalition have supported the Sunni-led rebels. State news agency NNA said Mohammad Chatah, 62, was killed in the blast as he headed to a meeting of the March 14 coalition at the mansion of ex-premier Saad Hariri. Hariri's father, billionaire ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, was killed in a massive seafront blast in 2005 just blocks away from Friday's explosion, in an assassination his supporters blamed on Syria.
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| 3 missing as Saudi Aramco offshore platform sinks Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:32 PM PST  Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Three Asian workers with Saudi state oil giant Aramco were missing after one of the company's offshore maintenance platforms sank on Friday, the firm said in a statement. The remaining 24 crew were saved but some suffered "limited injuries" and a "search is ongoing for three others -- two Indians and a Bangladeshi," Aramco said in a statement emailed to AFP. Dhahran is the base for the world's largest oil company in terms of production and reserves.
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| Car bombing kills pro-Western Lebanese politician Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:17 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — A powerful car bomb killed a prominent Lebanese politician critical of Syria and its ally Hezbollah, hitting his SUV Friday as it drove through a ritzy business district near Beirut's waterfront, shredding trees and scattering glass and twisted scraps of metal across the pavement.
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| Turkish riot police clash with demonstrators Posted: 27 Dec 2013 12:10 PM PST  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish riot police blasted opposition protesters with water cannons, tear gas and plastic bullets in Istanbul on Friday in scenes reminiscent of the summer's mass anti-government demonstrations.
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| Turkish protesters clash with police as supporters cheer Erdogan Posted: 27 Dec 2013 11:56 AM PST  By Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Protesters demanding Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan resign over a high-level corruption scandal clashed with riot police in Istanbul on Friday, while across the city thousands staged a rival show of support for the embattled leader. Erdogan faces a crisis unprecedented during his 11 years in office due to the scandal that has forced three ministers' resignations and a cabinet reshuffle, as well as destabilizing the Turkish economy whose rapid growth has been a showpiece of his rule. However, Erdogan still enjoys the loyalty of many pious Muslims and members of Turkey's wealthy elite. Police detained dozens of people on December 17, among them the sons of the interior minister and two other cabinet members, after a major graft inquiry that was kept secret from commanders who might have informed the government in advance.
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| South Sudan to free most politicians detained over alleged coup - U.S. envoy Posted: 27 Dec 2013 11:54 AM PST South Sudan will release most of a group of politicians accused by the government of links to a foiled coup plot against President Salva Kiir, the United States envoy to South Sudan and a senior government official said on Friday. "We were very encouraged to hear the president reiterate that with the exception of three of the senior Sudan People's Liberation Movement (party) officials who have been detained...the others will be released very shortly," U.S. Envoy Donald Booth told South Sudan state television. The release of the 11 prominent politicians arrested by the government after violence erupted on December 15 is a key rebel condition for peace talks. |
| South Sudan says former Finance Minister, ex-party chief to remain detained Posted: 27 Dec 2013 11:54 AM PST JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan has released two politicians among 11 accused of plotting a coup against President Salva Kiir but will keep three of the group in custody over corruption allegations, the presidential spokesman said on Friday. Spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said former Finance Minister Kosti Manibe, ex-Cabinet Affairs Minister Deng Alor, and the former Secretary General of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Front party, Pagan Amum, would remain detained. "We are following the legal avenue," Ateny told Reuters. ... |
| Five die of hunger in besieged Syria camp: NGO Posted: 27 Dec 2013 11:51 AM PST  Five people, including an elderly man, a woman and a disabled man, have died of hunger in a besieged Palestinian refugee camp south of Damascus, a monitoring group said Friday. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops have sealed off several rebel-held areas ringing the capital, some for more than a year, prompting fears of a worsening humanitarian disaster as citizens run low on food and fuel. "Five people died, including an elderly man, a disabled man and a woman, as a result of malnutrition and the lack of the necessary treatment," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group relying on sources inside the war-torn country. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees and several rights groups have called on the Syrian regime to lift the siege of Yarmuk, and on both troops and rebels to allow aid into the camp.
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