| Algeria ends desert siege with 23 hostages dead Posted: 19 Jan 2013 04:21 PM PST  ALGIERS/IN AMENAS, Algeria (Reuters) - Algerian troops ended a siege by Islamist militants at a gas plant in the Sahara desert where 23 hostages died, with a final assault which killed all the remaining hostage-takers. Believed to be among the 32 dead militants was their leader, Abdul Rahman al-Nigeri, a Nigerien close to al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, presumed mastermind of the raid. An Algerian interior ministry statement on the death toll gave no breakdown of the number of foreigners among hostages killed since the plant was seized before dawn on Wednesday. ...
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| Syria says talk of Assad's removal unacceptable Posted: 19 Jan 2013 03:55 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister said on Saturday any discussion of President Bashar al-Assad's future was "unacceptable", a week after an international envoy said the president should not be part of a transitional government. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem's comments showed the government has dug in against foreign pressure for a deal with the rebels fighting to topple Assad. "No one should dare discuss the position of the president ... this is unacceptable," he told Syrian state television in an interview. ...
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| France, Africa seeks support for regional Mali force Posted: 19 Jan 2013 01:07 PM PST  ABIDJAN/NIONO, Mali (Reuters) - France and West African leaders called on Saturday on other world powers to commit money and logistical support for African armies readying their troops to join French soldiers already battling al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali. The appeal came as African leaders met in Ivory Coast to hammer out details of a regional mission that is due to take over from French forces but is dispatching soldiers while still short of financing, planning and even ammunition. ...
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| Maduro slams business leaders over Venezuela economy comments Posted: 19 Jan 2013 04:29 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's vice president hit out at the country's business leaders on Saturday, saying they were seeking to destabilize the nation while cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez fights to recover from surgery. Chavez has not been seen in public nor heard from in five weeks since his latest operation in Cuba, and his heir apparent Nicolas Maduro has taken on an increasingly visible role as the face of the government. ...
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| Netanyahu says Israel needs strong ruling party Posted: 19 Jan 2013 01:45 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday a country with as many enemies as Israel cannot afford a weak ruling party, after polls ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary election showed a slide in his support. Two polls on Friday showed Israel's right-wing and religious bloc winning a slim parliamentary majority of 63 out of 120 seats, with Netanyahu's Likud-Beitenu group on course to be the largest party in the Knesset, albeit with eroding support. ...
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| Anti-racism protesters rally in Athens after stabbing Posted: 19 Jan 2013 01:46 PM PST  ATHENS (Reuters) - Hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday paraded the coffin in central Athens of a Pakistani immigrant who was stabbed to death earlier this week, praying and opening the casket to show his face in protest at racist attacks in the country. About 5,000 immigrants and human rights activists later gathered in the city's central Omonia square, police said, to demonstrate against racism, holding banners reading "Neo-Nazis out" and "Punishment for the fascist murderers of Shehzad Luqman". ...
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| Syrian opposition in new search for transitional government Posted: 19 Jan 2013 08:35 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's opposition leaders on Saturday launched their second bid to form a transitional government, with their credibility at stake as the country slides deeper into civil war. Agreement among the National Coalition, an umbrella group for the Syrian opposition, could help address international concern about the risk of Syria disintegrating along ethnic and sectarian lines if President Bashar al-Assad falls. ...
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| Merkel's CDU hoping for comeback win in key state vote Posted: 19 Jan 2013 03:18 PM PST  HANOVER (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats are hoping for victory in a state contest on Sunday that could end a long losing streak and set the tone for September's federal election. Citizens in the northern state of Lower Saxony will begin voting at 8 a.m. on Sunday (2 a.m. ET) in what has been a riveting battle between Merkel's center-right coalition and the center-left Social Democrat-Greens opposition. ...
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| Snow alert to hit Paris air traffic on Sunday Posted: 19 Jan 2013 02:03 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - France expects airlines to reduce flights in and out of Paris by as much as 40 percent on Sunday due to forecast snowfalls over the capital and surrounding region. France's transport ministry said in a statement airlines had been asked to cut flight services by that amount at the two main airports on the Paris outskirts, Charles de Gaulle to the north and Orly to the south. Snow, a rarity in the heart of the world's most popular tourist city, started falling on Friday night as a winter cold snap swept many parts of Europe. ...
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| Egypt drops hundreds of charges over post-Mubarak violence Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court dismissed cases against 379 people accused of involvement in clashes with police during protests near the Interior Ministry in November 2011 in which 42 demonstrators were killed, the state news agency reported. Saturday's decision was based on President Mohamed Mursi's offer of an amnesty for those facing charges related to events during and after the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak, the agency reported. ...
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| Obama says US ready to assist Algerian officials Posted: 19 Jan 2013 03:41 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Saturday the U.S. stands ready to provide whatever assistance Algerian officials need in the aftermath of the deadly terrorist attack at a natural gas complex in the Sahara.
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| Algeria: 32 militants killed, with 23 hostages Posted: 19 Jan 2013 04:57 PM PST  ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — In a bloody finale, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert on Saturday to end a standoff with Islamist extremists that left at least 23 hostages dead and killed all 32 militants involved, the Algerian government said.
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| Residents say Islamists leave Mali town of Diabaly Posted: 19 Jan 2013 02:26 PM PST  BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Radical Islamists have fled a key Malian town on foot following French airstrikes that began after they seized Diabaly nearly one week ago, the Malian military and fleeing residents said late Saturday.
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| Bolshoi director needs more surgery after attack Posted: 19 Jan 2013 05:23 AM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say the artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet will need at least one more operation after an attacker threw acid in his face and that it's not yet clear if the sight in his right eye can be saved.
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| Iran courts restart of nuke talks, but snubs UN Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:07 AM PST  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has floated specific dates for reopening talks with the U.S. and other world powers about its nuclear program. At the same time, Tehran has left U.N. nuclear inspectors empty-handed when it comes to addressing Western suspicions that it's conducting tests related to nuclear weapons.
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| Israeli PM faces tough choice if re-elected Posted: 19 Jan 2013 11:59 AM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — After a lackluster three-month campaign, few doubt that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to re-election. But the makeup of Netanyahu's next government remains a mystery.
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| Mexico City pushes for order with parking meters Posted: 19 Jan 2013 03:17 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Every day before dawn, dozens of men appear in the Mexican capital's hip Condesa neighborhood and block off parking spaces along entire streets using water jugs, cardboard boxes, buckets, crates and even blocks of cement.
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| More than 140 nations adopt treaty to cut mercury Posted: 19 Jan 2013 07:55 AM PST GENEVA (AP) — A new and legally binding international treaty to reduce harmful emissions of mercury was adopted Saturday by more than 140 nations, capping four years of difficult negotiations but stopping short of some of the tougher measures that proponents had envisioned. |
| March protests immigrant's slaying in Greece Posted: 19 Jan 2013 12:20 PM PST  ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Several thousand people marched through central Athens on Saturday to protest a spate of anti-immigrant attacks in Greece, including the fatal stabbing of a 27-year-old Pakistani immigrant by suspected right-wing extremists.
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| Syrian FM calls on rebels to disarm and negotiate Posted: 19 Jan 2013 01:22 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister invited the country's rebels on Saturday to lay down their weapons and take part in a national dialogue, saying everyone who participates will be included in a new Cabinet with wide executive powers.
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| A town on Mali's frontline switches back and forth Posted: 19 Jan 2013 08:10 AM PST In a potential breakthrough for the fledgling campaign to drive Islamist rebels from their strongholds in Mali, French and Malian troops are poised to secure the town of Diabaly amid reports that rebel forces have abandoned the town. |
| Stopping child labor: There's an app for that Posted: 19 Jan 2013 06:00 AM PST Kids at stoplights offering to wipe a windshield for a few coins, or little ones hawking goods at produce markets: In much of the developing world, it's common to see children as young as eight or nine hard at work. |
| A second life for the West's secondhand clothing – in Uganda Posted: 19 Jan 2013 05:00 AM PST "Come here, cheap dresses!" Yiga Yokana yells to potential customers from his stall at Kampala's Owino market, one of Africa's largest outdoor shopping hubs. |
