| Two policemen shot as new Italy government sworn in Posted: 28 Apr 2013 11:02 AM PDT  By Gavin Jones and Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office. The 49 year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range. One of the officers was shot in the neck, hitting his spinal cord, and he was in a serious condition, surgeons said. The other was shot in the leg. ...
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| Exclusive: Boston bomb suspects' parents retreat to village, cancel U.S. trip Posted: 28 Apr 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN NORTH CAUCASUS, Russia (Reuters) - The parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have retreated to a village in southern Russia to shelter from the spotlight and abandoned plans for now to travel to the United States, the father of the suspects told Reuters on Sunday. Speaking in the garden of a large house, Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed he would not be allowed to see his surviving son Dzhokhar, who was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 bomb blasts that killed three people and wounded 264. ...
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| Fire breaks out in Bangladesh building where 377 die Posted: 28 Apr 2013 03:17 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers. Police said the owner of the factory, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, as hopes of finding more survivors from the country's worst industrial accident began to fade. ...
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| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry to push demands Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ...
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| U.S. identifies four American victims in Afghan crash Posted: 28 Apr 2013 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon identified four U.S. victims in Saturday's crash of a surveillance aircraft in southern Afghanistan and said the incident appeared unrelated to Taliban violence. The police chief in Zabul province, Rogh Lewanai, told Reuters on Saturday that bad weather caused the plane to crash, in the district of Shahjoi. At the time, NATO did not identify the nationality of the victims but said they were part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The Pentagon said on Sunday the crash of the MC-12 was under investigation. ... |
| Syria's neighbors cautious about U.S.-led intervention Posted: 28 Apr 2013 05:00 AM PDT  By Nick Tattersall ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's neighbors, wary of stirring a conflict that could spill back over their borders, would be reluctant partners in a U.S.-led intervention but are ultimately likely to support limited military action if widespread use of chemical weapons is proven. The White House disclosed U.S. intelligence on Thursday that Syria had likely used chemical weapons, a move President Barack Obama had said could trigger unspecified consequences, widely interpreted to include possible U.S. military action. ...
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| Mother of bomb suspects found deeper spirituality Posted: 28 Apr 2013 03:44 PM PDT  BOSTON (AP) — In photos of her as a younger woman, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva wears a low-cut blouse and has her hair teased like a 1980s rock star. After she arrived in the U.S. from Russia in 2002, she went to beauty school and did facials at a suburban day spa.
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| Mexican journalists march against attacks on press Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:41 PM PDT  XALAPA, Mexico (AP) — Officials in Veracruz state say they know who killed Regina Martinez. The muckraking reporter, found beaten and suffocated in her house, was just the victim of a robbery, according to prosecutors and a local court.
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| Owner of collapsed building captured in Bangladesh Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:30 PM PDT  SAVAR, Bangladesh (AP) — The fugitive owner of an illegally constructed building that collapsed and killed at least 377 people was captured Sunday by a commando force as he tried to flee into India. At the disaster site, meanwhile, fire broke out in the wreckage and forced authorities to suspend the search for survivors temporarily.
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| Italian policemen shot near new gov't swearing-in Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:17 PM PDT  ROME (AP) — In the very moments Italy's new coalition government was being sworn in, ending months of political paralysis in a country hoping to revive a bleak economy, a middle-aged unemployed bricklayer opened fire Sunday in the square outside the premier's office, seriously wounding two policemen, authorities said.
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| Greek bill opens way for civil service layoffs Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:56 PM PDT  ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's Parliament approved an emergency bill Sunday to pave the way for thousands of public sector layoffs and free up 8.8 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in international rescue loans.
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| Mini-stroke could limit Algeria president ambition Posted: 28 Apr 2013 11:37 AM PDT ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — The mini-stroke suffered by Algeria's president has cast fresh doubt on his perceived ambition to run for a fourth term next year as leader of one of Africa's largest and richest countries. |
| Chinese military cracks down on license plates and corruption Posted: 28 Apr 2013 04:50 PM PDT  By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new leadership is seeking to dismantle a system of privilege which has allowed the drivers of military vehicles to do as they please on the roads. On Sunday the Chinese military began replacing license plates on its cars and trucks to crack down on legions of vehicles, many of them plush luxury brands, which routinely break traffic laws and fill up with free gas. The People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department began supervising the removal of current military license plates that will expire on Tuesday, the PLA Daily newspaper reported. ...
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| Bissau leader pledges election by year end Posted: 28 Apr 2013 03:05 PM PDT  BISSAU (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's interim leader returned home on Sunday after weeks abroad seeking medical treatment and pledged to organize elections in his coup-prone nation before the end of the year. President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo refused to comment on this month's U.S. drug sting that targeted his country's top brass, accused of trafficking Latin American cocaine, but said he expected leaders to unite so donors could fund the election. ...
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| Helen Mirren reigns at London's Olivier awards Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:58 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Helen Mirren was crowned queen of the London stage at the Olivier Awards Sunday, while compelling, canine-titled teen drama "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" emerged as best in show with seven trophies.
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| Key Egyptian negotiator with IMF quits Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - A key Egyptian negotiator with the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday he has resigned as first deputy finance minister, in a potential blow to Cairo's prospects of an early IMF deal. Hany Kadry Dimian has been the crucial point man in Egypt's protracted and so far fruitless negotiations to obtain a $4.8 billion loan needed to help combat a severe economic crisis. "The only comment I can make for the time being is that yes, my term ends on April 30 according to my resignation, which I submitted in December," Kadry told Reuters by telephone. ... |
| Japan hopes Russia summit can bring momentum on island dispute Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will revive efforts to end a territorial dispute that has prevented the nations signing a treaty to end World War Two. Japan also expects Russia to present a proposal for Japan's participation in building a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and a planned $38 billion Vladivostok gas hub built by state-controlled Russian export monopoly Gazprom. ...
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| Germany's Greens lurch left in bid to beat Merkel Posted: 28 Apr 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens lurched to the left at a party congress in Berlin over the weekend by endorsing a "soak-the-rich" campaign for new taxes, a risky attempt to win power in September's election that upset the party's pragmatist wing. Ignoring warnings against raising too many taxes at once from their most successful leader, Greens state premier Winfried Kretschmann, the 800 delegates voted to push to raise the top income tax rate to 49 percent from 42 percent and introduce an annual 1.5 percent wealth tax on assets above a million euros. ...
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| Gunmen surround Libya Foreign Ministry Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:47 PM PDT TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya's prime minister warned of a perilous security situation Sunday after armed men stormed the Interior Ministry and a state-owned television station after blocking access to the Foreign Ministry. |
| Fighting reported near suspected chemical arms site in Syria Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:46 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting erupted in Damascus on Sunday near a complex linked to Syria's chemical weapons programme, on the third day of an offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces aimed at driving rebels from main sectors of the capital, activists said. The fighting occurred near the Scientific Studies and Research Centre on the foothills of Qasioun Mountain in the northern Barzeh district, opposition sources said from Damascus. ... |
| Egypt president, judges compromising on reform law Posted: 28 Apr 2013 01:02 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian president's office indicated Sunday a compromise has been reached with the judiciary to defuse an uproar over a proposed law that would have forced out thousands of the country's most senior judges.
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| Far right stumbles again in Austrian state election Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:39 PM PDT  VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's far-right Freedom Party lost ground on Sunday at a third consecutive state election, further clouding its prospects for joining a national coalition after parliamentary elections due by September. Heinz-Christian Strache's Freedom Party - which had stumbled badly in two other state votes this year, including in its heartland of Carinthia - fell below 10 percent in the western province of Tyrol, provisional results showed. ...
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| Iraq suspends Al-Jazeera and 9 Iraqi TV channels Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:25 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities suspended the operating licenses of pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera and nine Iraqi TV channels on Sunday after accusing them of escalating sectarian tension. The move signaled the Shiite-led government's mounting worries over deteriorating security amid Sunni unrest and clashes that have left more than 180 people dead in less than a week.
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| Building collapses in northern France, three dead Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:18 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Part of a five-storey residential building collapsed in the northeastern French city of Reims on Sunday, killing three people and injuring 14, officials said. The collapse may have been caused by a gas explosion, regional official Michel Bernard told BFM-TV. The death toll was not likely to rise as the injured people were not at risk and there were no residents unaccounted for, an official at the region's emergency center told Reuters. Around 10 of the 40 apartments in the 1960s-era building were affected by the collapse. ...
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| Egypt's Mursi backs down, to seek compromise on judges Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and top judges agreed on Sunday to seek a compromise to defuse a battle over Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges that have deeply polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Mursi's Islamist allies had proposed legislation to purge more than 3,000 judges at a stroke by reducing their mandatory retirement age to 60 from 70 to sweep away senior jurists appointed under autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak. ...
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| Pattern seen in alleged chemical arms use in Syria Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:13 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — The instances in which chemical weapons are alleged to have been used in Syria were purportedly small in scale: nothing along the lines of Saddam Hussein's 1988 attack in Kurdish Iraq that killed thousands.
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| Mirren reigns at London's Olivier awards Posted: 28 Apr 2013 12:12 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Helen Mirren reigned at London's Olivier theater awards Sunday, taking the best actress prize for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience." |
