| Bomb attacks kill more than 70 Shi'ites across Iraq Posted: 20 May 2013 11:15 AM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number killed in sectarian clashes in the past week to more than 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached a point where some fear a return to all-out civil conflict. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings. ...
|
| Obama urges Myanmar to stop violence against Muslims Posted: 20 May 2013 01:56 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged the president of Myanmar on Monday to take steps to halt violence against Muslims in his country and move ahead with economic and political reforms. Thein Sein became the first head of Myanmar to visit the White House in 47 years, and he and Obama sat down for talks in the Oval Office. Obama said the Myanmar leader had assured him that he intends to move forward on releasing more political prisoners and institutionalizing political reforms that have already taken place. ...
|
| Libya war weapons may be killing central Africa elephants : UN Posted: 20 May 2013 03:10 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Armed groups in central Africa are using powerful weapons, some of which may be left over from the civil war in Libya, to kill elephants for their ivory, the United Nations said on Monday. In a report to the U.N. Security Council, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said elephant poaching was a growing security concern, particularly in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad and Gabon. ...
|
| Obama to meet with China's Xi in California June 7-8 Posted: 20 May 2013 04:48 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold their first meeting since Xi became president in March when they sit down for a June 7-8 summit in Rancho Mirage, California, the White House announced on Monday. The two leaders are likely to discuss ways to apply pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program after a period of bellicose rhetoric and threats from Pyongyang. The United States also has concerns about cyber attacks it says are emanating from China. ...
|
| Chief Palestinian peace negotiator backs Kerry's efforts Posted: 20 May 2013 01:45 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The top Palestinian negotiator with Israel on Monday threw his weight behind U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's bid to revive stalled peace talks, while describing the situation in the West Bank as apartheid worse than that suffered in South Africa. Kerry is due to visit Jerusalem and Ramallah on Thursday and Friday. U.S.-brokered peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down in 2010 in a dispute over continuing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told a U.N. ...
|
| Canada's Harper under cloud after chief of staff resigns Posted: 20 May 2013 01:54 PM PDT  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was under intense pressure on Monday to reassure voters that his administration is above reproach amid questions surrounding a secret check paid to Senator Mike Duffy. "There's been nothing under this prime minister's watch that's tied him so closely to such a massive ethical scandal. We need to see him show leadership," opposition New Democratic Party Member of Parliament Charlie Angus told a news conference. ...
|
| Fiery nominee brings 'Herman Cain phenomenon' to Virginia governors race Posted: 20 May 2013 03:44 PM PDT Virginia's marquee governor's race got a jolt of the unexpected on Saturday, as Republicans added E.W. Jackson, a political novice and evocative conservative firebrand, as the GOP's lieutenant governor nominee alongside lightning rod gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli. |
| Might Obama fire Attorney General Eric Holder? Posted: 20 May 2013 02:58 PM PDT Should Attorney General Eric Holder quit his office? Sen. John Cornyn (R) of Texas called for just that Sunday during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation." Why? There's no written evidence that Mr. Holder actually recused himself from the Justice Department's AP leak case, as he claims he did, said Senator Cornyn. |
| Myanmar's White House bow: well done, but not mission accomplished Posted: 20 May 2013 02:36 PM PDT President Obama's meeting with Myanmar President Thein Sein on Monday – the first visit to the US by a Burmese ruler since 1968 – caps a flurry of recent activity between the two nations since Myanmar began rolling back elements of its authoritarian regime in its "Myanmar Spring." |
| Tunisia shuts down medieval city to prevent Salafi demonstrations Posted: 20 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT When police flooded the Tunisian city of Kairouan yesterday to block a rally by hardline Salafi Muslims, a few hundred diehards shifted to a neighborhood mosque, where they locked themselves inside and marched about, crying "God is Great!" |
| Attacks kill 95 in Iraq, hint of Syrian spillover Posted: 20 May 2013 02:25 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's wave of bloodshed sharply escalated Monday with more than a dozen car bombings across the country, part of attacks that killed at least 95 people and brought echoes of past sectarian carnage and fears of a dangerous spillover from Syria's civil war next door.
|
| Kerry to Mideast to advance struggling Syria plan Posted: 20 May 2013 04:55 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry is headed back to the Middle East to press his case for peace talks between Syrian rebels and President Bashar Assad's regime amid increasing signs the new U.S. strategy to halt the war is being undermined by Russia.
|
| Deadliest attacks in Iraq since US troop pullout Posted: 20 May 2013 01:16 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Here is a look at the deadliest attacks in Iraq since the withdrawal of U.S. troops on Dec. 18, 2011:
|
| Tunisian feminist arrested for alleged provocation Posted: 20 May 2013 02:17 PM PDT  TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A Tunisian feminist who scandalized her country by posting topless photos of herself online has been arrested after allegedly sneaking into Tunisia's holiest city disguised in a veil, then trying to get undressed during a protest.
|
| South Africa: Mandela name pulled into politics Posted: 20 May 2013 10:39 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nelson Mandela, old and frail, lives in seclusion in his Johannesburg home. Beyond the high walls of the house, the fighting over his image and what he stood for has already begun.
|
| Russian oligarchs foot most of 2014 Sochi Olympics Posted: 20 May 2013 08:49 AM PDT  SOCHI, Russia (AP) — The mountains of Sochi are now home to Potanin's slope, Gazprom's gondola lift and Sberbank's ski jump. The nicknames used by locals and an army of construction workers leave no doubt about who is paying for the 2014 Winter Games: Russia's business powerhouses.
|
| Obama vows US support as Myanmar leader visits Posted: 20 May 2013 04:49 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday told Myanmar's president during a long-awaited White House meeting that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country on its sometimes difficult path to democracy and assured him of U.S. support.
|
| Gay marriage law strains UK Cameron's leadership, government Posted: 20 May 2013 03:14 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's flagship gay marriage policy deepened a rift in his own party on Monday after many of his own lawmakers defied him in a sign of growing strains on his leadership and his coalition government. Almost 40 percent of Cameron's 303 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament voted for an ultimately unsuccessful amendment that would have allowed registrars to refuse to perform gay marriage ceremonies if they objected. ...
|
| Obama to travel to Africa in late June Posted: 20 May 2013 02:35 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, will travel to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania in late June and early July to reinforce U.S. ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the White House said on Monday. "The trip will underscore the president's commitment to broadening and deepening cooperation between the United States and the people of sub-Saharan Africa to advance regional and global peace and prosperity," the White House said in a statement. Obama will meet with leaders from government, business and civil society, the White House said. ...
|
| Hezbollah in big Syria battle, Obama 'concerned' Posted: 20 May 2013 02:26 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Dominic Evans AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas have fought their biggest battle yet for Syria's beleaguered president, prompting international alarm that the civil war may spread and an urgent call for restraint from the United States. About 30 Hezbollah fighters were killed on Sunday, Syrian activists said, along with 20 Syrian troops and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad during the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair, near the Lebanon border. ...
|
| Church of Scotland takes step to allow gay clergy Posted: 20 May 2013 02:03 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Senior members of the Church of Scotland voted Monday to let some congregations choose ministers who are in same-sex relationships — an important compromise that must still pass further hurdles before it can become church law. |
| Obama says Myanmar president to release more political prisoners Posted: 20 May 2013 01:56 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that Myanmar's President Thein Sein planned to release more political prisoners and institutionalize democratic reforms in his country. Obama told reporters that he had expressed U.S. concern about violence against Muslims in Myanmar to Thein Sein during a meeting at the White House. Thein Sein said his country faced challenges in carrying out reforms but vowed to address them. (Reporting by Steve Holland, writing by Jeff Mason; editing by Christopher Wilson) |
| Obama cites Myanmar reforms during leader's visit Posted: 20 May 2013 01:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In a long-awaited White House visit, President Barack Obama on Monday told Myanmar's president that he appreciates the Asian leader's efforts to lead the country in "a long and sometimes difficult, but ultimately correct, path to follow" toward democracy. |
| Council of Europe tells Putin of concern over Russian NGO law Posted: 20 May 2013 01:06 PM PDT  By Denis Dyomkin SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - The head of the Council of Europe told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday he was concerned a law requiring non-governmental organizations which received funding from abroad to register as foreign agents could have a "chilling effect". Prosecutors have conducted a wave of inspections at the offices of all kinds of NGOs in Russia this year citing the law which critics say is part of a campaign to smother dissent against Putin during his third term as president. ...
|
| Church of Scotland votes to allow gay ministers Posted: 20 May 2013 01:06 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Senior members of the Church of Scotland have voted to let some congregations have openly gay ministers, a compromise first step that could lead to the church allowing gay clergy. |
| Dagestan bombs kill four, two dead in shootout near Moscow Posted: 20 May 2013 12:55 PM PDT  MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in one of the bloodiest attacks this year in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency. Car bombs, suicide bombings and firefights are common in Dagestan, at the center of an insurgency rooted in two post-Soviet wars against separatist rebels in neighboring Chechnya. ...
|
| Wave of attacks kills at least 95 in Iraq Posted: 20 May 2013 12:50 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A wave of attacks killed at least 95 people in Shiite and Sunni areas of Iraq on Monday, officials said, pushing the death toll over the past week to more than 240 and extending one of the most sustained bouts of sectarian violence the country has seen in years. |
| U.S. says concerned with charges against Egyptian journalists Posted: 20 May 2013 12:46 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday expressed concern over defamation charges brought against two Egyptian journalists critical of President Mohamed Mursi and called on the government to condemn actions that stifle freedom of expression. Public Prosecutor Talaat Ibrahim, appointed by Mursi in November, ordered the criminal trial of Magdi El Galad, editor in chief of El-Watan newspaper, and Alaa El-Ghatrify, its managing editor, state newspaper Al-Ahram reported. ...
|
| Hezbollah pulled more deeply into Syria civil war Posted: 20 May 2013 12:45 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah was pulled more deeply into Syria's civil war as 28 guerrillas from the Lebanese Shiite militant group were killed and dozens more wounded while fighting rebels, Syria activists said Monday.
|
| Obama voices concern to Lebanon on Hezbollah role in Syria Posted: 20 May 2013 12:32 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told his Lebanese counterpart on Monday he was concerned about Lebanese Hezbollah militants fighting in Syria to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the White House said. Obama and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman spoke by telephone the same day Syrian activists said about 30 Hezbollah fighters and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to Assad had been killed in the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair. Lebanon has maintained a policy of "dissociation" from Syria's 2-year-old conflict. ...
|
| Egypt: Security beefed up in Sinai after abduction Posted: 20 May 2013 12:29 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — Dozens of Egyptian troops and armored vehicles moved into Sinai Monday as the government beefed up security in the volatile peninsula after the abduction of six policemen and a border guard by suspected Islamic militants.
|
