| Panama calls in U.N. to inspect North Korean arms ship Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:35 PM PDT  By Lomi Kriel PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama said on Wednesday it had called in the United Nations Security Council to investigate a North Korean ship caught smuggling arms from Cuba, piling more pressure on Pyongyang over a possible breach of U.N. sanctions. Panama stopped the ship last week and seized the cargo after a stand-off with the North Korean crew in which the captain tried to slit his own throat. Authorities discovered missile equipment, MiG fighter jets and other arms aboard that Cuba said were "obsolete" Soviet-era weapons being sent to North Korea for repair. ...
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| U.S. suggests Egyptian military averted civil war Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:14 PM PDT  By Noah Browning and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt avoided a possible civil war this month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, making it hard for Washington to conclude that the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi was a military coup. The armed forces deposed the elected leader on July 3 after huge street protests against his rule, clearing the way for the installment this week of a new interim cabinet charged with restoring civilian government and reviving the troubled economy. ...
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| In Ramadan quiet, Afghans jockey for post-Karzai era Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:56 PM PDT  By Rob Taylor and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - For the devout, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is a time of prayer and introspection, but this year, for Afghanistan's warlords and powerbrokers, it is time to decide on a successor to President Hamid Karzai. Gunmen-escorted convoys of armored cars race around Kabul toward the end of the day as politicians and other leaders gather for the ritual breaking of the Ramadan fast at dusk - and also to set aside rivalries and form alliances which they hope can take them to power in the divided and war-torn nation. ...
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| U.S. vague on whether Obama will go to Moscow amid Snowden flap Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:40 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is deliberately leaving it vague as to whether President Barack Obama will attend talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin if the saga involving former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden is unresolved. Putin has invited Obama for face-to-face talks in Moscow ahead of a St. Petersburg summit in September with leaders of the G20 nations, and the White House announced on June 17 that Obama would both attend the summit and go to the Russian capital. ...
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| Abbas convenes key Palestinians to moot new talks with Israel Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:51 PM PDT  By Ali Sawafta RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas will confer with key Palestinian leaders on Thursday about a possible resumption of peace negotiations with Israel after an almost three-year freeze, officials said. They gave no details on what Abbas's terms might be, should he announce a breakthrough after meeting in Jordan with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has pursued six months of intensive and deliberately discreet diplomacy. Gaps between the sides had "very significantly" narrowed, Kerry said on Wednesday. ...
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| Greece approves scheme to fire thousands of public workers Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:57 PM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's shaky coalition government scraped through a vote on Wednesday on a bill to sack public sector workers as thousands chanting anti-austerity slogans protested outside parliament. The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's two-party coalition since losing an ally over the abrupt shutdown of the state broadcaster last month, which left it with a scant five-seat majority in the 300-seat parliament. ...
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| US and Cuba discuss migration issues Posted: 17 Jul 2013 05:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Migration issues headlined talks on Wednesday between the U.S. and Cuba, yet long-standing disputes threaten efforts to thaw relations between the Cold War enemies. |
| Kerry wins Arab backing on Mideast peace effort Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:57 PM PDT  AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry won Arab League backing Wednesday for his effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, raising hopes that the stalled negotiations could resume.
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| NKorea arms seizure could hurt US-Cuba detente Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:52 PM PDT  HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's admission that it was secretly sending aging weapons systems to North Korea has turned the global spotlight on a little-known link in a secretive network of rusting freighters and charter jets that moves weapons to and from North Korea despite U.N. sanctions.
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| Ethnic clashes kill 54 in southeastern Guinea Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:35 PM PDT CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Officials say clashes in southeastern Guinea have killed 54 people and injured scores more, and they warn the death toll could be higher. |
| Mexican capo tried to escape while being captured Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:31 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Alleged drug lord Miguel Angel Trevino Morales fled into heavy brush and fell at least once scratching his face in a failed attempt to escape capture this week, a Mexican federal government official said Wednesday.
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| Top EU diplomat calls for inclusive Egypt politics Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:25 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — The European Union's top foreign policy official urged Egypt's interim leaders and supporters of the ousted Islamist president Wednesday to cooperate in a political process that moves the country toward democracy. But Mohammed Morsi's backers expanded their protests in Cairo, denouncing the new government and casting doubt on the prospects for reconciliation.
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| Quebec brings in 9/11 expert to help sift through train crash debris Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Phil Wahba LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - A U.S. expert who worked on the aftermath of the September 11 attacks is helping Canadian authorities sift through wreckage left more than a week after a runaway train barreled into a lakeside town in Quebec killing 50 people, police said on Wednesday. Frank DePaolo, an emergency specialist from New York's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, visited the ruins of Lac-Megantic earlier in the week. ...
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| U.N. chief praises Panama on North Korea, urges swift U.N. action Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:14 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised Panama on Wednesday for seizing a North Korean ship carrying arms from Cuba, adding that the U.N. sanctions committee would take up the issue promptly. "The Secretary-General commends the action taken by Panama in full conformity with its obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions," Ban's press office said in a statement. It added that Ban, a former South Korean foreign minister, "notes that it is the duty of all member states to implement Security Council decisions. ...
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| Senators push for action on Cuba over North Korean arms ship Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:05 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senators sought to increase pressure on the Obama administration on Wednesday to respond after a North Korean cargo ship in Panama was found carrying what appeared to be military equipment loaded in Cuba. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the administration should reverse a January 2011 decision easing some travel restrictions and remittances sent to Cuba and stop granting visas to Cuban government officials. ...
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| Contaminated school meal kills 25 Indian children Posted: 17 Jul 2013 04:04 PM PDT  PATNA, India (Reuters) - At least 25 Indian children died and dozens needed hospital treatment after apparently being poisoned by a school meal, sparking violent protests and angry allegations of blame. The children aged four to 12 fell ill on Tuesday after consuming a lunch of rice, soybean and lentils in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar. The school, at Mashrakh village in the district of Chapra, provided free meals under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the world's largest school feeding program involving 120 million children. ...
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| Journalists brief Security Council for first time Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:47 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Four journalists addressing the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday said world leaders should do more to protect reporters risking their lives in conflict situations with one foreign correspondent calling for protections similar to those afforded to international diplomats.
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| AP PHOTOS: Nicaraguans celebrate saint at sea Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:41 PM PDT  SAN JUAN DEL SUR, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaraguan fishermen and sailors who call on Our Lady of Carmen to protect them at sea pay homage to the saint on her feast day, trailing her statue around the bay of San Juan del Sur in their humble fishing boats and luxury yachts.
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| U.S. blames China for breakdown of trade talks Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:23 PM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States blamed China on Wednesday for a breakdown in trade talks aimed at eliminating tariffs on a new generation of technology products and everyday consumer electronics like speakers and flat-panel displays. "The United States is extremely disappointed that it became necessary today to suspend negotiations to expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA)," U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement. ...
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| Where Is Morsi? Absence of Egypt’s Detained Ex-President Attracts Scrutiny Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:19 PM PDT Mohamed Morsi's last public act as president was a brief—by his long-winded standards—30-minute address on national television on July 2. In the pre-recorded statement, he repeatedly hailed the legitimacy of government and his right to rule and warned against looming plots to usurp his authority and the electoral will of the Egyptian people. |
| Zimbabwe: Monitors foresee more polling chaos Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:17 PM PDT  HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — An independent Zimbabwe election monitoring group said Wednesday many of the nation's 6.2 million voters will not be likely to cast their ballots if elections are not delayed.
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| North Korea demands Panama free seized ship carrying arms Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:11 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea demanded on Thursday the release of its ship held in Panama with what appear to be missile radar and other weapons loaded in Cuba, saying it was sailing under a legitimate deal and calling the initial suspicion of drugs on board "a fiction." "The Panamanian investigation authorities rashly attacked and detained the captain and crewmen of the ship on the plea of 'drug investigation' and searched its cargo but did not discover any drug," North Korea's Foreign Ministry spokesman said. ...
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| Greece approves scheme to fire thousands of public workers Posted: 17 Jul 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's shaky coalition government scraped through a vote on Wednesday on a bill to sack public sector workers as thousands chanting anti-austerity slogans protested outside parliament. The vote was the first major test for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's two-party coalition since losing an ally over the abrupt shutdown of the state broadcaster last month, which left it with a scant five-seat majority in the 300-seat parliament. ...
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| Court hears how 32 died in Italy shipwreck Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:59 PM PDT  GROSSETO, Italy (AP) — The Italian court trying the captain of the Costa Concordia heard grim details Wednesday about how the 32 victims of the shipwreck drowned, some after diving or falling into the sea from the capsized cruise liner when lifeboats were no longer accessible.
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| Guinea deploys troops as 54 are killed in ethnic clashes Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:39 PM PDT CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea sent troops to towns in the southeast on Wednesday in a bid to stem three days of ethnic violence in which at least 54 people have been killed, the government said. Guinea's second city of Nzerekore and the surrounding region near the border with Ivory Coast have been gripped by clashes between rival communities after a man accused of being a thief was lynched on Sunday. After several days of clashes between ethnic gangs, residents said security forces arrived in Nzerekore and the nearby towns of Beyla and Koule, where the initial killing took place. ... |
| NKorea to Panama: Free detained freighter and crew Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:32 PM PDT  PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea's Foreign Ministry says Panama should release the crew detained in the apprehension of a freighter carrying missile components because no drugs or illegal cargo were aboard.
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| Officials: Attacks kill 10 people in Iraq Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:30 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Attacks in Iraq targeting diners in two cafes and swimmers in a stream killed at least 10 people on Wednesday, as violence surges during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. |
| Senate clears hurdle for Labor secretary nominee Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:23 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted by the slimmest margin Wednesday to end a filibuster against President Barack Obama's choice to head the Labor Department, as this week's agreement averting a poisonous partisan clash over nominations and the chamber's rules barely survived its toughest test so far.
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| Mexican capo tried to escape when he was captured Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:11 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican federal government official says accused drug lord Miguel Angel Trevino Morales tried to escape when he was captured two days ago. |
| Bomb attack kills seven in northern Iraq tea house: police, medics Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:07 PM PDT MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - A bomb blast in a teahouse in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul killed at least seven people on Wednesday, police and medics said. The violence is part of a sustained campaign of militant attacks this year that has prompted fears of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds and Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise. Medics said they had received the corpses of six men and one child following the attack in the Bab Laqash neighborhood of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of the capital Baghdad. ... |
| Appeals court delays Gitmo genital search ban Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:07 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court is allowing the U.S. government to continue genital searches of Guantanamo Bay detainees — at least temporarily. |
| Russia's Putin puts U.S. ties above Snowden Posted: 17 Jul 2013 02:03 PM PDT  By Denis Dyomkin and Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled clearly on Wednesday that he did not want a dispute over the fate of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to derail Russia's relations with the United States. Russia has ruled out extraditing Snowden, wanted by Washington for leaking details of U.S. surveillance programs, and the U.S. citizen is currently stuck in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Allowing him to stay in Russia even temporarily would upset Washington. ...
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| Disputes between Morsi, military led to Egypt coup Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:58 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — The head of Egypt's military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, sat with a polite smile in the front row listening to President Mohammed Morsi give a 2 1/2-hour speech defending his year in office. El-Sissi even clapped lightly as the audience of Morsi supporters broke into cheers.
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| Trian's Peltz says PepsiCo should buy Mondelez Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:56 PM PDT  By Martinne Geller NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist shareholder Nelson Peltz said on Wednesday he wants PepsiCo Inc to buy Mondelez International Inc for around $35 a share in a deal that would be worth $62.46 billion and create a snack food powerhouse selling everything from chocolate to chips. Peltz said in a 59-page presentation published on Wednesday on Trian's website that PepsiCo was at a "strategic crossroads" and the status quo was "unsustainable". Peltz has played a role in some of the food industry's biggest deals. ...
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| NSA spying under fire: 'You've got a problem' Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:43 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a heated confrontation over domestic spying, members of Congress said Wednesday they never intended to allow the National Security Agency to build a database of every phone call in America. And they threatened to curtail the government's surveillance authority.
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| Officials: 2 attacks kill 9 people in Iraq Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:25 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Two attacks in Iraq targeting diners in a cafe and swimmers in a stream on Wednesday killed at least nine people, as violence surges during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. |
| Nigeria restores phone service to violence-hit state Posted: 17 Jul 2013 01:12 PM PDT DAMATURU, Nigeria (Reuters) - Mobile phone services returned in Nigeria's northeastern Yobe state on Wednesday, residents said, ending two months of signal blackout after a state of emergency was declared in areas struck by Islamist insurgents. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states on May 14, ordering extra troops in to try to crush Islamist sect Boko Haram, whose insurgency has killed thousands of people in the past three years. Authorities cut the mobile network to the three states in the same week to disrupt Boko Haram's operations. ... |
