| Egyptian court could free Mubarak as crisis deepens Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By Lin Noueihed and Alistair Lyon CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could be freed from jail after a court reviews his case on Wednesday, potentially stirring more unrest in a country where army-backed authorities are hunting down his Muslim Brotherhood foes. The court will convene at the Cairo prison where Mubarak is being held, judicial sources said, and review a petition from his lawyer demanding the leader overthrown in a 2011 revolt be freed. ...
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| U.S. takes tougher line with Egypt but denies aid cut Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:54 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday adopted a harder line toward Egypt's military-backed government, stressing that its bloody crackdown on protesters could influence U.S. aid to Cairo but denying reports that it has suspended the assistance. The army's clampdown on supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi over the past week, the "suspicious deaths" of 37 prisoners in custody and the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie on Tuesday have worsened relations between Washington and Egypt's new rulers. ...
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| U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen reopens after security threats Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:30 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, reopened on Sunday after closing earlier this month due to concerns over potential terrorism attacks, the U.S. State Department said. The Yemen embassy was one of about 20 U.S. embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa that were closed in early August when the United States said it had picked up information about unspecified terrorism threats. The reopened embassy in Yemen will "provide limited public services," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. ...
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| Erdogan angers U.S., Israel, Egypt with Mursi defense Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:25 PM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan angered Ankara's U.S. ally, as well as regional leaders in Egypt and Israel, by accusing Israel on Tuesday of helping overthrow Cairo's Islamist president. The White House called the remarks "offensive". Erdogan, who has become one of the fiercest critics of the Egyptian army's removal of Mohamed Mursi, told members of his Islamist-rooted AK Party that he had proof that Israel was involved in last month's ouster, which has been followed by a bloody crackdown on the elected president's Muslim Brotherhood. ...
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| Israel, Palestinians hold third round of peace talks Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:26 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis and Palestinians held a third round of negotiations on Tuesday, and Israel's chief representative at the talks predicted the U.S.-brokered peace process would lead to dramatic Israeli decisions. Tzipi Livni coupled her forecast with acknowledgement that at least one partner in Israel's right-wing coalition opposed the goal set by Washington to create a Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. Livni, speaking on Israel Radio before talks convened in Jerusalem, said "there will be dramatic decisions" by Israel at the end of the negotiating process. ...
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| Britain defends detention of journalist's partner Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:28 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - The British government, accused of abusing media freedom, said on Tuesday police were right to detain a journalist's partner if they thought lives might be at risk from data he was carrying from fugitive U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. ...
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| Argentine diplomat calls Cameron 'dumb' over Falklands flap Posted: 20 Aug 2013 04:23 PM PDT BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's ambassador to Britain described Prime Minister David Cameron as "dumb" in his handling of the dispute over the Falkland Islands, the latest verbal salvo in the long feud between the two nations that went to war over the South Atlantic archipelago. Ambassador Alicia Castro told lawmakers that Cameron unwisely publicized comments by former Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio, before he was named pope this year, in which Bergoglio said the islands belonged to Argentina. ... |
| Egypt's ElBaradei to face court for 'betrayal of trust' Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:56 PM PDT  By Lin Noueihed CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei, Egypt's former interim vice president, is being sued for a "betrayal of trust" over his decision to quit the army-backed government in protest at its bloody crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. The case points to the prospect of a new wave of politically driven lawsuits being brought to court following the downfall of President Mohamed Mursi, whose supporters brought a raft of cases against opposition figures during his year in power. ...
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| Obama lauds Mali election, U.S. reviewing aid Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:45 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday congratulated Mali on holding a "peaceful, inclusive and credible" election this month, a step toward resuming U.S. aid to the West African nation. The United States suspended aid to Mali in April last year, after a coup prompted by an uprising by Islamists and Tuareg separatists. Mali's constitutional court confirmed Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had won Mali's presidential election runoff on August 11 with 78 percent of the vote and he is expected to be sworn in by Mali's supreme court on September 4. ...
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| Egypt's Brotherhood as beleaguered as its leader Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:43 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — The Muslim Brotherhood's top leader looked somber and fatigued after his arrest Tuesday, his demeanor mirroring the Islamist movement's predicament following its stunning fall from power and a deadly government crackdown.
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| British paper details confrontation with UK spies Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:42 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — A British newspaper released new details of its confrontation with the country's intelligence service on Tuesday, saying it destroyed hard drives containing material leaked by Edward Snowden in order to insulate the former American intelligence worker from potential prosecution and to keep reporting on his leaks.
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| Fans mass for One Direction movie premiere Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:39 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — A crowd of screaming fans has greeted boy band One Direction as it gathered in London's Leicester Square, where its first feature film is getting its world premiere.
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| For investors, Haiti remains a tough environment Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:24 PM PDT  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Nickson Toussaint returned to Haiti from Washington, D.C., with dreams of opening a small hotel along the shimmering coast north of the country's capital. He bought 2.6 acres of land for $70,000 and looked for a loan or investors.
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| US weighs pros, cons of cutting some aid to Egypt Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:21 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration, undertaking a major review of U.S. relations with Egypt, edged closer to a decision Tuesday about curtailing some of America's $1.5 billion in annual aid after the Egyptian military's crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
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| U.S. deports drug cartel 'queen' to Mexico Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:15 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday deported a Mexican drug smuggler, known as the "Queen of the Pacific", after she served out a jail term, handing her over to authorities in Mexico to face separate money laundering charges. Sandra Avila Beltran, 52, was originally arrested in Mexico in 2007 and allegedly helped build the Sinaloa cartel in the 1990s with Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman - Mexico's most-wanted drug boss. She was extradited to the United States in August 2012. ...
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| 3 dead, 5 wounded in shooting in southern Germany Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:49 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — A gunman opened fire on a meeting in a village in south Germany on Tuesday, killing two people and wounding five before taking his own life, police said.
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| Turkey: Israel behind Egyptian leader's ouster Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:33 PM PDT  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister on Tuesday accused Israel of being behind the ouster of Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, offering as the only evidence for his claim a statement by a Jewish French intellectual during a meeting with an Israeli official.
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| German minister's Greek aid comments spark pre-election backlash Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:32 PM PDT  By Gernot Heller AHRENSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Tuesday for the first time that Greece will need another bailout, triggering a storm of protest from opposition parties five weeks before an election in Europe's biggest economy. While analysts have long predicted Greece will require more aid, albeit on a smaller scale than previous bailouts totaling about 240 billion euros ($320 billion), Chancellor Angela Merkel has tried to keep Greece out of her campaign for re-election to avoid angering German voters who fear they will foot the bill. ...
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| Toronto policeman accused of murder in teen shooting released on bail Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:19 PM PDT  By Solarina Ho TORONTO (Reuters) - A Toronto policeman charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of an 18-year-old who brandished a knife on a streetcar was released on C$510,000 ($491,000) bail on Tuesday. Outlining a rare murder charge against an on-duty police officer, the Toronto police force's Special Investigations Unit said on Monday it had grounds to believe that Constable James Forcillo broke the law in the death of Sammy Yatim. The late-night shooting was filmed by bystanders and widely distributed online. ...
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| Germany chancellor visits former Nazi camp Dachau Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:17 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the remains of the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau in southern Germany, where more than 43,000 people were killed by the Nazis from 1933 to 1945.
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| Israel negotiator predicts 'dramatic decisions' Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:07 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel will make "dramatic decisions" to reach a final peace agreement that will end the conflict with the Palestinians, Israel's chief negotiator said Tuesday while warning that hawks inside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition are making her job more difficult.
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| Pakistan court indicts Musharraf in Bhutto killing Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:06 PM PDT  RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — In an unprecedented ruling that tests the military's aura of inviolability, a court indicted former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf Tuesday on murder charges stemming from the 2007 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
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| TV mogul Simon Cowell says he'll be a dad Posted: 20 Aug 2013 02:03 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — British TV mogul Simon Cowell says he's looking forward to being a father, his first public confirmation that he will be having a child with married New York socialite Lauren Silverman.
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| Iran Foreign Ministry to handle nuclear talks Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:34 PM PDT  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's Western-educated foreign minister will take the lead in nuclear talks with world powers, an Iranian diplomat said Tuesday, in a sign the Islamic Republic may seek a less confrontational approach to negotiations over its disputed nuclear program than in past years.
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| 9/11 defendant: US withholds food at Guantanamo Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:30 PM PDT  GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — A defendant in the Sept. 11 terror attack case alleged Tuesday that guards at Guantanamo Bay have been withholding food when he is in court or meeting with his lawyers. Military officials denied that has happened.
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| Attacks in Hezbollah area test supporters' resolve Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:22 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Car bombings targeting Hezbollah strongholds south of Beirut have shaken the Shiite militant group, bringing fear to a community that was largely spared the violence plaguing the rest of Lebanon.
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| Tunisian activist quits feminist group Femen Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:10 PM PDT TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A women's rights activist who shocked Tunisians by posting topless photos of herself online said Tuesday she is quitting the Ukrainian feminist group Femen because of what she calls its anti-Islam outlook. |
| Egyptian reporter killed at checkpoint Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:06 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Soldiers killed an Egyptian journalist working for the country's state-run flagship daily newspaper at a military checkpoint, security officials said Tuesday. |
| Egypt questions Brotherhood's top leader in prison Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:03 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's military-backed authorities arrested the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme leader on Tuesday, dealing a serious blow to the embattled movement at a time when it is struggling to keep up street protests against the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in the face of a harsh government crackdown. |
| Gunmen kill several police officers in Nigeria Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:01 PM PDT KAJURU, Nigeria (AP) — Witnesses say unidentified gunmen have attacked a divisional police headquarters in northern Nigeria and killed three officers. |
| Hamas justice under scrutiny over Gaza executions Posted: 20 Aug 2013 12:40 PM PDT  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza's Hamas government is sticking to plans to carry out more executions and to do so in public for the first time, despite new protests by human rights groups Tuesday.
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| Andean farmers freeze-dry spuds the ancient way Posted: 20 Aug 2013 12:27 PM PDT  LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — For centuries, people in Bolivia's high Andes have eaten freeze-dried potatoes, taking advantage of freezing mountain temperatures and a baking sun to prepare the local staple called "chuno."
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| Nigeria navy parades four from rare pirate capture Posted: 20 Aug 2013 12:15 PM PDT  By Tim Cocks LAGOS (Reuters) - The Nigerian sailors had started marching four captured pirates onto a boat when an officer shouted "hold on" to give the cameras a chance to get into position. With a semi-circle of local reporters in dark orange life jackets snapping photos and rolling film, the men started moving again at Lagos naval command, chains clanking around their ankles. The four were arrested during one of only two successful operations against a sharp rise in pirate attacks this year - and Nigerian authorities were determined to squeeze the maximum publicity out of their coup. ...
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| Car bombings kill 10 in southern Iraqi cities Posted: 20 Aug 2013 12:14 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say separate car bombings in three southern cities have killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens. |
| Egypt aid to be reviewed at White House meeting Posted: 20 Aug 2013 12:14 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration moved closer to a decision Tuesday on continuing or curtailing $1.5 billion in annual U.S. aid to Egypt amid the crackdown by military authorities there on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. |
