| Assad warns of retaliation as France builds case for Syria attack Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:43 PM PDT  By John Irish and Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad warned Syria would retaliate if France takes part in foreign strikes on his forces, while Paris said it had intelligence proving Assad had ordered chemical attacks and was determined to punish him. "If the policies of the French state are hostile to the Syrian people, the state will be their enemy," Assad said in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro. "There will be repercussions, negative ones obviously, on French interests. ...
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| Egypt's Brotherhood under legal threat as bomb hits central Cairo Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:25 PM PDT  By Kevin Liffey CAIRO (Reuters) - A judicial panel set up by Egypt's military-backed government supported a legal challenge to the status of the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday, compounding a drive to crush the movement behind the elected president deposed by the army in July. While short of a formal ban on the Brotherhood, which worked underground for decades under Egypt's previous military-backed rulers, the panel's advice to a court to remove its non-governmental organization status threatens the million-member movement's future in politics. ...
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| Brazil, Mexico ask U.S. to explain if NSA spied on presidents Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:38 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil assailed the United States on Monday after new allegations that Washington spied on President Dilma Rousseff, complaining that its sovereignty may have been violated and suggesting that it could call off Rousseff's planned state visit to the White House next month. A Brazilian news program reported on Sunday that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on emails, phone calls and text messages of Rousseff and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, a disclosure that could strain Washington's relations with Latin America's two biggest nations. ...
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| Beatings, evictions reveal ugly side of China's local debt pile Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:41 PM PDT  By Koh Gui Qing WUXI, China (Reuters) - When Xu Haifeng's home was razed three years ago, she went to China's capital Beijing to complain about the city and county governments that ordered the demolition. Since then, she says family members have been kidnapped at least 18 times, typically having black bags thrust over their heads before being taken to a hotel-turned-illegal jail in the eastern city of Wuxi and locked for weeks in a tiny, windowless room. Xu's story is shocking even in a country that has become used to tales of arbitrary and sometimes violent land expropriations. ...
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| Colombia's Cabinet resigns to allow Santos to make shuffle Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:13 PM PDT  BOGOTA (Reuters) - Sixteen members of Colombia's Cabinet presented their resignations to President Juan Manuel Santos on Monday to pave the way for changes he may want to make after a protest in the farming sector turned violent last week. The Cabinet also offered its full support to Santos, according to a statement read by the president's secretary general, Aurelio Iragorri. The resignation is a matter of protocol before a Cabinet shuffle. (Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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| Britain must renegotiate flawed aircraft carrier deals: panel Posted: 02 Sep 2013 04:16 PM PDT By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Britain should negotiate new contracts for two aircraft carriers and fighter jets to avoid the risk of budgets spiraling further out of control at taxpayers' expense, lawmakers said on Tuesday. The project for the biggest ships ever built for the Royal Navy has fuelled broader criticism of the defense ministry's handling of expensive weapons programs at a time of spending cuts across the public sector. The program has been dogged by rising costs, delays and indecision over the choice of aircraft since it was first announced in 2007. ... |
| US-Brazil tensions rise after new NSA spy report Posted: 02 Sep 2013 04:39 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Brazilian government condemned a U.S. spy program that reportedly targeted the nation's leader, labeled it an "unacceptable invasion" of sovereignty and called Monday for international regulations to protect citizens and governments alike from cyber espionage.
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| History goes up in smoke at Egyptian museum Posted: 02 Sep 2013 04:14 PM PDT  Magdy Tahami looks in disbelief at what remains of Egypt's tiny Mallawi museum.
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| Obama tries persuading the skeptical on Syria Posted: 02 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama worked on Monday to persuade skeptical lawmakers to endorse a U.S. military intervention in civil war-wracked Syria, winning conditional support from two leading Senate foreign policy hawks even as he encountered resistance from members of his own party after two days of a determined push to sell the plan.
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| Verizon reclaims US wireless stake for $130B Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:49 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon will own its wireless business outright after agreeing Monday to pay $130 billion for the 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless owned by British cellphone carrier Vodafone.
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| A look at Syria developments around the world Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:34 PM PDT  The United States is considering launching a punitive strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, blamed by the U.S. and the Syrian opposition for an Aug. 21 alleged chemical weapons attack in a rebel-held suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus. The U.S. said the attack killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Those numbers are significantly higher than the death toll of 355 provided by the aid group Doctors Without Borders.
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| Brazil, Mexico summon US envoys over spy claims Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:28 PM PDT  Brazil and Mexico summoned US ambassadors on Monday to demand explanations over allegations that the National Security Agency spied on their presidents' communications.
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| Arsenal break bank for Germany star Ozil Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:25 PM PDT  Arsenal on Monday shattered their transfer record to sign Germany attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in a deal reportedly worth £42.4 million ($66 million, 50 million euros).
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| Argentine ex-president Menem back on trial at 83 Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:23 PM PDT  Argentina's ex-president Carlos Menem was back in court for a new trial Monday, this time for allegedly falsifying his personal tax returns, the Supreme Court announced.
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| Assad: Risk of regional war if West strikes Syria Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:22 PM PDT  PARIS (AP) — France released an intelligence report on Monday alleging chemical weapons use by Syria's regime that dovetailed with similar U.S. claims, as President Bashar Assad warned that any military strike against his country would spark an uncontrollable regional war and spread "chaos and extremism."
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| Lava lamps: 50 years old and still groovy Posted: 02 Sep 2013 03:05 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Call them '60s relics or hippy home accessories, lava lamps have been casting their dim but groovy light on interiors for half a century, having hit British shelves 50 years ago on Tuesday.
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| 'Butler' regains top spot in N. American box office Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:52 PM PDT  "Lee Daniels' The Butler" regained the top slot at the North American box office over the US holiday weekend, according to preliminary figures released by an industry group.
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| Actor Michael Douglas says no crisis in marriage Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:50 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — Actor Michael Douglas says he doesn't have a crisis at home and that he and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones "are fine" and taking a "temporary separation."
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| Japan shuts down one of two operating reactors Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:50 PM PDT  One of Japan's two remaining working nuclear reactors was taken offline Tuesday, with the other to be shut down later this month and no restarts in sight amid public hostility to nuclear power.
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| Western dithering on Syria could hit credibility: observers Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:27 PM PDT  The West's inaction days after threats to launch punitive action against Syria for a deadly chemical weapons attack could badly damage its credibility in tackling other global flashpoints, observers say.
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| Japan to spend 40 billion yen to treat radioactive water at Fukushima: Nikkei Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:25 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The Japan government plans to spend at least 40 billion yen ($402.60 million) to contain the leaking of radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Nikkei newspaper said, citing government sources. The government is expected to announce on Tuesday a package of measures to deal with the crisis at the Tokyo Electric Power Co plant wrecked by an earthquake in 2011. The government intends to cover all the costs for freezing the soil around the reactors to prevent groundwater from mixing with contaminated water inside the reactor, the daily said. ...
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| Swaziland is a 'monarchial democracy', says king Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:24 PM PDT  Africa's last absolute monarch King Mswati III has declared his tiny mountain kingdom has a new political system -- a "monarchial democracy" -- his spokesman said on Monday.
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| Untested Yale man becomes Serbian finance minister, eyes IMF deal Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:22 PM PDT By Ivana Sekularac BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian lawmakers endorsed 29-year-old former McKinsey consultant Lazar Krstic as finance minister on Monday, handing him the task of reining in the country's ballooning deficit and public debt. Krstic brings no political pedigree to the job but was handpicked by the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the biggest party in Serbia's ruling coalition. The Yale graduate was endorsed as part of a cabinet reshuffle passed by 134 votes to 65 in the 250-seat parliament. ... |
| As Obama pushes to punish Syria, lawmakers fear deep U.S. involvement Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:21 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's efforts to convince Congress to back his plan to attack Syria met with skepticism on Monday from lawmakers in his own Democratic Party who expressed concern the United States would be dragged into a new Middle East conflict. ...
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| UN envoy says Congo rebels 'must disarm' Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:12 PM PDT  The M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo "must disarm", UN special envoy Mary Robinson said Monday during a visit to the conflict-torn area as Congolese troops readied to seize a rebel stronghold.
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| In first major test, Obama overrules new team Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:12 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — For President Barack Obama's new foreign policy advisers, the first test of their willingness to undertake military action wound up being a stark lesson in the president's ability to overrule them all.
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| Mali interim leader says government has 'overcome' crisis Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:12 PM PDT  The Malian government has successfully overcome the "huge challenge" of steering the country through a complex 18-month political crisis, interim leader Dioncouda Traore, who leaves office this week, said on Monday.
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| Protesters call for peace in Central African Republic Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:07 PM PDT  Thousands of protesters descended on the Central African Republic's capital Monday to call for peace in the strife-torn country, which has been beset by reports of widespread rape and violence since a March coup.
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| Romanians protest for second day against gold mine Posted: 02 Sep 2013 02:06 PM PDT  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Protesters gathered in Romania's capital Bucharest late on Monday for a second day of protests against the government's support for a plan to open Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine. The more than 1,000 protesters were surrounded by riot police as they sat down on the street, tapping plastic bottles on the ground, chanting "United we will save Rosia Montana. ...
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| France says pension reform enough for several years Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:59 PM PDT  By Catherine Bremer and Emmanuel Jarry PARIS (Reuters) - The minister in charge of France's pension reform says her proposals are robust enough to tide the system over for several years at least, even if economic growth falls short of expectations. Health and Social Affairs Minister Marisol Touraine, whose pension law is set to go to parliament in October, told Reuters that while the plan may appear less bold than a 2010 move under conservative Nicolas Sarkozy to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, the Socialist reform would be a lasting one. ...
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| Senegal PM forms new government without singer Youssou N'Dour Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:57 PM PDT  Senegal's new prime minister, Aminata Toure, formed her new government Monday with the notable absence of singer and tourism minister Youssou N'Dour, according to a presidential statement.
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| Italy says Syria crisis to worsen refugee problem Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:50 PM PDT  Italy warned Monday the European Union lacks an adequate approach for the refugee problem that will worsen in case of an international intervention in Syria.
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| Mexico leader celebrates education reform victory Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:37 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Enrique Pena Nieto used his first state-of-the-nation address Monday to push an aggressive reform agenda that seemed to be on the ropes last week, as protesting teachers attempted to block his plan for mandatory evaluations.
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| Daughter of Libya's ex-spy chief abducted Posted: 02 Sep 2013 01:30 PM PDT TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The head of a Libyan prison says the daughter of the country's former spy chief has been abducted after leaving prison in the Libyan capital. |
