| Russia proposes Syria chemical weapons deal to avert U.S. strike Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:07 PM PDT  By Stephen Kalin and Arshad Mohammed BEIRUT/LONDON (Reuters) - As President Barack Obama struggled to rally Congress and the American people behind military action in Syria, Russia seized on a remark by his secretary of state on Monday to say Damascus should save itself by handing over its chemical weapons. John Kerry was quick to dismiss as hypothetical his own comment that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avert U.S. strikes by surrendering his chemical arsenal to international control. ...
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| Egypt tightens Sinai security, assesses militant threat Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:20 PM PDT  By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt has tightened control of crossings from the Sinai after an Islamist militant group based in the peninsula said it tried to kill the interior minister in Cairo last week, the state news agency reported on Monday. The group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis claimed responsibility on Sunday for last Thursday's suicide bombing aimed at Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. It promised more attacks in revenge for a crackdown on Egypt's Islamists, raising fears that militant violence in the Sinai could spread across the country. ...
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| Conservative leader Solberg sweeps into power in Norwegian election Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:35 PM PDT  By Balazs Koranyi and Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's opposition Conservatives, promising tax cuts and better healthcare, won elections in a landslide on Monday but faced tough coalition talks with a populist party that wants to spend more of the accumulated oil riches and curb immigration. Led by Erna Solberg, a former girl scout leader who has overcome dyslexia, the Conservatives promise to diversify the economy away from oil, privatize state firms, and reduce some of the world's highest taxes rates to give the private sector more breathing room. ...
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| Kenya's deputy president goes on trial at international court Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:25 PM PDT  By Thomas Escritt and James Macharia THE HAGUE/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's deputy president goes on trial at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday charged with co-orchestrating a post-election bloodbath five years ago, a case that will test the stability of a country seen as vital to security in East Africa. The trials of William Ruto and that of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, which will start in November, have split public opinion, and witness testimonies of the violence in 2008 that killed more than a thousand people could stir tension. ...
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| Maduro mulls relaunching 'permuta' forex system in Venezuela Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:12 PM PDT  By Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela may relaunch its so-called "permuta" foreign exchange mechanism as it seeks to supply more dollars to local importers who are complaining about lack of access to hard currency, President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday. The "permuta" system, which was shuttered by the government in 2010, would run alongside two existing exchange mechanisms: one run by the state currency board called Cadivi, and a second auction-based system, Sicad, run by the central bank. "Most likely we will launch a new system that will compliment Cadivi and Sicad. ...
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| Rodman to try 'basketball diplomacy' with North Korea Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:23 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former NBA player Dennis Rodman hopes some "basketball diplomacy" will open doors with North Korea and possibly lead to dialogue between its leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Barack Obama. Rodman plans to train a North Korean basketball team for a pair of exhibition matches against a U.S. team in the isolated, communist-ruled country in January, Rodman told a news conference on Monday following his second visit to North Korea this year for meetings with Kim. ...
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| Sudden plan: Syria to dispose of chemical weapons? Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:54 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rapid and remarkable chain of events, Syria welcomed the idea of turning over all of its chemical weapons for destruction on Monday, and President Barack Obama, though expressing deep skepticism, declared it a "potentially positive development" that could head off the threats of U.S. air strikes that have set the world on edge.
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| Byzantine-era gold hoard unearthed in Jerusalem Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT  Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a Byzantine-era hoard of gold in Jerusalem's Old City, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced on Monday.
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| Russian proposal complicates U.S. Syria strike debate Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:35 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, struggling to gain support for U.S. military action in Syria, called Russia's proposal on Monday to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control a "potentially positive" move that should be viewed skeptically. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid pushed back a Senate test vote on whether to authorize military strikes against Syria that had been scheduled for Wednesday as lawmakers evaluate the Russian plan. The vote is still expected this week. ...
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| Long-lost painting by Van Gogh is identified Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:34 PM PDT  AMSTERDAM (AP) — A painting that sat for six decades in a Norwegian industrialist's attic after he was told it was a fake Van Gogh was pronounced the real thing Monday, making it the first full-size canvas by the tortured Dutch artist to be discovered since 1928.
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| Flames' workhorse Kiprusoff retires Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:34 PM PDT  Finland's Miikka Kiprusoff, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2006 as the league's top goaltender, announced Monday he is retiring after a stellar 12-year NHL career.
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| Nigerian Anglican archbishop kidnapped Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:28 PM PDT  Nigeria's second-highest ranking Anglican archbishop was kidnapped at the weekend outside the southern oil city of Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, a police spokeswoman said on Monday.
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| US to take 'hard look' at Russian Syria weapons plan Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:28 PM PDT  The United States said Monday it would welcome a plan for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons but expressed skepticism at the Russian initiative, which is designed to head off American air strikes.
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| Man flees sex charge, survives 4 months in Andes Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:06 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A story of remarkable human endurance in the snow-covered Andes has taken a somber turn.
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| Center-right bloc takes power in Norway Posted: 09 Sep 2013 04:00 PM PDT  OSLO, Norway (AP) — Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg — nicknamed "Iron Erna" — will become Norway's new prime minister as the leader of a center-right coalition government likely including an anti-immigration party.
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| James Bond sub car sells for £550,000 Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:41 PM PDT  The iconic submarine car driven by James Bond in the 1977 classic The Spy Who Loved Me fetched £550,000 ($860,000, 650,000 euros) when it was floated at auction for the first time in London on Monday.
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| Norway moves right with populists likely in government Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:34 PM PDT  Norway shifted right in elections Monday, ending eight years of centre-left rule and setting the stage for a new Conservative-led government with the populist anti-immigration Progress Party as junior partner.
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| After softening, 'Iron Erna' set to become Norway's PM Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:29 PM PDT  By Terje Solsvik and Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Erna Solberg, set to become Norway's next prime minister, has transformed herself from a tough-minded "Iron Erna" into a softer Conservative more caring about voters' jobs, health and schools. Solberg, 52, even wrote a book in 2011 entitled "People, not Billions" that widened her appeal as leader of a right-wing party often criticized as more focused on tax cuts for the rich and businesses than on the welfare of ordinary Norwegians. ...
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| Lance Armstrong's lies revealed in Gibney film Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:22 PM PDT  A film about Lance Armstrong's cycling comeback, shot in 2009 but shelved when his doping denials began to unravel, had its own revival Monday, offering fresh perspective on his lies.
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| AP poll: Most Americans oppose strike on Syria Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:17 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Only 1 in 5 Americans believe that failing to respond to chemical weapons attacks in Syria would embolden other rogue governments, rejecting the heart of a weeks-long White House campaign for U.S. military strikes, an Associated Press poll concluded Monday.
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| Rice returns to center stage to urge U.S. action on Syria Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:12 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice returned to center stage on Monday to deliver a forceful call for limited U.S. military strikes in Syria, nearly a year after her comments about another foreign crisis turned her into a target for Republican anger. In her first major speech since the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations started her White House job in July, Rice said Washington had to respond to the "atrocity" and "outrage" of chemical weapons use in Syria. ...
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| Obama: Strikes ‘absolutely’ on hold if Syria quits chemical arms Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:03 PM PDT Obama says "I wouldn't say I'm confident" Congress will approve force. |
| Logging threatens Monarch butterflies in Mexico Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A new study of the Monarch butterflies' winter nesting grounds in central Mexico says small-scale logging is worse than previously thought and may be contributing to threats facing the Monarch's singular migration pattern.
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| Tropical Storm Humberto strengthens near Cape Verde Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:57 PM PDT MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Humberto strengthened as it swept past the Cape Verde islands on Monday and was expected to grow into the first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The storm sprang to life early on Monday south of Cape Verde, a country of small rocky isles off West Africa with a population of about 531,000. It won independence from Portugal in 1975. Humberto lashed the southern Cape Verde islands with rain and wind gusts as it moved past them but by late afternoon all tropical storm warnings had been lifted. ... |
| Obama: Russia plan on Syria arms may be 'breakthrough' Posted: 09 Sep 2013 05:02 PM PDT  President Barack Obama said Monday that a Russian plan to secure Syria's chemical weapons could be a "significant breakthrough" but warned he had not taken US strikes off the table.
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| Left's backing boosts Mexico tax plan chances, right skeptical Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:54 PM PDT  By Ana Isabel Martinez and Simon Gardner MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican government's long-awaited tax reform won support from the leftist opposition on Monday, boosting its chances of passing Congress, but the center-right was more skeptical about a plan that foresees running up a budget deficit. Comprising a mix of higher taxes on the wealthier, a new charge on stock market gains and scrapping two-thirds of Mexico's tax breaks and exemptions, the plan was less aggressive than many had expected before its unveiling on Sunday. ...
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| Center-right bloc to take power in Norway Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:53 PM PDT OSLO, Norway (AP) — Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg — nicknamed "Iron Erna" for her tough image — will become Norway's new prime minister, as the leader of a center-right coalition government. |
| Court to deliver Delhi bus gangrape verdict Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:50 PM PDT  A judge will hand down the verdict Tuesday on four men accused of the fatal gang-rape of an Indian student on a bus, which could see the defendants sentenced to death.
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| Video shows leader of Algeria, Niger attacks Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:44 PM PDT By Patrick Markey TUNIS (Reuters) - A video of militants who attacked Algeria's Amenas gas field and a French mine in Niger shows Islamist leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar praising, briefing and training fighters for his group's operations in North Africa. Belmokhtar, who has ties to al Qaeda's North Africa wing, has been blamed for masterminding the January attack in Algeria that killed up to 38 foreign workers and exposed the security risks facing a top energy supplier to Europe. ... |
| 007 'submarine car' sells for $865,000 Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:38 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — A car that transformed into a submarine in the James Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me" has been sold at a London auction for 550,000 pounds ($865,000).
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| Navalny defuses anger over Moscow mayor's race Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:37 PM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — Opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday night defused anger over the Moscow mayoral election, telling a vast square of cheering supporters to celebrate his surprisingly strong second-place finish as a victory that gave rise to real political competition in Russia.
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| Syria's Assad: An accidental heir proves resilient Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:35 PM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — Those who knew Bashar Assad in earlier days say he was uncomfortable being the son of a president and never wanted to lead. A soft-spoken, lisping eye doctor, he enjoyed Western rock music and electronic gadgets — an accidental heir to power.
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| Greek teachers call strikes against public sector layoffs Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:33 PM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek teachers will kick off the school year with rolling strikes to protest public sector layoffs and forced transfers demanded by the country's international lenders, labor unions said on Monday. The school year begins on Wednesday, and the government must designate thousands of public sector workers for possible dismissal to convince its borrowers arriving for an inspection visit on September 22 it deserves further bailout funding. ...
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| Robohand uses 3-D printing to replace lost digits Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:30 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Richard Van As, a South African carpenter, lost four fingers from his right hand to a circular saw two years ago.
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| Rousseff: Any Petrobras spying has economic motive Posted: 09 Sep 2013 02:26 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff again demanded answers from the U.S. government Monday after a new report about National Security Agency spying on Brazil.
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