| Islamist gunmen hold hostages in Kenya siege after 68 killed Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:44 PM PDT  By Duncan Miriri and James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya said its security forces were in control of most of the Nairobi shopping mall where at least 68 people were killed by Somali al Shabaab Islamists, but gunmen still appeared to be holding hostages as the siege entered its third day on Monday. Referring to an operation under way since early on Sunday, following the storming of the upmarket Westgate mall at lunchtime the previous day, a military spokesman said most of those who had been in the complex were now free. ...
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| Analysis: Nairobi attack may trigger tighter security at malls worldwide Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:10 PM PDT  By Ilaina Jonas and Mark Hosenball (Reuters) - The deadly attack on a high-end Nairobi shopping mall on Saturday put the safety of malls around the world into the spotlight and could trigger moves to improve security and make it more visible. "They're obviously going to ramp up security," said Malachy Kavanagh, a spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, a U.S.-based trade group of mall and shopping center owners, adding that he expected the U.S. ...
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| Merkel romps to victory but faces tough coalition choices Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Stephen Brown and Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel won a landslide personal victory in Germany's general election on Sunday, but her conservatives appeared just short of the votes needed to rule on their own and may have to convince leftist rivals to join a coalition government. Partial results put support for Merkel's conservative bloc on 42 percent, their strongest score since 1990, the year of German unification, and a ringing endorsement of her steady leadership during the euro zone crisis. ...
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| Sudan's Bashir, wanted by the ICC, says he will travel to U.N. Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:26 PM PDT  By Ulf Laessing and Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges, said on Sunday he planned to attend this week's U.N. General Assembly and had already booked a hotel in New York. Washington has led calls for Bashir to face international justice over bloodshed in the now decade-old conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, and a senior State Department official said last week that Bashir would "not receive a warm welcome" if he traveled to New York. ...
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| Suicide bombers kill 78 Christians outside Pakistani church Posted: 22 Sep 2013 11:34 AM PDT  By Fayaz Aziz PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a 130-year-old Anglican church in Pakistan after Sunday Mass, killing at least 78 people in the deadliest attack on Christians in the predominantly Muslim country. Islamist violence has been on the rise in Pakistan in past months, undermining Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's efforts to tame the insurgency by launching peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban. ...
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| Kenyan forces say they rescued 'most' hostages Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:38 PM PDT  NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's military said late Sunday it had rescued "most" of the remaining hostages held by al-Qaida-linked militants in an upscale Nairobi mall after launching a major operation to end a two-day standoff that had already killed 68 people.
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| Wenger expects even more from Ozil Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:37 PM PDT  LONDON (AFP) - Arsene Wenger believes there is more to come from Mesut Ozil after the Germany international continued his impressive start to life at Arsenal.
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| Villas-Boas glad Spurs effort gets reward Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:36 PM PDT  CARDIFF, United Kingdom (AFP) - Andre Villas-Boas was delighted with the persistence and quality shown by Tottenham in their 1-0 win away to Cardiff City.
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| China's Xi stamps authority on party with Bo verdict Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:34 PM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - With ousted senior politician Bo Xilai jailed for life, Chinese President Xi Jinping has stamped his authority on the Communist Party by effectively warning he will not tolerate dissent as he seeks to push through tough economic reforms. Bo was sentenced on Sunday after being found guilty on charges of corruption, taking bribes and abuse of power. He is expected to appeal, although since all courts are controlled by the party the verdict was likely pre-ordained. ...
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| Moyes admonishes United after derby drubbing Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:33 PM PDT  MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Manchester United manager David Moyes said he upbraided his players after their crushing 4-1 derby defeat at Manchester City and called for an immediate improvement in their performances.
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| Victorious Merkel must reach out to leftist rivals Posted: 22 Sep 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - Despite leading her conservatives to their strongest election result in over two decades, German Chancellor Angela Merkel now faces the unsavory prospect of having to court her arch-rivals on the left to maintain her grip on power. Even her political enemies admitted on Sunday night that Merkel was the big winner of the first German vote since the euro zone debt crisis erupted nearly four years ago and thrust the reserved pastor's daughter from East Germany into the role of Europe's dominant leader. ...
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| Merkel factor boosts party's result in German vote Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:56 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — The strong performance by Angela Merkel's conservatives in Sunday's German election was not only a victory for her Christian Democratic Union but also vindication of her strategy of transforming a party long dominated by Roman Catholic men.
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| Kenya forces say mall battle in final stages Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:41 PM PDT  NAIROBI (AFP) - Kenyan troops battled late into Sunday night in a bid to end a terrifying stand-off with Somali militants holding hostages inside a shopping mall, with police warning the death toll of 68 could rise sharply.
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| German euroskeptics on the rise, liberals in decline Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:29 PM PDT  By Alexandra Hudson and Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - A new anti-euro party narrowly missed entering parliament in a German election on Sunday, drawing millions of voters with a euroskeptic message that may have laid the foundations for a strong challenge in a European Parliament vote next year. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), formed just seven months ago to tap into resentment in Europe's biggest economy about bailouts for weak euro zone states like Greece, generated a late surge in support to score 4.8 percent. ...
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| A look at major terror attacks in East Africa Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:21 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A look at the major terror attacks in East Africa, outside of Somalia:
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| Three hurt as Russia's Damascus mission hit by mortar round Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:21 PM PDT  DAMASCUS (AFP) - A mortar round hit the Russian embassy compound in Damascus on Sunday, injuring three, as Moscow accused Washington of blackmailing it to win a tough UN resolution on Syria's chemical weapons.
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| Israeli soldier killed in West Bank shooting Posted: 22 Sep 2013 03:10 PM PDT  By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli soldier was shot dead on Sunday during a Jewish festival in the West Bank city of Hebron, a hotbed of tensions where some 500 Israeli settler families live among 100,000 Palestinians. He was the second Israeli serviceman killed since Friday by suspected Palestinian gunmen as tensions rise in the occupied territory despite a resumption of stalled U.S.-brokered peace talks in July. ...
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| Swiss voters reject move to end conscription army Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:54 PM PDT BERN, Switzerland (AP) — For the third time in almost a quarter-century, neutral Switzerland has overwhelmingly voted to maintain its conscription army. |
| Israeli soldier killed in Hebron shooting: army Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:51 PM PDT  JERUSALEM (AFP) - An Israeli soldier died on Sunday after being shot by a suspected Palestinian gunman in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, officials said.
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| Paolo di Canio sacked by Sunderland Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:41 PM PDT  LONDON (AFP) - Paolo di Canio was sacked as manager of English Premier League basement club Sunderland on Sunday after just seven months in charge of the north-east side.
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| Merkel triumphs in German vote but allies crushed Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:31 PM PDT  BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives triumphed in Germany's election Sunday and appeared likely to end up close to an absolute majority. While Merkel was headed for a third term, her center-right coalition partners faced ejection from parliament for the first time in post-World War II history.
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| Record 1.3 tonne cocaine haul found on Air France flight Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:18 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French police found a record haul of 200 million euros ($270.19 million) of cocaine hidden in suitcases on an Air France flight from Venezuela's capital Caracas to Paris, police and government officials said. The suitcases were registered under false names that did not correspond to passengers on the flight to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, police sources told Reuters on Sunday. Air France said it was still trying to find out how the drugs were smuggled on board. ... |
| U.S. Navy helicopter crashes in Red Sea Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:07 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed in the central Red Sea on Sunday with five military personnel on board, a statement from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said. Three of the people on board the aircraft have been found and are "stable" while the other two are still being sought, the statement said. The MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 6 crashed while operating with the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, the statement said. "The crash was not due to any sort of hostile activity," the statement said. ... |
| Kenya military says it has freed most hostages from mall siege: TV Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:06 PM PDT  NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's military said on Sunday it had freed most hostages at a shopping mall in Nairobi, where at least 68 people were killed in an attack claimed by Somalia's Islamist militant group al Shabaab. "Most of the hostages have been released, and the Kenya Defence Forces has taken control of most parts of the building," Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna told the television station KTN. He did say how many hostages had been held or freed. (Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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| Suicide attack on Pakistani church kills 78 people Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:05 PM PDT  PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up amid hundreds of worshippers at a historic church in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing 78 people in the deadliest-ever attack against the country's Christian minority.
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| Merkel clinches third term, might have absolute majority Posted: 22 Sep 2013 02:04 PM PDT  BERLIN (AFP) - Chancellor Angela Merkel may have captured a shock absolute majority in her winning bid for a third term in German elections Sunday, in a first since the 1950s, preliminary estimates indicated.
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| Egypt draft constitution expected by November Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:56 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — A 50-member panel tasked with amending Egypt's Islamist-drafted constitution will complete its work by early November, a spokesman for the body said Sunday, wrapping up the first step of a military-backed roadmap in place since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi.
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| US Navy searches for 2 sailors after chopper crash Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:46 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US Navy helicopter crashed into the Red Sea on Sunday and a search is underway for two of the five crew members, the military said.The MH-60S Knighthawk was flying with the guided missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, part of a carrier group dispatched to the region to increase pressure on Syria.The US Fifth Fleet said the helicopter was not downed by enemy fire, but ditched into the sea. ...
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| Somalia's Shebab: dangerous when cornered Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:42 PM PDT  The massacre at a Kenyan shopping mall by Somalia's Shebab insurgents has shown the still potent threat of the Al-Qaeda-linked group even as fighters struggle at home, analysts say.
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| Israeli soldier killed in Palestinian West Bank Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:40 PM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Unknown gunmen shot and killed an Israeli soldier in the biblical city of Hebron in the West Bank on Sunday, and troops are searching for the shooter, the military said. |
| Thousands of Romanians in fresh protest against mine project Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:39 PM PDT  BUCHAREST (AFP) - Thousands of Romanians took to the streets on Sunday in a fourth week of protests against a Canadian company's plan to open Europe's largest gold mine in a picturesque Transylvanian village.The demonstration came a day after thousands of protesters formed a human chain around the parliament building in Bucharest, in the biggest wave of demos in Romania since the 1990s.Protesters in the capital chanted "United we can save Rosia Montana", the village where Gabriel Resources is hoping to extract 300 tonnes of gold and 1,600 tonnes of silver. ...
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| U.S. will support Kenya to bring attackers to justice: Obama Posted: 22 Sep 2013 01:04 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday to offer condolences over what the White House called a "terrorist attack" by the al Shabaab group at a Nairobi shopping mall that has killed almost 70 people. Islamist militants still held hostages on Sunday at the shopping mall, where brief volleys of gunfire interrupted hours of stalemate. ...
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| Flight chaos as typhoon lashes southern China, killing three Posted: 22 Sep 2013 12:28 PM PDT  Severe Typhoon Usagi killed at least three people as it smashed into southern China Sunday, shutting down one of the world's busiest sea ports in nearby Hong Kong and throwing flight schedules into disarray.
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| Suicide bomber hits Iraq Sunni funeral, killing 16 Posted: 22 Sep 2013 12:23 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among Sunni mourners attending a funeral in Baghdad on Sunday, killing 16 people and wounding 35 others, officials said, in the latest episode of the country's near-daily violence.
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| AP PHOTOS: Hundreds die in weekend attacks Posted: 22 Sep 2013 12:19 PM PDT  An assault by Islamic extremists at a shopping mall in Kenya, a suicide attack on a Pakistani church and assaults by suicide bombers targeting mourners at Shiite and Sunni funerals in Iraq have killed more than 250 people and injured at least 470 others since Saturday.
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| Merkel's conservatives shy of absolute majority: TV projections Posted: 22 Sep 2013 12:13 PM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are just shy of winning an absolute majority of seats in parliament, according to television projections on Sunday night. Projections from public broadcaster ARD showed her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), with 297 seats in the Bundestag lower house, against 301 for the combined opposition. A separate projection from ZDF showed the CDU/CSU dead even with the other three parties that have made it into parliament, the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Left party. ... |
