| World powers on 'right track' on Syria chemical arms: Putin Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:06 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday global powers were "on the right track" with a plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons and could avert military intervention in the conflict if they worked together. Agreement on the plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons was reached after U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve air strikes to punish Syria's government over an August 21 gas attack the United States says killed more than 1,400 people. "There is every reason to believe we are on the right track," Putin told an investment conference. ...
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| Guinea's ruling party takes early lead in legislative polls Posted: 02 Oct 2013 04:04 PM PDT  CONAKRY (Reuters) - The party of Guinean President Alpha Conde has taken an early lead, according to the first results from weekend legislative polls published by the elections commission late on Wednesday. The National Electoral Commission (CENI) initially said it would take days longer than expected to release a result but pledged earlier on Wednesday to announce tallies as they trickled in from 12,000 polling stations. ...
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| Russian Embassy in Libya comes under fire, attack repelled Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Thomas Grove TRIPOLI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli came under fire on Wednesday and a group of people tried to force their way into the compound, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Diplomatic sources in Libya said security guards fired shots to disperse a group of about 60 people that had approached the embassy. An attempt to enter the building was repelled and according to the Foreign Ministry no diplomats were wounded. ...
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| Clashes flare at pro-Mursi march in Egyptian city, one dead Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:37 PM PDT ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - A high school student was killed when opponents and supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi clashed in the city of Suez on Wednesday night, medical and security sources said. The two sides exchanged gunfire and threw petrol bombs after supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mursi chanted anti-army slogans as they marched in the city, the sources said. Abdullah Mohamed Attia, 17, died from a bullet wound, the state news agency reported. The student was a supporter of Mursi, the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party said in a statement. ... |
| Pakistan's top police bomb disposal unit starved of money and men Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:29 PM PDT  By Katharine Houreld PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit packed some aging detonator cord confiscated from the Taliban into a plastic water bottle and reached for a roll of sticky tape. With his low-cost, improvised - and extremely dangerous - device he demonstrated how he destroys militant bombs, but also revealed desperate shortages of money and equipment for bomb disposal experts. Twelve years into the war on militancy, Pakistan's police are chronically under-funded. ...
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| Mali president dissolves army reform committee Posted: 02 Oct 2013 05:08 PM PDT  By Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, on Wednesday dissolved an army reform committee dominated by former members of a military junta after blasting disgruntled officers for staging an unruly protest at a military base earlier this week. Officers who participated in a military coup last year fired into the air on Monday in the southern garrison town of Kati, close to the capital, Bamako, in protest at not receiving promotions they said had been promised. ...
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| Obama, congressional leaders still deadlocked on shutdown Posted: 02 Oct 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock that has shut down wide swaths of the federal government, but there was no breakthrough. After more than an hour of talks, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to hold the president hostage over Obamacare. ...
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| Brazilian police stop Indians from storming Congress Posted: 02 Oct 2013 04:43 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian police used pepper spray to stop hundreds of protesting Indians from storming Congress on Wednesday, clamping down on the second day of indigenous rights marches. Tribes across Brazil blocked highways and occupied government offices to oppose what they see as a steady undermining of their rights to ancestral lands by farmers supported by politicians in disputes that have occasionally turned violent. ...
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| BP's well control exec says he was unprepared for U.S. Gulf blowout Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:46 PM PDT  By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - BP's manager in charge of controlling the Macondo blowout in 2010 was never trained to permanently plug a ruptured oil well and said in court on Wednesday the British company was not fully prepared for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. On day three of the second phase of a federal trial in New Orleans over the accident in the Gulf of Mexico, BP's James Dupree also said "yes" when asked if the company was "starting from scratch" when it scrambled to stop the leak. The U.S. District Court trial could lead to fines of more than $17 billion. ...
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| Maduro warns US all its diplomats could be thrown out Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:46 PM PDT  Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro lashed out at the United States anew Wednesday, warning after he expelled three US diplomats in Caracas that the rest could be next.
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| Gambia pulls out of 'neo-colonial' Commonwealth Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:38 PM PDT BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia has withdrawn from the Commonwealth, the 54-member grouping including Britain and most of its former colonies, branding it a "neo-colonial institution," according to a statement released by the West African nation on Wednesday. "The government has withdrawn its membership of the British Commonwealth and decided that the Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism," read a statement broadcast on state television. No further reason for the decision was given. ... |
| Maduro probes purported US involvement in Air France drug cache Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:30 PM PDT  Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Wednesday he was investigating whether US drug enforcement agents were involved in a huge cocaine drug bust as part of a plot to brand Venezuela a "narco state."
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| Gambia pulls out of Commonwealth Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:13 PM PDT  Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - The Gambian government on Wednesday announced it was pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect, without providing further details.
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| Protesters attack Russia embassy in Libya Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:09 PM PDT  Tripoli (AFP) - Dozens of angry protesters tried to storm Russia's embassy in Tripoli on Wednesday after reports that a Russian woman had killed a Libyan army officer, a witness said.
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| Obama warns Wall Street over fiscal crisis Posted: 02 Oct 2013 03:07 PM PDT  Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama sent Wall Street a blunt warning Wednesday that it should be very worried about a political crisis that has shut down the government and could trigger a US debt default.
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| U.S. expels three Venezuelan diplomats in tit-for-tat move Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:53 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Washington has expelled Venezuela's highest-ranking diplomat in the United States and two others from its embassy in retaliation for Venezuela's booting out three American diplomats accused of fomenting sabotage, both governments said on Wednesday. The flare-up appears to derail some tentative moves to improve relations between Caracas and Washington since President Nicolas Maduro took over this year from the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, whose 14-year rule was halted by cancer. ...
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| Man City outclassed by brilliant Bayern Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:52 PM PDT  Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Defending champions Bayern Munich proved they remain the team to beat in the Champions League with a classy 3-1 win at Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
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| Taison lands late blow to force draw with United Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:52 PM PDT  Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - Brazilian striker Taison's goal 14 minutes from time denied Manchester United a second successive win in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday as Shakhtar Donetsk grabbed a 1-1 draw.
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| Irish bishop resigns due to ill health Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:50 PM PDT  Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of bishop William Lee whom the Catholic Church in Ireland said was stepping down for health reasons.
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| New sanctions likely despite thaw in US-Iran ties Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:26 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers from both parties have expressed a willingness to give President Barack Obama's outreach to Iran a chance to end to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, but at the same time they are crafting tough new U.S. economic sanctions to further isolate the Islamic republic.
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| 'We love Mandela' London exhibition pays hommage to icon Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:13 PM PDT  London (AFP) - A portrait of Nelson Mandela by British artist Richard Stone and a portrayal of him playing the role of Jesus at the Last Supper are some of the works on display in London's "We Love Mandela" exhibition.
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| Cerberus investment fund eyes BlackBerry bid: source Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:03 PM PDT  New York City (AFP) - The private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is interested in a bid for troubled Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
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| Italian president warns parties against renewed turbulence Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:00 PM PDT ROME (Reuters) - President Giorgio Napolitano warned the parties in Italy's governing coalition on Wednesday against renewed political turbulence after Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote in parliament. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, facing revolt in his own centre-right party, earlier backtracked from threats to bring down the government. "The government has stood the test, beaten the challenge," Napolitano said in a statement. He said Letta and his cabinet could not allow a renewal of daily political turmoil. (Reporting by Catherine Hornby; Editing by Mark Heinrich) |
| Berlusconi U-turn secures Italian government survival Posted: 02 Oct 2013 02:00 PM PDT  By Paolo Biondi ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi, facing revolt in his own center-right party, backtracked on threats to bring down the government. As dozens of center-right senators prepared to defy their media magnate leader and salvage the left-right coalition led by Letta, Berlusconi staged an abrupt U-turn and said he too would back the center-left prime minister, just days after he sparked the crisis by pulling his ministers out of Letta's cabinet. ...
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| Sudan unrest a warning to government to seek dialogue: Britain Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:53 PM PDT  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A week of deadly unrest in Sudan should serve as a warning to the government to solve conflicts through national dialogue, a senior British official said on Wednesday, in the strongest foreign criticism of Khartoum's crackdown on protests. Protests and riots erupted in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities last week against the lifting of fuel subsidies, triggering a clampdown by security forces. Sudanese human rights activists and some diplomats say that up to 150 people died after security forces opened fire on crowds. ...
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| More remains found at site of cruise ship wreck in Italy Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:46 PM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Divers have recovered what could be more human remains from the sea where the Costa Concordia cruise liner sank last year off the Italian island of Giglio, the head of Italy's civil protection agency said on Wednesday. The agency said last week it had found remains that could belong to the last two missing victims from the disaster on January 13, 2012, when the ship capsized after striking rocks, killing 32 people. "Other remains have also been found and are currently undergoing DNA tests," the agency's chief Franco Gabrielli told reporters on Wednesday. ...
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| Berlusconi weakened by political about-face Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:42 PM PDT  MILAN (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi's failed attempt to topple the Italian government has left him weaker than ever, zapped of the aura of invincibility that has surrounded him for two decades as he faces the possible loss of his Senate seat and a ban from politics.
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| Beckham 'lost focus' says Ferguson Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:34 PM PDT  LONDON (AFP) - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said Wednesday that his one-time star midfielder David Beckham had "lost focus" following his marriage to pop star Victoria Adams of the Spice Girls.
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| Mali frees 23 prisoners as part of stalled rebel deal Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:28 PM PDT  Bamako (AFP) - Mali on Wednesday freed 23 prisoners arrested in clashes in the north, as part of a deal signed between the government and rebels in June, the justice minister said.
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| UN Council demands end to aid hurdles in Syria Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:21 PM PDT  New York (AFP) - The UN Security Council on Wednesday demanded immediate and "unhindered" access to hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the Syrian conflict.
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| Russia Takes on Greenpeace—and Stakes Its Claim to the Arctic Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:21 PM PDT Greenpeace could not have chosen a worse time to set sail for the Russian Arctic. On Sept. 15, as the eco-activists were making their way into the Barents Sea, Russia's main news networks were trumpeting the return of the Russian military to the northern frontier. Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, commander of the Northern Fleet, was shown on state-run television raising the Russian tricolor over a permanent military base in the Arctic, the first one Russia has opened since the fall of the Soviet Union. "We shall consider these flags to be raised here forever," the Admiral said. ... |
| Injured Torres set for three weeks out - Chelsea Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:14 PM PDT  LONDON (AFP) - Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has suffered a knee injury that will sideline him for some three weeks, the Premier League club announced on their website on Wednesday.
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| Sudan protests should serve as warning: Britain Posted: 02 Oct 2013 12:54 PM PDT  Khartoum (AFP) - Britain said Wednesday that deadly protests over Sudan's fuel price hikes should serve as a wake-up call for political dialogue, as concern mounted for those detained in the crackdown.
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| Dettori out of Arc with season-ending injury Posted: 02 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT  LONDON (AFP) - Italian jockey Frankie Dettori will miss his ride in Europe's most prestigious race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, on Sunday after suffering a season-ending injury, his business manager said Wednesday.
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