| China to hold first trial of anti-graft activists Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:15 PM PDT  By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Chinese anti-graft activists who agitated for officials to disclose their assets go on trial on Monday, in the first case of its kind that underscores the limits of the government's tolerance of challenges to its authority. Despite an official drive against corruption, China has detained at least 15 activists in recent months who were involved in a campaign pushing for officials to publicly disclose their wealth. Rights groups describe the detentions as the first major crackdown by the new government on activists. ...
|
| Colombia's FARC frees ex-U.S. marine after four months in jungle Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:53 PM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC guerrillas have freed a former U.S. marine who was kidnapped in June while he trekked through the jungle in a known guerrilla area, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the U.S. government said on Sunday. Kevin Scott Sutay, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, had been backpacking through several Central and South American countries before he was captured by the FARC. He had ignored police warnings against hiking through a "red zone" for rebel activity in the southeastern province of Guaviare. "We are pleased about the liberation today of ... |
| German paper says Obama aware of spying on Merkel since 2010 Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:00 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - A German newspaper said on Sunday that U.S. President Barack Obama knew his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Angela Merkel as long ago as 2010, contradicting reports that he had told the German leader he did not know. Germany received information this week that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had bugged Merkel's mobile phone, prompting Berlin to summon the U.S. ambassador, a move unprecedented in post-war relations between the close allies. Reuters was unable to confirm Sunday's news report. ...
|
| Israel to free more Palestinian prisoners for peace talks Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:16 PM PDT  By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is to release 26 Palestinian prisoners in a second stage of a deal brokered by the United States in July that brought a resumption of peace talks. Israel said in August it would free 104 inmates in four stages as negotiations resumed after a near three-year hiatus following a dispute over Jewish settlement construction in land Palestinians seek for a state. ...
|
| Kurdish militants tighten grip on Syria's northeast Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:43 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Kurdish militants sought to consolidate their control of an oil-producing region in northeastern Syria on Sunday after seizing a border crossing with Iraq from Islamist rebels, activists said. Fighters linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought in neighboring Turkey for decades, were clearing pockets of resistance of the al Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, al-Nusra Front, and Ahrar al-Sham in the border town of Yarubiya, Syrian opposition sources said. "The Kurds are now in control of the Yarubiya border post. ...
|
| Fernandez coalition loses clout but keeps majority in midterm Posted: 27 Oct 2013 04:26 PM PDT  By Hugh Bronstein BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine leader Cristina Fernandez's allies took a beating in Sunday's midterm election, shrinking her congressional majority, snuffing out chances of a constitutional change to allow her a third term and kicking off the contest to succeed her in 2015. Voters chose half of the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate in Sunday's midterm. Re-elected in 2011 on promises of increasing state control in Latin America's No. ...
|
| FARC releases US ex-Marine held in Colombia Posted: 27 Oct 2013 04:24 PM PDT  Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's leftist FARC rebels have released a former US Marine after holding him for four months, in a move promptly hailed by Washington on Sunday.
|
| Britain braces for massive storm Posted: 27 Oct 2013 04:16 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Driving rains and high winds lashed the U.K. on Sunday evening, as officials warned that the storm forecasters are calling one of the worst in years will cause widespread disruptions for early morning commuters.
|
| Israeli tunnel hit by cyber attack, experts say Posted: 27 Oct 2013 04:13 PM PDT  HADERA, Israel (AP) — When Israel's military chief delivered a high-profile speech this month outlining the greatest threats his country might face in the future, he listed computer sabotage as a top concern, warning a sophisticated cyberattack could one day bring the nation to a standstill.
|
| Argentine ruling party loses ground in Congress Posted: 27 Oct 2013 03:47 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Cristina Fernandez's ruling Front for Victory lost ground in congressional elections Sunday, giving up seats in Argentina's four largest districts and dashing the bloc's hopes that it would could win enough seats to revise the constitution and let her run for a third term.
|
| Colombian rebels free former American GI Posted: 27 Oct 2013 03:32 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's main leftist rebel group on Sunday released a former U.S. Army private who the guerrillas seized in June after he refused to heed local officials' warnings and wandered into rebel-held territory. |
| Argentine leader's power at stake in Congress vote Posted: 27 Oct 2013 03:01 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Cristina Fernandez's ruling Front for Victory lost ground in Argentina's congressional elections Sunday, giving up seats in the four largest districts.
|
| Bomb kills 18 people on way to wedding in eastern Afghanistan Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:58 PM PDT GHAZNI (Reuters) - A roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan killed 18 people, including at least five women, who were travelling to a wedding party by minibus, a local government official said on Sunday. Violence has risen in Afghanistan this year as most foreign combat troops prepare to leave by the end of 2014. "They were going to attend a wedding party when their minibus was hit by a roadside bomb... which killed 18 mostly females, including children," said the governor's spokesman, Shafiq Nang Safai. ... |
| Georgia PM ally cruising to presidency as rival concedes defeat Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:53 PM PDT  Tbilisi (AFP) - An ally of billionaire Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili celebrated a crushing victory at presidential polls in the ex-Soviet country Sunday to succeed flamboyant reformer Mikheil Saakashvili after a decade in charge.
|
| Incoming Georgian president is no 'superman' Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:31 PM PDT  By Margarita Antidze and Timothy Heritage TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's next president, Georgy Margvelashvili, fits in perfectly with Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili's vision of a nation free of politicians who want to be "superman". Margvelashvili, a little-known confidant of the billionaire premier, won a landslide victory in the former Soviet republic's presidential election on Sunday after only a year in politics. The mild-mannered 44-year-old philosopher will bring to the presidency a different style to his predecessor, the confident, outspoken and exuberant Mikheil Saakashvili. ...
|
| Chile's Bachelet pitches $15 billion plan, vows to back labor unions Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:21 PM PDT  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's presidential frontrunner Michelle Bachelet said on Sunday that if elected she will fortify labor unions and roll out an ambitious $15 billion spending program - more than half of which would fund education. The center-left candidate, poised to sail to victory in either November's general election or a runoff in December, said she wants to stop companies from "slyly" limiting union power. ...
|
| Argentine opposition leader Massa wins Buenos Aires mid-term Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:18 PM PDT  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Candidates sponsored by Argentine opposition leader Sergio Massa won the House of Deputies' midterm election by a 10-percentage-point margin on Sunday in the key province of Buenos Aires, according to an exit poll announced on television channel TN. Opposition parties ran against President Cristina Fernandez's FPV coalition in the mid-term. About the size of Italy, Buenos Aires province is home to 40 percent of Argentina's population and most of the country's agricultural output. ...
|
| Thousands march in Romania against shale gas, gold mine Posted: 27 Oct 2013 02:03 PM PDT  Bucharest (AFP) - Thousands of Romanians rallied on Sunday against a controversial Canadian gold mine project and against shale gas exploration, in weekly demos that have turned into one of the country's longest-running protests in years.
|
| Banners reflect hard-line backlash in Iran Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:54 PM PDT  TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Banners that suddenly cropped up around Tehran in the past week depict an American diplomat dressed in a jacket and tie, while under the negotiating table he is wearing military pants and pointing a shotgun at an Iranian envoy.
|
| Britain braces for worst storm in a decade Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:45 PM PDT  London (AFP) - Britain was braced on Sunday for its worst storm in a decade, with heavy rain and winds of more than 80 miles (130 kilometres) an hour set to batter the south of the country.
|
| Britain braced for hurricane-force 'St. Jude' storm Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:33 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Hurricane-force winds are forecast to disrupt road, rail and airport networks on Monday when one of the strongest storms in decades is expected to hit the southern half of Britain during rush-hour, forecasters warned on Sunday. Local media dubbed the storm "St. Jude", after the patron saint of lost causes who is traditionally celebrated on October 28, and made comparisons to 1987 when a storm killed 18 people in Britain and felled some 15 million trees. The storm is expected to bring 80 mph winds and heavy rain to Britain early on Monday morning. ...
|
| Myanmar's Suu Kyi picks up overdue honor in Rome Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:32 PM PDT  ROME (AP) — Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi has picked up an overdue honor from Rome, a city she fondly recalled enjoying, along with its gelato, 40 years earlier.
|
| US denies Obama knew of Merkel spying Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:30 PM PDT  Washington (AFP) - The imbroglio over the tapping of Angela Merkel's phone deepened Sunday, after a US denial that President Barack Obama was personally informed for years of electronic surveillance against the German chancellor.
|
| AP Exclusive: Israeli tunnel hit by cyber attack Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:19 PM PDT HADERA, Israel (AP) — When Israel's military chief delivered a high-profile speech this month outlining the greatest threats his country might face in the future, he listed computer sabotage as a top concern, warning a sophisticated cyberattack could one day bring the nation to a standstill. |
| Thousands of ethnic Hungarians call for autonomy Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:08 PM PDT  TARGU SECUIESC, Romania (AP) — Thousands of ethnic Hungarians held rallies on Sunday to demand autonomy for their minority group in the areas where they live in Romania.
|
| Swansea survive Hammers' blows in draw Posted: 27 Oct 2013 01:01 PM PDT  Swansea (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Swansea and West Ham shared the points in a goalless Premier League draw at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
|
| Israel says will attend UN rights review Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:58 PM PDT  Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel will attend a UN human rights review Tuesday, a top official told AFP after media reported that Germany had warned of a diplomatic backlash if it stayed away.
|
| Death toll in C.Africa clashes rises Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:52 PM PDT  Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - Twelve people were killed in fierce clashes over the weekend between vigilante groups and former rebels in the western Central African town of Bouar, according to a military source Sunday.
|
| Billionaire PM cements grip in Georgia, ally elected president Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:50 PM PDT  By Margarita Antidze and Timothy Heritage TBILISI (Reuters) - A little-known ally of billionaire Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili won a landslide victory in Georgia's presidential election on Sunday, cementing the ruling coalition's grip on power after Mikheil Saakashvili's 10-year rule. Georgy Margvelashvili's triumph concentrates power and will make policy-making easier in the former Soviet republic because Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition now controls both the presidency and the government for the first time. ...
|
| Former South African politician Sexwale arrested in New York: SABC Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:46 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Prominent South African businessman and anti-apartheid stalwart Tokyo Sexwale was arrested in New York after his name was on a list of people banned from entering the United States, national broadcaster SABC said on Sunday, citing his lawyer. Sexwale, a rival of President Jacob Zuma who was ousted as housing minister in a cabinet reshuffle in July, was arrested at John F Kennedy International Airport while on a business trip, SABC said, citing Lesley Mkhabela Some anti-apartheid activists were banned from visiting the United States during apartheid, which ended in ...
|
| Israel approves release of 26 Palestinian prisoners Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:46 PM PDT  Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel on Sunday approved the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, the second batch to be freed since August under the terms of renewed US-brokered peace talks.
|
| Main Syrian rebel groups declare opposition to Geneva peace talks Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:43 PM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Main Syrian rebel brigades have announced their opposition to an international peace conference on Syria if it does not result in President Bashar al-Assad's removal, piling pressure on the political opposition not to attend. "Any solution will be totally rejected if it does not end Assad's rule with all of its military and security pillars and if it does not hold accountable all those who took part in the state terrorism," said the statement, dated Saturday and signed by some of the most formidable Islamist units fighting Assad. ... |
| PM's choice wins Georgia presidency, polls show Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:42 PM PDT  TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The candidate backed by Georgia's billionaire prime minister easily won Sunday's presidential election in this U.S.-aligned former Soviet republic, exit polls indicated. His closest rival quickly conceded defeat.
|
| Iran pulls down anti-US posters in capital Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:35 PM PDT  Tehran (AFP) - The Tehran municipality has removed anti-American posters from the streets of the capital which questioned US honesty in nuclear talks with Iran, media reported on Sunday.
|
| Iran sends out feelers for any return to oil markets Posted: 27 Oct 2013 12:29 PM PDT By Dmitry Zhdannikov, Peg Mackey and Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is reaching out to its old oil buyers and is ready to cut prices if Western sanctions against it are eased, promising a battle for market share in a world less hungry for oil than when sanctions were imposed. New Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's "charm offensive" at the United Nations last month, coupled with a historic phone call with U.S. ... |
