| Exclusive: Syria peace talks face delay as big powers split Posted: 30 Oct 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - International powers are unlikely to meet their goal of convening peace talks on Syria in Geneva next month as differences emerge between Washington and Moscow over opposition representation, Arab and Western officials said. Failure of the main Syrian National Coalition to take a clear stance over the talks, which aim to find a political solution to Syria's 2-1/2 year civil war, are also expected to contribute to a delay of up to one month, the officials told Reuters. "A clearer picture will emerge when the United States and Russia meet next week, but all indications show that the November 23 goal will be difficult to meet," said one of the officials involved in preparing for the talks. U.S., Russian and U.N envoys are due to meet in Geneva next Tuesday as part of the preparation for the long-delayed peace conference, which was first proposed back in May. A main point of contention, the official said, is the role of the Western-backed opposition coalition - an issue which has flared up since a meeting in London last week of Western and Gulf Arab countries opposed to Assad.
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| Merkel envoys at White House to sort out U.S.-German tensions Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:32 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American and German officials sought to overcome tension between their governments on Wednesday following reports that the U.S. National Security Agency monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone. A meeting between White House national security adviser Susan Rice and her German counterpart came a week after an infuriated Merkel complained to President Barack Obama about accusations that the United States had for years been eavesdropping on her. German's national security adviser, Christoph Heusgen, and the German chancellery intelligence coordinator, Guenter Heiss, sat down with Rice and Obama's homeland security adviser, Lisa Monaco, at the White House.
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| Egyptian students protest after Brotherhood leader arrested Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:14 PM PDT By Hadeel Al Shalchi CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police fired teargas at protesting students at Cairo's al-Azhar university on Wednesday hours after authorities announced the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, part of a crackdown against the Islamist movement. Erian, deputy leader of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, was taken into custody from a residence in New Cairo, a suburb on the outskirts of the capital, where he had been in hiding, an interior ministry source told Reuters. Down, down with the lord of the army," one protester scribbled, referring to army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. If you see anyone just arrest them right away." Over 20 students were arrested, according to two security sources. |
| 'Nationalism and xenophobia' on rise ahead of European elections Posted: 30 Oct 2013 09:07 AM PDT  By Luke Baker and Stephen Adler BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned against nationalism, xenophobia and racism ahead of European Parliament elections next year, when anti-EU and protest parties are expected to do well. Opinion polls months ahead of the vote, which takes place in all EU countries on May 22-25, suggest candidates on the far left and far right will gain support as voters express frustration with Europe after three years of financial turmoil, contracting growth and job losses. "What we don't like is the discourse that is sometimes behind anti-European slogans, a discourse that is promoting what I call negative values, things like narrow nationalism, protectionism and xenophobia. "We should not forget that in Europe, not so many decades ago, we had very, very worrying developments of xenophobia and racism and intolerance.
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| U.S. spy agency denies that it eavesdropped on Vatican Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:34 PM PDT  WASHINGTON/VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The National Security Agency, responsible for U.S. electronic eavesdropping, said on Wednesday that it does not target the Vatican and called an Italian media report that it had done so "not true." Panorama magazine said on Wednesday that the NSA had eavesdropped on Vatican phone calls, possibly including when former Pope Benedict's successor was under discussion. "The National Security Agency does not target the Vatican. Assertions that NSA has targeted the Vatican, published in Italy's Panorama magazine, are not true," NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said in a statement.
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| Trial of Kenyan president likely to be delayed until next year Posted: 30 Oct 2013 11:39 AM PDT  The trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity is unlikely to start next month as planned, after prosecutors said on Tuesday they did not object to a delay. Fellow African leaders have urged Kenyatta not to attend the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which they accuse of unfairly targeting Africans and of violating Kenyan sovereignty. His deputy William Ruto, a former political rival, faces similar charges.
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| Spurs survive Hull scare in League Cup Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:55 PM PDT  Tottenham Hotspur edged Hull City 8-7 in a tense penalty shoot-out to reach the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Manchester City overcame Newcastle United after extra time. Hull had lost 1-0 to Spurs in the Premier League on Sunday and they came within a whisker of exacting swift revenge on their return to White Hart Lane. Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson was one of eight players brought into the Spurs team and he made a stunning impact in the 16th minute, flummoxing his marker with a neat drag-back and then arrowing a sumptuous shot into the top-left corner from 25 yards.
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| EU spying backlash threatens billions in US trade Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:54 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (AP) — The backlash in Europe over U.S. spying is threatening an agreement that generates tens of billions of dollars in trans-Atlantic business every year — and negotiations on another pact worth many times more.
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| U.S. spy agency's defense: Europeans did it too Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:53 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The political uproar over alleged U.S. eavesdropping on close European allies has produced an unusual defense from the National Security Agency: NSA says it was the Europeans themselves who did the spying, and then handed data to the Americans. It is rare for intelligence officials to speak in any public detail about liaison arrangements with foreign spy agencies because such relationships are so sensitive. But that is what NSA Director General Keith Alexander did at a public congressional hearing on Tuesday when, attempting to counter international complaints about the agency's alleged excesses, he said its sources for foreign telecommunications information included "data provided to NSA by foreign partners." Alexander's disclosure marked yet another milestone in NSA's emergence from the shadows to defend its electronic surveillance mission in the wake of damaging revelations by former agency contractor Edward Snowden. "It is true that in general we stay close-mouthed about intelligence liaison relationships and we only speak in the most general terms about sharing things with our friends and allies," said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA analyst.
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| Experimental electro artist Blake wins Britain's Mercury Prize Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:50 PM PDT  London (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Electronica singer-songwriter James Blake won Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize on Wednesday for his second album, "Overgrown". The 25-year-old art-school graduate beat off competition from bookmaker's favourite Laura Mvula, legendary singer/songwriter David Bowie and Sheffield rockers Arctic Monkeys to claim the £20,000 ($32,000, 23,350 euros) prize at a ceremony in London.
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| Brazil's OGX files for bankruptcy protection Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:44 PM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The oil company of Brazil's one-time richest man filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, marking a humbling blow for Eike Batista, a flamboyant former champion speedboat racer who has been his nation's biggest economic cheerleader in recent years.
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| Murdoch editors must have known of phone hacking, court hears Posted: 30 Oct 2013 04:38 PM PDT By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks, a former top editor, and Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief, oversaw a system of phone-hacking and illegal payments when they ran Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids, a London court heard at the start of their trial on Wednesday. Setting out the prosecution case, Andrew Edis said Brooks was linked to both phone-hacking that ruined the tabloid News of the World and the practice of paying public officials for stories at its sister newspaper, the Sun. Brooks, 45, later ran Murdoch's British newspaper division from 2009 to 2011. |
| Report: NSA broke into Yahoo, Google data centers Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
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| UN: US says it doesn't, and won't, spy on UN Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:43 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations said Wednesday it has received assurances from the U.S. government that U.N. communications networks "are not and will not be monitored" by American intelligence agencies. But chief U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky would not comment on whether the world body had been monitored in the past, as reported recently by the German magazine Der Spiegel. |
| New dolphin species spotted swimming off Australian coast Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:35 PM PDT A newly discovered species of humpback dolphin has been seen swimming off the northern Australia coast, an international team of scientists reported this week. All humpback dolphins have a characteristic hump just below the dorsal fin, but there are several distinct species in this family of marine mammals, the scientists found. While the Atlantic humpback dolphin has been recognized as a species, the latest research offers the best evidence yet that the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin should be split into three species, including one that is new to science. Researchers examined the humpback dolphin family's evolutionary history using both physical features and genetic data, the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement about the discovery. |
| Candle-lit vigil for gay rights after Italy youth suicide Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:03 PM PDT  Hundreds of gay rights activists held a candle-lit vigil at Rome's Colosseum Wednesday to call for a law against homophobia after a youth threw himself off the 11th story of a building in the Italian capital. Some 500 activists and protesters holding candles, flowers and placards reading "I am gay" and "No Homophobia" demanded action after the latest in a series of suicide acts by gay students which have shocked the nation. These suicides are too much, they reveal a world of solitude and gay suffering," said LGBT activist Vanni Piccolo. The death this week of the 21-year-old known publicly as Simone D. followed two other youth gay suicides this year in Rome.
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| Politician-backed UK press watchdog charter gets royal seal Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:02 PM PDT  A cross-party charter on the regulation of Britain's pugnacious newspapers agreed in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal was given royal approval on Wednesday, despite a last-minute legal challenge by the industry. Newspapers had asked judges for an urgent injunction to prevent government ministers from seeking approval from Queen Elizabeth II for the so-called royal charter. The formal document has the backing of the three main political parties, but many editors warn it will allow governments to erode press freedom. They argued at the High Court in London on Wednesday morning that the industry's own rival proposals for a royal charter had not been given adequate consideration.
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| Italian company proposes theme park for Venice Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:58 PM PDT  VENICE, Italy (AP) — An Italian company that built Coney Island's latest attractions and an amusement park in a never-activated nuclear plant in Germany on Wednesday unveiled plans to invest 80 million euros ($110 million) for a theme park in Venice.
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| Bodies of 87 migrants found in Niger desert Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:57 PM PDT  The bodies of 87 migrants were found Wednesday in Niger's desert north after they died of thirst just a few kilometres from the border of Algeria, their planned destination, sources said. The corpses of the seven men, 32 women and 48 children were in addition to five bodies of women and girls found earlier, a security source said. All died in early October after a failed attempt to reach Algeria that began in late September, the source added. Almoustapha Alhacen, from local aid organisation Aghir In'man, confirmed the death toll and gave a graphic account of discovering the bodies.
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| UN envoy sees no hope of new W. Sahara talks Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:50 PM PDT  Amid new tensions over Western Sahara, a UN envoy said Wednesday there was still no hope of convening face-to-face talks on the disputed territory between Morocco and pro-independence rebels. Morocco, which occupies the territory, recalled its ambassador to Algiers as the UN Security Council held talks on Western Sahara. Algeria is a key backer of the Polisario Front independence movement. Morocco made its protest over comments by Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika about the former Spanish colony.
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| Romanian architect of dictator's giant palace dies Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:40 PM PDT  BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Anca Petrescu, the chief architect of Bucharest's "Palace of the People," a massive government structure that has been described as a huge Stalinist wedding cake, died Wednesday. She was 64.
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| DR Congo army captures last stronghold of M23 rebels Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:33 PM PDT  DR Congo troops on Wednesday captured the last stronghold of M23 rebels in the troubled east of the country, raising hopes of a return to the negotiating table. Bunagana, the rebels' main base located in the lush green hills near the border with Uganda, "is completely under our control", government spokesman Lambert Mende told AFP, adding that the final battle for the town had begun early in the morning. The rebels either fled into the mountains or crossed into neighbouring Uganda after the rout, Mende said. An official of the UN mission in the country also confirmed that troops had taken control of the town some 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Goma, a major mining hub and the capital of North Kivu province.
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| Islamic law, military fuel debate on Egypt charter Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:29 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — During his presidency, Islamist allies of Mohammed Morsi pushed through a constitution that alarmed many Egyptians with its provisions strengthening the role of Islamic law and carving out extensive powers for the military. Now, after Morsi's ouster, it is the turn of liberal, secular and leftist politicians to amend the charter.
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| Hesjedal admits to doping in dark past Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:22 PM PDT  Canada's 2012 Tour of Italy champion Ryder Hesjedal admitted on Wednesday to having taken performance enhancing drugs 10 years ago after choosing 'the wrong path'. The 32-year-old -- who turned professional in 2005 -- released a statement through his Garmin team responding to claims that he took doping products made in former rider Michael Rasmussen's autobiography, which was published on Wednesday. Rasmussen, a serial doper who pulled out of the 2007 Tour de France while leading because he had missed several doping tests before the race, claimed that he had helped teach Hesjedal and two Canadian team-mates who were then competing in mountainbike racing to inject EPO in 2003.
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| Spanish spy chief to address Parliament on spying Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:17 PM PDT  MADRID (AP) — The head of Spain's intelligence services will give a closed-door briefing to a parliamentary committee about allegations that Spain was a target for surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency, the prime minister said Wednesday. He did not announce a date for the session.
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| France denies paying ransom as Sahel hostages return Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:16 PM PDT  By Abdoulaye Massalatchi and Nicholas Vinocur NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) - Four Frenchmen held hostage in the Sahara desert by al Qaeda-linked gunmen for three years were reunited with their families on Wednesday, and Paris dismissed media reports it had paid a ransom for their release. The men, kidnapped in 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a subsidiary of construction group Vinci in northern Niger, were freed on Tuesday after secret negotiations conducted by the government of Niger. It was difficult, the ordeal of a lifetime," said Thierry Dol, one of the freed men before leaving. Gaunt and bearded, but said to be in good health, Dol, Pierre Legrand, Daniel Larribe and Marc Feret embraced their families on the runway of a military airport near Paris where President Francois Hollande was waiting.
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| Egypt accuses Brotherhood of rejecting reconciliation Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:14 PM PDT Egypt's government said on Wednesday it was committed to reconciliation and accused the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leaders are due to appear in court next week, of undermining efforts to resolve political turmoil. The army toppled the Brotherhood's President Mohamed Mursi in July after mass protests against his rule. "The government realizes from its side the importance of reconciliation," said Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din in a statement. "Those who are until now rejecting or stalling any understandings aimed at achieving reconciliation and stability for the Egyptian people are the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood." Mursi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, is due to appear in court on Monday along with 14 other senior Muslim Brotherhood figures on charges of inciting violence. |
| Queen approves new UK press regulation rules Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:07 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday signed off on new press regulation rules developed in the wake of Britain's phone hacking scandal, after a court rejected last-ditch attempts by the country's publishers to block the measures.
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| Israel 'destroying peace process' with new housing Posted: 30 Oct 2013 02:06 PM PDT  The Palestinians accused Israel Wednesday of trying to wreck peace talks with plans to build 1,500 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, hours after the Jewish state freed 26 Palestinian prisoners. A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said the move "destroys the peace process and is a message to the international community that Israel is a country that does not respect international law". Plans to build the homes in the city's Arab sector emerged in Israeli media almost immediately after Israel freed 21 prisoners to the West Bank and another five to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
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| Suicide bomber hits Tunisia resort, no others hurt Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:57 PM PDT TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A suicide bomber and a teenager carrying a backpack loaded with explosives attacked two sites popular with tourists Wednesday, raising fears that Tunisia's Islamist extremists may be adopting more violent tactics. |
| Singer Daltrey plays Capitol to honor Churchill Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:53 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress honored Winston Churchill with a bust and a performance by another famous Briton, The Who's Roger Daltrey.
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| Brazil to extradite former Turks and Caicos premier Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:51 PM PDT Brazil will extradite former Turks and Caicos Prime Minister Michael Misick to answer corruption charges alleging he accepted millions of dollars in bribes to allow developers to build resort hotels on the Caribbean islands. Brazil's Supreme Court unanimously approved on Tuesday a request for his extradition to his home country after finding he was not a victim of political persecution and therefore not eligible for asylum. A spokeswoman for Brazil's Federal Police in Sao Paulo, where Misick is being held, said he will be extradited to Turks and Caicos by Interpol within 10 days. |
| Freed Frenchmen back home amid ransom questions Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:49 PM PDT  Four Frenchmen held captive for three years by an Al-Qaeda offshoot in north Africa were reunited with their families on Wednesday as sources said at least 20 million euros ($28 million) had been paid in ransom. The four men, who were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in northern Niger in 2010, flew into the Villacoublay military airport near Paris, where they were met by their families and President Francois Hollande. Standing alongside the four on the tarmac, Hollande expressed his "immense joy" at their return, calling them "great French citizens who brought honour to France in their captivity." Thierry Dol, 32, Daniel Larribe, 62, Pierre Legrand, 28, and Marc Feret, 46, were kidnapped on September 16, 2010, from a uranium compound in Arlit, north-central Niger, where they were working for French nuclear giant Areva and construction group Vinci.
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| 3 UK journalists plead guilty to phone hacking Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:47 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — A prosecutor said Wednesday that there was "a conspiracy which involved a significant number of people" to hack phones at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World, revealing that three senior journalists at the now-defunct newspaper have pleaded guilty to illegally eavesdropping on voicemails.
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| US renews vow to help Iraq combat terror attacks Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:47 PM PDT  The United States vowed Wednesday to help Iraq combat terror groups as mounting attacks claimed more lives ahead of talks between Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Barack Obama. Maliki's visit to Washington comes as his country is wracked by the worst unrest since 2008, and just a few weeks before the two-year anniversary of the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Only hours before he met with Vice President Joe Biden for talks focusing heavily on security, three suicide bombings killed 14 Iraqi security forces, the deadliest in a series of attacks which have left 35 dead in two days. "Vice President Biden reiterated the US commitment to equip Iraqis to fight Al-Qaeda, and Prime Minister Maliki made clear that he views the United States as Iraq's security partner of choice," the White House said in a statement, calling the talks "friendly" and "constructive."
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| U.S. tells U.N. it won't spy on world body Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:40 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Wednesday that the United States has pledged not to spy on the world body's communications after a report that the National Security Agency had gained access to the U.N. video conferencing system. The United Nations contacted U.S. authorities after the spying revelations were made by German news magazine Der Spiegel in August, citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. "I understand that the U.S. authorities have given assurances that United Nations communications are not and will not be monitored," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters on Wednesday. "The United States is not conducting electronic surveillance targeting the United Nations headquarters in New York," the official said.
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| Britain approves new press regulation system, newspapers cry foul Posted: 30 Oct 2013 01:33 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain approved a new system of regulating its press on Wednesday, a move newspapers said was draconian and threatened freedom of speech but which former victims of press excess described as long overdue. "It'll protect freedom of press and offer redress when mistakes are made," Britain's ministry of culture said on its official Twitter feed. All three main political parties, including Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservatives, back the new rules. Britain's press has tried and failed to block the new system via the courts, arguing it would expose the industry to possible political interference since the British parliament will be able to change the system if it wants to.
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