| Desperate Philippine typhoon survivors loot, dig up water pipes Posted: 13 Nov 2013 04:19 AM PST By Andrew R.C. Marshall and Stuart Grudgings TACLOBAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly on Wednesday and survivors panicked over shortages of food, water and medicine, some digging up underground water pipes and smashing them open. Five days after one of the strongest storms ever recorded slammed into cities and towns in the central Philippines, anger and frustration boiled over on Wednesday as essential supplies dwindled. President Benigno Aquino said local officials had overstated the loss of life, saying it was closer to 2,000 or 2,500 than the 10,000 previously estimated. His comments, however, drew skepticism from some aid workers. |
| Israel warns of war from Iran 'bad deal', sees big sanctions cut Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:59 PM PST  (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday that a "bad deal" with Iran on its nuclear program could lead to war and his aides challenged U.S. assertions to have offered Tehran only "modest" relief from sanctions. As details emerged of a Western proposal that could let Iran sell oil and gold in return for curbs on its nuclear activities, an Israeli minister said the deal would negate up to 40 percent of the impact of sanctions, reducing pressure on Tehran to halt a program the West says has a military motive. Israel, which calculated the value of direct sanctions relief on offer at $15-20 billion, has lobbied hard against any such deal and says the United States, its closest ally, is being misled by overtures of detente coming from Tehran. Negotiations between Iran and six U.N. powers - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - are scheduled to resume on November 20 with both sides saying they are optimistic following talks at Geneva last weekend.
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| Palestinian peace talks delegation resigns, Abbas says Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST  By Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his delegation of peace negotiators has resigned over the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered statehood talks with Israel that have been clouded by Jewish settlement building. The development would mark a new low point for the talks with Israel that resumed in July and which officials from both sides have said have made little headway. It was unclear from Abbas's interview when the Palestinian negotiators quit, but Abbas said he would need about a week to resume the talks. In a statement to Reuters TV on Wednesday, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat did not elaborate on the report of his resignation, but said the sessions with Israel were frozen.
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| U.S. designates Nigeria militant groups as terrorists Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:21 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States formally designated the Nigerian Islamist militant groups Boko Haram and Ansaru as foreign terrorist organizations on Wednesday, making it a crime to provide them with material support. The White House directed U.S. agencies to block financial transactions with the two groups, which it blamed for thousands of deaths in northeast and central Nigeria, including attacks on churches and mosques and a 2011 suicide bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja. "By cutting these terrorist organizations off from U.S. financial institutions and enabling banks to freeze assets held in the United States, these designations demonstrate our strong support for Nigeria's fight against terrorism and its efforts to address security challenges in the north," Lisa Monaco, President Barack Obama's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, said in a statement. Boko Haram and other splinter Islamist groups are seen as the biggest security threat in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and top oil exporter.
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| Attempt on Uribe's life would destroy Colombia peace process, negotiator says Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:02 PM PST  Colombia's lead representative in peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels said on Wednesday that any attack against former President Alvaro Uribe would destroy the negotiations. Humberto de la Calle said talks ongoing in Cuba would be "unviable" and could be "destroyed" if suspected plans by the FARC to assassinate Uribe and Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre were put into practice. He was responding to a comment by Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon, who said on Tuesday that one of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's elite fighting units was planning a hit on the hard-line ex-president, who with the help of the United States stepped up attacks on the rebels during his eight years in office that ended in 2010. "An attempt of this kind would destroy the viability of the peace process," said de la Calle, who leads the government peace delegation in Havana.
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| Syrian Kurdish leader claims military gains against Islamists Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:13 PM PST  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Islamist groups in northern Syria are weakening after months of fighting and Kurdish militias are gaining ground, a top Kurdish leader said on Wednesday, vowing to continue their advances. Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Reuters in Paris that Tuesday's announcement of an interim administration that aims to carve out an autonomous Syrian Kurdish region was only "provisional" until there was a viable solution to Syria's civil war. Long oppressed under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, Kurds view the war as an opportunity to gain more autonomy - much as their ethnic kin in neighboring Iraq have regarded turmoil there. Control over Syria's northeast, where Kurds predominate, had in recent months swung back and forth between them and mainly Arab Islamist rebels, who strongly oppose what they suspect are Kurdish plans to secede.
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| With bailout risk building, Slovenian PM seeks to shore up support Posted: 13 Nov 2013 04:48 PM PST  By Marja Novak LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's efforts to avert a bailout are likely to win the government a confidence vote on Thursday, even though the cost of a bank clean-up risks tipping the euro zone country's finances over the edge. An expected 'Yes' vote will shore up political backing for Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek's disparate alliance as the republic struggles with its biggest crisis since it broke away from Yugoslavia 22 years ago. But her government could yet have to turn to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for help if external stress tests reveal it has not budgeted enough to resolve the bad loan crisis afflicting Slovenia's mainly state-run banks. Slovenia's 35-billion-euro economy accounts for only a fraction of the 17-nation euro zone, but another bailout following that of Cyprus in March would further dent confidence in the bloc's ability to resolve its government debt crisis.
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| Europe cannot afford to give up climate leadership-report Posted: 13 Nov 2013 04:33 PM PST By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's abdication from climate leadership would stunt growth in the region and hand a huge economic advantage to China and the United States as they carve out their share of a multi-billion low-carbon market, a German thinktank said on Thursday. The report's release coincides with U.N. climate talks running until the end of next week. They are hosted by Poland, one of the EU member states to have embraced the counter-argument that the European Union should be only a part of, not the leader of global climate efforts and that acting alone will damage competitiveness. Germanwatch, a thinktank used by German government ministries to carry out research, says such a shift would only harm Europe's ailing industrial sector and it is no longer true to say the European Union is an isolated environmental leader. |
| Syrian civil war prompts polio vaccination effort Posted: 13 Nov 2013 04:06 PM PST  TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Health officials are rushing to vaccinate millions of children from Egypt to Turkey, fearing a polio outbreak in Syria could spread as tens of thousands of refugees flee the civil war.
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| Bird flu strain infects human for 1st time Posted: 13 Nov 2013 04:06 PM PST LONDON (AP) — A strain of bird flu that scientists thought could not infect people has shown up in a Taiwanese woman, a nasty surprise that shows scientists must do more to spot worrisome flu strains before they ignite a global outbreak, doctors say. |
| Palestinian peace negotiators resign over settlements Posted: 13 Nov 2013 03:48 PM PST  Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The entire team of Palestinian peace negotiators has resigned to protest continued Israeli settlement building, two of them said Wednesday, but president Mahmud Abbas has yet to accept their resignations. Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh told AFP the move was in response to "increasing settlement building (by Israel) and the absence of any hope of achieving results." "Until now, president Abbas has not accepted our resignation," he added. Shtayyeh held Israel "completely responsible for the failure of negotiations, because of the continuation and escalation of settlement building."
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| Toronto mayor admits he has bought illegal drugs Posted: 13 Nov 2013 03:23 PM PST  TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted during a heated City Council debate Wednesday that he bought illegal drugs while in office, but adamantly refused to step down despite calls from nearly every councilor to take a leave of absence and get help.
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| Toronto City Council asks Mayor Rob Ford to go away Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:54 PM PST  By Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto City Council asked embattled Mayor Rob Ford on Wednesday to take a break from his job to deal with "personal issues", which he admits include both buying illegal drugs and smoking crack cocaine. The nonbinding vote came on a day during which both Ford's opponents and his former allies interrogated the mayor on his suitability to lead Canada's largest city. Ford said he won't quit. "I am not an addict of any sort, so I am not quite sure why you are saying that I need help," Ford told councilors during an hour-long grilling.
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| Pentagon ending buys of Russian-made helicopters Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department said Wednesday it is canceling plans to buy additional cargo helicopters from the Russian arms export agency that has supplied Syrian President Bashar Assad's military forces with arms and ammunition.
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| Egypt sentences 12 pro-Morsi protesters to 17 years Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:44 PM PST  An Egyptian court sentenced 12 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi to 17 years in prison on Wednesday for taking part in a violent student-led protest, state media reported. The official MENA news agency reported that the protesters were convicted of attacking the headquarters of the Islamic Al-Azhar institution during the protest. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement said on its website all those sentenced were students at Al-Azhar's university. The men were arrested after protesters in October tried to storm Al-Azhar's head office, which supported the military's overthrow of Morsi.
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| Sudanese man killed as foreign workers clash with Saudi police Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:39 PM PST A Sudanese man was killed in a second flare of clashes since Saturday between Saudi riot police, citizens and foreign workers in Riyadh amid a clampdown on visas, state media said late on Wednesday. The report on the official Saudi Press Agency, which cited a Riyadh police spokesman, gave no further details about the dead man, but said the clashes had started as a dispute between Saudis and foreigners earlier in the day. Thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Africa, have surrendered to the authorities in Manfouha since clashes there on Saturday in which two people, a Saudi and an unidentified man, were killed. |
| Toronto council asks crack mayor to step aside Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:34 PM PST  Toronto (Canada) (AFP) - New allegations that Toronto's crack-smoking mayor also snorted cocaine and partied with a possible prostitute surfaced Wednesday, as the city council voted to ask him to stand aside. Rob Ford, the leader of Canada's biggest city, has a starring role in a 500-page police report citing witnesses alleging he snorted drugs in bar and took the prescription opiate OxyContin recreationally. At the first city council meeting since Ford admitted to once smoking crack in a "drunken stupor," the mayor said he purchased illicit drugs in the past two years but repeated denials that he is an addict. The motion by ally-turned-rival Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong asking Ford to step aside is purely symbolic as the city council does not have the power to oust the democratically-elected mayor.
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| Pink diamond sold for more than $83 million Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:33 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — An enormous diamond known as "The Pink Star" sold for more than $83 million at auction Wednesday night, far surpassing its expected price.
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| 2 Nigerian networks designated as terrorist groups Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:32 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers who had long pushed for U.S. action against Nigerian Islamic extremists welcomed the State Department's decision on Wednesday to designate two militant groups as foreign terrorist organizations blamed for the deaths of thousands of people in Africa's most populous nation. |
| Catholic fringe disrupts Kristallnacht ceremony Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:22 PM PST  BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Ultra-traditionalist Roman Catholics have openly challenged Pope Francis by disrupting one of his favorite events, an interfaith ceremony in the Metropolitan Cathedral meant to promote religious harmony on the anniversary of the beginning of the Holocaust.
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| Venezuela appliances crackdown spurs uncertainty Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:14 PM PST  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Even by Venezuela's volatile standards, it's been a difficult few days.
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| Clinic in typhoon-hit city overrun with patients Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:09 PM PST TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) — A run-down, single-story building with filthy floors at Tacloban's ruined airport has become the area's main medical center for victims of last week's powerful typhoon. It has little medicine, virtually no facilities and very few doctors. |
| UN to help Libya develop tourim sector Posted: 13 Nov 2013 02:05 PM PST  The UN World Tourism Organisation said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Libya to help the war-ravaged country, which is trying to become less reliant on energy exports, develop its tourism sector. Under the agreement the Madrid-based UNWTO will provide technical support to help the Libyan government develop a tourism strategy and update the laws governing the sector, the organisation said in a statement. "This agreement is a very positive step in reviving Libya's tourism sector and affirms UNWTO's commitment to Libya during this time of national rebuilding," the agency's Secretary-General and former tourism minister of Jordan Taleb Rifai said in the statement.
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| Arab Spring economies hit by uncertainty: IMF Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST  The economies of Arab countries rocked by the uprisings that swept the region two years ago, remain sluggish because of unfinished political transitions, a top IMF official told AFP. Others are suffering from the financial and social burdens imposed on them by a huge influx of refugees from the civil war in Syria, International Monetary Fund director for the Middle East and Central Asia Masood Ahmed said in an interview. "The situation in Arab Spring nations has become more challenging over the past year," Ahmed said. The economies of Tunisia and Egypt have seen weak growth since the uprisings that ousted their longtime leaders in 2011.
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| First test for Syria rebel government: provide services Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:46 PM PST  The opposition Syrian National Coalition announced a new government this week, after months of delays, facing challenges on the ground from Kurds seeking autonomy and Al-Qaeda groups that reject its authority. The interim government is under pressure to quickly provide services to citizens living in large swathes of rebel-held territory, particularly in Syria's north. But the fractious internal politics of the Coalition, along with the strength of Al-Qaeda-affiliated jihadists on the ground and advances by regime troops all pose key challenges for the new government. Members of the Coalition acknowledge that the government's first priority will be to prove itself by offering badly needed public services.
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| Iraq attacks kill 30 as Shiites mass for Ashura Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST  Violence across Iraq, including bombings against Shiites, killed 30 people on Wednesday as worshippers massed in a shrine city on the eve of major commemoration rituals often targeted by militants. The bloodshed was the latest in a months-long surge in unrest that has forced Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to appeal for US help in combatting militancy, with Iraqi security forces having failed to stem the violence. Bombings mostly struck north and west of Baghdad, targeting Shiite Muslims and members of the security forces. On the outskirts of Baquba, north of the capital and one of Iraq's most violent areas, three coordinated bombs struck a gathering of Shiite pilgrims marking Ashura.
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| Britain asks Sri Lanka to probe sexual violence Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:42 PM PST  Britain on Wednesday asked Sri Lanka to probe allegations that hundreds of men and women had been sexually assaulted by government forces during and after the island's drawn-out ethnic war. Foreign Secretary William Hague told a public meeting in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo that Britain was concerned that no-one had been held accountable for rights abuses, including sexual assault and the use of rape to extract confessions. He said there had been credible allegations, including those from a UN Panel of Experts, that Sri Lankan troops used sexual violence during their war against Tamil rebels and afterwards.
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| Outrage in France over new slur on black minister Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:20 PM PST  A weekly newspaper with a front page comparing a black government minister to a monkey hit newsstands in France on Wednesday, despite legal objections and a nationwide outcry over the racist slur. Amid mounting concern over similar recent incidents, the far-right satirical publication Minute went on sale with a cover featuring a picture of Justice Minister Christiane Taubira and headlines which read: "Crafty as a monkey" and "Taubira gets her banana back". The text is deliberately ambiguous: the term "crafty as a monkey" in French can be used as praise while getting your banana back is roughly the equivalent of recovering the spring in your step. The provocative cover page was also an obvious reference to two other recent cases of Taubira being publicly likened to a monkey, incidents which have triggered much soul-searching among liberal commentators over a perceived surge in intolerance.
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| Italy told neither leaders nor citizens spied on Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:19 PM PST ROME (AP) — Italian lawmakers say Premier Enrico Letta has assured them that as far as he knows the privacy of Italian leaders and ordinary citizens has not been violated by the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance work. |
| Turkey asks NATO to extend Patriot deployment near Syria border Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:17 PM PST  Turkey has asked NATO to extend for another year the deployment of surface-to-air Patriot missiles to protect its troubled border with Syria because of a continuing "serious" threat, officials said on Wednesday. "We have received a letter from the Turkish government requesting the continuation of the Patriot mission," a NATO official told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The North Atlantic Council has regularly assessed the situation and the implementation of the Patriot mission. It is clear that the overall risks and threats to Turkey remain serious," the official said.
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| Sudanese killed in Saudi clashes with illegal migrants Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:12 PM PST  Renewed clashes on Wednesday between Saudis and illegal migrants, targeted in a nationwide campaign, killed one person and wounded 17, police said. A Sudanese died as Saudis clashed with illegal migrants in the southern Riyadh neighbourhood of Manfuhah, scene to riots over recent days, police said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency. Illegal migrants "rioted, hurling rocks at passersby and cars," police said, before forces intervened and "controlled" the situation. Many illegal migrants living in the area turned themselves in to police to be deported.
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| Johannesburg to introduce tombstone alarms Posted: 13 Nov 2013 01:07 PM PST  From early next year Johannesburg authorities will allow the installation of security devices on tombstones, in a bid to curb theft, officials said Wednesday. Alan Buff, who oversees the city's cemeteries said a deal has been entered into with a private company that will install microchip transmitters into tombstones. "Then we will be able to immediately locate the area where a tombstone has been moved and we will be able to track it down," Buff told AFP. An SMS will be sent to the family of the deceased to notify them of any tampering with the tombstone.
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| Hezbollah chief warns of 'war' if no Iran deal Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:57 PM PST  Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned in a rare public appearance Wednesday that failure to strike a deal with ally Iran over its nuclear programme would spell "war in the region." Nasrallah, who normally appears via video link for fear of assassination by arch enemy Israel, spoke in Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold to mark the Shiite Muslim Ashura holiday. World powers failed to reach an agreement with Iran over the weekend to curb its controversial nuclear programme in exchange for some relief from crippling Western sanctions despite marathon high-profile talks in Geneva. The West and Israel have long suspected Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability alongside its civilian programme, allegations fiercely denied by Tehran.
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| More than 37,000 flee Nigeria violence for Niger Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:54 PM PST  More than 37,000 people have fled violence between the army and Boko Haram insurgents in northern Nigeria for neighbouring Niger, the United Nations said Wednesday. According to the latest report from the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "37,332 people fleeing clashes in the states of Borno, Yobe and Adamaoua in the north of Nigeria (...) have been registered in Diffa, southeast Niger". Nearly 29,000 people that have escaped were Niger nationals living in Nigeria while the rest are Nigerians. The number of refugees fleeing to Niger has increased sixfold since June, a month after the Nigerian army started a major offensive in the northeast aimed at crushing Boko Haram's four-year insurgency, which has left thousands dead.
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| Hezbollah leader makes rare public appearance Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:48 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Failure to reach a deal between Iran and world powers over Tehran's nuclear program could lead to a war in the Middle East, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said Wednesday. |
| US blacklists Nigeria's Boko Haram as terror group Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:42 PM PST  The United States on Wednesday designated Nigeria's radical Islamist Boko Haram network and an offshoot known as Ansaru as terror groups, bowing to months of pressure to act. "These designations are an important and appropriate step, but only one tool in what must be a comprehensive approach by the Nigerian government to counter these groups," the State Department said. Nigeria welcomed the decision and expressed the hope that the United States would step up intelligence cooperation. "We salute the US government for its effort in partnering with Nigeria to rout out terrorism," Justice Minister Mohammed Adoke told AFP in Abuja.
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