| Dozens dead in clash with Libyan militiamen in Tripoli Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:13 PM PST  By Ghaith Shennib and Ulf Laessing TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least 32 people were killed and almost 400 wounded in gun battles between Libyan militiamen and armed residents in Tripoli on Friday in some of the worst street fighting in the capital since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan is struggling to control rival militias, Islamist militants and other former fighters who refuse to surrender their arms two years after helping to oust Gaddafi in a NATO-backed revolt. After Friday's violence, Zeidan demanded that all militias "without exception" leave Tripoli, but the clashes underscored how little his fledging military can do to curb ex-rebels, who have also shut down Libya's oil exports for months. Friday's bloodshed began when militiamen from the city of Misrata fired at about 500 protesters demanding their eviction from the capital after they had fought rivals for control of city districts.
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| Albanian 'no' deals blow to Syria chemical weapons plan Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:08 PM PST  By Anthony Deutsch and Benet Koleka THE HAGUE/TIRANA (Reuters) - Albania rejected on Friday a U.S. request to host the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, dealing a blow to a U.S.-Russian accord to eliminate such arms from the country's protracted civil war. Negotiations went down to the wire as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague hit the deadline on Friday for a step-by-step plan to get rid of 1,300 tonnes of Syria's sarin, mustard gas and other agents. Albania's refusal marked an unprecedented break from its traditionally staunch allegiance to NATO ally Washington and may make it hard to meet destruction deadlines. "It is impossible for Albania to get involved in this operation," Prime Minister Edi Rama, just two months in the job, said in a televised address to the nation.
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| Philippine typhoon death toll jumps; U.S. helicopters boost aid effort Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:39 AM PST By Stuart Grudgings and Aubrey Belford TACLOBAN, Philippines (Reuters) - The death toll from one of the world's most powerful typhoons surged to about 4,000 on Friday, but the aid effort was still so patchy bodies lay uncollected as rescuers tried to evacuate stricken communities across the central Philippines. After long delays, hundreds of international aid workers set up makeshift hospitals and trucked in supplies, while helicopters from a U.S. aircraft carrier ferried medicine and water to remote areas leveled by Typhoon Haiyan a week ago. "We are very, very worried about millions of children," U.N. Children's Fund spokesman Marixie Mercado told reporters in Geneva. "The response from the international community has not been overwhelming compared to the magnitude of the disaster, but it has been very generous so far," Jens Laerke of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told the Geneva news briefing. |
| U.S. quietly offered $10 million reward for Benghazi attackers Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:47 PM PST  The State Department on Friday said it has quietly offered a $10 million reward since January for information leading to those behind the September 11, 2012 attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in Benghazi. The attacks touched off political warfare on Capitol Hill, with Republicans accusing U.S. President Barack Obama's administration of telling shifting stories about who was behind the attacks. The State Department said Secretary of State John Kerry had confirmed that the U.S. government had offered the reward - part of the department's so-called Rewards for Justice program - in a letter to lawmakers on Friday. Kerry disclosed the reward in a letter to Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican who chairs the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and who had written to the secretary of state asking why the State Department had not offered one.
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| Brazil orders convicted ruling party officials to begin prison time Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:28 PM PST  By Bruno Marfinati SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court on Friday ordered former leaders of the ruling Workers' Party to begin serving sentences following landmark convictions over a congressional vote-buying scheme in a country with a long history of political corruption. Jose Dirceu, a party founder and former chief of staff to former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, turned himself in to federal police Friday evening to begin serving a prison sentence of more than 10 years. Jose Genoino, a former party president and a congressman on leave because of poor health, also turned himself in to start a nearly seven-year sentence. Delubio Soares, a former party treasurer who faces an eight-year sentence, was expected to appear as well.
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| Berlusconi party at risk as splinter group formed Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:49 PM PST  By James Mackenzie and Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - The secretary of Italian center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi's party said he would form a breakaway group that would back Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition in defiance of the media magnate, who faces expulsion from parliament this month. Angelino Alfano, interior minister and deputy premier, announced the formation of the new group on Friday. The split came on the eve of a meeting at which Berlusconi will rebrand his People of Freedom (PDL) party as Forza Italia, the original name of his political movement. It follows months of tension between rival factions over whether to keep supporting Letta's left-right government after former prime minister Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in August.
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| Cameron set to antagonise Commonwealth summit hosts again Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:39 PM PST  Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron was set to further antagonise the hosts of a troubled Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka Saturday by highlighting the tragic plight of the country's war-torn north. Cameron upstaged the first day of the three-day meeting Friday by travelling to the Jaffna region which bore the main brunt of the 37-year civil war, meeting with local ethnic Tamils who lost loved ones or were left homeless. Despite Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's warning against leaders trying to impose their own agendas at the summit, Cameron has called a Saturday morning press conference to report back on his historic visit. Cameron was the first foreign leader to visit Jaffna since Sri Lanka, a former British colony, gained independence in 1948.
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| Toronto strips crack-smoking mayor of powers Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:23 PM PST  Toronto (Canada) (AFP) - Toronto city councillors voted to limit their hell-raising mayor's powers Friday after his latest obscene outburst. Rob Ford is under fire for a bizarre series of admitted and alleged misdeeds, most recently drawing mockery and gasps when he used obscene language while denying sexual harassment claims. On Thursday, Premier Kathleen Wynne, the leader of the province of Ontario, signalled a willingness to find legal means to oust the mayor, if asked by the municipality, but later backed off. Instead, Toronto's city council passed a motion on Friday morning limiting the mayor's executive powers, effectively leaving him as the city's chief magistrate in name only.
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| Guinea Supreme Court rejects all challenges to parliamentary vote Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:18 PM PST  By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea's Supreme Court on Friday rejected all the complaints lodged against the results of a September 28 parliamentary election in which President Alpha Conde's RPG party won the most seats. The parliamentary vote was the last step in a tortuous return to civilian rule since a 2008 coup in the mineral-rich nation. Opposition parties have threatened to restart street protests in which dozens were killed this year. "None of the complaints were supported with the necessary proof," said Mamadou Sylla, president of the court.
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| Toronto council strips Mayor Rob Ford of powers Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:54 PM PST TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford vowed Friday to take City Council to court after it voted overwhelmingly to strip him of some of his powers over his admitted drug use, public drinking and increasingly erratic behavior. |
| Turkey proposes to mediate Iraq energy dispute Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:30 PM PST  Turkey said Friday it has proposed to mediate a long-running dispute between Baghdad and its autonomous Kurdistan region over dividing oil revenue. "The system we will establish will certainly help resolve the dispute between the Kurdish regional government and the central government," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in Ankara. Iraq's federal government in Baghdad and autonomous Kurdistan have long been divided over how to split energy revenue, which has paralysed development of new oil and gas projects in the region.
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| In testimony, lawyer will deny bribery in Chevron-Ecuador case Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:17 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven Donziger, the lawyer accused by Chevron Corp of using bribery to secure a $19 billion judgment over pollution in Ecuador, has never been shy about his opinion of U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan. "What he's doing is not judging," Donziger said of Kaplan, who is presiding over a non-jury trial on Chevron's claims in a federal court in New York. His appearance will be a dramatic moment in the years-long legal battle that has pitted the vast resources of a global oil company against Donziger and the group of villagers in northeastern Ecuador that he advised. In a draft of his testimony provided to the press, Donziger accused Kaplan of bias while criticizing Chevron for "the most well-funded corporate retaliation campaign in history." "I challenge at the most fundamental level the legitimacy of this proceeding," he wrote.
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| California fracking law offers groundwater protection: regulator Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:15 PM PST  By Braden Reddall and Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California regulators said on Friday an enhanced monitoring regime for oil and gas production that is part of the state's new fracking regulations would shore up groundwater protection, a top concern in the growing state. The law, signed by Governor Jerry Brown in September, introduces stringent regulations of hydraulic fracturing as well as of acid injection in anticipation of greater industry efforts to develop the state's vast Monterey shale. The law will require testing of groundwater around fracking sites starting on January 1, 2014. It also allows property owners in the vicinity of a fracking site to request to have their drinking water independently tested at the well operator's expense.
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| In win for Big Oil, U.S. proposes biofuel mandate cut Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:09 PM PST  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration proposed on Friday slashing federal requirements for U.S. biofuel use in 2014, bowing to pressure from the petroleum industry and attempting to prevent a potential fuel crunch next year. It was the first cut to renewable fuel targets written into a 2007 law, and seen as a clear win for oil refiners and a loss for biofuel producers. The plan follows the Environmental Protection Agency's warnings that the country was approaching a point where the so-called Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) would require the use of more ethanol than can be blended into gasoline at the 10 percent level that dominates the U.S. fueling infrastructure. In response, the EPA proposed to cut overall use of renewable fuels, made mostly from U.S. corn and to a lesser extent from soybeans, grasses, crop waste and Brazilian sugarcane, to a range of 15 billion to 15.52 billion gallons.
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| Chan not convinced by Plushenko comeback Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:06 PM PST  World champion Patrick Chan said Friday he was unconvinced that veteran former Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko could make a comeback in the Sochi Games. Plushenko has said he wants to compete at his home Olympics, and reclaim the title he won at the Turin Games after taking silver in Vancouver behind American Evan Lysacek. "For him it's going to be very difficult to come back for Sochi," said Chan, after setting a world record mark of 98.52 points in the short programme in the Trophee Bompard, the fifth in the six-leg ISU Grand Prix series in Paris on Friday. Chan, like Plushenko, has won three world titles, but believes the world of skating has evolved since the 31-year-old Russian won his world golds in 2001, 2003 and 2004.
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| US quietly offers bounties for Benghazi attackers Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:56 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Friday that it has been quietly offering rewards since January of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of any person involved in last year's attack on a US diplomatic compound in Libya. The announcement ends weeks of Obama administration silence on questions about whether it was using all available means to catch the attackers. |
| England caught cold by Sanchez and Chile Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:47 PM PST  England's World Cup preparations began with a whimper on Friday as Alexis Sanchez scored twice to give Chile a 2-0 victory in a low-key friendly game at Wembley Stadium. The in-form Barcelona forward struck in the seventh minute and again in injury time, taking his tally of goals to 10 in nine games for club and country and condemning England to defeat for the first time in 11 matches. Fifteen years after a 2-0 win on their last visit to Wembley, Chile left with a spring in their step ahead of Tuesday's friendly game with Brazil in Toronto, having extended their own unbeaten run to 10 matches. England manager Roy Hodgson, meanwhile, will hope for a more impressive showing from his side against Germany next week, when he is expected to name his strongest starting line-up after shuffling his pack on Friday.
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| Albania refuses to accept Syria's chemical weapons Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:38 PM PST  TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The mission to destroy Syria's poison gas stockpile was dealt a serious blow Friday when Albania refused to host the destruction, but the global chemical weapons watchdog said it is still confident it can eradicate the arsenal outside Syria by the middle of next year.
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| Israeli troops cuff Palestinian children: witnesses Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:27 PM PST  Israeli troops in the West Bank detained four Palestinian children aged five to nine years for more than an hour Friday with their hands cuffed, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said that troops rounded up some minors during rioting in the northern West bank village of Kfar Qaddum but held them only briefly. "A group of Palestinian children were detected setting fire to tyres," she said. "Soldiers rounded up the children to prevent mayhem and when a commander arrived shortly afterwards they were released," she said.
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| Britain's Cameron faces protests in former Sri Lanka war zone Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:24 PM PST  By Shihar Aneez and Frank Jack Daniel COLOMBO/JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Crowds of protesters met British Prime Minister David Cameron in the north of Sri Lanka on Friday, some surging towards his vehicle brandishing photos of relatives lost in the country's long civil war that ended four years ago. Cameron visited the city of Jaffna in the ethnic Tamil- dominated region of the island after attending the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth summit in the capital Colombo. The biennial meeting of mainly former British colonies has this year brought intense scrutiny of Sri Lanka's human rights record. Rival protesters met Cameron on his tour of the town, including Tamils seeking his support in locating missing relatives and also government supporters who waved placards that read "We are not a colony" in opposition to his visit.
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| US officials: Nuke deal offers Iran minor relief Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:24 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran would get only minor relief from economic sanctions under an international proposal to prevent it from producing nuclear weapons, two Obama administration officials said Friday, seeking to calm concerns in Israel and on Capitol Hill that the U.S. and its allies are giving away too much to Tehran.
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| Berlusconi's center-right party in schism Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:17 PM PST ROME (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi suffered another major setback on Friday after his political heir announced he was leaving Berlusconi's party to form a new political grouping, creating a schism in Italy's center-right that raised fresh questions about the stability of the government. |
| At least 31 dead as Tripoli residents rebel against militias Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:17 PM PST  At least 31 people were killed and 285 hurt in Tripoli after a demonstration calling on unruly militias to leave the Libyan capital turned violent on Friday, the health minister said. The militias are holdovers from the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi and are a powerful force in the increasingly lawless North African country. But less than an hour later he told private channel Libya al-Ahrar that the toll had risen to 31 killed and 285 wounded and could still rise, with other officials saying the situation was chaotic. Violence erupted when gunmen fired at hundreds of demonstrators carrying white flags from inside villas in the southern Tripoli district of Gharghour where the Misrata militia has its headquarters.
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| England new-boys fail to dazzle on debuts Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:12 PM PST  England debutants Fraser Forster, Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez endured a mixed introduction to the international stage in a 2-0 friendly defeat against Chile at Wembley on Friday. With England's place at next year's World Cup secured last month, boss Roy Hodgson handed first caps to Celtic goalkeeper Forster and Southampton forwards Lallana and Rodriguez for the first stage of his build-up to the tournament in Brazil. Forster fared slightly better than his fellow newcomers and couldn't be blamed for either of Alexis Sanchez's goals. But Lallana and especially Rodriguez may have squandered their chance to book a seat on the plane to Brazil after underwhelming contributions to England's first defeat for 11 matches.
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| Syrian chemical weapons will be transferred Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:04 PM PST TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The mission to destroy Syria's poison gas stockpile was dealt a serious blow Friday when Albania refused to host the destruction, but the global chemical weapons watchdog said it is still confident it can eradicate the weapons outside Syria by the middle of next year. |
| Kiwis hammer Scots to advance to Rugby League World Cup semis Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:02 PM PST  Leeds (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Defending champions New Zealand advanced to the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup with a resounding 40-4 victory over Scotland on Friday.
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| British man and family missing after Philippine typhoon Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:36 PM PST  The Foreign Office said on Friday it was urgently looking into reports that a British man and his family may have been killed by Typhoon Haiyan while visiting the Philippines. Colin Bembridge, a 61-year-old pharmacist from the northeast of England, his Filipino partner Maybelle, 35, and their three-year-old daughter Victoria have not been seen since the typhoon struck, Channel Four News reported. They were visiting Maybelle's relatives and had hired a beach house in the coastal village of Baybay close to Tacloban. "I just want to know whether they are dead or whether they were blown by the winds," Maybelle's mother Lydia Go, 79, told the broadcaster.
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| Militias attack Libyan protesters, killing 31 Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:34 PM PST  TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan militiamen opened fire Friday on white-flag-waving protesters demanding their disbandment, killing at least 31 people and wounding more than 200 in a barrage of heavy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire.
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| Health care dispute could delay Iran sanctions Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Senate could delay a likely vote on a new round of tough sanctions on Iran. |
| Chemical watchdog seals Syria arsenal destruction plan Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:27 PM PST  The world's chemical watchdog on Friday adopted a final roadmap for ridding Syria of its arsenal by mid-2014, reaching agreement hours before a deadline expired. "The plan is adopted," Christian Chartier, a spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told AFP after a meeting of its 41-member Executive Council in The Hague. Friday was the deadline for the OPCW to agree "destruction milestones" for the more than 1,000 tonnes of dangerous chemicals in Syria, according to the terms of a US-Russian deal that headed off US military strikes on President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The deal came amid growing momentum towards peace talks after more than two-and-a-half years of Syria's deadly uprising, with the rebels suffering a string of recent setbacks.
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| US believes Iran deal 'possible' at next talks Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:25 PM PST  US officials gearing up for new talks with Iran said Friday a deal could be struck next week in the decade-long bid to rein in its nuclear program, but warned tough issues and Congress could still scupper the negotiations. The official also renewed pleas to skeptical US lawmakers not to slap more sanctions on Iran in the mistaken belief it would force the Islamic republic "to the point of capitulation" and the dismantling of all its nuclear activities. "I personally don't believe surrender would come any time soon, it is a culture of resistance," said the official, warning that if there were new sanctions Iran "would move forward with its nuclear program ... and we would find ourselves with no other option but a military one." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif will join political directors from the six powers negotiating a freeze to Iran's suspect nuclear program for a new round of talks in the Swiss city from Wednesday.
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| UN warns over refugees turned away in Greece, Bulgaria Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:06 PM PST  The UN's refugee agency Friday called on Greece and Bulgaria to stop turning back Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged homeland, as Bulgaria confirmed a clampdown. "Push-backs and prevention of entry can put asylum-seekers at further risk and expose them to additional trauma," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters, saying that all states must cease such practices immediately. Bulgaria acknowledged Friday that it had started turning back refugees, many of them Syrian, who were trying to cross over from Turkey. Edwards said UNHCR was also seeking more information from Bulgaria about a group of around 100 people reportedly turned away last weekend.
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| Africa fails to get Kenya ICC trials deferred at United Nations Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:01 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - An African bid to postpone the International Criminal Court trials of Kenya's president and his deputy failed at the United Nations on Friday, which Kenya called a humiliation for Africa. The African Union had requested that the U.N. Security Council defer the cases against Uhuru Kenyatta and his number two, William Ruto, for one year to allow them to deal with the aftermath of an attack by al Qaeda-linked Somali militants. But the 15-member Security Council was split - seven members, including Russia and China, voted in favor, and eight abstained, including France, the United States and Britain.
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| US offering $10 mln reward to find Benghazi attackers Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:44 PM PST The State Department revealed Friday it has been quietly offering a $10 million reward to help track down the militants behind last year's deadly attack on a US mission in Libya. The brazen assault in Benghazi cost the lives of four Americans, including ambassador Chris Stevens, with the fatalities and disputes about what unfolded at the diplomatic base causing fury in Washington. A State Department spokesman told AFP that its Rewards for Justice program has since January been offering up to $10 million "for information leading to the arrest or conviction of anyone who was involved in the September 2012 Benghazi attacks." |
| Key events in Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's long year Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:44 PM PST TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford remains in office, resisting all attempts to force him out over his admitted crack use, drinking problem and appearance in a video that caught him threatening to "kill" someone. His powers were curtailed by the City Council on Friday. Here are some key events from his long year in the news: |
| Israel urges France not to waver on Iran Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:43 PM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged France to stand firm in international negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme. "We hope France will not yield," Netanyahu said in an interview to Le Figaro newspaper due out on Saturday, on the eve of French President Francois Hollande's visit to Israel. But our relationship with France is also very special," he said. France took a tougher line than its Western partners last week in Geneva talks aimed at resolving the impasse over Iran's nuclear programme.
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| Albania rejects request to destroy Syrian weapons Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:43 PM PST  TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The international effort to destroy Syria's chemical weapons was dealt a major blow Friday when staunch American ally Albania rejected a U.S. request to let the destruction take place on its soil.
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| Romanian pleads innocent to genocide charge Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:41 PM PST BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A man who has been charged with genocide for allegedly killing 103 political prisoners while serving as a top official at a former Romanian labor camp says he has pleaded not guilty. |
