| Analysis: Iran deal bears Obama's personal stamp Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:28 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When push came to shove in the closing hours of marathon negotiations in Geneva on Iran's nuclear program, it was President Barack Obama, back at the White House, who approved the final language on the U.S. side before the historic deal was clinched. It was perhaps only fitting that Obama had the last say. His push for a thaw with Tehran, a longtime U.S. foe, dates back to before his presidency, and no other foreign policy issue bears his personal stamp more since he took office in early 2009. Behind the risky diplomatic opening is a desire for a big legacy-shaping achievement and a deep aversion to getting America entangled in another Middle East conflict - motives that override misgivings to the Iran deal expressed by close allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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| New conditions appear to push U.S., Afghanistan farther from striking security deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:56 PM PST  By Jessica Donati and Mark Felsenthal KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghanistan and the United States appeared even farther from a deal on Tuesday that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 as a meeting between President Hamid Karzai and a senior U.S. official revealed new differences over the controversial agreement. Afghan President Hamid Karzai told U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, who met with the Afghan leader on Monday during a visit to Kabul, that the United States must put an immediate end to military raids on Afghan homes and demonstrate its commitment to peace talks before the Afghan leader would sign a bilateral security pact, Karzai's spokesman said.
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| Tough road lies ahead after landmark Iran nuclear deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:47 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi GENEVA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has pulled off a historic deal with Iran on curbing its nuclear program but he and other global leaders now have tough work ahead turning an interim accord into a comprehensive agreement. In a sign of how difficult the coming talks will be, some differences emerged between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart in their public presentation of a key part of the deal - whether or not Iran preserved the right to enrich uranium. Obama also has to persuade its ally Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the deal as a "historic mistake," that the accord will reduce and not increase the threat from its arch foe Iran. And he has to sell the accord to skeptics in Congress, including some in his own Democratic Party, who have been pressing for more sanctions on Iran.
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| Syria peace talks set for January 22 in Geneva Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:42 PM PST By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - An international peace conference for Syria will begin on January 22, the first direct talks between President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebels seeking to overthrow him, the United Nations said on Monday. Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general, said the goal was to agree on a mutually acceptable transitional administration as well as the other elements of an outline peace plan drafted by the Western powers and Russia at Geneva in June last year. "It is a huge opportunity for peace that shouldn't be wasted," Lakhdar Brahimi, Ban's special envoy for Syria, told a news conference in the Swiss city, where the long delayed face-to-face talks should take place in eight weeks. |
| Police, pro-Europe protesters clash in Ukraine, EU condemns Russia Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:29 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Luke Baker KIEV/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukrainian police fired tear gas at pro-Europe demonstrators and authorities sought to isolate jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko on Monday as she launched a hunger strike over Kiev's rejection of a European trade pact under pressure from Moscow. European Union leaders issued unusually strong criticism of Russia, stressing the offer to Ukraine remained on the table despite little indication it would sign the pact with the EU at a summit on Friday as originally planned. Police clashed with protesters who gathered for a second day in Kiev and speakers urged people to stay on the streets, although numbers were smaller on Sunday, the largest turnout since a pro-democracy "Orange Revolution" nine years ago. President Viktor Yanukovich, acting to defuse pressure from the streets, which denied him the presidency the first time in 2005, said rejecting the pact had been difficult but unavoidable -- implying EU rules were too tough on the fragile economy. |
| It's the economy, Scots: independence plan unveiled Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:03 PM PST  By Belinda Goldsmith GLASGOW (Reuters) - The Scottish government will focus on the potential economic gains from independence on Tuesday when it unveils its vision for the future if Scots choose to end a 306-year union with England. Alex Salmond, head of a devolved government in Scotland - which for now is still part of the United Kingdom - has promised to spell out exactly what would happen if Scots vote on September 18 next year to leave the UK. With separatists lagging in opinion polls, his Scottish National Party is hoping the 670-page blueprint will win over the many skeptics, answering questions the SNP has been accused of dodging, such as the currency of an independent Scotland, its membership of the European Union and border arrangements. "We are setting out a positive plan for job opportunities and economic growth based on Scotland's vast natural resources, key growth sectors and human talent," said Salmond, whose party has a majority in Scotland's parliament.
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| AIDS in South Africa: Grants fight 'sugar daddy' peril Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:59 PM PST  Government grants to help poor children in South Africa also play an important role in reducing HIV risk from "sugar daddies" who prey on teenage girls, a study said on Tuesday. In a wide-ranging probe published in The Lancet Global Health, researchers in Britain and South Africa interviewed 3,500 teenagers and followed this up with another interview a year later. Teenage girls from households which received child support were two-thirds less likely to have a much older boyfriend compared to counterparts from homes that did not receive the benefit, they found. South Africa has more than one in six of the world's tally of people infected with the AIDS virus.
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| Kerry feared to last minute secret Iran talks might fail Posted: 25 Nov 2013 04:18 PM PST  On Board US Secretary of State's Plane (United States) (AFP) - Right up until the last minute, Secretary of State John Kerry thought months of US-Iran negotiations, some held in deep secret in Oman, might fail and he would again leave Geneva empty-handed. As the top US diplomat prepares to sell the deal on reining in Iran's nuclear program to Congress, a top State Department official revealed Monday that months of back-channel talks between US and Iranian officials had taken place in Oman and other places that have not been made public. And it was a historic moment when President Barack Obama in September telephoned his newly-elected Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani as he was leaving New York after the UN annual General Assembly. But in fact White House and State Department officials, believed to include Deputy Secretary Bill Burns and Jake Sullivan, national security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, had been in secret contacts with Iranian officials for some time.
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| U.S. EPA names scientific ombudsman to fight secrecy claims Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:55 PM PST The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named a scientific ombudsman on Monday to fight back against accusations by Republican lawmakers of being opaque in its scientific findings and not allowing outside parties to review them. The agency tapped Francesca Grifo to be its first "scientific integrity official." Grifo is formerly the director of the scientific integrity program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a director of the Center for Environmental Research at Columbia University. The agency has for years been criticized by Republican lawmakers who accused the EPA of using "secret science" to justify what the lawmakers see as over regulation that crimps economic growth and costs jobs. David Vitter of Louisiana, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was unimpressed by Grifo's appointment. |
| U.S. Senate leader Reid not rushing to new Iran sanctions Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:47 PM PST By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Monday the Senate will consider legislation next month to impose tighter sanctions on Iran, but only after studying the issue and possibly holding hearings. Reid said he would look to fellow Democrats Tim Johnson, chairman of the Banking Committee, and Robert Menendez, who heads the Foreign Relations Committee, for a decision after the Senate returns from its Thanksgiving holiday recess on December 9. The decision on sanctions could be central to prospects for the interim agreement to curb Iran's nuclear program announced in Geneva on Sunday. The White House - and the Iranian government - have said Congress could kill the deal if it enacts new sanctions now. |
| US warns Karzai it may leave no troops in Afghanistan Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:12 PM PST  US national security advisor Susan Rice told Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday that a delay in signing a troubled security deal risked the US pulling troops out of the country completely next year. The US said that Karzai had called for "new conditions" for signing the bilateral security agreement (BSA) to allow US forces to remain in the country after 2014. "Ambassador Rice stressed... that deferring the signature of the agreement until after next year's elections is not viable" when she met with Karzai at the end of a three-day trip to Kabul, it added. But "in response, President Karzai outlined new conditions for signing the agreement and indicated he is not prepared to sign the BSA promptly".
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| Afghan leader, Rice at odds over security deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 03:05 PM PST  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president and the U.S. delivered blunt messages to each other Monday that gave no indication of a resolution of their disagreements over a pact that governs the future of the American troop presence in the country.
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| Putin meets pope and Berlusconi in Italy Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:49 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy first day in Rome on Monday, going from the pope to a "Pussy Riot" protest to dinner at the palazzo of his old friend, Silvio Berlusconi.
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| Obama pushes back against critics of Iran deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:48 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing back hard, President Barack Obama forcefully defended the temporary agreement to freeze Iran's disputed nuclear program on Monday, declaring that the United States "cannot close the door on diplomacy."
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| People flee, are deported to Haiti after killings Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:42 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — More than 100 additional people have either been deported to Haiti or left on their own accord from neighboring Dominican Republic after an elderly Dominican couple was killed, authorities and a spokesman for a migrant advocacy group said Monday.
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| Syria talks aim to build on momentum of Iran deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:40 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — Within 24 hours of an interim deal aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear program, world powers raised hopes Monday for the first face-to-face talks to end the Syrian civil war as the United Nations called the warring parties to the table.
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| Easing of Iran sanctions could start in December Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:33 PM PST  BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union sanctions against Iran could be eased as soon as December, officials said Monday, after a potentially history-shaping deal that gives Tehran six months to increase access to its nuclear sites in exchange for keeping the core components of its uranium program.
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| Putin meets pope and Berlusconi in Rome Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:24 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin had a busy first day in Rome on Monday, going from the pope to a "Pussy Riot" protest to dinner at the palazzo of his old friend, Silvio Berlusconi. |
| Oil prices drop after Iran nuclear deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:20 PM PST The price of oil dropped to near $94 a barrel Monday as a deal between Iran and six world powers on the country's nuclear program raised the possibility that sanctions choking Iranian oil exports will be lifted. |
| Tension grips Honduras in disputed election Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:18 PM PST  Political tension loomed over violence-torn Honduras on Monday as the conservative candidate insisted he won presidential elections while the leftist opposition cried fraud. The dispute between Juan Orlando Hernandez, of the ruling right-wing National Party, and left-wing candidate Xiomara Castro brought new uncertainty to a country reeling from gang violence, poverty and the wounds of a 2009 coup. With 58 percent of the vote counted, Hernandez led a field of eight candidates with 34.19 percent followed by Castro with 28.83 percent, according to the latest tally from the supreme electoral tribunal. Hernandez said the result was "not negotiable with anybody" and he named a transition team to succeed President Porfirio Lobo.
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| U.S. says Afghanistan's Karzai seeks new security deal conditions Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:14 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, proposed new terms for a deal governing troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he is in no hurry to sign the accord, the White House said on Monday. "President Karzai outlined new conditions for signing the agreement and indicated he is not prepared to sign the BSA promptly," the White House said in a readout of the meeting between the two officials. Karzai has persistently raised questions about the pact, which would enable U.S. troops to operate in the country beyond next year. There should be peace in Afghanistan before the deal is signed, he said.
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| Hollywood's Arnon Milchan says he was Israeli spy Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:11 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Stories about Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan's alleged double life have been circulating for years. |
| Rival Cyprus leaders: No peace talks restart yet Posted: 25 Nov 2013 02:10 PM PST  NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus on Monday failed to agree on resuming stalled talks aimed at reunifying the country.
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| Uranium seized in South Africa 'not from the continent': agency Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:54 PM PST  A kilogramme of uranium seized in South Africa as it was allegedly being sold likely originated from a nuclear enrichment plant outside the continent, the country's nuclear energy agency said Monday. South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (NECSA), which tested the material, confirmed that the substance was unenriched uranium, and added it likely came from somewhere where enrichment is taking place. "Yes it is uranium and the tests suggest that it must have come from a country that is dealing with some uranium enrichment at the moment, very very unlikely (in) Africa," NECSA spokesman Elliot Mulane told AFP. China, Iran, Japan, North Korea and the United States are among more than a dozen countries involved in uranium enrichment.
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| Rice, Karzai disagree in meeting on security pact Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:51 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says National Security Adviser Susan Rice told Afghan President Hamid Karzai (HAH'-mihd KAHR'-zeye) that the U.S. will plan to pull all troops out of his country after 2014 if he doesn't promptly sign a security agreement. |
| C.Africa president says France to supply extra troops Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:49 PM PST  France is ready to send 800 extra troops to reinforce its presence in Central African Republic, the leader of the strife-torn nation said Monday after talks in Paris with France's foreign minister. Nicolas Tiangaye told AFP that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius "had spoken of sending 800 men" in addition to the 410 already in the country. "There is general insecurity... serious war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Central African Republic," said Tiangaye. A coup by the Seleka rebel coalition in March that toppled president Francois Bozize has unleashed chaos in the large country of 4.5 million, including sectarian bloodshed between Muslims and Christians.
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| Ukraine's Yanukovich defends policy, Tymoshenko declares hunger strike Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:44 PM PST  By Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich acted on Monday to defuse pro-Europe street protests, saying a decision to suspend moves towards a trade pact with the European Union had been difficult and vowing to bring "European standards" to the country. As some 4,000 demonstrators protested the government's move last Thursday, Yanukovich said in a television address that the decision had been forced by economic necessity. "Today I would like to underline this: there is no alternative to the creation of a society of European standards in Ukraine and my policies on this path always have been, and will continue to be, consistent," he said. Within minutes of his address, fresh clashes broke out involving riot police and protesters just off Kiev's European Square, which is close to government headquarters and where demonstrators have set up a small tent encampment.
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| Air strike kills 12 suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen: ministry Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:43 PM PST At least 12 suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in an air strike in southern Yemen this week, the Interior Ministry said on Monday. The ministry's security media centre said the attack targeted a vehicle carrying the men in Abyan province, once a stronghold for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) before it was driven out by a U.S.-backed military campaign last year. "They were all killed and the vehicle was incinerated," the statement, posted on the Yemeni Interior Ministry's website, said. The ministry did not say exactly when the attack took place or who carried it out, but Yemenis say most air strikes are the work of U.S. drones, used as part of a campaign against the group regarded by Washington as the most active wing of the militant network. |
| Afghan leader sticks to position on security deal Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:34 PM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president said Monday he told the U.S. national security adviser that he won't back down from his refusal to sign a security agreement with the United States, but will instead defer it to his successor. |
| DR Congo war crimes suspect, aides to appear before ICC Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:33 PM PST  Former Congolese vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba and two close associates are to appear before judges on Wednesday on suspicion of tampering with witnesses in the ex-warlord's war crimes trial, the International Criminal Court said. "The initial appearance of Aime Kilolo Musamba, Fidele Babala Wandu and Jean-Pierre Bemba is scheduled for 27 November," the Hague-based court said in a statement on Monday. Bemba and his aides are suspected of being "part of a network for the purposes of presenting false or forged documents and bribing certain persons to give false testimony in the case against Mr Bemba," the ICC said. The chairman of Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) said Sunday that Bemba's lawyer Kilolo was arrested at Brussels airport, while Wandu -- Bemba's former private secretary -- was arrested in Kinshasa.
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| Israel okays 829 new settler homes in West Bank: NGO Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:21 PM PST  Israeli authorities have given the go-ahead for the construction of 829 new settler homes in the occupied West Bank, settlement watchdog Peace Now said on Monday. "The construction of 829 homes has been approved by a committee of the Israeli military in charge of the West Bank," said spokesman Lior Amihai. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has warned that ongoing settlement building by Israel in the Palestinian territories threatens the future of Middle East peace talks, which are at an impasse little more than three months after they began. A statement from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat condemned what he called "the Israeli government's constant policy of destroying the two-state solution".
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| Wenger backs Ozil ahead of Marseille clash Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:20 PM PST  Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed record signing Mesut Ozil to rediscover his best form after some subdued performances in recent weeks. Ozil hit the ground running after his £42.4 million ($66 million, 50 million euros) transfer from Real Madrid in September, but he has failed to hit the heights in his last few outings. The 25-year-old playmaker put in a disappointing performance in Arsenal's 1-0 loss at Manchester United prior to the international break and then sat out Germany's friendly against England after contracting a virus. However, with Arsenal on the verge of a place in the Champions League last 16 ahead of Tuesday's home game with Marseille, Wenger has backed the former Werder Bremen man to improve.
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| US backs Japan as China tensions soar on air zone Posted: 25 Nov 2013 01:14 PM PST  The United States on Monday joined ally Japan in vowing not to recognize China's declaration of an air defense zone over much of the East China Sea, a move that has sharply escalated tensions. China and Japan each summoned the other's ambassador after Beijing said Saturday it had established an Air Defense Identification Zone -- which would require aircraft to obey its orders -- over an area that includes islands administered by Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has vowed no compromise on sovereignty issues, called on China to "restrain itself" over the move, which put Tokyo's conservative government in rare unison with South Korea and Taiwan. US President Barack Obama's administration has vowed to defend Japan and said that the islands -- known as the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese -- fall under the US security treaty with its ally, which has been officially pacifist since World War II.
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