| Americans back Iran deal by 2-to-1 margin: Reuters/Ipsos poll Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:44 PM PST  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans back a newly brokered nuclear deal with Iran by a 2-to-1 margin and are very wary of the United States resorting to military action against Tehran even if the historic diplomatic effort falls through, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Tuesday. The findings were rare good news in the polls for President Barack Obama whose approval ratings have dropped in recent weeks because of the botched rollout of his signature healthcare reform law. According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 44 percent of Americans support the interim deal reached between Iran and six world powers in Geneva last weekend, and 22 percent oppose it. Even if the Iran deal fails, 49 percent want the United States to then increase sanctions and 31 percent think it should launch further diplomacy.
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| Exclusive: U.N. says Syria combatants stymie aid effort Posted: 26 Nov 2013 12:21 PM PST  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations says its aid convoys cannot reach around 250,000 people in areas besieged by Syrian government forces or rebels, despite "growing needs and intensifying conflict". The detailed assessment was included in a confidential paper that Valerie Amos, U.N. emergency relief coordinator, presented to a private, unannounced U.N. meeting in Geneva on Tuesday. "Besieged communities continue to be cut off." International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi announced on Monday that peace talks would be held on January 22, the first direct talks between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces seeking to topple him. The U.N. document entitled "Humanitarian Situation and Response in Syria" painted a grim picture, saying there were 900 armed clashes in Syria in October compared with 500 in May. It describes a "dangerous and difficult environment for humanitarian workers" and says 12 U.N. staff and 32 volunteers or staff of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011.
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| Hardliners hold fire on Iran nuclear deal, but for how long? Posted: 26 Nov 2013 09:12 AM PST  By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's nuclear negotiators returned home as heroes on Sunday, greeted by jubilant supporters after securing a deal with world powers over the country's disputed atomic program. Two days on, Iran's political realities are sinking in. To ensure the deal stays on track, Iran's new moderate government needs to protect it from virulently anti-Western security hardliners who wield great economic and political power and are close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Those voices are mostly silent as yet, but as the complex accord's costs and benefits are weighed by Iran's factionalized political class, hardliners who call the United States and its allies "world arrogance" will be poised to pounce.
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| Referendum on Egypt's constitution seen in December Posted: 26 Nov 2013 11:28 AM PST  By Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt will hold a referendum on an amended constitution in December, the group drafting it said on Tuesday, an important step in an army-backed roadmap meant to lead to elections. Hours before the timing of the referendum was announced, protesters took to the streets in defiance of a law passed on Sunday requiring police approval for gatherings of more than 10 people. Police detained 28 people, the Interior Ministry said. Egypt's democratic credentials have been called into question since the military toppled the country's first freely elected president, Islamist Mohamed Mursi, in July, following mass protests against his rule.
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| Italy PM Letta wins confidence vote as Berlusconi moves to opposition Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:41 PM PST  By Paolo Biondi ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote on the 2014 budget, reinforcing his coalition government a day before the Senate is expected to ban center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi from parliament over a tax fraud conviction. Berlusconi's Forza Italia party voted against the so-called Stability Law, which it described as "completely mistaken, with neither head nor tail", formalizing its break with Letta after seven months in his left-right coalition. The measure passed in the Senate shortly after midnight with a majority of 171 to 135, helped by the votes of rebel senators who broke away from Berlusconi earlier this month. "From today we are in opposition and the grand coalition is over," said Renato Brunetta, lower house leader of Berlusconi's center-right party, now rebranded as Forza Italia, the name of the movement the billionaire media tycoon used to enter politics 20 years ago.
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| Defying China, U.S. bombers fly into East China Sea zone Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:39 PM PST  By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers on a training mission flew over disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, defying China's declaration of a new airspace defense zone and raising the stakes in a territorial standoff. The flight did not prompt a response from China, the Pentagon said, and the White House urged Beijing on Tuesday to resolve its dispute with Japan over the islands diplomatically, without resorting to "threats or inflammatory language." China published coordinates for an East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone over the weekend and warned it would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that failed to identify themselves properly in the airspace.
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| Teen cartel killer released in Mexico, goes to US Posted: 26 Nov 2013 05:06 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A 17-year-old U.S. citizen who acknowledged being a killer for a Mexican drug cartel finished his three-year juvenile-offender term for homicide, kidnapping and drug and weapons possession and returned to the United States.
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| Honduras' president-elect names transition team Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:39 PM PST  TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras' newly elected president named his transition team Tuesday, while about 200 students protested to demand a recount of the vote in the poor Central American nation.
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| US bombers cross China's claimed air defense zone Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:33 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after China asserted greater military control over a swath of the East China Sea to bolster claims to a cluster of disputed islands, the U.S. defied the move Tuesday as it flew two B-52 bombers through the area.
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| Israel, EU agree on scientific cooperation: Israeli official Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:25 PM PST  The EU and Israel reached an agreement Tuesday enabling the Jewish state to participate in a European-funded scientific research program after a compromise on settlement funding. The agreement on Israel's participation in the Horizon 2020 Programme "fully respects the EU's legal and financial requirements while at the same time respecting Israel's political sensitivities and preserving its principled positions," according to a joint statement released by Israel's justice ministry. Israel had objected to European Union guidelines, published in July, which will ban funding for and financial dealing with settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem starting from January 2014. The guidelines angered Israel because it would have to recognise in writing that the settlements -- which are illegal under international law -- are not part of the Jewish state in any future EU agreements.
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| New clashes between army, Islamists in Libya's Benghazi Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:07 PM PST  New clashes between the Libyan army and Islamists erupted in the eastern city of Benghazi early on Wednesday, wounding several people, security sources and residents said. Libya's military is struggling to curb Islamist militants and militias who fought in the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi but refuse to disarm and control parts of the OPEC producer. Fighting broke out on Monday between army special forces and members of the Ansar Sharia in Libya's second-largest city, killing at least nine people before the Islamists retreated from their main base.
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| End 'sharp words' over Ukraine, Putin tells EU leaders Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:06 PM PST  Russia's president on Tuesday called for European leaders to end their criticism over Ukraine's decision to delay a key EU pact, as thousands rallied in Kiev in a third day of protests. Vladimir Putin said a free trade deal between the European Union and Ukraine that was controversially put on hold last week would have been a "major threat" to the Russian economy. Kiev admitted on Tuesday Moscow had asked it to delay signing the pact, while President Viktor Yanukovych said he would consider signing under new terms. The Ukrainian government suspended talks last week on the political and free trade accord, seen as a key step towards EU membership, which its Soviet-era master Russia had vehemently opposed.
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| Caribbean leaders consider sanctions on Dominican immigration ruling Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:04 PM PST  By Linda Hutchinson-Jafar PORT OF SPAIN (Reuters) - Caribbean heads of state meeting in Trinidad and Tobago agreed on Tuesday to defer an application from the Dominican Republic for membership in CARICOM, the region's largest cooperation group, until Santo Domingo addresses a high court ruling denying citizenship to thousands of Haitian descendants. Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who chaired the meeting said the controversial September 23 ruling by the Dominican Constitutional Court had created "grave humanitarian situation" that left those affected stateless and with no recourse to appeal. The leaders of CARICOM, a 15-member organization of mostly English-speaking Caribbean nations, called on the Dominican Republic to take immediate steps to redress the situation and asked countries in the region to urge Santo Domingo to "right this terrible wrong." Persad-Bissessar said the meeting attended by Haitian President Michel Martelly also discussed suspending the Dominican Republic's membership in the CARIFORUM group, which is part of CARICOM and coordinates policy cooperation and regional integration.
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| US pleads for release of ex-FBI agent held in Iran Posted: 26 Nov 2013 04:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday made a holiday appeal to Iran to return a retired FBI agent and two other Americans being held in the country. |
| Winter storm lashes eastern U.S., threatens Thanksgiving travel Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:36 PM PST  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful storm dumped heavy rain and snow over much of the eastern United States on Tuesday, threatening to snarl travel plans for millions of people over the busy Thanksgiving holiday, forecasters said. The Atlantic coast into New England will be drenched with 2 to 4 inches of rain by late Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, as the storm moves northeast out of the South, said the National Weather Service. The windswept rain will pound the Atlantic corridor from Richmond, Virginia, as far north as Portland, Maine, likely causing poor visibility, flight delays and urban flooding, said online forecasters Accuweather.com. The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the nation's busiest travel times.
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| Israel officials say EU funding spat resolved Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:23 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has resolved a diplomatic spat with the European Union over a funding ban on institutions operating in occupied areas claimed by the Palestinians, Israeli officials said Tuesday.
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| Ten Haitian migrants die, 100 cling to capsized ship in Bahamas Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:18 PM PST At least 10 Haitian migrants were killed and rescuers scrambled to save about 100 more who clung to the hull and mast of an overloaded wooden sloop that capsized in the Bahamas, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The 40-foot (12-metre), sail-powered coastal freighter ran aground and capsized near Staniel Cay in the central Bahamas on Monday night, officials said. Bahamian authorities said they had not confirmed any deaths, but the U.S. Coast Guard put the death toll at 10. Thirteen survivors were hoisted aboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, said Petty Officer Mark Barney, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami. |
| Protest in tense Honduras after disputed presidential vote Posted: 26 Nov 2013 03:02 PM PST  Hundreds of demonstrators blocked streets in the Honduras capital Tuesday in support of the leftist presidential candidate, who is claiming victory though authorities say the conservative won. He was among some 400 student-aged supporters of leftist Xiomara Castro, who has claimed victory in Sunday's presidential race though electoral officials say conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez beat her 34 to 29 percent, with 67 percent of polling stations tallied. Local government institutions are so weak and the police so corrupt that Honduras is on the brink of becoming a failed state. Gangs run whole neighborhoods, extorting businesses as large as factories and as small as tortilla stands, while drug cartels use Honduras as a transfer point for shipping illegal drugs, especially cocaine, from South America to the United States.
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| Migrants capsize in Bahamas; up to 30 feared dead Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:59 PM PST  MIAMI (AP) — A sailboat passing through the southern Bahamas islands with about 150 Haitian migrants on board capsized after running aground, killing up to 30 people and leaving the rest clinging to the vessel for hours, authorities said Tuesday.
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| US bombers fly across China's new air defense zone Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after China asserted greater military control over a swath of the East China Sea to bolster claims to a cluster of disputed islands, the U.S. defied the move Tuesday as it flew two B-52 bombers through the area. |
| Chelsea through despite Basel loss Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:53 PM PST  Basel (Switzerland) (AFP) - Chelsea reached the last 16 of the Champions League despite going down to a 1-0 defeat to Basel in Switzerland on Tuesday, Mohamed Salah scoring the only goal with three minutes remaining. Salah latched on to a long ball forward by Fabian Schaer and outpaced Branislav Ivanovic as he cut in from the left before finishing past Petr Cech to hand the hosts a thoroughly deserved victory and keep their hopes of joining Chelsea in the last 16 alive heading into the final round of matches. It was Basel's second win against the Premier League club in this season's competition and propelled them into second place in the group above Schalke, who only managed a goalless draw away to Steaua Bucharest in the night's other match.
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| Arab Idol Assaf appeal for UN Palestinian agency Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:50 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (United States) (AFP) - Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf on Tuesday joined appeals to raise money for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says it may not be able to pay staff wages in December because of a $36 million budget deficit. Assaf, who is from Gaza and was catapulted into the international spotlight by winning the Arab Idol talent series this year, said the agency was crucial for the survival of Palestinians. "I call upon all to help fund and support UNRWA because that is the only way the people can survive and have a bit of hope at the end of the tunnel," Assaf, who is on a US concert tour, said through a translator.
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| Talks on global free-trade deal collapse in Geneva Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:13 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — Negotiators came close but failed Tuesday to clinch a free-trade deal that could have helped boost the world economy by $1 trillion a year and cleared the way for a broader global agreement.
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| Israel says kills three Qaeda-linked militants in West Bank Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:06 PM PST Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, which administers the territory, denied the three had had any relation to al Qaeda and accused Israeli of setting out to kill the men. An official from Israeli's Shin Bet security agency said it had learned from a number of earlier arrests that the network was planning attacks in the coming days against Israeli targets and against the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Al Qaeda-inspired groups have a small presence in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, but are less common in the occupied West Bank, which is policed by Israeli and Palestinian Authority forces. |
| Mexico frees teen cartel killer, to leave for US Posted: 26 Nov 2013 02:04 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — A 17-year-old U.S. citizen who acknowledged being a killer for a Mexican drug cartel finished his three-year juvenile-offender term for homicide, kidnapping and drug and weapons possession and returned to the United States. |
| Death toll may hit 30 in Haitian migrant capsizing Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:48 PM PST MIAMI (AP) — A sailboat passing through the southern Bahamas islands with more than 100 Haitian migrants on board capsized, killing up to 30 people and leaving the rest clinging to the foundering vessel for hours, authorities said Tuesday. |
| U.S. trial ends over Ecuador pollution judgment against Chevron Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:44 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - An attorney for Chevron Corp on Tuesday accused U.S. lawyer Steven Donziger of orchestrating an international criminal conspiracy by using bribery and fraud in Ecuador to secure a multibillion-dollar pollution judgment against the oil company. "It was a scheme so audacious, so bold, that it would make even a Mafia boss blush," lawyer Randy Mastro said during his closing argument before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is presiding over the non-jury trial. Lawyers for the defense said Chevron had failed to prove Donziger's involvement in any conspiracy. "Steven Donziger may be a jerk.
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| Thirty Haitians dead after ship capsizes in Bahamas Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:37 PM PST  About 30 Haitian migrants died after an overloaded freighter capsized in the Bahamas and 110 others were rescued in rough seas, the US Coast Guard said Tuesday. "Approximately 30 Haitian migrants are reported dead," said a statement from the Coast Guard, which cited information from Bahamian defense forces. The estimated death toll from Monday's accident rose as the Coast Guard released harrowing images of a throng of passengers perched precariously on the overturned hull of the ship. "The migrants were clinging to the hull of the grounded 40-foot (12-meter) sail freighter when rescue crews arrived," the Coast Guard said.
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| A lot at stake for Russia in battle for Ukraine Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:36 PM PST  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's vigorous efforts to keep Ukraine within its orbit of influence stem from complex strategic, emotional and cultural issues. As the prospect of Ukraine signing an association agreement with the European Union wanes and Kiev focuses on improving ties with Moscow, here's a look at some of the issues at play:
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| Berlusconi's Forza Italia moves into opposition Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:35 PM PST  ROME (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi pulled his Forza Italia party's support from the government on Tuesday, the eve of a Senate vote to kick the media magnate out of Parliament because of his tax fraud conviction.
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| New rebel alliance wants Syria as 'Islamic state' Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:34 PM PST  A newly formed rebel alliance said Tuesday it wants to replace Syria's regime with an "Islamic state," but insisted it would protect minorities and not create an "oppressive, authoritarian system". The covenant of the Islamic Front, Syria's largest armed opposition grouping with tens of thousands of fighters battling to oust President Bashar al-Assad, spells out its intention to play a role in politics and society as well as on the battlefield. But the authors of the document did not provide a clear vision of a post-Assad Syria, perhaps fearing that delving into details would splinter the alliance of seven key Islamist groups announced on Friday, which hopes to unify the fractured opposition. Syria's uprising began as a series of peaceful pro-democracy protests in March 2011, but a brutal regime crackdown ignited a full-blown civil war in which hardline Islamist groups have taken on an increasingly prominent role.
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| Auditor warns of lapses in Canada border controls Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:24 PM PST  Canada has often failed in recent years to prevent illegal entry into the country, allowing in many people who may pose a threat, the auditor general said Tuesday. The collection, monitoring, and assessment of information to prevent the illegal entry of people into Canada is "often not working as intended," Auditor General Michael Ferguson said in a report. Canada tightened its borders after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, in order to protect from terrorist threats and impede people smuggling. Nearly 100 million travellers enter Canada each year.
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| Rouhani says 'long' way to final Iran nuclear deal Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:23 PM PST  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday hailed a landmark interim nuclear deal reached with world powers this week as the right step in a "long" journey to a comprehensive accord. He stressed that Iran's enrichment of uranium -- which according to the deal will be limited to five percent purity -- would continue as his negotiators engage with the so-called P5+1 -- the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany. "Step by step, we're moving towards achieving a comprehensive agreement with the P5+1." But he added: "Enrichment, which is part of our rights, will continue… Iran will never abandon its enrichment activities."
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| AP NewsBreak: Not guilty verdict in piracy case Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:21 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal jury Tuesday found a Somali man who acted as a negotiator for pirates aboard a hijacked ship not guilty of piracy, but had not yet reached a verdict on two lesser charges. |
| Prosecutor demands guilty verdict for Knox Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:21 PM PST  FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — An Italian prosecutor on Tuesday demanded that an appellate court find Amanda Knox guilty of the 2007 murder of her British roommate, a killing he argued may have been rooted in arguments about cleanliness and triggered by a toilet left unflushed by the only man now in jail for the murder.
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| Yanukovych: Ukraine not ready to sign key EU deal Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:15 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday stood by his warning that his country was not ready to sign a key agreement with the European Union, but said he would still attend a summit at which the signing was to take place for further talks.
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| Pope issues mission statement for papacy Posted: 26 Nov 2013 01:09 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis denounced the global financial system that excludes the poor as he issued the mission statement for his papacy on Tuesday, saying he wants the Catholic Church to get its hands dirty as it seeks to bring solace and mercy to society's outcasts.
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