| U.S. affirms support for Japan in islands dispute with China Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:21 PM PST By Mark Felsenthal and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States pledged support for ally Japan on Wednesday in a growing dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea and senior U.S. administration officials accused Beijing of behavior that had unsettled its neighbors. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured his Japanese counterpart in a phone call that the two nations' defense pact covered the small islands where China established a new airspace defense zone last week and commended Tokyo "for exercising appropriate restraint," a Pentagon spokesman said. China's declaration raised the stakes in a territorial standoff between Beijing and Tokyo over the area, which includes the tiny uninhabited islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. |
| Syrian opposition to attend Geneva peace conference Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:52 PM PST  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - The Syrian National Coalition opposition group will attend the long-delayed "Geneva 2" talks in January aimed at ending the country's civil war, the group's president, Ahmad Jarba, said on Wednesday. In an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press, he also said regional power Iran should only be allowed to attend if it stopped taking part in the bloodshed in Syria and withdrew its forces and proxies. It insists that President Bashar al-Assad can play no future role in Syria. "We are now ready to go to Geneva," Jarba said on a visit to Cairo, adding that the opposition viewed the Geneva talks as a step to a leadership transition and a "genuine democratic transformation in Syria".
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| Berlusconi expelled from Italian parliament over tax fraud Posted: 27 Nov 2013 11:49 AM PST By Roberto Landucci and Catherine Hornby ROME (Reuters) - The Italian Senate expelled former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi over his tax fraud conviction on Wednesday, humiliating the veteran center-right leader who vowed to continue leading his party from outside parliament. The Senate vote, after months of wrangling and delay, opens an uncertain phase for Italy, with the 77-year-old media billionaire now apparently in the twilight of his political career but prepared to use all his resources to disrupt Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition government. "We are here on a bitter day, a day of mourning for democracy," Berlusconi told supporters from his Forza Italia party in front of his central Rome residence as the Senate voted a short distance away. Berlusconi, who has dominated Italian politics for two decades, had already pulled his party out of Letta's coalition after seven months in government, accusing left wing opponents of staging a "coup d'etat" to eliminate him. |
| EU leaders set for frosty dinner with Ukraine's Yanukovich Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:09 PM PST  By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will come face-to-face with Viktor Yanukovich on Thursday for the first time since the Ukrainian president spurned their offer of a free-trade deal and decided to seek closer ties with Russia instead. In a meeting that promises to be one of the frostier moments of political theatre this year, Yanukovich plans to attend a dinner in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to honor the Eastern Partnership, the EU's four-year-old program of outreach to former Soviet states. Ukraine had been expected to sign a far-reaching free-trade and political association deal with the EU at the Vilnius summit, the result of years of negotiation. But last week, following intense pressure from Moscow and growing concerns about Ukraine's dire economic situation, Yanukovich announced he wasn't ready to sign the EU deal yet and would bolster links with Russia.
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| Kerry to visit Middle East, Moldova and attend NATO talks Posted: 27 Nov 2013 01:52 PM PST  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah next week to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace and to consult Israeli officials about Iran, the State Department said on Wednesday. During his trip from December 3 to December 6, Kerry will attend an annual meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels and will become the first secretary of State to visit Moldova in more than two decades. Kerry had planned to visit Israel last week but postponed the trip and traveled instead to Geneva, where six major powers and Iran reached an interim agreement that would constrain the Iranian nuclear program in return for limited sanctions relief. The agreement has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described it as a "historic mistake" and expressed fears that the lifting of some sanctions would make it easier for Tehran to pursue a covert nuclear weapons program.
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| Iran says to continue building at Arak nuclear site despite deal Posted: 27 Nov 2013 12:20 PM PST Iran will pursue construction at the Arak heavy-water reactor, Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif was quoted as saying on Wednesday, despite a deal with world powers to shelve a project they fear could yield plutonium for atomic bombs. France, one of the six powers that negotiated Sunday's landmark initial accord with Iran to curb its disputed nuclear program, said in response to Zarif's statement that Tehran had to stick to what was agreed in the Geneva talks. The uncompleted research reactor emerged as one of several big stumbling blocks in the marathon negotiations, in which Iran agreed to restrain its atomic activities for six months in return for limited sanctions relief. Iran says it would produce medical isotopes only. |
| Syria, opposition both confirm presence at talks Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:41 PM PST  DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria's government and the head of the main Western-backed opposition coalition both confirmed Wednesday that they would participate in a U.N.-sponsored peace conference.
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| U.N. calls for urgent help for Philippine farmers after typhoon Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:40 PM PST  Philippine farmers need urgent assistance to avoid a "double tragedy" befalling rural survivors of the typhoon that hit the country earlier this month, the United Nations' food agency said on Wednesday. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said more than $11 million is needed to help clean and clear agricultural land and de-silt irrigation canals in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which killed at least 3,900 people when it struck on November 8. That is in addition to the $20 million already requested by FAO to help farmers fertilize, irrigate and maintain their crops to ensure the next harvests in 2014, the Rome-based agency said in a statement.
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| Clashes with police as Tunisia strikes turn violent Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:31 PM PST  Siliana (Tunisia) (AFP) - Protesters clashed with police on Wednesday and torched an office of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party, as strikes degenerated into violence in two marginalised towns, amid rising discontent and political deadlock. The regions of Siliana, Gafsa and Gabes ground to a halt as strikes were observed to protest against poverty and lack of development. Those were driving factors behind the popular uprising that toppled veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali nearly three years ago and sparked revolutions across the region. In Siliana, southwest of Tunis, dozens of demonstrators hurled rocks at police, who tried to disperse them by driving into the crowd and firing tear gas.
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| Nigeria sharia police smash 240,000 bottles of beer Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:27 PM PST  Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Police enforcing Islamic law in Nigeria's city of Kano publicly destroyed some 240,000 bottles of beer on Wednesday, the latest move in a wider crackdown on behaviour deemed "immoral" in the area. Kano's Hisbah chief Aminu Daurawa said at the bottle-breaking ceremony he had "the ardent hope this will bring an end to the consumption of such prohibited substances". A large bulldozer smashed the bottles to shouts of "Allahu Ahkbar" (God is Great) from supporters outside the Hisbah headquarters in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north. "We hope this measure will help restore the tarnished image of Kano," said Daurawa.
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| Brazil under pressure after collapse at WCup venue Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:26 PM PST  SAO PAULO (AP) — Part of the stadium that will host the 2014 World Cup opener collapsed Wednesday, killing two workers and aggravating already urgent concerns Brazil won't be ready for soccer's signature tournament.
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| Justin Bieber in Australia graffiti row Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:23 PM PST  Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber was Thursday told to clean up his mess after the pop star was accused of spraying graffiti on the wall of an Australian hotel. Furious Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said the Canadian had been disrespectful and "really, really silly", and sent a graffiti removal kit to the exclusive QT Hotel on the Sunshine Coast so he could repair the damage. Bieber's handiwork includes a Pacman ghost, which was reportedly painted in the early hours of Wednesday morning after the star's sell-out Brisbane show. Pictures of the graffiti were posted online, including on Instagram, with reports saying Bieber and his entourage left the cans of spray paint behind for staff to clean up.
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| Mali's ex-junta chief Sanogo in custody over kidnapping Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:17 PM PST  By Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's former junta chief, General Amadou Sanogo, has been detained and charged with complicity in kidnapping after being questioned by a judge on Wednesday, the government said on state television. Sanogo was taken into custody by soldiers earlier on Wednesday, the defense ministry said. "(A Bamako court) laid charges against Amadou Haya Sanogo who has been placed in custody," Mahamane Baby, spokesman for the government on state television said late on Wednesday. Mali's newly elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is under pressure to restore the state's authority over the army, which overthrew President Amadou Toumani Toure last year, plunging the country into chaos.
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| Greed is good, says London mayor Johnson Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:11 PM PST  London mayor Boris Johnson on Wednesday hailed greed as a "valuable spur to economic activity" as he spelt out his vision of modern Thatcherism at a speech honouring the former prime minister. Delivering the Centre for Policy Studies' annual Margaret Thatcher lecture, Johnson called for the return of selective schools in a message apparently aimed at the right-wing of the Conservative Party, which many believe he hopes to lead one day. indeed some measure of inequality is essential for the spirit of envy and keeping up with the Joneses that is, like greed, a valuable spur to economic activity," he said.
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| Mobile check deposit reaches Canada Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:05 PM PST  Canadians can now deposit checks using their mobile phones, after one of the country's biggest banks announced Wednesday it was launching the feature that is already popular in other countries. "Whether you are a small business owner with a handful of customer checks at the end of day or an employee getting your weekly paycheck, you can literally make a deposit within seconds," said David Williamson, vice president of CIBC, the first big bank in Canada to make this service available. The bank will take several days to process the deposit, after which the customer can void and discard the check.
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| Britain's Bellew vows to manhandle Adonis Posted: 27 Nov 2013 04:01 PM PST  Britain's Tony Bellew landed plenty of verbal jabs Wednesday as he vowed to take the World Boxing Council light heavyweight crown from Canadian southpaw Adonis Stevenson when they meet Saturday. "Adonis Stevenson is getting beat up and man handled. I don't care what he brings," Bellew said. The Englishman, who turns 31 the day of the fight, has a height and reach edge on 36-year-old Stevenson, who defends for the second time the title he took from US southpaw Chad Dawson in June .
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| Six held over English football match-fixing claims Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:59 PM PST  Three footballers and an agent are reported to be among six men arrested by police investigating alleged fixing of English football matches, the Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday. The National Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed the arrests as part of a crackdown on an "international betting syndicate". "Six men have been arrested across the country as part of an NCA investigation into alleged football match fixing," said an NCA spokesman. "This is an active investigation and we are unable to provide further detail at this time."
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| Mali's ex-junta chief Sanogo held in custody Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:56 PM PST  By Adama Diarra and Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's former junta chief, General Amadou Sanogo, has been detained after being questioned by a judge on Wednesday over what a senior judicial source said were accusations of post-coup violence by the army and financial crimes. The source said Sanogo had been charged with murder although this could not immediately be confirmed by Defence Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga, who told Reuters he had been remanded in custody. Mali's newly elected President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is under pressure to restore the state's authority over the army, which overthrew President Amadou Toumani Toure last year, plunging the West African country into chaos. A spokesman for the group of soldiers involved in last year's coup declined to comment on Sanogo's detention.
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| Two dead in Brazil World Cup stadium accident Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:36 PM PST  Two workers were killed Wednesday when a crane collapsed at a stadium set to host next year's World Cup opener, raising fresh doubts about Brazil's ability to finish work for the tournament on schedule. Andres Sanchez, operations director at the Arena Corinthians site, said the workers, aged 44 and 42, were crushed to death when a crane hoisting a 500-ton metallic piece to the top of the roof collapsed. The accident came amid a scramble to meet a December 31 set by football's governing body FIFA to complete work at the venue. A third worker was rushed to hospital with injuries after the accident, which brought a shocked response from FIFA president Sepp Blatter and condolences from the Brazilian ministry of sport.
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| Leftist Castro to call mass street protests over Honduras vote 'theft' Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:34 PM PST  Honduras's leftist presidential candidate Xiomara Castro on Saturday will call massive street protests over what her campaign slammed as the theft of the country's presidential vote. The Libre (Party) and Xiomara (Castro) have been robbed of their victory, and we are going to show it," her husband, ousted ex-president Manuel Zelaya, told Radio and TV Globo. The country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal has not declared an official winner in Sunday's vote. But it has indicated that conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez has an irreversible lead of 34 percent over Castro, at 29 percent, with 68 percent of the votes counted.
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| Is Iran borrowing North Korea's nuclear playbook? Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:20 PM PST  Critics of the deal to cap Iran's nuclear programme say it repeats mistakes made with North Korea, but analysts say there is little to suggest Tehran will follow Pyongyang's path of broken promises to a nuclear bomb. Under the agreement sealed in Geneva on Sunday, Iran undertook to brake its nuclear drive for the next six months in exchange for limited sanctions relief. Republican dissenters in the US Congress warned that Tehran was borrowing from Pyongyang's well-worn playbook, buying time and financial largesse with false promises that ultimately led to North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006. In North Korea's case, a series of aid-for-denuclearisation agreements over the past 20 years have fallen apart, and Pyongyang is openly developing weapons on all fronts following its third and largest nuclear test in February this year.
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| International court tweaks trial attendance rule Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:17 PM PST THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Member states of the International Criminal Court amended its rules Wednesday to allow defendants to appear via video link and allow suspects who hold high office to miss parts of their trials, decisions likely to affect Kenya's president who is due to go on trial in February. |
| B&B owners lose appeal in gay couple case Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:12 PM PST  Britain's top court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by Christian owners of a guesthouse who were forced to pay damages to a gay couple for refusing to let them share a double room. Hazelmary and Peter Bull were ordered to pay £3,600 ($5,860, 4,300 euros) to civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall in 2011 by a south-west England court which ruled they had acted unlawfully in not allowing the gay couple to share a bed at Chymorvah House in Cornwall in 2008. The owners, who had taken the case to the Supreme Court after losing in the Court of Appeal, said they were "saddened" after Tuesday's final ruling. Gay rights group Stonewall said in a statement: "We are pleased that the Supreme Court has defended the laws protecting gay customers that Stonewall fought so hard to secure.
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| Ukraine Turmoil Pits Russia-Friendly President Against Pro-Western Protesters Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:06 PM PST After a week of protesting in the freezing cold, student Irina Bondar has completely lost her voice, but not her determination. Ironically, she is responsible for dispensing hot tea to a few thousand young protesters who are trying to force Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych to sign a trade agreement with Brussels, which would pave the way for Ukraine's eventual accession to the EU. |
| US says working with Cuba to solve banking issue Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:06 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Washington said Wednesday it is working with Cuba to find a new bank for its diplomatic accounts in the United States, after a banking cutoff forced the Caribbean nation to halt nearly all U.S. consular services just ahead of the busy holiday travel season. |
| ICC to allow video hearings in gesture to Kenya Posted: 27 Nov 2013 03:03 PM PST  The 122 ICC states also eased other conditions for key political figures facing charges amid mounting pressure from African countries over trials involving the continent. Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta and Vice President William Ruto have pressed the ICC and the UN Security Council to suspend their trials for crimes against humanity over violence after a 2007 election. The changes by the ICC's Assembly of States Parties was welcomed by the United States, but criticised by rights groups for allowing special cases.
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| Mali election to enter second round on Dec 15 Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:44 PM PST  Mali's parliamentary elections will enter a second round on December 15 as no party has secured an absolute majority in the first round, according to provisional results published Wednesday. Turnout in the November 24 polls reached 38.4 percent, "far short of our expectations", said Minister of Territorial Administration Moussa Sinko Coulibaly, as he announced the results. The polls marked Mali's first steps to recovery after it was plunged into chaos by a military coup in March last year that triggered the fall of the country's north into the hands of armed Islamist groups allied with Al-Qaeda. The goal of the new Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, is to give his RPM party and its allies a comfortable majority in the new assembly.
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| Heavy rain, snow in eastern U.S. thwarts some Thanksgiving travel Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:44 PM PST  A wintry blast of heavy rain, wind and snow across the eastern United States disrupted Thanksgiving travel plans on Wednesday for some of the millions of Americans hitting the roads and taking to the skies on the busiest holiday travel day of the year. While the travel delays were not as bad as many had feared, meteorologists warned that falling temperatures could create icy road conditions for those who put off travel until Wednesday night. The wintry weather caused around 265 flight cancellations and prompted delays at major airports along the East Coast, including Boston's Logan Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, according to the FlightAware.com tracking site. Tim O'Heir, an audio professional working on a Broadway show in New York, said his flight home to Dallas from LaGuardia Airport was delayed by two hours.
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| Pakistani activists accuse outed US spy of murder Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:37 PM PST  ISLAMABAD (AP) — Rising anger over deadly drone attacks spurred a Pakistani political party Wednesday to reveal the secret identity of what it said was the top U.S. spy in the country. It demanded he be tried for murder, another blow to already jagged relations between the two nations.
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| Mideast peace 'urgent' but possible: Israel's Peres Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:34 PM PST  Israeli President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that peace with the Palestinians was urgent and possible amid faltering negotiations between the two sides. Peres, speaking during a visit to Mexico City, said he welcomed the new round of talks, revived in July with the aim of reaching an agreement within nine months. we were born with the call for peace," he said after talks with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The peace talks, which resumed after intense diplomacy from US Secretary of State John Kerry, have faltered amid Israeli plans to build new settlements.
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| Iran six-month nuclear freeze period not started Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:28 PM PST  Iran's six-month temporary rollback of its nuclear activities agreed to in the recent deal has not begun and the start date has not yet been set, a spokesman for world powers' chief negotiator said Wednesday. "The actual date for the beginning of the six-month period of the first step has yet to be decided," Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, told AFP. "It will also depend on the outcome of technical discussions with Iran about the implementation arrangements that will take place soon," he said. In a major breakthrough Sunday in Geneva, Iran agreed with the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany -- the P5+1 -- to freeze some its nuclear work in exchange for minor sanctions relief.
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| Israel to privatise famed Uzi submachine gun's maker Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:20 PM PST  Israel plans to privatise loss-making Israel Military Industries Ltd (IMI), manufacturer of the legendary Uzi sub machinegun, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Wednesday. "I am pleased at the green light for the privatisation of IMI," Yaalon said in a statement, explaining that, despite its "excellent products," the company had losses that did not permit its survival. IMI will be split up, with certain parts folded in to a new state enterprise for reasons of "vital national security," according to Globes business daily. In addition to the Uzi, of which more than 10 million have been produced, IMI also makes the Galil assault rifle, machineguns and armoured vehicles.
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| Syria says it won't give up power in peace talks Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:18 PM PST  DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Syrian government said Wednesday it will participate in U.N.-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending the country's civil war, but insisted that it is not going to the conference to hand over power.
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| Analysis: High-ethanol gas - Not coming to a pump near you Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:16 PM PST  By Michael Hirtzer CHICAGO (Reuters) - A month ago, Steve Walk was on the brink of deals to sell two big oil refiners some of his company's specialized oil pumps, which serve up fuel that is 85 percent ethanol, a biofuel made mostly from corn. Walk's company, Protec Fuel, sells and installs the equipment needed to dispense so-called E85. The number of stations across the United States dispensing E85, which is a rarity despite the growing use of biofuels, would have jumped by 10 percent. But those deals are on hold after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal earlier this month to slash the minimum volume of ethanol to be used in the country's gasoline supply next year.
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| Fireworks at world's tallest tower as Dubai wins Expo 2020 Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:15 PM PST  Dubai beat off opposition from Brazil, Russia and Turkey on Wednesday to win the right to host the 2020 World Expo, sparking celebrations in the Gulf city and a stunning fireworks display at the world's tallest building. There were jubilant crowds at the foot of the tower and in Dubai's shopping malls. "I am so proud to be living in the city of the future," beamed Indian student Depika, who said he was born in Dubai and had seen the city "develop very quickly". The Gulf city beat Russia's Ekaterinberg in the final round of voting in Paris to clinch a prestigious event that is credited with delivering a huge boost to tourism and business in the host city.
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| Egypt: Heavy prison sentence for Islamist women Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:06 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — Nearly two dozen Islamist women and girls, some as young as 15, were handed heavy prison sentences Wednesday for protesting in a court ruling that came a day after police beat and terrorized prominent female activists in a crackdown on secular demonstrators under a tough new anti-protest law.
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| Israel and U.S. to Hold Military Exercises When Iran Deal Ends Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:04 PM PST Over the next six months, while Washington and other world powers bend to the nitty gritty of rolling back Iran's nuclear program through talks, Israel will likely continue to dissent, while making conspicuous efforts to rehabilitate the military threat that did so much to bring Tehran's project onto the agenda. Israel and the United States routinely hold joint exercises, and a spokesman for the U.S. European Command said that the exercise planned for this spring was planned independent of events unfolding in the region. "The wind from the Americans into the Israeli sails is, 'We will maintain our capability to strike in Iran, and one of the ways we show it is to train,'" the senior Israeli officer tells TIME. "It will send signals both to Israel and to the Iranians that we are maintaining our capabilities in the military option. |
| Negredo keeps City in hunt for top spot Posted: 27 Nov 2013 02:03 PM PST  Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to spare Manchester City's blushes as the Spanish striker's late goal inspired a 4-2 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League on Wednesday. Manuel Pellegrini's team were in danger of blowing their slender chance of finishing top of Group D after twice surrendering the lead against the Czech minnows at Eastlands. Sergio Aguero had put City ahead with a first-half penalty, but Tomas Horava equalised before half-time. We didn't play with the intensity we have showed here in the past," Pellegrini said.
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