| French launch Central African Republic mission but deaths mount Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:55 PM PST  By Emmanuel Braun and Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - France rushed troops to Central African Republic on Friday but violence between Muslim and Christian militias continued unabated, spiraling into widespread killings of civilians. Hundreds of soldiers started arriving in CAR from neighboring countries, hours after Paris was given a U.N. green light for the mission to restore order. French troops patrolled the main roads and warplanes flew low over town. The Red Cross said it had collected 281 bodies from two days of violence in Bangui, but many more had been killed.
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| Aide to North Korean leader's ousted uncle seeks asylum in South: media Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:34 PM PST  North Korea could be facing its most serious defection in 15 years as South Korean media said on Friday that a man who managed funds for the ousted uncle of leader Kim Jong Un had fled the isolated country and sought asylum in South Korea. The aide, who was not named, was being protected by South Korean officials in a secret location in China, cable news network YTN and Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the matter. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) had no knowledge of the defection, lawmakers said in Seoul after they were briefed by the head of the spy agency.
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| U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:06 PM PST  By Andrew R.C. Marshall, Jason Szep and Arshad Mohammed BANGKOK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United Nations and the United States called Friday for investigations into the findings of a Reuters report that Thai immigration officials moved Myanmar refugees into human trafficking rings. The report, published on Thursday and based on a two-month investigation in three countries, revealed a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thailand's immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea. The Rohingya, stateless Muslims from Myanmar, are then transported across southern Thailand and held hostage in camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay ransoms to release them, according to the Reuters report. "These allegations need to be investigated urgently," U.N. refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan said in a statement.
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| Hagel reassures Gulf allies U.S. committed to regional security Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:20 PM PST By David Alexander MANAMA (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured a U.S. warship in the Gulf on Friday and declared Washington's commitment to Middle East security, despite policy differences over Iran and Syria that have angered Gulf allies. His visit to Bahrain, in which he will speak at the Manama Dialogue security conference, comes at a time of regional unease over President Barack Obama's policies - ranging from the cautious U.S. response to Syria's civil war to the six world powers' interim deal with Iran on its nuclear program. The ship he toured, the USS Ponce, part of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, is to be equipped in 2014 with a new laser weapon designed to deter aircraft and missiles as well as attacks by swarms of small boats like those used by Iran, on the opposite side of the Gulf. |
| Iran, powers meet next week on nuclear deal implementation Posted: 06 Dec 2013 07:35 AM PST  VIENNA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Iran and six world powers plan expert-level talks next week to work out details of implementing a breakthrough agreement for Tehran to curb its disputed nuclear program in return for a limited easing of sanctions. Officials from Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia are to meet on December 9-10 in Vienna, where the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is based, diplomats said on Friday. The International Atomic Energy Agency - which will be tasked with verifying that Iran carries out its part of the November 24 interim accord - "will have some involvement" in the meeting, IAEA spokeswoman Gill Tudor said, without elaborating. Western diplomats said the experts must iron out nitty gritty matters of implementation not addressed in Geneva before the deal can be put into practice.
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| Mexico hospitalizes six suspected of stealing radioactive material Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:42 PM PST  By Miguel Gutierrez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Six men suspected of stealing a dangerous radioactive cargo from a truck outside Mexico City earlier this week have been treated in a hospital for signs of radiation exposure and remain under police guard, officials said on Friday. On Monday, thieves hijacked the truck that had been carrying cobalt-60, a radioactive substance used for medical and industrial applications that can also be used as an ingredient in a "dirty bomb." Police located the truck on Wednesday but found that the robbers had removed the radioactive material from a protective case, exposing themselves to dangerous levels of radiation, before dumping it less than a mile away. Pedro Noble, the health secretary of the state of Hidalgo, told local television the men showed signs of "critical, close contact" with radioactive material. The truck, which was taking the material from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a radioactive waste-storage center, was seized when its driver stopped at a gas station in the town of Temascalapa, 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Mexico City.
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| Obama, Bush, Clinton to travel to South Africa Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:46 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — At least three American presidents will travel to South Africa to attend memorial services for anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at age 95.
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| Lennon hails Celtic ahead of Barca challenge Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:35 PM PST  Celtic manager Neil Lennon said he can't ask any more of his players at the moment after they secured a 5-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on Friday. It extends Celtic's unbeaten start to the season to 14 games as they move eight points clear of Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the top of the table. While Celtic have shined domestically, their form in the Champions League this season has been disappointing. Their defeat to AC Milan a fortnight ago means Celtic will finish bottom of their group and won't have any European football after Christmas this season
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| Hoefl-Riesch wins, Vonn down in 41st on return Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:32 PM PST  Lake Louise (Canada) (AFP) - Lindsey Vonn finished 41st in her highly anticipated return to the World Cup circuit on Friday, with Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch capturing the Lake Louise women's downhill. The 29-year-old Hoefl-Riesch stormed down the course in one minute, 56.03 seconds, ahead of the Swiss Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden and Elena Fanchini of Italy in third. Vonn, who had won seven straight races at Lake Louise, saw her win streak snapped in her first race in 10 months after tearing ligaments in her right knee at the world championships in Schladming, Austria. Vonn, who has decided to put off surgery until after Sochi, finished in a time of 1:59.22, over three seconds behind Hoefl-Riesch.
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| US extends permits for wind farms that accidentally kill eagles Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:28 PM PST  By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday extended the length of permits allowing wind farms and other operations to accidentally kill protected eagles, drawing fire from wildlife conservationists. The move to offer permits of up to 30 years, up from a maximum of five years, had been urged by the wind energy industry but was attacked by a leading wildlife group as a "stunningly bad move." The Interior Department said the change in policy would help protect eagles and allow the development of renewable energy and other projects designed to operate for decades. "Renewable energy development is vitally important to our nation's future, but it has to be done in the right way," said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. The change will provide legal protection for the likely lifespan of wind farms that obtain permits and undertake "advanced conservation practices" to avoid killing bald eagles, the bird depicted on the national seal of the United States, and gold eagles.
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| Six detained in Mexico over radioactive waste theft Posted: 06 Dec 2013 04:14 PM PST  PACHUCA (Mexico) (AFP) - Six men were being treated Friday for radiation symptoms at a central Mexico hospital where police are holding them in connection with the theft of radioactive material, officials said. The suspects, who face charges of breaking environmental laws, are believed to have come into contact with a cancer-treating teletherapy device that contained cobalt-60, a dangerous radioactive isotope. The medical machine, which had been used in a hospital in northwestern Mexico, was being transported by truck to a radioactive waste disposal facility when the vehicle was stolen at a service station on Monday in central Hidalgo state. Federal agents first brought a 16-year-old boy and a 25-year-old man to the hospital late Thursday with symptoms including vomiting, nausea and dizziness, said Hidalgo's under secretary of health Jose Antonio Copca Garcia.
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| Song, dance, tears for Mandela in South Africa Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:24 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Themba Radebe spun slowly in a circle.
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| Correction: Libya story Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:22 PM PST TRIPOLI, Libya - In a story Dec. 5 about an American teacher killed in Libya, The Associated Press erroneously attributed a statement from The Austin Stone Community Church. The statement came from Dave Barrett, an executive pastor at the church, not Daphne Bamburg, a church employee who emailed Barrett's statement. |
| Disney secures rights for future 'Indiana Jones' films Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:21 PM PST  (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co has gained marketing and distribution rights for any future "Indiana Jones" films under an agreement with Paramount Pictures, the studio that released the first four movies in the blockbuster franchise. Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc, will retain distribution rights to the original four films, the companies said in a statement on Friday. The "Indiana Jones" movies were produced by Lucasfilm, which Disney acquired in 2012. Disney has not announced plans for a fifth "Indiana Jones" movie, though the new deal could make it easier to move forward on a new installment.
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| 6 detained in Mexico theft of radioactive material Posted: 06 Dec 2013 03:13 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Six people being tested for possible radiation exposure in a hospital in central Mexico are suspects in the theft of highly radioactive cobalt-60, a government official said Friday.
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| Florida researcher to study high-altitude dust for health risks Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:57 PM PST  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida researcher is preparing to test massive dust storms in the upper atmosphere that roll in from Africa to see whether pathogens raining down on the state could be responsible for plant, animal or human disease. University of Florida aerobiologist Andrew Schuerger said his air sampling device mounted under the wing of an F-104 Starfighter jet is the first capable of capturing particles directly from the clouds which drop 50 million metric tons of dust a year on U.S. soil. The effort will be the most in-depth yet to test the health risks of the dust clouds which cross the Atlantic in summer, according to Scheurger. A few previous studies of small samples collected at ground level suggest the presence of Bacillus megaterium, Serratia liquefaciens, and species of Streptomyces and Pseudomonas, all of which are potential plant or human pathogens.
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| Obama, Bush, Clinton going to South Africa next week for Mandela memorial Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:49 PM PST By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his two immediate predecessors, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will all travel to South Africa to attend memorial events for Nelson Mandela, the former South African leader who died on Thursday. Obama and his wife, Michelle, will be joined on Air Force One by Bush and his wife, Laura, on the trip to South Africa next week. Clinton, the Democrat who preceded the Republican Bush in office, will be attending Mandela events in South Africa as well, a spokesman said. |
| Hundreds mark anniversary of fatal police shooting Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:47 PM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police clashed with demonstrators in central Athens on Friday as thousands attended rallies to mark the fifth anniversary of a fatal police shooting of a teenager — a killing that triggered major riots in Greek cities for three weeks. |
| Thousands seek refuge at Central African airport Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:37 PM PST  BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Thousands of Christian civilians sought refuge at an airport guarded by French soldiers Friday, fleeing from the mostly Muslim ex-rebels with machetes and guns who rule the country a day after the worst violence to hit the chaotic capital in nine months.
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| Celtic grab five-star win at Motherwell Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:33 PM PST  Kris Commons grabbed a double as Celtic extended their unbeaten start to the Scottish Premiership season to 14 matches with a 5-0 win over Motherwell on Friday. The Hoops had lost their on their last two visits to Fir Park but Stuart McCall's side never looked like making it three in a row as Celtic dominated proceedings. John Sutton sent a header on to the roof of the net as Motherwell had a chance to draw level just after the restart before a second-half goal blitz from Celtic. The Hoops extended their lead in the 54th minute when Efe Ambrose bulleted a header past Gunnar Nielsen, Commons tapped in a third in the 76th minute and Stokes added a fourth two minutes later before substitute Bahrudin Atajic sealed the win in the 90th minute.
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| French troops deploy in simmering C.Africa Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:23 PM PST Bangui (Central African Republic) (AFP) - France deployed nearly 1,000 troops Friday to help restore security in simmering Central African Republic as residents sought refuge from sectarian clashes which the Red Cross says has killed at least 300. French soldiers were patrolling the streets of the capital Bangui in armoured vehicles in a bid to quell tensions in its former colony where the United Nations has mandated a peacekeeping force of up to 1,200. Violent clashes and massacres since Thursday have claimed at least 300 lives, a Red Cross official told AFP on Friday on condition of anonymity. The Red Cross has a provisional toll of 281 from counting bodies in morgues and in the streets, the official said, adding that medics had been unable to reach all areas hit by violence where witnesses say there are several other uncollected bodies. |
| O'Sullivan withdraws threat to snub Masters Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:22 PM PST  Reigning world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan on Friday withdrew his threat to pull out of next month's prestigious Masters tournament. O'Sullivan qualified for the London event with his latest World Championship title in May, but he initially appeared unsure whether to appear at Alexandra Palace from January 12. Writing on Twitter on Friday, the 38-year-old said: "Thinking about entering the masters at ally pally - what ya think - yes or no - so unsure". But a reply to that tweet came from World Snooker's official account and read "yes".
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| Castres shatter Ospreys' Cup hopes Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:19 PM PST  Record four-time Celtic League winners Ospreys saw their interest in the European Cup almost certainly ended Friday with a 15-9 defeat at French champions Castres. With three defeats from three and just one defensive bonus point, Ospreys would need a minor miracle to progress now. In a dour affair, four penalties from South African scrum-half Rory Kockott and one from his second-half replacement Geoffrey Palis was enough to give Castres their second win in three Pool 1 matches. Kockott missed his first two kicks at goal but finally landed the third while Ospreys's Fiji wing Aisea Natoga sat in the sin-bin.
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| South Africa mourns Mandela, will bury him on December 15 Posted: 06 Dec 2013 02:03 PM PST By Tosin Sulaiman and Peroshni Govender JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africans united in mourning for Nelson Mandela on Friday, but while some celebrated his remarkable life with dance and song, others fretted that the anti-apartheid hero's death would leave the nation vulnerable again to racial and social tensions. President Jacob Zuma said Mandela would be buried on December 15 at his ancestral home in the Eastern Cape. South Africans heard from Zuma late on Thursday that their first black president, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, had died peacefully at his Johannesburg home in the company of his family after a long illness. Zuma also announced Mandela would be honoured at a December 10 memorial service at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, the site of the 2010 World Cup final. |
| AP NewsBreak: Yemen says Saudis behind attack Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:49 PM PST  ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Saudi militants were behind the massive car bombing and assault on Yemen's military headquarters that killed more than 50 people, including foreigners, investigators said in a preliminary report released Friday. Al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes that have killed dozens of the terror network's leaders.
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| Japanese parliament passes controversial secrets law Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:49 PM PST  Japan's parliament on Friday adopted a law on protecting state secrets despite a public outcry, with strong opposition from the media and academics who fear it will infringe on the right to information and free expression. The controversial bill, proposed by the right-wing government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was approved by the Senate on Friday, a few days after it was passed in the lower house. The Senate vote in favour was expected as the coalition government led by Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds a majority of seats there. The law allows government ministers to designate as a state secret information related to defence, diplomacy, counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism.
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| Defying protesters, Ukraine's Yanukovich meets Putin on pact Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:43 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich met Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday to lay the grounds for a new "strategic partnership" to shore up Ukraine's creaking economy in defiance of protesters back home enraged by his U-turn away from Europe. The leaders met in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia, after Yanukovich flew in for an unannounced stop on his way back from China to map out a new agreement on trade and economic cooperation, a statement on Yanukovich's official website said. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told journalists Yanukovich would visit Moscow at some point in the future and sign a large number of documents. |
| Report: Central African death toll up to 280 Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:16 PM PST BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Christian civilians fled by the thousands to the airport guarded by French forces in this chaotic capital Friday as the mostly Muslim armed fighters who have ruled the country since March hunted door-to-door for their enemies and the death toll from inter-communal violence increased to 280 people. |
| Syrian nuns taken by rebels appear in video Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:10 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — A group of Syrian Greek Orthodox nuns reportedly seized by rebels from a convent near Damascus denied in a video broadcast Friday that they had been kidnapped and said they were being held in a safe place. |
| UK's Hague warns Syria threatens to tear itself apart Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:05 PM PST  British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Friday that the conflict in Syria threatens to tear the country apart completely unless a solution is found in 2014. "If the conflict continues, Syria itself could disintegrate and with extremism growing create ungoverned space in the heart of the Middle East," he said at the opening of the annual Manama Dialogue on security. Speaking in Kuwait earlier, the British foreign minister said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must stand down to allow for any peaceful settlement to the 33-month-old conflict. "We have always been very clear that a peaceful solution in Syria must require the departure of President Assad," Hague told reporters in Kuwait City after talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah.
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| Deadly ice storm in U.S. knocks out power, halts flights Posted: 06 Dec 2013 01:00 PM PST By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A deadly winter storm some forecasters say is the worst to hit the United States in years slammed the nation's midsection Friday, snarling travel and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of customers. The line of ice, snow and freezing temperatures stretched from the Texas-Mexico border northeast to the Ohio Valley, with the most severe conditions near Dallas, then punching through Arkansas and western Kentucky, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.com. First-time air traveler Madison Cunningham, 18, was stranded for more than 12 hours overnight in the Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport when ice prevented her flight home to Indianapolis. "I'll take the train next time." The travel troubles also delayed commerce, as the United Parcel Service, the nation's largest package delivery company, said deliveries have been disrupted in Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico and the panhandle portion of Texas on Friday. |
| AP PHOTOS: Mandela remembered around the world Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:59 PM PST  Mourners sing and dance outside Nelson Mandela's old house in Johannesburg. In Pakistan, children gather around his portrait holding candles. Well-wishers leave flowers outside South African diplomatic missions in Beijing and New York.
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| Exclusive: Brazil report on World Cup air traffic jams at odds with government view Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:56 PM PST  By Brian Winter BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil insists its airports will be ready for up to 600,000 foreign visitors during next year's World Cup, but an internal report said severe overcrowding and long flight delays are likely, with passenger traffic exceeding capacity by as much as 50 percent even if extensive renovations are finished on time. Reuters recently reviewed the full report, including its forecasts on air traffic that the government never made public. "The situation at airports is critical given the current saturation seen in the sector," the report said. "Some airports are in need of urgent solutions." Senior officials in President Dilma Rousseff's government say the forecasts in the 2011 report are now outdated, thanks in part to major renovations underway at airports in all 12 of the World Cup's host cities.
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| Egypt's police, ousted Morsi supporters clash Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:51 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian security forces fired tear gas Friday during clashes with rock-throwing supporters of the ousted Islamist president demonstrating in several districts across the country, officials said. |
| AP WAS THERE: Mandela's release from prison Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:45 PM PST  EDITOR'S NOTE — On Feb. 11, 1990, AP reporter Greg Myre was in Cape Town when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. Mandela walked out of Victor Verster prison hand-in-hand with his then wife, Winnie, as people worldwide rejoiced. The momentous event rivaled the fall of the Berlin Wall just a few months earlier as a symbol of newfound freedom. Twenty-three years after its original publication, the AP is making this story available to its subscribers.
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| Yemen says regains ministry compound, 12 militants killed Posted: 06 Dec 2013 12:43 PM PST  By Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen said on Friday it had regained full control of its Defence Ministry compound in Sanaa a day after a militant attack, claimed by an al Qaeda-affiliated group, killed 56 people, including foreign medical staff. The Yemeni military's chief of the general staff said in a preliminary report submitted to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Friday that an estimated 12 attackers, mostly Saudi nationals, had taken part in the assault and were all killed. The report, seen by Reuters, said gunmen wearing army uniforms opened fire at soldiers guarding one of the hospitals inside the military compound.
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