| Furious Turks heckle Erdogan after at least 274 die in mine disaster Posted: 14 May 2014 04:19 PM PDT  By Ece Toksabay SOMA, Turkey (Reuters) - Furious Turks heckled Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and jostled his entourage on Wednesday as protests erupted in several cities over a coal mine disaster in which at least 274 people died, making it the worst industrial accident in the nation's history. With rescuers still pulling bodies from the site in western Turkey, anger swept a country that has seen a decade of rapid economic growth but still suffers from one of the world's worst workplace safety records. Erdogan expressed his regret after visiting the site in Soma, about 480 km (300 miles) southwest of Istanbul, where around 100 miners are thought to be still trapped underground following Tuesday's fire. Angry residents broke windows at the local government offices in Soma, some chanting \"Erdogan resign\", while parts of the crowd lining the street booed as the prime minister walked through the town, jostling with members of his entourage.
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| Nigeria rejects swap of Boko Haram prisoners for schoolgirls: UK official Posted: 14 May 2014 04:02 PM PDT  By Isaac Abrak MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's president has rejected an offer from Islamist rebel group Boko Haram to exchange schoolgirls it abducted for imprisoned militants, but the government is open to broader talks with the rebels, a visiting British minister said. President Goodluck Jonathan is under pressure to crush the rebels who have killed thousands in their campaign for an Islamist state and to free the girls whose abduction a month ago has sparked global outrage. Government officials initially said they were exploring all options with respect to the swap proposal and later said they were willing to negotiate with Boko Haram without specifying whether any putative talks might include an exchange for the girls. Jonathan further refined that position on Wednesday during talks with Britain's Minister for Africa Mark Simmonds.
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| Kerry discusses peace, unity government with Palestinian leader Posted: 14 May 2014 04:16 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a two-hour discussion with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in London late on Wednesday in their first meeting since U.S. efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal collapsed last month. During the meeting Kerry emphasized that the \"door remains open to peace\" talks although made clear it was up to the Israelis and Palestinians to take the necessary steps to resume talks, a senior State Department official said. The official said Kerry urged both the Palestinians and Israelis to \"refrain from unhelpful steps.\" Abbas also updated Kerry on Palestinian political developments, the official said, referring to plans announced by Abbas last month to reconcile Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas into a unity government. Israel suspended peace talks on April 24, furious about Abbas' unexpected unity pact with Hamas.
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| White House urges dialogue, not intimidation in China rig dispute Posted: 14 May 2014 04:12 PM PDT  By David Brunnstrom and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Wednesday that a dispute between China and Vietnam that erupted within days of President Barack Obama's visit to Asia to address regional tensions needs to be resolved with dialogue, not intimidation. While the United States was not a party to the dispute, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama had repeatedly stressed on his trip last month the need for peaceful dialogue on various disputes involving China and the South China Sea. The renewed tension between Vietnam and China underscores one of the biggest challenges in Asia facing Obama, who is under pressure by America's allies to accelerate a \"pivot\" of military assets to the region to counter China's rising influence.
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| Ukraine holds talks to end crisis, rebels not invited Posted: 14 May 2014 09:15 AM PDT  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's interim leaders on Wednesday pushed a plan to allow the regions a greater say over their affairs, but the exclusion of separatists from round table talks cast doubt over whether the move could defuse the crisis. The talks brought together politicians and civil groups in an effort to quell a pro-Russian rebellion in the industrialized Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, which has triggered fears of a break-up of the former Soviet republic. They came at a tense moment for Kiev. Voters in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk backed self-rule in two referendums held on Sunday despite protestations from Kiev, which sees Russia's hand behind the rebellion and denounced the votes as illegal.
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| Japan's working poor left behind by Abenomics Posted: 14 May 2014 02:06 PM PDT  By Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO (Reuters) - Last Christmas Eve, Ririko Saito and her 11-year-old daughter gathered some plastic bottles, pots and a kettle and made several trips to a nearby park to get water. At 16 percent, Japan's relative poverty rate - the share of the population living on less than half of the national median income - is already the sixth-worst among the 34 OECD countries, just ahead of the United States. Child poverty in working, single-parent households like Saito's is by far the worst at over 50 percent, making Japan the only country where having a job does not reduce the poverty rate for that group. As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe charges ahead with his \"Abenomics\" policies to revive economic growth, things look set to get harder, not better, for Japan's down-and-out.
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| Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 14 May 2014 05:02 PM PDT HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Mobs burned and looted scores of foreign-owned factories in Vietnam following a large protest by workers against China's recent placement of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters, officials said Wednesday. The unrest at industrial parks near Ho Chi Minh City is the most serious outbreak of public disorder in the tightly controlled country in years. It points to the dangers for the government as it tries to manage public anger at China while also itself protesting the Chinese actions in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam. |
| Crusaders may highlight NZ's Super Rugby strength Posted: 14 May 2014 04:52 PM PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Saturday's 14-round match between the Crusaders and Sharks will go a long way to either confirming or disproving the growing perception that this year's Super Rugby title will be won by a New Zealand team. |
| Guatemala's congress votes to deny genocide Posted: 14 May 2014 04:52 PM PDT GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's Congress approved a non-binding resolution that denies there was any attempt to commit genocide during the bloody 36-year civil war, while calling for "national reconciliation" in the Central American country. |
| Sevilla beats Benfica in Europa Lge on penalties Posted: 14 May 2014 04:47 PM PDT  TURIN, Italy (AP) — Penalty specialists Sevilla beat Benfica 4-2 in a shootout to win the Europa League after a 0-0 draw in the final on Wednesday, claiming another international title for Spanish football.
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| Jamaica seeks solution to power theft problems Posted: 14 May 2014 04:46 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica says it will form a committee with the island's power company to seek solutions to the widespread theft of electricity. |
| Geneva jewelry auction hauls record $154.2 million Posted: 14 May 2014 04:45 PM PDT  GENEVA (AP) — Christie's says its spring auction has sold a world record of $154.2 million in jewelry including the largest flawless vivid blue diamond in the world.
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| Owner of bankrupt Mexico airline seeking US asylum Posted: 14 May 2014 04:41 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — The fugitive businessman who controlled Mexicana airlines before it went bankrupt and was recently charged with illegal use of the airline's funds has asked for asylum in the United States, a federal official said Wednesday. |
| Sydney Wanderers reach quarterfinals of ACL Posted: 14 May 2014 04:38 PM PDT SYDNEY (AP) — Brendon Santalab scored late as Western Sydney Wanderers beat J-League champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals in their Asian Champions League debut season. |
| Clinton: No deal better than 'bad deal' with Iran Posted: 14 May 2014 04:35 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday she was "personally skeptical" that Iran would agree to a comprehensive deal to remove its nuclear weapon capabilities but said the Obama administration faced a promising opportunity that required it to "give diplomacy space to work."
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| Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 14 May 2014 04:32 PM PDT HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Mobs burned and looted scores of foreign-owned factories in Vietnam following a large protest by workers against China's recent placement of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters, officials said Wednesday. The unrest at industrial parks near Ho Chi Minh City is the most serious outbreak of public disorder in the tightly controlled country in years. It points to the dangers for the government as it tries to manage public anger at China while also itself protesting the Chinese actions in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam. |
| British journalists shot and beaten in Syria kidnapping Posted: 14 May 2014 04:25 PM PDT  Two British journalists were recovering in Turkey on Thursday after being shot and beaten by rebel kidnappers while covering the Syrian conflict, the Times reported. Times writer Anthony Loyd was shot twice in the leg while being held captive and photographer Jack Hill suffered a severe beating after trying to escape. They were eventually freed under the orders of a local rebel commander, and managed to cross the border into Turkey on Wednesday after receiving treatment in a Syrian hospital, according to the paper.
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| List of some of history's worst mine disasters Posted: 14 May 2014 04:23 PM PDT  A list of some of history's worst mine disasters:
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| Two killed, 21 wounded in attack on Thai protest camp: officials Posted: 14 May 2014 04:17 PM PDT  Two people were killed and 21 were wounded in an attack early Thursday on an anti-government protest camp in Bangkok, medical officials and police told AFP, taking the death toll during six months of rallies to 27. \"Two people were killed and 21 were wounded,\" the city's Erawan Emergency Centre said on its website, in a toll later confirmed by police.
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| CANNES WATCH: Lively soars, Kidman talks lows Posted: 14 May 2014 04:11 PM PDT  CANNES, France (AP) — The Associated Press is all over the Cannes Film Festival — from its glitzy premieres to the celeb parties and quirky moments in between. Here's what reporters have seen and heard:
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| British official: Nigeria won't swap girls Posted: 14 May 2014 04:09 PM PDT ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's government is ruling out an exchange of more than 270 kidnapped schoolgirls for detained Islamic militants, Britain's top official for Africa said Wednesday. |
| Iran prisoners were beaten: Amnesty report Posted: 14 May 2014 04:07 PM PDT  Inmates at Iran's Evin Prison were blindfolded and handcuffed before being dragged and beaten by baton-wielding guards, Amnesty International said in a report released Thursday. \"Security officials responded with an appalling level of brutality to the protest at Evin prison, dragging them along the floor and verbally insulting them,\" said Said Boumedouha, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa. Amnesty said its report, \"Justice is an Alien Word: ill treatment of political prisoners in Evin Prison,\" documented that dozens of inmates at the jail's Section 350 were subjected to assault, beatings and other ill-treatment. Iran on Wednesday said an official inquiry would probe claims that guards at Section 350, which houses political prisoners, had acted improperly.
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| Top Asian News at 11:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 14 May 2014 04:02 PM PDT HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Mobs burned and looted scores of foreign-owned factories in Vietnam following a large protest by workers against China's recent placement of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters, officials said Wednesday. The unrest at industrial parks near Ho Chi Minh City is the most serious outbreak of public disorder in the tightly controlled country in years. It points to the dangers for the government as it tries to manage public anger at China while also itself protesting the Chinese actions in an area of the South China Sea claimed by Vietnam. |
| Scientists to study Amazon rainforest fate if CO2 levels rise Posted: 14 May 2014 03:59 PM PDT  A group of scientists from more than 20 institutions around the world will gauge the impact on the world's largest rainforest if a time comes when the planet has 30 percent more carbon dioxide (CO2) than today, according to a project launched on Wednesday. Sensors and field observation will evaluate the reaction of the trees when subject to a concentration of carbon dioxide 200 parts per million (ppm) higher than the current 400 ppm, already the highest level ever. Predictions by the U.N.'s panel on climate change (IPCC) indicate that 600 ppm could be the level of CO2 concentration in 50 years time. Tropical forests around the world are a key aspect on global warming.
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| Brother: 'Sugar Man' director killed himself Posted: 14 May 2014 03:59 PM PDT  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Malik Bendjelloul, the Swedish director of the acclaimed "Searching for Sugar Man" documentary, was widely known for his enthusiasm, kindness and high spirits — so the news Wednesday that he had taken his own life shocked colleagues around the world.
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| Extremists attack town of abducted schoolgirls Posted: 14 May 2014 03:53 PM PDT  BAUCHI, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic militants again attacked the remote Nigerian town from which nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped, Nigeria's military said Wednesday, resulting in a firefight that killed 12 soldiers and led angry troops to fire on a commanding officer.
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| US flying drones over Nigeria in search for girls Posted: 14 May 2014 03:49 PM PDT  The US military is flying surveillance drones as well as manned aircraft over Nigeria to help the search for more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist extremists, the Pentagon said Wednesday. However, the data is not yet being shared with the Nigerians because Washington is still working out an agreement to govern the sharing of intelligence, Colonel Steven Warren told reporters. The United States has deployed a Global Hawk, which flies at high altitude, and the manned MC-12, a turboprop plane heavily used in Afghanistan, for the mission, a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP. The Pentagon had initially declined to say publicly if drones were being used.
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| UN shocked at deliberate flooding in Iraq Posted: 14 May 2014 03:42 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy in Iraq is expressing shock that deliberate flooding from a dam in Fallujah is being used as an instrument of terror against the Iraqi people. |
| Clashes as Haiti president marks three years in power Posted: 14 May 2014 03:33 PM PDT  Port-au-Prince (AFP) - Clashes between protesters and police marked Haitian President Michel Martelly's three years in power Wednesday, with at least one person shot in the confrontations. While Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe appealed for calm, a gas station went up in flames as demonstrators denounced perceived abuse and corruption in the poverty-stricken Caribbean country. Calling for Martelly's resignation, opponents gathered near the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, where supporters of the head of state, himself a former singer, had assembled for a concert. Clashes also took place in Haiti's second city, Cap-Haitien, where thousands of opposition supporters flooded the streets.
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| Cellist Yo-Yo Ma plays US Supreme Court Posted: 14 May 2014 03:29 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Yo-Yo Ma has played his 300-year-old cello for eight of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. |
| Angry Nigerian soldiers fire on senior officer Posted: 14 May 2014 03:21 PM PDT BAUCHI, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic militants again attacked the remote Nigerian town from which nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped, Nigeria's military said Wednesday, resulting in a firefight that killed 12 soldiers and led angry troops to fire on a commanding officer. |
| Fate of talks lies with Israelis, Palestinians, says Kerry Posted: 14 May 2014 03:18 PM PDT  Only Palestinians and Israelis can decide whether to resume talks, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Wednesday as he met Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas for the first time since the peace process collapsed. The top US diplomat told Abbas during almost two hours of talks in London that the fate of the peace process lies in the hands of the deeply-divided parties. \"Secretary Kerry made clear that while the door remains open to peace, it is up to the parties to determine whether they are willing to take the steps necessary to resume negotiations,\" a senior State Department official said. After weeks of angry moves by both sides, Israel suspended its participation in the talks on April 23 after Abbas announced the Palestine Liberation Organisation -- which is dominated by his moderate Fatah party -- was seeking a unity deal with the Hamas militants who run the Gaza Strip.
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| Mexico investigating attack that killed 4 soldiers Posted: 14 May 2014 03:18 PM PDT GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — The Mexican government is investigating an attack in the western state of Jalisco that killed four soldiers and wounded two, a federal official said Wednesday. |
| Venezuelan police arrest 80 in clashes Posted: 14 May 2014 03:16 PM PDT  Venezuelan police made about 80 arrests and fired tear gas at anti-government student protesters who hurled stones and fireworks at a ministry building in Caracas on Wednesday. The students, who were marching to demand the release of protesters arrested in recent days, massed in the east of the capital but the demonstration quickly became violent when they targeted the Tourism Ministry and riot police intervened. They detained around 80 people, Manuel Quevedo, commander of the National Guard regiment in Caracas, told AFP. Trucks carrying the detainees tried to move along the main route of the Caracas district of Chacao, heart of more than three months of opposition protests, amid a crowd shouting \"Let them go!\"
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| Kerry meets with Palestinian leader in London Posted: 14 May 2014 03:14 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry worked Wednesday to keep the Palestinians committed to his hope of restarting Mideast peace talks despite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' move to set up an interim government with a militant group that refuses to recognize Israel.
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| California greenhouse gas emissions inch up 2 percent Posted: 14 May 2014 03:04 PM PDT  By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's greenhouse gas emissions rose about 2 percent in 2012 compared to the previous year as more natural gas was burned to compensate for the closure of a nuclear plant and a drop in hydro-electricity due to a drought, the state's air regulator said on Wednesday. Higher utility sector emissions were offset somewhat by a modest decline in output from the transportation sector, which remains the state's largest single source of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. State air officials said that despite the small overall increase, long-term trends show California is cutting emissions even as the economy recovers from a lengthy recession. Transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 12 percent over the past seven years due in part to a larger number of fuel-efficient vehicles on California roads, regulators said.
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