| Syrian civil war foes meet for first time, focus on aid Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:50 PM PST  By Mariam Karouny and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Syria's civil war foes held their first face-to-face meetings on Saturday, launching talks aimed at ending nearly three years of conflict which has killed 130,000 people and destabilized the wider Middle East. Government and opposition delegates faced each other across a negotiating table at the United Nations headquarters for a total of three hours in the presence of mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, who described the meetings as "a good beginning". While political differences which Brahimi says must form the core of their talks appear insurmountable for now, the two sides focused on Saturday on a possible humanitarian deal aimed at building confidence in the negotiating process. Brahimi said he hoped that authorities in Syria would approve access on Sunday for an aid convoy to reach the rebel-held centre of Homs, allowing it to be delivered on Monday.
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| Ukraine opposition seek more after offer of top government posts Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:35 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Jack Stubbs KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich offered the opposition several top government posts on Saturday, hoping to coax his opponents into ending protests that threaten to bring the country to a standstill. But opposition leaders, whose power base is among thousands of protesters massing in Kiev's city centre, continued to press for further concessions, including early elections and the repeal of an anti-protest law. After meeting opposition leaders, Yanukovich offered former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk the post of prime minister to replace Mykola Azarov, whose government would be expected to resign, the presidential website said. |
| Death toll from Congo arms depot blast rises to over 20 Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:31 PM PST The number of people known to have been killed by an explosion at an arms depot in Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to more than 20, the U.N. mission in the country said on Saturday. The blast occurred on Friday when a lightning strike sparked a fire at the depot near the diamond mining hub of Mbuji-Mayi, Congo's third largest city. "I have instructed our office in Mbuji-Mayi to stand by and support local authorities in dealing with the situation," said Martin Kobler, head of MONUSCO. |
| Twenty-nine dead in clashes on anniversary of Egypt uprising Posted: 25 Jan 2014 11:47 AM PST By Sameh Bardisi and Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Twenty-nine people were killed during anti-government marches on Saturday while thousands rallied in support of the army-led authorities, underlining Egypt's volatile political fissures three years after the fall of autocrat President Hosni Mubarak. Security forces lobbed teargas and some fired automatic weapons in the air to try to prevent demonstrators opposed to the government reaching Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled the former air force commander. As police tried to calm Cairo's politically-charged streets, a car bomb exploded near a police camp in the Egyptian city of Suez, security sources said. But the growing violence has not dented the popularity of General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose ouster of Islamist Mohamed Mursi, Egypt's first freely-elected president, plunged the country into turmoil. |
| Car bombs and mortar attacks kill at least 17 in Iraq Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:25 PM PST  At least 17 people were killed in violence across Iraq on Saturday, including by car bombs and a mortar attack on a Shi'ite Muslim village, police and medical sources said. The deadliest attack took place in a village near the Iraqi city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, where three mortar bombs killed six people, police said. A woman and a child were among the victims, five of whom belonged to the same family, the police said, adding that the assailants might have been aiming at a nearby police station. Violence in Iraq climbed back to its highest level in five years in 2013, when nearly 9,000 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations.
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| Strifetorn Central African Republic names new PM Posted: 25 Jan 2014 11:02 AM PST  Central African Republic's new interim President Catherine Samba-Panza has named Andre Nzapayeke, a former official of the African Development Bank, as prime minister, state radio said on Saturday. Samba-Panza, who took office two days ago, is seeking to build an interim government to restore order to the former French colony after months of sectarian violence that has left thousands dead or homeless. That triggered revenge attacks by Christian militia known as "anti-balaka", or anti-machete, and fighting has escalated in recent days despite the presence of about 1,600 French troops and 5,000 African Union peacekeepers. On Saturday, local Red Cross president Pastor Antoine Mbao Bogo said his staff had recovered four bodies in Bangui.
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| Madagascar grenade blast mars power handover Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:44 PM PST  A grenade explosion ripped through a Madagascar bus stop, killing a toddler and wounding 37 on Saturday just hours after the island's newly elected president took the oath. The blast occurred some 200 hundred metres (yards) from the stadium where Hery Rajaonarimampianina was installed as the island's first post-coup elected president, a police source said. Minister of Internal Security Arsene Rakotondrazaka initially said 33 people had been injured and a two-year-old child was killed in the blast in the capital Antananarivo. After he paid a visit to the injured in an Antananarivo hospital, the president said his government would not tolerate any form of violence.
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| French president splits with partner after affair Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:34 PM PST  French President Francois Hollande on Saturday told AFP he has split with his longstanding partner Valerie Trierweiler after his affair with an actress nearly 20 years his junior. The announcement came after a day of rumours in the French media that Hollande would formally announce the rupture on Saturday, on the eve of a visit by Trierweiler to India for charity work. Trierweiler, 48, had been convalescing at a presidential residence in Versailles outside Paris after leaving hospital last Saturday, where she was treated for what was described as fatigue brought on by press revelations of Hollande's affair with 41-year-old actress Julie Gayet. I will never forget their dedication nor the emotional farewell," Trierweiler said on Twitter Saturday.
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| World Cup protests spark violence in Brazil Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:24 PM PST  Demonstrators and police clashed in Sao Paulo on Saturday during the first in a planned series of anti-World Cup protests called by radical activist group Anonymous across Brazil. With less than five months before the June 12 kick-off -- when the five-time champions and hosts take on Croatia -- Brazil is facing the same kind of social rumblings that marred last year's Confederations Cup dress rehearsal. In the country's sprawling industrial and financial hub of Sao Paulo, about 2,000 people demonstrated near the Art Museum and on the key Avenida Paulista, chanting and waving signs like "Wake up Brazil, a teacher is worth more than (footballer) Neymar." Rio de Janeiro -- where huge demonstrations turned violent in July -- rallied just about 200 to a demonstration on landmark Copacabana Beach.
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| Total of 32 believed dead in Quebec fire Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:14 PM PST  L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (AP) — Crews on Saturday recovered just two more bodies on the third day of an excruciating search through the charred remains of a Quebec retirement home, now covered in ice as thick as two feet. A total of 32 people are believed to have been killed in the massive fire, but just 10 bodies have been found.
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| Tunisia PM-designate says failed to form new cabinet Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:02 PM PST  Tunisia's Prime Minister-designate Mehdi Jomaa announced Saturday he had failed to reach a consensus on a new cabinet due to oversee the run-up to fresh elections. He had been expected to submit his line-up to President Moncef Marzouki Saturday but said: "I chose not to do it in order for a consensus to be reached." "For my part, my line-up is ready, it includes ministers of great quality but the security, social and economic situation make consensus a necessity," Jomaa explained.
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| Kiev protesters attack building with police inside Posted: 25 Jan 2014 04:02 PM PST  KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — New violence erupted in Ukraine's capital during the night as a large crowd attacked a government exposition and conference hall where police were stationed inside.
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| Clashes kill 29 as Egypt marks 2011 uprising Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:56 PM PST At least 29 people were killed in clashes in Egypt Saturday during rival rallies on the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak, underscoring the country's violent polarisation. Three years after Egyptians rose up to demand the overthrow of Mubarak, thousands of demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square chanted slogans backing another military man, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as police clashed with Islamists and activists elsewhere. The 29 people were killed in fighting across Egypt when police and supporters of the military-installed government clashed with Islamist backers of president Mohamed Morsi, who was deposed in July after a single turbulent year in power. Egypt was already on edge after four bombs exploded in Cairo on Friday, including a massive blast outside police headquarters. |
| Hundreds protest against the World Cup in Brazil Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:50 PM PST  SAO PAULO (AP) — Waving flags, carrying banners and chanting "there will be no Cup" at least 1,000 demonstrators protested in Sao Paulo on Saturday against the World Cup that Brazil will host later this year.
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| Ukraine president meets opposition amid fears of force Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:46 PM PST  Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Saturday held a new round of crisis talks with opposition leaders as fears grew of an impending crackdown on thousands of protesters locked in a standoff with police in Kiev. The Ukrainian interior minister warned that efforts to solve the country's deadly crisis without using force were proving "futile" as the opposition accused Yanukovych of planning to impose a state of emergency. The European Union urged concrete steps to end the crisis, which has raised fears of a prolonged civil conflict and according to officials has already left three dead. The authorities also faced mounting pressure outside Kiev with protesters storming regional administration offices not just in the anti-Yanukovych west of the country but also north and east of Kiev.
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| Fujimori not charged in Peru forced sterilization scandal Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:35 PM PST  Disgraced Peruvian ex-president Alberto Fujimori avoided prosecution over forced sterilizations that allegedly took place during his terms in office, the top prosecutor said Saturday. Non-governmental organizations had filed suit, charging that more than 300,000 forced sterilizations were carried out in Peru's generally poorer and more remote Andean regions in the 1990s, on Fujimori's watch. But there was no evidence Fujimori's government intended to apply a forced sterilization policy, prosecutor Marco Guzman said.
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| Egypt diplomats kidnapped in Libya over militia chief's arrest Posted: 25 Jan 2014 03:28 PM PST  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Five Egyptian diplomats kidnapped in Tripoli in retaliation for Egypt's arrest of a Libyan militia chief pleaded on Saturday for their government to free him to secure their release. Gunman snatched four diplomatic staff from their homes in the Libyan capital on Saturday, including the cultural attaché, and kidnapped another on Friday, forcing Cairo to evacuate its embassy and its Benghazi consulate. The kidnappings of so many diplomats underlined Libya's persistent chaos two years after Muammar Gaddafi's fall, with heavily-armed former rebels and Islamist militants who fought in the uprising still challenging state authority. Calling themselves Libyan revolutionaries, the kidnappers contacted Al-Arabiya television channel to demand the release in 24 hours of Libyan militia chief Shaban Hadia, and put one of the Egyptian diplomats on the line.
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| Syria antagonists in 'half-steps' of peace talks Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:54 PM PST  GENEVA (AP) — In painstakingly choreographed encounters, Syria's government and opposition faced each other for the first time Saturday, buffered by a U.N. mediator hoping to guide them to a resolution of the country's devastating civil war.
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| 32 presumed dead in Quebec fire, 10 confirmed Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:40 PM PST L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (AP) — Crews on Saturday recovered two more bodies as they struggled with frigid temperatures and ice as thick as two feet (60 centimeters) to search the ruins of a burned-out Quebec retirement home. Ten bodies of the 32 presumed dead have been recovered. |
| French President Hollande announces separation from Trierweiler Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:33 PM PST  By Emmanuel Jarry and Leila Abboud PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande announced his separation from first lady Valerie Trierweiler on Saturday following a media storm over allegations he is having an affair with an actress. "I wish to make it known that I have ended my partnership with Valerie Trierweiler," he told Agence France Presse news agency. Hollande sought to put an end to turbulence that began two weeks ago when celebrity magazine Closer published a report that he was having an affair with film actress and Socialist Party supporter Julie Gayet. Questions over Hollande's personal life - and whether Trierweiler was still first lady - have diverted public attention from a shift the president made this month towards more business-friendly policies aimed at reviving the euro zone's second-biggest economy in the face of high unemployment.
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| Ukraine opposition says protests will continue Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:23 PM PST KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A top opposition leader in Ukraine's two-month-long political crisis said Saturday that protests will continue despite the embattled president's offer to appoint him as prime minister. |
| Mata completes record £37.1m Man United move Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:14 PM PST  Spanish attacking midfielder Juan Mata completed his record £37.1 million (44.7m euros) transfer from Chelsea to Manchester United on Saturday after a medical at the English champions. United had already confirmed on Friday that they had agreed a deal to sign the 25-year-old for a club-record fee. "I am thrilled to be joining United. I have enjoyed some very happy years at Chelsea but the time has come for a new challenge," said Mata, who played 135 times for Chelsea and scored 32 goals after joining from Valencia in 2011.
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| NSA also serves economic interests: Snowden interview Posted: 25 Jan 2014 02:04 PM PST  The US National Security Agency (NSA) sometimes uses data it collects for economic purposes, intelligence leaker Edward Snowden reveals in an extract of an interview with a German television chain to be broadcast Sunday. "If there is information, for example on Siemens, which is in the national interest, but has nothing to do with national security, they will still use this information," said Snowden, according to the German translation of the interview on public television ARD. The interview was carried out by a journalist for NDR, a regional chain belonging to the broadcaster that has analysed secret documents that Snowden leaked to journalists.
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| Lebanon militant pledges allegiance to al-Qaida Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:28 PM PST  BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanon-based militant pledged allegiance to an al-Qaida-linked group Saturday, calling on Sunni Muslim soldiers to quit a Lebanese army he claimed is controlled by Christians and Shiites.
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| Ukraine opposition says ready to lead country Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:25 PM PST A Ukrainian opposition leader who was offered the post of prime minister by embattled President Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday said the opposition was ready to lead the country. "We are ready to take on this responsibility and take the country into the European Union," Arseny Yatsenyuk told crowds on Kiev's Independence Square after emerging from talks with Yanukovich. But he added that this would entail the freeing of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko who was jailed in 2011. Earlier on Saturday, Yanukovich, whose government is facing violent street protests against his rule, offered Yatsenyuk the post of head of government and proposed that another opposition leader, Vitaly Klitschko, be made a deputy prime minister for humanitarian issues. |
| Five Egyptian diplomats seized in Libya in 24 hours Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:24 PM PST  Kidnappers seized Egypt's cultural attache and three other embassy staff in the Libyan capital on Saturday, a day after a group snatched another Egyptian official in the city. The abduction of the diplomats came as fighting in the south and west of the country claimed more than 150 lives, adding to the sense of chaos in Libya more than two years after rebels overthrew and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The kidnapping of the four diplomats came a day after an administrative adviser at Egypt's embassy was seized, and despite Libya's announcement of "reinforced security measures" there. Foreigners have been targeted several times in recent weeks: two Italians were seized last week in east Libya and a South Korean trade representative was released by security forces on Wednesday, three days after being abducted in Tripoli.
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| Thailand set for advance voting despite rally disruption Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:23 PM PST  Thai voters are due to cast advanced ballots on Sunday despite plans by opposition demonstrators to surround polling stations and uncertainty over whether controversial elections will ultimately go ahead. Over two million people are registered for the advanced vote ahead of the February 2 election, which was called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in an attempt to defuse rising political tensions after weeks of mass anti-government protests. Demonstrators, who have staged a near two-week so-called "shutdown" of the Thai capital in an effort to derail the vote, have rejected the election and vowed to congregate around polling stations. They want to topple the government and install an unelected "people's council" to implement loosely-defined reforms that they hope would rid Thailand of the influence of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra -- Yingluck's older brother.
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| Violence mars third anniversary of Egypt uprising Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:10 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — The anniversary of Egypt's 2011 uprising brought a violent display of the country's furious divisions Saturday, as giant crowds danced at government-backed rallies and security forces crushed demonstrations by rival Islamists and some secular activists.
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| Up to 32 feared dead in Quebec retirement home Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:07 PM PST  A fire that ravaged a Quebec retirement home may have killed up to 32 people, authorities said Saturday as they resumed their somber search for bodies in the bitter cold. "The total number of people missing is 32, of which we can confirm eight deaths," Quebec provincial police spokesman Guy Lapointe told reporters. Two of the eight remains have been identified, said Quebec coroner's office spokeswoman Genevieve Guilbault.
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| Ukraine protest leader vague on premiership offer Posted: 25 Jan 2014 01:05 PM PST KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — A top Ukrainian protest leader says the opposition is ready to accept leadership of the country, but isn't immediately accepting embattled President Viktor Yanukovych's offer to become prime minister. |
| 32 presumed dead in Quebec fire, 8 confirmed Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:42 PM PST L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (AP) — Crews struggled with frigid temperatures and ice as thick as two feet (60 centimeters) as they searched Saturday for more bodies in the remains of a burned-out Quebec retirement home as friends and relatives of the victims awaited news. Just eight bodies of the 32 presumed dead have been recovered. |
| Aid in focus as Syria foes hold first talks in Geneva Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:36 PM PST  Syria's regime and opposition on Saturday discussed sending aid to besieged residents in the embattled city of Homs as UN-sponsored peace talks inched forward in Geneva. In what mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said was a "good beginning", the two sides touched on a key humanitarian issue as they held their first face-to-face talks at the United Nations' European headquarters. Brahimi said they had discussed at length the situation in Homs, where hundreds of families in the Old City are living under siege with near-daily shelling and the barest of supplies. Opposition spokesman Louay Safi said a deal on Homs was like a "trial balloon" to test the regime.
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| Algerian Islamists to boycott presidential election Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:18 PM PST  Algeria's main Islamist party, the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), on Saturday announced a boycott of the presidential election due to be held April 17. Party chief Abderrazak Mokri made the announcement to journalists following two days of debate within the MSP. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 76, has ruled for 14 years, and has still not officially declared that he will seek a fourth mandate. Despite his ailing health, the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) in November named Bouteflika as its candidate.
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| Crowds return to Tahrir to cheer Egypt general Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:16 PM PST  Three years after the start of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, thousands of Egyptians rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square Saturday calling for another military man to become their leader. The anniversary rallies came against the backdrop of deadly Cairo bombings in a country deeply polarised between supporters and opponents of Mubarak's successor, the deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. At least 29 people were killed in clashes across Egypt during Saturday's rival rallies. Many demonstrators openly called for Muslim Brotherhood members to be killed, underscoring the bitter polarisation since the 2011 revolt which saw Egyptians of all political persuasions unite to demand change.
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| Cuban dissident arrested after meeting with European leaders Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:10 PM PST  Leading Cuban dissident Jose Daniel Ferrer has been arrested after meeting with European diplomats in Havana, activists said Saturday. Elizardo Sanchez, founder and leader of the illegal but tolerated Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission, said Ferrer was arrested late Friday and that it was unclear where he had been taken. Ferrer lives in Santiago de Cuba, some 900 kilometers (560 miles) southeast of Havana, where he leads the Patriotic Cuban Union dissident group.
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| Expected unveiling of Tunisia cabinet delayed Posted: 25 Jan 2014 12:08 PM PST  The expected announcement of Tunisia's new cabinet of independents, which would oversee the run-up to fresh elections as part of the post-Arab Spring political transition, was delayed Saturday. Designated prime minister Mehdi Jomaa had been due to present his government to President Moncef Marzouki at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT), with a vote of confidence on his nominations slated for Tuesday, according to the Islamist party Ennahda. The expected unveiling of the new government comes on the eve of a vote at the National Constituent Assembly on the long-delayed new constitution, which has been in preparation for more than two years. Approval of the constitution is seen as a key step in Tunisia's political transition, more than three years after long-ruling dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted by the first popular uprising of the Arab Spring.
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