| Kurds hold off Islamic State in Kobani; fighters strike in Iraq Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:12 PM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley and Saif Sameer MURSITPINAR Turkey/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kurdish defenders held off Islamic State militants in Syria's border town of Kobani on Sunday, but the fighters struck with deadly bombings in Iraq, killing dozens of Kurds in the north and assassinating a provincial police commander in the west. The top U.S. military officer suggested that Washington, which has ruled out joining ground combat in either Iraq or Syria, could nevertheless increase its role "advising and assisting" Iraqi troops on the ground in the future. U.S. ...
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| Kerry pushes for Mideast peace, donors pledge $5 billion for Palestinians Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:02 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Stephen Kalin CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Sunday for a renewed commitment to achieving Middle East peace, saying a lasting deal between Israel, the Palestinians and all their neighbors was possible. But prospects for a renewed peace process appeared dim as Kerry offered no specifics on how to restart negotiations in his speech to a Gaza reconstruction conference that raised more than $5 billion in aid for the Palestinians after a devastating war in the tiny coastal territory. The last round of U.S. ...
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| Divided nationalists ahead in Bosnia Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:09 PM PDT  By Daria Sito-Sucic and Maja Zuvela SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Nationalists with little shared vision of Bosnia's future were in the lead in an election for the three-person presidency on Sunday, likely portending more dysfunction in a country still haunted by the divisions of a 1992-95 war. Based on a partial vote-count, authorities said Bakir Izetbegovic, Dragan Covic and Zeljka Cvijanovic were out in front in the race for the tri-partite state presidency, as the Bosniak, Croat and Serb representatives respectively. ...
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| Record bust in Cambodia signals Thai dollar counterfeiting boom Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:36 PM PDT  By Prak Chan Thul and Andrew R.C. Marshall BATTAMBANG Cambodia (Reuters) - Brigadier General Sar Theth is the police chief of Battambang, a languid riverside town in western Cambodia. You could also call him the seven million dollar man. On Sept. 19, Sar Theth's officers tracked three Thai men in a pick-up truck as it passed through a remote border checkpoint from Thailand. When the truck stopped in the Cambodian district of Phnom Proek, the police pounced. Inside, said Sar Theth, they found three cardboard boxes packed with $7. ...
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| Bolivia votes in presidential poll; Morales seen cruising to win Posted: 12 Oct 2014 12:37 PM PDT  By Enrique Andres Pretel LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivians voted on Sunday in an election that is almost certain to hand a third consecutive term to President Evo Morales, a former coca farmer who promises to consolidate leftist reforms that have expanded the role of the state in a booming economy. Voters lined up early outside polling stations La Paz where police patrolled in large numbers and observers said they had seen no sign of fraud in the voting process. ...
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| Ukrainian teams to search MH17 crash site for remains: Dutch TV Posted: 12 Oct 2014 11:52 AM PDT  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Ukrainian search teams will comb the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which went down on July 17, and return human remains and belongings to the Netherlands, Dutch television reported. Dutch current affairs program Nieuwsuur said on Sunday an agreement had been reached between Dutch and Ukrainian officials and the teams would start work on Monday. It has been nearly four months since the aircraft was downed over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 crew and passengers -- two-thirds of them Dutch nationals. ...
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| Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 12 Oct 2014 05:02 PM PDT HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A powerful cyclone was pounding a large swath of India's eastern seaboard with heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday, killing at least six people and causing major damage to buildings and crops, in one of two storms lashing Asia. In Japan, at least 35 people were reported injured as Typhoon Vongfong, packing winds of up to 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour and heavy rain, hit the southern island of Okinawa and was aiming at the island of Kyushu, where authorities told 150,000 people to evacuate. |
| Hong Kong police mass at protest sites Posted: 12 Oct 2014 05:00 PM PDT  Hong Kong (AFP) - Dozens of Hong Kong police were massing early Monday at protest sites where pro-democracy demonstrators have been holding more than two weeks of rallies, paralysing parts of the Asian financial hub.
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| Cruzeiro loses 2nd in a row in Brazilian league Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:50 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Defending champion Cruzeiro went down 3-0 to Flamengo at the Maracana Stadium on Sunday, losing its second game in a row as its Brazilian league lead shrank to six points entering the competition's final stretch. |
| Nationalists ahead in Bosnia presidency races Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:33 PM PDT  Sarajevo (AFP) - Nationalist candidates of Bosnia's Croats, Muslims and Serbs were ahead in the race for the country's tripartite presidency, official partial results showed early Monday.
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| Film explores obscure Spanish exile of Clash legend Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:03 PM PDT  New York (AFP) - Punk legends The Clash were packing overflow crowds in the early 1980s but as his band disintegrated, Joe Strummer showed up disheveled at a bar in Granada, Spain, and no one noticed.
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| 18 dead, 20 missing after boat sinks off Guinea Posted: 12 Oct 2014 04:00 PM PDT  Conakry (AFP) - The death toll from an overcrowded wooden boat that sunk off the south coast of Guinea has risen to 18, with 20 others missing presumed dead, reports said late Sunday.
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| Chile police fire tear gas at indigenous protest Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:53 PM PDT  Santiago (AFP) - Chilean police fired tear gas and water cannon Sunday to break up thousands of indigenous protesters demanding land rights and condemning Columbus Day, after masked demonstrators began throwing stones.
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| Fay becomes hurricane after brushing Bermuda with high winds, rain Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:52 PM PDT  By Samantha Strangeways HAMILTON Bermuda (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Fay strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic on Sunday afternoon after sweeping past Bermuda with strong winds and felling trees and knocking out power to thousands in the British territory. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Sunday afternoon that Fay carried top sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour). It added that the storm was expected to weaken below hurricane status on Sunday night. Fay was about 290 miles (465 km) northeast of Bermuda and moving toward the east-northeast. ...
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| Brazilian opposition candidate endorses Neves Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:43 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (AP) — Marina Silva, a popular environmentalist who finished third in the first-round of Brazil's presidential election, gave her endorsement Sunday to the opposition candidate challenging President Dilma Rousseff in the Oct. 26 runoff.
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| US wins first major women's volleyball title Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:32 PM PDT  MILAN (AP) — Kimberly Hill led the United States to its first major women's volleyball title, scoring 20 points in a 3-1 victory over China on Sunday in the world championships.
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| Nationalists lead in race for Bosnia presidency, reflecting divisions Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:24 PM PDT SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Nationalists with little shared vision of Bosnia's future were in the lead in an election for the three-person presidency on Sunday, likely portending more dysfunction in a country still haunted by the divisions of a 1992-95 war. Based on a partial vote count, authorities said Bakir Izetbegovic, Dragan Covic and Zeljka Cvijanovic were out in front in the race for the tri-partite state presidency, as the Bosniak, Croat and Serb representatives, respectively. ... |
| Donors pledge $2.7 billion for Gaza reconstruction Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:23 PM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — Donors at an international conference Sunday promised $2.7 billion to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, but all of the key participants said their efforts would be futile without a permanent peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
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| Liberia health workers to go on strike over Ebola danger pay Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:14 PM PDT  Monrovia (AFP) - Healthcare workers in Liberia, the country hit hardest by the Ebola epidemic, will go on strike from Monday to demand hazard pay for treating patients infected with the deadly disease, their union leader said.
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| Dallas health worker tests positive for Ebola Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:12 PM PDT  DALLAS (AP) — A "breach of protocol" at the hospital where Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan was treated before his death led to the infection of a health care worker with the deadly virus, and other caregivers could potentially be exposed, federal health officials said Sunday.
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| War reporters lament news 'black holes' in IS-held zones Posted: 12 Oct 2014 03:08 PM PDT  Bayeux (France) (AFP) - Kidnappings, beheadings, a hatred of journalists: the areas controlled by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria have become "black holes" of news where even war-hardened reporters dare not venture.
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| Brazil's Neves wins key endorsement in vote battle with Rousseff Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:58 PM PDT  Sao Paulo (AFP) - Brazilian presidential hopeful Aecio Neves on Sunday earned a key endorsement in his bid to defeat incumbent Dilma Rousseff -- from environmentalist candidate Marina Silva.
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| US says Turkey OKs use of bases against militants Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:49 PM PDT  AREQUIPA, Peru (AP) — Turkey will let U.S. and coalition forces use its bases, including a key installation within 100 miles of the Syrian border, for operations against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, American defense officials said Sunday.
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| Spain rebounds with 4-0 win at Luxembourg Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:48 PM PDT  LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Diego Costa scored his first goal for Spain in seven appearances to help the defending European champion ease to a 4-0 win at Luxembourg and rebound from its first qualifying loss in eight years on Sunday.
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| As nuclear waste piles up, South Korea faces storage crisis Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:45 PM PDT  By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL (Reuters) - Among the usual commercials for beer, noodles and cars on South Korean TV, one item stands in marked contrast. A short film by a government advisory body carries a stark message: the nation faces a crisis over storing its spent nuclear fuel after running reactors for decades. The world's fifth-largest user of nuclear power has around 70 percent, or nearly 9,000 tonnes, of its used fuel stacked in temporary storage pools originally intended to hold it for five or six years, with some sites due to fill by the end of 2016. ...
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| Hundreds in memorial for British hostage killed by IS Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:45 PM PDT  London (AFP) - Hundreds gathered for a memorial service for Alan Henning, the British hostage beheaded by Islamic State jihadists, celebrating the aid volunteer as a hero on Sunday.
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| Hungary's Fidesz widely dominates municipal voting Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:34 PM PDT  BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party was the clear winner in Sunday's nationwide municipal elections, with its candidates winning the mayor's post in Budapest, the capital, and in 20 of Hungary's 23 largest cities.
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| Coast Guard suspends search off Chuuk Atoll Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:34 PM PDT SANTA RITA, Guam (AP) — The Coast Guard says it has suspended its search for a man missing near Chuuk Atoll, days after three other people on the same skiff were rescued. |
| Spain back on track, England wins again Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:28 PM PDT Diego Costa finally transferred his prolific club form to international level to help Spain get back on track in European Championship qualifying, while Wayne Rooney edged England to another win on the road to France. |
| Fay hits Bermuda, becomes hurricane in open waters Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:18 PM PDT  KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Hurricane Fay toppled utility poles and knocked out power to thousands of people in Bermuda before moving out over open ocean on Sunday, just as a new storm raced toward the eastern rim of the Caribbean threatening to become a hurricane.
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| Morales landslide expected in Bolivia vote Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:09 PM PDT  La Paz (AFP) - Bolivians began counting votes Sunday in elections widely expected to give indigenous President Evo Morales a third term, along with a legislative majority needed to push through his leftist reforms.
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| West alarmed at Hungarian leader's power tactics Posted: 12 Oct 2014 02:01 PM PDT  BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — As a young politician, Viktor Orban won plaudits for championing civil rights and free elections. Now as Hungary's prime minister, Western nations are alarmed at the way he is trying to consolidate power, including a government crackdown on rights groups.
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| Rooney free kick earns England 1-0 win in Estonia Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:56 PM PDT  TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Wayne Rooney curled in a 73rd-minute free kick to earn England an uninspiring 1-0 win over 10-man Estonia and a third straight victory in qualifying for the 2016 European Championship on Sunday.
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| Moldova holds Russia to draw in Euro qualifying Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:56 PM PDT  MOSCOW (AP) — Alexandru Epureanu's header earned Moldova a surprise 1-1 draw with Russia in Moscow on Sunday, paving the way for Austria to take the top spot in their European Championship qualifying group.
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| British hotel remembers bomb attack on Thatcher Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:50 PM PDT  London (AFP) - A Brighton hotel held a minute's silence Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of a deadly paramilitary bomb attack intended to assassinate British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
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| Car bomb in Somalia's capital kills 11 Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:49 PM PDT  MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A car bomb exploded outside a popular cafe in Somalia's capital on Sunday, killing 11 people and wounding eight others, a senior police official said.
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| Indians killed by lightning in Colombia to be left unburied Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:41 PM PDT  Bogota (AFP) - Eleven Wiwa Indians killed by lightning during a tribal ceremony in Colombia's Sierra Nevada mountains will be left unburied where they died according to their traditions, an official said Sunday.
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| Tropical Storm Gonzalo takes aim at Caribbean Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:38 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Tropical Storm Fay toppled utility poles and knocked out power to thousands of people in Bermuda before moving out over open ocean on Sunday, just as a new storm raced toward the eastern rim of the Caribbean threatening to become a hurricane. |
| Boeing announces Garuda order for 50 planes Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:34 PM PDT SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing Co. says that Garuda Indonesia placed an order for 50 jets with a total sticker price of $4.9 billion. |
| Ex-prostitute ends long march for French bill to penalise clients Posted: 12 Oct 2014 01:33 PM PDT  Paris (AFP) - A former prostitute who walked 800 kilometres (500 miles) across France to demand that the government make good on its promise to penalise clients ended her protest march in Paris Sunday.
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