| Russia backs Syrian forces in major assault on insurgents Posted: 07 Oct 2015 10:59 AM PDT  By Sylvia Westall and Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops and militia backed by Russian warplanes mounted what appeared to be their first major coordinated assault on Syrian insurgents on Wednesday and Moscow said its warships fired a barrage of missiles at them from the Caspian Sea, a sign of its new military reach. The combined operation hit towns close to the main north-south highway that runs through major cities in the mainly government-held west of Syria, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group which tracks the conflict via a network of sources within the country. Ground attacks by Syrian government forces and their militia allies using heavy surface-to-surface missile bombardments hit at least four insurgent positions and there were heavy clashes, the head of the Observatory, Rami Abdulrahman, said.
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| Obama apologizes for Kunduz attack, MSF demands independent probe Posted: 07 Oct 2015 01:08 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Stephanie Nebehay WASHINGTON/GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday apologized to Medecins Sans Frontieres for the deadly bombing of its hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, while the medical charity pressed its demand for an international commission to investigate what it calls a war crime. MSF said that an independent humanitarian commission created under the Geneva Conventions in 1991 should be activated for the first time to handle the inquiry. Three investigations have already begun into Saturday's air strike that killed 22 people, including 12 MSF staff.
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| EU talks tough on deportations amid flood of Syrian refugees Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:03 PM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union governments are set to agree on Thursday to step up deportations of illegal immigrants among the hundreds of thousands who have failed to win asylum as they try to cope with a surge in refugees from war-torn Syria. Diplomats say interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg should agree, among other things, to back the detention of those who may abscond before expulsion and exert more pressure on African and other poor states, including via aid budgets, to make them accept the return of citizens refused entry to Europe. In the evening, they will be joined by EU foreign ministers and delegations from Balkan states, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon for talks on stemming migrant flows that have plunged the bloc into crisis, dividing members over how to secure the EU external borders and how to share responsibility for housing refugees.
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| Netanyahu cancels German visit as violence spreads across Israel Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:21 PM PDT  By Dan Williams and Ori Lewis JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's prime minister canceled a visit to Germany on Wednesday after a spate of attacks that included the stabbing of an Israeli soldier by a suspected Palestinian militant who police said was then shot dead by special forces. A steady rise in street violence, which Israeli and Palestinian leaders have sought to calm, has been fueled by confrontations around Jerusalem's al Aqsa mosque complex, Islam's third holiest shrine which Jews also revere as the vestige of their two ancient temples. In the third knife attack in Jerusalem in less than a week, a young Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli on Wednesday near that contested site and was then shot by the injured man.
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| Greek government wins confidence vote before first bailout review Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:00 PM PDT  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government comfortably won a confidence vote early on Thursday, starting a race to pass key reform laws before Athens undergoes a crucial first review of its international bailout. Greece has promised to implement the third bailout program agreed with European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders in August in exchange for 86 billion euros. It wants the first review to be wrapped up soon so it can start talks on a debt relief before the end of the year.
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| Brazil's Rousseff struggles to squash impeachment threat Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:28 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court dealt President Dilma Rousseff a blow on Wednesday in her fight to avert impeachment proceedings by refusing to delay a ruling by auditors on alleged doctoring of government accounts. Later on Wednesday, Brazil's Federal Accounts Court, known as the TCU, is expected to reject her government's accounts because budget results were manipulated to allow more spending in the run-up to her re-election last year. Some of her opponents are waiting to pounce on the ruling as a pretext to impeach the president for violating Brazil's budget law, although it is not clear how much support they will have inside Congress.
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| Heat on Qatar, China ahead of World Cup clash Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:57 PM PDT  Preparations for Qatar's crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier with China were bizarrely overshadowed by the issue of air-conditioning on Wednesday, just 24 hours before kick-off. Hosts Qatar will cool pitch temperatures to around 24 degrees Celsius (75 Fahrenheit) on Thursday for the crunch match in AFC's Group C. Currently Qatar are top of the group with a 100 per cent record from their three games.
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| UN office investigating donation from Macau billionaire Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:54 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says its office promoting cooperation between developing countries is reviewing a $1.5 million donation from a foundation controlled by a Macau billionaire. |
| Brazil court hits Rousseff again, fueling impeachment talk Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:54 PM PDT  Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff suffered a major new setback Wednesday when a court ruled that her government's accounting practices were illegal, handing ammunition to opponents threatening impeachment proceedings. The decision by the Federal Accounts Court or TCU was the latest blow to Rousseff, less than a year into her second term. The court said that her government's accounting practices in 2014, including taking what amounted to unauthorized loans from state-owned banks to make up for budget shortfalls, broke the law.
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| Volkswagen plays down hopes of quick answers over emissions cheating Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:39 PM PDT  By Andreas Cremer WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen said on Wednesday it would take time to get to the bottom of its rigging of diesel emissions tests, hours before the carmaker is due to give updates on its findings to German regulators and U.S. lawmakers. More than two weeks after it admitted to cheating U.S. emissions tests, Europe's largest carmaker is under pressure to identify those responsible, to say how vehicles with illegal software will be fixed and whether it also cheated in Europe. "Nobody is served by speculation or vague, preliminary progress reports," Hans Dieter Poetsch told a news conference after being confirmed as the German company's new chairman.
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| Brazil's attorney general to appeal ruling against Rousseff Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:36 PM PDT SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's Attorney General Luis Adams said on Wednesday the government will appeal the Federal Accounts Court decision against President Dilma Rousseff with the Supreme Court. "The game is not over," said Adams moments after the court, known as TCU, rejected Rousseff's handling of the government accounts last year in a decision that could pave the way for her impeachment. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) |
| Man pleads guilty to killing 5 relatives with meat cleaver Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:25 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — A Chinese immigrant who authorities said butchered five relatives with a meat cleaver, including four small children, will serve at least 125 years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to murder and manslaughter charges.
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| Netanyahu tells police to bar ministers from Al-Aqsa compound: report Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:23 PM PDT  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered police to bar ministers and lawmakers from visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, the Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday. The latest reported measure to bar Israeli politicians from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound would be aimed at lowering tensions and reducing the level of Palestinian violence. It is located in east Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967 in a move never recognised by the international community.
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| At least 17 killed in NE Nigeria suicide attacks blamed on Boko Haram Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:16 PM PDT  At least 17 people were killed in a series of suicide bomb attacks in northeast Nigeria Wednesday, as Boko Haram released a new video saying its leader was still alive and in charge of the Islamist group. The worst of the violence struck the Yobe state capital of Damaturu, which was rocked by triple blasts that killed 14 people and left 10 others injured, according to Bashir Idris Garga, Yobe state coordinator at the National Emergency Management Agency. Damaturu has been repeatedly attacked during Boko Haram's six-year insurgency.
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| Feminist drama 'Suffragette' opens London Film Festival Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:11 PM PDT  The London Film Festival opened Wednesday with "Suffragette", the story of Britain's feminist movement that fought for women's voting rights in the early 20th century. "This is such an important movie," said Meryl Streep, one of the film's stars, at a press conference in London. The three-time Oscar-winning American plays Emmeline Pankhurst, who founded the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903 in order to win the right to vote for women.
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| Merkel says still against Turkey joining the EU Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:07 PM PDT  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Turkey's help was needed to stem the flow of refugees to Europe but that this hadn't changed her view that Ankara should not become a member of the European Union. "I have always been against EU membership, President (Tayyip) Erdogan knows this, and I still am," Merkel told a talk show on German public broadcaster ARD. Merkel was an outspoken opponent of Turkey joining the EU before she took power in 2005, advocating instead a "privileged partnership" that stopped short of full membership.
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| UN council eyes vote on EU action against migrant smugglers Posted: 07 Oct 2015 04:04 PM PDT  The UN Security Council is expected to vote, possibly as early as Thursday, on a draft resolution authorizing European military action against migrant smugglers in the high seas off Libya's coast, diplomats said. The British-drafted measure would give UN approval to the naval task force, which was not mandatory for the European Union to take action but would provide Operation Sophia with greater legitimacy. The text drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, which authorizes use of force, would limit the UN mandate to a period of one year.
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| Top Asian News 10:51 p.m. GMT Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:51 PM PDT GENEVA (AP) — Doctors Without Borders called Wednesday for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate a U.S. airstrike on its hospital in Afghanistan that killed at least 22 people. The group, which believes Saturday's airstrike in Kunduz may have been a war crime, appealed to the U.S., Afghanistan and other countries to mobilize a little-known commission to look into the tragedy. The aid group, known by its French language acronym MSF, says it above all wants to ensure respect for international humanitarian law after the most deadly airstrike in its history. A dozen MSF staffers and 10 patients were killed in the hospital airstrike amid fighting between Afghan government forces and Taliban rebels in the northeastern city. |
| Aid group seeks fact-finding mission over Kunduz strike Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:51 PM PDT  GENEVA (AP) — Doctors Without Borders called Wednesday for an independent fact-finding mission to investigate a U.S. airstrike on its hospital in Afghanistan that killed at least 22 people.
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| China brushes off IMF warning on 'unprecedented' challenges Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:50 PM PDT  China's effort to transition to a more market- and consumption-based economic model will be a monumental, risk-fraught task that will "require great care," the International Monetary Fund said in its new review of global financial risks.
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| Powerful Honduran businessman accused of money laundering Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:35 PM PDT  TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — One of Honduras's most powerful businessmen has been indicted in the United States for allegedly laundering money for drug traffickers.
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| Testimony: VW to stop delivery of 2016 diesel models Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:27 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — Volkswagen plans to withdraw applications seeking U.S. emissions certifications for its 2016 model Jettas, Golfs, Passats and Beetles with diesel engines, the latest hit to the German automaker's credibility and bottom line.
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| Inspired by the great Lomu, Habana equals his RWC record Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:26 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Bryan Habana had never played rugby before the 1995 World Cup, a tournament he remembers vividly for the way blockbusting All Blacks winger Jonah Lomu carved up England's defense and for the way Nelson Mandela presented the winning trophy to the Springboks.
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| Obama apologizes to MSF for deadly Kunduz air strike Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:23 PM PDT  US President Barack Obama on Wednesday apologized to Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for a deadly US air strike on an Afghan hospital, as the medical charity demanded an international investigation. Three separate probes -- by the US military, NATO and Afghan officials -- are under way into Saturday's catastrophic strike in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz which left 22 people dead. The US military has offered a series of shifting explanations for the bombing raid, from initially talking about "collateral damage" to now admitting, as Obama did in his call to MSF chief Joanne Liu, that the strike was a mistake.
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| IMF sees recession for Latin America on commodities shock Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:21 PM PDT  LIMA, Peru (AP) — Latin America's economy is likely to go into recession this year for the first time since the end of the global financial crisis as China's slowdown lessens demand for the region's commodities, threatening to undo recent progress in reducing poverty, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
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| IMF Chief: We're cooked if we fail on climate change Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:19 PM PDT  LIMA, Peru (AP) — International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that failure to take urgent action on global warming will condemn humanity to the same fate as the Peruvian poultry that so many delegates to the group's annual meeting are enjoying this week in a country famed for its cuisine.
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| Turkey PM says 'only two' Russia strikes aimed at IS Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:14 PM PDT  Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday said only two Russian air strikes in Syria had targeted Islamic State jihadists and warned that Ankara would not make any concessions on the security of its borders. In televised comments the premier said only two out of 57 Russian bombardments had targeted IS fighters while the others had targeted moderate rebels backed by Turkey and the United States, claiming that the figures were based on military intelligence Ankara had received.
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| Trio wins Nobel Chemistry Prize for DNA repair work Posted: 07 Oct 2015 03:11 PM PDT  Sweden's Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich of the United States and Aziz Sancar, a Turkish-American, won the 2015 Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for work on how cells repair damaged DNA. DNA -- deoxyribonucleic acid -- is the chemical code for making and sustaining life. The three were lauded for mapping these processes, starting with Lindahl, who identified so-called repair enzymes -- the basics in the toolbox.
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| Gorgodze guides Georgia past Namibia Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:51 PM PDT  Georgia skipper Mamuka Gorgodze guided his jittery team to an error-ridden 17-16 victory over Namibia on Wednesday which all but guaranteed their place at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Georgia had to come from behind to narrowly thwart the African nation's effort to win their first ever World Cup game. Namibia have now lost 18 straight games over five World Cups, although the lowest ranked team in the tournament remained competitive throughout the match at Exeter's Sandy Park.
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| Brazil court discusses alleged gov't accounting violations Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:47 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's federal audit court has begun discussing whether President Dilma Rousseff's government violated accounting practices and broke the country's finance law.
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| Indonesia's small firms struggle, dealing economy another blow Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:45 PM PDT  By Eveline Danubrata PASURUAN, Indonesia (Reuters) - Fuad Fultoni has been selling wooden furniture from Pasuruan city on the eastern side of Indonesia's Java island for 15 years: gazing out as his workers sat idly in an empty showroom, he says business has never been so bad. "People don't have the purchasing power for things like this anymore," Fultoni said, gesturing towards intricately carved tables, chairs and cabinets on display. Small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) like his account for at least 50 percent of Indonesia's economy, but they have been sideswiped by the rupiah's slide to 17-year lows against the dollar, faltering consumption and a jump in minimum wages.
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| Guatemala volcano roars back to life Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:41 PM PDT  Guatemala City (AFP) - A volcano near the Guatemalan capital roared back to life on Wednesday, spewing ash high into the air, disaster safety officials said.
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| Progress made in fundraising for poor to fight climate change Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:36 PM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The world's richest countries mobilized $61.8 billion in public and private funds in 2014 to help poor countries combat and adapt to climate change, almost two-thirds of a goal to raise $100 billion a year starting in 2020, according to a report released on Wednesday. The study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Climate Policy Initiative aimed to provide the first clear snapshot of how far rich countries are from achieving the 2020 target, a key ingredient for a new global climate change deal later this year. The estimate was based on flows of public-sector climate funds reported to the U.N. climate change secretariat from rich to poor countries through bilateral agreements, multilateral institutions and export credits, and private-sector money. |
| 30 Burkina coup plotters fail to report for duty: government Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:32 PM PDT  Some 30 members of the 1,300-strong elite force that last month staged a short-lived coup in Burkina Faso have missed a deadline to report to their new stations, the government said Wednesday. The RSP troops are loyal to ex-president Blaise Compaore who was ousted in a popular uprising last year after trying to extend his 27-year grip on power.
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| California's ambitious renewable energy bill signed into law Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:28 PM PDT  By Olga Grigoryants LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed into law a bill requiring California to produce half its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, a goal he said was key to combating global climate change. "What we're doing here is very important, especially for low-income families." The bill also requires a doubling of energy efficiency in buildings by 2030. Environmentalists cheered the move even though language to cut petroleum use by 50 percent over 15 years was stripped from the bill after objections from the oil industry and some lawmakers.
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| Ivory Coast 'not ready' for vote, opposition says Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:27 PM PDT  Five of Ivory Coast's 10 presidential candidates on Wednesday said the country is "not ready" to hold a "credible and transparent" vote on October 25, threatening to pull out of the race. The opponents, mainly from the opposition National Coalition for Change (CNC), were speaking at a rally attended by hundreds of supporters in the capital Abidjan. "Some presidential candidates are not ready to run for office in the current conditions," warned former parliament speaker Mamadou Coulibaly.
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| U.S. recommends transfer of Afghan prisoner out of Guantanamo Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:27 PM PDT The United States said on Wednesday it had cleared for release Mohammed Kamin, an Afghan man held at the Guantanamo Bay prison for foreign terrorism suspects for more than 11 years. Kamin, who is about 37, was recommended to be transferred out of the facility by the Periodic Review Board, a parole board-style body made up of U.S. national security officials who have the job of determining if detainees present a threat to the United States. In making its decision, the board noted that Kamin had been candid in describing his past activities, had been "one of the more compliant detainees at Guantanamo" and that there was no evidence he had expressed extremist views while detained or harbored anti-American feelings. |
| Coast Guard ends search for missing U.S. cargo ship's crew Posted: 07 Oct 2015 02:18 PM PDT  By Susan Cooper Eastman JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was ending its search for the missing crew of an American cargo ship that sank off the Bahamas last week after sailing into the path of powerful Hurricane Joaquin. The air and sea search for possible survivors would end at sunset on Wednesday night, six days after communication was lost with the ship and the 33 people aboard, Coast Guard Captain Mark Fedor told a news conference in Jacksonville, Florida. Federal safety officials began an investigation on Tuesday into what maritime experts have called the worst cargo shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than 30 years.
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