| Greek leftist Tsipras sworn in as PM to fight bailout terms Posted: 26 Jan 2015 11:23 AM PST  By Renee Maltezou and Deepa Babington ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek left-wing leader Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on Monday as the prime minister of a new hardline, anti-bailout government determined to face down international lenders and end nearly five years of tough economic measures. The decisive victory by Tsipras' Syriza in Sunday's snap election reignites fears of new financial troubles in the country that set off the regional crisis in 2009. It is also the first time a member of the 19-nation euro zone will be led by parties rejecting German-backed austerity. Tsipras' success is likely to empower Europe's fringe parties, including other anti-austerity movements across the region's economically-depressed south.
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| Ukraine rebels move to encircle government troops in new advance Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:49 AM PST  By Natalia Zinets and Denis Dyomkin KIEV/ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Russian-backed rebels advanced to encircle a Ukrainian army garrison town on Monday in a new offensive that has again unleashed all-out war after a five-month ceasefire and brought threats of new Western sanctions against Moscow. The United States and the European Union are considering new measures after accusing Russia of openly supporting the latest rebel advance with money, arms and troops on the ground. Ambassadors of NATO countries and Ukraine met in Brussels on Monday to discuss a response to the fighting, their first such emergency meeting since August. Moscow denies playing a military role.
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| Kurds push Islamic State out of Kobani after four-month battle Posted: 26 Jan 2015 02:41 PM PST  By Sylvia Westall and Ayla Jean Yackley BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Kurdish forces took control of the Syrian town of Kobani on Monday after driving out Islamic State fighters, a monitoring group and Syrian state media said, although Washington said the four-month battle was not yet over. Some Islamic State supporters took to Twitter to say the fight for Kobani, a focal point of the international struggle against the ultra-hardline Islamist group, was still raging. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) had retaken the town, close to the Turkish border, but were proceeding carefully in the eastern outskirts where Islamic State had planted mines before fleeing. "I can see the YPG flag flying over Kobani.
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| Eight French, two Greeks killed in NATO plane crash in Spain Posted: 26 Jan 2015 01:46 PM PST  Eight French nationals and two Greeks were killed and 21 people injured when a Greek fighter plane crashed during NATO training in Spain on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said. The Greek fighter jet was carrying out a NATO training exercise at the Spanish base but something went wrong during the take-off.
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| Argentine President seeks to dissolve spy agency Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:39 PM PST  Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez on Monday announced plans to dissolve the country's intelligence agency amid suspicions rogue agents were behind the murky death of a state prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center. The death of Alberto Nisman this month, just before he was due to answer questions about his allegation that Fernandez conspired to derail his investigation, shone a spotlight on the powerful state spy apparatus which some analysts say operates with too much autonomy.
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| Obama ends day of Indian pageantry with $4 billion pledge Posted: 26 Jan 2015 07:23 AM PST  By Sanjeev Miglani and Roberta Rampton NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama ended a landmark day in India on Monday with a pledge of $4 billion in investments and loans, seeking to release what he called the "untapped potential" of a business and strategic partnership between the world's largest democracies. Earlier in the day, at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Obama was the first U.S. president to attend India's annual Republic Day parade, a show of military might that has been associated with Cold War anti-Americanism. India only accounts for 2 percent of U.S. imports and one percent of its exports, Obama said. While annual bilateral trade had reached $100 billion, that is less than a fifth of U.S. trade with India's neighbour, China.
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| Democrat assails Republican on House Benghazi committee Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats on a special House committee investigating the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, have complained that the panel's Republican chairman has excluded them from crucial steps in the investigation. |
| Top Asian News at 1:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 26 Jan 2015 05:02 PM PST NEW DELHI (AP) — As President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in New Delhi this week, the shadow of a third player hung over the talks: neighboring China, which has complicated relationships with both the United States and India. To Obama, forging deeper ties with India fits in neatly with his efforts to deepen U.S. influence in countries on China's doorstep. And as the world's largest democracy, India is a particularly attractive partner to the U.S. as it seeks to cultivate a robust regional counterbalance to communist China. |
| Factbox: Northeast transit snarled by blizzard Monday and Tuesday Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:53 PM PST (Reuters) - As a powerful blizzard bears down on the northeastern United States, airlines, commuter rail, bus lines and subways have responded with travel delays and cancellations. * NEW YORK'S METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY will be suspending service on all bus, commuter rail and subway service at 11 p.m. It added 26 extra trains to the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North schedules through 4 p.m. ET to help commuters but the LIRR may need to suspend service as of 11 p.m., subject to further evaluation of the severity of the storm, according to the MTA website. NYC Transit and MTA buses are planning to operate normal bus service for the evening's rush hour, but all service will be suspended at 11 p.m. Staten Island Railway service is currently running on or close to schedule, but service will be suspended at 11 p.m. The public can check http://alert.mta.info/ for updates. * NEW JERSEY TRANSIT said on its Twitter page that it will close down at 10 p.m. ET Monday, with the last trains leaving major stations at 8 p.m. ET and making all local stops. |
| Northeast U.S. braves 'crippling' blizzard, transit systems shut Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:50 PM PST  By Jonathan Allen and Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK/MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (Reuters) - A massive, wind-whipped blizzard slammed into the U.S. Northeast on Monday, creating havoc for more than 60 million people and forcing New York City to shut down on a scale not seen since Superstorm Sandy devastated the region in 2012. States of emergency were declared in at least six states - New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire - as people were urged to stay home with transit systems, including the New York City subway, suspending services and roadways closed amid white-out conditions. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a travel ban for all but emergency vehicles on every road in 13 counties in southern New York state, including New York City, suburban Westchester and Long Island, with the threat of a $300 fine for violators. His peers in Connecticut and Massachusetts imposed similar bans on driving.
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| Kurds defeat Islamic State jihadists in Syria's Kobane Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:47 PM PST  Kurdish militia drove the Islamic State group from the Syrian town of Kobane and raised their flags on Monday, dealing the jihadists an important blow after months of heavy fighting. Across the border in Iraq, meanwhile, a top army officer announced troops had "liberated" Diyala province from IS jihadists. In Syria, the Kurdish advance in Kobane, on the frontier with Turkey, marked the culmination of a battle lasting more than four months in which nearly 1,800 people were killed. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) had "expelled all Islamic State fighters from Kobane and have full control of the town".
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| Mexico protest marks 4 months since students' disappearance Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:42 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Protesters in Mexico City are marking four months since the disappearance of 43 rural teachers' college students in southern Mexico.
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| Argentina president rejects accusations against government Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:39 PM PST  BUENOS AIRES (AP) — President Cristina Fernandez said Monday it was "unreasonable" to think that her government would have shielded Iranian officials suspected in Argentina's largest terrorist attack, using her first public comments since the mysterious death of a prosecutor to reject his accusations against her.
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| USAID suspends awards to US contractor Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:31 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The main U.S. foreign assistance agency on Monday suspended awards to a non-governmental organization that has received more than $1 billion for its work in Afghanistan and Iraq the past nine years. |
| Obama wraps up India visit with town hall meeting Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:21 PM PST  US President Barack Obama will host a town hall-style meeting in India on Tuesday, seeking to stress the shared values of the world's largest democracies as he wraps up a visit aimed at reinvigorating their sometimes tense ties. The speech to around 1,500 young Indians comes at the end of an unprecedented second visit to India by a serving US president, underscoring Obama's determination to reinvent a relationship marred by a bitter diplomatic row in late 2013. Although the trip has been light on substantive policy announcements, Obama and new Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a breakthrough on a nuclear deal that had stalled under India's previous government and have been at pains to demonstrate their personal rapport. Both sides want a counter-balance to China, with Modi seen as taking a more assertive line on India's powerful neighbour than the previous government.
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| Poverty rises in Venezuela, according to UN report Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:16 PM PST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A new report says that poverty is on the rise in Venezuela and efforts across Latin America to boost incomes are stalling. |
| Inquiry into London killing of ex-KGB spy Litvinenko to begin Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:06 PM PST  A long-awaited public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko begins in London on Tuesday, nine years after the former KGB spy died after drinking tea poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope in the British capital. From his deathbed, Kremlin-critic Litvinenko, who had been granted British citizenship, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his murder and British authorities say there is evidence to charge two ex-KGB agents with murder. Russia has always denied any involvement in his death, although Robert Owen, the judge who will act as the inquiry chairman, has said there was "prima facie" evidence of Russian culpability.
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| Liberia 'optimistic' of zero Ebola cases by end-Feb Posted: 26 Jan 2015 04:04 PM PST  Liberia, once the country worst hit by the Ebola outbreak, hopes to have no new cases by the end of next month, a government minister said on Monday. "We think we can make it to zero by the end of February latest," Liberian Commerce Minister Axel Addy told reporters in Geneva.
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| Police: American woman, Jamaican man die in BVI boat crash Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:58 PM PST ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands (AP) — Authorities in the British Virgin Islands on Monday identified two people who died in weekend boat crash as a U.S. woman and a Jamaican man who were employed at a luxury resort. |
| Real Madrid says it complies fully with FIFA rules on minors Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:57 PM PST MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid released a statement late Monday saying it complies fully with FIFA's rules on transfers involving minors, after acknowledging that football's governing body is looking into previous deals. |
| Kirchner to dissolve Argentine intelligence service after prosecutor death Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:55 PM PST  Buenos Aires (AFP) - President Cristina Kirchner on Monday said that she will disband Argentina's intelligence service after a prosecutor was found dead hours before he was to make explosive allegations against her in Congress.
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| Ten killed in fighter jet crash during NATO exercises in Spain Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:52 PM PST  Eight French and two Greek nationals were killed Monday when a fighter jet crashed on takeoff at a military base in Spain housing a NATO training centre for elite pilots. The F-16 jet "lost power" as it took off from the base near the southeastern city of Albacete and crashed into an area where other planes were parked, damaging at least five other aircraft, the defence ministry said in a statement. "It appears that there are two people who died and who have Greek nationality and eight French," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in an interview with private television Telecinco. At least 19 other people were injured in the accident, including five who were moved to a burn unit of Madrid's La Paz hospital, the defence ministry said.
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| 516 'Brotherhood elements' arrested on Egypt anniversary Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:50 PM PST  More than 500 backers of Egypt's blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood were arrested as clashes erupted on the anniversary of its 2011 uprising, a minister said Monday, in the biggest police sweep for months. Twenty people, mostly demonstrators, were killed Sunday when protesters clashed with security forces after Islamists called for rallies against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government as Egypt marked the fourth anniversary of the toppling of ex-strongman Hosni Mubarak. Supporters of Mubarak's successor, Islamist Mohamed Morsi, have regularly clashed with security forces since he was ousted by then army chief Sisi in July 2013.
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| US announces charges in New York Russian spy ring case Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:49 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Three Russian citizens were charged Monday in connection with a Cold War-style Russian spy ring that spoke in code, passed messages concealed in bags and magazines, and tried to recruit people with ties to an unnamed New York City university, authorities said. |
| Drone crashes at White House; hobbyist says it's his Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — A two-foot-long (half-meter) drone apparently flown by a hobbyist crashed on the White House grounds Monday in an extraordinary, if unintended, breach that raised fresh questions about the president's security — and a growing threat from the sky.
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| 'Historic' blizzard strikes US northeast Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:45 PM PST  A winter storm pounded the northeastern United States on Monday hitting tens of millions of people and forcing the rare cancelation of Broadway shows in an "historic" New York blizzard. Winter Storm Juno is expected to dump up to three feet (around a meter) of snow in parts of the northeast, with the worst affected areas likely to be New England, particularly Connecticut and Massachusetts. More than 6,560 flights on Monday and Tuesday were cancelled, the New York city transit system was to shut at 11pm and road travel made a criminal offense in 13 counties of New York state. "It could be a matter of life and death, and that's not being overly dramatic, so caution is required," New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo warned.
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| Attack on Ukraine's Mariupol targeted civilians: UN Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:41 PM PST  A rocket attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol that killed 30 people at the weekend deliberately targeted civilians and the perpetrators must be brought to justice, a senior UN official said Monday. UN Under Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman told an emergency Security Council meeting that a crater analysis by European monitors showed the rockets were fired from territory controlled by pro-Moscow rebels. Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko initially claimed Saturday to have launched the offensive to seize Mariupol, but as the extent of the bloodshed became apparent he denied ordering an assault on the industrial port on the Sea of Azov. Kiev-controlled Mariupol is seen as a strategically important link between separatist-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea region of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last year.
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| Frenchwoman freed from Mexico jail sues ex-president, others Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:35 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Frenchwoman who became a cause celebre in her country after she was jailed for kidnapping in Mexico is suing a former Mexican president, other ex-officials and a major TV network, her lawyer said Monday.
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| Wall Street left with skeleton crews down as blizzard bears down Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:33 PM PST By John McCrank and Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - A blizzard bearing down on New York hollowed out Wall Street offices on Monday, leaving most investment banks and fund managers with skeleton staffs as many employees opted to work from home. "No one will give me a medal for making it to work after a five-hour commute," said Anurag Bhardwaj, a managing director who works with hedge funds at Barclays Capital in New York, who expected to work from home on Tuesday. Big investment banks, which serve a broad array of clients globally that were not hit by the storm, emphasized they were open for business. "Most brokers down here have already gotten a room in the city and mostly right downtown near the financial district," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O'Neil Securities in New York. |
| South Korean star Park in doping shock Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:30 PM PST  South Korean Olympic swimming star and national icon Park Tae-Hwan fought to clear his name on Tuesday as he reeled from the shock news that he failed a doping test. The four-time Olympic medallist blamed an injection given by a hospital for the result, the second high-profile Asian swimming case in recent months after China's Sun Yang. Yonhap news agency quoted Park's management agency Team GMP as saying the 25-year-old dubbed "Marine Boy", who has an Asian Games pool bearing his name, was stunned by the news. The report said the 25-year-old was injected at a South Korean hospital while receiving chiropractic treatment before last year's Asiad in Incheon.
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| 'Constructive spirit' at Libya peace talks Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:30 PM PST  A new round of peace talks between Libya's warring factions kicked off in Geneva Monday with all parties showing a "constructive spirit", the United Nations said. "I am confident that Libyans participating and those who hopefully will join the talks have a very clear determination to reach an agreement, to pacify the country and to overcome the crisis," said Bernadino Leon, the UN envoy for Libya and mediator in the talks. "There is a very constructive spirit.
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| UN: deadly attack on Ukraine city could be war crime Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:20 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Deadly rocket attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol this weekend that "knowingly targeted civilians" violated international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes, the U.N. political chief said Monday. |
| Merkel calls threats, attacks against Jews in Germany 'disgrace' Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:18 PM PST  Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday it was a "disgrace" that Jews in Germany faced insults, threats or violence, as she marked 70 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. Merkel joined survivors of the former camp, created by Nazi Germany in southern Poland, for a somber event in the German capital ahead of Tuesday's anniversary. Auschwitz is a "warning" of what people can do to each other, Merkel said, adding that the camp -- the site of the largest single number of murders committed during World War II -- had been an "atrocious departure" in the course of history. She said more than 100,000 Jews have today made Germany their home but that it was "unfortunately not without cause" that some feared insult or assault.
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| Top Malian army officer survives assassination attempt in capital: sources Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:17 PM PST One of Mali's most senior military officers survived an assassination attempt in the capital, Bamako, on Monday, three sources told Reuters. General Mohamed Ould Meydou, adviser to the chief of staff of Mali's army and the most senior Arab officer in the military, was shot by unknown gunmen, but was only lightly wounded in the incident, two of the sources said. One of the sources, a medic at the Gabriel Toure hospital in Bamako, said Ould Meydou was well enough to leave hospital after receiving treatment on Monday evening. Taureg-led separatists and a mix of Islamist groups with links to al Qaeda occupied northern Mali for most of 2012 until a French intervention in early 2013 scattered them into the desert. |
| Int'l financing package will help set up Jamaica wind farm Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:13 PM PST KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A nearly $63 million financing package was announced Monday to create a wind farm to help Jamaica offset its high power costs and near total dependence on imported fuel. |
| Eagles and Leopards through to Cup of Nations quarters Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:12 PM PST  Tunisia and DR Congo became the latest two teams to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday after playing out a 1-1 draw in Bata. The result, coupled with a goalless stalemate between Cape Verde and 2012 champions Zambia under a tropical deluge in Ebebiyin, allowed the two nations to secure their berths in the last eight of the competition. Georges Leekens' Carthage Eagles can now look forward to a meeting with host nation Equatorial Guinea on Saturday, when DR Congo will take on their neighbours Congo Brazzaville in an equally fascinating confrontation.
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| Egypt: Release of Mubarak's sons caps weekend of violence Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:08 PM PST  CAIRO (AP) — In a sign of confidence by a tough Egyptian government, Hosni Mubarak's two sons were freed Monday after almost four years in prison, following a weekend marked by a spate of protester killings by an increasingly heavy-handed police force.
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| Kate Hudson reveals derriere at Versace, Portman hits Dior Posted: 26 Jan 2015 03:02 PM PST  PARIS (AP) — At Paris' high-octane couture week, what happens on the catwalk is only half the story.
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| WikiLeaks slams Google over delay in revealing US warrants Posted: 26 Jan 2015 02:59 PM PST  BERLIN (AP) — WikiLeaks on Monday criticized Google for failing to swiftly inform the secrets-spilling group about U.S. search warrants issued seeking emails and other personal information from three of its staff.
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