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| Argentina's Senate passes bill to lower voting age Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 07:22 PM PDT BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Senate easily approved a bill on Wednesday to lower the voting age to 16 from 18 in time for a crucial midterm election that may determine whether President Cristina Fernandez can seek a third term. Fernandez, who backs the bill to extend voting rights, has given prominent state jobs to members of a youth group founded by her son, Maximo, and often praises young activists for their political fervor. ... Full Story | Top |
| For Benghazi diplomatic security, U.S. relied on small British firm Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 06:46 PM PDT  WASHINGTON/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - The State Department's decision to hire Blue Mountain Group to guard the ill-fated U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, entrusted security tasks to a little-known British company instead of the large firms it usually uses in overseas danger zones. The contract was largely based on expediency, U.S. officials have said, since no one knew how long the temporary mission would remain in the Libyan city. The cradle of last year's uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, Benghazi has been plagued by rising violence in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan ministers visit shrine for war dead Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 06:11 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's land minister and postal minister visited a controversial shrine for war dead on Thursday in a move which could further strain relations between neighboring China and Korea, already tense over territorial disputes. The two ministers' pilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine, seen by many in the region as a symbol of Japan's war-time militarism, came a day after Japan's main opposition party leader and possible next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited there. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI arrests man for attempting to bomb New York Federal Reserve Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 04:51 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Bangladeshi man in a sting operation on charges he attempted to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank with what he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb, federal authorities said. Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. If convicted, he faces life in prison. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan land, postal ministers visit Yasukuni shrine: Kyodo Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 04:43 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's land minister Yuichiro Hata and postal minister Mikio Shimoji visited a controversial shrine for war dead on Thursday, Kyodo news agency reported. Their visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, seen by many in the region as a symbol of Japan's war-time militarism, came a day after Japan's main opposition party leader and possible next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited the shrine. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Chris Gallagher) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. high court protects Northern Ireland "Troubles" archive - for now Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 04:22 PM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked a bid by authorities for access to interviews with a fighter from Northern Ireland's "Troubles," a temporary win for a pair of academic researchers. At issue is whether authorities in Northern Ireland can obtain records from an archive at Boston College. The case has been closely followed on both sides of the Atlantic as it could show in uncomfortable detail the possible roles played by current political figures during the sectarian conflict, including Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Israel to hold major missile defense exercise Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 04:20 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and Israel will hold a major missile defense exercise in Israel this month, sending a message of close cooperation as both countries weigh their options over Iran's nuclear program. The three-week exercise, the largest the allies have ever held, will simulate a variety of long and short-range missile attacks that Israel could face during a regional conflict, said the commanders in charge. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alleged 9/11 mastermind: America killed more people than hijackers did Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 03:28 PM PDT  GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - - The alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks told the Guantanamo courtroom on Wednesday that the U.S. government had killed many more people in the name of national security than he is accused of killing. Khalid Sheik Mohammed was allowed to address the court at a pretrial hearing focused on security classification rules for evidence that will be used in his trial on charges of orchestrating the hijacked plane attacks that killed 2,976 people. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sees "open channel" with Myanmar on human rights Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 03:20 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has concluded its first set of human rights talks with Myanmar and is confident it now has an "open channel" to discuss political prisoners and other sensitive subjects as ties improve, the State Department said on Wednesday. Michael Posner, the State Department's top human rights official, led the U.S. team at the talks in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. The talks come as the Obama administration dismantles longstanding sanctions to reward Myanmar's leaders for political and economic reforms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece faces anti-austerity shutdown as EU meets Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 03:09 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek workers will walk off the job for the second time in three weeks on Thursday, hoping to show EU leaders meeting in Brussels that a new wave of wage and pension cuts will only worsen the plight of a people worn down by five years of recession. Mired in its worst downturn since World War Two, Greece is preparing 11.5 billion euros of cuts to satisfy the "troika" of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, and secure the next installment of its 130-billion-euro bailout. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU summit to tackle banking union; Spain on watch Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 03:06 PM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will try to bridge deep differences over plans for a banking union at a summit on Thursday but no substantial decisions are expected, reviving concerns about complacency in tackling the three-year-old debt crisis. It will be the fourth time EU leaders have met this year and the 22nd summit held since the crisis erupted in Greece in late 2009. Yet diplomats expect no breakthroughs at the two-day gathering, with the agenda focused instead on longer-term efforts to retool the region's banks and economies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico charges drug gang investigators with cartel ties Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 02:41 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has charged seven officials, including three members of the country's organized-crime unit, with providing information on government raids and investigations to the country's most powerful drug gang. Cuitlahuac Salinas, head of the organized-crime unit, said on Wednesday the seven were accused of passing information to the Sinaloa cartel of Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted man. Salinas said federal and local officials were part of the probe. One of the three accused from the organized-crime unit had also worked at the Supreme Court, he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten killed as former Gaddafi stronghold town shelled Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 02:31 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Ten people were killed and dozens wounded as Libyan militias operating alongside the defense ministry shelled the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid and faced counter-attacks, a resident and medical source said on Wednesday. The hilltop town was one of the last to surrender last year to the rebels who overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi. It has come back into focus with the death last month of rebel fighter Omran Shaban after two months of detention in Bani Walid. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU settles on threesome to collect Nobel peace prize Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 02:06 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Almost a week after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the European Union has finally decided who will collect the award. Rather than one person making the trip to Norway on December 10, the EU has decided it will send three people -- one to represent each of its main institutions: the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. As a result, Commission President Jose-Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Parliament President Martin Schulz will all fly to Oslo for the ceremony, EU officials said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| In reforming Myanmar, a junta mouthpiece gets a makeover Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 02:01 PM PDT  NAYPYITAW (Reuters) - The New Light of Myanmar has an image problem. That's putting it mildly. Created in 1993 as the mouthpiece of a military junta, the newspaper once described democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi as "obsessed by lust and superstition," while praising the achievements of generals who kept Myanmar in poverty and fear. Its nickname was "The New Lies of Myanmar." Now, with the junta gone and a reformist government in power, the mouthpiece is getting a makeover. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Schaeuble, Merkel push for crisis cure on summit eve Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:46 PM PDT  MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on the eve of a summit of European leaders that debt-ridden euro zone states must help themselves while Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe needed to resolve its crisis to become competitive once again. Over two days starting on Thursday, EU leaders meeting in Brussels are expected to deal with the issues of banking supervision, the single market, a centralized euro zone budget, a single bank resolution fund, direct recapitalization of banks from rescue funds and stricter fiscal oversight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico to exhume remains of slain Zetas chief's parents for DNA Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:44 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico said on Wednesday it will exhume the remains of the parents of slain kingpin Heriberto Lazcano to obtain genetic material and put an end to rumors the Zetas cartel is not dead after authorities lost his corpse. Lazcano, alias "The Executioner," was the highest-profile kingpin to fall in President Felipe Calderon's crackdown on the cartels and had a $5 million bounty on his head when marines shot him dead on October 7 in the northern state of Coahuila. Just a few hours after his death, a group of armed men seized Lazcano's corpse from a funeral home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia, FARC rebels begin peace talks in Oslo Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:22 PM PDT  BOGOTA/OSLO (Reuters) - Historic closed-door talks between Colombia and Marxist rebels began on Wednesday in Norway after FARC rebel and government negotiators arrived in Oslo in a bid to end almost half a century of armed conflict, Norwegian officials said. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is betting a decade of U.S.-backed blows against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has left the group sufficiently weakened to seriously seek an end to the war after so many failed attempts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada ups cyber security spending as China worry rises Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:21 PM PDT  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Wednesday it will beef up spending on defenses against Internet hackers as it grapples with reports of Chinese hacking of Canadian companies and a U.S. warning of the risks of Chinese cyber espionage. The Conservative government will spend an additional C$155 million ($158 million) over five years on strengthening its response center for dealing with cyber threats in the private sector as well as boosting the security of the government's own communications, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iranian man pleads guilty in Saudi envoy murder plot Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:17 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Iranian-born used car salesman from Texas admitted on Wednesday that he had participated in a plan hatched by Iranian spies to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington. Manssor Arbabsiar, 57, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to a three-count indictment. He said the plan had been to assassinate the ambassador at a restaurant in Washington last year, and that his co-conspirators had included Iranian military officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| CIA officer, Army intelligence analyst killed in Afghan attack Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A CIA officer and a U.S. Army intelligence analyst were among those killed in a suicide bomb attack last weekend in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity. The attack on Saturday in Kandahar province also killed several Afghans. The NATO-led force has yet to determine whether it was the result of a insider attack, in which Afghan forces - including Taliban infiltrators - turn their weapons on allies. An investigation is ongoing. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. nuclear chief rejects Iran "saboteurs" accusation Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 01:09 PM PDT  LONDON/VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear chief dismissed Iran's allegation his agency may have been infiltrated by saboteurs and voiced concern about "intensive activities" at the Parchin military installation that his inspectors want to examine. Years of diplomacy and sanctions have failed to resolve a stand-off between the West and Iran over its nuclear program, raising fears of last-resort Israeli military action and a new Middle East war destabilizing to the global economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande acknowledges 1961 massacre of Algerians Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:59 PM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande acknowledged on Wednesday Algerians were massacred during an independence rally in Paris in 1961, ending decades of official silence over one of the darkest chapters of post-war French history. The statement, which came as Hollande tries to improve relations with Algiers ahead of a visit there in December, was the first time a French president had publicly accepted the killings took place. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hungary far-right marches to denounce Roma Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:50 PM PDT  MISKOLC, Hungary (Reuters) - Blaming Roma for everything from petty crime to trash on the streets, thousands of supporters of the far-right opposition Jobbik party rallied in Hungary on Wednesday in the eastern city of Miskolc. Local Roma in Hungary's second largest city simultaneously held a counter-rally rejecting what they said were typical right-wing slurs while police kept the two sides apart, preventing serious clashes. "Jobbik will help those who build Hungary, no matter their color," party chairman Gabor Vona told about 3,000 supporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exxon to buy Canada's Celtic Exploration for C$2.6 billion Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:46 PM PDT  CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp agreed to buy Celtic Exploration Ltd for C$2.6 billion ($2.64 billion), in a deal to raise its presence in some of Western Canada's most promising shale oil and gas regions. The transaction, announced Wednesday, will give Exxon vast tracts in the liquids-rich Montney shale gas region in northeastern British Columbia. It will join other world-scale energy companies looking to tap Montney's massive reserves to feed planned liquefied natural gas plants planned for province's Pacific coast. ... Full Story | Top |
| ICC complains of lack of cooperation, wants more U.N. support Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:43 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court pleaded for stronger support from the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday to ensure states cooperate with its war crimes inquiries, complaining it had faced problems in cases on Darfur and Libya. International Criminal Court President Judge Sang-Hyun Song said the court's follow-up to the only two cases referred to it by the Security Council had been problematic and that some countries had refused to cooperate. "For the ICC to effectively deal with situations referred by the council ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Salafists blamed for destroying pagan rock carving in Morocco Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:36 PM PDT RABAT (Reuters) - An 8,000-year-old rock engraving depicting the Sun as a divinity has been destroyed in the south of Morocco, local residents said, blaming Salafists seeking to impose their fundamentalist view of Islam. Ahmed Assid, a prominent activist for the indigenous Amazigh people and member of the Royal Institute for Amazigh Culture (IRCAM), said the pagan rock engraving, known as a petroglyph -- was destroyed this week in the Toubkal National Park. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo demands sanctions on Rwanda, Uganda over rebels Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:36 PM PDT KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday demanded targeted sanctions against Rwandan and Ugandan officials accused by a U.N. experts panel of backing a six-month-old insurgency in its volatile eastern borderlands. The U.N. Security Council's Group of Experts said in a confidential report seen by Reuters that both Rwanda and Uganda were supporting the M23 rebels, who are expanding their control of parts of Congo's mineral-rich North Kivu province, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt teacher fired for cutting girls' uncovered hair Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:31 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian school teacher was fired on Wednesday for cutting the hair of two 12-year-old girl pupils because they were not wearing Islamic headscarves, an act condemned as an illegal violation of human rights by a leading woman's organization. Iman Abu Bakr Kilany, a science teacher who wears a full veil, said she had been dismissed from her school in the southern town of Luxor following complaints by relatives of the girls - the only two in her class who did not wear headscarves. ... Full Story | Top |
| War will not resolve Gaza problem: Israeli official Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 12:01 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A major Israeli attack on Gaza would not curb growing extremism in the Palestinian enclave, with the ruling Islamist group Hamas itself struggling to quell radicalism, a senior Israeli official said on Wednesday. Voicing concern about a recent influx of increasingly potent weaponry into the Gaza Strip, the director of Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs told reporters that international pressure was needed to try to put an end to militancy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia criticizes EU Iran sanctions, urges talks Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:48 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia criticized the European Union on Wednesday for imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and called for a fresh round of talks between world powers and Tehran as soon as possible. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing "deep concern" over EU sanctions imposed on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry and the central bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Peacekeeper killed, three wounded in Sudan's Darfur region Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:30 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - One international peacekeeper was killed and three wounded in an ambush in Sudan's western Darfur region on Wednesday, the international force UNAMID said, two weeks after four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed, UNAMID, the world's largest peacekeeping mission, was deployed by the United Nations and the African Union in the arid western territory after fierce fighting in 2003 which forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran further expanding enrichment capacity: diplomats Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:28 AM PDT VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran is believed to be further increasing its uranium enrichment capacity at its Fordow plant buried deep underground, Western diplomats say, in another sign of Tehran defying international demands to curb its disputed nuclear program. But they said the Islamic Republic did not yet appear to have started up the newly-installed centrifuges to boost production of material which Iran says is for reactor fuel but which can also have military uses if processed more. "Iran continues to build up enrichment capacity," one Western official said. A diplomat accredited to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Ethnic, economic interests entangle Rwanda in Congo Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:09 AM PDT KIWANJA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Four years after dozens of his neighbors in the remote eastern Congolese village of Kiwanja were butchered by rebels, Olivier has a sense of a recurring nightmare. Insurgents once again stalk the village's abandoned streets and fearful residents crowd for safety at the shut gates of the nearby U.N. peacekeepers' base as gunfire shatters the silence and government troops retreat in chaos. As with a previous 2004-2009 rebellion, Congo's leaders, U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria envoy says bloodshed could engulf Middle East Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:04 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The international mediator on Syria said on Wednesday its civil war risks spilling across borders to engulf the Middle East and appealed for a temporary truce he said could mark a small step towards defusing 19 months of conflict. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.-Arab League envoy, has proposed that both President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters seeking his overthrow hold fire during the Islamic feast holiday of Eid al-Adha that starts next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan militias shell former Gaddafi stronghold town Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 11:00 AM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan militias operating alongside the defense ministry shelled the former Gaddafi stronghold of Bani Walid on Wednesday, with one person killed and another 18 injured in counter-attacks, a local militia leader and a medical source said. The hilltop town was one of the last to surrender last year to the rebels who overthrew longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. It has come back into focus with the death last month of rebel fighter Omran Shaban after two months of detention in Bani Walid. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's president backs Syria ceasefire proposal Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 10:54 AM PDT KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iran backs the idea of a ceasefire in Syria during an Islamic holiday next week and believes free elections are the right way to help resolve the 19-month-old conflict, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said according to Iran's state news agency. Lakhdar Brahimi, the international mediator on Syria, has proposed that both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters seeking his overthrow stop fighting during the Eid al Adha festival, which starts next week. Brahimi has appealed to leaders in Iran - Assad's strongest regional ally - to support the idea. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish unions mulling general strike against austerity Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 10:31 AM PDT MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish unions are considering launching a general strike against austerity measures on November 14, union sources said, eight months after the last walk-out and coinciding with strike action in neighboring Portugal. Workers in both Spain and Portugal are suffering wage cuts and tax hikes as part of government programs designed to keep the countries' finances under control. Spain, which is also battling 25 percent unemployment, is soon expected to request a euro zone credit line to help cut its borrowing costs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Feud flares again between Romanian PM, president Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 10:29 AM PDT  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A bitter dispute between Romania's president and prime minister resurfaced on Wednesday, raising doubts over the running of the country with an election due in December. Leftist Prime Minister Victor Ponta tried to remove Traian Basescu from office in the summer in a spat which angered the EU and raised questions over policy and an International Monetary Fund deal that shores up investor confidence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey says fires back after shell from Syria lands in Hatay Wednesday, Oct 17, 2012 10:22 AM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's armed forces fired back over the border into Syria on Wednesday after a mortar shell shot from Syria landed just inside Turkey's Hatay border province, the provincial governor's office said. Nobody was killed or wounded by the mortar shell, the statement said. The military had returned fire from a base in the Turkish border town of Hacipasa, it added. (Reporting by Seltem Iyigun; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Full Story | Top |
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