China says blind dissident Chen can ask to study abroad

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• China says blind dissident Chen can ask to study abroad
• China's Chen appeals to U.S. congress, Clinton treads carefully
• Twin bomb attacks kill 12 in Russia's Dagestan
• Suicide bomber kills 15 in northwest Pakistan
• Sarkozy's chances fade two days before French runoff
• Japan switches off last nuclear power plant; will it cope?
• Iran holds run-off parliamentary election
• Argentina nationalizes oil company YPF
• Haiti's foreign minister approved as new premier
• Assad side kills four at Syrian university: protesters
• China says activist can apply to study abroad
• In letters, bin Laden worried about al-Qaida image
• Suicide bombing in Pakistani market kills 16
• Sept 11 case returns to Guantanamo tribunal
• Drug war slayings snuffing out news in Mexico
• As Japan shuts down nuclear power, emissions rise
• 13 dead, scores wounded in blasts in Dagestan
• Rabin killer's brother released from Israel prison
• Iran begins runoff parliamentary elections
• US uses bin Laden letters to degrade al-Qaida

China says blind dissident Chen can ask to study abroad Posted: BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China on Friday said blind dissident Chen Guangcheng could apply to study abroad, suggesting an end may be near to a diplomatic crisis that has soured relations between Beijing and Washington. The announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry follows a dramatic and very public appeal by Chen, who spoke by phone to a U.S. congressional hearing on his case, asking to be allowed to spend some time in the United States. "Chen Guangcheng is currently being treated in hospital," ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a brief statement. ...

China's Chen appeals to U.S. congress, Clinton treads carefully Posted: BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng made a dramatic plea for U.S. protection in a cellphone call to a congressional hearing from his hospital bed in Beijing, raising pressure on President Barack Obama over his administration's handling of the case. Chen, a self-taught legal activist, sheltered in the U.S. embassy for six days until Wednesday when he left after U.S.-brokered assurances from the Chinese government that he and his family would receive better treatment inside China. ...

Twin bomb attacks kill 12 in Russia's Dagestan Posted: MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed 12 people and wounded 110 in attacks on a police post on the outskirts of the capital of Russia's Dagestan region, local investigators and law enforcement sources said on Friday. The attacks outside Makhachkala late on Thursday were the deadliest in months, undermining efforts by Russian security forces to contain an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus near Sochi, where Russia will host the Winter Olympics in 2014. ...

Suicide bomber kills 15 in northwest Pakistan Posted: KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded 40 on Friday in an attack on a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, casting doubt on official assertions that security offensives have weakened militants. The bomber struck near a crowded market in Bajaur, one of the unruly Pashtun tribal regions near the Afghan border where the military has mounted offensives in recent years against the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban, the biggest security threat to the country. ...

Sarkozy's chances fade two days before French runoff Posted: PARIS (Reuters) - President Nicolas Sarkozy's chances of holding on to power were fading two days before France's election runoff, with far-right and centrist leaders refusing to endorse him and his usually bland Socialist rival performing confidently in a TV debate. The last opinion polls published on Friday before Sunday's vote suggested that Socialist challenger Francois Hollande's lead has narrowed to as little as five percentage points from as much as 10 in the last few days as the race has tightened. ...

Japan switches off last nuclear power plant; will it cope? Posted: TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan shuts down its last working nuclear power reactor this weekend just over a year after a tsunami scarred the nation and if it survives the summer without major electricity shortages, producers fear the plants will stay offline for good. The shutdown leaves Japan without nuclear power for the first time since 1970 and has put electricity producers on the defensive. Public opposition to nuclear power could become more deeply entrenched if non-nuclear generation proves enough to meet Japan's needs in the peak-demand summer months. ...

Iran holds run-off parliamentary election Posted: DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranians voted on Friday in a run-off parliamentary election that could establish a new balance between Iran's top leader and its president in the legislative assembly. State television reported that polling stations in 33 constituencies, including the capital Tehran, opened to voters at 8 a.m. (0430 GMT). They are due to close at 6 p.m. (1430 GMT), although officials have said the time could be extended. ...

Argentina nationalizes oil company YPF Posted: BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Congress nationalized the country's biggest oil company, YPF, by an overwhelming lower house vote on Thursday that underscored broad popular support for a measure that threatens to scare off foreign investment. The Chamber of Deputies voted 207-32 in favor of expropriating YPF, clearing the way for President Cristina Fernandez to sign the bill into law. The Senate last week approved the measure by a similarly overwhelming margin. ...

Haiti's foreign minister approved as new premier Posted: PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian lawmakers approved the nomination of a close adviser to President Michel Martelly as prime minister on Thursday, raising hopes of ending a political stalemate that has stalled reconstruction efforts after Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake. The lower house of parliament voted 62-3, with two abstentions, to approve Martelly's nomination of Laurent Lamothe, currently Haiti's foreign minister. Lamothe, a 39-year-old former businessman and close friend of Martelly, was approved by Haiti's Senate last month. ...

Assad side kills four at Syrian university: protesters Posted: BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian security forces and students armed with knives stormed a protest march at Aleppo University early on Thursday, activists said, killing four and rounding up 200 demonstrators demanding President Bashar al-Assad step down. The pre-dawn raid was an unusually bloody incident for Aleppo, Syria's normally fairly peaceful commercial hub, and prompted condemnation from the White House. ...

China says activist can apply to study abroad Posted: China said Friday that Chen Guangcheng can apply to study abroad in a possible step toward resolving a diplomatic standoff with the U.S. over the blind activist, who said he felt increasingly isolated and in danger at a Beijing hospital.

In letters, bin Laden worried about al-Qaida image Posted: During his last months holed up in a villa in Pakistan, one of the concerns on Osama bin Laden's mind was image control: Al-Qaida's branches and allies were making the terror network look bad in the eyes of the Islamic world.

Suicide bombing in Pakistani market kills 16 Posted: A suicide bombing in a Pakistani market close to the Afghan border killed 16 people Friday, officials said, a day after the U.S. released letters seized from Osama bin Laden's compound that criticized Pakistani militants for killing too many civilians.

Sept 11 case returns to Guantanamo tribunal Posted: Five men accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks, including the self-proclaimed mastermind, are headed back to a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay on Saturday, more than three years after President Barack Obama put the case on hold in a failed effort to move the proceedings to a civilian court and close the prison at the U.S. base in Cuba.

Drug war slayings snuffing out news in Mexico Posted: Four of the last reporters and photographers willing to cover crime stories have been slain in less than a week in violence-torn Veracruz state, where two Mexican drug cartels are warring over control of smuggling routes and targeting sources of independent information.

As Japan shuts down nuclear power, emissions rise Posted: The Fukushima crisis is eroding years of Japanese efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming, as power plants running on oil and natural gas fill the electricity gap left by now-shuttered nuclear reactors.

13 dead, scores wounded in blasts in Dagestan Posted: Bombs hidden in two vehicles exploded outside a police station in the Russian republic of Dagestan, killing at least 13 people and wounding scores. Authorities said Friday it was probably a suicide attack by Islamic insurgents.

Rabin killer's brother released from Israel prison Posted: The unrepentant brother of the man who killed Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was released from prison Friday after serving 16 1/2 years for complicity in a murder that stunned Israel and according to some destroyed an opportunity for peace.

Iran begins runoff parliamentary elections Posted: Iranian voters headed to the polls on Friday for a second round of parliamentary elections that are likely to see conservative opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad consolidate their hold on the legislature.

US uses bin Laden letters to degrade al-Qaida Posted: Letters from Osama bin Laden's last hideaway, released by U.S. officials intent on discrediting his terror organization, portray a network weak, inept and under siege — and its leader seemingly near wit's end about the passing of his global jihad's glory days.

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