Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Hollande set for EU summit showdown with Merkel

Hollande set for EU summit showdown with Merkel

Hollande set for EU summit showdown with Merkel

Posted: 22 May 2012 08:22 PM PDT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel steps off a stage following a family photo with NATO leaders including French President Francois Hollande in ChicagoBRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will explore ways of breathing life into their stricken economies at a summit on Wednesday, but the issue of euro-zone bonds and whether they can help alleviate two years of debt turmoil will dominate the meeting. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, where the economy and banking system are at the frontline of the crisis, will meet newly elected French President Francois Hollande in Paris ahead of the evening summit to discuss policy positions - a marked shift away from the traditional Franco-German axis. ...

Egyptians vote to pick president for first time

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:47 PM PDT

People cast their votes inside a polling station in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who served under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak. The contest is a novelty for a nation where elections during the 30-year rule of a man some called "Pharaoh" were thinly attended rigmaroles in which the result was a foregone conclusion. This time, many of Egypt's 50 million eligible voters were already queuing before polling stations opened at 8 a.m. ...

As Myanmar opens, protesters test boundaries

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:34 PM PDT

Demonstrators holding candles protest near Sule pagoda in central YangonYANGON (Reuters) - As long-isolated Myanmar opens up, its people are flexing their newly democratic muscles and testing the boundaries of freedom in a series of protests over chronic power outages. On Tuesday evening, several hundred people in the commercial capital Yangon marched at Sule Pagoda, the focal point of demonstrations in 2007 and 1988 that were crushed by the military which ruled for nearly half a century until last year. ...

IAEA chief says nears deal with Iran ahead of 6-power talks

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:50 AM PDT

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano briefs the media after his trip to Tehran at the international airport in ViennaVIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog director said on Tuesday he expected to sign a deal with Iran soon to unblock an investigation into suspected work on atom bombs, potentially brightening prospects for big-power talks with Tehran to stop a drift toward conflict. Yukiya Amano was summarizing the outcome of rare talks he conducted in Tehran on Monday, two days before six powers meet Iran's security council chief in Baghdad to test Iranian willingness to curb its nuclear program in a transparent way. ...

Shadowy China "X-Men" stoke social strains: report

Posted: 22 May 2012 10:07 PM PDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Unchecked abuses in cities by shadowy para-police units derided by many Chinese as "arbitrary and thuggish" are intensifying social strains and undermining stability, international advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a report on Wednesday. The report said China's "chengguan" para-police agencies were an often overlooked yet malign and less supervised component of China's public security apparatus, their action often directed at disadvantaged sectors of society. It said the agencies' influence had grown in recent years and stoked resentment at the grassroots level. ...

Mexico leftist moves into second in presidential poll

Posted: 22 May 2012 05:17 PM PDT

Pena Nieto, presidential candidate of the opposition PRI arrives next to activist Elena Moreira, for the First Citizen Summit in Mexico CityMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pushed into second place behind opposition frontrunner Enrique Pena Nieto with just seven weeks to go before the vote, a poll showed on Tuesday. Lopez Obrador, who narrowly lost the 2006 race to President Felipe Calderon, had 20.5 percent support in the poll by Consulta Mitofsky, up 1.4 percent from last week, overtaking the No. 2 spot for the first time in the survey. ...

Afghans back Chicago deal, warn West to keep promises

Posted: 22 May 2012 06:11 PM PDT

Man walks past Faisal Business Centre in KabulKABUL (Reuters) - People in Afghanistan were surprisingly optimistic on Tuesday about NATO's plan to pull combat troops out of their war-ravaged nation by the end of 2014, but warned Western leaders to stick to aid and security promises. A Chicago summit meeting of the 28-member bloc, attended also by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and other world leaders, endorsed an exit strategy on Monday that calls for handing control of Afghanistan to its own security forces by the middle of next year. ...

Turkmenistan signs deal on trans-Afghan gas pipeline

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:06 AM PDT

AVAZA, Turkmenistan (Reuters) - Turkmenistan signed landmark agreements on Wednesday to supply natural gas to Pakistan and India, moving a step closer to building a U.S.-backed pipeline running across Afghanistan. Turkmenistan's state gas company Turkmengaz signed gas sales and purchase agreements with Pakistan's Inter State Gas Systems and Indian state-run utility GAIL. ...

Opposition candidate concedes defeat in Dominican election

Posted: 22 May 2012 06:49 PM PDT

Mejia, former president and candidate for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, speaks in Santo DomingoSANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - The leading opposition candidate in the Dominican Republic's presidential election conceded defeat on Tuesday but defiantly stood by his claim that the country's vote was plagued by irregularities. Hipolito Mejia, a former president and candidate for the Dominican Revolutionary Party, had failed to recognize the outcome of Sunday's vote. Danilo Medina of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) claimed victory on Monday after final results showed he won 51 percent of the vote compared to 47 percent for Mejia. ...

Parents of Frenchwoman Cassez confident Mexico will free her

Posted: 22 May 2012 08:01 PM PDT

Charlotte and Bernard Cassez, parents of Florence Cassez, speak during an interview with Reuters in Mexico CityMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The parents of a Frenchwoman imprisoned in Mexico for kidnapping said on Tuesday they are optimistic the Supreme Court will free her after reviewing the case that has caused a diplomatic rift between France and Mexico. Florence Cassez, 37, has maintained she is innocent since her arrest in 2005, but the Mexican government has defended the conviction that sentenced her to 60 years in prison. ...

US drone kills 4 in Pakistan amid tension with US

Posted: 22 May 2012 10:46 PM PDT

Oil tankers, which were used to transport NATO fuel supplies to Afghanistan, are parked in Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday, May 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)A U.S. drone fired two missiles at a compound in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing four suspected militants in an attack that comes as Washington is running out of patience with Islamabad's refusal to reopen supply routes for NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Australia: No deal was made in Indonesia drug case

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:27 AM PDT

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 25, 2006 file photo, former beauty student Schapelle Leight Corby who is currently serving 20 years in an Indonesian prison for drug smuggling, listens to an interpreter during her appeal hearing at the district court in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. A court official says Tuesday, May 22, 2012, the Australian woman has been granted a five-year remission on her 20-year drug smuggling sentence. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)Australia denied Wednesday that it had agreed to treat young Indonesian people smugglers more leniently in return for Indonesia reducing the prison sentence of a high-profile Australian drug trafficker.

A ball of one? Lady Gaga unsure of Indonesia show

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:20 AM PDT

Lady Gaga is as confused as anyone about whether she'll be allowed to perform in Indonesia.

Pro-Hamas students holed up on West Bank campus

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:15 AM PDT

In a picture made Sunday, May 20, 2012, Palestinian student members of Hamas hold posters with Arabic slogans and Palestinian flags during a protest against the arrests of Hamas members in Bir Zeit University near the West Bank town of Ramallah. Hamas student activists say they are being harassed by Mahmoud Abbas' security forces, despite new attempts by the Palestinian president and his Islamic militant rivals to end five years of separate governments Abbas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. The Arabic posters read, " No to political arrest among university students," "No to political arrest," and "We will continue protest until stop political arrest."(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)At 26, Saed Qasrawi is among the oldest students at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank.

Egyptians chose leader in post-Mubarak election

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:11 AM PDT

An Egyptian woman looks at clothes next to a poster of Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, Mohammed Morsi with Arabic that reads, "Mohammed Morsi, for Egyptian presidency," in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. The May 23-24 presidential election is the first since last year's ouster of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak. It marks the first time Egyptians will choose their leader in a race overseen by international monitors. (AP Photo/Fredrik Persson)Determined to end decades of authoritarian rule, millions of Egyptians on Wednesday waited patiently in long lines outside polling stations across the nation to freely chose their first president since last year's ouster of longtime ruler and close U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak.

Turkmen deal boosts Afghan pipeline project

Posted: 23 May 2012 12:48 AM PDT

Turkmenistan signed a natural gas deal with Pakistan and India on Wednesday, in a significant boost to the proposed construction of a 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) pipeline across Afghanistan.

Magazine wins rare court ruling for Myanmar media

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:59 PM PDT

A private news magazine in Myanmar won a rare court victory Wednesday and will not have to reveal the name of a reporter who wrote about corruption at government ministries.

China's city code enforcers chided for violence

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:37 PM PDT

In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2007, personnel from the chengguan confiscate tables and chairs from a restaurant operating illegally in Beijing, China. Violence by chengguan, an urban management branch of the city governments setup a decade ago to monitor everything from unlicensed street vendors to unauthorized construction, has caused resentment, triggered riots and if unaddressed will aggravate public discontent against the government, according to Human Rights Watch, which on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 issued a 76-page report on China's chengguan. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)A branch of city governments China set up to monitor everything from unlicensed street vendors to unauthorized construction is rife with abuse of power, stoking already high social tensions, a rights group said Wednesday.

Profiles of Egypt's main presidential candidates

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:09 PM PDT

FILE - This combination of photos shows Egyptian presidential candidates, from left, Amr Moussa, Ahmed Shafiq, Mohammed Morsi and Abdel-Moneim Abolfotoh. None of the 13 candidates is likely to top 50 percent in voting Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and Thursday, so a runoff vote is set for June 16-17. A president will be announced June 21. (AP Photo)Profiles of Egypt's main presidential candidates:

Europe's leaders to tackle growth at summit

Posted: 22 May 2012 11:27 PM PDT

A euro logo is seen that reads in Danish: 'The head of the EU', referring to the Danish EU presidency, at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 22, 2012. At Wednesday's informal meeting of the EU's 27 leaders in Brussels, newly elected French President Francois Hollande is expected to push for so-called eurobonds, which can be used to fund investments or boost banks' capital reserves. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are to meet in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth.

Iran signals wider UN access as nuclear talks loom

Posted: 22 May 2012 10:14 PM PDT

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Yukiya Amano, center, from Japan speaks to the media after returning from Iran at the Vienna International Airport near Schwechat, Austria, on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Amano says he has reached a deal with Iran on probing suspected work on nuclear weapons and adds that the agreement will "be signed quite soon." (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)Iran has made the first move in attempts to gain an edge in nuclear talks with the U.S. and other world powers: It agreed in principle to allow U.N. inspectors to restart probes into a military site suspected of harboring tests related to atomic weapons.

UN nuclear chief : Deal with Iran reached on probe

Posted: 22 May 2012 02:29 PM PDT

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Yukiya Amano from Japan speaks to the media after returning from Iran at the Vienna International Airport near Schwechat, Austria, on Tuesday, May 22, 2012. Amano says he has reached a deal with Iran on probing suspected work on nuclear weapons and adds that the agreement will "be signed quite soon." (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the U.N. nuclear agency to restart a long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the U.N. nuclear chief said Tuesday.

ONU: Acuerdo con Irán en inspección nuclear

Posted: 22 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT

El jefe de la Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica, el japonés , en una rueda de prensa en el aeropuerto de Viena a su regresó de Irán el martes, 22 de mayo del 2012. (Foto AP).Pese a ciertas diferencias que perduran fue logrado un acuerdo entre Irán y el organismo nuclear de las Naciones Unidas que permitirá a sus observadores reanudar la inspección de instalaciones atómicas, ante la sospecha de que el gobierno de Teherán trabaja secretamente para producir ojivas nucleares, dijo el martes el director de la AIEA.

Jefe de agencia atómica de ONU dice llega a acuerdo con Irán

Posted: 22 May 2012 02:20 AM PDT

El principal negociador de Irán sobre armas nucleares, Saeed Jalili, derecha, posa con el director general de la Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica (AIEA) Yukiya Amano, al concluir una cita en Teherán, la capital iraní el lunes 21 de mayo del 2012. Amano dijo el martes que había llegado a un acuerdo con Irán que será firmado "dentro de poco". (Foto AP/IRNA,Adel Pazzyar)El director general de la Agencia Internacional de Energía Atómica dijo el martes que había llegado a un acuerdo con Irán para inspecciones de sospechas de fabricación de armas atómicas y agregó que el acuerdo será firmado "dentro de poco".
Posted by Harshad at 1:20 AM

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