Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Gunmen storm pro-Assad Syrian TV channel

Gunmen storm pro-Assad Syrian TV channel

Gunmen storm pro-Assad Syrian TV channel

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:04 AM PDT

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the new government in DamascusBEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen broke through the gates of a pro-government Syrian TV channel headquarters on Wednesday, bombing buildings and shooting dead three employees, state media said, in one of the boldest attacks yet on a symbol of the authoritarian state. President Bashar al-Assad declared late on Tuesday that his country was at war and the attack on Ikhbariya's offices - located 20 km (15 miles) south of the capital - as well as overnight fighting on the outskirts of Damascus show that 16 months of violence is now rapidly encroaching on the capital. ...

Refugee boat sinks; Australian PM aims to revive Malaysia plan

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 11:13 PM PDT

A picture released by the Australian Maritime and Safety Authority (AMSA) shows a boat which according to the AMSA was taken mid-morning before the boat sank near Christmas IslandCANBERRA (Reuters) - The sinking of a second refugee boat between Indonesia and Australia's Christmas Island in less than a week prompted on Wednesday Australia's prime minister to try to revive a people-swap deal with Malaysia and end an impasse on asylum seekers. More than 120 people were rescued and up to 10 were missing after a crowded boat sank on Wednesday in the Indian Ocean on its way to Australia, less than a week after about 90 asylum seekers died when their boat sank in the same area. ...

Quake strikes western El Salvador

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 11:49 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck western El Salvador's Ahuachapan department at 0630 GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey, monitored in London, reported. The quake's epicenter was 48.8 miles underground, about 12 miles west southwest of the department capital, also named Ahuachapan, the USGS said. (Reporting by Timothy Pearce; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Gunmen ram van into Microsoft's Greek headquarters

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:39 AM PDT

A policeman walks in front of Microsoft's offices after an attack at Marousi suburb north of AthensATHENS (Reuters) - Gunmen rammed a van packed with gas canisters into Microsoft's Greek headquarters in Athens and then set the vehicle on fire, causing damage but no injuries, police said on Wednesday. At least two people wielding pistols and a machine gun kept security guards away as they carried out the attack at about 0145 GMT, police said. Arson attacks against banks, foreign firms and local politicians have become more frequent in Greece in recent years as the country battles soaring unemployment and struggles through a recession deepened by austerity policies imposed by foreign lenders. ...

Chavez sees no more cancer treatment on horizon

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 07:24 PM PDT

Hugo Chavez talks to the media during the welcoming ceremony of Alexander Lukashenko at Miraflores Palace in CaracasCARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday he sees no need for further treatment for the cancer that struck him last year just weeks after he had said medical tests showed him in good health. Although polls show Chavez comfortably ahead, any relapse in his undisclosed type of cancer could upend his October 7 re-election bid against opposition challenger Henrique Capriles. "I've already done what I need to do," Chavez said when asked if he planned to undergo any more cancer treatment. "At this moment, on the horizon that I can see ... ...

West Bank hamlets share name, not fate

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:57 AM PDT

SUSIYA, West Bank (Reuters) - Susiya the Israeli settlement enjoys well-watered lawns, humming electricity, and the protection of a mighty state. One rocky hill away, Susiya the Palestinian village is parched and doomed. The cluster of around 50 breezeblock hovels and tents, erected without the elusive building permission of Israel's occupying authorities in the West Bank, has been condemned by the Jewish state's high court. It faces imminent demolition. ...

French spirit inspired me, Aung San Suu Kyi says

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 12:06 PM PDT

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi is welcomed by French President Hollande as she arrives in ParisPARIS (Reuters) - France's revolutionary spirit, art, literature and even its onion soup served as an inspiration to Myanmar pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi during years of house arrest, she said on Tuesday. Asked in Paris, as she nears the end of a 17-day European tour, what a visit to France meant to her, Suu Kyi, who studied the French language and culture during 15 years confined to her home, responded: "Everything from Victor Hugo to onion soup. ...

Czech President dismisses justice minister

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:03 AM PDT

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech President Vaclav Klaus dismissed Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil on Wednesday, following a proposal by Prime Minister Petr Necas, the president's office said on its web site. The statement did not give any details. Prime Minister Petr Necas has called a news conference for 0815 GMT on "the current political situation". (Reporting by Jana Mlcochova; Editing by Michael Winfrey)

Seventy dead, 200,000 stranded in Bangladesh floods

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:19 AM PDT

A street is seen submerged by flood water in ChittagongDHAKA (Reuters) - Days of rain in Bangladesh, some of the heaviest in years, have set off flash floods and landslides, killing at least 70 people and stranding about 200,000, police and officials said on Wednesday. Low-lying and densely populated Bangladesh is battered by torrential downpours during the wet season, which began in the past few weeks. At least 15 people were killed in and around the southeastern port city of Chittagong, while 30 died in Bandarban in an area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts. "Several more people are feared trapped in hillside homes buried under heaps of mud. ...

Pena Nieto extends lead as Mexico vote nears

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 10:52 PM PDT

Enrique Pena Nieto, presidential candidate of the opposition PRI, gestures during his arrival to attend a rally at the Azteca stadium in Mexico CityMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto holds a big lead over his rivals just days ahead of Mexico's presidential election, a voter survey by polling firm BGC showed on Wednesday. The poll for the July 1 ballot in newspaper Excelsior put support for Pena Nieto of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) at 44 percent, up 2 points from a survey published on June 17. Leftist hope and 2006 runner-up Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gained 1 point to 28 percent. Josefina Vazquez Mota, candidate of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), dropped 4 points to 25 percent. ...

Queen, ex-IRA chief plan symbolic Belfast meeting

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:28 AM PDT

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II waves to the public as she arrives for a Service of Thanksgiving in Saint Macartin's Cathedral in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Northern Ireland for a two day visit to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)Queen Elizabeth II and a former Irish Republican Army commander are about to meet for the first time in a symbolic milestone for Northern Ireland's peace process, but journalists wanting to record the moment are being kept at bay.

World powers to discuss Syria in Geneva

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:22 AM PDT

World powers are going to meet in Geneva on Saturday in an attempt to find ways of ending the violence in Syria, senior diplomats at the United Nations said.

US-UK security experts unite for London Olympics

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:30 AM PDT

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 file photo security forces take part during in a combined British police and British Royal Marines security exercise for the London 2012 Olympic Games on the River Thames in London. Fighter jets thunder above the English countryside. Missiles stand ready. And Big Brother is watching like never before. The London Olympics are no ordinary games _and Britain is no ordinary host. Not since World War II have Britain and the United States teamed up for such a massive security operation on British soil, and not without reason. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)Fighter jets thunder above the English countryside. Missiles stand ready. And Big Brother is watching like never before.

Violence tops debate ahead of Venezuela vote

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 10:50 PM PDT

In this photo taken Tuesday, May 22, 2012, a boy colors in the letter "P" with chalk after spelling the Spanish word "Paz," or "Peace," at an event against violence, in Caracas, Venezuela. The government says more than 14,000 people were killed in Venezuela last year, giving the country a murder rate of 50 per 100,000 people and making it one of the most violent countries in Latin America and the world. The murder rate has more than doubled since 1998, when Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez was first elected. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Natalia Guzman stepped hesitantly into the morgue looking for her only son. She was led to rows of refrigeration units, where after peering at more than a dozen corpses she finally found 17-year-old Jaime.

AP Interview: Wozniak, Dotcom slam US piracy case

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:31 AM PDT

Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak says the U.S. piracy case against Kim Dotcom is "hokey" and a threat to Internet innovation.

Pakistani crisis over graft case set to continue

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:05 AM PDT

Pakistan's top judge says he expects the country's new prime minister to reopen an old corruption case against the president, reiterating a demand that led to the downfall of the previous premier.

Landslides, floods kill 76 in southern Bangladesh

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 12:43 AM PDT

Landslides and floods caused by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 76 people in southern Bangladesh and rescuers Wednesday were searching for more missing, officials said.

New Egypt president moves toward unity government

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 04:04 PM PDT

In this photo released by Middle East News Agency, the Egyptian official news agency, President-elect Mohammed Morsi, shakes hands with a representative from the Coptic community, in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, June 26, 2012. The military has pledged to turn power over to a civilian government once a new president is named. On Sunday, June 24, 2012, Islamist Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was declared Egypt's first freely elected president in modern history. (AP Photo/Middle East News Agency, HO)President-elect Mohammed Morsi tried to ease the turmoil that has rocked Egypt since the uprising 16 months ago, reaching out Tuesday to Christians, women and secular revolutionaries to join his new Islamist-led government.

1 dead, 125 rescued from capsizing off Aussie isle

Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:03 AM PDT

This June 27, 2012 photo released by Australian Maritime Safety Authority shows a boat carrying asylum seekers 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean hours before capsizing Wednesday, June 27, 2012. The boat capsized Wednesday and 123 people were rescued from the ocean, Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, less than a week after more than 90 people drowned on a similar journey. (AP Photo/Australian Maritime Safety Authority)A crowded boat carrying asylum seekers to Australia capsized Wednesday and 125 survivors and one body were recovered from the Indian Ocean, less than a week after more than 90 people drowned on a similar journey.

Pakistan denies commuting Indian death sentence

Posted: 26 Jun 2012 09:39 PM PDT

A Pakistani official has denied an earlier report that the president has ordered the release of an Indian prisoner on death row for more than 20 years for involvement in bomb attacks in eastern Pakistan.
Posted by Harshad at 1:45 AM

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