Helicopters, artillery fire over Syria's Aleppo

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• Helicopters, artillery fire over Syria's Aleppo
• Afghan truckers a forgotten front in a war growing deadlier by the day
• Bo wife murder charge vexes skeptical Chinese
• Philippine gun makers take aim from the backyard to the production line
• Tajik rebels surrender after threat of new assault
• Malaysia water "crisis" signals fierce fight for richest state
• Top Venezuelan embassy official killed in Kenya
• Romanian president tries to evade impeachment
• Severe flooding hits North Korea, kills 88
• Magnitude 6.6 quake hits off Papua New Guinea coast: USGS
• Adviser: Romney would back strike against Iran
• BEATEN BY FEDERER
• Romanians vote on whether to impeach president
• EYES ON LONDON: Swimmers remember a champion
• Syria troops shell Aleppo neighborhoods
• Taliban kill Afghan government district head
• Officials: Ebola breaks out in Uganda
• Assad has many generals to fight Syrian rebels
• Egypt's president faces backlash from allies
• Chinese city kills project after pollution protest

Helicopters, artillery fire over Syria's Aleppo Posted: 29 Jul 2012 01:28 AM PDT ALEPPO, Syria (Reuters) - Helicopter gunships opened fire over Aleppo on Sunday and the thud of artillery boomed across neighborhoods as government forces and rebels fought for control of Syria's second city. Opposition activists reported clashes in several rebel-held districts in the morning in what could herald the start of a decisive phase in the battle for Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub. International peace envoy Koffi Annan and other foreign leaders said the situation in Aleppo served to emphasize the need for a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Syria, now in its 16th ...

Afghan truckers a forgotten front in a war growing deadlier by the day Posted: 28 Jul 2012 09:29 PM PDT KHOSH GOMBAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - In the cabins of their "jingle" trucks flamboyant with tinsel baubles and painted tiger patterns as they move NATO's war supplies, Habibullah thinks he and other drivers are becoming a forgotten front in an Afghan war growing more vicious. From a dusty truck park midway between Kabul and the Pakistan border, and under the constant thump of helicopters from Jalalabad airbase over the road, Habibullah moves food and military materiel across the Taliban's eastern heartland, from Nuristan to the former al Qaeda cave stronghold of Tora Bora. ...

Bo wife murder charge vexes skeptical Chinese Posted: 28 Jul 2012 05:55 PM PDT BEIJING, China (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party might insist that the murder charge against Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai, is a simple case of all being equal before the law, but winning over the jury of public opinion is proving tough. Since China's last big political scandal -- the purge of Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu in 2007 -- its citizens have flocked to sign up to the Twitter-like microblogging site Sina Weibo, ensuring this time there will be lively public debate about the case against Bo and Gu, despite tight censorship. ...

Philippine gun makers take aim from the backyard to the production line Posted: 28 Jul 2012 07:53 PM PDT MANDAUE CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - In the Philippines, they vote with their trigger fingers. Elections mean big business for illegal gunsmiths, who are looking forward to 2013 mid-term polls. With election-related violence commonplace, the Philippines imposes a ban on the carrying of guns for six months, from campaigning to the proclamation of winners. With legal access denied, Filipinos simply turn to the many illegal gunsmiths who ply their trade in back alleys and on the edge of rice fields despite government crackdowns. ...

Tajik rebels surrender after threat of new assault Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:18 AM PDT DUSHANBE (Reuters) - Rebels facing off against government troops in Tajikistan's volatile east began laying down their weapons on Sunday after the authorities threatened to launch a new offensive to capture a former warlord accused of killing a local security chief. President Inomali Rakhmon had called a ceasefire late last Tuesday after heavy fighting, promising to pardon anyone who disarmed while demanding that the rebels handed over Tolib Ayombekov, the former warlord, along with three fighters. ...

Malaysia water "crisis" signals fierce fight for richest state Posted: 28 Jul 2012 10:45 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The surprise statement came during a rainy spell and when the seven dams in Malaysia's richest, most populous state were full. Reserves of treated water in the opposition-controlled state of Selangor were perilously low, said the water company supplying a population of 7 million in the country's main industrial base. It was seeking approval to start immediate rationing. ...

Top Venezuelan embassy official killed in Kenya Posted: 28 Jul 2012 12:38 PM PDT NAIROBI (Reuters) - The head of Venezuela's embassy in Kenya was murdered at her official residence in the capital, police and foreign affairs ministry officials said on Friday. Police said they believed the charge d'affaires, Olga Fonseca, was strangled to death in the white mansion surrounded by tropical trees and an electric fence in the exclusive Runda neighborhood. "We received reports that she was found dead in the house on her bed. What we have seen is that she has been strangled," Anthony Kibuchi, Nairobi area police commander, told reporters outside Fonseca's residence. ...

Romanian president tries to evade impeachment Posted: 28 Jul 2012 03:28 PM PDT BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's unpopular President Traian Basescu may survive an impeachment referendum on Sunday thanks to a requirement that turnout must be more than half for the vote to be valid. Prime Minister Victor Ponta's leftist government has suspended Basescu and their campaign to unseat the president has brought a stern dressing-down from Brussels over respect for the judiciary and the rule of law. Ponta's Social Liberal Union (USL) took office in May and is asking Romanians to vote on whether to impeach Basescu for overstepping his powers. ...

Severe flooding hits North Korea, kills 88 Posted: 28 Jul 2012 10:39 AM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Severe flooding across North Korea has killed 88 people and left tens of thousands homeless, state media reported late on Saturday, threatening to make the poverty-stricken country's already chronic food shortage still worse. The floods caused by torrential rains and a typhoon this month caused "big human and material losses", North Korea's official KCNA news agency said, stranding nearly 63,000 people. Since the mid-1990s, North Korea's farm sector has often been devastated by both floods and drought. ...

Magnitude 6.6 quake hits off Papua New Guinea coast: USGS Posted: 28 Jul 2012 01:25 PM PDT (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.6 quake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea early on Sunday local time, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The strong quake was centered 81 miles east-southeast of Rabaul, New Britain, at a depth of 43.5 miles, the USGS said. The quake was not expected to generate a tsunami, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. (Editing by Peter Cooney)

Adviser: Romney would back strike against Iran Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:56 AM PDT Mitt Romney would back an Israeli military strike against Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear capability, a top foreign policy adviser said early Sunday, outlining the aggressive posture the Republican presidential candidate will take toward Iran in a speech in Israel later in the day.

BEATEN BY FEDERER Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:58 AM PDT Colombian Alejandro Falla, beaten Saturday by Federer 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Writes AP's Christopher Torchia: "The startling momentum swing in the second set was a reminder of how even the game's greats can be vulnerable to a tenacious foe, and their own doubts."

Romanians vote on whether to impeach president Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:58 AM PDT Romania's unpopular president was fighting for his political life on Sunday as Romanians voted on whether to impeach him, part of a political battle that has raised questions about the rule of law in the fledgling European Union member.

EYES ON LONDON: Swimmers remember a champion Posted: 28 Jul 2012 10:34 PM PDT Around the 2012 Olympics and its host city with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of the games to you:

Syria troops shell Aleppo neighborhoods Posted: 29 Jul 2012 01:01 AM PDT Syrian activists say regime forces are shelling districts of Aleppo as fierce clashes continue on the ground for control of the key northern city.

Taliban kill Afghan government district head Posted: 29 Jul 2012 12:24 AM PDT Afghan officials say insurgents have shot and killed a government official in eastern Afghanistan.

Officials: Ebola breaks out in Uganda Posted: 28 Jul 2012 05:44 PM PDT The deadly Ebola virus has killed 14 people in western Uganda this month, Ugandan health officials said on Saturday, ending weeks of speculation about the cause of a strange disease that had many people fleeing their homes.

Assad has many generals to fight Syrian rebels Posted: 28 Jul 2012 11:29 AM PDT The Syrian regime appears to have absorbed the shock it suffered in the heaviest blow against it yet in Syria's 17-month-old upheaval — a bombing that killed four top aides.

Egypt's president faces backlash from allies Posted: 28 Jul 2012 09:36 AM PDT An alliance of pro-democracy advocates on Saturday criticized Egypt's new Islamist president for unilaterally choosing a prime minister with no track record, while leading without transparency and alienating political groups with liberal leanings.

Chinese city kills project after pollution protest Posted: 28 Jul 2012 12:26 PM PDT Authorities in eastern China dropped plans for a waste water discharge project Saturday after thousands of protesters angry about pollution took to the streets. It was the latest of many such confrontations in a country where three decades of rapid economic expansion have come at an environmental price.

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