Sunday, July 22, 2012

Yahoo! News: Politics News

Yahoo! News: Politics News


Obama to offer comfort after Colorado shooting

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:45 PM PDT

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the White House in Washington for a trip to visit the families of victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)President Barack Obama dashed to Colorado on Sunday to meet with families of those gunned down in a movie theater and to hear from state and local officials about the shooting that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.


Netanyahu: Iran tops his agenda in Romney meeting

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opens the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, Sunday, July 22, 2012. The Israeli government is asking the country's Supreme Court to delay the evacuation of an unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost by a month. The court has ordered the Migron outpost dismantled by Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Gali Tbbon, Pool)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu skillfully skirted U.S. politics on Sunday by refusing to endorse either presidential candidate, but openly lamented that Iran's nuclear program remains intact four years since the last election.


Hezbollah may get chemical arms if Assad folds: Netanyahu

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 03:11 PM PDT

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu opens weekly cabinet meeting at his office in JerusalemWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "great threat" to Israel from the Syrian conflict is that the Damascus government may collapse and its stock of chemical weapons and missiles fall into the hands of the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. Interviewed on the U.S. "Fox News Sunday" television program, Netanyahu said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government would fall and that he was worried that a chaotic "regime collapse" might leave Syria's weapons sites unguarded. ...


Lost boys of Bagram still live in prison's shadow

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:58 PM PDT

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - During some sleepless nights when his stark bedroom walls remind him too much of his old prison cell in Afghanistan, Jan Sher Khan scans Internet dating sites he'd heard about from U.S. soldiers who once guarded him. The 24-year-old Pakistani never contacts anyone on the dating sites. He doesn't know how he'd tell them he spent more than six years in the U.S. military prison of Bagram after being detained as a 16-year-old and accused of being a suicide bomber. ...

Fires kill three, rage on in Girona in northern Spain

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:50 PM PDT

MADRID (Reuters) - Forest fires that broke out on Sunday in Girona, a tourist spot bordering with France in Spain's northern Catalonia region, have killed three people and were still out of control in the evening, local media said. The area is home to one of the most popular beach destinations in Spain, the Costa Brava. Strong winds hindered firefighters' efforts and have so far spread two fires over 9,000 hectares (22,000 acres). The interior minister of Catalonia, Felip Puig, was quoted in Spanish media as confirming the deaths. ...

Obama to offer comfort after Colorado shooting

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:45 PM PDT

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the White House in Washington for a trip to visit the families of victims of the shooting in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)President Barack Obama dashed to Colorado on Sunday to meet with families of those gunned down in a movie theater and to hear from state and local officials about the shooting that left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.


Rebels seize Syrian army infantry school: defector

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:40 PM PDT

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebel forces on Sunday seized an army infantry school in the town of Musalmiyeh, 16 km (10 miles) north of the city of Aleppo, a senior military defector based in Turkey and rebel sources inside Syria said. "This is of big strategic and symbolic importance. The school has ammunition depots and armored formations and it protects the northern gate to Aleppo," Brigadier General Mustafa al-Sheikh told Reuters by phone from the town of Apayden on the Turkish border with Syria. ...

Rake shuns Barclays chairman role: sources

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:30 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Rake, deputy chairman of Barclays Plc , has ruled himself out of contention to be its new chairman, striking a blow to the UK bank as it hunts for new leadership to steer it through its interest rate-rigging scandal. Rake, who was considered the favorite for the job, is not interested in the role, three people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. His retreat follows protests by several top shareholders who were determined that the next chairman should come from outside Barclays, according to FT. The next Barclays chairman faces a stiff challenge. ...

Thailand - Land of smiles or tourist trap?

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:25 PM PDT

A tourist participates in a water fight with local Thais during the Songkran Festival celebration at Khaosan road in BangkokBANGKOK (Reuters) - Two Canadian sisters die mysteriously in their rented bungalow on an idyllic Thai island, believed poisoned. Less than week later, a 60-year-old Australian woman is stabbed to death in botched robbery outside a luxury resort in Phuket. Their deaths are the latest in a tumult of violence and intrigue to shake tourism in postcard-perfect Thailand, raising questions over whether it is squandering a prized asset by failing to protect travelers arriving in record numbers. ...


Analysis: Braving crowds, waiting for hours for free medicine in India

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:22 PM PDT

A pharmacist gives free medicine provided by the government to a patient inside a government hospital in KolkataCHENNAI, India (Reuters) - For Ramaiyah Venkat, a retired Indian schoolteacher, the two-hour bus journey every three months to get free insulin is worth it even if he has to queue for hours at the dispensary and sometimes gets less than he needs. Thousands of people like Venkat flock to the huge Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai city every day. Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, one of two Indian states offering free medicine for all. The state provides a glimpse of the hurdles India faces as it embarks on a program to extend free drug coverage nationwide. ...


China's tight job market defies economic downturn

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 02:16 PM PDT

Employees work at a Sany assembly plant in Lingang Industrial Park, near ShanghaiBEIJING (Reuters) - Workers living through the slowest run of global economic growth in more than three years are in fear for their jobs everywhere except in the very place investors are most concerned about - China. Despite six straight quarters of slowing growth, there are more job vacancies in China than there have been for around a decade, giving workers the unlikely luxury of job-hopping during a downturn. ...


Colorado mourns dead in cinema massacre as Obama heads to scene

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 01:45 PM PDT

Crosses are seen at a memorial for victims behind the theater where a gunman opened fire on moviegoers in AuroraAURORA, Co. (Reuters) - Residents of a Denver suburb mourned their dead on Sunday from a shooting rampage by a "demonic" gunman who killed 12 people and wounded 58 after opening fire at a cinema showing the new Batman movie. President Barack Obama headed to Aurora, Colorado, on Sunday to meet families grieving their losses Friday's mass shooting that has stunned the nation and rekindled debate about guns and violence in America. ...


US poverty on track to rise to highest since 1960s

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 01:08 PM PDT

In this July 16, 2012, photo, Laura Fritz, 27, left, with her daughter Adalade Goudeseune fills out a form at the Jefferson Action Center, an assistance center in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. Both Fritz grew up in the Denver suburbs a solidly middle class family, but she and her boyfriend, who has struggled to find work, and are now relying on government assistance to cover food and $650 rent for their family. The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net. Census figures for 2011 will be released this fall in the critical weeks ahead of the November elections. (AP Photo/Kristen Wyatt)The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net.


Somalia's al Shabaab executes three of its own for treason

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 01:02 PM PDT

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamist al Shabaab militants said on Sunday they had executed three of their own members for treason, two of them for guiding U.S. missiles to kill fellow militants. It was the first time al Shabaab, under pressure from African Union, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops as well as U.S. drone strikes, had admitted to killing its own fighters for betrayals. Al Shabaab, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, said last January that a missile launched from a drone had killed Bilal el Berjawi, a Lebanese al Shabaab fighter with a British passport. ...

Madagascar army quells mutiny, kills rebel leader

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 01:01 PM PDT

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's army stormed a military barracks near the island country's main airport in order to quell a mutiny, killing the corporal who led it and arresting a number of mutineers, the army said on Sunday. The soldiers had seized the barracks located 10km (6.2 miles) from the capital Antananarivo at dawn 16 hours earlier. It was unclear what their grievances or demands were, but the drama escalated dramatically when they shot and fatally wounded an officer who had been sent in to negotiate with them. ...

Eight killed in deadly 24 hours for NATO in Afghanistan

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:30 PM PDT

HERAT (Reuters) - A gunman wearing an Afghan uniform turned his weapon against foreign trainers working for NATO in the western province of Herat on Sunday, killing three, in a grim 24 hours for the coalition which also saw five NATO soldiers killed. The latest rogue shooting by an Afghan in a police or army uniform happened at a regional training center in the relatively peaceful western province near Afghanistan's border with Iran, which is normally patrolled by Italian forces. ...

Eight injured in riots at Syrian refugee camp in Turkey

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:28 PM PDT

KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - Four Syrian refugees and four members of the Turkish security forces were hurt on Sunday when riots broke out at a refugee camp in Turkey near the Syrian border, the Dogan News Agency said. The clashes erupted when a group of 1,500 or so ethnic Turkmen refugees from Syria arrived at the camp, near the town of Islahiye, witnesses told Dogan. Television footage showed armored personnel carriers entering the camp and police firing weapons into the air to disperse groups of men fighting each other with fists and clubs. ...

Police getting ready for RNC convention in Tampa

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:18 PM PDT

Tampa has hosted four Super Bowls, but the protesters expected to cram into the city for the Republican National Convention will be a different sort of crowd, and the police are trying to be ready.

Syrian army overruns Damascus district: activists

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:06 PM PDT

AMMAN (Reuters) - Members of a Syrian army division under the command of President Bashar al-Assad's brother drove rebels out of the northern Damascus district of Barzeh on Sunday and summarily executed several young men, a witness and opposition activists said. "At least 20 Fourth Division tanks and hundreds of its members entered Barzeh this afternoon. I saw troops go into the home of 26-year-old Issa al-Arab. They left him dead with two bullets in his head," opposition activist Abu Kais said by phone from the district. ...

Global economy weekahead: No winners in race for growth medals

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:03 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - "Faster, Higher, Stronger" is the motto of the Olympics opening in London on Friday. "Slower, Lower, Weaker" would be a better description of the economic performance of many of the countries competing in the games. None of the big names will look worthy of a place on the podium if forecasts for a raft of data due this week from the euro zone, the United States and Britain prove accurate. Even China, the long-standing growth champion, is huffing and puffing. ...

Syrian forces bombard Damascus, fight rages in Aleppo

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:58 AM PDT

Members of Syrian Free Army are seen at Qusseer neighbourhoodBAB AL-SALAM, Syria (Reuters) - Syrian forces bombarded parts of Damascus with helicopter gunships on Sunday, witnesses said, driving rebels out of a northern district a week after opposition fighters launched a major assault on the capital. Members of a Syrian army division under the command of President Bashar al-Assad's brother summarily executed several young men, a witness and opposition activists said. ...


Heaviest rains in 60 years kill 37 in Beijing

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:41 AM PDT

A resident walks past debris and a taxi damaged by a flood after heavy rainfalls hit Mentougou District in BeijingBEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese capital's heaviest rainstorm in six decades killed at least 37 people, flooded streets and stranded 80,000 people at the main airport, state media and the government said on Sunday. The storm, which started on Saturday afternoon and continued late into the night, flooded major roads and sent torrents of water tumbling down steps into underpasses. The Beijing city government said on its official microblog at least 37 people had died, including 25 drowned, six crushed in collapsing homes, five electrocuted and one struck by lightning. ...


Madagascar army says camp mutiny put down, rebel leader killed

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:30 AM PDT

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's army said on Sunday that the situation at a mutinous army base was under control and that the leader of the rebellion had been killed. "The situation is under control. Corporal Koto Mainty, alias Black, has been killed," General Raphael Ramasy, chief of staff of the defense minister, told the public television station TVM. "The other mutineers gave themselves up or were arrested ... Four other civilians were arrested ... Two mutineers and two other elements of the security forces are wounded. ...

Bombs kill 20 and wound 80 across Iraq

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:09 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Car bombs in two towns south of Baghdad and in the Iraqi city of Najaf killed a total of 20 people on Sunday and wounded 80, police and hospital sources said, in one of the most violent days of the past two weeks. Three car bombs killed 11 people and wounded 38 in Mahmudiya, a town 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, according to police. The first detonated in a car in a parking lot, the second in another car as police arrived at the scene and a third at the town's police station, the police sources said. ...

Former Stanford executive says in limbo as SEC case drags

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:04 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bernerd Young has waited more than two years for a final decision from U.S. securities regulators about whether he will be charged over his role as compliance officer at the brokerage owned by convicted Ponzi schemer Allen Stanford. In those two years, Young says his life has been put on hold as the cloud of the Securities and Exchange Commission probe has overshadowed his attempts to move on professionally. ...

Market bombs kill five and wound 14 near Baghdad: sources

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:38 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two bombs killed five people and wounded 14 in a busy market southeast of Baghdad on Sunday, police and hospital sources said. The bombs detonated in Madaen, a town 20 miles southeast of the Iraqi capital. (Reporting by Kareem Raheem; Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Madagascar arrests rebels in camp mutiny, shot captain dies

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:29 AM PDT

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's security forces have arrested a number of mutineers inside a military camp the rebels had taken over earlier on Sunday, the army said. "Security forces are carrying out a sweep of the camp. Arrests have taken place but we do not know yet how many mutineers have been arrested," said the head of the army's communication service, Philibert Ratovonirina. He said an army captain who had been sent in to negotiate with the mutineers but had been shot by them had died of his wounds. (Reporting by Alain Iloniaina; Writing by Yara Bayoumy)

Obama to comfort families of movie theater victims

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:15 AM PDT

Firefighters stand by, Saturday, July 21, 2012, as a police officer, right, takes buckets of sand into the booby trapped apartment of James Eagen Holmes, who police have identified as the suspect in the deadly shooting at a crowded movie theater a day earlier, in Aurora, Colo. Holmes has been charged in the shooting that killed 12 people and injured dozens more. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)President Barack Obama again steps into the role of consoler-in-chief during a visit Sunday with distraught families of those gunned down in a minute and a half of horror at a midnight movie showing in Aurora, Colo.


Senior Yemen army officer survives roadside bomb: government

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:04 AM PDT

ADEN (Reuters) - A senior military official in Yemen survived an assassination attempt on Sunday in the southern province of Hadramaut, residents and the defense ministry said. A roadside bomb went off as a convoy carrying Colonel Yahia al-Rusaishan, the commander of the air force in Hadramaut, passed through the port city of al-Mukalla, wounding him and three of his aides, residents said. The Ministry of Defence described the attack in a text message as an "act of terror". ...

Netanyahu: Iran tops his agenda in Romney meeting

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opens the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, Sunday, July 22, 2012. The Israeli government is asking the country's Supreme Court to delay the evacuation of an unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost by a month. The court has ordered the Migron outpost dismantled by Aug. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Gali Tbbon, Pool)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu skillfully skirted U.S. politics on Sunday by refusing to endorse either presidential candidate, but openly lamented that Iran's nuclear program remains intact four years since the last election.


Afghan social media war steps up with new campaign

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 09:45 AM PDT

Afghan boy looks at educational book as others use Internet at Lincoln U.S. support library in HeratKABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's intensifying war by social media has stepped up a notch with free speech activists launching a campaign using Twitter and Facebook to fight wide confusion over competing NATO and Taliban claims, as well as looming government media curbs. Foreign troops and insurgents have for years sparred on Twitter over the extent of victories against one another, while Afghan journalists are locked in a row with their government over press freedoms and new media laws. ...


Sunday Sound: Heard on "This Week"

Posted: 22 Jul 2012 09:43 AM PDT

  Below are some of the notable comments made Sunday on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." Guests included Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, ABC News' Pierre Thomas, ABC News' Dan Abrams, ABC News' Dr. Richard Besser, former...

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