Assad's forces accused of massacre near Syrian capital

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• Assad's forces accused of massacre near Syrian capital
• Ecuador says Britain withdraws threat to raid embassy in Assange standoff
• Explosion kills 39 at Venezuela's biggest refinery
• Fighters bulldoze Sufi mosque in central Tripoli
• Mexican gangs block roads, torch vehicles in western Mexico
• Nicaragua jails Mexican policeman, 17 others transporting cash
• Hungary's far-right calls for zero tolerance against Roma
• Last rebel group signs deal with Central African Republic
• Top ally of former Ivorian president arrested in Ghana
• French police union demands tougher legal action after shootings
• Refinery blast kills 39 in Venezuela, dozens hurt
• Isaac heads to Florida after drenching Haiti, Cuba
• Powerful typhoon approaches Japan's Okinawa island
• Bus collides with tanker in China, killing 36
• Hamas scales back hopes of open Egypt border
• Taliban deny report of Haqqani commander's death
• Kuwaiti firm: Carlyle Group acted without license
• Expanding control, Syrian rebels run prisons
• Syrian rebels release Lebanese hostage
• Official: Egypt tells Israel tanks needed in Sinai

Assad's forces accused of massacre near Syrian capital Posted: 25 Aug 2012 08:40 PM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian opposition activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Sunday of committing a massacre of scores of people in a town close to the capital that the army had just retaken from rebels. More than 200 bodies were found in houses and basements around Daraya, a working-class Sunni Muslim town to the southwest of Damascus, according to activists who said most had been killed "execution-style" by troops on house-to-house raids. Due to restrictions on non-state media in Syria, it was impossible to independently verify the accounts. ...

Ecuador says Britain withdraws threat to raid embassy in Assange standoff Posted: 25 Aug 2012 04:49 PM PDT QUITO (Reuters) - Britain has withdrawn a threat to enter Ecuador's embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who has taken refuge there, President Rafael Correa said on Saturday, taking the heat out of the diplomatic standoff. "We consider this unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy," Correa said in a weekly media address. In a statement, Ecuador's government said it had received "a communication from the British Foreign Office which said that there was no threat to enter the embassy. ...

Explosion kills 39 at Venezuela's biggest refinery Posted: 25 Aug 2012 07:50 PM PDT PARAGUANA/CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - An explosion tore through Venezuela's biggest refinery on Saturday, killing 39 people, wounding dozens more and halting operations at the facility in the worst accident to hit the OPEC nation's oil industry. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez told Reuters no production units at the Amuay refinery were affected and that there were no plans to halt exports, a sign that the incident will likely have little impact on fuel prices. ...

Fighters bulldoze Sufi mosque in central Tripoli Posted: 25 Aug 2012 01:41 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Attackers bulldozed a mosque containing Sufi Muslim graves in the center of Tripoli in broad daylight on Saturday, in what appeared to be Libya's most blatant sectarian attack since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Government officials condemned the demolition of the large Sha'ab mosque and blamed an armed group who, they said, considered its graves and shrines to Sufi figures un-Islamic. It was the second razing of a Sufi site in two days. ...

Mexican gangs block roads, torch vehicles in western Mexico Posted: 25 Aug 2012 08:34 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Armed gangs blocked highways throughout Guadalajara, Mexico's second biggest city, on Saturday and vehicles were set on fire amid a surge in drug-war violence. Police confirmed seven unauthorized roadblocks constructed with charred, smoldering cars and trucks within the Guadalajara city limits and 15 others in the surrounding Jalisco state, in western Mexico. Luis Carlos Najera, police chief for Jalisco state, told reporters at a news conference late Saturday that one man was seriously wounded by gunfire, but no arrests had been made. ...

Nicaragua jails Mexican policeman, 17 others transporting cash Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:38 PM PDT MANAGUA (Reuters) - A Nicaraguan judge on Saturday ordered the incarceration of 18 people, including a Mexican policeman, who had posed as journalists while attempting to pass through the Central American country last week with at least $7 million in cash. The suspects will remain behind bars in "protective custody" until a September 5 court date, when they will face money laundering and other criminal charges lodged by the federal prosecutors. ...

Hungary's far-right calls for zero tolerance against Roma Posted: 25 Aug 2012 03:47 PM PDT BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's opposition far-right Jobbik party called on Saturday for zero tolerance against what it called Roma crime and parasitism, and said any member of the large minority who did not conform should leave the country. Tensions between the 500,000 to 700,000 impoverished Roma and other Hungarians in the country of 10 million have risen at a time when Hungary is mired in its second recession in four years and unemployment is stuck in double figures. "We need to roll back these hundreds of thousands of Roma outlaws. ...

Last rebel group signs deal with Central African Republic Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:28 PM PDT BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's last armed rebel group signed a peace deal with the government on Saturday that was designed to end years of violence in the country. "We picked up guns to fight the bad governance, corruption, nepotism and exclusion that characterized this regime, and we think that our message has been heard," Abdoulaye Issene Ramadan, leader of the CPJP rebel group, said in the capital Bangui. "Today we bury the hatchet. ...

Top ally of former Ivorian president arrested in Ghana Posted: 25 Aug 2012 04:11 PM PDT ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ghana has arrested a top ally of Ivory Coast's former President Laurent Gbagbo after weeks of deadly attacks on Ivorian police and military installations, officials from the two neighboring West African countries said on Saturday. Gbagbo is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity committed during a brief 2011 civil war. ...

French police union demands tougher legal action after shootings Posted: 25 Aug 2012 01:59 PM PDT LA ROCHELLE, France (Reuters) - A leading French police union called on Saturday for tougher legal measures after three officers were shot and injured in clashes in the Paris suburb of Grigny overnight. "Criminal determination and the extreme violence of organized gangs in the face of the national police can no longer be trivialized," Nicolas Comte, secretary general of the Unite SGP Police-Force Ouvriere union, said in a statement. Anyone firing on police should be automatically charged with attempted murder, Comte said. ...

Refinery blast kills 39 in Venezuela, dozens hurt Posted: 25 Aug 2012 09:19 PM PDT A huge explosion rocked Venezuela's biggest oil refinery and unleashed a ferocious fire on Saturday, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 80 others in one of the deadliest disasters ever to hit the country's key oil industry.

Isaac heads to Florida after drenching Haiti, Cuba Posted: 26 Aug 2012 12:24 AM PDT Tourists in the Florida Keys mustered party faces and locals followed time-worn rituals as the islands prepared for a lashing Sunday from Tropical Storm Isaac after it swamped the Caribbean and shuffled plans for the Republican National Convention.

Powerful typhoon approaches Japan's Okinawa island Posted: 25 Aug 2012 11:19 PM PDT The strongest typhoon to approach Okinawa in several years was bearing down on the southern Japanese island on Sunday as residents were told to stay indoors and warned its strong gusts could overturn cars and cause waves of up to 12 meters (40 feet).

Bus collides with tanker in China, killing 36 Posted: 25 Aug 2012 08:25 PM PDT A double-decker sleeper bus rammed into a tanker loaded with highly-flammable methanol on a northern Chinese highway early Sunday, causing both vehicles to burst into flames and killing 36 people, state media said.

Hamas scales back hopes of open Egypt border Posted: 25 Aug 2012 10:32 PM PDT Business is down because of an Egyptian security clampdown, but smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border keep operating under the supervision of Gaza's Hamas rulers.

Taliban deny report of Haqqani commander's death Posted: 25 Aug 2012 11:22 PM PDT A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan rejected reports that the son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani militant network has been killed, even as senior insurgents and members of the Pakistani government said they believe Badruddin Haqqani was dead.

Kuwaiti firm: Carlyle Group acted without license Posted: 26 Aug 2012 12:28 AM PDT A Kuwaiti company suing the Carlyle Group over a $25 million investment that went bad is now accusing the private equity firm of marketing the deal without a license as it seeks to have its case heard in Kuwaiti courts.

Expanding control, Syrian rebels run prisons Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:38 PM PDT An elementary school hallway in this north Syrian city is now a prison.

Syrian rebels release Lebanese hostage Posted: 25 Aug 2012 12:29 PM PDT Turkey on Saturday secured the release of one of 11 Shiite Lebanese hostages held for three months by Syrian rebels, a move that underlined Ankara's growing influence in the Arab world. In Syria itself, activists reported the discovery of up to 50 bodies in a Damascus suburb stormed by government forces after heavy clashes this week.

Official: Egypt tells Israel tanks needed in Sinai Posted: 25 Aug 2012 02:50 PM PDT In the first direct contact with his Israeli counterpart since taking office, Egypt's new defense minister defended his country's increased military presence in the Sinai Peninsula, saying it is needed to fight terrorism and assuring him it is only temporary, Egyptian officials said Saturday.

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