Saturday, December 1, 2012

Egyptians protest after draft constitution raced through

Egyptians protest after draft constitution raced through

Egyptians protest after draft constitution raced through

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:55 PM PST

General view of anti-Mursi protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday after an Islamist-led assembly raced through approval of a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the Islamist leader's newly expanded powers. "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted in Tahrir Square, echoing the chants that rang out in the same place less than two years ago and brought down Hosni Mubarak. ...

U.S. judge refuses to order anti-Muslim film off YouTube

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:12 PM PST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An actress who said she was duped into appearing in an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests against the United States across the Muslim world lost on Friday her second legal bid to force the video off YouTube. Denying a request by actress Cindy Lee Garcia for a court order requiring the popular online video site to remove the crudely made 13-minute clip, a federal judge found she was unlikely to prevail on her claims of copyright infringement. U.S. ...

Palestinian dies after Israeli troops fire at Gaza border: medics

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:43 AM PST

GAZA (Reuters) - One of six Palestinians shot and wounded by Israeli troops on Friday while protesting at the Gaza Strip boundary fence died on Saturday, hospital officials said. The fortified fence and a 300-metre-deep zone on the Palestinian side - on which Israel has regularly fired since 2009 with the declared aim of keeping gunmen and infiltrators away from the border - have been a testing ground for the November 21 truce that ended an eight-day surge in Gaza fighting. ...

Calls grow for probe into police violence at Myanmar mine

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:12 AM PST

Man walks at a waste dump of a copper mine in Sarlingyi townshipMONYWA, Myanmar (Reuters) - Buddhist monks marched in Myanmar's two biggest cities on Saturday to protest at police violence during a crackdown on demonstrators at a copper mine, while Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and a rights group called for an official inquiry. Activists said at least 50 people had been injured on Thursday, including more than 20 monks who had ended up in hospital, after riot police raided camps set up round the Monywa copper mine by villagers protesting against their forced eviction to make way for an expansion of the project. ...

North Korea plans second rocket launch in December

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:48 AM PST

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea is to carry out its second rocket launch this year in December as South Korea holds its presidential election in a move that will likely trigger diplomatic tensions between the two Koreas and censure from the United States and Japan. State news agency KCNA said on Saturday that the launch of a rocket carrying a satellite would take place between December 10 and December 22. ...

Congo M23 rebel fighters ride trucks out of Goma

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:25 AM PST

M23 rebel fighters sit on a truck as they withdraw near the town of SakeGOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Trucks carrying rebel fighters singing and brandishing their weapons pulled out of Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern city of Goma on Saturday under a withdrawal deal brokered by regional states. Leaders of the Tutsi-led M23 rebel movement had agreed to quit Goma by Saturday. They had seized the city on Lake Kivu on the border with Rwanda on November 20, after they routed government troops backed by United Nations peacekeepers. "The M23 is leaving Goma," the group's deputy spokesman Amani Kabasha told Reuters. ...

Mexico's Pena Nieto takes power, begins new era for old ruling party

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:37 PM PST

Mexico's President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto meets with Canada's Governor General David Johnston in OttawaMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Enrique Pena Nieto took over as Mexican president on Saturday, offering a shot at redemption for the party that shaped modern Mexico if he can bring about an end to years of violence and economic underperformance. Shortly after midnight at the national palace, outgoing President Felipe Calderon formally transferred power to his successor, handing over a flag to Pena Nieto and saluting him. "Today I begin to exercise the honorable office of president," said Pena Nieto, who then swore in his top security ministers. ...

Kuwaitis vote in poll hit by opposition boycott, protests

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:40 PM PST

A man in a wheelchair casts his ballot, assisted by an election worker during parliamentary elections at a polling station in a school in Kuwait CityKUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwaitis voted on Saturday in a parliamentary election overshadowed by an opposition boycott, protests over a change to the polling rules and a festering political crisis in the U.S.-allied oil producer. The election is the second this year in the Gulf Arab state, where a series of assemblies have collapsed under the weight of a power struggle between elected MPs and the cabinet, appointed by the prime minister who is chosen by the ruling emir. ...

Senate approves new sanctions for Iran energy, shipping

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 08:01 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate resoundingly approved on Friday expanded sanctions on global trade with Iran's energy and shipping sectors, its latest effort to ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. The new package, which keeps in place exemptions for countries that have made significant cuts to their purchases of Iranian crude oil, would be the third round of sanctions in a year if passed into law. The existing sanctions have already hurt Iran's economy, but it is uncertain whether the additional measures will stop or slow Iran's nuclear program. ...

North Korea vows to test long-range rocket soon

Posted: 01 Dec 2012 12:41 AM PST

FILE - This Monday Nov. 26, 2012 file satellite image provided by DigitalGlobe and annotated by 38 North, the website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, shows the Sohae Satellite Launch Station in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. North Korea said Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22, a move likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and Seoul ahead of South Korean presidential elections Dec. 19. (AP Photo/DigitalGlobe via 38 North, File)North Korea said Saturday it will launch a long-range rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22, a move likely to heighten already strained tensions with Washington and Seoul ahead of a South Korean presidential election on Dec. 19.

Mexico old guard has new face in return to power

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:47 PM PST

President-elect of Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto visits Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Wednesday Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Sean Kilpatrick)The party that ruled Mexico for seven decades returns to power Saturday with a president from a new generation to govern a country that has changed dramatically in the 12 years since the Institutional Revolutionary Party last held the top post.

Some wish Islam would inform climate talks

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:54 PM PST

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2011 file photo shows the main plant facility at the Navajo Generating Station, from Lake Powell, in Page, Ariz. The United Nations climate chief is urging people not to look solely to their governments to make tough decisions to slow global warming, and instead to consider their own role in solving the problem. Approaching the half-way point of two-week climate talks in Doha, Christiana Figueres, the head of the U.N.'s climate change secretariat, said Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 that she didn't see "much public interest, support, for governments to take on more ambitious and more courageous decisions."(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)At Friday prayers in Qatar's most popular mosque, the imam discussed the civil war in Syria, the unrest in Egypt and the U.N. endorsement of an independent state of Palestine.

Analysis: Myanmar's Suu Kyi shows pragmatism

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:32 PM PST

FILE - In this Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 file photo, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, second right, listens to a Buddhist monk who suffered from burn injuries when security forces cracked down protesters camping at a military-backed copper mine, during her visit to a hospital in Monywa, northwestern Myanmar. For Suu Kyi the democracy activist, the 25-year struggle against Myanmar's former army rulers was a largely black-and-white affair - a clear fight for freedom against one of the world's most oppressive regimes. But Suu Kyi the elected lawmaker is finding it a lot more difficult to pick her battles, and she's a lot more pragmatic when she does. (AP Photo/File)For Aung San Suu Kyi the democracy activist, the 25-year struggle against Myanmar's former army rulers was a largely black-and-white affair — a clear fight for freedom against one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

Israel moves to build 3,000 new settlement homes

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 04:03 PM PST

FILE- In this March 14, 2011, file photo, a general view of a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit. Israel approved the construction of 3,000 homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, a government official said Friday, in what appeared to be a defiant response to the Palestinians' successful United Nations recognition bid. The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to accept "Palestine" in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem as a non-member observer state, setting off jubilant celebrations among Palestinians. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)Israel responded swiftly Friday to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians.

Egypt draft constitution sparks mass protest

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 02:27 PM PST

Egyptians attend a demonstration in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Liberal and secular parties held major protests against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's latest decrees granting himself almost complete powers. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)Protesters flooded Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday in the second giant rally this week, angrily vowing to bring down a draft constitution approved by allies of President Mohammed Morsi, as Egypt appeared headed toward a volatile confrontation between the opposition and ruling Islamists.

Congo rebels indefinitely delay exit from Goma

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 12:41 PM PST

A M23 rebel stands with his weapon as M23 rebels withdraw from the Masisi and Sake areas in the eastern Congo town of Sake, some 27 kms west of Goma, Friday Nov. 30, 2012. Rebels in Congo believed to be backed by Rwanda postponed their departure Friday from the key eastern city of Goma by 48 hours for Rebels who are believed to be backed by Rwanda once again postponed their departure from Congo's key eastern city of Goma on Friday, defying an international ultimatum for the second time.

Second act for DSK? After NY settlement, could be

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:46 AM PST

FILE - In this April 4, 2012 photo, former International Monetary Fund leader, Dominique Strauss-Kahn enters a building prior to his lecture in the Ukrainian Diplomatic Academy in Kiev, Ukraine. A person familiar with the case says the former International Monetary Fund chief and a New York City hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her have reached an agreement to settle her lawsuit. The deal would end a legal saga that forced Strauss-Kahn's resignation as head of the IMF and ended his French presidential ambitions in 2011. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)His wife is gone (taking her family fortune with her). So is any chance at the French presidency (once considered his to lose). And a large chunk of his dignity has vanished (he still faces a charge of "aggravated pimping").

Boycott-hit voting begins in Kuwait

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:35 PM PST

Islamist, nationalist and liberal opposition groups gather to protest the Kuwait government's amendment of the electoral law and support a boycott on the country's election on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 in Kuwait City. More than 15,000 protesters rallied in the first government-authorized demonstration in Kuwait since a ban on political gatherings earlier this month. The election to be held Saturday, Dec. 1 is the fifth since mid-2006, and the second this year.(AP Photo/Gustavo Ferrari)Deeply divided Kuwait opened polling stations Saturday to pick a new parliament that's certain to side with the ruling establishment after a widespread election boycott by opposition groups.

War rips apart families, neighbors in Syria

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:07 AM PST

Syrian children look through their car window as they cross into Lebanon with their families at the border crossing, in Masnaa, eastern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)BEIRUT — It's at night that worries over her children hit the matriarch of the Khayyat family hardest, tormenting her as she tries to sleep.

As its leaders fight, France's conservative party suffers

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:17 AM PST

The crisis plaguing France's right-wing opposition UMP party seems nowhere near over, after several attempts in the last few days at mediation between the two men vying for UMP leadership failed. But even as the negotiations between Jean-François Copé and François Fillon go back to square one, analysts and politicians agree on one thing: It is clear that the UMP will not come out of this unscathed.

Kurdish-Iraqi government talks collapse amid fear of civil war

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 11:13 AM PST

Talks between Kurdish and central government forces aimed at defusing military tension in northern Iraq have collapsed amid fears that bitter political divisions are again bringing the country to the brink of civil war.

Is Syria's Assad running short of helicopters and cash?

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:40 AM PST

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Why is Egypt's draft constitution so controversial?

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 10:14 AM PST

Egypt's constituent assembly worked through the night to finish voting on Egypt's new constitution, finalizing its work early this morning and sent the contentious document to the president, who will call a national referendum on the constitution within two weeks.

Will outgoing President Calderón be remembered for more than Mexico's violence?

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 07:31 AM PST

The number 60,000 will probably stick with him for the rest of his life – that's the number of drug-related homicides tallied during Mexican President Felipe Calderón's six-year administration.

China sentences Chen Guangcheng's nephew after snap trial

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 06:37 AM PST

A Chinese court Friday sentenced the nephew of blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng to more than three years imprisonment for assault, after a four-hour trial from which lawyers for the defendant were barred.

Spike in Tibetan self-immolations draws international attention to China

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 06:09 AM PST

When Tsering Nyamgal set himself alight on Thursday, he became the 27th Tibetan this month to choose fiery death as a way to protest against Chinese rule.

World weighs in on UN Palestine vote

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 05:55 AM PST

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Ellen Calmus helps Mexican families cope with cross-border challenges

Posted: 30 Nov 2012 05:00 AM PST

Here in the stunningly beautiful highlands of south-central Mexico, thousands of families facing economic hardship have seen relatives leave to seek work in the United States. Families have been torn apart, and many of those who have returned to the region continue to need help and support.
Posted by Harshad at 1:18 AM

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