Wednesday, December 12, 2012

North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

North Korea's new leader burnishes credentials with rocket

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:42 AM PST

File photo of a soldier in front of a rocket sitting on a launch pad at the West Sea Satellite Launch Site, northwest of PyongyangSEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea successfully launched a rocket on Wednesday, boosting the credentials of its new leader and stepping up the threat the isolated and impoverished state poses to its opponents. The rocket, which North Korea says put a weather satellite into orbit, has been labeled by the United States, South Korea and Japan as a test of technology that could one day deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting targets as far as the continental United States. ...

World powers recognize Syrian opposition coalition

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:59 AM PST

Syrian refugees warm themselves by a fire at a refugee camp in Atimeh, on the Syrian-Turkish border of the Idlib GovernorateMARRAKECH, Morocco (Reuters) - World powers meeting in Marrakech recognized Syria's new opposition coalition as "the legitimate representative of the Syrian people" and called on President Bashar al-Assad to "stand aside", according to a draft declaration obtained on Wednesday. The declaration by 130 international representatives comprising the "Friends of Syria" group of nations warned that any use by Assad's government of chemical or biological weapons would be met by a "serious response". ...

Egyptians abroad vote, army to host "unity" talks

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:43 AM PST

A Republican Guard officer asks an anti-Mursi protester to leave as he stands in front of a military tank outside the presidential palace in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians abroad began voting on Wednesday in a referendum on the new constitution that President Mohamed Mursi fast-tracked through an Islamist-dominated drafting assembly, in a setback for the opposition who had hoped to delay the process. The official state news agency reported voting had started at Egyptian embassies abroad, the same day as the army scheduled talks between rival factions aiming to restore national unity. Voting on the referendum at home will be spread over two days, December15 and December 22. ...

Chavez's cancer surgery successful, Venezuela VP says

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:34 PM PST

Venezuela's Vice President Nicolas Maduro gives a statement about President Hugo Chavez's cancer surgery in CaracasCARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's cancer operation in Cuba on Tuesday was a success, his vice president said, adding that the complex surgery had lasted more than six hours and he would be recuperating for several days. The 58-year-old socialist leader's third bout with cancer in the past 18 months has thrown his presidency into jeopardy and upended politics in the South American OPEC nation. "Once again, our comandante has shown his strength," Vice President Nicolas Maduro said in a broadcast on state television as members of the government alongside him applauded. ...

Israel to withhold Palestinian funds until March

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 10:45 PM PST

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will withhold tax revenues from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's administration until March at least in response to his statehood campaign at the United Nations, Israel's foreign minister said. Under interim peace deals, Israel collects some $100 million a month in duties on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the occupied West Bank -- money that is badly needed to pay public sector salaries. ...

Italy's Northern League cool on Berlusconi alliance

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:05 AM PST

Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures as he speaks during a news conference at Villa Gernetto in GernoROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi will have to withdraw his bid for a fifth term as Italy's prime minister if he wants to seal a vital alliance with his former coalition partners in the Northern League, the head of the regionalist party was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "Dear Silvio, we can't agree to it if you're in the field. The League cannot support you if you keep up your candidacy for prime minister," Roberto Maroni was quoted as saying in the daily La Repubblica newspaper before a meeting with Berlusconi late on Tuesday. ...

Turkish ex-leader's body shows poison, death cause unclear: media

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 10:09 PM PST

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The exhumed body of Turkey's late President Turgut Ozal, who led the country out of military rule in the 1980s, contained poison but the cause of death was unclear, local media reported an autopsy as showing on Wednesday. There have long been rumors that Ozal, who died of heart failure in 1993 aged 65, was murdered by militants of the "deep state" - a shadowy group within the Turkish establishment of the day. Ozal had angered some with his efforts to end a Kurdish insurgency and survived an assassination bid in 1988. ...

U.S. military to increase presence in Philippines

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:31 PM PST

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. and Philippine officials are expected to agree on an increase in the number of U.S. military ships, aircraft and troops rotating through the Philippines, Filipino officials said, as tensions simmer with China over its maritime claims. Senior U.S. and Philippine officials met on Wednesday in Manila to discuss strengthening security and economic ties at a time of growing tension over China's aggressive sovereignty claims over vast stretches of the disputed South China Sea. Philippine defense and diplomatic officials said they expected to see more U.S. ...

Obama: U.S. now recognizes Syrian opposition coalition

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:31 PM PST

U.S. President Obama delivers remarks at the White House in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama granted U.S. recognition on Tuesday to a Syrian opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, a move aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to leave power. Obama announced his decision in an interview with ABC News on the eve of a meeting of Syrian opposition leaders and their international allies in Morocco, but he stopped short of authorizing U.S. arming of rebels fighting to overthrow Assad. ...

Three militants and a tribesman killed in Yemen clashes

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:13 PM PST

SANAA (Reuters) - At least four people were killed during clashes between al Qaeda-linked militants and pro-government tribesmen in Maarib province, east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a tribal source said early on Wednesday. Three of the dead were Islamist militants and the fourth was a tribesman fighting on behalf of the government, the source said. The tribesmen, on whom the government depends heavily in its fight against Islamist militancy, have been seeking those responsible for the killings of 17 army officers and soldiers in an ambush on Saturday. ...

Iran says it can make copy of captured CIA drone

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:23 AM PST

A senior Iranian lawmaker says Tehran can now manufacture a copy of an advanced CIA spy drone captured last year.

NKoreans celebrate launch of long-range rocket

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:16 AM PST

South Korean protesters burn a mock rocket as police officers spray fire extinguishers during a rally denouncing North Korea's rocket launch in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012. North Korea successfully fired a long-range rocket on Wednesday, defying international warnings as the regime of Kim Jong Un took a giant step forward in its quest to develop the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)North Koreans danced in the streets of their capital Wednesday after the regime of young leader Kim Jong Un successfully fired a long-range rocket, defying international warnings and taking a big step forward in its quest to develop a nuclear-tipped missile.

US backs new Syrian opposition ahead of conference

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:40 AM PST

Free Syrian Army fighters look at a Syrian Army jet, not pictured, in Fafeen village, north of Aleppo province, Syria, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Syrian rebels including Islamic extremists took full control of a sprawling military base Tuesday after a bloody two-day battle that killed dozens of soldiers, activists said. It was the latest gain by opposition forces bolstered by an al-Qaida-linked group that has provided skilled fighters but raised concerns in the West. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)The fourth conference for the "Friends of the Syrian People" was set to open Wednesday after the U.S. said the new Syrian opposition coalition is the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people.

Gaza's tunnels rebound from Israeli offensive

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 10:43 PM PST

FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007 file photo, a Palestinian tunnel digger, wearing a mask to conceal his identity, removes sand in a bucket from a tunnel underground in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the border with Egypt. Rafah's biggest business is back in business: Gazans are rebuilding the network of underground tunnels crisscrossing the Egyptian border that were pummeled in a recent Israeli offensive, restoring the conduit for consumer goods and weapons so crucial to Hamas rule. The 12-kilometer, or eight-mile, slice of land at the Gaza Strip's southern tip is humming around the clock with workers carting in cement, bricks, gravel and scaffolding material. The quick rebound has raised questions about how much damage Israel inflicted on the tunnels during last months eight-day operation. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer, File)Rafah's biggest industry is back in business: Gazans are rebuilding the network of underground smuggling tunnels crisscrossing the Egyptian border that were pummeled in a recent Israeli offensive, restoring the illicit conduit for consumer goods and weapons so crucial to Hamas rule.

Venezuela VP: Hugo Chavez recovering after surgery

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:00 PM PST

People, one holding an image of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, gather to pray for him at Simon Bolivar square in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Doctors began operating on Chavez in Cuba, his government said, after his cancer reappeared despite a year and a half of surgeries and treatments. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was recovering in Cuba on Tuesday after an operation targeting an aggressive cancer that has defied multiple treatments and has prompted the socialist leader to name a political successor.

Putin promises to bolster economy, military power

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 01:14 AM PST

Russia's President Vladimir Putin vowed Wednesday to strengthen the country's economy and its military might and rejected what he described as foreign lecturing about democracy and attempts at foreign interference in the nation's internal affairs.

Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar dies at 92

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:36 PM PST

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2012 file photo, Indian musician Ravi Shankar laughs as he speaks during a concert in Bangalore, India. Shankar, the sitar virtuoso who became a hippie musical icon of the 1960s after hobnobbing with the Beatles and who introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over an eight-decade career, has died. He was 92. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi, File)With an instrument perplexing to most Westerners, Ravi Shankar helped connect the world through music. The sitar virtuoso hobnobbed with the Beatles, became a hippie musical icon and spearheaded the first rock benefit concert as he introduced traditional Indian ragas to Western audiences over nearly a century.

China displeased over NKorea's rocket launch

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:48 PM PST

China is expressing its unhappiness that Pyongyang tested a long-range rocket despite deep concerns over the launch among its neighbors.

China revokes new Shanghai Catholic bishop's title

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:52 PM PST

In a fresh challenge to Vatican authority, China has revoked the title of a new Catholic bishop in Shanghai who outraged Chinese officials by immediately dropping out of the government agency that oversees the country's officially sanctioned church, religious officials said Thursday.

New inquiry in '86 crash killing Mozambique leader

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:44 AM PST

South African police say they've opened a new investigation into the 1986 airplane crash that killed Mozambique's Marxist president, an incident that many have blamed the former apartheid government.

Family of journalist Austin Tice struggles with silence on kidnapping

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:52 AM PST

In this image taken from undated video posted to YouTube, American freelance journalist Austin Tice, who had been reporting for American news organizations in Syria until his disappearance in August 2012, prays in Arabic and English while blindfolded in the presence of gunmen. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the origin or the content of the clip, but the Tice family released a statement to several media outlets confirming it was their son in the video. Although the video footage shows a group of captors dressed and behaving like Islamic extremists, the clip lacks the customary form of jihadist videos. Previous reports have indicated that Tice is in Syrian government custody. (AP Photo)"There's not a manual for this," says Debra Tice, clutching her husband's hand as they sit in the lobby of Beirut's Commodore Hotel.

Vast sums of aid continue to be stolen in Afghanistan

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 01:06 PM PST

In the summer of 2010, the US decided to do something about the enormous sucking sound being generated by the bulk cash shipments funneling through Afghanistan's Kabul airport and on to Dubai, Zurich, and London – every point of the compass, really.

Is Berlusconi really set to lead Italy again?

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST

He's back.

In Afghanistan, a girl's killing stands out – for police response

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 09:54 AM PST

The poor Afghan family never took a photograph of their 14-year-old daughter, Geysina, before her life was cut short.

Vote no or boycott? Egypt opposition undecided as referendum looms

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST

As thousands of protesters gathered at the presidential palace in Egypt to call for the delay of Saturday's constitutional referendum, the leaders of Egypt's main opposition coalition huddled in meetings, debating strategy.

Mali's army dumps another government, this one led by ex-NASA scientist

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 10:10 AM PST

It seems not even a rocket scientist can prevail amid the crisis that currently grips Mali.

Beijing targets those who cross the street 'with Chinese characteristics'

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 05:53 AM PST

Beijing's finest, ever vigilant on the law-and-order front, have set themselves a challenging new task: to eradicate the phenomenon known as "crossing the road, Chinese-style."

Will Egypt's military choose to make or break the referendum process?

Posted: 11 Dec 2012 06:03 AM PST

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