| Japan holds off on decision to restart reactors Posted:  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan needs more time to decide whether to restart two offline nuclear reactors, the trade minister said on Tuesday, as concerns about a summer power crunch vie with safety worries in the wake of last year's Fukushima crisis. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will meet three cabinet members on Tuesday to discuss restarting the reactors, but will not make any immediate decision, Trade Minister Yukio Edano, who holds the energy portfolio, told reporters. ...
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| Colombian rebels free captives held for over a decade Posted:  BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC rebels freed 10 members of the armed forces held hostage in jungle prison camps for more than a decade on Monday, the last of a group the drug-funded group had used as bargaining chips to pressure the government. The four soldiers and six policemen were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Committee of the Red Cross in what the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia called a gesture of peace. ...
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| Netanyahu delays eviction of West Bank settler house Posted:  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overruled the planned eviction on Tuesday of Jewish settlers from a building in an occupied West Bank city that is flashpoint of tensions with Palestinians. Some 20 settlers moved into the Hebron building last Thursday at night, seeking to expand a settlement of some 500 families in the heart of a biblical city overwhelmingly populated by Palestinians who regard Israelis as interlopers. The settlers say they bought the two-storey structure from its Palestinian owner. This is disputed by Palestinian police. ...
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| China detains 22 after Inner Mongolia protest: group Posted: BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police detained 22 ethnic Mongolians after hundreds of them protested against the seizure of land in Inner Mongolia, an overseas rights group said on Tuesday, in the latest case of unrest in the vast and remote northern region. More than 80 police used "brutal force" on Monday to break up a demonstration by hundreds of Mongolians from Tulee village near the city of Tongliao, the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre said. ... |
| Annan says Syria agrees to April 10 peace deadline Posted:  UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has pledged to withdraw all military units from towns by April 10 to pave the way for a ceasefire with rebels two days later, though Western envoys were skeptical on Monday about Damascus' intent to halt its year-long assault on opponents. The U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan briefed the U.N. Security Council on the deadline behind closed doors. He told them there had been no reduction in violence so far, but urged them to consider an observer mission nevertheless in light of Syria's acceptance of the April 10 deadline, diplomats said. ...
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| Obama, Mexico's Calderon vow more drug crime cooperation Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon told President Barack Obama on Monday that drug violence would continue unabated in his country unless the flow of American guns is curbed, while Obama promised closer cooperation with Mexico in fighting the narcotics trade. Obama acknowledged a responsibility to quell the U.S. demand for illegal drugs that helps drive narcotics trafficking, and said coordination with Mexico in the fight is becoming better than ever. ...
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| Blaze at Moscow skyscraper set to be Europe's tallest Posted:  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Fire ripped through the top of a part-built skyscraper on Monday that is set to become Europe's tallest building and form the pinnacle of Moscow's new business district under plans to turn the Russian capital into a global financial centre. Helicopters buzzed around the building, returning repeatedly to drop water from the nearby Moscow river onto the blaze to help bring the fire under control. The tower, called Vostok or East, has a projected height of 360 meters. ...
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| News Corp faces proxy call for independent chairman Posted:  BOSTON (Reuters) - News Corp faces a call to appoint an independent board chairman on concerns Rupert Murdoch's media company needs to pursue more reforms to deal with its phone-hacking scandal and other issues. The proxy proposal, filed by Christian Brothers Investment Services, is likely to fan an ongoing controversy over governance at the company. Although unlikely to get a majority of votes, the nonbinding resolution filed last month could put pressure on the board to remove Murdoch, currently News Corp's chief executive, from his other role as chairman of the company, the sponsor said. ...
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| Mexican front-runner vows swift drop in drug violence Posted:  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto said if he wins the July 1 election he would aim for a rapid reduction in drug war violence that has claimed 50,000 lives since late 2006. Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has a big lead in opinion polls heading into the election, which will take place with a backdrop of years of bloodshed between drug gangs and security forces. ...
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| U.S. hails Myanmar election as step for democratic change Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday hailed a strong showing by Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party in Myanmar's by-elections, calling the vote an important step in the country's democratic transformation. "We hope it is an indication that the government of Burma intends to continue along the path of greater openness, transparency and reform," Jay Carney, press secretary for U.S. President Barack Obama, said in a statement. ...
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| S.Sudan: Sudan bombing country to scare investors Posted:  Sudan is bombing oil-rich regions of South Sudan in order to scare away American and Chinese investors, a South Sudan official said Monday, as U.S. President Barack Obama expressed concern about the growing tensions between the two countries.
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| Gulf plan could be blank check for Syrian rebels Posted:  A Gulf plan to funnel millions of dollars a month to Syrian rebels — payments earmarked for salaries for the fighters — could amount to a blank check for the opposition to build up an arsenal against President Bashar Assad's forces, analysts say.
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| Syrian forces storm rebel areas, torch homes Posted:  The Syrian government sent troops backed by tanks into rebellious areas Monday, hunting down activists and torching their homes and bulldozing others, opposition groups said.
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| Myanmar's Suu Kyi hopes victory is dawn of new era Posted:  Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's victory in parliamentary elections is the biggest prize of her political career. But the weekend vote for only a few dozen legislative seats may have sown the seeds of something far more significant — the possibility her party could sweep the next balloting in 2015 and take control of Myanmar's government.
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| Mexico's PAN battling to retain presidency Posted:  Expectations were high when a maverick businessman favoring cowboy boots and plain talk won the presidency in 2000, defeating the party that had governed Mexico for 71 consecutive years.
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| Colombia rebels free last police, soldier captives Posted:  Colombia's main rebel group on Monday freed what it says were its last 10 soldier and police captives, all of whom had been held in jungle prisons for at least 12 years.
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| Aftershock shakes Mexico, no injuries reported Posted:  Mexico was shaken Monday afternoon by a strong apparent aftershock from a powerful earthquake late last month.
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| Irish Catholic Church probes porn slideshow Posted: The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland said Monday it's investigating how a priest offering a presentation to parents on their children's upcoming Confessions instead ended up showing them a computer slideshow of gay porn. |
| Egypt Brotherhood candidate stirs unease Posted:  The Muslim Brotherhood's surprise decision to field a presidential candidate is stirring fears that the two biggest powers to emerge from the ouster of Hosni Mubarak — the Islamists and the military — are maneuvering to put in place a new rule in Egypt not much different from the old, authoritarian one.
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| Blaze hits Russian skyscraper, no injuries Posted:  Huge flames danced for hours on the top floors of an under-construction Moscow skyscraper that is to be Europe's tallest, lighting up the night sky Monday. No injuries were reported in the blaze.
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