Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Japan PM urged to be cautious about nuclear restarts

Japan PM urged to be cautious about nuclear restarts

Japan PM urged to be cautious about nuclear restarts

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 11:24 PM PDT

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks at a news conference to announce new cabinet members at his official residence in TokyoTOKYO (Reuters) - Nearly a third of Japan's ruling party lawmakers are petitioning Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to be cautious about restarting nuclear reactors given safety concerns after last year's earthquake and tsunami, an organizer said on Tuesday. Noda, keen to restart two reactors in western Japan before electricity demand peaks this summer, could decide as early as this week to reconnect them to the grid - despite the risk of a backlash that would weaken his already sagging voter ratings. ...

Fighting at Tripoli airport, gunmen surround planes

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:43 PM PDT

Still image taken from video shows airport officials negotiating with members of al-Awfea militia on the tarmac of Tripoli international airportTRIPOLI (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between rival Libyan militias at Tripoli's international airport on Monday after gunmen drove armed pickup trucks onto the tarmac and surrounded planes, forcing the airport to cancel flights. In a fresh challenge to the interim government's weak authority, members of the al-Awfea Brigade occupied the airport for several hours demanding the release of their leader whom they said was being held by Tripoli's security forces. An Italian passenger who was due to fly out and later arrived at a Tripoli hotel described the situation as chaotic. ...

Top al Qaeda strategist may have been killed in Pakistan

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:55 PM PDT

PESHAWAR/DERA ISMAIL KHAN (Reuters) - Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al Qaeda's top strategists and seen as the most prominent figure in the network after leader Ayman al Zawahri, may have been killed in a drone strike in northwest Pakistan, Pakistani intelligence officials said on Tuesday. If his death is confirmed it would be the biggest blow to al Qaeda since U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in Pakistan in May 2011. U.S. ...

G20 may press Germany for stimulus spending: source

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 07:27 PM PDT

German Chancellor Merkel speaks with the President of the ECB before the start of a meeting on the second day of the G20 Summit in Cannes(Reuters) - Germany may come under pressure from the Group of 20 major economies to step up spending as the bloc looks to encourage stronger economies to return to stimulus mode in support of global growth, a G20 official in Asia told Reuters on Tuesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on G20 discussions, stressed Germany's responsibility as the economic engine of the troubled euro zone, but he also cited Canada as another nation with the "fiscal capability" to step up spending. ...

Russia turns east to embrace looming China

Posted: 05 Jun 2012 12:02 AM PDT

Russian President Putin gestures during his address at a parenting awards ceremony in Moscow's KremlinMOSCOW (Reuters) - When Russia opens a "billion-dollar bridge" on its Pacific coast this summer, Vladimir Putin can expect an enthusiastic audience among the 5,000 islanders whom it will connect to the mainland, at an eye-popping cost per head. But the president will be looking, too, for attention from a few miles further off, in China, whose rise as a trading and diplomatic partner but also as a potential rival for control of thinly populated Siberia's resources has brought a new focus in Moscow on both business and military investment in the far east. ...

Syria rebels no longer respect truce, blame Assad

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 12:49 PM PDT

Demonstrators protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in HabeetBEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said on Monday they were no longer bound by a U.N.-backed truce because President Bashar al-Assad had failed to observe their Friday deadline to implement the ceasefire and had only attacked government forces to defend "our people". A Syrian opposition watchdog appeared to underline the rebel statement by saying at least 80 Syrian troops were killed in a surge of attacks at the weekend. International mediator Kofi Annan, due to brief the U.N. ...

China state papers warn U.S. strategy risks rifts

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 08:21 PM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top newspapers warned on Tuesday that the United States' plans to bolster its naval presence in the Asia-Pacific region threaten to widen rifts between the two big powers. The warnings came in the People's Daily - the main newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party - and Liberation Army Daily - the main paper of the nation's military, and amplified milder comments from the Foreign Ministry on Monday. U.S. ...

Clinton warns of wider Caucasus conflict

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 02:53 PM PDT

Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton speak following news conference in YerevanYEREVAN (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton voiced concern on Monday that violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan could lead to a broader regional conflict as three Armenian soldiers died in a border incident. Clinton began a trip to the South Caucasus region by calling on all sides to renounce violence as the former Soviet republics traded accusations over a clash that killed the Armenian soldiers and wounded troops on both sides of their border. ...

Queen's 60-year celebrations wind down, husband ill

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 04:41 PM PDT

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watches with Prince William during the Diamond Jubilee concert in front of Buckingham Palace in LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Four days of nationwide celebrations during which millions of people have turned out to mark Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne conclude on Tuesday with a church service and carriage procession through central London. The 86-year-old British monarch will cut a lonely figure as the Diamond Jubilee draws to a close, however, after her husband of 64 years, Prince Philip, was taken to hospital on Monday with a bladder infection. ...

Guatemalan cardinal who helped peace talks dies

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 08:13 PM PDT

The coffin with the body of Cardinal Quezada Toruno lies in the Cathedral of Guatemala CityGUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemalan Roman Catholic Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, who helped broker an end to the Central American nation's bloody civil war, died on Monday. He was 80 years old. Local church officials said Quezada died in the morning at a private hospital in Guatemala City as a result of an intestinal obstruction. Guatemalan President Otto Perez declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to fly at half mast as a mark of respect for Quezada. ...

Singapore curbs window cleaning amid maid deaths

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:07 PM PDT

Singapore has tightened rules on window cleaning following the deaths of nine maids who fell from high-rise apartments this year.

Grim search for dead after Nigerian plane crash

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:37 PM PDT

A rescue worker walks past the wreckage of a plane in Lagos, Nigeria, Monday, June 4, 2012. The passenger plane carrying more than 150 people crashed in Nigeria's largest city on Sunday, government officials said. Firefighters pulled at least one body from a building that was damaged by the crash and searched for survivors as several charred corpses could be seen in the rubble. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)Emergency crews wearing masks to protect them from the acrid smoke and the stench of the dead searched for bodies in a smoldering, shattered neighborhood near the Lagos airport Monday after the crash of an airliner killed all 153 people on board and an unknown number on the ground.

Israel asks Arab visitors to open emails to search

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:50 PM PDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 file photo, a passenger has his luggage checked by security personnel, inside the Ben Gurion airport terminal, near Tel Aviv, Israel. In a modern twist on Israel's vaunted history of airport security, the country has begun forcing incoming travelers deemed suspicious to open their personal e-mail accounts for inspection. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)When Sandra Tamari arrived at Israel's international airport, she received an unusual request: A security agent pushed a computer screen in front of her, connected to Gmail and told her to "log in."

Prince Philip in hospital, misses jubilee concert

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 03:05 PM PDT

Spectators along the mall prior to the Queen's Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace, London, Monday, June 4, 2012. The concert is a part of four days of celebrations to mark the 60 year reign of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)Elton John sang "I'm Still Standing," Stevie Wonder crooned "Isn't She Lovely," and Paul McCartney sent "All My Loving" as musical royalty celebrated Queen Elizabeth II's 60-year reign with a concert outside Buckingham Palace on Monday. But the joy was tempered by news that the queen's husband, Prince Philip, had been hospitalized with a bladder infection.

Hanoi opens 3 MIA search areas, releases letters

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:18 PM PDT

This image released through the Department of Defense shows the photo used for the obituary of Army Sgt. Steve Flaherty, 22, who was killed in Vietnam in 1969. Letters that Flaherty was carrying when he was killed were taken by the Vietnamese after his death and were returned to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday, June 4, 2012, in exchange for a Vietnamese soldier's diary that was taken from his body by an American GI. (AP Photo/Department of Defense)"If Dad calls, tell him I got too close to being dead but I'm O.K. I was real lucky. I'll write again soon."

Syrian rebels seek to coordinate

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 09:52 AM PDT

Syrian activists on Monday announced a new rebel coalition that aims to overcome deep divisions within the opposition in its fight against the forces of President Bashar Assad.

Canadian body parts suspect arrested in Berlin

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 07:45 PM PDT

This image taken from CCTV obtained by Associated Press video shows Luka Rocco Magnotta entering the Internet cafe in the district of Neukoelln in Berlin, Germany, Monday, June 4, 2012, where Kadir Anlayisli, who works in the cafe recognized him. "I looked at him and thought I knew him from somewhere, because I read newspapers every day," Anlayisli said. Luka Rocco Magnotta was apprehended on Monday in an Internet cafe in Berlin after an employee there recognized him and alerted police, Berlin police spokeswoman Kerstin Ziesmer said. The 29-year-old Canadian porn actor is accused of videotaping a killing and mailing the victim's body parts to the country's top political parties. (AP Photo/AP Video)A Canadian porn actor suspected of murdering and dismembering a Chinese student and mailing his body parts to Canada's top political parties was reading about himself on the Internet when he was arrested Monday at a cafe in Berlin.

NKorea threatens specific attacks on SKorean media

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 05:14 PM PDT

South Korean police officers stand guard in front of the Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) building in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 4, 2012. North Korea's military warned Monday that troops have aimed artillery at the specific coordinates of South Korean media groups as Pyongyang threatened a "merciless sacred war" over alleged insults. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)North Korea's military warned Monday that troops have aimed artillery at the specific coordinates of South Korean media groups as Pyongyang threatened a "merciless sacred war" over perceived insults.

Oddities in Chinese stock index evoke Tiananmen

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 08:54 PM PDT

Visitors take photos near a Chinese national flag with Tiananmen Gate in the background as many gathered to mark the anniversary of the deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protestors which centered on Tiananmen Square, in Beijing, China, Monday, June 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)China's share benchmark has fallen afoul of the country's Internet censors by appearing to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Libyan government retakes Tripoli airport

Posted: 04 Jun 2012 01:56 PM PDT

Libya's government has retaken control of the country's main airport from disgruntled militiamen who stormed the Tripoli site with heavy machine guns and armored vehicles on Monday, Libya's interim leader said.
Posted by Harshad at 1:36 AM

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