Thursday, June 7, 2012

Syria accused of new massacre as U.N. council meets

Syria accused of new massacre as U.N. council meets

Syria accused of new massacre as U.N. council meets

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:06 PM PDT

World diplomats attend a "Friends of Syria" meeting at the Dolmabahce Palace in IstanbulBEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad stood accused by opponents on Thursday of a new massacre of scores of villagers hours before a divided U.N. Security Council convenes to review the crisis. If confirmed, the killings of at least 78 people at Mazraat al-Qabeer, near Hama, will pile pressure on world powers to act, but there is little sign they can overcome a paralysis born of sharp divisions between Western and Arab states on the one hand and Assad's defenders in Russia, China and Iran on the other. ...

U.S. losing patience with Pakistan, says Panetta

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:01 AM PDT

U.S. Defense Secretary Panetta speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Crocker and General Allen upon his arrival at Kabul International AirportKABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday it was difficult to secure Afghanistan so long as there were safe havens in Pakistan, adding Washington was reaching the limits of its patience. "It is difficult to achieve peace in Afghanistan as long as there is safe haven for terrorists in Pakistan," Panetta, who arrived in Kabul a day after a deadly insurgent bombing, told reporters. "We have made this very clear and do this again: we are reaching the limits of our patience." (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Nick Macfie)

Exclusive: Drones "inhumane", dead al Qaeda man's family says

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 03:52 PM PDT

Abu Yahya al Libi who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan earlier this weekTRIPOLI (Reuters) - The brother of al Qaeda's second-in-command, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike, said Washington's use of the remote-controlled weapons is inhumane and makes a mockery of its claims to champion human rights. U.S. officials said on Tuesday that Libyan-born al Qaeda operative Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed by a drone strike in Pakistan, in what was described as a major blow to the militant group. The attack is likely to fuel an increasingly fierce debate about the legality and morality of the drones, which have become one of the chief U.S. ...

Exclusive: U.S. offers millions in bounty for top Somali militants

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 05:06 PM PDT

Al Shabaab soldiers patrol in formation along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern MogadishuWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is offering rewards of up to $7 million for information leading to the location of seven key leaders of Somalia's al Shabaab, seeking for the first time to target top echelons of the al Qaeda-linked militant group. U.S. officials said the rewards, to be announced on the State Department's "Rewards for Justice" website on Thursday, opened a new front in the battle against al Shabaab and signaled Washington's determination to press the fight against terrorism across Africa. ...

UK wants safeguards if euro zone forges bank union

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:01 AM PDT

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne leaves his official residence in Downing Street in central LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Britain will want to ensure safeguards are in place to protect its financial sector if the euro zone moves towards establishing a banking union, British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Osborne also urged the single currency bloc to use its bailout fund to recapitalize Spain's troubled banks. "There is no way that Britain is going to be part of any euro zone banking union," Osborne said. "I think Britain will require certain safeguards if there is a full-blown banking union. ...

Mexico accounting regulator says no fraud at Pemex

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:12 PM PDT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican authorities said on Wednesday that state oil monopoly Pemex had not hidden losses of $30 billion, quashing accusations from opposition lawmakers in the run up to a presidential election in which overhauling the firm is set to be a key issue. The Mexican comptroller's office said it supported statements from Pemex that its accounting had followed rules accepted in Mexico and the United States, after a lawmaker from a leftist party said in May that the firm appeared to have scrubbed a 2009 loss of about $30 billion from its books. ...

Malaysia's Najib seen delaying election, boosting spending

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 10:49 PM PDT

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak smiles after he hit a traditional gong to mark the opening of the World Gas Conference 2012 in Kuala LumpurKUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia is planning a fresh round of cash handouts to poorer families in August, government sources said, as Prime Minister Najib Razak likely delays elections until late this year to shore up support among undecided voters. Two senior officials told Reuters the government is considering giving out payments to 5.2 million low-income households ahead of a Muslim festival in August. Najib would then present a generous election budget in September before announcing an election date, they said. ...

Karzai cuts short China trip after Afghan attacks

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:34 AM PDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai is cutting short an official visit to China following reports of civilian deaths in a NATO air strike in southeast Afghanistan and an insurgent bombing in the south, the presidential palace said on Thursday. Karzai said 18 civilians were killed in a pre-dawn air strike in Logar province on Wednesday. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said it was investigating. "A NATO air strike in which civilian lives are lost and property damaged does not have any justification," Karzai said. "It is not acceptable. ...

China says to offer $10 billion in loans to SCO member states

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:21 PM PDT

China's President Hu looks on during a signing ceremony with Russian President Putin in BeijingBEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao said on Thursday that Beijing will offer $10 billion in loans to the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The SCO, founded in 2001, includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, India, Pakistan and others attend the summits, but not as full members. "China has decided to give to the other member states $10 billion in loans," Hu said in a speech broadcast on state television. He did not elaborate on how the funds would be used. ...

Battery fluid leak may be a factor in China car fire: BYD exec

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 08:52 PM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Flammable fluids leaking from a BYD electric car battery might have contributed to a fire following a high-speed fatal crash in China last month, a BYD executive told Reuters. However, Stella Li, senior vice president of Warren Buffett-backed Chinese battery and car producer BYD Co., defended the safety of electric cars the company designs and sells in China. ...

Greek extremist party member in TV assault

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:51 AM PDT

Police have issued an arrest warrant for the spokesman of Greece's extremist far-right Golden Dawn party, who was elected to Parliament in the country's recent inconclusive polls, after he physically assaulted two left-wing deputies on live television during a morning political show.

Merkel urges giving up more power to Europe

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:44 AM PDT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts as she arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for countries to give up more powers to Europe "step by step" as the continent tries to claw its way out of the debt crisis and says a "political union" is needed as leaders prepare for a closely watched summit later this month.

Central Asia group admits Afghanistan as observer

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:41 AM PDT

Chinese President Hu Jintao, right, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Thursday, June 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Ralston, Pool)China, Russia and four Central Asian states granted Afghanistan observer status in their regional group Thursday, moving to consolidate ties with the impoverished, war-torn nation before most foreign combat troops depart by the end of 2014.

In autocratic NKorea, inequality assigned at birth

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 11:43 PM PDT

FILE - In this April 18, 2012 file photo, North Koreans enjoy a picnic on a hilltop park overlooking Pyongyang on a national holiday celebrating the birthday period of the late leader Kim Il Sung. In the supposed workers' paradise of North Korea, inequality is assigned at birth, according to a study released Wednesday, June 6, 2012, by a U.S.-based human rights group. Education, jobs, access to scarce food and health care and even whom you marry all hinge on how loyal your forebears are viewed to have been to the Kim dynasty that took power six decades ago. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File)In the supposed workers' paradise of North Korea, inequality is assigned at birth, a study

New US leverage seen in talks with Pakistan

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:19 AM PDT

In this Wednesday, June 6, 2012 photo, Pakistani oil tanker drivers, sit on the ground chatting next to their tankers which were used to transport NATO fuel supplies to Afghanistan, and parked in a compound in Karachi, Pakistan. U.S. negotiators pushing Pakistan to allow NATO troop supplies to resume to neighboring Afghanistan could get a boost from a deal the coalition struck to withdraw military equipment from the war-torn country through Central Asia. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)The U.S. is trying to break deadlocked talks with Pakistan over reopening a route for NATO troop supplies into Afghanistan — a deal that has proven elusive due to Islamabad's demands for more money and Washington's refusal to apologize for accidentally killing Pakistani forces.

Signs of hope in a former Baghdad killing field

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:01 AM PDT

In this Saturday, June 2, 2012 photo, people shop at a department store in Baghdad's Azamiya neighborhood, Iraq. For residents of Azamiya, once one of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods, the opening of a department store selling party dresses, imported men's suits and designer label perfumes is a hopeful sign that the worst may finally be behind them. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)For residents of Azamiyah, once one of Baghdad's most violent neighborhoods, the opening of a department store selling party dresses, imported men's suits and designer label perfumes is a sign that a better future could lie ahead.

Kidman, Sorvino urge end to violence against women

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 08:41 PM PDT

Academy Award winners Nicole Kidman and Mira Sorvino urged an end to violence against women at a concert Wednesday night to support the U.N. agency that promotes equality for women and an end to attacks against millions of women and girls.

Chinese police raid religious school; 12 kids hurt

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:54 PM PDT

State media reported that staff at a religious school in heavily Muslim far western China set off explosives to fend off a police raid and that 12 children were burned. An overseas rights group, however, blamed tear gas used by paramilitary forces for the injuries.

Australian minister defends comm security in China

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 07:33 PM PDT

Australia's defense minister said Wednesday he was protecting the confidentiality of government communications after a newspaper reported he left his delegation's laptop computers and cellphones behind before flying to mainland China.
Posted by Harshad at 1:43 AM

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