Assad's fate unclear in world powers' Syria plan

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• Assad's fate unclear in world powers' Syria plan
• Mexican election could return old rulers to power
• Drone aircraft kills eight suspected militants in Pakistan
• Two killed in French nightclub shooting, police say
• China's Hu urges new Hong Kong leader to heed "problems"
• Merkel seen as big loser in euro zone showdown
• Yitzhak Shamir, hawkish Israeli premier, dies
• Colombia volcano erupts, prompts evacuations
• UK's Cameron attempts to woo eurosceptics on referendum
• Mexico could return old ruling party to power
• New Hong Kong leader takes office amid discontent
• Pakistan: US drone strike kills 8 militants
• 1st Japan reactor goes online since nuclear crisis
• Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan civilians
• Iran: We will 'confront' new EU sanctions
• Egypt's new president begins struggle for power
• Syria conference leaves open Assad question
• Syria troops regain key Damascus suburb
• Rare meeting between Afghan government, Taliban

Assad's fate unclear in world powers' Syria plan Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:10 PM PDT GENEVA (Reuters) - World powers struck an agreement that a transitional government should be set up in Syria to end the conflict there but they remained at odds over what part President Bashar al-Assad might play in the process. Peace envoy Kofi Annan said after the talks in Geneva on Saturday the government should include members of Assad's administration and the Syrian opposition and that it should arrange free elections. "Time is running out. The conflict must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and negotiations," Annan told reporters. ...

Mexican election could return old rulers to power Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:04 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans vote for a new president on Sunday with the opposition party that dominated the country for most of the past century poised for a comeback after the ruling conservatives failed to provide strong growth or halt a brutal drugs war. Twelve years after the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost power, polls show its candidate Enrique Pena Nieto heading into the vote with a double-digit lead over his opponents, despite lingering doubts about the party. ...

Drone aircraft kills eight suspected militants in Pakistan Posted: 01 Jul 2012 12:14 AM PDT MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone aircraft killed eight suspected Islamist militants in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, security officials said. A drone missile struck a house in the Shawal Valley where militants were reported to be hiding in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border. "Two missiles were fired on a house. Eight militants were killed," said a local intelligence official. Several of the men killed were loyal to Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a top militant leader in North Waziristan, the official said on condition of anonymity. ...

Two killed in French nightclub shooting, police say Posted: 30 Jun 2012 10:16 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Two people were killed and five were injured, including two seriously, in a shooting outside a nightclub in the northern French city of Lille on Sunday, police and fire services said. A man who had been refused entry into the club returned with a heavy-caliber gun, shooting indiscriminately at around 3 a.m. (10.00 p.m. EDT) before fleeing the scene. Police were searching for the man. (Reporting By Pierre Savary; writing by John Irish; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

China's Hu urges new Hong Kong leader to heed "problems" Posted: 30 Jun 2012 08:44 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday swore in Hong Kong's new leader who will have to confront challenges ranging from human rights to a push for democracy in the free-wheeling financial center after a year of transition and protest. Security was tight at the same harbor-front venue where the British handed Hong Kong back to Communist Party-run China exactly 15 years ago, with hundreds of police forming a solid ring fence to ensure the isolated demonstrations were kept out of sight and earshot. ...

Merkel seen as big loser in euro zone showdown Posted: 30 Jun 2012 07:50 AM PDT BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - Angela Merkel was portrayed across Europe as the big loser of a euro zone showdown in Brussels after the German chancellor was forced to accept the crisis-fighting measures championed by countries struggling with their debts. Newspapers in Spain, Italy and France on Saturday toasted the triumph of their leaders - Mario Monti, Mariano Rajoy and Francois Hollande - in pushing Merkel into a U-turn that would long have been unthinkable. ...

Yitzhak Shamir, hawkish Israeli premier, dies Posted: 30 Jun 2012 04:43 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Yitzhak Shamir, the hawkish Israeli leader who two decades ago first balked at U.S. calls to trade occupied land for Middle East peace, died on Saturday after a long illness. He was 96. The second longest-serving prime minister after Israel's founder, David Ben-Gurion, Shamir clung to the status quo. Admirers saw strength and resolve in his position, while critics called him an intransigent naysayer who allowed Arabs to cast Israel as obstructing reconciliation. ...

Colombia volcano erupts, prompts evacuations Posted: 30 Jun 2012 07:31 PM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia evacuated people from communities close to the Nevado del Ruiz volcano after an eruption on Saturday that spewed smoke and ash from its crater, bringing back memories of avalanches that in 1985 buried tens of thousands under rocks. President Juan Manuel Santos said on his Twitter account that the area around the Nevado del Ruiz, in the central spine of Colombia's Andean mountain range, had been put on red alert and people should leave the area. ...

UK's Cameron attempts to woo eurosceptics on referendum Posted: 30 Jun 2012 04:44 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron has raised the prospect of a possible referendum on Britain's future relationship with the European Union, potentially threatening trade with the bloc and opening up another front against the Conservatives' coalition partner. Britain has had a long and painful history of infighting and changes of heart over how closely to integrate with the EU ever since it joined its precursor four decades ago. It has often proven divisive both within and among Britain's main political parties as well as the public. ...

Mexico could return old ruling party to power Posted: 30 Jun 2012 10:40 PM PDT A single party dominated Mexico for most of the past century, and its loss 12 years ago proved to many that the country was finally a democracy. Now the nation's voters seem ready to bring it back to power in Sunday's presidential election.

New Hong Kong leader takes office amid discontent Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:48 PM PDT Chinese President Hu Jintao was interrupted by a pro-democracy heckler Sunday at the swearing in of Hong Kong's new leader, an incident underscoring rising tensions between Beijing and the semiautonomous territory 15 years after it returned to Chinese rule.

Pakistan: US drone strike kills 8 militants Posted: 01 Jul 2012 12:27 AM PDT U.S. missiles fired from a drone in a Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border killed eight suspected militants early Sunday, officials said, as the controversial American strikes continue despite Islamabad's persistent demands that they stop.

1st Japan reactor goes online since nuclear crisis Posted: 01 Jul 2012 12:37 AM PDT Dozens of protesters shouted and danced at the gate of a nuclear power plant set to restart Sunday, the first to go back online since Japan shut down all of its reactors for safety checks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Roadside bomb kills 5 Afghan civilians Posted: 30 Jun 2012 11:54 PM PDT Police say a roadside bomb has killed five Afghan civilians in an eastern province.

Iran: We will 'confront' new EU sanctions Posted: 01 Jul 2012 12:14 AM PDT The governor of Iran's central bank says his country will not remain "passive" before a new EU embargo on the country's oil sector, adding that Tehran has enough hard currency reserves to meet its import needs.

Egypt's new president begins struggle for power Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:53 PM PDT Islamist Mohammed Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected president on Saturday, launching his four-year term with a potentially dangerous quest to wrest back from the military the full authority of his office.

Syria conference leaves open Assad question Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:14 PM PDT An international conference on Saturday accepted a U.N.-brokered peace plan for Syria, but left open the key question of whether the country's president could be part of a transitional government.

Syria troops regain key Damascus suburb Posted: 30 Jun 2012 12:05 PM PDT Syrian troops flushed out rebels from a key Damascus suburb Saturday, regaining control of a key area just outside the capital after a 10-day assault that left dozens dead, hundreds wounded and caused a major humanitarian crisis.

Rare meeting between Afghan government, Taliban Posted: 30 Jun 2012 02:28 PM PDT A Taliban emissary sat face-to-face this week with a senior Afghan government official responsible for peace talks in a rare high-level gathering between the bitter adversaries, an official said Saturday.

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