Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners

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• Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners
• South Korea's President Lee apologizes for graft scandal
• Spain aid could be firewall boost, ECB action: France
• China plays cards close to chest in military transparency bid
• China's Hu calls for party unity as succession looms
• Hong Kong lowers storm signal, markets to open in afternoon
• India struggles to control deadly Assam riots, hamlets razed
• Mexican election winners say runner-up used illegal funds
• U.S. commander accused of stalling Afghan hospital abuse probe
• Frenchman in Bo Xilai case in "good shape": embassy
• Jordan king's treads delicate line on reform
• Olympic opener will be spectacular but not secret
• Yemen airstrikes kill at least 5 militants
• US, Afghan officials say American civilian killed
• Fight over ex-Gitmo detainee's book profits ends
• Attacks bring Iraq's deadliest day in 2 years
• US missiles kill 9 suspected militants in Pakistan
• Cargo spacecraft fails to dock to Space Station
• UK hacking scandal spreads, 100-plus new claims
• Syria could use chemical weapons if attacked

Syria says could use chemical arms against foreigners Posted: 23 Jul 2012 05:44 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western states expressed alarm after Syria acknowledged for the first time that it has chemical and biological weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervene. A week of unprecedented fighting inside the capital, Damascus, including a bomb attack that killed four of President Bashar al-Assad's closest advisers, has transformed the 16-month uprising and dramatically escalated international pressure on Assad. ...

South Korea's President Lee apologizes for graft scandal Posted: 23 Jul 2012 11:52 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak issued a public apology on Tuesday for what he said was "unsavory" conduct by people close to him, two weeks after his brother was arrested in a graft scandal that also sent some of his closest aides to jail. Lee's apology on live national TV, where he bowed deeply and said he had nobody to blame but himself, marked the latest blow to the political credibility of a leader who had vowed to clean up the corruption-prone image of South Korea's leadership. "I bow my head in apology to the people for causing concern over these matter," Lee ...

Spain aid could be firewall boost, ECB action: France Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:01 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday that further aid for Spain could take the form of an increase in Europe's rescue fund or action by the European Central Bank, though he hoped neither option was necessary. "I hope it will not be necessary to intervene again," he told France 2 television. "If we have to intervene, it could be an increase in the firewalls ... or interventions by the (European) central bank." "The president of the central bank has said, and it's a statement that we should not take lightly, that he has no hang-up about interventions. ...

China plays cards close to chest in military transparency bid Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:19 AM PDT TONGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China showed off an elite helicopter unit to foreign media on Tuesday in its latest bid to address concerns about its growing military might amid increasingly aggressive moves to assert its sovereignty over the South China Sea. China organizes annual tours of military bases to try to assuage those concerns and to answer criticism over a perceived lack of transparency, but officials refused to answer any contentious questions. ...

China's Hu calls for party unity as succession looms Posted: 23 Jul 2012 09:56 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for unity in the ruling Communist Party and unflinching backing for economic reforms in the face of "unprecedented challenges", as Beijing struggles with a scandal-hit leadership transition and economic slowdown. Hu's speech to dozens of top officials dominated the front pages of China's major state-run newspapers on Tuesday, a sign of its importance in setting the themes for a party congress late this year that will install a new generation of leaders. ...

Hong Kong lowers storm signal, markets to open in afternoon Posted: 23 Jul 2012 09:11 PM PDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's stock market and offices were expected to open after the city lowered its tropical cyclone warning late on Tuesday morning, with a severe typhoon that had battered the territory overnight with gale-force winds weakening and moving away. Typhoon Vicente grounded flights and shut port operations by Monday evening and authorities hoisted the highest No. 10 tropical cyclone signal for several hours overnight, making it one of the strongest to hit the city in the past decade. A government spokesman confirmed shortly after 10 a.m. (10.00 p.m. ...

India struggles to control deadly Assam riots, hamlets razed Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:50 AM PDT GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Police shot at a roving mob in India's northeastern state of Assam on Tuesday as security forces struggled to contain ethnic fighting that has killed 22 people and left remote hamlets in flames, forcing tens of thousands from their homes. Rioting between Bodo tribespeople and Muslim settlers has raged for days. Several people suffered bullet wounds and others were injured in a stampede when police fired to disperse a gang of 400 on Tuesday morning, a senior police official said. ...

Mexican election winners say runner-up used illegal funds Posted: 23 Jul 2012 05:54 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, winner of the July 1 presidential election, on Monday accused the leftist runner-up of exceeding spending limits and using illegal funds to finance his bid. The allegations were a tit-for-tat exchange after leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador challenged the 3.3 million-vote victory by the PRI's Enrique Pena Nieto. Lopez Obrador alleges the PRI resorted to money laundering and vote-buying to win. PRI officials fired back on Monday, saying Lopez Obrador's campaign spent 1.2 billion pesos ($88. ...

U.S. commander accused of stalling Afghan hospital abuse probe Posted: 23 Jul 2012 11:26 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. general in Afghanistan sought to stall an investigation into waste, abuse and mismanagement at a U.S.-funded hospital in Kabul for political reasons, a former U.S. military official will tell Congress on Tuesday. Retired Colonel Gerald Carozza, who served as an adviser to the U.S. campaign in Afghanistan, will accuse Lieutenant General William Caldwell, then head of U.S. and NATO efforts to train Afghan security forces, of delaying a military investigation into allegations of corruption and patient abuse at the Dawood National Military Hospital. ...

Frenchman in Bo Xilai case in "good shape": embassy Posted: 23 Jul 2012 09:44 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - A Frenchman at the heart of China's biggest political scandal in two decades has met French diplomats in Beijing and is "in good shape", a spokesman for the French embassy said on Tuesday. Patrick Henri Devillers, 52, flew from Cambodia, where he had been living for several years, last week to China, where he is wanted as a witness in the case, the latest twist in a high-profile case already shrouded in mystery. ...

Jordan king's treads delicate line on reform Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:48 AM PDT For Jordan's King Abdullah II, preventing the Arab world's wave of uprisings from washing into to his country has been an exercise in careful calibration — easing his absolute grip on power just enough to defuse protests.

Olympic opener will be spectacular but not secret Posted: 23 Jul 2012 12:35 PM PDT The London Olympics opening ceremony will be a grand spectacle — but will it be a surprise?

Yemen airstrikes kill at least 5 militants Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:44 AM PDT A security official says Yemeni warplanes killed at least five al-Qaida-linked militants in overnight airstrikes against hideouts in the southern Abyan province.

US, Afghan officials say American civilian killed Posted: 24 Jul 2012 12:52 AM PDT The U.S. embassy and Afghan officials say an American civilian who reportedly worked as an electrical engineer in northern Afghanistan has been killed by gunmen.

Fight over ex-Gitmo detainee's book profits ends Posted: 23 Jul 2012 11:03 PM PDT The Australian government on Tuesday dropped its court battle to seize profits from a book written by a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, saying his admissions of terrorist activity before a U.S. military commission could not be relied upon.

Attacks bring Iraq's deadliest day in 2 years Posted: 23 Jul 2012 01:34 PM PDT A startling spasm of violence shook more than a dozen Iraqi cities Monday, killing over 100 people in coordinated bombings and shootings and wounding twice as many in the country's deadliest day in more than two years.

US missiles kill 9 suspected militants in Pakistan Posted: 23 Jul 2012 11:46 AM PDT U.S. drones fired eight missiles at a compound owned by a powerful militant commander in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing nine suspected insurgents, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Cargo spacecraft fails to dock to Space Station Posted: 24 Jul 2012 01:02 AM PDT Russian officials say that an unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft failed to dock with the International Space Station early morning due to a technical failure.

UK hacking scandal spreads, 100-plus new claims Posted: 23 Jul 2012 12:47 PM PDT British police are investigating new tabloids in the country's growing phone hacking scandal, including the Trinity Mirror PLC newspaper group as well as the U.K.'s Express Newspapers, a senior Scotland Yard official said Monday.

Syria could use chemical weapons if attacked Posted: 23 Jul 2012 04:34 PM PDT Syria threatened Monday to unleash its chemical and biological weapons if the country faces a foreign attack, a desperate warning from a regime that has failed to crush a powerful and strengthening rebellion.

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