Saturday, September 29, 2012

Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences

Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences

Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:42 PM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign rally at Eden Park in CincinnatiWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a show of unity on Friday on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, seeking to tone down the acrimony between the two leaders that has become an issue in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face to face with him during his U.S. visit, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli prime minister amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words over how to confront Tehran. Netanyahu used his U.N. ...

U.S. intelligence now says Benghazi attack "deliberate and organized"

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 03:25 PM PDT

An interior view of the damage at the U.S. consulate, which was attacked and set on fire by gunmen yesterday, in BenghaziWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. intelligence authority issued an unusual public statement on Friday declaring it now believed the September 11 attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, was a "deliberate and organized terrorist attack." The statement by the office of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged that it represented a change in the U.S. intelligence assessment of how and why the attack happened. During the attack on two U.S. government compounds in the eastern Libyan city, four U.S. ...

China seeks to discredit Bo, supporters cry foul

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:30 PM PDT

File photo of China's former Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo looking on during a meeting at China's parliament in BeijingBEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government pressed ahead on Saturday with an effort to discredit fallen politician Bo Xilai, drawing an outcry from leftist supporters of the former leadership contender in a sign of the rifts that his prosecution could inflame. ...

Somalia's al Shabaab rebels pull out of Kismayu bastion

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:30 AM PDT

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Shabaab rebels withdrew from their last major bastion of Kismayu overnight, the group and residents said, a day after Kenyan and Somali government forces attacked the southern port. The loss of Kismayu will deal a major blow to the al Qaeda-linked movement, weakening morale and depriving it of revenue, but is unlikely to mark the end of its five-year rebellion. ...

Trial of pope's ex-butler in "Vatileaks" case opens

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 01:13 AM PDT

File photo of Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele with Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Square in VaticanVATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, went on trial on Saturday for one of the most embarrassing episodes in recent Vatican history. The trial of the 46-year-old man who served the pope his meals and helped him dress began at 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) in the Vatican's little-used tribunal, a small room with rich paneled wood and a papal emblem on its ceiling. ...

Cuban Jewish leader says Alan Gross fit, in good spirits

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:20 PM PDT

Jailed USAID contractor Gross poses for picture during a visit at Havana's Carlos J Finlay Military HospitalHAVANA (Reuters) - A Cuban Jewish leader said U.S. contractor Alan Gross looked fit and in good spirits when she visited him at the military hospital where he is serving a 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state. Adela Dworin, president of the Hebrew Community of Cuba, told Reuters that Gross, 63, was "very depressed" when she last saw him in May, but this time was smiling and more hopeful about the future. Her description of Gross conflicted with that given by his wife, Judy Gross, who said after a recent visit she was "devastated" by his appearance. ...

U.S. jury convicts Mexico's Gulf Cartel manager in drug case

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:12 PM PDT

McAllen, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. federal jury on Friday convicted a high-ranking member of Mexico's Gulf Cartel of conspiring to possess and import marijuana and cocaine to the United States, the latest blow to Mexican drug bosses in recent weeks. Juan Roberto Rincon-Rincon, a so-called plaza boss for the cartel, was convicted on all counts in the drug trafficking conspiracy case following a week-long trial in Brownsville, Texas, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said. ...

China takes islands dispute with Japan to pages of U.S. newspapers

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:45 PM PDT

Chinese marine surveillance cruises next to Japan Coast Guard patrol ships in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku isles in Japan and Diaoyu islands in China(Reuters) - With world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, China has taken its dispute with Japan over the ownership of a chain of islands to the ad pages of major American newspapers. China Daily, an organ of the Communist Party and the country's official English-language daily newspaper, took out full-page-spread advertisements on Friday in the New York Times and the Washington Post. The ad's headline asserts "Diaoyu Islands Belong to China" over a color picture of the string of islands in the East China Sea. ...

Satellite launch stirs passions before Venezuela vote

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 10:18 PM PDT

Venezuela's President and presidential candidate Hugo Chavez shakes hands with supporters in CaracasCARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez said the launch on Friday of Venezuela's second satellite showed the achievements of his self-styled revolution just days before he seeks re-election, but his rival said it symbolized his neglect of problems closer to home. "We're seeing history ... . Venezuela has been with China at the forefront of history," Chavez said after standing to applaud during a video link-up between the presidential palace, a launch center in China's Gobi Desert and a Caracas street party. ...

At U.N., Muslim world questions Western freedom of speech

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 08:13 PM PDT

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly in New YorkUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Muslim leaders were in unison at the United Nations this week arguing that the West was hiding behind its defense of freedom of speech and ignoring cultural sensitivities in the aftermath of anti-Islam slurs that have raised fears of a widening East-West cultural divide. A video made in California depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a fool sparked the storming of U.S. and other Western embassies in many Islamic countries and a deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan this month. The crisis deepened when a French magazine published caricatures of the Prophet. ...

Vatican opens public butler leaks trial

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 01:12 AM PDT

FILE - In this file photo taken Wednesday, May, 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by his butler Paolo Gabiele, delivers his blessing as he arrives at St.Peter's square at the Vatican for a general audience. Pope Benedict XVI's trusted butler, who dressed the pontiff each morning, attended his daily Mass and helped serve him his meals, stands accused of stealing the pope's private correspondence and giving it to a journalist who wrote a blockbuster book about the secrets of one of the most secretive institutions in the world. Paolo Gabriele, a 46-year-old father of three, goes on trial Saturday Sept. 29, 2012 in the most sensational crime committed on Vatican territory since the 1998 double murder of the Swiss Guard commander and his wife. That case never came to trial because the suspect killed himself. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)The Vatican opened the public trial Saturday of the pope's butler for allegedly stealing and leaking papal correspondence to a journalist, the most embarrassing scandal of Pope Benedict XVI's papacy.

Putin rolls back protege's modest liberal legacy

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:53 PM PDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev meet in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. A year ago, Dmitry Medvedev showed an unswerving loyalty to his mentor Vladimir Putin when he refused to seek a second presidential term and agreed to swap jobs. But Medvedev's self-denial hasn't prevented Putin from systematically rolling back indecisive and half-hearted attempts at liberal reforms made by his pliant placeholder during four years in the Kremlin. That campaign has seen the revision of Medvedev's laws, the reversal of some of his key policies and even rolling back his initiative to move the clock. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Government Press Service)President Vladimir Putin is turning back the clock on his predecessor's reforms — literally.

China launches 2nd satellite built for Venezuela

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 10:42 PM PDT

China has launched a second satellite built for Venezuela's government.

Q&A: Why marches trigger Northern Ireland strife

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:02 AM PDT

Orange Order Grand Secretary Drew Nelson, stands beside an old photograph of the signing of the Ulster Covenant. The Orange Order held a press conference Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, where the Orange Order announced that Saturday's Ulster Covenant celebration were tens of thousands of Protestants will parade in Belfast to mark the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant. The parade organised by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland is expected to be the largest demonstration witnessed in Northern Ireland. The covenant was signed in 1912 to oppose Irish Home Rule. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)Belfast is bracing for one of its biggest Protestant parades in years on Saturday, with tens of thousands expected to participate amid fears that it will degenerate into street clashes with the police and Northern Ireland's Catholic minority. These one-sided marches have tested tempers each year since the 19th century, and show no sign of abating despite Northern Ireland's successful peace process. The AP explores why.

AP Interview: Italy to assist Libya on security

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 05:19 PM PDT

Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi speaks to a reporter during an interview at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations while the 67th U.N. General Assembly is underway, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)Italy will expand its economic and social commitments in Libya even as the North African country continues to battle problems that range from unsecured borders to dangerous armed groups, Italy's foreign minister said Friday.

Israeli leader says Iran warning "reverberates"

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 02:39 PM PDT

In this Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 photo, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel shows an illustration as he describes his concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions during his address to the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters. Netanyahu's use of a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb to convey a message over Iran's disputed nuclear program this week, follows in a long and storied tradition of leaders and diplomats using props to make their points at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that his stern warning to stop Iran from going nuclear "reverberates" around the world and could ultimately prevent the Islamic Republic from getting a nuclear bomb.

Iraq: Jailbreak was inside job, 20 killed

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:37 AM PDT

Iraq's Interior Ministry says a prison break in Saddam Hussein's hometown in which dozens of al-Qaida-linked militants escaped was an inside job and that 20 people were killed, including 16 security force members and four inmates.

Serb hero fishes the desperate from Danube suicide

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 12:41 AM PDT

In this photo taken Sept. 18, 2012, fisherman Renato Grbic steers his boat under the Pancevo Bridge over the Danube river in Belgrade, Serbia. Grbic has saved the lives of 25 people who attempted to kill themselves by jumping from a nearby bridge. Over the years, Grbic has rescued people of all ages, social background and gender. There were young girls, middle-aged women, younger or older men. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)On a bright autumn day, Renato Grbic was out fishing on the Danube with his brother when he heard a big splash. At first, he thought somebody had thrown something off the bridge.

World powers push Syria's opposition to unite

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 10:18 PM PDT

In this image taken from video obtained from Shaam News Network (SNN), which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Syrians dig through rubble of a building destroyed by a government airstrike as they search for survivors in Azaz, Syria, Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. A Syrian activist group, the Local Coordination Committees, said a Syrian warplane bombed the northern town of Azaz near the Turkish border, killing several people. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network SNN via AP video)Efforts to draw together the fragmented foes of Syrian President Bashar Assad could lead to direct talks between the leader's regime and his opponents, a key official said after talks on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

Bomb kills 2 police near Afghan training academy

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 11:14 PM PDT

Afghan authorities say a roadside bomb has killed two policemen in Herat province of western Afghanistan, just hours before a ceremony to hand a nearby police training academy over from NATO to Afghan control.
Posted by Harshad at 1:32 AM

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