Thursday, September 6, 2012

Powerful quake hits Costa Rica, no deaths

Powerful quake hits Costa Rica, no deaths

Powerful quake hits Costa Rica, no deaths

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 07:17 PM PDT

Damage to the walls of Hospital Monsenor Sanabria are seen following an earthquake in PuntarenasSAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Costa Rica escaped relatively unscathed after a powerful earthquake hit the country on Wednesday, sparking landslides and knocking down buildings without killing anyone. Striking a tourist region popular with Hollywood stars, Costa Rica's severest quake in over two decades sowed panic in the capital San Jose, disrupting power supplies and communications, and caused an entire hospital on the Pacific coast to be evacuated. Having briefly sparked tsunami warnings, the 7. ...

Exclusive: Russian firm to halt Iran ship work as pressure grows

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:37 AM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - A Russian firm has decided to stop verifying safety and environmental standards for one of Iran's biggest shipping groups, a letter showed, the latest international company wary of being caught up in Western sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Iran is under growing pressure over its disputed nuclear program and companies are cutting ties with its vital shipping sector, which transports most of its crude oil, for fear of losing lucrative U.S. business. Moscow opposes concerted trade pressure on Tehran by Washington and its allies, making the Russian company's decision unusual. ...

Clinton seeks to boost democracy in Asia's newest country

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:51 PM PDT

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stands beside East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao during a joint news conference in DiliDILI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a short visit to East Timor on Thursday, throwing her considerable diplomatic weight behind a fledgling government trying to bring Asia's newest country closer to its booming Southeast Asian neighbors. Clinton met President Taur Matan Ruak and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao during a brief visit to the capital, Dili, after a day of talks in China. She was due to leave for Brunei later on Thursday. U.S. officials said the visit -- the first by a U.S. ...

Blast at Turkish ammunition dump kills 25 soldiers

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:34 PM PDT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - An explosion at an ammunition store in western Turkey during a routine inventory check has killed 25 soldiers and wounded four, government officials said on Thursday. The blast, which happened late on Wednesday in the western city of Afyon, occurred as soldiers were moving stocks of hand grenades, Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu, who visited the scene, told reporters. The military said the cause of the blast was not immediately known but both Eroglu and Afyon Governor Irfan Balkanlioglu said it was accidental and ruled out sabotage. ...

Human rights group alleges U.S. waterboarded Gaddafi opponents

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 10:53 PM PDT

Protestors perform a simulation of the waterboarding torture technique on a man dressed as a prisoner in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A human rights organization says it has collected evidence of two previously unreported cases in which U.S. agents used waterboarding or a similar harsh interrogation technique on Libyan militants held by American forces in Afghanistan. In a report released on Thursday, Human Rights Watch also says it acquired new evidence of the extent to which the United States and some of its allies, including Great Britain, allegedly detained exiled opponents of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and forcibly transferred them back to Libya. ...

Lonmin, unions sign South Africa mine peace deal

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:11 AM PDT

Mineworkers take part in a march at Lonmin's Marikana mine in South Africa's North West ProvinceJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lonmin and unions representing mineworkers at the strike-hit Marikana platinum mine in South Africa have signed an accord for a return to work, but a militant breakaway union was not part of the deal, union officials said on Thursday. The fact that the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) had not signed last night's accord left questions about how many striking miners at Marikana would in fact heed the agreement and go back to work. ...

Colombia names team for peace talks with FARC rebels

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 03:20 PM PDT

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos speaks during a televised national conference at the presidential palace in BogotaBOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos unveiled on Wednesday a six-man team to negotiate with Marxist FARC rebels in the hope of ending almost 50 years of war. A decade after the last attempt to end Latin America's longest-running insurgency failed, the negotiators led by former Vice President Humberto de la Calle are to travel to Norway next month to meet the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The negotiations will then move to Cuba. ...

Support for Greek far-right party surging, poll says

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:26 AM PDT

Leader of the extreme right Golden Dawn party Mihaloliakos addresses parliamentarians during a session at the parliament in AthensATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party has increased its support among austerity-hit Greeks since entering parliament this year, and would emerge as the third largest party if elections were held now, a new poll showed on Thursday. The extreme-right party, which wants to rid Greece of all foreigners including what it calls the "stench" of immigrants, has overtaken the once-mighty Socialists, the Pulse poll for the To Pontiki newspaper said. Backing for Golden Dawn, which has been linked to a rise in attacks against migrants in recent months, stood at 10. ...

Japan stresses cost of ending nuclear power as decision looms

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:32 AM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government, buffeted by conflicting pressure from anti-nuclear voters and pro-nuclear business interests, is stressing the negative impact of a speedy exit from atomic energy as it nears a decision on a new energy mix. Japan is rethinking its whole energy policy after an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March last year, triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. ...

Russia: no sign Iran developing nuclear arms -Ifax

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:32 PM PDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia sees no evidence that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at developing weapons, the Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Thursday. Russian officials have made similar statements in the past, but Ryabkov's remarks appeared to underscore Moscow's concerns about the possibility Israel could launch attacks targeting Iranian nuclear facilities. Many in the West believe the facilities are part of a program to develop nuclear weapons. ...

Putin leads young Siberian cranes in flight

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 01:12 AM PDT

Russian President Vladimir Putin flies in a motorized hang glider alongside two Siberian white cranes, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Russia Wednesday Sept. 5, 2012. Putin took part in a flight as part of a program devised by environmentalists to lead the endangered cranes, which were raised in captivity, on their migration to Asia. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service)President Vladimir Putin has piloted a motorized hang glider to lead a flock of young Siberian white cranes in flight.

Rights Watch: Evidence of wider US waterboarding

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:47 AM PDT

FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011 file photo, Libyans search for documents inside Abu Salim prison, Libya's most notorious prison of Gadhafi's regime and the scene of a 1996 massacre of prisoners, in Tripoli, Libya. A new report by New York-based Human Rights Watch reveals details about abuse and torture of Libyan Islamist detainees by their own government and the US and cooperation between Libya led by dictator Moammar Gadhafi and other governments, including the US, Britain, China, Sudan and Morocco, in the rendition program. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)Human Rights Watch said it has uncovered evidence of a wider use of waterboarding in American interrogations of detainees than has been acknowledged by the United States, in a report Thursday that details further brutal treatment at secret CIA-run prisons under the Bush administration-era U.S. program of detention and rendition of terror suspects.

Turkey accuses Syria of 'state terrorism'

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:46 AM PDT

This image taken from video filmed by an independent cameraman and made available on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 shows a Syrian man throwing a bucket of water at a burning building in Myasar neighborhood, Aleppo, Syria. Government jets bombed the residential area of Myasar, reducing many of its buildings to rubble and causing a huge fire. (AP Photo/APTN)Turkey accused Syria of "state terrorism" Wednesday after a sharp spike in the death toll from the Syrian civil war, and Iran came under new scrutiny with the U.S. alleging that Tehran is flying weapons to President Bashar Assad's regime across Iraqi airspace.

France giving aid to rebel-held Syrian cities

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 03:40 PM PDT

France has started providing direct aid and money to five rebel-held Syrian cities as it intensifies efforts to weaken President Bashar Assad, in the first such move by a western power, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.

Russia bets billions on turn toward Asia

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:07 PM PDT

A Russian flag flies above the port in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. Once a mysterious closed city during Soviet times, Vladivostok is ready to strut in the world spotlight as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Russia has splashed $20 billion preparing for the summit in Vladivostok, its largest but long-neglected Pacific port, as part of a grand plan to become a bigger player on Asian markets. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)Once a mysterious closed city during Soviet times, Vladivostok is ready to strut in the world spotlight as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Girl found alive under bodies in French Alps

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:40 AM PDT

A French prosecutor says a 4-year-old girl has been found alive among three corpses in a British-registered car in the French Alps after hiding under them for eight hours.

Report: Prosecutions of bribe-paying companies up

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:11 AM PDT

Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International says a new study shows laws forbidding companies from paying bribes to win or influence foreign contracts have resulted in a rising number of prosecutions.

Israel military says it strikes Gaza militants

Posted: 05 Sep 2012 11:47 PM PDT

The Israeli military says soldiers and aircraft have hit Palestinian militants planting explosives along the border with Gaza.

Turkey: 25 killed in ammunition depot blast

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:02 AM PDT

An explosion and blaze at an ammunition depot in a province in Turkey's west has killed 25 soldiers, officials said Thursday. Four other soldiers were injured.

Costa Rica escapes serious damage from big quake

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:26 AM PDT

This photo posted to the Instagram account danielacordero, belonging to a person identified as Daniela Cordero, a bar is damaged inside the Hotel Riu after an earthquake in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012. A powerful, magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook Costa Rica and a wide swath of Central America on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Daniela Cordero via Instagram)The bulletins were terrifying: a powerful earthquake had struck off the coast of this Central American country, spawning a tsunami warning and bringing fears of widespread catastrophe.
Posted by Harshad at 1:24 AM

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