Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefire

Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefire

Peace envoy seeks Iranian help for Syria ceasefire

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:44 PM PDT

UN-Arab League peace envoy for Syria Brahimi speaks to the media during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Zebari in BaghdadBEIRUT (Reuters) - International peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi appealed to Iran to help arrange a ceasefire in Syria during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha as rebels and government forces fought street by street and village by village on Monday. Brahimi made the request in talks with Iranian leaders on Sunday in Tehran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's closest regional ally in his campaign to crush a 19-month-old uprising. The veteran Algerian diplomat said the civil war in Syria was getting worse by the day and stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed, his spokesman said on Monday. ...

"I take responsibility" for Benghazi: Clinton

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:34 PM PDT

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives a speech to the media at the government palace in LimaLIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assumed responsibility on Monday for last month's deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, which has become an issue in the hard-fought U.S. presidential campaign. "I take responsibility" for what happened on September 11, Clinton said in an interview with CNN during a visit to Peru, adding that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden would not be responsible for specific security instructions for U.S. diplomatic facilities. ...

Insight: From guns to laptops, Philippine peace faces arduous road

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:51 PM PDT

Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels pray as they gather in celebration of a peace deal signing at Camp Darapanan in Maguindanao provinceSULTAN KUDARAT, Philippines (Reuters) - At a nondescript two-storey building in the town of Sultan Kudarat, the future of the Philippines' strife-torn southern region of Mindanao is taking shape, one accountancy class at a time. Dozens of former fighters in Mindanao's decades-old Islamic insurgency are learning new skills - from book-keeping, to computer literacy and law - that are crucial to the long-term success of a landmark peace deal signed in Manila on Monday. ...

Pakistani girl shot by Taliban can recover, doctors say

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:58 PM PDT

Police officers patrol outside the emergency entrance of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where injured Pakistani teenager Malala Yousufzai arrived for treatment in Birmingham, central EnglandLONDON/BIRMINGHAM (Reuters) - A Pakistani schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban has every chance of making a "good recovery", British doctors said on Monday as 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai arrived at a hospital in central England for treatment of her severe wounds. Yousufzai, who was shot for advocating education for girls, was flown from Pakistan to receive specialist treatment at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital at a unit expert in dealing with complex trauma cases that has treated hundreds of soldiers wounded in Afghanistan. "Doctors... ...

Exclusive: U.S. officials unhappy with handling of Benghazi suspects in April attack

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 12:50 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - State Department officials suspected that two Libyan guards hired by its own security contractor were behind an April incident in which a homemade bomb was hurled over the wall of the special mission in Benghazi, according to official emails obtained by Reuters. But the men, who had been taken into custody the day of the attack, were released after questioning by Libyan officials because of a lack of "hard evidence" that could be used to prosecute them, the State Department emails show. "Amazing," wrote Eric Nordstrom, then the regional security officer with the U.S. ...

South African police clear out Kumba strikers, arrest 40

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:36 AM PDT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police said on Tuesday they had cleared striking miners from Kumba Iron Ore's giant Sishen mine and returned equipment seized by the strikers to the company, a unit of global mining giant Anglo American. A local police spokesman told Reuters that 40 of the wildcat strikers had been arrested in the pre-dawn operation. (Reporting by Sherilee Lakmidas; Editing by Ed Cropley)

Islamic finance struggles toward mainstream in Azerbaijan

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:51 PM PDT

BAKU/TBILISI (Reuters) - When a businessman in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan wanted a bank loan that complied with Islamic principles, until a few years ago he had to negotiate it under the table. The government's fear of political Islam forced banks to conduct "guerrilla Islamic finance" in which sharia-compliant deals were hidden under the appearance of conventional banking, says Fuad Aliyev, a scholar at Johns Hopkins University's Central Asia-Caucasus Institute in Washington DC. ...

At least five arrested as thousands rally in Kuwait

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:00 PM PDT

A policeman gestures at Kuwaiti demonstrators during an anti-government protest in front of the parliament in Kuwait CityKUWAIT (Reuters) - At least five protesters were arrested and several injured in Kuwait as police tried to break up an opposition protest late on Monday, witnesses said. Authorities had asked opposition lawmakers to call off the demonstration over political reforms, but at least 5,000 people gathered in a square near parliament that has been the site of several anti-government protests since last year. ...

Colombia, FARC delay arrival for peace talks in Norway

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 08:08 PM PDT

OSLO/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian government negotiators and Marxist rebels have delayed their departure for peace talks in Norway aimed at ending nearly half a century of conflict but still plan to arrive in time for their only publicly scheduled event on Wednesday, Norway said. Colombian officials, expected to have arrived in Norway over the weekend, will not come until Tuesday because of "logistical difficulties", a Norwegian government spokeswoman said. It remained unclear when the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) would arrive. ...

Sudan forces burned, looted remote border village: activists

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:07 PM PDT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Sudanese security forces burned and looted a village in the Nuba mountains of South Kordofan state in May and filmed the attack, a monitoring group said on Tuesday, providing satellite images, cell phone video and witness accounts to back its claims. The Satellite Sentinel Project, whose founders include Hollywood actor George Clooney and the Enough Project, said a joint unit of Sudanese police known as Abu Tira, the Sudan Armed Forces and the Popular Defense Forces militia attacked Gardud al Badry on May 18 and then bombarded it with artillery on July 29. ...

Refugees in limbo after years of Pakistan fighting

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:35 AM PDT

In this Oct. 2, 2012 photo, a Pakistani child who was displaced from Pakistan's tribal areas due to fighting sits on his family's belongings transported on a horse-cart, in Jalozai refugee camp, near Peshawar, Pakistan. Roughly 65,000 refugees from the various tribal agencies are currently living at Jalozai, a Pakistani government camp about 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of Peshawar run with the help of international aid agencies. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)This sprawling complex of tents housing tens of thousands of Pakistanis is home for Miza Khan and his family. The tents provide little relief from the scorching summers and the frigid winters. It's been that way for three years now.

Clinton: I'm responsible for consulate security

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:53 PM PDT

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pauses while delivering a speech after meeting Peru's President Ollanta Humala in Lima, Peru, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. Taking responsibility for security at the U.S. consulate in Libya where an attack by extremists last month killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, Clinton said Monday in Lima, that security at all of America's diplomatic missions abroad is her job, not that of the White House. (AP Photo/Karel Navarro)U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is answering Republican criticism of the Obama administration's handling of last month's attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, saying she — not the White House — is responsible for security at all of America's diplomatic missions.

Europeans hoping to fight in Syria raise new fears

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:17 PM PDT

In this Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 photo, smoke rises from buildings due to government forces shelling seen through broken glass in Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/ Manu Brabo)European governments have been among the most vocal supporters of Syria's rebels — to a point: Last week, Muslims in Britain and France accused of trying to join the fight against the regime were detained.

White House ponders a strike over Libya attack

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:36 AM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2012 file photo, fighters from Islamist group Ansar Dine stand guard in Timbuktu, Mali, as they prepare to publicly lash a member of the Islamic Police found guilty of adultery. The White House has put special operations strike forces on standby and moved drones into the skies above Africa, ready to strike militant targets from Libya to Mali — if investigators can find the al-Qaida-linked group responsible for the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. (AP Photo, File)The White House, under political pressure to respond forcefully to the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, is readying strike forces and drones but first has to find a target.

Big art heist at Dutch museum

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:55 AM PDT

Several paintings have been stolen from a museum in the Dutch city of Rotterdam that was exhibiting works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh.

UK to rule on extraditing alleged hacker to US

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:43 AM PDT

Britain's Home Secretary is set to rule on whether to extradite a British hacker to America to face charges for breaking into sensitive computer networks at U.S. military and space installations.

In Georgia, where guest is God, tourism thrives

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 01:10 AM PDT

In this Aug. 1, 2012, photo, tourists swim and sunbathe in the Black Sea resort town of Batumi in Georgia. The transformation of Batumi, an ancient city of 180,000 near the border with Turkey, is a vivid example of Georgia's drive to capitalize on its tourism potential in a bid to boost the economy in this struggling ex-Soviet nation, where nearly 1/5 of the population lives in poverty, according to conservative estimates. The government has attracted top foreign investors, such as U.S. estate magnate Donald Trump, to build hotels and develop and renovate tourist sites and aggressively marketed Georgia as tourism hot spot abroad. (AP Photo/Maria Danilova)Georgia's Black Sea resort of Batumi was once a bleak site: Roads were dotted with potholes, the city was pitch dark at night, running water was scarce and the city's best hotel was infested with rats. Today Batumi glitters with neon lights and luxury high-rise hotels dot its skyline; soon the city will even boast a fountain flowing with Georgian grape vodka.

Cuba scraps exit visa requirement

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:33 AM PDT

The Cuban government announced Tuesday that it will no longer require islanders to apply for an exit visa, eliminating a much-loathed bureaucratic procedure that has been a major impediment for many seeking to travel overseas.

Accused terrorists can skip Guantanamo hearings

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:03 PM PDT

In this photo of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin and reviewed by the U.S. Department of Defense, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed holds up a piece of paper during a court recess at his Military Commissions pretrial hearing in the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, Monday, Oct. 15, 2012. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has portrayed himself as the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks, and four other co-defendants were back before a military tribunal, forgoing the protest that turned their last appearance into an unruly 13-hour spectacle. (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin, Pool)A military tribunal reconvenes Tuesday for five men charged in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, but the defendants may sit this session out.

Big art heist at Dutch museum includes a Picasso

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:35 AM PDT

Several paintings, including works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Vincent van Gogh, have been stolen from a museum in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

Sierra Leone's dilemma: There's gold under those trees

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 01:59 PM PDT

It's an age-old question, and one that's been played out countless times in cities and countries around the globe: What happens when conservation and economics collide?

In Gaza's smuggling tunnels, Egypt's interests trump Brotherhood ties

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:58 AM PDT

As Egypt's closure of some of the smuggling tunnels from Gaza drives up prices in the tiny coastal enclave, it has also spurred anger toward Egypt's new Islamist president for throttling one of Gaza's main sources of goods.

The Malala moment: 6 Pakistani views on the girl shot by the Taliban

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:43 AM PDT

The shooting of 14-year-old Malala Yousufzai by a Taliban gunman has shocked Pakistan and led to some extraordinary writing in the press on how Islamic radicalism is enabled. On the back foot for years, liberals are getting a new hearing against extremist religious parties, the powerful military, and a populist anti-US politician.

A quiet waiver for Pakistan from the Obama administration

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 11:28 AM PDT

On Sept. 13, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quietly, and without explanation, issued a "national security" waiver on conditions for Pakistan military aid.

Amid ongoing economic crisis, EU celebrates 'Single Market Week'

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 10:59 AM PDT

News reports about the European Union nowadays do not give much reason for celebration. Greece is on the brink of economic collapse, other European countries are also in severe economic troubles, and shrinking solidarity is going hand-in-hand with reviving stereotypes. Yes, the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize last week, but this news was quickly met with cynical comments.

Salafis' rise in Gaza robs Hamas of resistance banner

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 09:09 AM PDT

Israel and Hamas are seeking to restore the relative calm that has prevailed for months after a weekend flare-up in fighting between Israel and Gaza that left at least five Palestinians dead.

Putin's United Russia dominates regional elections

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 08:27 AM PDT

Pro-Kremlin candidates swept the field Sunday in thousands of local elections, which opposition leaders allege were marred by fraud. However, most analysts say they are probably an accurate reflection of the country's mood.

Costa Concordia pre-trial starts: Will captain use 'I tripped' defense?

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 08:10 AM PDT

The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship appeared in an Italian court on Monday at the start of a key hearing at which he is expected to be put on trial for abandoning the ship and causing the deaths of 32 people.

Accusations mount of Hezbollah fighting in Syria

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 06:20 AM PDT

Beside the arrow-straight road between the northern Lebanon town of Qaa and the border with Syria stands a small, bland mosque decorated with the yellow flags of the militant Shiite group Hezbollah.

Cambodia's political Houdini, former King Sihanouk, dies

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 07:55 AM PDT

Whether called king or prince, Norodom Sihanouk liked to call Cambodia an "oasis of peace" surrounded by warring nations. He failed, however, to keep his country from enduring one of the cruelest dictatorships of modern times.In a lifetime dedicated to fending off assaults on Cambodia by foreign interests, Mr. Sihanouk survived power shifts at the heart of the greater power struggle for control of a portion of Southeast Asia historically ruled by France as "Indochina. ...

Turkey grounds Armenian plane in growing de facto air blockade of Syria

Posted: 15 Oct 2012 05:58 AM PDT

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