Friday, December 28, 2012

CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

CAR appeals for French help against rebels, Paris balks

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 06:02 PM PST

Residents of Central African Republic participate in a marching protest along the streets of the capital BanguiBANGUI (Reuters) - The president of the Central African Republic appealed on Thursday for France and the United States to help push back rebels threatening his government and the capital, but Paris said its troops were only ready to protect French nationals. The exchanges came as regional African leaders tried to broker a ceasefire deal and as rebels said they had temporarily halted their advance on Bangui, the capital, to allow talks to take place. ...

Russia's Putin signals he will sign U.S. adoption ban

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST

Russian President Putin, PM Medvedev and speaker of the Federation Council Matviyenko attend a session of the State Council in MoscowMOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin signaled on Thursday he would sign into law a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children and sought to forestall criticism of the move by promising measures to better care for his country's orphans. In televised comments, Putin tried to appeal to people's patriotism by suggesting that strong and responsible countries should take care of their own and lent his support to a bill that has further strained U.S.-Russia relations. "There are probably many places in the world where living standards are higher than ours. ...

New Japan PM to send envoys to South Korea amid territory dispute

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:16 AM PST

Japan's new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends a news conference at his official residence in TokyoSEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will send envoys to meet South Korean President-elect Park Geun-hye next month, a spokeswoman for Park said, a sign of Japan reaching out to its neighbor despite feuds over territory and wartime history. Japan's relations with South Korea frayed badly in August after outgoing President Lee Myung-bak visited a disputed set of islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in Korea. Koreans also harbor bitter resentment of Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945. ...

China tightens loophole on hiring temporary workers

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:29 AM PST

A worker welds steel bars at a construction site for a new train station in NingboBEIJING (Reuters) - China amended its labor law on Friday to ensure that workers hired through contracting agents are offered the same conditions as full employees, a move meant to tighten a loophole used by many employers to maintain flexible staffing. Contracting agencies have taken off since China implemented the Labor Contract Law in 2008, which stipulates employers must pay workers' health insurance and social security benefits and makes firing very difficult. ...

Syria envoy calls for political change to end conflict

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:53 AM PST

A Free Syrian Army fighter jokes with a child in the old city of AleppoBEIRUT (Reuters) - The international envoy seeking a negotiated solution to Syria's 21-month-old conflict said on Thursday political change was needed to end the violence which has killed 44,000 people. Speaking in Damascus at the end of a five-day trip during which he met President Bashar al-Assad, Lakhdar Brahimi called for a transitional government to rule until elections and said only substantial change would meet demands of ordinary Syrians. ...

Iran starts navy drills in Strait of Hormuz -IRNA

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:23 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran started on Friday six days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz, the official IRNA news agency reported, maneuvers aimed at showcasing its military capabilities in what is a vital oil and gas shipping route. Naval commander Habibollah Sayyari said the "Velayat 91" drills would last until Wednesday across an area of about 1 million square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean, IRNA said. ...

Indian rape victim surviving against the odds, Singapore hospital says

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:17 AM PST

Two members of the medical team accompanying the Indian gang-rape victim leave Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre in SingaporeSINGAPORE (Reuters) - An Indian gangrape victim whose assault in New Delhi triggered nationwide protests earlier this month has suffered "significant brain injury" and is surviving against the odds, the Singapore hospital treating her said on Friday. The 23-year-old medical student, who was severely beaten, raped for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi, was airlifted to Singapore on December 26 for specialist treatment. ...

U.S. suspends embassy operations in rebel-hit Central African Republic

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:36 PM PST

Residents of Central African Republic participate in a marching protest along the streets of the capital BanguiWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it was suspending operations at its embassy in the Central African Republic as rebels appeared poised to move on the capital of the impoverished but resource-rich nation. U.S. State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said the U.S. embassy had temporarily suspended operations and that the U.S. ambassador and other embassy personnel had left the country. ...

Egypt's Mubarak moved to army hospital on health concerns

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 12:44 PM PST

Former Egyptian President Mubarak sits inside a cage in a courtroom in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian strongman ousted last year after 30 years in power, was moved to an army hospital from a prison hospital on Thursday following a fall that raised fresh concerns about his fragile health. Mubarak, 84, was forced out in a 2011 uprising and sentenced to life in prison in June of this year for his role in killing protesters during the revolt. He was admitted to a prison hospital that month following what security officials called a "health crisis". ...

Cabinet resignations deal setback for Egypt's Mursi

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:51 AM PST

A view shows the Shura Council during its meeting in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist minister quit Egypt's government on Thursday, the second cabinet resignation this week, as President Mohamed Mursi tries to shore up his authority and gather support for unpopular austerity measures. An economic crisis and a battle over a new constitution have underlined bitter divisions between Islamist-backed Mursi and his liberal opponents and delayed a return to stability almost two years since a popular uprising. ...

Official acquitted in Russian jail death case

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:16 AM PST

Dmitry Kratov, sits in a court, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The Tverskoy court on Friday will rule in the case of Dmitry Kratov, formerly deputy chief physician in the Butyrskaya prison, the only official charged with the lawyer's death. The Moscow court is expected to hand down a verdict on Friday for the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case his family dismissed as sham and humiliation. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Friday acquitted the first and only official charged with the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a case that has become a rallying point for human rights advocates and sparked escalating legislation in the U.S. and Russia.

AP Exclusive: Documents raise doubts in Nazi probe

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:48 PM PST

In this May 1944 photo provided by Yad Vashem Photo Archives, Jewish women and children deported from Hungary, separated from the men, line up for selection on the selection platform at Auschwitz camp in Birkenau, Poland. Johann BERLIN (AP) — The case of an 87-year-old Philadelphia man accused by Germany of serving as an SS guard at Auschwitz has largely centered on whether he was stationed at the part of the death camp used as a killing machine for Jews.

Argentina's fight on defaulted debt takes new step

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 10:38 PM PST

FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2012, file photo, Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez delivers a speech during a rally marking the 29th anniversary of the return to democracy in Argentina, on the eve of the Human Rights day, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's been a decade since Argentina tarnished its reputation worldwide and became an economic misfit by engaging in the biggest sovereign debt default in history, yet it is still haunted by the old bonds. Although Argentina's government restructured nearly all of the debt defaulted in the 2001 economic crisis, Fernandez finds herself in a bitter U.S. court fight with holdout creditors that has raised the threat of severe financial repercussions. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, file)BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — It's been a decade since Argentina tarnished its reputation worldwide and became an economic misfit by engaging in the biggest sovereign debt default in history, yet it is still haunted by the old bonds.

AP Exclusive: Photos show NKorea nuclear readiness

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:14 PM PST

This satellite image taken Dec. 2, 2012, by DigitalGlobe and annotated and distributed Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 by 38 North, the website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, shows the traffic flow pattern at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility in North Korea, where experts suspect Pyongyang will conduct its next detonation. The 38 North Analysis says the road is dark where movement has melted the snow, and the traffic appears limited to the bypass road, the tunnel entrance and the two southern area support buildings. The analysis says the North SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has repaired flood damage at its nuclear test facility and could conduct a quick atomic explosion if it chose, though water streaming out of a test tunnel may cause problems, analysis of recent satellite photos indicates.

Indian rape victim fighting for her life

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:30 AM PST

NEW DELHI (AP) — The victim of a gang-rape in New Delhi fought for her life at a Singapore hospital Friday as officials in the Indian state of Punjab fired and suspended police officers accused of ignoring the rape of another woman, who then committed suicide.

Myanmar to allow daily private newspapers

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:33 AM PST

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar will allow private daily newspapers starting in April for the first time since 1964, in the latest step toward allowing freedom of expression in the long-repressed nation.

US shuts embassy in Central African Republic

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 06:35 PM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has closed its embassy in the Central African Republic and ordered the ambassador and his diplomatic team to leave the country as rebels there continue to advance and violence escalates, U.S. officials said Thursday.

C. African Republic president seeks foreign help

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 07:38 PM PST

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — The president of Central African Republic on Thursday urgently called on France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital, but French officials declined to offer any military assistance.

Israeli leader slips in new elections poll

Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:08 AM PST

JERUSALEM (AP) — New polls show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still poised to win the Jan. 22 elections, but one poll shows him slipping.

Sweater knit by Myanmar's Suu Kyi sells for $49K

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:44 PM PST

In this Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012 photo, presenters show a hand-knit woolen sweater, made by Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu kyi, during an auction at a fundraising concert to mark the 2nd anniversary of her National League for Democracy Party's education network, at Peoples Square in Yangon, Myanmar. The sweater was sold at an auction in Myanmar for almost $50,000. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A hand-knit woolen sweater made by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has sold at an auction in Myanmar for $49,000.

India gang rape spurs national dialogue

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 12:10 PM PST

The Indian government's crackdown on the anti-rape protests that have continued for nearly two weeks in New Delhi has only aggravated public anger and concern about women's safety.

Benazir Bhutto's son takes up the family trade in Pakistan

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:01 AM PST

Five years after the assassination of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made his first major speech today aimed at galvanizing supporters of the Bhutto family-led Pakistan Peoples Party.

In 2013, possibilities for stability from Somalia to South China Sea

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 09:30 AM PST

The international news of any year is a disparate affair, a global chronicle of courage, calamity, and close calls. The interconnectedness of events is not always clear.

Syrian conflict threatens to fracture Iraq

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST

In September, as the Iraqi government reached one of its lowest points in relations with Turkey in years, Ankara welcomed Iraqi Kurdistan's President Massoud Barzani as a guest of honor at a convention hosted by the ruling Justice and Development Party.

UN envoy tries to revive Syria peace plan

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 06:17 AM PST

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.
Posted by Harshad at 1:34 AM

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