Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire

Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire

Spring Wish denied as suicide bomber brings down Afghan juice empire

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:36 PM PST

An Afghan worker looks out from a window at a fruit factory which was destroyed by a car suicide bomb attack, in KabulKABUL (Reuters) - When a Taliban suicide bomber killed two people on the edge of the Afghan capital this month, there was another casualty - a global fruit juice business optimistically called "Spring Wish" which provided work for thousands of farmers across the country. Mustafa Sadiq's empire had been expanding healthily, bringing in badly needed foreign capital, before the attack inflicted the kind of financial loss cash-strapped Afghanistan can ill afford. ...

Three Afghans dead in new blast at U.S. base in Afghan east

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:48 PM PST

KHOST, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed three people in an attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the same base that is believed to be used by the CIA and which a suicide bomber attacked three years ago killing seven CIA employees. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the eastern town of Khost, saying they had sent a suicide bomber driving a van packed with explosives to the base. "The target was those who serve Americans at that base," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. ...

Japan's Abe taps allies for cabinet, eyes deflation

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:16 AM PST

Japan's incoming PM and the leader of Liberal Democratic Party Abe attends a news conference in TokyoTOKYO (Reuters) - New Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled a cabinet stacked with close allies on Wednesday, kicking off a second administration committed to battling deflation and coping with the challenge of a rising China. Abe, 58, has promised aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan and big fiscal spending by the debt-laden government to slay deflation and weaken the yen to make Japanese exports more competitive. ...

Iran rejects interference accusation by Gulf Arabs

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:18 AM PST

To match Interview IRAN-SYRIA/USADUBAI (Reuters) - Iran rejected accusations from Gulf Arab states that it was meddling in their affairs, saying those countries were "running away from reality", an Iranian news agency reported on Wednesday. Six U.S.-allied states demanded Iran end what they called interference in the region, in a statement on Tuesday at the end of a two-day summit of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), reiterating a long-held mistrust of their main rival. ...

Egypt approves constitution drafted by Mursi allies

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 03:14 PM PST

A woman with her ID arrives at a polling station to vote during the final stage of a referendum on Egypt's new constitution in Bani SweifCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a constitution drafted by President Mohamed Mursi's allies, results announced on Tuesday showed, proving that liberals, leftists and Christians have been powerless to halt the march of Islamists in power. Final elections commission figures showed the constitution adopted with 63.8 percent of the vote in the referendum held over two days this month, giving Mursi's Islamists their third straight electoral victory since veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a 2011 revolution. ...

Reformist leader says Myanmar needs transformation

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:46 PM PST

Myanmar's President Thein Sein attends a session of the 21st ASEAN and East Asia summits in Phnom PenhYANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's president called on Wednesday for a shake-up in the running of his fast-changing country, which he said was still mired in corruption and inefficiency and lagging behind its international peers. Thein Sein, the unlikely reformer to emerge from within a military junta 19 months ago, called for big improvements across Myanmar's outdated bureaucracy to strengthen democracy and the economy, as foreign firms weigh whether to invest in the resource-rich country. ...

Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:19 AM PST

A woman carries bread in AleppoBEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that symbolizes Syria right now," said a priest standing beside a nativity scene in a grotto. "It is cold here but the door is open to all refugees," he told Syrian state TV. "Amid the hunger, cold and deprivation, we still have hope for peace and love for our country. ...

U.S. moves to sell advanced spy drones to South Korea

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:14 PM PST

An undated U.S. Air Force handout photo of a RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraftWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration formally proposed a controversial sale of advanced spy drones to help South Korea bear more of its defense from any attack by the heavily armed North. Seoul has requested a possible $1.2 billion sale of four Northrop Grumman Corp RQ-4 "Global Hawk" remotely piloted aircraft with enhanced surveillance capabilities, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement dated on Monday and distributed on Tuesday. South Korea needs such systems to assume top responsibility for intelligence-gathering from the U.S. ...

Gulf Arabs decry Iran "interference" in region

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:39 AM PST

Dignitaries pose for a group photo prior to the start of the GCC Summit at Sakhir Palace in Sakhir south of ManamaMANAMA (Reuters) - Six U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states demanded on Tuesday that Iran end what they called interference in the region, reiterating a long-held mistrust of their main rival. The Islamic Republic denies trying to subvert Saudi Arabia and its wealthy Gulf neighbors. A communique issued at the end of a two-day summit of the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) also urged action to halt mass killings and violations of international law in Syria. ...

Pope gives advice as Italians prepare for bitter campaign

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:04 AM PST

Pope Benedict XVI waves as he blessed the crowd as he makes his "Urbi et Orbi" address from a balcony in St. Peter's Square in VaticanROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict sent a political Christmas greeting to Italians on Tuesday as they head into an election campaign expected to be brutal and bitter: think, cooperate for the common good and don't discard values when making big choices. The pope, in his Christmas greetings in 65 languages, said in his special message to Italians that he hoped the spirit of the day would "make people reflect, favor the spirit of cooperation for the common good and lead to a reflection on the hierarchy of values when making the most important of choices". ...

Syrian rebels make more gains in north

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 12:01 PM PST

This Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012 image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Free Syrian Army fighters running towards the scene after a government airstrike hit Hama Suburb of Halfaya, Syria. A government airstrike Sunday on a bakery in a rebel-held town in central Syria killed tens of people, which left scattered bodies and debris up and down a street, and more than a dozen wounded were trapped in tangled heap of dirt and rubble, activists said. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels fully captured a northern town near the Turkish border on Tuesday after weeks of heavy fighting and attacked a regime air base in a neighboring province, activists said.

Egypt constitution passes, economic crunch looms

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 02:27 PM PST

CAIRO (AP) — The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held out little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.

Russian parliament considers anti-US adoption bill

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 11:43 PM PST

MOSCOW (AP) — Several protesters were detained Wednesday morning outside the upper chamber of Russia's parliament as it prepared to vote on a controversial measure banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

Pope's Christmas message focuses on Mideast, China

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 06:40 PM PST

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the City and to the World) speech from the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. Pope Benedict XVI has wished Christmas peace to the world, decrying the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria and urging Israelis and Palestinians to find the courage to negotiate. Delivering the Vatican's traditional Christmas day message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, a weary-looking and hoarse-sounding Benedict on Tuesday also encouraged Arab spring nations, especially Egypt, to build just and respectful societies. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)VATICAN CITY (AP) — In his Christmas message to the world Tuesday, Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to the slaughter in Syria and for more meaningful negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, while encouraging more religious freedom under China's new leaders.

Shinzo Abe returns as Japan's prime minister

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 10:56 PM PST

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe bows after being named Japan's new prime minister during the plenary session at the lower house of Parliament in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. The rise of Abe, whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbors, ends more than three years at the helm for the left-leaning Democratic Party of Japan and brings back the conservative, pro-big business LDP that governed for most of the post-World War II era. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)TOKYO (AP) — Japan's parliament elected Shinzo Abe as the nation's prime minister on Wednesday, ending three years of rule by liberal administrations and bringing back to power the conservative, pro-big business party that has run Japan for most of the post-World War II era.

Kazakhstan military plane crashes, killing 27

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:32 AM PST

MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan's acting border service chief was among 27 people killed in a military plane crash Tuesday near a southern city, another blow to the agency after he was appointed in June to deal with the aftermath of a mass killing involving a conscript.

SAfrica: Children attend Mandela's Christmas party

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 08:13 AM PST

FILE This May 16, 2011 file photo supplied by the South African Government Communications and Information Services, GCIS, shows former South African President Nelson Mandela and his wife Graca Machel after they cast an early ballot in upcoming local elections at his home in Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa's president has visited former leader Nelson Mandela in a hospital, and the presidency says Mandela continues to respond to treatment. The office of President Jacob Zuma says he saw Mandela on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012, in Pretoria, the capital, and assured the anti-apartheid icon that he has the support of all South Africans and the world. Mandela, who is 94, has been hospitalized since Dec. 8. He was diagnosed with a lung infection and also had gallstone surgery. (AP Photo/Elmond Jiyane-GCIS, File)MVEZO, South Africa (AP) — A couple of decades ago, Nelson Mandela grew withdrawn while feasting with his family on Christmas Day in the part of rural South Africa where the anti-apartheid leader lived as a child. Alarmed by the patriarch's silence, some relatives looked at him and asked if anything was wrong.

Queen delivers 1st Christmas message in 3D

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 07:46 AM PST

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II receives flowers from children after attending the British royal family's traditional Christmas Day church service in Sandringham, England, Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has hailed the holidays in a new dimension, delivering her Christmas message for the first time in 3D.

8 dead in Christmas Day fires, riot in Philippines

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 09:26 PM PST

Filipino men cut electric lines from a post after a fire hit a slum area in suburban San Juan, east of Manila, Philippines on Christmas day Tuesday Dec. 25, 2012. Fire Officer 2 Noel Binwag said about 2,000 families were left homeless during the fire. Six people also died when a row of apartments went up in flames in a separate fire in suburan Quezon city. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Angry residents beat a man to death and threw rocks at firefighters after a shantytown fire left thousands of people homeless, and another Christmas Day blaze in the Philippine capital left seven people dead, officials said Wednesday.

Afghan bomber attacks near major US base

Posted: 26 Dec 2012 12:21 AM PST

FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 24, 2014 file photo, Afghan police officers stand guard outside of Kabul police headquarters, where a an American contractor was killed, in Kabul, Afghanistan. On Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, the Interior Ministry said a policewoman, identified as Sgt. Nargas, who shot and killed 49-year-old Joseph Griffin in Kabul on Monday, was a native Iranian who came to Afghanistan and displayed "unstable behavior" but had no known links to militants. It was the first such shooting by a woman in the spate of insider attacks. On Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, a suicide bombing at the gate of a major U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan killed the attacker and three Afghans, Afghan police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. NATO forces and foreign civilians have also been increasingly attacked by rogue Afghan military and police, eroding trust between the allies. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A vehicle driven by a suicide bomber exploded at the gate of a major U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing the attacker and three Afghans, Afghan police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Doing the Lindy for fun and exercise in Moscow

Posted: 25 Dec 2012 05:00 AM PST

As teenagers during the Soviet era, Sergey and Lyudmila Gubarev used to copy American-inspired songs onto cassette tapes that then made the rounds among their friends. The music on the tapes, spanning from the 1940s onward, offered them a peek through the Iron Curtain that closed off Western cultural imports.
Posted by Harshad at 1:26 AM

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