North Korean leader, in rare address, seeks end to confrontation with South

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• North Korean leader, in rare address, seeks end to confrontation with South
• Top Afghan negotiator optimistic over peace prospects
• Venezuela's Chavez in stable condition, says son-in-law
• South Sudan willing to withdraw army from Sudan border: president
• U.N. chief names East Timor's Ramos-Horta envoy to Guinea-Bissau
• Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb
• State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report
• Rebel groups hit with U.N. sanctions over eastern Congo
• US, Europe hope the new year brings better times
• Afghan negotiator welcomes prisoner release
• Ahoy! Israeli pirates lead surge of quirky parties
• NKorea's Kim wants better living standards, arms
• Venezuelans offer prayers, songs for Hugo Chavez
• Pakistan child measles deaths surge in 2012
• In concession, Israel eases restrictions on Gaza
• Protester shot in Cairo may have been targeted
• Central African Republic rebels ignore negotiation
• Happy new year, Cairo?
• Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeats
• On cusp of new year, Chavez's health keeps Venezuleans fixated on future
• Obama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013.
• UN envoy: Without deal in Syria, think Somalia not Yugoslavia

North Korean leader, in rare address, seeks end to confrontation with South Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:58 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year speech broadcast on state media. The address by Kim, who took over power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place of the policy-setting New Year editorial published in leading state newspapers. ...

Top Afghan negotiator optimistic over peace prospects Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:32 PM PST KABUL (Reuters) - A top Afghan peace negotiator said he was cautiously optimistic about prospects for reconciliation with the Taliban and that all sides now realized a military solution to the war was not possible. Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan Taliban, who have proved resilient after more than a decade of war against U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops, into a political movement. ...

Venezuela's Chavez in stable condition, says son-in-law Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:34 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in stable condition and spent Monday with his daughters, the cancer-stricken leader's son in law said in an appeal for supporters to ignore rumors about his condition. Chavez has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. The vice president said on Sunday that the 58-year-old was suffering a third set of complications after surgery in Cuba on December 11, his fourth operation in 18 months. ...

South Sudan willing to withdraw army from Sudan border: president Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:54 PM PST JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan is willing to withdraw its army from the disputed border with Sudan, President Salva Kiir said, signaling a possible compromise at a summit with his Sudanese counterpart. Kiir and Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir agreed in September to withdraw troops from the disputed border as a precondition to resume oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through Sudan. Oil revenues are vital to both economies. But both countries still have troops 10 km (6 miles) from each other's border, and both accuse each other of supporting rebels on the other's territory. ...

U.N. chief names East Timor's Ramos-Horta envoy to Guinea-Bissau Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:49 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday named Nobel Peace prize laureate and former president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, as his special representative to Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation that has become a narcotics hub. Ramos-Horta will assume the post once the current envoy in Guinea-Bissau, Joseph Mutaboba of Rwanda, completes his term on January 31, 2013, the United Nations said in a statement. ...

Assad's forces battle to retake Damascus suburb Posted: 31 Dec 2012 09:31 AM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Elite Syrian government troops backed by tanks battled on Monday to recapture a strategic Damascus suburb from rebels who have advanced within striking distance of the center of Syria's capital. Five people, including a child, died from army rocket fire that hit the Daraya suburb during the fighting, opposition activists said. Daraya is part of a semi-circle of Sunni Muslim suburbs south of the capital that have been at the forefront of the 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. "This is the biggest attack on Daraya in two months. ...

State Department made "grievous mistake" over Benghazi: Senate report Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:23 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department made a "grievous mistake" in keeping the U.S. mission in Benghazi open despite inadequate security and increasingly alarming threat assessments in the weeks before a deadly attack by militants, a Senate committee said on Monday. A report from the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission and a nearby CIA annex, in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died, faulted intelligence agencies for not focusing tightly enough on Libyan extremists. ...

Rebel groups hit with U.N. sanctions over eastern Congo Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:09 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on Monday blacklisted two rebel groups that have been responsible for war crimes in conflict-ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Nations said in a statement. The United States and Britain praised the move, with Washington suggesting further sanctions may be imposed against anyone who continues to cause trouble in eastern Congo. One of the groups added to the blacklist is the so-called M23, a Congolese rebel faction led by Bosco Ntaganda, a warlord indicted by the International Criminal Court. ...

US, Europe hope the new year brings better times Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:16 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — From the glittering New Year's ball dropping in Times Square to joyous fireworks in London and cheers in a once-isolated Asian country, the world did its best to ring in 2013 with hope for renewal after a year of economic uncertainty, searing violence and natural disasters.

Afghan negotiator welcomes prisoner release Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:56 PM PST KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A top Afghan negotiator said Tuesday he hopes that eight members of the Taliban released by Pakistan will serve as mediators in the effort to end the 11-year war in Afghanistan.

Ahoy! Israeli pirates lead surge of quirky parties Posted: 01 Jan 2013 12:50 AM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Shiver me timbers! Israel's newest political party has more than a platform — it's got a plank.

NKorea's Kim wants better living standards, arms Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:37 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday called for improving the economy and living standards of his impoverished nation with the same urgency that scientists showed in successfully testing a long-range rocket recently.

Venezuelans offer prayers, songs for Hugo Chavez Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:03 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans gathered on plazas and in churches to pray for President Hugo Chavez amid what seems an increasingly gloomy outlook for the ailing leader in his fight against cancer.

Pakistan child measles deaths surge in 2012 Posted: 01 Jan 2013 12:19 AM PST KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Measles cases surged in Pakistan last year with hundreds of children dying of the disease, an international health body said Tuesday, as health officials said they had launched a new vaccination campaign in the affected areas to immunize hundreds of thousands of others.

In concession, Israel eases restrictions on Gaza Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:40 AM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — In a major concession to Gaza's Hamas leaders Monday, Israel dropped its five-year ban on construction materials crossing into the territory and raised hopes there that rebuilding could begin following a damaging eight-day Israeli air campaign.

Protester shot in Cairo may have been targeted Posted: 31 Dec 2012 12:16 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Gunmen drove into Cairo's Tahrir Square before dawn Monday and fired at an anti-government sit-in, seriously wounding a protester who had been jailed and tortured by former military rulers after he witnessed the killing of another activist. Two lawyers involved in the case suggested it was a targeted attack.

Central African Republic rebels ignore negotiation Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:15 PM PST BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — President Francois Bozize's government came under growing threat Monday as rebels vowing to overthrow him rejected appeals from the African Union to hold their advance and try to form a coalition government.

Happy new year, Cairo? Posted: 31 Dec 2012 10:54 AM PST I'm back in Cairo after well over a year away, and my first thought was that little has changed.

Egypt's opposition still hopeful, despite many defeats Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:05 AM PST When a controversial constitutional draft went to a vote earlier this month, the Egyptian opposition was, as usual, in disarray.

On cusp of new year, Chavez's health keeps Venezuleans fixated on future Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:28 AM PST Dec. 31 is typically a time to recap the biggest events of the year. But in Venezuela this year, news that President Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" after surgery on Dec. 11 has kept Venezuelans anxiously fixated on what's to come in 2013.

Obama's pivot to Asia? Middle East will still demand attention in 2013. Posted: 31 Dec 2012 06:05 AM PST Nearly four years ago, President Barack Obama addressed a packed, enthusiastic crowd at Cairo University and promised a "new beginning" between the United States and the Muslim world.

UN envoy: Without deal in Syria, think Somalia not Yugoslavia Posted: 31 Dec 2012 05:59 AM PST • A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

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