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Iran has enough uranium for 5 bombs - expert

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:01:48 +0100

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has significantly stepped up its output of low-enriched uranium and total production in the last five years would be enough for at least five nuclear weapons if refined much further, a U.S. security institute said. The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think-tank which closely tracks Iran's nuclear programme, made the analysis on the basis of data in the latest quarterly U.N. watchdog report which was issued on Friday. ...

US reporter detained in Ethiopia 'to be released'

Sat, 26 May 2012 08:58:25 +0100

A Voice of America (VOA) reporter detained while covering a protest in the Ethiopian capital will be released from jail Saturday, a government spokesperson said.

Afghan parliament approves U.S.-Afghan security pact

Sat, 26 May 2012 07:28:21 +0100

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's parliament approved on Saturday a strategic pact between Kabul and Washington, clearing the way for a U.S. presence in the country for at least a decade after most foreign combat troops leave in 2014. "This was done for the interest of Afghanistan," said Daoud Kalakani, an MP from Kabul. Around 180 MPs were present and only four voted against, Kalakani said. The deal, signed by U.S. President Barack Obama and Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai in Kabul on May 2, sets out a long-term U.S. role in Afghanistan, including aid and advisers. ...

Hollande makes surefooted start before assembly vote

Sat, 26 May 2012 05:55:18 +0100

PARIS (Reuters) - Socialist President Francois Hollande has defied critics who considered him an inexperienced lightweight by starting with a burst of globetrotting activity and standing up to Berlin and Washington on euro and foreign policy. Placid and slow-paced by nature, Hollande has packed in visits to Berlin, Washington, Camp David, Chicago, Brussels and Kabul in his first 10 days in office, a timetable worthy of his hyperactive conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy. ...

Clinton to visit Scandinavia, Caucasus, Turkey

Sat, 26 May 2012 04:26:35 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves next week on an eight-day trip to Scandinavia, the Caucasus and Turkey that will cover security issues such as Iran and Syria as well as the environment and health. The State Department said Clinton begins her May 31-June 7 trip with visits to Denmark, Norway and Sweden that will largely concentrate on the environment. ...

US drone 'kills four militants' in NW Pakistan

Sat, 26 May 2012 01:02:35 +0100

A US drone attack has killed at least four militants in a northwestern Pakistani tribal district bordering Afghanistan, according to security officials.

U.S. debates "terrorist" sanctions for Nigerian militants

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:49:18 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is debating the wisdom of designating the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram a "foreign terrorist organization" despite entreaties from lawmakers and the Justice Department to do so. U.S. diplomats are giving serious consideration to the arguments of a group of academics who sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week urging her department not to apply the "terrorist" label to the al Qaeda-linked group. ...

Ex-Mexico cop pleads guilty in U.S. to organizing cartel hit squad

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:30:08 +0100

(Reuters) - A former Mexican police officer accused of organizing a hit squad for the once-powerful Tijuana drug cartel pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court on Friday to racketeering and drug trafficking, prosecutors said. Carlos Cosme, 36, was an officer with the Baja California State Attorney General's Office when he hired a colleague to set up a hit squad for the Tijuana cartel, which dominated trafficking to California in the 1980s and 1990s. ...

Russian arms shipment en route to Syria - report

Sat, 26 May 2012 00:14:34 +0100

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A Russian cargo ship loaded with weapons is en route to Syria and due to arrive at a Syrian port this weekend, Al Arabiya television said in a report that Western diplomats in New York described on Friday as credible. Syria is one of Russia's top weapons customers. The United States and European Union have suggested the U.N. Security Council should impose an arms embargo and other U.N. sanctions on Syria for its 14-month assault on a pro-democracy opposition determined to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Hollande makes surefooted start before assembly vote

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:40:17 +0100

Confessed killer of New York boy charged with murder

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:21:17 +0100

The confessed killer of six-year-old Etan Patz, whose disappearance exactly 33 years ago sparked New York's biggest modern crime mystery, was charged Friday with murder -- but his lawyer questioned whether he is mentally capable to face prosecution.

Elton John Forced To Cancel Vegas Dates

Fri, 25 May 2012 23:15:03 +0100

Sir Elton John has cancelled three shows of his Las Vegas residency after he being admitted to hospital with a respiratory infection.

Turkmen leader sacks oil and gas minister

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:25:55 +0100

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov sacked his oil and gas minister, citing his poor performance on state television on Friday, just two days after the Central Asian nation agreed landmark deals to supply natural gas to Pakistan and India. The deals agreed on Wednesday offer major economic benefits but depend on building and defending a U.S.-backed pipeline across violence-wracked Afghanistan, including a 735-km (450-mile) leg through the provinces of Herat and Kandahar. ...

US says China's yuan undervalued, not manipulated

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:26:10 +0100

The Obama administration on Friday rejected calls from Congress to brand China a currency manipulator, but said its "significantly undervalued" currency was a key brake on global growth.

Berlusconi party girl says masqueraded as Obama

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:20:59 +0100

ROME (Reuters) - One of the young women who attended Silvio Berlusconi's "bunga bunga" parties told a court on Friday that she dressed up as a burlesque version of U.S. President Barack Obama to entertain the former Italian prime minister. In testimony during a trial against the 75-year-old Berlusconi on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute, Marysthell Polanco said she had also dressed as prosecutor Ilda Boccassini. ...

US: Man Held Over Missing 'Milk Carton' Boy

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:15:48 +0100

A man has told New York police that he suffocated a six-year-old boy who disappeared 33 years ago.

U.S. to reaffirm commitment to Israel's security

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:32:55 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior State Department official will travel to Tel Aviv on Friday to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Israel's security following just-concluded talks between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program. Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, will discuss bilateral and regional issues with senior Israeli officials during her visit, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday. Sherman will also "reaffirm our unshakable commitment to Israel's security," the statement said without mentioning the just-concluded Iran talks in Baghdad. ...

China counter-challenges U.S. over subsidies at WTO

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:42:51 +0100

GENEVA (Reuters) - China filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Friday to challenge U.S. tariffs charged on Chinese goods that the United States considers to be unfairly subsidised. The dispute, revolving around so-called countervailing duties, relates to 22 products with an annual export value to the United States of $7.3 billion, China's mission to the WTO said in an emailed statement. There was no immediate reaction from U.S. officials. China did not name the products subject to countervailing duties. ...

China hits back at critical U.S. human rights report

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:42:31 +0100

BEIJING (Reuters) - China hit back on Friday at the U.S. State Department's annual survey of human rights, saying that only the Chinese people could pass judgement on what the Foreign Ministry said were the country's obvious achievements in the area. Asked about criticism of China in the report, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei condemned it for being prejudiced. "The United States State Department's annual report on human rights maligns other countries, and the content concerning China ignores the facts and is filled will prejudice, confusing black and white," he told a daily news briefing. ...

Pakistani interrogator says bin Laden wives gave little away

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:25:18 +0100

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden's three wives were fiercely loyal to him and gave little away when they were interrogated after the al Qaeda chief was killed in a U.S. raid over a year ago, a Pakistani intelligence agent who questioned them said. The three women were arrested by Pakistani security forces after the Navy SEAL raid on bin Laden's safe house in the town of Abbottabad, about 35 km (60 miles) from the capital Islamabad. ...

China says WTO complaint affects $7.3 billion exports

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:24:58 +0100

GENEVA (Reuters) - A Chinese trade complaint launched on Friday against U.S. countervailing duties on Chinese products relates to 22 products and affects Chinese exports to the United States worth $7.3 billion collectively, China's mission to the World Trade Organization said in an emailed statement. (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Louise Ireland)

US Cuts Pakistan Aid After Bin Laden Doc Jailed

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:55:49 +0100

America has withdrawn $33m in aid from Pakistan in protest at the 33-year sentence given to a Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama Bin Laden.

Activist Chen urges China to prosecute "lawless officials"

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:20:42 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged authorities in Beijing on Thursday to prosecute "lawless" officials who harassed and abused the self-taught lawyer, his family and supporters, saying such prosecutions could help China establish the rule of law. In one of his first interviews since arriving in the United States last Saturday, Chen told Reuters the rough treatment of his family and supporters who helped him escape house arrest last month was "entirely against Chinese law". ...

Chen Guangcheng, in US, pledges to keep speaking out

Fri, 25 May 2012 05:38:22 +0100

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng has vowed to keep speaking out against rights abuses in China as he settles into a new life in New York following his dramatic escape from illegal detention.

Syria envoy says U.N. mission can't get bank account

Fri, 25 May 2012 04:24:06 +0100

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria's U.N. ambassador complained on Thursday that his mission is unable to open a U.S. bank account due to sanctions imposed on his country because of its 14-month assault on an opposition determined to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Last year several U.S. banks suddenly closed the accounts of a number of diplomatic missions and foreign diplomats due to the high costs of monitoring financial activity to prevent money laundering and monetary support for terrorist activity. Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told the U.N. ...

U.S. looks forward to working with new Egyptian leader

Fri, 25 May 2012 03:34:04 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States pledged on Thursday to "stand with the Egyptian people" and said it looked forward to working with their democratically elected government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Egypt marked "another important milestone in their transition to democracy" by holding its first free election for president in two days of balloting. "We look forward to working with Egypt's democratically elected government," she said in a statement. ...

U.S. soldier convicted of bomb plot near Texas Army post

Fri, 25 May 2012 03:11:23 +0100

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A jury on Thursday convicted a U.S. soldier of attempting to build a bomb and use it to blow up a restaurant near the Fort Hood Army post in Texas to get revenge for the suffering of fellow Muslims in the Middle East at the hands of the military. Private First Class Naser Jason Abdo, 22, was arrested last July after a tip from a gun store owner who became alarmed by Abdo's befuddled attempts to purchase smokeless gunpowder and weapons. Abdo was also convicted of attempted murder of U.S. ...

Suspect confesses to killing New York boy in 1979 - police

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:55:55 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police on Thursday arrested a New Jersey man who they said had confessed to the 1979 killing of 6-year-old Etan Patz in a case that drew national attention to the plight of missing children and had frustrated law enforcement officials for more than three decades. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Pedro Hernandez, 51, confessed to choking the young boy in the basement of the small food market where Hernandez worked stocking shelves, then disposed of the body in a plastic bag that he threw in the trash. ...

U.S. senators penalize Pakistan for jailing CIA helper

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:25:48 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators scandalized by Pakistan's jailing of a doctor for helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden voted on Thursday to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million (21 million pounds) -- one million for each year in the doctor's sentence. "It's arbitrary, but the hope is that Pakistan will realize we are serious," said Senator Richard Durbin after the unanimous 30-0 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee. "It's outrageous that they (the Pakistanis) would say a man who helped us find Osama bin Laden is a traitor," said Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat. ...

What would Greek exit mean for the U.S. economy?

Fri, 25 May 2012 00:16:18 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Uncertainty over the fate of the euro currency is already dampening U.S. economic growth and any significant worsening of the crisis would deal a blow to a recovery that is gradually gathering steam. Economists estimate that volatile markets and business uncertainty over the fate of Greece and the policy course in Europe is already shaving anywhere from one tenth to one half a percentage point from U.S. 2012 gross domestic product growth. In a Reuters poll last week, U.S. GDP was forecast on average at 2.3 percent for 2012 and 2.4 percent for 2013. ...

U.N. rights chief to stay two more years; US, Syria aren't fans

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:18:56 +0100

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday renewed the mandate of the world body's human rights chief Navi Pillay, but she was given an abbreviated term as part of a compromise deal with the United States, which dislikes her criticism of Israel, envoys said. Syria also made clear it was not a fan of Pillay, a South African jurist whom the Syrian delegation described as "hostile" towards Damascus. Despite Washington's attempt to block a renewal of Pillay's mandate, a deal was reached after South Africa and others persuaded U.S. ...

US lawmakers eye Pakistan aid freeze over doctor row

Thu, 24 May 2012 23:13:28 +0100

Angry US lawmakers Thursday threatened to freeze millions of dollars in vital aid to Islamabad after a Pakistani doctor who helped hunt down Osama bin Laden was jailed for 33 years.

Activist Chen urges China to prosecute those who harassed him

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:54:13 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged authorities in Beijing on Thursday to prosecute "lawless" local officials who harassed and abused the self-taught lawyer, his family and supporters, saying such prosecutions could help China establish the rule of law. In one of his first interviews since arriving in the United States last Saturday, Chen told Reuters the rough treatment of his family and supporters who helped him escape house arrest last month was "entirely against Chinese law. ...

Arrest imminent in case of long-missing New York boy - source

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:49:08 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police were set to announce the arrest of a New Jersey man on Thursday in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz from his New York City neighbourhood, according to a source close to the investigation into the case that drew national attention to the plight of missing children. The arrest would come a day after the suspect, identified by sources as Pedro Hernandez, was picked up in Camden, New Jersey for questioning in the case. ...

USTR Kirk plans to go in January, upbeat on EU-US trade

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:30:27 +0100

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Wednesday that he expects to leave office at the end of President Barack Obama's first term, and also expressed enthusiasm about the potential for a trade agreement between the United States and the EU to boost jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic. ...

Clinton - US sanctions will stay as Iran talks continue

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:31:38 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will not ease sanctions on Iran before a third round of talks between major powers and Iranian officials about Tehran's nuclear program, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday. "As we lay the groundwork for these talks, we will keep up the pressure as part of our dual-track approach. All of our sanctions will remain in place and continue to move forward during this period," she told reporters in Washington hours after talks between Iran and world powers concluded in Baghdad. ...

Oil up as Iran talks extended, weak data eyed

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:15:27 +0100

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude futures rose on Thursday, rebounding from the previous session's slump as investors fretted about potential disruptions to Middle East oil supplies after talks between world powers and Iran over its nuclear program ended with no agreement. After seeming conciliatory before the Baghdad talks, Iran insisted on its right to nuclear fuel enrichment. Another meeting was set for June, suggesting the situation is fluid and prompting caution by oil investors. Trading volume was light and prices remained substantially below their highs for this year. ...

Clinton condemns Pakistan for jailing doctor who helped CIA

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:06:31 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan's jailing of a doctor for 33 years for helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden is "unjust and unwarranted," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday, vowing to continue to press the case with Islamabad. "The United States does not believe there is any basis for holding Dr (Shakil) Afridi. We regret the fact that he was convicted and the severity of his sentence," she said, calling his treatment "unjust and unwarranted." (Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Yemeni army kills 33 militants in south

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:52:16 +0100

ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni troops fought Islamist militants in southern cities on Thursday, as the government pressed ahead with a U.S.-backed offensive to help stabilise the impoverished Arab state that has turned into a base for al Qaeda. At least 33 militants were killed in heavy fighting with the Yemeni army on the western outskirts of the city of Jaar, in southern Abyan province, army officials and residents said. Among the dead were a Somali and an Egyptian fighting with the insurgents, they said. ...

Cyber Warfare: Al Qaeda Sites Hacked By US

Thu, 24 May 2012 19:56:30 +0100

The US government says it is taking the cyber battle to its enemy by hacking al Qaeda websites.