• U.S. defence chief casts doubt on Iran drone claims

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    BOGOTA (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday cast doubt on Iranian military claims that it started building a copy of a U.S. surveillance drone captured last year. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, was quoted saying in Iranian media on Sunday that engineers were in the final stages of decoding data from the Sentinel aircraft, which came down in December near the Afghan border. ... More »U.S. defence chief casts doubt on Iran drone claims

  • Norway killer says hoped to have massacred more

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian who massacred 77 people to protest against Muslim immigration to Europe said on Monday he had hoped to kill as many as 150 and kept on killing because police failed to respond urgently to his phone call. Breivik has given a detailed account of his car bomb attack at government headquarters in Oslo on July 22, which killed eight people, followed hours later by his shooting of 69 people, mostly teenagers, at a Labour Party island camp. He said on Monday his "gruesome" actions were to prevent a civil war caused, he said, by a Muslim takeover of Europe. ... More »Norway killer says hoped to have massacred more

  • Bahrain opposition leader says talks reach hurdle

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    MANAMA (Reuters) - The conflict in Bahrain will grow more violent if the government does not engage in political reforms a year after a pro-democracy uprising erupted in the Gulf Arab state, the leader of the main opposition party said on Monday. "We want to sit down and talk to them, but they are refusing to enter a dialogue with us. They put obstacles and diversions to present a picture of reforms that actually only reconfirm and reinstate the dictatorship," Sheikh Ali Salman told Reuters in an interview. "We have reached an impasse. ... More »Bahrain opposition leader says talks reach hurdle

  • Sudan bombing a "declaration of war" - South

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    OUTSIDE BENTIU, South Sudan (Reuters) - Sudanese war planes bombed a market in the capital of South Sudan's oil-producing Unity State on Monday, residents and officials said, in an attack the southern army called a declaration of war. Sudan denied carrying out any air raids but its President Omar Hassan al-Bashir ramped up the political tension by ruling out a return to negotiations with the South, saying its government only understood "the language of the gun". ... More »Sudan bombing a "declaration of war" - South

  • Breivik Apologises To 'Non-Political' Victims

    Sky News - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    Norway gunman Anders Behring Breivik has apologised to those he called the "non-political" victims of his Oslo bombing - but not to those he killed in the Utoya massacre. More »Breivik Apologises To 'Non-Political' Victims

  • Crime one of the world's "top 20 economies" - U.N.

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    VIENNA (Reuters) - Crime generates an estimated $2.1 trillion in global annual proceeds - or 3.6 percent of the world's gross domestic product - and the problem may be growing, a senior United Nations official said on Monday. "It makes the criminal business one of the largest economies in the world, one of the top 20 economies," said Yury Fedotov, head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), describing it as a threat to security and economic development. ... More »Crime one of the world's "top 20 economies" - U.N.

  • EU restricts luxury exports to Syria in new sanctions

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union adopted new sanctions against Syria on Monday restricting the export to Syria of luxury products and items that could be used for repression, as bloodshed in the country continued despite a ceasefire. EU officials were planning to draw up a list of luxury items to restrict, and the list could include items such as caviar, cigars, crystal goods, billiards equipment and perfume, one EU official said. ... More »EU restricts luxury exports to Syria in new sanctions

  • Suspicion rules ahead of latest Hungary-EU talks

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Hungary appears no closer to convincing European officials to restart talks over financial aid and Prime Minister Viktor Orban sounded a pessimistic note ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, but that may suit the maverick leader. The European Commission, already at odds with Orban over his aggressive, centralising style, halted talks on an International Monetary Fund loan last December, citing legislation it said undermined the independence of Hungary's central bank. ... More »Suspicion rules ahead of latest Hungary-EU talks

  • Pentagon suspends security clearances over Colombia scandal

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    BOGOTA (Reuters) - The Pentagon has suspended security clearances of military personnel implicated in the Colombia prostitution scandal, U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday. U.S. Secret Service and military personnel allegedly took as many as 21 women back to their beachfront hotel on the night of April 11-12, ahead of President Barack Obama's trip to the seaside city of Cartagena to attend the Summit of the Americas. They were discovered when one woman complained about money, leading to the involvement of the local police. ... More »Pentagon suspends security clearances over Colombia scandal

  • Algeria says real chance of freeing Mali hostages

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria sees a "real prospect" that seven of its diplomats, who were abducted by Islamist rebels in northern Mali, can be freed, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci said on Monday. The diplomats were abducted earlier this month from the town of Gao, part of a swathe of territory in northern Mali under the control of Tuareg-led separatists since they pushed out the military in an offensive over the past few weeks. "I can assure the Algerian public that the hostages are in good health," Medelci told reporters. ... More »Algeria says real chance of freeing Mali hostages

  • EU suspends most Myanmar sanctions, not arms ban

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on Monday to suspend most of its sanctions against Myanmar for a year despite a dispute over a parliamentary oath between the army-backed ruling party and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In the first clear sign of friction since Suu Kyi's party swept historic by-elections, the ruling party on Monday rejected her demand to replace the words "safeguard the constitution" with "respect the constitution" in the oath. ... More »EU suspends most Myanmar sanctions, not arms ban

  • Czech PM to call vote of confidence - source

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas will call for a vote of confidence for Friday to test whether his centre-right cabinet has majority support in parliament after a breakup of a junior coalition party, a source in Necas's Civic Democrats said. "We will go for a vote of confidence on Friday and if it is won, we will continue (in government)," the source told Reuters during a meeting of the Civic Democrat leadership. ... More »Czech PM to call vote of confidence - source

  • Global pirate attacks down in Q1, Nigeria risk grows

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    LONDON (Reuters) - Vigorous action by navies including pre-emptive strikes helped cut global pirate attacks by almost a third in the first quarter of this year although Nigerian gangs escalated hijackings in West African waters, a maritime watchdog said. Lured by tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments, Somali pirates continue to threaten vital shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Despite successful efforts to quell attacks, international naval forces have limited resources and vast distances to patrol. ... More »Global pirate attacks down in Q1, Nigeria risk grows

  • Dutch coalition offers to resign in budget cuts row

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tendered his government's resignation on Monday in a crisis over budget cuts, creating a political vacuum in a country which strongly backed an EU fiscal treaty and lectured Greece on getting its finances in order. Rutte said he had offered his minority coalition's resignation to Queen Beatrix after a split with the populist Freedom Party, which had backed his government for the past 18 months, opening the way for elections possibly as early as June. ... More »Dutch coalition offers to resign in budget cuts row

  • Eyes To The Far Right: Sarkozy Battles For Job

    Sky News - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    Nicolas Sarkozy is battling to survive as French President after he was runner-up in the first round of voting to Socialist rival Francois Hollande. More »Eyes To The Far Right: Sarkozy Battles For Job

  • Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman, the former neighbourhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, was released early on Monday from a Florida county jail on $150,000 bail. Wearing a brown Pittsburgh Steelers jacket, jeans and carrying a brown paper bag, Zimmerman walked out of the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida, moments after midnight after posting bail and meeting other conditions set for his release at a hearing on Friday. ... More »Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail

  • Medvedev pardons one of 32 "political prisoners"

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday pardoned a man on a list of 32 people who opposition activists consider political prisoners, but gave no clue whether he might free others in his last two weeks in the Kremlin. Medvedev, who will be replaced as president by Vladimir Putin on May 7, signed a decree pardoning Sergei Mokhnatkin, 58, and 13 others. The Kremlin said on its website that the decision was "guided by the principles of humanity". ... More »Medvedev pardons one of 32 "political prisoners"

  • Bahrain police, protesters clash after funeral of protester

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    DUBAI (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bahraini protesters clashed with riot police on Monday after the funeral of a protester who was found dead at the weekend, a Reuters witness said. Protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at a police station in the district of al-Bilad al-Qadeem in the capital Manama after 15,000 people took part in the funeral of Salah Abbas Habib, whose body was found riddled with birdshot pellets the day after he was involved in a clash with police. Police fired teargas and sound grenades. (Reporting by Hamad Mohammed; Writing by Andrew Hammond) More »Bahrain police, protesters clash after funeral of protester

  • Hama shelling undermines Syria truce

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army killed more than 20 people in Hama on Monday, activists said, shattering a week of relative quiet in the central city visited a day earlier by U.N. monitors laying the ground for a wider mission to oversee a shaky 11-day ceasefire. A small group of unarmed observers has been in Syria for a week, tracking the truce between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and opponents inspired by 'Arab Spring' uprisings in North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East. ... More »Hama shelling undermines Syria truce

  • Syria violence continues despite pledges to end it - UN

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Fighting in Syria continues despite announcements from the Syrian government that it will comply with a U.N.-backed truce and has withdrawn troops and heavy weapons from cities and towns, the U.N. political affairs chief said on Monday. More than 9,000 people have died in Syria during 13 months of fighting sparked by a popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. At least 20 people were killed in shelling on Monday, activists said. "The cessation of armed violence remains incomplete," Lynn Pascoe, U.N. ... More »Syria violence continues despite pledges to end it - UN

  • Banker Shooting Suspect Snapped On CCTV

    Sky News - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    Police investigating the attempted murder of a wealthy Russian banker gunned down outside his executive flat have released CCTV images of the suspect. More »Banker Shooting Suspect Snapped On CCTV

  • Moroccan PM in rare criticism of king's entourage

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco's prime minister has hit out at courtiers around King Mohammed in rare criticism that could signify the start of a confrontation between the Islamist-led government and powerful figures close to the palace. Morocco's authorities, under pressure from the "Arab Spring" upheavals elsewhere in the region, held early elections last year which for the first time handed power to the opposition PJD party of moderate Islamists. ... More »Moroccan PM in rare criticism of king's entourage

  • Backers of barred Egyptian candidate extend sit-in

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    CAIRO (Reuters) - Hundreds of followers of ultra-orthodox Islamist preacher Hazem Salah Abu Ismail extended a sit-in in Cairo's Tahrir square on Monday to protest against an electoral commission that disqualified him from Egypt's presidential election. Abu Ismail was ruled out because his mother held U.S. citizenship, though he has fiercely denied this and accused the electoral commission of conspiring against him. Egyptian law does not allow presidential candidates or their parents to hold foreign nationalities. A presidential election is due to take place on May 23-24. ... More »Backers of barred Egyptian candidate extend sit-in

  • Sudan bombs South Sudan border area, Bashir rules out talks

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    OUTSIDE BENTIU, South Sudan (Reuters) - Sudan launched air strikes on South Sudan on Monday, killing three people near an oil town, local officials and residents said, days after South Sudan pulled out of a disputed oilfield. Weeks of border fighting have brought the former civil war foes closer to a full-blown conflict than at any time since the South seceded in July. The South accused Khartoum of bombing its forces on Saturday as they were pulling out of Heglig, a disputed oil region it had occupied and which is central to Sudan's economy. ... More »Sudan bombs South Sudan border area, Bashir rules out talks

  • Israel punishes Palestinian hunger-strikers

    Reuters - Mon, Apr 23, 2012

    RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel has taken measures against some 1,200 Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, denying them family visits and separating them from inmates not taking part in the protest, prison authorities said on Monday. The open-ended strike, dubbed the "battle of empty stomachs" by organisers, began last Tuesday. The prisoners are demanding better jail conditions and for Israel to end detention without trial for Palestinians suspected of security offences. ... More »Israel punishes Palestinian hunger-strikers

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