• Medvedev cosies up to U.S. cowboys - in Russia

    Reuters - Thu, May 24, 2012

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - He's had cheeseburgers with U.S. President Barack Obama, palled around with ex-Hollywood movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger and gushed with praise on a visit to Silicon Valley. On Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev encountered another American phenomenon: the cowboy. He did so not in the United States but in the western Russian region of Bryansk, where some American cattle wranglers are working to help train Russians to develop the domestic beef industry. ... More »Medvedev cosies up to U.S. cowboys - in Russia

  • Amnesty accuses U.N. council of "failed leadership"

    Reuters - Thu, May 24, 2012

    LONDON (Reuters) - Rights group Amnesty International lambasted the United Nations Security Council on Thursday as "tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose". In its annual report, Amnesty said the failure of world powers to take stronger action on Syria was evidence that a sclerotic security council was hamstrung by vested interests, and also warned of abuses arising from Europe's economic crisis. Permanent security council members Russia, a key arms supplier to Syria, and China have shielded Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from tough sanctions. ... More »Amnesty accuses U.N. council of "failed leadership"

  • Mexico's PRI party scolds ex-governor in drug probe

    Reuters - Thu, May 24, 2012

    MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's opposition party, leading by double digits in presidential polls, said on Wednesday that one of its former governors must face up to charges in the United States of accepting millions of dollars from drug cartels. In an effort to contain what is likely to become a hot campaign issue, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) said they are deciding if Tomas Yarrington, former governor of the state of Tamaulipas, should be thrown out of the party. On Tuesday, U.S. ... More »Mexico's PRI party scolds ex-governor in drug probe

  • Iran talks show common ground, disagreement - U.S.

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A first day of talks between Iran and world powers about a nuclear programme that the West suspects is aimed at nuclear bomb research showed a "fair amount of disagreement" but also areas of common ground, a senior U.S. official said. "I believe we have the beginning of a negotiation," the official said of the talks, which opened on Wednesday and lasted late into the evening. "But still we have to come to closure...about what are the next appropriate steps. ... More »Iran talks show common ground, disagreement - U.S.

  • Egyptians back at the polls to pick president

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt resumes its first free presidential election on Thursday after voting passed off mostly calmly on the first day apart from a stone-throwing attack on candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was premier for a few days before Hosni Mubarak fell. The race broadly pits Islamist candidates against secular ones like Shafiq and Amr Moussa, the former Arab League chief who previously served as Mubarak's foreign minister. Long queues formed at polling stations early on Wednesday, and some were packed late into the evening. ... More »Egyptians back at the polls to pick president

  • Pakistani jailed for 33 years over bin Laden hunt

    AFP - Wed, May 23, 2012

    A Pakistani surgeon recruited by the CIA to help find Osama bin Laden was Wednesday sentenced to 33 years in prison for treason, sparking a warning from US senators over American aid. More »Pakistani jailed for 33 years over bin Laden hunt

  • France, Germany in EU summit showdown

    AFP - Wed, May 23, 2012

    France and Germany crossed swords Wednesday over how to spur growth in the debt-stricken eurozone at an EU summit tinged by plunging markets and the euro hitting a near two-year low. More »France, Germany in EU summit showdown

  • World powers, Iran at odds in crunch nuclear talks

    AFP - Wed, May 23, 2012

    Iran demanded late Wednesday that world powers sweeten proposals made in talks in Baghdad aimed at easing the crisis over Tehran's nuclear programme, saying future negotiations were at stake. More »World powers, Iran at odds in crunch nuclear talks

  • Powers, Iran discuss detail of possible nuclear deal

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran and world powers exchanged unusually detailed proposals at talks in Baghdad on Wednesday in hopes of defusing a long standoff over suspicions Tehran's atomic energy programme may be a disguised quest for nuclear weapons. The stakes could hardly be higher: global oil markets are jittery over extended Western sanctions imposed on Iran's vital crude exports and the spectre of a Middle East war arising from possible Israeli strikes against its defiant arch-enemy. ... More »Powers, Iran discuss detail of possible nuclear deal

  • Fed's Bullard says orderly Greek exit possible

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Greece could exit the euro zone without doing deep damage to the U.S. and European economies if the transition is handled properly, a top Federal Reserve official said on Wednesday. Concerns about a Greek exit have kept global financial markets under pressure in recent days. "I'm one that thinks that Greece could exit, and it could be handled in an appropriate way without causing too much damage, either in Europe or in the U.S.," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard told Reuters. ... More »Fed's Bullard says orderly Greek exit possible

  • China activist worried about nephew's legal plight

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is worried his nephew will be subjected to a revenge show trial by Chinese officials and will work to publicize his plight from New York, a supporter said on Wednesday after meeting Chen. Chen, who escaped from house arrest last month and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, arrived in New York with his family on Saturday after China let him leave a hospital to quell a diplomatic rift with the United States. ... More »China activist worried about nephew's legal plight

  • Tunisian prosecutor demands death penalty for Ben Ali

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian military prosecutor demanded on Wednesday that the death penalty be imposed in absentia on ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali over his alleged role in the deaths of protesters in the towns where the Arab Spring began. Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia as protests swept Tunisa on January 14, 2011, has already been sentenced to decades in jail on charges ranging from corruption to torture. He has not so far been convicted of any charges that carry the death penalty, which is rarely carried out in the North African country. ... More »Tunisian prosecutor demands death penalty for Ben Ali

  • EU leaders examine steps for orderly bank wind-ups

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders discussed broad measures to stem the fallout from a winding up or restructuring of bad banks on Wednesday, EU officials said, with the European Central Bank pressing for the bloc to stand behind its struggling lenders. At the heart of the discussion are proposals from the European Commission for a legal framework to wind up or reorganise insolvent banks so as to avoid a repeat of the multi-trillion-euro taxpayer bailouts during the financial crisis. ... More »EU leaders examine steps for orderly bank wind-ups

  • Russian rights chief urges Putin to veto protest law

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin's human rights adviser said on Wednesday he will urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to veto a bill to increase fines for protesters deemed to have broken the law, unless it is rewritten. The bill has been proposed by the dominant United Russia party to try to suppress protests against Putin's rule. It proposes raising fines to 1.5 million roubles (30,581 pounds) for protest organisers and 1 million roubles ($32,000) for demonstrators for violating public order during government-sanctioned rallies. ... More »Russian rights chief urges Putin to veto protest law

  • Mexico opposition party chides ex-governor in drug probe

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's opposition party, leading by double digits in presidential polls, on Wednesday said a former governor must face up to charges in the United States of accepting millions of dollars from drug cartels. In an effort to contain what is likely to become a hot campaign issue, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) said they are deciding if Tomas Yarrington, former governor of the state of Tamaulipas, should be thrown out of the party. On Tuesday, U.S. ... More »Mexico opposition party chides ex-governor in drug probe

  • Mali leader flies to France for health checks after attack

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's interim leader Dioncounda Traore was flown to France on Wednesday for medical checks after he was attacked by protesters this week, Mali's government spokesman said. Traore suffered facial injuries when hundreds of protesters broke into the presidential palace on Monday. The full extent of his injuries was not clear but two diplomatic sources said he was due to have checks on his pacemaker. Hamadoun Toure, Mali's interim government spokesman, said on state television the medical visit had been long planned and Traore would return once he was cleared by his doctor. ... More »Mali leader flies to France for health checks after attack

  • Russia tests new missile, in warning over U.S. shield

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia tested a new long-range missile on Wednesday that should improve its ability to penetrate missile defence systems, the military said, in Moscow's latest warning to Washington over deployment of a missile shield in Europe. The Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) was successfully launched from the Plesetsk facility in north-western Russia and its dummy warhead landed on target on the Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific coast, the Defence Ministry said. ... More »Russia tests new missile, in warning over U.S. shield

  • U.S. general says Afghanistan will need "combat power"

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will require "significant firepower" in Afghanistan in 2013-14, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces there said, but decisions about further U.S. troop reductions will only be made after this fall at the earliest. "We're going to need combat power. I don't think anyone questions that," Marine General John Allen said on Wednesday. "I owe the president some real analysis on this. ... More »U.S. general says Afghanistan will need "combat power"

  • French government defends convicted minister

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    PARIS (Reuters) - France's new government rejected calls on Wednesday for the resignation of a minister convicted of branding former managers of a ferry company crooks, arguing the ruling did not undermine new President Francois Hollande's promise of clean government. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said there was no reason to force out Arnaud Montebourg, a lawmaker who landed a post as a minister in charge of industrial revival in the left-wing cabinet named last week. ... More »French government defends convicted minister

  • Yemeni troops advance; donors pledge $4 billion aid

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    ADEN/RIYADH (Reuters) - Yemeni government troops battled Islamist militants in two southern cities on Wednesday as international donors met in Saudi Arabia to pledge $4 billion to help stabilise a state that has become a base for al Qaeda. Government forces recaptured parts of the strategically important city of Zinjibar and fought militants in the city of Jaar, leaving 33 militants and nine soldiers dead, officials and residents said. ... More »Yemeni troops advance; donors pledge $4 billion aid

  • Pakistani doctor jailed for helping CIA find bin Laden

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have sentenced a doctor accused of helping the CIA find Osama bin Laden to 33 years in jail on charges of treason, officials said, a move almost certain to further strain ties between Washington and Islamabad. Shakil Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden in a Pakistani town. The al Qaeda chieftain was killed in a unilateral U.S. special forces raid in the town of Abbottabad in May last year. ... More »Pakistani doctor jailed for helping CIA find bin Laden

  • West to freeze policing of disputed Bosnia district

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A Western envoy said on Wednesday he would suspend his authority over a disputed Bosnian district sandwiched between two feuding regions, in the latest attempt to slowly scale down international involvement in the strife-torn country. After the Dayton peace accords ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war and divided the country into the Serb Republic and the Muslim-Croat federation, both regions claimed Brcko. An arbitration panel put the district under international supervision in 1999 and ruled it should be owned equally by the two regions. ... More »West to freeze policing of disputed Bosnia district

  • Iran talks expected to continue Thursday - diplomats

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Talks between six world powers with Iran on its nuclear programme are expected to continue for a second day on Thursday after detailed discussions on Wednesday, diplomats said. "We are expecting a plenary session to continue tomorrow morning," a diplomat at the talks said. Another diplomat confirmed the talks were expected to continue but a third said a final decision had not yet been made. (Reporting By Andrew Quinn; Editing by Michael Roddy) More »Iran talks expected to continue Thursday - diplomats

  • EU members among most open trading nations - study

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    GENEVA (Reuters) - European Union member countries and their close partners in north and central Europe make up 12 of the 20 nations that are most open to international trade, according to a report issued on Wednesday. The Geneva-based World Economic Forum, in the latest update of its Enabling Trade Index, which is compiled every two years, put the United States at No. 23, down from 19 in 2010. Fellow trade giant China dropped from 48th to 56th place, and would-be powerhouse Russia was way down the rankings at 112th place. ... More »EU members among most open trading nations - study

  • Euro zone looks at Greek exit as leaders meet

    Reuters - Wed, May 23, 2012

    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders, at odds over how to resolve the deepening crisis in the euro zone on Wednesday, have been advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece quits the single currency area. Three officials told Reuters the instruction to be ready was agreed on Monday during a teleconference of the Euro group Working Group (EWG) - experts who work for the bloc's finance ministers - and the German central bank said losing Greece would be testing but "manageable". ... More »Euro zone looks at Greek exit as leaders meet

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