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UN observers warn of civil war in Syria after massacre

Sun, 27 May 2012 02:04:57 +0800

The head of a UN mission warned on Saturday of "civil war" in Syria after his observers counted more than 92 bodies, 32 of them children, in the town of Houla following reports of a massacre there.

U.N. says over 92 killed, 32 of them children, in Syria attack

Sun, 27 May 2012 02:00:34 +0800

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Saturday that more than 92 people were killed in what activists said was an artillery barrage by government forces in the worst violence since the start of a U.N. peace plan to slow the flow of blood in Syria's uprising. The bloodied bodies of children, some with their skulls split open, were shown in footage posted to YouTube purporting to show the victims of the shelling in the central town of Houla on Friday. The sound of wailing filled the room. ...

Lesotho counts ballots in tight three-way race

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:59:49 +0800

Lesotho counted ballots Saturday after a tight general election -- dominated by personal clashes rather than concerns over poverty -- that could produce the southern African nation's first coalition government.

Vienna dismisses Beijing objections to Dalai Lama meet

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:51:26 +0800

Up to 10,000 people came out to greet the Dalai Lama on Saturday after Vienna ignored warnings from China that ties with Beijing could be harmed by hosting the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.

Putin puts Medvedev in charge of Russia's ruling party

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:28:48 +0800

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin steered Dmitry Medvedev into the chairmanship of Russia's ruling party on Saturday and demanded reforms to the flagging organisation he will rely on to keep his grip on the country's far-flung regions. At Putin's behest, delegates at a United Russia congress elected Medvedev chairman with a unanimous show of hands, the final step in a choreographed role reversal the longtime leader hopes will preserve his rule against growing opposition. After four years of playing No. ...

Top Nazi war criminal dies at 90

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:27:41 +0800

A Nazi war criminal who escaped from a Dutch jail after the war and evaded all attempts by the Netherlands to get him back has died at the age of 90 in Germany, a hospital source said Saturday.

Islamist and ex-PM vie for mantle of Egypt's revolt

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:27:02 +0800

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood and a military man close to ousted leader Hosni Mubarak courted defeated first-round candidates in Egypt's presidential election on Saturday, each trying to claim the mantle of the uprising before a run-off next month. State television said the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi led this week's vote with 26.4 percent, against 23 percent for ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, according to preliminary results. Hamdeen Sabahy, a secular leftist came a close third with 21.5 percent, followed by independent Islamist Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh. ...

Muslims buried in Bosnia town, Serb veterans march

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:25:26 +0800

VISEGRAD, Bosnia (Reuters) - The bodies of 66 Bosnian Muslims, murdered and dumped in the Drina river 20 years ago, were buried in Visegrad in eastern Bosnia on Saturday, hours after a march through the town by Serb veterans of the 1992-95 war. Nestled in the river valley, Visegrad is indicative of Bosnia's unhealed wounds. Muslims made up two-thirds of the town's 21,000 population before the war, but were driven out by Bosnian Serb forces. Just a few hundred have returned to live. ...

Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:23:49 +0800

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station opened the hatch and floated inside a Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon capsule on Saturday, the first privately owned spaceship to reach the orbital outpost, NASA said. Running ahead of schedule, station commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon just before 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly reported from Mission Control in Houston. The bell-shaped capsule, which was making its second test flight, arrived at the space station on Friday. ...

Iran downplays UN find, media wary of Moscow talks

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:22:21 +0800

Iran on Saturday downplayed a report by the UN atomic watchdog that uranium traces have been detected of a higher grade than any found before, as media voiced doubts about the next round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Biden tells West Point cadets: prepare for new threats

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:21:52 +0800

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most of the cadets who graduated on Saturday from West Point were in elementary school when hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and enrolled in the U.S. military academy with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vice President Joe Biden lauded the brave choices of the Class of 2012 - and their so-called "9/11 generation" - with a commencement address focused on the United States' new foreign policy challenges including cyber threats and a rising China. ...

Two dead, seven injured in Finland gunman shooting

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:11:30 +0800

Police arrested Saturday an 18-year-old man suspected of killing two people and wounding seven others in a shooting targeting restaurants packed with teenagers in southern Finland.

Medvedev chosen to boost Russia ruling party

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:10:03 +0800

Russia's ruling party on Saturday approved Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as its new chief in a bid to reverse flagging popularity that stoked opposition protests against the Kremlin.

New sub-tropical storm threatens big US beach weekend

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:07:35 +0800

Storm warnings went up along the US eastern seaboard Saturday as a new subtropical storm wheeling out of the Atlantic threatened Memorial Day holiday plans for hordes of beachgoers.

Spain's Bankia says sure of securing massive state bailout

Sun, 27 May 2012 01:05:32 +0800

Spain's fourth-biggest bank Bankia said Saturday it was certain of securing the 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid it is seeking in the largest bank bailout in the country's history.

Eurovision set for battle of the oldies

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:46:06 +0800

Usually a jamboree of youthful exuberance — and questionable taste — this year's Eurovision Song Contest features a pair of elderly acts among its top contenders.

Brother of blind Chinese activist Chen returns home - lawyer

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:27:40 +0800

BEIJING (Reuters) - The brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng who was reported to have gone missing has returned to his village in northeastern China, a lawyer said on Saturday. The short disappearance of Chen Guangfu had sparked concerns he was the latest target of government reprisals against the family of the activist, who escaped from his village in late April after 19 months of detention at home. Shandong-based lawyer Liu Weiguo told Reuters Chen Guangfu had returned to Dongshigu village. ...

Azerbaijan hosts Eurovision final

Sun, 27 May 2012 00:23:35 +0800

Azerbaijan prepared Saturday a spectacular show for a Eurovision Song Contest final pitting pensioners against young stars which it hopes will dispel concerns over the country's poor rights record.

Islamists, ex-PM reach out to rivals after Egypt vote

Sat, 26 May 2012 23:27:12 +0800

The apparent winners of the first round of Egypt's landmark presidential vote reached out to rival candidates Saturday ahead of a June run-off, as international monitors describe the initial voting process as "encouraging."

US reporter detained in Ethiopia freed: broadcaster

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:59:29 +0800

A Voice of America (VOA) reporter and a translator detained while covering a protest in the Ethiopian capital were released from jail on Saturday, VOA said.

UK plans migrant curbs if euro folds - paper

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:46:47 +0800

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is drawing up emergency immigration controls to combat any surge in economic migrants from Greece and other European Union countries if the euro collapses, its interior minister said in remarks published on Saturday. Theresa May did not say what steps Britain could apply. Every national in the single market has the right to work in a fellow member state, although temporary restrictions can apply to new member countries. "As in every part of government, it is right that we do some contingency planning on this," she told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. ...

Saudi Crown Prince flies abroad for medical tests

Sat, 26 May 2012 22:44:21 +0800

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef has left the kingdom for a holiday and medical tests, the state news agency reported on Saturday, in a country where the health of senior royals is keenly watched. "Crown Prince Nayef ... went abroad for a personal vacation during which some medical tests have been scheduled," Saudi Press Agency reported. Nayef, who is 77 or 78, has been interior minister since 1975 and was made King Abdullah's heir apparent in October after the death of the former crown prince, Sultan. ...

Iran has enough uranium for 5 bombs - expert

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:37:11 +0800

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 tracks Iran's nuclear programme closely, based the analysis on data in the latest report by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which was issued on Friday. ...

Iran plays down U.N. nuclear report

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:21:23 +0800

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has played down a United Nations report that said Iranian nuclear scientists had enriched uranium to a higher-than-expected level, state media reported on Saturday. On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that samples taken in February showed particles with enrichment levels of up to 27 percent - putting Iran further down the road to making potentially weapons-grade uranium. ...

Somali Islamists vow revenge after fall of rebel bastion

Sat, 26 May 2012 19:24:48 +0800

Al-Qaeda-linked Somali militants vowed Saturday to intensify the war against government and African Union troops, despite the fall of their key stronghold of Afgoye, the latest in a string of military losses.

Rooftop gunman kills two in Finland

Sat, 26 May 2012 19:12:48 +0800

HELSINKI (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire from a rooftop in a Finnish town centre in the early hours of Saturday, killing two people and wounding several others, police said. An 18-year-old man wearing camouflage clothing was arrested after the shooting in Hyvinkaa, a small town 56 km (34 miles) north of the capital Helsinki. The motive for the shooting was unclear. It followed a series of shooting sprees in Finland in recent years and came less than a year after anti-immigrant gunman Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in a rampage in neighbouring Norway. ...

Afghan road lifelines blocked by graft, kickbacks

Sat, 26 May 2012 18:07:54 +0800

KABUL (Reuters) - When the Afghan government unveiled plans for a road linking his small village to larger centres elsewhere, Rahmanullah was so enthusiastic he offered a section of his farm for the route, thinking it would help move his produce to larger markets. He even signed up for the construction gang, earning $6 a day to help build the 28 kilometre-long route from Gardez, the capital of east Paktia province, and Rahmanullah's home in the mountainous Mirzaki district. ...

Syria shelling killed over 90 - opposition

Sat, 26 May 2012 15:38:38 +0800

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The death toll has risen to at least 90 from Syrian shelling on the town of Houla on Friday, an opposition group said on Saturday. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said residents continued to flee the town, in central Homs province, in fear that artillery fire would resume. There was no immediate independent confirmation of the accounts from Syria, which has restricted access for journalists during a 14-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. ...

China cancels Britain visit 'over Dalai Lama meet'

Sat, 26 May 2012 11:30:05 +0800

China's top legislator cancelled a visit to Britain in anger over a meeting between British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, a source said.

Gunman in Indiana standoff dies after shooting himself

Sat, 26 May 2012 10:17:35 +0800

VALPARAISO, Indiana (Reuters) - A gunman took hostages in an Indiana real estate office on Friday, then released them after an eight-hour standoff and fatally shot himself in the head, authorities said. The gunman died at a hospital in Valparaiso, Indiana, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Chicago, police said. "We believe there was some issue over some money," said Valparaiso Police Chief Michael Brickner. He added the man had been to the office previously to complain and had a confrontation with employees. ...