Iran rejects US allegation on al Qaeda operative

Iran rejects US allegation on al Qaeda operative

Iran rejects US allegation on al Qaeda operative

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 01:17 AM PST

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran rejected as "completely baseless" U.S. allegations that it was harbouring an al Qaeda member who is accused of operating as a facilitator and financier for the group from the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday.

Bomb in Nigerian church causes deaths at Christmas

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 12:56 AM PST

ABUJA (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in a Catholic church on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital Abuja during Christmas prayers on Sunday and emergency services said they did not have enough ambulances available to evacuate all the dead and the wounded.

Pakistan information minister to quit amid political crisis

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 11:16 PM PST

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's information minister offered to resign Sunday, as tensions continued between the civilian government and the country's powerful military over a memo alleging an army plot to seize power in May.

Five Afghans die after drinking methanol

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 12:27 AM PST

KABUL, Dec 25 — Five people died and 10 others were hospitalised after drinking methanol at an engagement party in Kabul, the capital of staunchly conservative Afghanistan, the interior ministry said today. Alcohol is forbidden for Muslims in Afghanistan but is available on several European military bases, among a total of about 130,000 foreign ...

Explosion rocks church in Nigerian capital

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 12:24 AM PST

ABUJA, Dec 25 — A powerful explosion shook a church in a densely populated part of the Nigerian capital Abuja today, witnesses said. A witness on a local radio station calling himself Paul said he was inside St Theresa's Church in the Madala district when a bomb went off in the middle of the church. Another witness, Rose Adoga, who lives nearby ...

New sign of rising power for new North Korean leader’s uncle

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 11:45 PM PST

SEOUL, Dec 25 — North Korean state TV footage today showed Jang Song-thaek, the power behind the communist state's throne, wearing a military uniform with the insignia of a general, another sign of his rising influence after the death of Kim Jong-il. The footage, which state TV said was taken yesterday, showed Jang at the front of rows of top ...

US regrets Cuba failure to free US citizen

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 11:05 PM PST

WASHINGTON, Dec 25 — The US State Department said yesterday it deplored Cuba's failure to free Alan Gross — a US citizen serving a 15-year prison term in a case that has stalled progress in US-Cuba relations — as part of an announced humanitarian release of some 2,900 prisoners. "If this is correct, we are deeply disappointed and deplore the fact ...

Arab women filmmakers shine at Dubai festival

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 11:35 PM PST

A tale of forbidden love in the Gaza Strip won the top prize at the eighth Dubai Film Festival on Wednesday, where a new generation of Arab women directors stole the spotlight.

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Spain Christmas lottery fares well in lean times

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 10:57 PM PST

(Spain-AFP) - In the midst of an economic crisis, the Spanish are turning to a trusted Christmas tradition in the hope of getting through their financial woes: the lottery. Copyright (AFP RELAXNEWS/ AFPTV), 2011.

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New sign of rising power for new North Korean leader's uncle

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 09:53 PM PST

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean state TV footage on Sunday showed Jang Song-thaek, the power behind the communist state's throne, wearing a military uniform with the insignia of a general, another sign of his rising influence after the death of Kim Jong-il.

Darfur rebel leader Ibrahim dead, Sudan says

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 09:05 PM PST

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's armed forces claimed Sunday to have killed the head of the western Darfur region's most powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

At least 38 dead in Haitian shipwreck off Cuba

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 08:50 PM PST

HAVANA (Reuters) - At least 38 people died on Saturday when a boat carrying Haitian migrants sunk off the coast of Guantanamo province in far eastern Cuban, Cuban television reported.

At least 38 dead in Haitian shipwreck off Cuba

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 09:42 PM PST

HAVANA, Dec 25 — At least 38 people died yesterday when a boat carrying Haitian migrants sunk off the coast of Guantanamo province in far eastern Cuban, Cuban television reported. It said 87 people, including seven women, were rescued after Cuban civil defence forces spotted the boat 100m off Punta Maisi, which is about 1,000km southeast of ...

UN passes leaner 2012-2013 budget amid economic turmoil

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 09:19 PM PST

NEW YORK, Dec 25 — The UN General Assembly yesterday approved a 5 per cent decrease in the United Nations' budget for 2012-2013 over the previous two-year period, only the second time in 50 years that the world body has slashed its spending. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the 193-nation General Assembly for reducing costs at a time when ...

Sea Shepherd says drones find, photograph Japan’s whaling fleet

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 08:58 PM PST

SYDNEY, Dec 25 — Hardline whaling opponents attempting to stop Japan's annual whale hunt in the Antarctic said today they had intercepted and photographed its whaling fleet using pilotless drone aircraft.  The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said it located the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru off Australia's western coast yesterday using the ...

Egypt Islamists take two-thirds of second-round vote

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 07:28 PM PST

CAIRO, Dec 25 — Egypt's two leading Islamist parties won about two-thirds of votes for party lists in the second round of polling for a parliament that will help draft a new constitution after decades of autocratic rule, the election committee said yesterday. The party list led by the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won 36.3 per cent ...

Greek strikers close Acropolis over Christmas

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 07:00 PM PST

ATHENS, Dec 25 — Hundreds of tourists were barred from visiting the Athens Acropolis on Christmas Eve after the site's guards called a strike to demand overdue weekend pay. Visitors had to resort to taking photos of themselves outside the monument's shuttered gates yesterday, peering through the bars to get a look at the 5th century BC temple. "It ...

Mourning Syrians rally for Assad, UN condemns bombs

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 06:28 PM PST

BEIRUT, Dec 25 — Funerals for 44 people killed in twin suicide car bombs in Damascus turned into a show of support for President Bashar al-Assad yesterday, with thousands of mourners denouncing the United States and its Arab allies for interfering in Syria. The United Nations voiced grave concern over the bombings, which marked an ominous step up ...

Christmas nativity scenes captivate Krakow

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 08:31 PM PST

For generations, a competition for the best nativity scene has been drawing artists to Poland's historic royal capital Krakow, in a Christmas tradition that has become one of the city's greatest. Copyright (AFP RELAXNEWS/ AFPTV), 2011.

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Sudan says kills Darfur rebel leader - SUNA message

Posted: 24 Dec 2011 08:15 PM PST

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's armed forces claimed on Sunday to have killed the head of the western Darfur region's most powerful rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, state media said.

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