South Africa police foil right-wing plot against ANC meeting

South Africa police foil right-wing plot against ANC meeting


South Africa police foil right-wing plot against ANC meeting

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:14 PM PST

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African police said on Monday they had foiled a plot by suspected right-wing extremists to bomb a major meeting of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Bombs, blasts kill 11 in Iraq's disputed areas

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:06 PM PST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs exploded in three towns and villages in Iraq's disputed territories on Monday, killing at least 11 people in the second day of attacks in areas at the center of a feud between Baghdad and autonomous Kurdistan.

South Africa police foil right-wing plot against ANC meeting

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:13 PM PST

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South African police said on Monday they had foiled a plot by suspected right-wing extremists to bomb a major meeting of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Four men, aged between 40 and 50, were arrested on Sunday, the police said in a statement. "They planned to plant a bomb in one of the tents," national police spokesman Phuti Setati said. Close to 5,000 ANC members, including President Jacob Zuma, government ministers and top business people are attending the conference in the central city of Bloemfontein under heavy police presence. ...

Bombs, blasts kill 11 in Iraq's disputed areas

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:05 PM PST

Students inspect a damaged house after a bomb attack in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of BaghdadBAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs exploded in three towns and villages in Iraq's disputed territories on Monday, killing at least 11 people in the second day of attacks in areas at the center of a feud between Baghdad and autonomous Kurdistan. Two blasts hit a Shi'ite district in Tuz Khurmato, killing at least four and wounding 24 and a truck bomb killed seven in a Shabak minority area near Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of the capital, security and local officials said. Another car bomb hit a second village near Mosul without causing any casualties, police said. ...


South Korea's Park tries to make history

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:21 PM PST

South Korea's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party waves to supporters during her presidential election campaign in Suwon, south of Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. South Korea's presidential election is scheduled for Dec. 19. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye heads into Wednesday's election under the weight of history. Not only is she the daughter of a dictator who ruled with ruthless efficiency for 18 years, but she's trying to win power in a country still dominated by men.


Blast in Afghan capital kills one, wounds 15

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:29 PM PST

KABUL (Reuters) - A bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul killed one person and wounded 15 on Monday, Kabul's police chief said.

Analysis: Huge mandate for Japan's LDP may be less than meets the eye

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:03 PM PST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Even Japan's next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, realizes that his party's landslide election victory is not the sweeping mandate that it appears at first blush.

Blast in Pakistani market kills at least 15 people

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:23 PM PST

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A blast in a market in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least 15 people, a security official said.

Egypt's Islamists aim to build on constitution vote

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 10:49 PM PST

CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi has won initial backing from Egyptians for a new constitution that he hopes will steer the country out of crisis, but which opponents say is an Islamist charter that tramples on minority rights.

Several killed in Pakistani tribal area blast

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:31 PM PST

At least 16 people, including women and children, killed after bomb attack targeted office of top local official.

Blast kills 10 Afghan girls collecting firewood

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:15 PM PST

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A blast killed 10 Afghan girls as they were collecting firewood in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, government officials said. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion in volatile Nangarhar province. It could have been a bomb planted by Taliban insurgents or a landmine left over from decades of conflict. The girls, between nine and 11 years old, were collecting wood in remote Chaparhar district, near the porous border with Pakistan, which is infested with some of the world's most dangerous militant groups. ...

Analysis: Huge mandate for Japan's LDP may be less than meets the eye

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:03 PM PST

Japan's next PM Abe points during a news conference in TokyoTOKYO (Reuters) - Even Japan's next prime minister, Shinzo Abe, realizes that his party's landslide election victory is not the sweeping mandate that it appears at first blush. An analysis of the vote as well as Abe's own comments suggests he would be best served by focusing on what matters most to voters - the economy - and steering clear of divisive issues such as revising Japan's pacifist constitution. That said, aggressive moves by China in a territorial row over tiny islands in the East China Sea could act to bolster support for Abe's tough-talking stance toward its giant rival. ...


Blast in Pakistani market kills at least 15 people

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:23 PM PST

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A blast in a market in northwest Pakistan on Monday killed at least 15 people, a security official said. The official said at least 20 people had been wounded in the blast in the market in the Khyber region, near the border with Afghanistan, and the death toll could rise. Pakistani television news channels broadcast pictures of wrecked cars and pick-up trucks damaged in the blast, which took place near rows of shops. ...

Report: Explosion in Lebanon near Israel border

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:04 PM PST

Lebanon's state agency has reported a large explosion in the country's south near the border with Israel.

Bomb in government office kills 9 in Pakistan

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:21 PM PST

A bomb exploded in the women's waiting area of a government office in Pakistan's troubled tribal region on Monday, killing at least nine people and wounding over 40 others, a government official said.

Chavez allies sweep Venezuela polls

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:09 PM PST

Ruling Socialist Party wins nearly all 23 states, as Henrique Capriles consolidates position as top opposition leader.

North Korea mourns death of Kim Jong-il

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 10:20 PM PST

Hundreds of thousands mark one year since death of former leader at mass memorial ceremony.

Japan's Abe sees difficult road ahead

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 09:28 PM PST

Leader of conservative LDP, which won landslide victory in general elections, says his party faces heavy responsibility.

Afghan girls killed in explosion

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:27 PM PST

At least 10 young girls killed after explosion in eastern province of Nangarhar, local administrator says.

North Koreans mourn Kim Jong Il 1 year later

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 10:14 PM PST

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, leaves after attending a national meeting of top party and military officials on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of his late father Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)North Koreans across the country stopped in their tracks at midday Monday to silently honor former ruler Kim Jong Il, whose death one year ago swept his untested 20-something son to power.


Kidnap gangs use leaked bank details to prey on Afghan tycoons

Kidnap gangs use leaked bank details to prey on Afghan tycoons


Kidnap gangs use leaked bank details to prey on Afghan tycoons

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:02 PM PST

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan construction magnate Haji Asadullah Ghaznawi was dragged from his office with a gun to his head and locked up in a slaughterhouse for almost three weeks.

Iran chides EU for handing Sakharov Prize to dissidents

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:15 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran criticized the European Union on Sunday for giving its prize for human rights and freedom of thought to two Iranians, a lawyer and a filmmaker, who were cut off from the outside world for defying the country's leadership.

Hungary's Jews face down new extremism

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:12 PM PST

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A week after a leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik party called for lists of prominent Jews to be drawn up to protect national security, Janos Fonagy stepped forward.

Indonesia's clogged ports strain growth prospects

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:05 PM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - At Jakarta's infrastructure monitoring nerve center, live TV cameras track traffic flows on port access roads and highways, satellite images show cloud cover, and a Twitter feed allows officials to respond in real time to any public complaints.

Syria VP says neither side can win war

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST

Farouq al-Sharaa says "historic settlement", involving formation of national unity government needed to end conflict.

Lanza Used a Popular AR-15 Style Rifle in Newtown

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:42 PM PST

Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster semiautomatic rifle, a model of the popular AR-15 style guns that can fire multiple rounds rapidly and at high velocity and have appeared in other recent shooting rampages.

Palestinian PM Fayyad hits back at Israel with boycott call

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:40 PM PST

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad urged his compatriots in the occupied West Bank on Sunday to boycott all Israeli products, upping the ante in a standoff with the Jewish state.

Son of Iran's Rafsanjani released from prison: IRNA

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:44 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - The son of influential former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was released from prison on Sunday night after spending more than two months in detention, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Syrian Airstrike Kills Palestinian Refugees

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:29 PM PST

An attack in Syria's capital reportedly drove dozens of formerly pro-government Palestinian fighters to defect.

Syrian Airstrike Kills Palestinian Refugees

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:30 PM PST

Government forces killed at least eight people in the Yarmouk district of Damascus and reportedly drove dozens of formerly pro-government Palestinian fighters to defect to the rebels.

Blasts rock Nairobi neighbourhood

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 01:16 PM PST

Several injured in series of explosions in Somali Eastleigh suburb in Kenyan capital.

VIDEO: Rethinking political loyalty in SA

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:49 AM PST

South Africa's governing African National Congress is meeting to decide who will lead it into the next general election.

Pro-Monti centre-right urges PM to run in election

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:30 AM PST

ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-right leaders increased pressure on Prime Minister Mario Monti on Sunday to run for a second term in an impending election as the leader of an alliance of "moderates".

Bloomberg Urges Obama to Take Action on Gun Control

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:09 PM PST

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, a leading voice for gun control, all but demanded Sunday that President Obama confront the prevalence of guns in the nation.

At Yarmouk refu­gee camp in Syria, fighting intensifies

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:03 AM PST

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Syrian jets dropped bombs on a decades-old Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Sunday after days of intense fighting in the crowded neighborhood between Syrian rebels and Palestinians who support the government, opposition activists said.

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Large Paris march to support gay marriage plan

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 11:11 AM PST

PARIS (Reuters) - Supporters of same-sex marriage and adoption marched through Paris on Sunday to back the French government's planned reform and counter unexpectedly strong opposition from conservative and religious groups.

Wartime pigeon message 'cracked'

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 09:36 AM PST

A World War II coded message strapped to the remains of a pigeon has foiled Britain's top code breakers. But has a Canadian enthusiast done what the experts could not and found the key?

Tottenham 1-0 Swansea

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 08:19 AM PST

Jan Vertonghen scores the winner against Swansea to send Tottenham back into the Premier League's top four.

Fisherman swept out to sea dies

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 09:04 AM PST

A fisherman who was rescued after he was swept out to sea in County Durham has died, police confirm.

Fiscal Cliff Casts Big Shadow on Sunnier 2013 Economic Forecasts

Posted: 16 Dec 2012 12:14 PM PST

Economists' opinions vary, and some envision slower growth, especially in the beginning of the year, even if Washington avoids a stalemate in the fiscal talks.