China attacks "biased" U.S. cyber-spying report

China attacks "biased" U.S. cyber-spying report


China attacks "biased" U.S. cyber-spying report

Posted: 23 Nov 2009 12:32 AM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday accused a U.S. congressional advisory panel of bias for a report in which it said the Chinese government appeared increasingly to be piercing U.S. computer networks to gather useful data for its military.


Groups see red over South Korea's green river plan

Posted: 23 Nov 2009 12:32 AM PST

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea launched an ambitious and costly project this week to overhaul its four major rivers in a way the government says will be a model for green growth but conservationists say will do far more harm than good.


Q+A - Indonesia's president faces critical reform test

Posted: 23 Nov 2009 12:32 AM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, under intense public pressure to reaffirm his reform credentials, was due to respond publicly on Monday to a huge graft scandal implicating police and state prosecutors.


Q+A - Indonesia's need for legal reform

Posted: 23 Nov 2009 12:04 AM PST

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's president said his government would tackle legal reform, crucial to curbing graft, attracting investment, and lifting growth, after a huge scandal involving police and state prosecutors sparked a public outcry.


Mediators report progress in rebel Karabakh talks

Posted: 23 Nov 2009 12:04 AM PST

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Mediators reported important progress at talks on Sunday between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but said difficulties were also identified as the Azeri leader threatened renewed war.


UK's Brown urges Europe to go for growth

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:32 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aware his chances of re-election may hinge on Britain's economy emerging from recession, will call on European leaders on Monday to launch a drive for economic growth.


Afghan discussion postponed

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:09 PM PST

Nato allies meeting in Belgium have postponed their discussion of whether to pledge reinforcements for Afghanistan.


US deserter seeks German asylum

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:11 PM PST

A US Army deserter is to meet German politicians in Berlin as he tries to secure asylum in the country.


Romanian election rivals 'facing run-off'

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:15 PM PST

Romania's centre-right President Traian Basescu has won the first round of the country's presidential election but faces a run-off, exit polls suggest.


ANALYSIS - Obama jobs forum to seek growth boost on the cheap

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:04 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's December jobs forum may be better at serving his political need to show the White House cares about sky-high U.S. unemployment, than discovering new ways to cheaply boost economic growth.


Healthcare reform faces challenges in U.S. Senate

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:04 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's U.S. healthcare overhaul plan has cleared an important Senate hurdle but lawmakers warned on Sunday of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's own Democrats.


Romanian president leads in poll first round

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:04 PM PST

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - President Traian Basescu led by a slim margin in the first round of Romania's presidential election on Monday and was set to face leftist leader Mircea Geoana in a Dec. 6 run-off, official partial results showed.


China quake activist jailed for three years

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 11:04 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese dissident who tried to help victims of last year's Sichuan earthquake was jailed for three years on Monday on charges of illegally possessing state secrets, his wife said, decrying the sentence as "revenge".


FACTBOX - Obama's Dec 3 jobs forum

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:32 PM PST

Ideas likely to surface include extending unemployment insurance and financial aid to cash-strapped states, although the White House says attendees from business, labor, finance and the nonprofit world will specifically focus on six topics:


Hundreds in south China oppose waste incinerator

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of residents in China's southern city of Guangzhou protested outside government offices on Monday, opposing plans for a major garbage incinerator that they say will endanger their health and the environment.


U.S. investigates radiation leak at Three Mile Island

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal officials are investigating a radiation leak at Three Mile Island, scene of the worst U.S. nuclear power accident, but said on Sunday there was no threat to public health or safety.


China quake dissident jailed for 3 years - family

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese dissident Huang Qi was sentenced to three years' jail on Monday on charges of illegally possessing state secrets, his wife said, decrying the verdict as revenge for his activism after last year's huge earthquake.


'Good progress' in Karabakh talks

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 08:50 PM PST

Azeri and Armenian leaders have made important progress in talks on disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, a mediator says.


Benefits lost 'because of Facebook'

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:02 PM PST

A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook, in which she appeared to be having fun.


Commonwealth should "shame" undemocratic members-report

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:15 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - The Commonwealth must do more to promote democracy and get tough on autocratic regimes, even if that means publicly "shaming" some of its members, said a report to be presented to its political leaders on Monday.


In Rural India, Entertainment Comes Via Cellphone

In Rural India, Entertainment Comes Via Cellphone


In Rural India, Entertainment Comes Via Cellphone

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:24 PM PST

In the furthest reaches of India's rural heartland, the cellphone is bringing something that television, radio and even newspapers couldn't deliver: Instant access to music, information, entertainment, news and even worship.


EU's Weakest Members Draw Scrutiny

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:02 PM PST

Greece, in particular, has faced the pinch of investors' risk-aversion. The bloc's executive arm has chastised its finances.


Pakistani militant group an intractable Indian foe (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:39 PM PST

Reuters - The Pakistan-based militant group that attacked the Indian city of Mumbai a year ago remains an implacable Indian foe and could strike again despite Pakistani efforts to rein it in.


Indonesian ferry with over 200 people on board sinks (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:34 PM PST

Rescuers evacuate the survivors of the 147-tonne Dumai Express ferry. As the search for survivors resumed, captain Johan Napitupulu said he had no warning he was sailing into a massive storm when he left Batam on Sunday.(AFP/Andri)Reuters - A ferry with 213 people on board sank off Indonesia's Riau islands on Sunday after being battered by bad weather, killing at least one person, police said.



Cambodia's Duch trial nears end

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:32 PM PST

Court begins final arguments in trial of Khmer Rouge prison chief.


FACTBOX - Obama's Dec 3 jobs forum

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:32 PM PST

Ideas likely to surface include extending unemployment insurance and financial aid to cash-strapped states, although the White House says attendees from business, labor, finance and the nonprofit world will specifically focus on six topics:


Iraqi parliament fails to reach election deal

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:30 PM PST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi parliament on Sunday failed to resolve an impasse threatening to delay the country's election in January, which could affect the U.S. military's plans for a partial pullout next year.


Hundreds in south China oppose waste incinerator

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of residents in China's southern city of Guangzhou protested outside government offices on Monday, opposing plans for a major garbage incinerator that they say will endanger their health and the environment.


U.S. investigates radiation leak at Three Mile Island

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal officials are investigating a radiation leak at Three Mile Island, scene of the worst U.S. nuclear power accident, but said on Sunday there was no threat to public health or safety.


China quake dissident jailed for 3 years - family

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:14 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese dissident Huang Qi was sentenced to three years' jail on Monday on charges of illegally possessing state secrets, his wife said, decrying the verdict as revenge for his activism after last year's huge earthquake.


US sailor cleared of assaulting Sydney prostitute (AP)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:54 PM PST

AP - A U.S. Navy serviceman was found not guilty Monday of sexually assaulting a prostitute at a brothel while on shore leave in Australia's biggest city.


Houston, we have a baby (Reuters)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:10 PM PST

Reuters - Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik awoke early on Sunday to a much-anticipated call that his new daughter had been born.


'Army without weapons' fights back after attacks (AFP)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 10:05 PM PST

Rabbi Avraham Berkowitz addresses a gathering at the Jewish cultural and religious centre in Mumbai on November 17. The storming of a Jewish cultural and religious centre in Mumbai by Islamist gunmen one year ago left six people dead and a deep scar in the psyche of the Jewish outreach movement that ran the site.(AFP/Pal Pillai)AFP - The storming of a Jewish cultural and religious centre in Mumbai by Islamist gunmen one year ago left six people dead and a deep scar in the psyche of the Jewish outreach movement that ran the site.



Japan mulls F-35 purchase as next main fighter jet (AFP)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:33 PM PST

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Japan is considering buying around 40 F-35 fighter jets as the future mainstay of the nation's air force, it was reported Monday.(AFP/HO/Joint Strike Fighter program site/Ho)AFP - Japan is considering buying around 40 F-35 fighter jets as the future mainstay of the nation's air force, it was reported Monday.



Australia battles wildfires as threat eases: officials (AFP)

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:17 PM PST

A vehicle drives past a bushfire near the town of Rylstone, northwest of Sydney on Sunday. Australian firefighters battled to contain scores of blazes in the country's southeast on Monday as a sharp drop in temperatures eased fears for dozens of threatened homes.(AFP/Torsten Blackwood)AFP - Australian firefighters battled to contain scores of blazes in the country's southeast on Monday as a sharp drop in temperatures eased fears for dozens of threatened homes.



Police probe motive of Northern Marianas gunman

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 07:13 PM PST

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands -A Chinese gunman who went on a deadly shooting rampage in the Northern Mariana Islands before killing himself appeared to be suffering financial and emotional problems, police said.

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Cambodia set for final arguments in KRouge jail chief trial

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 05:17 PM PST

PHNOM PENH -Cambodia's Khmer Rouge war crimes court on Monday begins final arguments in its first trial, bringing the regime's prison chief closer to justice for the "Killing Fields" atrocities 30 years ago.

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'Good progress' in Karabakh talks

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 08:50 PM PST

Azeri and Armenian leaders have made important progress in talks on disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, a mediator says.


Benefits lost 'because of Facebook'

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:02 PM PST

A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook, in which she appeared to be having fun.


EU's Weakest Members Draw Scrutiny

Posted: 22 Nov 2009 09:02 PM PST

Greece, in particular, has faced the pinch of investors' risk-aversion. The bloc's executive arm has chastised its finances.