Iran Seizes Yacht With U.K. Crew

Iran Seizes Yacht With U.K. Crew


Iran Seizes Yacht With U.K. Crew

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:55 PM PST

Britain's Foreign Office says that a racing yacht carrying five U.K. nationals has been stopped by Iranian naval vessels, and they are now in Iran.


Abu Dhabi’s Silence Raises the Heat on Dubai

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 01:02 PM PST

The debt crisis could be a way for Abu Dhabi to demand greater control over Dubai, and perhaps over all the members of the emirates federation.


Somali pirates seize Greek tanker near Seychelles

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 11:55 AM PST

ATHENS (Reuters) - Somali pirates have seized a Greek-flagged oil tanker near the Seychelles, more than 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, Greece's coastguard said on Monday.


Abu Dhabi’s Silence Raises the Heat on Dubai

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:44 PM PST

The debt crisis could be a way for Abu Dhabi to demand greater control over Dubai, and perhaps over all the members of the emirates federation.


Obama ready with Afghan strategy

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 01:12 PM PST

US president expected to announce 30,000 more troops and exit plan for Afghanistan.


Air France plane forced to turn back over Atlantic Ocean

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 07:38 AM PST

An Airbus airplane was forced to turn back to New York 90 minutes into a flight to Paris, Air France said Monday.


Woods Withdraws From Tournament

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:50 PM PST

Tiger Woods has withdrawn from his own golf tournament after citing injuries from a car crash near his Florida home.


Weis Is Out as Notre Dame Coach

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:46 PM PST

Charlie Weis, who had a career record of 35-27 with the Irish, had six years remaining on his contract and his buyout has been reported to be as much as $18 million.


Senior Cleric Denounces Iranian Militia Force

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:09 PM PST

Iran's most senior cleric denounced the role of the Basij in the crackdown against protesters, saying the force's actions were against religion and "in the path of Satan."


Woods pulls out of own tournament

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:08 PM PST

Tiger Woods withdraws from this week's Chevron World Challenge, a tournament he has hosted for the past nine years, because of injuries sustained in a car crash.


Uzbekistan May Exit Regional Power Grid

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 10:59 AM PST

Uzbekistan is threatening to withdraw from the Soviet-era power grid that unites four Central Asian countries, prompting fears of electricity shortages.


Pakistani president remains vulnerable but defiant

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 11:28 AM PST

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Asif Ali Zardari, fighting to keep his job amid pressure from opponents in the media, the courts, the parliament and the military, appears to have reasserted his grip on the presidency for the time being, according to analysts here.


Obama informs advisers of Afghan war strategy

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:04 PM PST

President Obama has informed his senior advisers of his Afghanistan war strategy decision and ordered his commanders on the ground there to begin carrying out the plan.



Dubai official: Dubai World's debt its own

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 10:08 AM PST

Dubai's government said Monday that lenders could not rely on government guarantees for Dubai World, a state-controlled holding company with $59 billion in debt that says its property unit named Nakheel will be unable to pay a $3.52 billion Islamic bond due Dec. 14.


UK honour killing 'wake-up call'

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 11:35 AM PST

The case of a teenager allegedly murdered by her own family is a "wake-up call" over so-called honour killings in the UK, a jury is told.


Iranian navy seizes racing yacht, British crew members

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:24 PM PST

Five British nationals who were the crew of a racing yacht were detained by the Iranian Navy on November 25 and remain held in Iran, the British Foreign Office said Monday.


Government 'stifled, harrassed' opposition, watchdog says

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 07:27 AM PST

The president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea has been re-elected in a vote that human rights groups criticized as unfair.


Premiums for Employee Health Coverage May Change Little, Budget Study Finds

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 11:47 AM PST

A much-awaited budget analysis of health care legislation indicates premiums for most people would be little affected.


UK to send 500 extra troops to Afghanistan

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 11:39 AM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will send 500 more soldiers to Afghanistan in December as part of a broader surge in NATO-led troop levels to tackle worsening violence and train Afghan forces, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday.


Swiss minaret ban may signal new right-wing surge

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 12:22 PM PST

ZURICH (Reuters) - A Swiss vote to ban the construction of new minarets puts the spotlight on the Alpine country's social and political divisions and could herald a new surge in populist, anti-immigrant sentiment.


EXCLUSIVE - Danish draft urges 50 pct global emission cut by 2050

EXCLUSIVE - Danish draft urges 50 pct global emission cut by 2050


EXCLUSIVE - Danish draft urges 50 pct global emission cut by 2050

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 01:11 AM PST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The world should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels with the bulk of the reduction coming from rich countries, according to a draft proposal by Denmark, host of Dec 7-18 U.N. climate talks.


Dalai Lama says climate change needs global action

Posted: 30 Nov 2009 01:11 AM PST

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tibet's exiled Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama entered the climate change debate on Monday, urging governments to take serious action and put global interests ahead of domestic concerns.


Thai king to make rare appearance on birthday

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 11:54 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej will appear in public on Saturday at Bangkok's Grand Palace on his 82nd birthday, but his traditional birthday eve address has been postponed indefinitely, palace officials said.


Australia's carbon laws face delay, poll possible

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 11:54 PM PST

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's key policy to fight global warming limped closer to defeat on Monday with parliament set to delay or reject the government's carbon emissions trade scheme, raising the chances of an early election.


Iran expands naval clout in Gulf - U.S. naval study

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 11:11 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran has restructured its naval forces to give an arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard full responsibility for operations in the strategic Persian Gulf in the event of a conflict, according to a new U.S. intelligence study.


Q+A - Why is China opposed to raising pressure on Iran?

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 11:11 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) - Iran announced plans on Sunday to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants in a major expansion of its atomic programme, just two days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog rebuked it for carrying out such work in secret.


Australian climate row highlights Copenhagen rifts

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 11:11 PM PST

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's major rivers are shrinking and farms are gripped by drought as scientists warn of climate change, but that has not convinced some sceptical politicians to back carbon-trade laws.


Muslim prilgrimage ends with handful of flu cases

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:57 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - The annual Muslim haj pilgrimage has ended without the major flu outbreak feared by some experts and with only five deaths from the H1N1 flu virus out of 73 recorded cases, the Saudi health minister said.


Thai king's birthday address postponed - palace

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:41 PM PST

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A traditional birthday eve address by Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej scheduled for Friday, Dec. 4, has been postponed indefinitely, the royal palace said on Monday.


Nazi death camp trial begins

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:08 PM PST

After a 32-year legal battle, John Demjanjuk will face charges of helping to murder more than 27,000 Jews at the Sobibor concentration camp, at a court in Munich on Monday.


Dubai banks given extra liquidity

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:13 PM PST

The UAE central bank says it will offer banks extra liquidity, as the troubled stock market there prepares to reopen.


Report urges sanctions against Sudan ruling party

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:11 PM PST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States and other world powers should impose sanctions on key members of the Sudanese government for refusing to end violence in Darfur and south Sudan, a report by an anti-genocide group said on Monday.


Saudi crown prince ends treatment, back soon -son

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 10:11 PM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz is in "excellent health" after being treated for an illness and will return home "after a few weeks", his son, Prince Khaled bin Sultan, was quoted as saying.


Hajj pilgrimage comes to an end

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 09:18 PM PST

The biggest annual pilgrimage in the world has just finished in Saudi Arabia.


Cocaine 'central' to Bolivia election

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:57 PM PST

Bolivia's President, Evo Morales, is starting his re-election campaign but the opposition says cocaine production has soared under his leadership.


Drop in smoking cuts cancer deaths in Europe

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

LONDON (Reuters) - A decline in smoking in Europe and better screening mean fewer people are dying of cancer, but lung cancer deaths in women are rising in places like Scotland and Hungary where more women smoke, doctors said on Monday.


FEATURE - Sunshine, sewage to power cities of the future

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

LILLE, France (Reuters) - "These are the three giant stomachs of Lille."


FACTBOX - Iran approves plan to build 10 new enrichment plants

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

Here are some details about Iran's known nuclear sites:


Russia drafts 'post-Cold War' East-West security pact

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday published its proposal for a new Euro-Atlantic security treaty that would restrict its ability to use military force unilaterally if the United States and its European allies agreed to do the same.


France and Rwanda restore diplomatic ties

Posted: 29 Nov 2009 07:42 PM PST

PARIS/KIGALI (Reuters) - France and Rwanda agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a three-year break on Sunday, straight after the central African nation finally joined the Commonwealth bloc and moved into the Anglophone sphere.