Reuters: World News

Japan urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi before poll

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:12:26 GMT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan urged Myanmar Saturday to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before next year's election, adding it was ready to provide more aid if democratisation in the country advanced.

Russian communists flirt with Medvedev

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:37:35 GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's communist party denounced powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin while cautiously praising President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday as a man who had brought 'certain hopes' to the country.

Afghans killed during search for missing U.S. troops

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:07:19 GMT

KABUL (Reuters) - NATO forces mistakenly killed seven Afghan soldiers and police in an air strike during a battle while searching for two missing American soldiers in Afghanistan, the Afghan Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

Lebanon's Hariri set to announce unity government

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:44:43 GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri will announce a new national unity government in the next two days after clinching a deal with the opposition on its make-up, politicians from both sides said on Saturday.

Russia's Medvedev leaves door open to Iran sanctions

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:33:28 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - Sanctions against Iran should not be ruled out if it fails to agree to restrictions on its nuclear programme, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel in an interview.

Afghanistan hits back at U.N. and foreign criticism

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:44:24 GMT

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan accused the United Nations on Saturday of intervening in the formation of President Hamid Karzai's next cabinet, less than a week into his new term.

U.S. Army gunman's act "impossible" - grandfather

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:18:42 GMT

AL-BIREH, West Bank (Reuters) - The grandfather of a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people and wounding 30 others at a base in Texas said on Saturday he found it impossible to believe his grandson had committed the act.

Russian military plane crashes in Pacific, 11 missing

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:45:06 GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian military plane with 11 people on board crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a training flight late on Friday, the Defence Ministry said.

Iran says over 100 people detained at anti-U.S. rally

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:25:17 GMT

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Motive probed for U.S. Army shooting rampage

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:57:54 GMT

KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - Investigators searched on Friday for the motive behind a mass shooting at a sprawling U.S. Army base in Texas, in which an Army psychiatrist trained to treat war wounded is suspected of killing 13 people.

Bin Laden videotape not new, monitoring site says

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:27:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A videotape of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released on Friday is the Pashto-language version of a tape released several months ago, said IntelCenter, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring firm.

Madagascar rivals agree power-sharing deal

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:26:04 GMT

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Madagascar's political rivals struck a deal late Friday on the make-up of a unity government, paving the way for an end to a 10-month political crisis that has rocked the Indian Ocean island.

Bin Laden videotape not new, monitoring site says

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:01:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A videotape of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released on Friday is the Pashto-language version of a tape first released several months ago, said IntelCenter, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring firm.

Al Qaeda releases new bin Laden videotape - website

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:41:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda released a new videotape from its leader Osama bin Laden on Friday, said IntelCenter, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring firm.

Lebanon's opposition agrees to join Hariri government

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:57:11 GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's opposition, including Iranian-backed Hezbollah, agreed on Friday to join a national unity government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, a senior opposition source said.

Stop seeking compromise with Israel - Hamas leader

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:56:06 GMT

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday to stop seeking compromise with Israel but offered him an olive branch, saying Palestinians must end their divisions.

Honduras pact crumbles over unity government

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:34:37 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - An agreement to end a four-month political crisis in Honduras collapsed on Friday after two rival leaders failed to form a government of unity to heal the damage from a June coup.

One killed, 5 injured in Orlando shooting

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:29:16 GMT

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An ex-employee of an engineering consulting firm who was laid off in 2007 opened fire at his former workplace in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, killing one person and wounding five others, police said.

Iranians linked to banned drone videos in Darfur - U.N.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:25:47 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Two Iranian businessmen working at a Dubai-based firm were linked to video surveillance devices sold to Sudan and used in unmanned drones in Darfur in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, a U.N. report said.

Motive probed for U.S. army shooting rampage

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:02:45 GMT

KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - Investigators searched for the motive on Friday behind a mass shooting at a sprawling U.S. Army base in Texas, in which an Army psychiatrist trained to treat war wounded is suspected of killing 13 people.

At least 25 hurt in U.S. troop search in Afghanistan

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:51:59 GMT

HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - More than 25 NATO and Afghan troops were wounded during a search Friday for two missing U.S. paratroopers in western Afghanistan, the NATO-led force said.

No takers for Abbas' Palestinian presidency

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:10:18 GMT

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Younger Palestinian leaders were in no rush on Friday to step into the shoes of President Mahmoud Abbas after he said he did not want to run for re-election in January.

Germany admits errors in deadly Afghan bombing

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:34:26 GMT

BERLIN (Reuters) - German troops made mistakes but acted appropriately when they ordered an air strike on two fuel trucks in Afghanistan that killed dozens of civilians, Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Friday.

Yemeni rebels say holding Saudi soldiers

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:11:18 GMT

RIYADH (Reuters) - Yemen's Shi'ite rebels said they had captured some Saudi soldiers on Friday, after Riyadh said it would press on with its offensive until it had cleared them from its territory.

WITNESS - The day Checkpoint Charlie came back to haunt me

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:12:54 GMT

Ralph Boulton was a Reuters correspondent based in Berlin from 1984 to 1987, and reinforced the bureau during the turmoil leading up to and after November 9. He is now a senior editor on the London World Desk.