Reuters: World News

Indonesian said "God is great" as hotels attacked

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:02:05 GMT

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian suspect went on trial on Wednesday charged in connection with bomb attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta and a plan to assassinate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

How the poor can get poorer, and be OK about that

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:46:32 GMT

VILNIUS/RIGA (Reuters) - Moody's upgraded the outlook for Lithuania's debt rating recently, but that means nothing to people like Lijandra Garniene.

Obama says world moving quickly on Iran sanctions

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:44:59 GMT

WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the international community was moving "fairly quickly" towards imposing broader sanctions on Iran, as the Islamic Republic defiantly expanded its nuclear program.

Second big snowstorm slams U.S. East Coast

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:13:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The second major snowstorm in less than a week slammed the U.S. East Coast from Washington to New York Tuesday, forcing the United Nations to close and the U.S. Congress to curtail legislative action.

Haiti secure after quake, but escapees a concern - U.N.

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:45:31 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - The top U.N. official in Haiti urged Haitians on Tuesday to turn in thousands of escaped criminals before they start trouble, but said the security situation in the quake-struck Caribbean nation is stable.

Nigerian VP assumes office as acting president

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:56:32 GMT

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan assumed office as acting president on Tuesday to fill a power vacuum more than two months after President Umaru Yar'Adua left for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

Crisis-hit Greece sticks to guns on wages, taxes

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:43:15 GMT

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's Socialist government announced a tough incomes policy on Tuesday, a day before unions strike against austerity measures needed to exit a fiscal crisis, and sugared the pill by hiking taxes on the rich.

Obama says world moving quickly on Iran sanctions

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:55:32 GMT

Second snowstorm bears down on U.S. East Coast

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:41:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Not again! Residents from Virginia to New York prepared for a major snowstorm that could bring 12 inches (30.5 cm) of snow just days after a blizzard dumped as much as 3 feet (90 cm) in some areas.

Somali pirates free Panama ship after ransom

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:11:24 GMT

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates said they received a $3.1 million (2 million pounds) ransom Tuesday and had freed a Panama-flagged ship, the MV Al Khaliq, which they hijacked in October.

Ukraine's Tymoshenko girds to contest result

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:31:27 GMT

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko launched action on Tuesday to call rival Viktor Yanukovich's election into question, ignoring international endorsement of the poll and threatening a lengthy legal battle.

Sudan, Chad agree "definitive end" to proxy wars

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:53:49 GMT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan and Chad agreed on Tuesday to end their proxy wars and work together to rebuild their border areas, a move seen aimed at bolstering security and credibility before impending polls in both nations.

Fate of Pakistani Taliban chief still unclear

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:57:10 GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A new frenzy of rumours spread about the fate of Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud on Tuesday, but a U.S. counter-terrorism official said he could not definitively confirm the death of the militant.

Sri Lanka parliament dissolved before April 8 poll

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:55:21 GMT

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's president has dissolved parliament before legislative elections on April 8, a senior government official said on Tuesday, a day after a leading opposition figure was arrested on military offences.

Moscow says U.S. missile shield aimed at Russia

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:11:55 GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's top general said on Tuesday that U.S. missile defence plans were directed against his country, and differences over the issue were holding up an arms treaty with Washington, Russian news agencies reported.

China officers urge economic punch against U.S.

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:00:31 GMT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Senior Chinese military officers have proposed that their country boost defence spending, adjust PLA deployments, and possibly sell some U.S. bonds to punish Washington for its latest round of arms sales to Taiwan.

Canada may expand air commander murder probe

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:46:55 GMT

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Tuesday they are looking at reopening cold cases of slain women after having laid murder charges against the commanding officer of the country's largest military air base.

Pilot error behind Ethiopian jet crash - source

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:24:56 GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Pilot error caused the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane off the coast of Lebanon last month which killed all 90 people on board, a source familiar with the investigation into the accident said Tuesday.

Luxury Mexican drug rehab clinic lures U.S. addicts

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:15:28 GMT

MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - A Mexican entrepreneur is luring U.S. drug addicts to plush rehabilitation centres south of the border, even as shoddier Mexican clinics earn a reputation for attracting cartel shootouts.

Sudan, Chad agree "definitive end" to proxy wars

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:05:35 GMT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan and Chad agreed on Tuesday to end their proxy wars and engage in direct talks and joint development projects to rebuild their war-affected border areas.

NATO frustration as Afghan police flunk drug tests

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:03:36 GMT

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - When British trainers administered random drugs tests to 25 Afghan police recruits at a base in southern Helmand province, most of them failed.

Russian tycoon says ex-spy murder claim "outrageous"

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:51:18 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky said on Tuesday it was outrageous to claim he was responsible for the death of his friend Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB agent who was murdered in London in 2006.

Protests flare in restive South African township

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:48:26 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police fired rubber bullets on Tuesday to disperse rioters who torched a library in a restive township, a reminder of the social problems that persist 20 years after the release of Nelson Mandela.

EU Parliament backs new European Commission

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:49:37 GMT

STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved the lineup of the next European Commission on Tuesday, clearing the way for the EU executive to take office nearly four months behind schedule.

Yemen getting tougher with Somalis on Qaeda fears

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:41:37 GMT

ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Somalis fleeing war have long found refuge in Yemen, seen as a way station to Saudi Arabia, but fear of al Qaeda infiltration has cooled their welcome.