Obama to set new goals to cut nuclear weapons: senior official
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:09:41 -0400
By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will say on Wednesday he will pursue a new reduction in deployed nuclear weapons by up to a third below the level achieved in the "New START" treaty with Russia, a senior administration official said. "The President will also articulate the goal of reducing U.S. and Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, pledging to work with NATO allies to develop proposals that can be explored with Russia to achieve this goal," the official said. The "New START" treaty was signed in 2010. ...
Rousseff salutes Brazil protests, cities cut bus fares
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:43:54 -0400
By Todd Benson SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping Brazil, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance as demonstrations continued in some cities around the country. Speaking the morning after more than 200,000 Brazilians marched in more than a half-dozen cities, Rousseff said her government remains committed to social change and is listening attentively to the many grievances expressed at the demonstrations. ...
United States to meet Taliban to seek Afghan peace
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 23:17:31 -0400
By Mark Felsenthal, Warren Strobel and Hamid Shalizi WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States and the Taliban raised hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan with commitments to meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents. The Taliban opened an office in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Tuesday to help restart talks and said it wanted a political solution that would bring about a just government and end foreign occupation of Afghanistan. U.S. ...
North Korean envoy in Beijing seeking to mend ties: experts
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:07:38 -0400
By Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - A North Korean envoy held talks with Chinese officials on Wednesday that experts said were unlikely to yield concessions from Pyongyang on its nuclear program but were more aimed at repairing ties with Beijing. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, who has represented Pyongyang at previous international talks to get North Korea to halt its nuclear program, was meeting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing. ...
Russia's Putin torpedoes G8 efforts to oust Assad
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:50:48 -0400
By Andrew Osborn and Maria Golovnina ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russia's Vladimir Putin derailed Barack Obama's efforts to win backing for the downfall of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a G8 summit on Tuesday, warning the West that arms supplied to the rebels could be used for attacks on European soil. After two days of intense talks that fell far short of what Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron had been hoping for, Putin fumed against Western moves to supply weapons to rebels while defending his own supplies of arms for Assad. ...
Rohani once spoke approvingly of hiding Iran atomic work
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:13:03 -0400
By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Years before he became Iran's president-elect, Hassan Rohani spoke approvingly about concealing his nation's nuclear program and said that when Pakistan got atomic bombs and Brazil began enriching uranium, "the world started to work with them. ...
House GOP passes major antiabortion bill. Why Democrats are pleased
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:46:26 -0400The Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the most significant antiabortion legislation in 10 years: the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Immigration reform: Senate Republicans appear on the cusp of buying in
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:43:02 -0400Two pragmatic Senate Republicans are working furiously with Senate immigration reformers to strike a compromise on a package of amendments to the bipartisan reform bill, offering up the Senate’s most realistic chance of passing a reform bill with the slew of GOP votes that the bill’s authors have long coveted.
Immigration reform tying House Republicans in knots
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:46:00 -0400The House GOP is tied up in knots over immigration reform.
Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:05:23 -0400The announcement by US officials Tuesday of imminent peace talks between the Afghan government and representatives of the Taliban adds an additional hopeful note to a day when NATO formally announced the full turnover of security leadership to Afghan forces.
Protesters out again in Brazil's biggest city
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:27:07 -0400
SAO PAULO (AP) — Tens of thousands of Brazilians again flooded the streets of the country's biggest city to raise a collective cry against a longstanding lament — people are weighed down by high taxes and high prices but get low-quality public services and a system of government infected with corruption.
Obama's Berlin speech: History raises the stakes
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:19:29 -0400
BERLIN (AP) — Five years and 50 years. As President Barack Obama revisits Berlin, he can't escape those anniversaries and the inevitable comparisons to history and personal achievement.
Red Cross' Guantanamo reports sought in 9/11 case
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:00:26 -0400
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross urged a military judge Tuesday to refuse a request to open its confidential communications with U.S. officials about conditions at Guantanamo Bay to the lawyers for the prisoners charged in the Sept. 11 terror attack.
Afghan Taliban say they killed 4 US troops
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:36:13 -0400
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country.
UN says number refugees, displaced at 18-year high
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:17:23 -0400
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency says more than 45.2 million people were forced to flee homes last year, an 18-year high mainly due to wars in Syria, Afghanistan and other countries.
Obama to renew calls for nuclear reductions
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:50:39 -0400
BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday will renew his call to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, a senior administration official said.
Turkey's 'standing man' to join ranks of icons?
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:37:44 -0400
The image was stark — a silent, solitary figure standing in passive defiance to the Turkish prime minister's demand for protesters to clear Taksim Square in central Istanbul.
Turkey's 'standing man' joins ranks of icons
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:57:10 -0400The image was stark — a silent, solitary figure standing in passive defiance to the Turkish prime minister's demand for protesters to clear Taksim Square in central Istanbul.
One of US FBI's most wanted nabbed in Mexico
Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:57:09 -0400
CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Mexican authorities have arrested a former university professor who was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list in the resort city of Playa del Carmen.
