Reuters: World News

China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:55:00 GMT

GENEVA (Reuters) - The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday.

Attacks in Iraq kill over 40, sectarian tensions high

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:35:57 GMT

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - A series of bomb and gun attacks across Iraq killed more than 40 people on Tuesday, a day after over 70 died in violence targeting majority Shi'ites that has stoked fears of all-out sectarian war with minority Sunnis.

Egyptian army blocks Sinai roads in hunt for kidnappers

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:32:40 GMT

SHEIKH ZUWAID, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian army and police forces stepped up roadblocks in north Sinai in a hunt for militant Islamists who kidnapped seven security officers last week, a security source said on Tuesday.

Nigeria seeks Niger's military support against Boko Haram

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:19:17 GMT

NIAMEY/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria has asked its northern neighbor Niger for help in an offensive against Boko Haram insurgents, as West African states try to cooperate against a spread of Islamist violence.

Russia says kills senior Islamist insurgent

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:06:40 GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The right-hand man of Russia's most wanted insurgent was killed by security forces on Tuesday, officials said, as Moscow tries to contain militancy in its Caucasus region before it hosts the Winter Olympics near there next February.

Russia's Putin out to silence independent voices: pollster

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:01:33 GMT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's leading polling group said on Tuesday it would fight to keep operating despite pressure to register as a "foreign agent" under what it calls a campaign by President Vladimir Putin to silence independent voices.

Rafsanjani, Ahmadinejad ally barred from Iran election

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:43:12 GMT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities on Tuesday barred former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a relative moderate, from running in the June 14 election, along with a protégé of the current president, leaving mainly hardliners left to contest the vote.

Algeria's Bouteflika convalescing in France

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:41:04 GMT

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's prime minister, reacting to reports that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seriously ill, said the 76-year-old was recovering in France but had been ordered by his doctors to rest.

Gay marriage opponent kills himself in Paris' Notre Dame

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:21:28 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - An 78-year-old French far-right activist committed suicide at the altar of the Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday by shooting himself in the mouth, three days after a law legalizing same-sex marriage came into effect.

Syrian foes move towards talks but fighting rages

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:09:49 GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition and the government of President Bashar al-Assad seem to be preparing to take part in an international peace conference against a background of some of the worst fighting this year.

Pope criticizes 'savage capitalism' on visit to food kitchen

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:03:41 GMT

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis criticized what he called "savage capitalism" on a visit to a food kitchen on Tuesday, in an address in which he called for the values of generosity and charity to be revived.

World Bank boosts funds for Syria refugees, Africa

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:48:37 GMT

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Bank plans substantial new funds to help Jordan cope with the influx of refugees from the civil war in Syria, and hopes new funds for central Africa will cement a peace deal there, the bank's President Jim Yong Kim said on Tuesday.

Britain asks EU to put Hezbollah armed wing on terror list

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:42:48 GMT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it had asked the European Union to put Hezbollah's military arm on its list of terrorist organizations, urging Europe to respond robustly to evidence of the Islamist group's involvement in an attack that killed five Israelis.

Nigeria says to free all female Boko Haram suspects

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:37:28 GMT

LAGOS, Nigeria, May 21 - Nigeria said on Tuesday it would free a number of detained Islamist suspects, including all female ones, in what a senior security source called a move to build popular support for its offensive against Boko Haram militants entrenched in the north.

Nigeria says to free all female Boko Haram suspects

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:21:18 GMT

LAGOS, Nigeria, May 21 - Nigeria said on Tuesday it would free a number of detained Islamists, including all female ones, in what a senior security source called a move to build popular support for its offensive against Boko Haram militants entrenched in the north.

Egyptian army blocks Sinai roads in hunt for kidnappers

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:58:36 GMT

Syria, Israel exchange fire on Golan Heights

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:39:34 GMT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said its troops destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into its territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and warned that any attempt to violate its sovereignty would meet "immediate and firm retaliation".

Boston bomb brothers more American than Chechen: Depardieu

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:27:51 GMT

GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - French actor Gerard Depardieu said on Tuesday the ethnic Chechen brothers accused of the Boston marathon bombing had been raised American and that residents of the volatile Russian region of Chechnya were not to blame.

Congolese army, rebels clash for a second day, 19 dead

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:59:14 GMT

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Two days of clashes between Congo's army and rebel fighters near the eastern city of Goma have killed at least 19 people, threatening an uneasy six-month peace just days before a scheduled visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Scotland says better off without Britain, but with the pound

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:45:28 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Ending Britain's 306-year rule would allow Scotland to reverse generations of economic mismanagement and free its lawmakers to boost economic growth, say Scottish nationalists campaigning to split from the UK.

Libyan interior minister submits resignation: official sources

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:38:56 GMT

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's interior minister has submitted his resignation, two official sources said on Tuesday, after months of efforts to curb armed groups who helped topple Muammar Gaddafi but have since stalled the transition to democracy.

Claim Saudi princes laundered Hezbollah money "fanciful": lawyer

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:37:11 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Two Saudi princes on Tuesday sought to extricate themselves from a London legal battle with a Jordanian businessman who accuses them of laundering money for Hezbollah, an allegation their lawyer called "fanciful".

Chinese escape Karachi bomb ahead of Premier Li's arrival in Pakistan

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:50 GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded near the seafront in Karachi on Tuesday likely targeting a van full of Chinese port workers, police said, a day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in the capital, Islamabad. No one was hurt.

Petrol bombs thrown in central Milan watch robbery

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:16:09 GMT

MILAN (Reuters) - Six people armed with clubs robbed a luxury watch shop in central Milan on Tuesday, throwing petrol bombs in the street as they made off with their loot, Italian police said.

Russia angry over "stolen" Eurovision votes

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:56:31 GMT

BAKU/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow has clashed with the European Union over human rights and with NATO over security. Now another longstanding European institution is causing anger in the Kremlin and tension between Russia and Azerbaijan: the Eurovision Song Contest.