Reuters: World News

Pakistan school bus explosion and blaze kill 17 children: media

Sat, 25 May 2013 05:35:50 GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Seventeen Pakistani children burnt to death on Saturday when a gas cylinder on the bus taking them to school exploded, media said.

In Syria's shadow, Iraq violence presents new test for U.S.

Sat, 25 May 2013 05:05:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saddled with Middle East problems ranging from Iran to Syria and beyond, President Barack Obama now faces one that is both old and new: Iraq.

Syria opposition unity talks face specter of collapse

Sat, 25 May 2013 02:15:46 GMT

ISTANBUL - Syrian opposition talks aimed at presenting a coherent front at an international peace conference to end the civil war faced the prospect of collapse after President Bashar al-Assad's foes failed to cut an internal deal, opposition sources said on Friday.

Guatemalan ex-president extradited to U.S. on money-laundering charges

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:54:25 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face money-laundering charges, just days after former dictator Efrain Rios Montt's genocide conviction was overturned.

Stockholm calmer but violence spreads outside Swedish capital

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:36:30 GMT

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A nearly week-long spate of rioting spread outside Stockholm on Friday but authorities said police reinforcements sent to the Swedish capital had reduced the violence there, even though dozens of youths set cars and a recycling station ablaze.

Toronto mayor denies, finally, use of crack cocaine

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:44:52 GMT

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, under pressure to respond to allegations he was filmed using drugs, said on Friday that he does not smoke crack cocaine and could not comment on a video he had not seen or does not exist.

IMF's Lagarde escapes formal investigation in court

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:37:53 GMT

PARIS (Reuters) - French magistrates decided on Friday not to place IMF chief Christine Lagarde under formal investigation over her role in a 285-million-euro ($368.5 million) arbitration payment made to a supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Guatemalan ex-president extradited to U.S. on money laundering charges

Fri, 24 May 2013 20:36:43 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face money laundering charges, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala said.

Church of England unveils plan for women bishops in 2015

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:08:59 GMT

(Reuters) - The Church of England published a plan on Friday to approve the ordination of women bishops by 2015, a widely supported reform it just missed passing last November after two decades of divisive debate.

Syria opposition seeks to unify as momentum for talks builds

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:00:54 GMT

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition scrambled to agree a new leadership on Friday in a bid to present a coherent front at peace talks which the United States and Russia are convening to seek an end to more than two years of civil war.

Taliban attack international compound in Afghan capital

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:50:01 GMT

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants launched a large-scale attack involving the United Nations in the center of the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, sparking a five-hour battle with security forces.

UK fighters escort Pakistan plane to airport, two arrests

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:49:02 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British fighter jets escorted a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane to Stansted Airport near London on Friday, where police went on board and arrested two men on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

British police close motorway to deal with suspicious vehicle

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:16:39 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British police closed one of the country's busiest motorways in both directions on Friday to deal with an incident which highway officials said involved a suspicious vehicle.

British security services in spotlight after soldier murder

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:15:22 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's security services faced questions on Friday over whether they could have done more to prevent the murder of a soldier hacked to death in a busy London street after it emerged that his suspected killers were known to intelligence officers.

Stretched by riots, Swedish police call reinforcements

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:58:28 GMT

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Police in Stockholm called in reinforcements on Friday after youths set cars and a school ablaze in a fifth night of rioting, the worst to hit Sweden for years.

Top Bosnia court orders release of president, charged with graft

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:35:01 GMT

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the president of the autonomous Muslim-Croat federation, charged with corruption, had been detained illegally, and ordered a lower court to release him immediately.

Bahraini protesters clash with police over raid on cleric's home

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:31:04 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bahraini Shi'ite Muslims angered by a raid last week on a top cleric's home clashed with police on Friday, while thousands more gathered in the cleric's village for a peaceful sit-in against their Sunni-led government.

Switzerland sees free-trade pact with China in July

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:27:08 GMT

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss government said on Friday it hopes to sign a free-trade agreement (FTA) with China that would be the first such deal of its kind between Beijing and continental Europe when Switzerland's economy minister visits China in July.

Algerian jihadi mastermind claims Niger suicide attacks

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:19:28 GMT

NIAMEY (Reuters) - French special forces and Niger troops shot dead on Friday the last two Islamists involved in a twin attack on a military base and a French uranium mine in Niger, which was claimed by the mastermind of January's mass hostage-taking in Algeria.

Iceland's new PM rejects EU, but embraces EU economic goals

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:09:16 GMT

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland must find stability by aiming for the same economic goals as those set for European Union states, even though it is skeptical about joining the EU and will keep its own currency, the new prime minister said.

Pakistan should consider IMF deal after reforms in place: adviser

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:33:01 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's new leadership expects first results of its planned steps to shore up its finances and ease a power crisis in two or three months and only then should decide whether and on what terms to seek an IMF bailout, a senior policy adviser said on Friday.

Spain's Princess Cristina faces new tax probe

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:28:52 GMT

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish judge has opened an investigation into Princess Cristina's tax returns after an earlier charge of being an accomplice in an embezzlement case against her husband was dropped.

Turkey bans alcohol advertising and curbs sales

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:48:47 GMT

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey banned alcohol advertising and tightened restrictions on its sale on Friday, drawing criticism from secular Turks as well as the country's brewing industry.

Kerry says Israelis, Palestinians must make tough decisions

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:40:37 GMT

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders must decide soon on whether to revive long-dormant peace negotiations to end their decades-old conflict, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday.

Death toll from Guinea opposition march rises to four

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:25:25 GMT

CONAKRY (Reuters) - The official death toll from Thursday's clashes between Guinean opposition protesters and police and government supporters rose to four on Friday, meaning at least 22 people have now been killed in unrest since March.