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Election to Replace Kerry Likely June 25
Analysis: Sunni discontent and Syria fears feed Iraqi unrest
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Across Iraq's western desert, thousands of Sunni Muslims block highways, chant and pray in protests against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that grow more defiant by the day. Their demands are many, but the old Iraqi flags from Saddam Hussein's era and Sunni tribal colors fluttering among them are a clear message to Maliki: Enough, our time has come again. In Iraqi cities like Ramadi and Falluja, where tribal ties are strong, many Sunnis have harbored a sense of marginalization ever since Saddam's fall and the Shi'ite majority's empowerment. ...
Israel boycotts U.N. rights scrutiny session
GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel boycotted a U.N. human rights forum on Tuesday where it was due to have its record reviewed, setting a precedent that concerns rights activists and many Western nations. The president of the Human Rights Council, Poland's ambassador Remigiusz Henczel, noted the absence of the Israeli delegation and ordered the meeting suspended briefly to decide how to proceed. He called it "an important issue and unprecedented situation", inviting comment by the council's 47 members as well as observer states. ...
FAO urges cash-strapped governments to keep up guard against bird flu
ROME (Reuters) - Governments must not allow financial constraints caused by the current global economic crisis to stop them keeping their guard up against avian flu, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Tuesday. The agency, one of three international bodies that lead the global response to bird flu, warned of a repeat of the 2006 outbreaks, when the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus killed 79 people around the world and sparked fears of a pandemic. Investment was vital to prevent a repeat of such a crisis, the FAO said. ...
All The President's Plans
No doubt over stability of Italy banking system: economy minister
ROME (Reuters) - There is no doubt about the solidity of the Italian banking sector despite a scandal at troubled lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's economy minister said on Tuesday. "It is vital not to suggest that there is doubt about the stability of our banking system, because it is not true," Vittorio Grilli told a parliamentary committee. He said oversight of the bank had been adequate. "The supervision of the Bank of Italy was appropriate, sustained and attentive and it intensified over time," Grilli told the committee. (Reporting by Steve Scherer)
Cutbacks at France's Peugeot and Renault meet growing resistance
PARIS (Reuters) - Labour tensions at France's car makers took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as Renault factory workers protested over planned cuts and PSA Peugeot Citroen's restructuring plan suffered a legal setback. While Renault staff demonstrated at the company's Flins plant west of Paris and Peugeot workers marched on the company's Paris headquarters, the car makers pursued union talks on plans to improve productivity and eliminate close to 8,000 jobs each. ...
PKK guerrillas made no official ceasefire declaration: spokesman
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Kurdish militants have made no official declaration of any ceasefire for moment, a PKK guerrilla spokesman said in response to a media report the group will halt hostilities in Turkey as part of a fledging peace process. The mainstream Hurriyet newspaper reported on Tuesday that 100 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK will hand in their weapons and leave Turkey as part of initial attempts to end their 28 years of insurgency. "The PKK officially has made no such declaration for the moment," spokesman Roj Welat said by telephone. ...
Mali targets July 31 for elections: interim president
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Mali is hoping to organize elections on July 31, Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Tuesday as French and Malian forces consolidated the hold on northern towns recaptured during a two-week offensive against Islamists. "I'd like to reiterate our commitment here to conduct the transition in Mali with one agenda, one program, which is to recover the north and also in particular, bring Mali back to a normal situation," Traore told a donor's conference in Ethiopia. (Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)
Stuck Minesweeper to Be Cut Into Pieces
Fleeing Islamists leave legacy of destruction in Timbuktu
(Reuters) - The burning of a library housing thousands of ancient manuscripts in Mali's desert city of Timbuktu is just the latest act of destruction by Islamist fighters who have spent months smashing graves and holy shrines in the World Heritage site. The United Nations cultural body UNESCO said it was trying to find out the precise damage done to the Ahmed Baba Institute, a modern building that contains priceless documents dating back to the 13th century. ...
Nigeria cautiously welcomes claimed Islamist ceasefire
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - - Security forces in Nigeria's volatile northeast welcomed on Tuesday a ceasefire declaration by a commander of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, but said they would not lower their guard. Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez, a man local security sources say is a Boko Haram commander, called on sect members to halt attacks that have left many hundreds dead since it launched an uprising to carve out an Islamic state in Nigeria in 2009. ...
Russian investigators search liberal governor's office
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian investigators on Tuesday searched the office of a liberal regional governor who has connections with opponents of President Vladimir Putin as part of a criminal investigation. The federal Investigative Committee said the search of the office of Nikita Belykh, governor of the Kirov region northeast of Moscow, was over the alleged sale of a stake in a state distillery at half its real value. "Belykh will be questioned on issues of interest to the investigation," it added in a statement. ...
Could Scottish, Catalan independence votes reshape Europe?
BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - The separatist flag of Catalonia - with its yellow and red stripes, blue triangle and white star - was a rare sight on the streets of Barcelona a decade ago. Now, it is almost ubiquitous. Two thousand km to the north in Scotland, the blue-and-white saltire has always been popular. But that flag too increasingly symbolizes something new, that after more than 400 years within the United Kingdom Scotland may be on the verge of demanding a divorce. ...
