Political News from Yahoo

Syrian rebels make slow headway in south

AMMAN (Reuters) - The revolt against President Bashar al-Assad first flared in Deraa, but the southern border city now epitomizes the bloody stalemate gripping Syria after 22 months of violence and 60,000 dead. Jordan next door has little sympathy with Assad, but is wary of spillover from the upheaval in its bigger neighbor. It has tightened control of its 370-km (230-mile) border with Syria, partly to stop Islamist fighters or weapons from crossing. ...


Russia says concerned with reports of Israeli attack in Syria

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli air attack deep inside Syria near Damascus and that any such action, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country. "If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the U.N. Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ...

Australian opposition leader warns of second election

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia faces a possible fourth straight year of political instability after opposition leader Tony Abbott, on track to win power in a September election, threatened a second poll if a hostile upper house rejects his plan to scrap a tax on carbon. One day after Prime Minister Julia Gillard surprised voters by announcing a September 14 election, Abbott on Thursday promised to scrap a carbon tax if he wins office, but added he would call a second election if a hostile Senate rejected his plans. ...


Mali's Dioncounda says open to dialogue with MNLA rebels: radio

DAKAR (Reuters) - Mali's interim President Dioncounda Traore said on Thursday he was open to dialogue with autonomy-seeking Tuareg MNLA rebels provided they dropped any claim for independence but refused to negotiate with al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgents. "Today, the only group that we could think of negotiating with is certainly the MNLA. But, of course, on condition that the MNLA drops any pretence to a territorial claim," Traore told French radio RFI. ...

French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds

DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands. France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on major northern towns. The mission is aimed at heading off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe. ...


After school massacre, Newtown residents urge stricter gun control

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Parents and neighbors of the children killed in last month's Connecticut school shooting implored state lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday to ban the powerful rifle and high-capacity magazines used in the massacre. As parents, first responders and town officials spoke at the Newtown high school, many in the audience of about 600 people gave standing ovations and wept. "We lost our son Benjamin" to an "unstable, suicidal individual who had access to a weapon that has no place in a home," said David Wheeler. ...


No sense of crisis in U.S. Congress as automatic cuts loom again

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Big automatic cuts in federal spending are fast approaching again, alarming the defense sector but generating little activity in Congress to avoid them. The cuts, known as a "sequestration," were postponed for two months as part of the legislation that ended the standoff over the "fiscal cliff" on January 1. But the sense of crisis that accompanied the thought of across-the-board reductions then has all but vanished, replaced by a widespread sense of inevitability. ...

IMF fails to agree on new formula for vote reforms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund failed to meet a self-imposed Thursday deadline for agreeing on a new formula to determine member countries' voting power that would give emerging economies greater say in the global financial institution. IMF member countries have wrangled for two years over specifics of the formula intended to reflect the rise of China, Brazil and other large emerging market economies. The IMF said it planned to finalize a formula by January 2014, when it next reviews the voting shares of member countries. ...

China sentences two Tibetans for "inciting" self-immolations

BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in China has handed down heavy sentences to a Tibetan monk and his nephew for inciting eight people to set themselves on fire in anti-Chinese protests, media said on Thursday, the first time punishment has been meted out over such protests. Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule since 2009, with most of them dying from their injuries. ...

New York Times says targeted by China hackers after Wen report

BEIJING (Reuters) - The New York Times said on Thursday that Chinese hackers had "persistently" attacked its computers over the past four months since the paper published a story on Premier Wen Jiabao, but sensitive material related to the report was not accessed. The New York Times said the attacks coincided with its report last October that Wen's family had accumulated at least $2.7 billion in "hidden riches". China said at the time the report smeared its name and had ulterior motives. ...

Prominent New York prosecutor enters private practice

(Reuters) - Reed Brodsky, the former prosecutor who led the insider trading prosecution of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, is leaving the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office to join law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner in New York, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the move. Brodsky, who is expected to specialize in white collar defense and general litigation at the Los Angeles law firm, also helped convict the hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam on insider trading charges in 2011. ...

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