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Weaker euro zone nations need more support from core: UK

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone can protect its currency if its stronger countries provide more support for the weaker to help them deal with their problems, British finance minister George Osborne said in a newspaper on Sunday. The future of Europe's 17-country single currency bloc is under threat from a political stalemate in Greece, which could lead to its departure from the monetary union at unknown costs to the financial system and global economic stability. ...

Lebanese soldiers kill two anti-Assad group members

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers shot dead a Sunni cleric and a second member of a Lebanese political alliance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northern Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said. Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid and Khaled Miraib, members of the March 14 alliance, were shot in their car as they sped through an army checkpoint without stopping, the sources said. Residents of the northern region of Akkar said that they had blocked off roads to protest against the deaths. The army confirmed in a statement that the two men had been shot but gave no details. ...

Italy bomb attack was probably isolated act: investigator

BRINDISI, Italy (Reuters) - The bomb attack which killed a teenaged girl and wounded 10 others in the southern Italian town of Brindisi was probably done by an individual with no links to the mafia, a senior official said on Sunday. The attack on the Francesca Morvillo Falcone school, a vocational training institute offering courses in fashion, tourism and social services, has horrified Italy. Thousands have taken to the streets in demonstrations of sympathy for the school and the family of Melissa Bassi, the teenager who died in the explosion. ...

Opposition groups report clashes in Syrian capital

A restive district of the Syrian capital that has been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad was rocked by fighting overnight between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.

Pakistan blocks Twitter access over "blasphemous content"

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan on Sunday blocked access to Twitter in response to "blasphemous" material posted by users on the microblogging and social networking website, a senior government official said. "This has been done under the directions of the Ministry of Information Technology. It's because of blasphemous content," said Mohammed Yaseen, chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). "They (the ministry) have been discussing with them (Twitter) for some time now, requesting them to remove some particular content," he said. ...

Pakistan blocks Twitter over contentious material

Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter on Sunday because it refused to remove material considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country's top telecommunications officials.

Pakistan blocks Twitter over contentious material

Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter on Sunday because it refused to remove material considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country's top telecommunications officials.

Mali coup leader backs transition president

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's caretaker president Dioncounda Traore will have his mandate extended beyond a 40-day period expiring Monday after the soldier who led Mali's March 22 coup agreed to drop his objections to the move. The accord between Captain Amadou Sanogo and mediators from the ECOWAS bloc of West African states keeps Mali's fragile transition to civilian rule on track and could open the way for the arrival of peacekeeping troops from neighboring countries. "I can tell you that a deal has been reached in principle," Sanogo told state television late on Saturday. ...

Mali coup leader backs transition president

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's caretaker president Dioncounda Traore will have his mandate extended beyond a 40-day period expiring Monday after the soldier who led Mali's March 22 coup agreed to drop his objections to the move. The accord between Captain Amadou Sanogo and mediators from the ECOWAS bloc of West African states keeps Mali's fragile transition to civilian rule on track and could open the way for the arrival of peacekeeping troops from neighboring countries. "I can tell you that a deal has been reached in principle," Sanogo told state television late on Saturday. ...

General Allen plays down urgency of Pakistan deal

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. commander in Afghanistan told Reuters he would not be disappointed if a long-sought agreement with Pakistan on supply routes failed to materialize by the end of the NATO summit in Chicago on Monday. General John Allen, who is also the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, said in an interview he was confident a deal would eventually be struck but "whether it's in days or weeks, I don't know. ...

2 NATO service members killed in Afghanistan

An insurgent attack in Afghanistan killed two NATO service members on Sunday, the alliance said, while Afghan officials reported that a suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint in the country's south.

Iraqi Kurdistan to push ahead with oil export plan

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region said on Sunday it expects to start exporting its crude oil production along a new pipeline to the Turkish border by August 2013, defying Baghad in a long-running dispute over who should control the country's oil exports. The Kurdistan region, which has its own government and armed forces, has already clashed with Iraq's central government and halted its oil exports in April after accusing Baghdad of not remitting payments due. ...

Iraqi Kurdistan to push ahead with oil export plan

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region said on Sunday it expects to start exporting its crude oil production along a new pipeline to the Turkish border by August 2013, defying Baghad in a long-running dispute over who should control the country's oil exports. The Kurdistan region, which has its own government and armed forces, has already clashed with Iraq's central government and halted its oil exports in April after accusing Baghdad of not remitting payments due. ...

General strike freezes Nepal as constitution deadline looms

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Thousands of schools closed, roads were empty and businesses shuttered across Nepal on Sunday at the start of a three-day general strike over a state boundary dispute that could push lawmakers past a May 27 deadline to write a new constitution. At least two dozen vehicles were damaged by stone-throwing activists, police said, and 46 people were detained in the capital Kathmandu, where children played football on normally traffic-choked streets. Instability has plagued Nepal since the end of a Maoist-led civil war in 2006, and the subsequent overthrow of the monarchy. ...

Serbians vote for president under threat of protest

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic and rightist Tomislav Nikolic went head to head on Sunday in a tense run-off election for Serbian president and the right to lead the struggling nation into talks on joining the European Union. In a vote marred by opposition accusations of fraud, Tadic is tipped to defeat Nikolic for the third time since 2004 as Serbia slowly sheds the legacy of a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. ...

Serbians vote for president under threat of protest

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic and rightist Tomislav Nikolic went head to head on Sunday in a tense run-off election for Serbian president and the right to lead the struggling nation into talks on joining the European Union. In a vote marred by opposition accusations of fraud, Tadic is tipped to defeat Nikolic for the third time since 2004 as Serbia slowly sheds the legacy of a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. ...

Israel blasts foreign proposal on settlement goods

The Palestinian campaign to boycott goods produced in Jewish settlements in the West Bank has received a boost from abroad with an unprecedented South African proposal to have the name of Israel dropped from labels on merchandise made in the settlements.

Powerful quake kills at least 4 in northern Italy

One of the strongest earthquakes to shake northern Italy rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, a magnitude-6.0 temblor that killed at least four people, toppled buildings and sent residents running into the streets, emergency services and news reports said.

Strong quake hits North Italy,at least four dead

BONDENO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least four people, injuring dozens and seriously damaging historic buildings such as churches, bell towers and a mediaeval castle. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic. "I ran out in my underwear," one man told Italian television. ...

Germany's Schaeuble says Greek euro zone exit preventable

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece's exit from the euro zone could definitely be prevented but that it was up to Greece to abide by its agreements. "European solidarity isn't a one-way street," Schaeuble told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "You can't have one without the other. If anyone in Greece thinks that's the case, then they're massively fooling themselves and the voters. ...

Germany's Schaeuble says Greek euro zone exit preventable

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Greece's exit from the euro zone could definitely be prevented but that it was up to Greece to abide by its agreements. "European solidarity isn't a one-way street," Schaeuble told Bild am Sonntag newspaper. "You can't have one without the other. If anyone in Greece thinks that's the case, then they're massively fooling themselves and the voters. ...

Ex-president seeks comeback in Dominican Republic

A former president whose term ended with the worst economic crisis in the modern history of the Dominican Republic will seek to make a comeback Sunday as he faces an old rival in a race to lead the Caribbean's top tourist destination.

Russia forces kill two suspected militants in Dagestan raid

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Russian security forces killed two suspected militants in a gunfight at a private house in its restive North Caucasus province of Dagestan, Interfax reported on Sunday, quoting local authorities. Police stormed the house in a village near Khasavyurt, a town about 80 km (50 miles) west of the provincial capital of Makhachkala. Two unidentified gunmen were killed in a shootout with security forces, a local law enforcement official said. "They opened fire in response to calls for surrender," the official was quoted as saying. ...

Russia forces kill two suspected militants in Dagestan raid

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) - Russian security forces killed two suspected militants in a gunfight at a private house in its restive North Caucasus province of Dagestan, Interfax reported on Sunday, quoting local authorities. Police stormed the house in a village near Khasavyurt, a town about 80 km (50 miles) west of the provincial capital of Makhachkala. Two unidentified gunmen were killed in a shootout with security forces, a local law enforcement official said. "They opened fire in response to calls for surrender," the official was quoted as saying. ...

China keeps up pressure on Chen's family, supporters

BEIJING (Reuters) - While the blind Chinese rights activist Chen Guangcheng on Sunday enjoyed his first hours in New York after years of jail and detention, relatives and supporters back home remained locked down by security authorities. Chen's escape last month from 19 months of detention in his home village in eastern China and his six-day stay in the U.S. embassy in Beijing exposed embarrassing gaps in the web of security that the ruling Communist Party uses to stifle dissent. ...

Analysis: Post-war Ivory Coast nurtures second "miracle"

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

Analysis: Post-war Ivory Coast nurtures second "miracle"

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

China state-run businesses to invest 350 billion yuan in Chongqing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thirty of China's biggest state-owned businesses have signed contracts worth about 350 billion yuan ($55.3 billion) with the southwestern municipality Chongqing, Chinese media reported on Sunday, in a sign of Beijing's determination to bolster confidence in the city formerly run by ousted leader Bo Xilai. Since the fall of the once high-flying Chinese official, media reports and some investors have questioned whether Chongqing's debt-laden economy is also headed for trouble. ...

China state-run businesses to invest 350 billion yuan in Chongqing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thirty of China's biggest state-owned businesses have signed contracts worth about 350 billion yuan ($55.3 billion) with the southwestern municipality Chongqing, Chinese media reported on Sunday, in a sign of Beijing's determination to bolster confidence in the city formerly run by ousted leader Bo Xilai. Since the fall of the once high-flying Chinese official, media reports and some investors have questioned whether Chongqing's debt-laden economy is also headed for trouble. ...

Samsung's mobile chief says has options to settle war with Apple

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics' mobile division chief JK Shin said on Sunday the South Korean technology giant was still seeking to resolve differences in its international patent war with Apple Inc.. "There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple but we still have several negotiation options including cross-licensing," Shin told reporters at Seoul airport shortly before his departure for the United States. Asked about the prospects for Samsung's memory chip business, Shin said the 4G chip shortage was expected to continue until early in the fourth quarter of this year. ...

Tailored Weight Loss Program for Veterans Disappoints

An intensive, one-on-one weight loss program developed by the Veterans Affairs Department failed to attract many comers, and the few who did take part didn’t lose much weight, researchers report.

NATO’s Paper Mache Agenda for Afghanistan

The Afghanistan-related measures NATO members are expected to adopt in Chicago are a mix of concrete international agreements and paper promises that European capitals may or may not uphold.

Day after historic IPO, Facebook's Zuckerberg weds

For Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it was quite a week — from birthday, to IPO, to I DO.

Factbox: Sri Lanka's jailed ex-army chief Sarath Fonseka

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the early release from jail of his wartime ally turned political rival Sarath Fonseka, a former general who led the army to victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in a bloody 25 year civil conflict. Fonseka was arrested by soldiers two weeks after a failed presidential bid against Rajapaksa in 2010 and sentenced to up to 5-1/2 years of jail time on two separate charges. The United States says Fonseka is a political prisoner and has repeatedly demanded he be freed. ...

Sri Lanka president orders release of jailed rival

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the early release from jail of his highest-profile political rival Sarath Fonseka, the president's spokesman said on Sunday, in an apparent bid to quell international criticism of the government's human rights record. The authorisation for Fonseka's release will be sent to the justice ministry on Monday, spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said. The former general is expected to be free soon afterwards, but will not be able to leave the country. ...

Sri Lanka president orders release of jailed rival

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the early release from jail of his highest-profile political rival Sarath Fonseka, the president's spokesman said on Sunday, in an apparent bid to quell international criticism of the government's human rights record. The authorisation for Fonseka's release will be sent to the justice ministry on Monday, spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said. The former general is expected to be free soon afterwards, but will not be able to leave the country. ...

APNewsBreak: 22 states join campaign finance fight

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.

APNewsBreak: 22 states join campaign finance fight

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.

APNewsBreak: 22 states join campaign finance fight

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia are backing Montana in its fight to prevent the U.S. Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision from being used to strike down state laws restricting corporate campaign spending.

Serbians vote for president under threat of protest

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic and rightist Tomislav Nikolic went head to head on Sunday in a tense run-off election for Serbian president and the right to lead the struggling nation into talks on joining the European Union. Despite economic stagnation and rising unemployment, Tadic is tipped to defeat Nikolic for the third time since 2004 as Serbia slowly sheds the legacy of a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. A Tadic victory would keep power firmly in the hands of his Democratic Party. ...