| Power shift expected in Swedish election Posted: 13 Sep 2014 01:05 PM PDT  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden heads into a parliamentary election on Sunday with polls showing the left-leaning Social Democrats poised to return to power after eight years of center-right rule.
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| France in final, Italy fight back against Swiss Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:52 PM PDT  France reached the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2010 on Saturday when they took an unassailable 3-0 lead over two-time defending champions Czech Republic in their semi-final. In the November 21-23 final, France will tackle either Switzerland or Italy whose semi-final in Geneva saw the home side pegged back to 2-1 after the Italian team won Saturday's doubles. At Roland Garros, nine-time champions France clinched the winning point when Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
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| Peterson booked and released from Texas jail Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:36 PM PDT  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was booked and released from a Texas jail on a child abuse charge early Saturday, capping a tumultuous week for the NFL in which criticism intensified about how it handled a domestic violence case involving another star player.
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| Thousands march for UK as Scotland vote nears Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:29 PM PDT  Edinburgh (AFP) - Thousands of members of the Protestant Orange order marched through Edinburgh on Saturday in a show of strength against Scottish independence, as campaigning ahead of the referendum entered its final weekend.
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| Pa. State Police identify trooper killed in ambush Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:23 PM PDT BLOOMING GROVE, Pa. (AP) — Two troopers were ambushed outside a state police barracks in northeastern Pennsylvania during a late-night shift change, leaving one dead and another injured, and authorities scoured the densely wooded countryside and beyond on Saturday looking for the shooter or shooters. |
| Poll shows 53 percent Scottish support for staying in United Kingdom Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:19 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Supporters of keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom have a six percentage point lead over secessionists, an survey carried out for the Observer newspaper showed on Saturday. The Opinium pollster said the survey showed the unionists on 53 percent and those wanting independence on 47 percent. Scotland votes in a referendum on independence on Thursday. (Reporting by Alistair Smout and Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Angus MacSwan) |
| Hawks apologize for racially charged comments Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:13 PM PDT  ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Hawks released an open letter of apology to fans and city of Atlanta on Saturday, saying the organization "did not do the right thing" to correct racially inflammatory words and innuendos "over a period of years."
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| Iraq PM orders halt to shelling of civilian areas Posted: 13 Sep 2014 12:10 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Saturday he has ordered the army to stop shelling populated areas held by militants in order to spare the lives of "innocent victims" as the armed forces struggle to retake cities and towns seized by the Islamic State extremist group this summer.
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| McCartneys and wellies at London Fashion Week Posted: 13 Sep 2014 11:53 AM PDT  LONDON (AP) — The sun's out, and so are the celebrities, style mavens and paparazzi. London Fashion Week turned up the heat on its second day, with a hectic schedule of catwalk shows that drew stars to the front rows and had editors scurrying from one end of London to the other to see the latest trends.
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| Iraq PM says will protect civilians after U.S.-Iraq air strikes against IS Posted: 13 Sep 2014 11:48 AM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Jason Szep BAGHDAD/CAIRO (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Saturday that he had ordered his air force to halt strikes on civilian areas, following attacks by both Iraqi and U.S. The announcement, which comes as the United States tries to build regional support for deeper military action against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, may be aimed at winning Sunni Muslim support for Abadi's new Shi'ite-led government as it battles the group which controls one third of Iraqi territory. Secretary of State John Kerry has been touring the Middle East to coordinate a response to Islamic State's growing power in eastern Syria and western Iraq.
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| Ambrose leaving NASCAR to return to Australia Posted: 13 Sep 2014 11:44 AM PDT  JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Marcos Ambrose will leave NASCAR at the end of the season and return to his native Australia.
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| Film festivals fire starting gun on Oscars race Posted: 13 Sep 2014 11:22 AM PDT  Hollywood's annual awards season may be months away yet, but for many the race for Oscars gold has already started, with strong contenders emerging from key film festivals this month. While it is too early to talk of frontrunners -- unlike last year when "12 Years a Slave" established itself early in awards season -- several movies and actors are already generating buzz in Tinseltown. Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch and Reese Witherspoon are among the performances already tipped, while unique coming-of-age drama "Boyhood" is among films being talked about as possible nominees. "Summer is over ... it's back to school and it's become so for the Academy" of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the annual Oscars show in February, said Glenn Williamson of UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television.
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| Tense stand-off in Pakistani capital as political crisis deepens Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:55 AM PDT  By Syed Raza Hassan and Maria Golovnina ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's opposition leaders ordered thousands of their supporters on Saturday to resist any government attempt to quash their protests against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, deepening a political crisis in the coup-prone nation. A court in the capital earlier ordered that 100 opposition activists be sent to jail for holding illegal protests and other violations, enraging the protesters who have camped out outside government offices in Islamabad for a month. ...
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| Paul, Stella McCartney front row at Hunter's show Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:33 AM PDT  LONDON (AP) — It's not every day that you see not just one, but two McCartneys on the front row.
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| Redskins owner announces support of Roger Goodell Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:30 AM PDT  ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Redskins owner Dan Snyder says he supports NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, stating he "has always had the best interests of football at heart" and "we are fortunate to have him."
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| German gay rights activist beaten in Belgrade Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:28 AM PDT BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A German man who took part in a gay rights conference suffered life-threatening brain injuries when he was severely beaten in downtown Belgrade on Saturday, Serbian police and gay activists said. |
| China demand to fuel Hong Kong iPhone grey market Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:19 AM PDT  Wealthy mainland Chinese looking to buy the new iPhone 6 next week could expect to pay an eye-watering US$2,500 for the handsets in Hong Kong, following Apple's decision to delay the launch in China. Hong Kong has long been a hub for resold and refurbished phones, and delighted vendors there were coping with a flood of pre-orders from the Apple-obsessed mainland. Apple this week unveiled the two latest models in its iPhone series, both of which boast a larger screen, in a bid to recapture its role as a technological trend-setter. The phones will be made available in 10 countries -- including Hong Kong -- from September 19, but Apple has not yet stated when they will be available on the mainland, despite it being one of the US tech giant's largest markets.
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| Sierra Leone requests funds for Ebola evacuation Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:17 AM PDT FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Sierra Leone has requested funds from the World Health Organization to evacuate a doctor sick with the deadly Ebola disease. |
| Europeans move towards watered-down 'Tobin' tax Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:15 AM PDT  Milan (AFP) - European finance ministers struggled to agree a long promised financial transaction tax on Saturday, with Germany urging a watered-down version amid resistance from France, eager to protect its lucrative derivatives trading sector.
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| Bosses charged with rebuilding Portugal's BES bank quit after two months Posted: 13 Sep 2014 10:02 AM PDT  By Andrei Khalip LISBON (Reuters) - The rebuilding of Portugal's Novo Banco - the successor to Banco Espirito Santo (BES) after a state rescue last month - was dealt a blow on Saturday with the resignation of the three men handpicked by the central bank in July to turn BES round. Chief Executive Vitor Bento, finance director Joao Moreira Rato and deputy CEO Jose Honorio said they were leaving because their initial mandate to revive the bank with private money had changed too much since the government bailout. BES, Portugal's largest listed lender, had to be rescued after the collapse of the business empire of its founding Espirito Santo family, whose main holding firms are under creditor protection.
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| US gov't warns citizens of terror plot in Uganda Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:57 AM PDT NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The U.S. embassy in Uganda warned American citizens in the country Saturday to stay at home overnight as Ugandan authorities attempt to foil a possible terror attack. |
| Rampant Ebola fear takes toll on Africa tourism Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:45 AM PDT  KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ebola is thousands of miles away from Kenya's pristine Indian Ocean beaches, but the deadly disease appears to be discouraging tourism there and elsewhere in this vast continent.
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| Toronto Mayor Rob Ford withdraws re-election bid Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:40 AM PDT  TORONTO (AP) — Ailing Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's dramatic decision to drop his re-election bid opened a new chapter in the saga, as his tough-talking but less magnetic brother runs in his place and brings his own storied past into the scandal-laden campaign.
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| Scots nationalists tell opponents: no grudges Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:32 AM PDT  GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has sought to calm fears that there would be repercussions against opponents of independence if the Yes campaign wins the upcoming referendum.
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| Poll shows rising Scottish support for staying in United Kingdom Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:20 AM PDT Scottish support for independence has declined, a poll for Survation showed on Saturday, widening the lead for the pro-union campaign just 5 days before Scotland votes on whether to separate from the rest of the United Kingdom. A Survation poll on behalf of the pro-union Better Together campaign found support for staying in the United Kingdom was at 54 percent, while 46 percent were planning to vote for independence on Sept. 18, once undecideds were excluded. Scotland votes this Thursday on whether to end a 307-year-old union with England and break away from the United Kingdom. While polls had consistently shown strong leads for the "No" campaign to reject independence, a recent surge in support for "Yes" has prompted some investors to sell the pound and the shares of Scottish companies over concerns about the economic ramifications of a split. |
| Scottish independence battle draws 'day of reckoning' warning to business Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:20 AM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Alistair Smout EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The battle over Scottish independence took a bitter turn on Saturday when a senior nationalist warned businesses such as BP that they could face punishment for voicing concern over the impact of secession. With the fate of the United Kingdom balanced on a knife edge, the economic future of Scotland has become one the most fiercely debated issues five days before Scots decide on whether to break away. Nationalists accuse British Prime Minister David Cameron of coordinating a scare campaign by business leaders aimed at spooking voters while unionists say separation is fraught with financial and economic uncertainty. "BP, in an independent Scotland, will need to learn the meaning of nationalization, in part or in whole, as it has in other countries who have not been as soft as we have been forced to be," Sillars said.
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| Anger mounts in Indian Kashmir after worst flood in over century Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:18 AM PDT  By Krista Mahr SRINAGAR India (Reuters) - Residents of revolt-torn Indian Kashmir turned their wrath on state administrators for failing to provide them with succor after the worst flooding in over a century, angrily dumping food parcels into gutters. A week into the disaster, large parts of Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, lay under water with many people still trapped atop their homes, and others crowded in relief camps. Their misery has added to problems of the administration in a Muslim-majority region where a revolt against Indian rule has simmered for nearly a quarter century. Nobody in our area was rescued by air." Outside one mosque-turned-camp in Srinagar, food supplies dropped earlier in the day by a military helicopter were strewn in a gutter, rejected. "People said we don't need this government food," said Nayeem, who lives in the neighborhood.
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| Scottish independence battle draws warning to business Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:13 AM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Alistair Smout EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The battle over Scottish independence took a bitter turn on Saturday when a senior nationalist warned businesses such as BP that they could face punishment for voicing concern over the impact of secession. With the fate of the United Kingdom balanced on a knife edge, the economic future of Scotland has become one the most fiercely debated issues five days before Scots decide on whether to break away. Nationalists accuse British Prime Minister David Cameron of coordinating a scare campaign by business leaders aimed at spooking voters while unionists say separation is fraught with financial and economic uncertainty. "BP, in an independent Scotland, will need to learn the meaning of nationalisation, in part or in whole, as it has in other countries who have not been as soft as we have been forced to be," Sillars said.
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| Rice saga puts quiet Ravens owner in spotlight Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:13 AM PDT  BALTIMORE (AP) — The last time anyone saw this much of Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti he was celebrating the 2012 Super Bowl victory, clutching the Vince Lombardi Trophy and sharing the moment with coaches, players and fans.
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| Kerry seeks Egypt aid in battle against extremists Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:11 AM PDT  CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday hailed Egypt as an "important partner" in the emerging coalition aimed at beating back the extremist Islamic State group, while stressing that the need for Cairo's support would not lead Washington to ignore human rights concerns.
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| Ukraine government repels rebel attack on airport Posted: 13 Sep 2014 09:11 AM PDT  LUHANSK, Ukraine (AP) — A convoy of more than 200 white trucks crossed the Russian border to deliver humanitarian aid to a battered Ukrainian city on Saturday, a move made without Kiev's consent yet met with silence by Ukraine's top leaders.
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| Kerry says Egypt has key role to play against Islamic State Posted: 13 Sep 2014 08:37 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Saturday that Egypt has a critical role to play in countering Islamic State's ideology. Kerry is in Cairo as part of a regional tour to build support for President Barack Obama's plan to strike both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi frontier to defeat Islamic State Sunni fighters and build a coalition for a potentially complex military campaign in the heart of the Middle East. (Reporting by Jason Szep; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Michael Urquhart) |
| Islamic State destroys Sufi shrines in eastern Syria: watchdog Posted: 13 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT The hardline al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State has destroyed several Sufi Muslim shrines and tombs in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor, a monitoring group said on Saturday. The Sunni Muslim group, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic law in territories under its control in Iraq and Syria, has destroyed dozens of shrines, tombs and Shi'ite Muslim mosques. Sites affiliated with the Sufi sect, a mystical school of Islam opposed by puritanical Salafists from which Islamic State draws its members, have been among the group's main targets. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest destruction included two shrines and two tombs devoted to Sufi sheikhs, all in Deir al-Zor province, which is almost entirely controlled by Islamic State militants. |
| In drought, "pop-up" wetlands provide bird habitat Posted: 13 Sep 2014 08:32 AM PDT  YUBA CITY, Calif. (AP) — For the swirling flock of migrating shorebirds banking to a landing in California's Central Valley, a recently flooded rice field is providing a new kind of triage station during a drought that's drastically reducing places where they can rest on their long journeys.
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| Hunt on for suspect in ambush at US police barracks Posted: 13 Sep 2014 01:22 PM PDT  US authorities hunted Saturday for a suspect who shot and killed a US state trooper and wounded another in an ambush outside police barracks in Pennsylvania, calling the attack "cowardly." State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan urged members of the public to come forward with any clues they might have following Friday night's assault at the Blooming Grove Barracks in Pike County, in a bid to track down the perpetrator. Our troopers were leaving the barracks and were shot without warning and really had no chance to defend themselves," Noonan told reporters. "The Pennsylvania State Police and law enforcement in general will not rest until this individual is apprehended."
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| Prominent Muslim Brotherhood figures to leave Qatar Posted: 13 Sep 2014 08:19 AM PDT  By Mahmoud Mourad CAIRO (Reuters) - Qatar has asked seven senior figures from Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to leave the country, the movement said on Saturday, following months of pressure on the Gulf Arab state from its neighbours to stop backing the Islamists. Ibrahim Munir, a senior Brotherhood official based in London, told Reuters the departures did not mean a rupture in ties between Qatar and the Brotherhood. ...
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| Show us the money: EU seeks billions of euros to revive economy Posted: 13 Sep 2014 08:01 AM PDT  By Robin Emmott and Jan Strupczewski MILAN Italy (Reuters) - The European Union sought ways on Saturday to marshal billions of euros into its sluggish economy without getting deeper into debt, considering options from a pan-European capital market to a huge investment fund. With Europe's economy struggling to recover from the worst financial crisis in a generation, EU finance ministers tasked the European Commission, the EU executive, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to draw up a list of projects that would create growth and decide how to finance them.
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| Hundreds of thousands still stranded by killer Kashmir floods Posted: 13 Sep 2014 07:57 AM PDT  Rescuers struggled to reach more than 200,000 people still stranded on Saturday in Indian Kashmir as deadly floodwaters receded, revealing horrific devastation in the Himalayan region including neighbouring Pakistan, officials said. A smell of death hung in the air as animal carcasses lay in the roads of Indian Kashmir's normally scenic main city of Srinagar, a top tourist draw, that one top official said had been "drowned completely" by the worst floods in over a century. "This in not a flood, this is a tsunami," Mehraj-Ud-Din Shah, Indian Kashmir State Disaster Response Force chief, told AFP by phone from Srinagar on Saturday. The floods and landslides from days of heavy monsoon rains have now claimed at least 480 lives in Pakistan and India.
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| Family of Syria hostage issues plea to captors Posted: 13 Sep 2014 07:44 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — The family of a British aid worker believed held by Islamic militants in Syria has issued a public plea urging his captors to contact them. |
| Pakistan diverts rivers to save cities from floods Posted: 13 Sep 2014 07:41 AM PDT  ISLAMABAD (AP) — Military specialists blew up dikes in central Pakistan to divert swollen rivers and save cities from raging floods that have killed hundreds of people, authorities said Saturday, as officials stepped up efforts in India's part of Kashmir to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases there.
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