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Homs fears big push by Syrian tanks on stronghold

   (Friday, 10 February 2012 08:03)

AMMAN (Reuters) - Tanks amassed outside opposition neighbourhoods in Homs Friday as Alawite-led forces bombarded the Syrian city for the fifth day and residents expected a major push to subdue the centre of revolt against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Assad, bolstered by Russian support, ignored appeals from world leaders to halt the carnage. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the "appalling brutality" of the operation to stamp out the revolt against Assad, and Turkey's ambassador to the European Union warned of a slide into civil war that could inflame the region. ...




Eurozone gives Greece ultimatum for new bailout

   (Friday, 10 February 2012 07:42)

Eurozone finance ministers put off a decision on a new bailout to save Greece from bankruptcy, giving Athens less than a week to meet three conditions in return for 130 billion euros in aid.




Greeks To Protest Over Tough Bailout Terms

   (Friday, 10 February 2012 07:09)

A wave of fresh protests is expected to hit Greece today after eurozone Finance Ministers rejected the country's proposals on austerity.

Spain rights judge Garzon fights conviction

   (Friday, 10 February 2012 00:10)

Spain's renowned rights judge Baltasar Garzon Thursday vowed a legal fight against his conviction for ordering wiretaps in a corruption probe, blasted by his supporters as a political stitch-up.




West offers words, only, as Syria killing rages

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 22:07)

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government artillery barrages killed dozens of civilians in Homs on Thursday, activists said, as President Bashar al-Assad, bolstered by Russian support, ignored appeals from world leaders to halt the carnage. The United Nations secretary-general condemned the "appalling brutality" of the operation to stamp out the revolt against Assad, and Turkey's ambassador to the European Union warned of a slide into civil war that could inflame the region. ...




Europe's Danube freezes over, cold snap toll at 460

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 20:24)

Thick ice closed vast swathes of the Danube on Thursday, crippling shipping on Europe's busiest waterway, as the death toll from bitter cold across the continent rose to at least 460.




Greek Politicians Strike Deal Over New Cuts

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 19:19)

Greek politicians have reached a deal over new austerity measures, the indebted country's prime minister has announced.

Cruise ship disaster captain knew "it was over"

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 18:50)

NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) - Francesco Schettino, the captain of the doomed cruise liner Costa Concordia, knew as soon as his ship struck a rock off the island of Giglio on January 13 that he had made a catastrophic error and a 30-year career at sea was ending in disgrace. Bringing the 114,500 tonne vessel to within a stone's throw of shore, he had intended to perform a "salute" to the island for the benefit of Antonello Tievoli, the ship's head waiter and a native of Giglio. ...




Spain's crusading Judge Garzon disbarred for 11 years

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 18:37)

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Supreme Court disbarred crusading Judge Baltasar Garzon for 11 years on Thursday for illegally recording defence lawyers' conversations with clients, which may effectively end his career in international human rights trials. Although less severe than a 17-year ban the prosecution had originally demanded, the court said the ruling was not subject to appeal. Garzon, 56, is also liable to a fine of 2,500 euros (2,000 pounds). "We shall carry on fighting, carry on appealing. ...




Iran turns to barter for food as sanctions cripple imports

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 16:56)

PARIS/TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is turning to barter - offering gold bullion in overseas vaults or tankerloads of oil - in return for food as new financial sanctions have hurt its ability to import basic staples for its 74 million people, commodities traders said on Thursday. Difficulty paying for urgent import needs has contributed to sharp rises in the prices of basic foodstuffs, causing hardship for Iranians with just weeks to go before an election seen as a referendum on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic policies. ...




French perfumer Guerlain denies racism at trial

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 16:17)

French perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain, for decades the "nose" of the world-famous perfume brand, told a court Thursday he was not racist and that his comment about black people being lazy was a stupid joke.




Cases handled by Spain's Judge Garzon

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 16:05)

(Reuters) - Spain's Supreme Court disbarred Judge Baltasar Garzon for 11 years on Thursday for illegally tapping defence lawyers' conversations. This case and the two other trials against him are private prosecutions, brought by individuals and organisations rather than the state, against the recommendation of the public prosecutor who has recommended Garzon's acquittal. Thursday's ruling, which is not subject to appeal, may effectively end his career of international human rights trials. ...

Germany forced to tap into electricity reserves

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 15:20)

Germany has been forced to call upon its reserves for producing electricity for the second time this winter as Europe is gripped by a severe cold snap, officials said on Thursday.




Cross-border payment body SWIFT resists Iran precedent

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 14:56)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The organisation that facilitates the bulk of the world's cross-border payments is facing growing U.S. pressure to do what it has never done before - cut a country off from its global messaging system. Belgium-based SWIFT - the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - is vital to international money flows, exchanging an average 18 million payment messages per day between banks and other financial institutions in 210 countries. ...

Greek debt talks stall, unions call general strike

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 13:16)

A debt rescue for Greece hit a last-minute snag over pension cuts on Thursday while eurozone ministers waited to decide on a package averting default and unions called a strike against the terms.




Iran paying for grain with gold, oil - traders

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 12:53)

PARIS/HAMBURG (Reuters) - Iran is seeking to close grain purchases using gold and oil as payment, and has paid in yen for a large volume of wheat in its first deal since western sanctions against Tehran started choking imports of food staples, European wheat exporters said. Iran bought at least 200,000 tonnes of soft wheat on the world market last week for prompt delivery from private sellers - mostly of Australian origin - but some traders said the United States could possibly account for part of the volume. ...

Iran turns to India for wheat as palm oil dries up

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 12:50)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Iran has turned to India for wheat supplies as other sellers divert grain cargoes away from the Middle East country because of sanctions-related payments problems that have caused palm oil imports to grind to a halt. Indian tea was also added on Thursday to a growing list of Iran's food imports that are being disrupted by U.S. and European Union sanctions aimed at forcing Tehran to scrap a suspected nuclear weapons programme. ...

Media: Results, Not Terry, Put Paid To Capello

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 12:11)

Fabio Capello's decision to quit England dominated the Italian newspapers and was splashed on all the front pages as well as on the TV.

French ex-minister snared in influence peddling inquiry

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 10:38)

PARIS (Reuters) - Former French budget minister Eric Woerth will be formally investigated over alleged influence peddling, said the public prosecutor, part of a wider judicial inquiry into billionaire L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt and political financing. Woerth is suspected of using his potion to secure a national merit award - the Legion d'Honneur - for the man who managed Bettencourt's fortune, after Woerth's wife was hired by the family's holding company. ...




Greek coalition talks break up without full agreement

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:44)

Greek government coalition leaders ended lengthy talks on austerity measures Wednesday, with one remaining point of disagreement, the prime minister's office said.




European freeze may last to end of February

   (Thursday, 09 February 2012 00:23)

LONDON (Reuters) - The worst February cold spell Europe has seen in decades may last until the end of the month, leading meteorologists said, raising the prospect of further deaths and an extended spike in European spot gas prices. "We do have higher confidence in a change by mid-February, but not to milder weather," Leon Brown, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Britain, told Reuters. "February will probably remain a cold month right to the end." The cold and heavy snowfall has killed hundreds of people across Europe. ...




New Syria sanctions have wide backing in EU - diplomat

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 23:35)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union governments have reached an agreement in principle to impose sanctions on the Syrian central bank this month as part of new measures intended to force President Bashar al-Assad out of power, a senior EU diplomat said on Wednesday. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomat said details of the new sanctions were still being worked out but the EU's 27 capitals were behind the push, which should be formally approved by February 27. "Obviously, details are crucial. But (EU) member states agree on the principle," the diplomat said. ...

Sarkozy ally charged with influence peddling

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 22:49)

A French probe on Wednesday charged a former minister close to President Nicolas Sarkozy with influence peddling but did not immediately uphold more potentially damaging charges of illegal campaign financing.




Blizzards push SE Europe energy grids to limits

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 22:21)

LONDON/SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Blizzards and ice-laden power lines in southeastern Europe pushed gas and electricity networks near to breaking point on Wednesday as consumption soared, while some western countries scrambled to prevent similar breakdowns. As electricity cables buckled under the weight of ice and snow in southeastern Bosnia, where some 15,000 customers were left in darkness, Serbia warned of a "possible collapse" of its energy system as record-breaking demand stretched the power grid near its technical limits. ...

European freeze may last to end of February

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 22:21)

LONDON (Reuters) - The worst February cold spell Europe has seen in decades may last until the end of the month, leading meteorologists said, raising the prospect of further deaths and an extended spike in European spot gas prices. "We do have higher confidence in a change by mid-February, but not to milder weather," Leon Brown, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Britain, told Reuters. "February will probably remain a cold month right to the end." The cold and heavy snowfall has killed hundreds of people across Europe. ...




Aid sent by helicopter as thousands cut off in Europe

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 21:20)

Helicopters ferried food and medicine to iced-in villagers Wednesday as Europe's 12-day-old cold snap tightened its frigid grip on the continent, where more than 400 have died as a result.




EU envoy talks tough to Somalian leaders

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 18:02)

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's leaders must press ahead with political reforms or risk losing aid from the European Union, its biggest donor, the EU envoy to the Horn of Africa said Wednesday. While significant military gains have been made in the battle against al Qaeda-linked rebels in Somalia, foreign powers are frustrated at the slow pace of change in a political system plagued by corruption and infighting. "We're not going to sit and benignly give money. ...

Pakistani traders shy from Iran as sanctions hurt

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 14:40)

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Payment problems are making Pakistani traders increasingly reluctant to do business with Iran as Western sanctions pile pressure, a Pakistani government official and the country's rice exporters association said Wednesday. While earlier restrictions have made it difficult to trade with Iran, fresh sanctions earlier this year -- including U.S. ones against Iranian financial institutions and European Union sanctions on crude imports -- have tightened the noose further. ...

Sanctions weigh on Lebanon-Syria banking ties

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 14:01)

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese banks which worked for years to build up business in neighbouring Syria have been quietly implementing U.S. and European Union sanctions against Damascus to avoid jeopardising their international operations, bankers and economists say. This is despite close financial ties between the two countries, cemented by the opening of seven Lebanese banking affiliates in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad began liberalising the economy when he came to power 12 years ago. ...

French court to debate sex toy row

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 13:56)

The manager of a French shop selling sex toys went on trial Wednesday to determine whether he is violating pornography laws by selling his products within 200 metres (yards) of a school.




France calls Syrian president's promises "manipulation"

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 13:30)

PARIS (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's promises to Russia to implement reforms and end an 11-month crackdown against protesters are a "manipulation" that France does not believe, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday. "It is a manipulation and we are not going to fall for it," Juppe told France Info radio when asked if he believed Assad was being sincere. "It's not the first time someone has gone to meet Bashar and been given guarantees. ...

Russia U.N. veto on Syria aimed at crushing West's crusade

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 13:29)

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia's veto of a Security Council resolution on Syria goes far beyond mere protection for a close ally and arms buyer - it showed Moscow's determination to crush what it sees as a Western crusade to use the United Nations to topple unfriendly regimes. The same holds true for China, which followed Russia's lead and joined Moscow in its second double veto to strike down a European-Arab draft resolution that would have endorsed an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transfer power to his deputy to prepare free elections. ...




Sexual abuse silence "deadly" for Church - Vatican official

   (Wednesday, 08 February 2012 13:28)

ROME (Reuters) - Hiding behind a culture of "omerta" -- the Italian word for the Mafia's code of silence -- would be deadly for the Catholic Church, the Vatican's top official for dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy said on Wednesday. Monsignor Charles Scicluna made the unusually forthright comment in his speech to a landmark symposium in Rome on the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Church in the past decade. "The teaching ... ...

Iran shrugs off latest US sanctions, trade suffers

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 22:03)

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran castigated its U.S. adversary on Tuesday over new financial measures to disrupt Iranian commerce, and a default on payment for rice purchases highlighted the encroachment of sanctions on the staples of everyday life. Lawmakers in Tehran vowed to ban crude exports to European countries even before an EU oil embargo takes effect. The U.S. sanctions, targeting Iran's central bank and giving U.S. ...




Snow cuts off hundreds of villages in eastern Europe

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 22:02)

SOFIA (Reuters) - Heavy snowfall across eastern Europe cut off hundreds of villages on Tuesday and rescue teams struggled to evacuate people in southern Bulgaria where rain and melting snow had caused a dam wall to break, flooding an entire village. A river dike also broke under intense water pressure near Kapitan Andreevo at the border with Turkey, officials said. The cold snap has killed hundreds of people across Europe and temperatures in some countries plummeted to nearly minus 40C (minus 40F). Officials on Tuesday warned of flooding when temperatures rise and snow melts. ...




Ice-breakers battle Europe's big chill

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 20:42)

Ice-breakers Tuesday battled Europe's big chill as the Danube river froze over more than 100 miles (170 kilometres), and dozens died of cold on a continent gripped by some of the lowest temperatures in decades.




Italy's Berlusconi to face yet another trial

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 15:12)

MILAN (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi is to stand trial next month on charges of revealing confidential information in a case related to a 2005 banking scandal, adding to a string of legal woes, the former prime minister's lawyer said on Tuesday. Berlusconi, who resigned in November beset by scandals and financial market turmoil, is already facing three separate trials on charges including corruption, tax fraud and paying for sex with an underage prostitute. "All as expected. We've lost count of the number of trials," said Berlusconi's lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini. The trial will start on March 15. ...




Iran MPs say ready to ban oil exports to some EU states

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 13:01)

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament said on Tuesday it was ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European states, the country's English-language Press TV reported. "In retaliation to the Zionist(Israel)-backed measure of the European countries to ban Iran oil, we are ready to impose a ban on oil exports to some European countries," lawmaker Mohammad Javad Karimi-Qoddusi said. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi)

Venice Freezes As Deadly Chill Grips Europe

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 11:39)

More than 30 more deaths have been reported as a result of the bitterly freezing weather that has swept across Europe.

Iran - U.S. assets ban "antagonistic," will have no impact

   (Tuesday, 07 February 2012 11:38)

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Tuesday denounced as "an antagonistic move" a tightening of U.S. sanctions targeting Tehran's central bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze Iranian government assets, and said it would have no impact. In further defiance of world pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear programme, parliamentarians said they would speed up passage of a bill to ban Iranian oil exports to the European Union well before an EU decision to bar Iranian crude would take effect. The U.S. ...