GNOOZ

Lockerbie bomber Megrahi has died in Libya: brother

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:19 PM

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the 1988 bombing of a PanAm flight over Lockerbie, died of cancer on Sunday aged 60, leaving many questions on the attack and its aftermath unanswered. Megrahi, who said he was not responsible for bringing the jumbo jet down on the Scottish town and killing 270 people, was found guilty in 2001 but was freed in 2009 and returned to Libya because he had terminal cancer and was not expected to live long. ...

Italy quake kills six, damages historic buildings

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:00 PM

SANT' AGOSTINO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake in northern Italy killed at least six people, injured dozens and damaged historic buildings including a famed mediaeval castle early on Sunday, waking terrified citizens and sending thousands running into the streets. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) and was followed by a series of jolting aftershocks. At least two of them reached magnitude 5.1, sowing fresh panic, further damaging already weakened buildings and causing more structures to collapse. ...

Serbia opposition claims victory in presidential vote

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 03:08 PM

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic's camp claimed victory on Sunday in a presidential run-off against liberal incumbent Boris Tadic. "From tonight, Serbia has a new president - Tomislav Nikolic," Nikolic's party deputy Aleksandar Vucic told cheering supporters in the capital, Belgrade. (Writing by Matt Robinson)

Explosion near U.N. ceasefire monitor chief's convoy: Reuters witness

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 03:25 PM

DOUMA, Syria (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded on Sunday about 150 meters (yards) from a United Nations convoy carrying the head of a Syria ceasefire monitoring mission and a senior U.N. official in the town of Douma, a Reuters witness said. Major General Robert Mood's car was stopped at an army checkpoint when the bomb detonated in an nearby alleyway and the convoy left, the Reuters journalist said, adding that there were no reports of casualties. United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hervé Ladsous, who is visiting Syria, was also part of the convoy. ...

Russia says West still considering military action on Iran

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:24 PM

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's deputy foreign minister said on Sunday that military action against Iran over its nuclear program was being considered in some Western countries. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was speaking to reporters on a plane on his way back from the G8 summit in Camp David, where the G8 leaders signaled their readiness to tap into emergency oil stockpiles quickly this summer if tougher new sanctions on Iran threatened to strain supplies. ...

NATO chief: No "rush for the exits" in Afghan war

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 03:09 PM

CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders sought on Sunday to dispel fears of a rush for the exits in Afghanistan even as the Western alliance met to chart a path out of an unpopular war that has dragged on for more than a decade. President Barack Obama, who once called the Afghan conflict a "war of necessity" but is now looking for an orderly way out, hosted the NATO summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after major industrialized nations tackled a European debt crisis that threatens the global economy. ...

Mighty Merkel may be the odd woman out

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 01:13 PM

CHICAGO (Reuters) - There are weeks in the political life of Angela Merkel that were surely more pleasant than the last one. Last Sunday, the German chancellor's party suffered a big loss in the regional election of North Rhine-Westphalia. On Wednesday, she sacked one of her cabinet ministers, a rare move for her, after he led the party to the election defeat. On Saturday, she looked isolated with her insistence on fiscal austerity - also known as "consolidation" -for the ailing euro zone at the G8 summit hosted by President Barack Obama at Camp David in Maryland. ...

Syrian army shelling kills 16 in Hama: rights groups

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 10:22 AM

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army shelling killed 16 people, including children, on Sunday in the town of Souran in the central province of Hama, the British-based rights group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The army shelled the town and then stormed it," the head of the rights group Rami Abdelrahman told Reuters, citing residents. Hama has been a focal point of Syria's 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Louise Ireland)

U.N. nuclear chief hopeful on Iran deal before Baghdad meet

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:53 PM

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear supervisor flew to Tehran on Sunday voicing optimism he could reach a deal to investigate suspected atom bomb research - a possible breakthrough that Iran may hope could help ease Western sanctions pressure and deflect threats of war. "I really think this is the right time to reach agreement. Nothing is certain but I stay positive," Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at Vienna airport, adding "good progress" had already been made. ...

Lone bomber, not mafia, sought for Italy school attack

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 12:09 PM

BRINDISI (Reuters) - A bomb attack which killed a teenage girl and wounded 10 other people in the southern Italian town of Brindisi was probably done by an individual operating alone, a senior official said on Sunday, playing down initial suspicions of mafia involvement. Saturday's attack on the Francesca Morvillo Falcone school, a vocational training institute named after the wife of a famed anti-mafia judge, horrified Italy and sparked speculation it was the work of southern Italy's organized crime gangs. ...

Strong quake kills 4 in Italy cheese region

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 01:21 PM

A magnitude-6.0 earthquake shook several small towns in northeast Italy Sunday, killing four people, knocking down a clock tower and other centuries-old buildings and causing millions in losses to the region known for making Parmesan cheese.

Palestinian rivals set timetable for unity deal

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 03:38 PM

Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah on Sunday agreed on a new timetable for a power-sharing deal that envisions elections in about six months, officials said.

Greeks' crisis is personal as well as political

Published: Saturday, May 19, 2012 07:13 PM

Like many Greeks left unemployed by their country's economic tailspin, Dimitris Spachos finds it easier to talk about his nation's problems than his own.

Profiles of Egypt's main presidential candidates

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 03:31 PM

Profiles of Egypt's main presidential candidates:

Former Israeli PM: Jerusalem must be partitioned

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 01:43 PM

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday urged Israeli leaders to relinquish the idea of a unified Jerusalem if they truly want peace, contending in a pair of interviews that years of government neglect have kept the Jewish and Arab sectors irreparably divided.

Pakistan blocks Twitter over contentious tweets

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:22 PM

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

Bomb explodes during UN visit in Syria

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:36 PM

A roadside bomb exploded in a restive suburb of the Syrian capital as senior U.N. officials toured the area on Sunday, the latest incident in which the unarmed observer mission has nearly been caught up in the country's bloodshed.

Former Yemen president hospitalized

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 02:26 PM

The party of Yemen's former president says the 69-year old Ali Abdullah Saleh has been admitted to a hospital for regular checkups and minor procedures.

Lawyer: Jailed Bahrain activist granted bail

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 01:49 PM

A court in Bahrain granted bail Sunday for a jailed rights activist, but he remained in detention to await another court hearing later this week, a defense lawyer said.

Jailed Israeli president freed briefly

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 10:38 AM

A prison spokeswoman says Israel's jailed former president has been freed for a few hours to attend his son's wedding.