Japan's policy veteran Motegi likely to serve as trade minister: media

TOKYO (Reuters) - Incoming Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to pick policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister, who will also take charge of energy and other key economic policies, media reported on Tuesday. Motegi, 57, a former policy...

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Two killed as passenger plane lands in Myanmar rice field

YANGON (Reuters) - Two people were killed and 10 wounded in northeast Myanmar on Tuesday when a passenger plane missed an airport runway in heavy fog and landed in a rice paddy, state television said. The pilot of the Air Bagan plane touched down beyond...

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Former South African president Mandela "much better": Zuma

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is looking much better after more than two weeks in hospital, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday. Zuma, who visited Mandela on Christmas Day, said in a...

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Afghans seek policewoman's motive for killing U.S. contractor

KABUL (Reuters) - An Iranian-Afghan policewoman who killed a U.S. contractor at the police headquarters in Kabul may have been motivated by a personal grudge, said security officials, who were also probing possible Taliban or al Qaeda involvement. The...

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Syria envoy seeks peace as clashes rage

BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi pursued mediation efforts in Damascus on Tuesday, but there was no pause in the bloodletting as Syrian Christians marked a bleak Christmas Day with prayers for peace. "We are here in a cave that...

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Gulf Arabs decry Iran "interference" in region

MANAMA (Reuters) - Six U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states demanded on Tuesday that Iran end what they called interference in the region, reiterating a long-held mistrust of their main rival. The Islamic Republic denies trying to subvert Saudi Arabia and its...

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Egypt expected to pass constitution; currency limits imposed

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is expected to announce on Tuesday that voters approved a new Islamist-backed constitution, and the government slapped limits on carrying cash abroad to save the economy from collapse after weeks of street violence and political...

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Pope gives advice as Italians prepare for bitter campaign

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict sent a political Christmas greeting to Italians on Tuesday as they head into an election campaign expected to be brutal and bitter: think, cooperate for the common good and don't discard values when making big choices....

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Kazakh military plane crashes, all 27 on board killed

ALMATY (Reuters) - A military transport plane crashed in southern Kazakhstan on Tuesday, killing all 27 people on board, the RIA news agency quoted a senior Kazakh emergencies ministry official as saying. "The plane has burnt up, only some of its fragments...

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Eight killed in Yemen clashes; attacks in capital target officers

SANAA (Reuters) - At least six militants and two soldiers were killed in Yemen on Tuesday in fighting near a damaged oil pipeline east of the capital Sanaa, a defense ministry official and residents said. Separately, gunmen and bombers targeted three...

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Iraqi president in hospital after suffering stroke

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has mediated among Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish parties, was in hospital on Tuesday after suffering a stroke that left him in "critical but stable condition", government officials and lawmakers...

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Iran defiant on enrichment ahead of possible nuclear talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will not stop higher-grade uranium enrichment in response to external demands, its top nuclear energy official was quoted as saying on Tuesday, signaling a tough bargaining stance ahead of planned new talks with world powers. ...

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In second verdict, war crimes court acquits Congolese

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was acquitted at the Hague war crimes court on Tuesday, after prosecutors failed to prove he ordered atrocities in eastern Congo a decade ago. Delivering only its second verdict in...

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South Africa's Zuma boosted by Ramaphosa return in ANC win

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) re-elected President Jacob Zuma as its leader on Tuesday, setting him up for seven more years as head of state of Africa's biggest economy. Nelson Mandela's...

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Russia expects Obama visit despite "mini-crisis" in ties

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to visit Russia in the first half of 2013 despite a "mini-crisis" in relations over U.S. moves to punish Russians accused of rights abuses, a Kremlin aide said on Tuesday. Russia's President Vladimir...

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Russia eyes Syria evacuation as rebels take Damascus district

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russia sent warships to the Mediterranean to prepare a potential evacuation of its citizens from Syria, a Russian news agency said on Tuesday, a sign President Bashar al-Assad's key ally is worried about rebel advances now threatening...

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Egyptian prosecutor's resignation angers Brotherhood

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor resigned under pressure from his opponents in the judiciary, dealing a blow to President Mohamed Mursi and drawing an angry response on Tuesday from the Islamist leader's supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood....

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China appoints new top official for export powerhouse Guangdong

GUANGZHOU (Reuters) - China announced on Tuesday the appointment of rising star Hu Chunhua as Communist Party boss for the southern export powerhouse of Guangdong, the country's richest and most liberal province. Hu will take over from reform-minded...

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Mandela "looking much better", to stay in hospital

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is "looking much better" after being treated for a lung infection and gallstones, but he would remain in hospital for the time being for extra care, a presidency spokesman said on...

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Central African Republic rebel alliance issues ultimatum to government

BANGUI (Reuters) - An alliance of rebel groups that has seized control of several towns in Central African Republic in recent days has threatened to overthrow President Francois Bozize if he fails to fully implement a five-year-old peace deal. The resurgence...

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Vietnam condemns China's sea claims as "serious violation"

HANOI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vietnam condemned on Tuesday China's claims to disputed South China Sea islands as a serious violation of its sovereignty after saying it was setting up patrols to protect its fisheries and accusing Chinese boats of sabotage....

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Netanyahu's Israeli settlement push could be ballot box boon

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - For Benjamin Netanyahu, plans to expand Israeli settlements may risk a diplomatic crisis with Europe but could prove a good bet at the ballot box. With a January 22 election looming, the Israeli leader has defied long-standing...

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U.S. court hearing set in Strauss-Kahn civil lawsuit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the hotel maid who accused him of sexual assault will appear in New York state court next week to brief a judge on the status of settlement talks in the maid's civil...

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Sunni-Alawite clashes break out in Lebanon's Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Two men were killed and 12 wounded in sectarian clashes in the Lebanese port city of Tripoli on Tuesday between gunmen loyal to opposing sides in neighboring Syria's civil war, residents said. The army cut off all roads...

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Putin ally and MP to table bill doubling jail time for graft

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday she would table an amendment in parliament to double the maximum jail sentence for corruption to 20 years, urging fellow MPs to back a crackdown on one of Russia's most deep-seated...

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Three killed after cargo ship sinks off Istanbul

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - At least three people were killed and nine others were missing after a cargo ship with a Ukrainian and Russian crew sank in a storm off Istanbul's Black Sea coast on Tuesday. Two of those who died were rescuers killed when their...

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