French navy hands over suspected pirates to Somalia

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:52:50 -0600

BOSSASO, Somalia (Reuters) - French navy officers handed over 22 suspected Somali pirates to semi-autonomous Puntland's authorities and they will be arraigned in local courts, officials said on Saturday.

Suicide bomber kills 11 in Pakistan's Swat

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:45:11 -0600

MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide bomber targeting security forces killed at least 11 people on Saturday, Pakistani police said, part of a renewed push against the state after one of the biggest security crackdowns in years.

Afghanistan eases ban on news coverage of raids

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:34:39 -0600

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan rowed back on Saturday from a total ban on media broadcasts of "disturbing" images from insurgent attacks or live pictures of security operations.

Iraq PM Maliki leads Baghdad, a big election prize

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:50:48 -0600

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The coalition of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki held a wide lead on Saturday in early results from Baghdad, the major prize in elections Iraqis hope will stabilize a nation riven by years of sectarian warfare.

Vatican says bid to link pope to abuse issue failed

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:35:25 -0600

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican rallied around Pope Benedict on Saturday, dismissing suggestions he had tried to cover up priestly child abuse in Germany.

Sweden, Turkey jointly denounce "genocide" vote

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:06:12 -0600

SAARISELKA, Finland (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Turkey and Sweden condemned on Saturday a vote in the Swedish parliament that defined the early 20th-century killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide.

Irish police release three over cartoonist plot

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:35:05 -0600

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish police have released three of the seven people arrested on Tuesday in connection with an alleged plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist over a drawing depicting the Prophet Mohammad with the body of a dog.

Netanyahu's position is "perilous": U.S. official

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:52:28 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political standing is "perilous" because of divisions within his coalition over efforts to pursue peace with the Palestinians, a senior U.S. official said on Friday.

Google "99.9 pct" sure to shut China search engine: report

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:34:03 -0600

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world's largest search engine, is now "99.9 percent" certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

Second U.S. woman probed in plot to kill Swede: report

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:08:42 -0600

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities in Ireland are investigating whether a second American woman was involved in a suspected international plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist for mocking the Prophet Mohammad, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.