CA-NEWS Summary

Syrian army captures strategic border town of Qusair

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces and their Hezbollah militant allies seized control on Wednesday of the border town of Qusair, dealing a strategic defeat to rebel fighters battling for two years to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. Rebels said they had pulled out of Qusair, which lies on a cross-border supply route with neighboring Lebanon, after two weeks of fierce battles which marked Lebanese Hezbollah's deepest military involvement yet in Syria's civil war.

Turks clash with police despite deputy PM's apology

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with police across Turkey overnight despite an apology for police violence from the deputy prime minister designed to halt an unprecedented wave of protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Pro-government newspapers signaled a softening of Ankara's line in the absence of Erdogan, who flew off on a state visit to north Africa on Monday night after a weekend of rioting critics said were inflamed by his denunciations of protesters.

Russia, China join West in pressing Iran at U.N. nuclear meeting

VIENNA (Reuters) - China and Russia joined four Western powers in pressing Iran on Wednesday to cooperate with a stalled investigation by the U.N. nuclear agency into suspected atomic research by the Islamic state. In a joint statement intended to signal their unity in the decade-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program, the six powers said they were "deeply concerned" about the country's atomic activities. Iran denies having any nuclear weapons agenda.

Most Europeans, especially the French, unhappy about EU: survey

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Nearly two-thirds of French people think the European Union is headed in the wrong direction and more than half disapprove of President Francois Hollande's leadership, according to a widely-watched survey released on Wednesday. The poll, conducted in six EU countries by Gallup, also found most Britons want to leave the European Union, a higher figure than in other recent surveys. That is likely to fuel demands for an early British referendum on EU membership.

Even after earlier fire, China poultry plant workers didn't query locked doors

DEHUI, China (Reuters) - Workers at a poultry slaughterhouse in northeastern China where 119 people died in a fire this week saw nothing odd in the plant's doors being locked, even after a previous fire at the 4-year-old facility. One 36-year-old worker, who gave her family name as Li, said there had been a fire at the facility, where ammonia is stored for produce refrigeration, three years ago. That was said to have been started by a lighted cigarette.

Malian army clashes with Tuareg rebels, heading for Kidal

BAMAKO (Reuters) - The Malian army said on Wednesday it seized the village of Anefis following heavy fighting with the Tuareg separatist MNLA and was making its way towards the nearby town of Kidal, the rebels' last stronghold. It was the first fighting between the MNLA and the Malian army since a French-led military offensive launched in January broke a 10-month occupation of the desert north by al Qaeda-linked armed Islamist groups. Mali's army has vowed to retake Kidal before national elections scheduled for late July.

Analysis: Glimmer of hope for cash-starved Pakistan economy as Sharif takes over

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's economy is in its worst shape in nearly a decade and yet there is a sense of hope that the incoming government not only seems to know what is needed to fix it but, for once, may also have enough determination and clout to do it. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif swept back to power in last month's election, riding a wave of public anger at rival Pakistan People's Party's failure to tackle endemic corruption, power cuts and militant violence.

Four dead as Myanmar violence spills into Malaysia: police

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Ethnic violence in Myanmar between Muslims and Buddhists appears to have spilled over into Malaysia, police said on Wednesday, with four killings in recent days suspected to be linked to the religious tension. All the victims, including a man slashed to death by machete-wielding attackers at a car wash in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, this week, were Buddhists from Myanmar, said the city's deputy police chief Amar Singh Ishar Singh.

Bulgaria now says Hezbollah's role in bus bombing unproven

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria said on Wednesday it only had an "indication" that Lebanon's Hezbollah might have been behind a deadly bus bombing in July and that this alone did not justify any European Union move to list it as a terrorist group. The new Socialist-led government backed away from charges by its center-right predecessor that the Shi'ite Muslim militant group had carried out the attack that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver in the Black Sea city of Burgas.

Slovenian opposition leader convicted in bribery case

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia's chief opposition leader was sentenced to two years in jail on Wednesday for bribery in a 2006 deal with Finnish defense group Patria, one of a number of corruption scandals that have fuelled public anger over the country's financial crisis. Janez Jansa had denied taking money in the aborted purchase of 135 Patria armored vehicles while he was prime minister and is expected to appeal. Two co-defendants were also found guilty and jailed for 22 months.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-012504510.html

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