ROME | Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:22am EST ROME (Reuters) - Several thousand students and teachers marched through central Rome on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's government that have cut into education spending. Appointed a year ago when Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis, Monti has pushed throug...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA | Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:04am EST GAZA (Reuters) - Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen on Saturday, further implementing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting, Palestinian officials said. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children headed back to school for the first time in 10 day...

By Mohammed Abbas LONDON | Sat Nov 24, 2012 7:56am EST LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Saturday it hoped a conference on banning nuclear weapons in the Middle East could take place "as soon as possible", after the United States said it would not be held next month. The U.S. State Department said on Friday that the conference could "not be conv...

By Gabriela Baczynska KRASNOYARSK, Russia | Sat Nov 24, 2012 6:25am EST KRASNOYARSK, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian scientist freed on Saturday after nearly a decade in jail for selling secrets to China accused Vladimir Putin's "court" of turning the Kremlin leader into a tsar and of using the legal system to punish opponents. Valentin Danilov, 66,...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:35pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defense missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region. The 20-month-old uprising again...

By Marwa Awad CAIRO | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:01pm EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Angry youths hurled rocks at security forces and burned a police truck as thousands gathered in central Cairo to protest at Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to grab sweeping new powers. Police fired tear gas near Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that toppled H...

By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent WASHINGTON | Fri Nov 23, 2012 5:53pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As conflict erupted in Gaza last week, Israel's officials and supporters embarked on what proved a successful diplomatic and media campaign to ensure the United States remained right behind them. Israel's ambassador to Washington Michael Or...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:07pm EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defense missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region. The 20-month-old uprising again...

By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad CAIRO | Fri Nov 23, 2012 2:03pm EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decision to assume sweeping powers caused fury amongst his opponents and prompted violent clashes in central Cairo and other cities on Friday. Police fired tear gas near Cairo's Tahrir Square, heart of the 2011 uprising that top...

By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM | Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:37pm EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Both on the diplomatic and military front, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will draw some comfort from his offensive against Gaza as he switches his gaze once more to his main strategic challenge -- Iran. Israel views Iran's nuclear program as an existenti...

By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad CAIRO | Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:33am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's decree exempting all his decisions from legal challenge until a new parliament was elected caused fury amongst his opponents on Friday who accused him of being the new Hosni Mubarak and hijacking the revolution. Mursi's aides sa...

KIEV | Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:47am EST KIEV (Reuters) - Jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko's trial for tax evasion was adjourned again on Friday until December 18 because the former prime minister, hospitalized for back trouble, could not attend. Tymoshenko, the main political foe of President Viktor Yanukovich, was sentenced to seven years ...

By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI | Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:35am EST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is stamping its own map on visas it issues to holders of new Chinese passports that contain a map depicting disputed territory within China's borders, the latest twist in tension in Asia over China's territorial claims. China's new microchip-equipped passport...

By Jack Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL | Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:54am EST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean software mogul Ahn Cheol-soo gave up on Friday his bid to become president and endorsed another opposition candidate, setting the stage for a close race with conservative favorite Park Geun-hye to lead Asia's fourth largest economy. Opinion polls had sh...

KABUL | Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:51am EST KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide truck bomb killed two people and wounded more than 70 in volatile eastern Afghanistan on Friday, officials said, with several foreign troops among those injured. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing in Maidan Shahr, the provincial capital of Wardak province, 35 km (22 miles) so...

By Jonny Hogg SAKE, Democratic Republic of Congo | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:49am EST SAKE, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in eastern Congo pushed south along Lake Kivu on Friday after repelling a counter-attack by government forces near the new rebel stronghold in the city of Goma on the Rwandan border. Others moved north from the stra...

BEIRUT | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:20am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 40,000 people have been killed in 20 months of conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and those fighting for his overthrow, a violence monitoring group said on Friday. Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said about half the fatalities were...

By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:01am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Discontent over the ceasefire Benjamin Netanyahu struck with Hamas in Gaza has cost the Israeli prime minister support but he should still win a January 22 election, an opinion poll showed on Friday. Maariv newspaper conducted the survey after an eight-day Israeli offe...

By Michael Martina BEIJING | Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:00am EST BEIJING (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' envoy to China said on Friday that Beijing backs their United Nations membership bid, a day after France indicated it would support a diplomatic upgrade for Palestine. Bassam al-Salhi, in China on a three-day trip to discuss tensions ...

By Stephen Addison and Natalie Huet LONDON | Thu Nov 22, 2012 1:32pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC on Thursday named a former journalist who runs the Royal Opera House to lead the broadcaster and restore public faith after sex abuse scandals tarnished the reputation of one of Britain's most treasured institutions. Tony Hall, a former director of...

By Jonny Hogg and Richard Lough GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo | Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:15am EST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in eastern Congo rejected calls from African leaders to withdraw from the city of Goma and threatened on Thursday to press on with their advance until President Joseph Kabila opens direct peace tal...

ABIDJAN | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:51am EST ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast announced a new government on Thursday in which newly appointed Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan will also take the finance and economy portfolio. President Alassane Ouattara named Duncan, a member of his allied PDCI party and foreign min...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Oliver Holmes AMMAN/BEIRUT | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:29am EST AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a Damascus suburb on Wednesday in a push to dislodge rebels from a stronghold that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's hold on the capital, opposition activists said. Heavy fighting also raged in other outskirts o...

By Nastassia Astrasheuskaya MOSCOW | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:43am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two members of the Russian feminist punk protest band Pussy Riot are sitting in jail for protesting in a church against Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, for $19.95, plus shipping, fans of the U.S. singer Madonna can orde...

By Ulf Laessing and Khalid Abdelaziz KHARTOUM | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:41am EST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan arrested its former spy chief and other senior military and security officers on Thursday after foiling what officials said was a plot to incite chaos and target leaders in this oil-producing African state. Witnesses told Reuters they saw army t...

LONDON | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:34am EST LONDON (Reuters) - The new BBC director-general is to be the current chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Tony Hall, BBC television news said on Thursday. Hall, a former director of BBC news, will replace George Entwistle who resigned earlier this month after just 54 days after failing to get to grips with a chil...

ROME | Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:26am EST ROME (Reuters) - Italy's lower house of parliament on Thursday approved a package of budget measures including a sales tax hike and a cut in some payroll taxes, aimed at helping the government reach its deficit-cutting targets. Approval was expected after Prime Minister Mario Monti's government won three confidence vote...

By Claude Canellas BORDEAUX, France | Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:51am EST BORDEAUX, France (Reuters) - Nicolas Sarkozy was questioned on Thursday by magistrates trying to establish whether he received illegal campaign funds from France's richest woman when he ran for president in 2007. It was the first time since losing the presidency - and the legal imm...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Alistair Lyon GAZA/JERUSALEM | Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:28am EST GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers took hold on Thursday after eight days of conflict, although deep mistrust on both sides cast doubt on how long the Egyptian-sponsored deal can last. Quiet reigned on both sides of the f...

By Renee Maltezou ATHENS | Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:18am EST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek municipal workers occupied hundreds of town halls across the country for a fifth day on Thursday to protest against public sector layoffs demanded by European Union and International Monetary Fund lenders. Greece has promised the lenders it will revamp its bloated pub...

By Marwa Awad and Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO/GAZA | Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:28pm EST CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement agreed on Wednesday to an Egyptian-sponsored ceasefire to halt an eight-day conflict around the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 140 Palestinians and five Israelis. Announcing the ceasefire in Cairo, Egypt...

By Justyna Pawlak BRUSSELS | Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:14pm EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Six world powers agreed on Wednesday to seek renewed talks with Iran as fast as possible, reflecting a heightened sense of urgency to resolve a long rift over Tehran's disputed nuclear activity and avert the threat of war. Their call coincided with growing evidence of I...

By Jonny Hogg SAKE/GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo | Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:13pm EST SAKE/GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebel forces in eastern Congo vowed on Wednesday to "liberate" all of the vast central African country as they began seizing towns near the Rwandan border and spoke of a 1,000-mile march to the capital Kinshasa. ...

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan | Wed Nov 21, 2012 2:46pm EST RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least eight people at Shi'ite processions in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi on Wednesday night, local television stations reported. Police said at least five people were killed and 25 wounded, including children. The attack came hours after tw...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Oliver Holmes AMMAN/BEIRUT | Wed Nov 21, 2012 1:18pm EST AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian warplanes bombed a Damascus suburb on Wednesday in a push to dislodge rebels from a stronghold that threatens President Bashar al-Assad's hold on the capital, opposition activists said. Heavy fighting also raged in other outskirts o...

By Jonny Hogg GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo | Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:55am EST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Diplomats at the United Nations and regional mediators in Central Africa sought overnight Wednesday to ward off a deeper conflict after rebels widely believed to be backed by Rwanda captured the eastern Congolese town of G...

QUETTA, Pakistan | Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:33am EST QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A bomb blast killed three soldiers and two civilians in the Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, security officials said. The bomb, attached to a motorcycle, exploded near a security vehicle escorting school children, officials said. Sixteen people were wounded. A Reuters repor...

CAIRO | Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:01am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - A studio used by the Al Jazeera TV network in Cairo was set on fire on Wednesday in an attack that an employee said was carried out by a mob that had been chanting slogans against the Qatari-owned station. The studio overlooks Tahrir Square and is located near the scene of violent clashes between yout...

By Kaustubh Kulkarni and Naeem Abbas MUMBAI, India/FARIDKOT, Pakistan | Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:01am EST MUMBAI, India/FARIDKOT, Pakistan (Reuters) - India secretly hanged the lone survivor of the Pakistan-based militant squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166 people, sparking celebrations days before the fourth anniversary of t...

By Laurent Prieur NOUAKCHOTT | Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:54am EST NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - A French citizen has been kidnapped in Mali near the border with Mauritania and Senegal, a Mauritanian security source and Mauritanian state media said on Wednesday. The man had crossed into Mali from Mauritania by car on Tuesday morning and had been kidnapped near ...