Reuters - World

Obama says Koran burning can badly damage U.S. abroad

WASHINGTON/GAINESVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he hoped a Florida pastor would drop a plan to burn Korans on U.S. soil, saying such an act could deeply harm the United States abroad.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:22:17 +0000

U.S. troops charged with murder of Afghan civilians

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve U.S. soldiers have been charged with gruesome crimes in Afghanistan ranging from murdering civilians to keeping body parts as war trophies -- revelations that the Pentagon said on Thursday damaged America's image around the world.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:38:17 +0000

Kremlin talks tough after Caucasus attack

YAROSLAVL, Russia (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev demanded tough action against militants on Friday after a suicide bombing killed at least 18 people, and an insurgent leader called for more attacks outside Russia's Muslim regions.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:52:27 +0000

Obama says Republicans holding recovery hostage

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama accused Republicans on Friday of holding the middle class hostage as he defended his efforts to stimulate the sluggish economy and try to reverse Democrats' grim election prospects.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:37:08 +0000

EU set to agree trade breaks for Pakistan

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union appears likely to grant trade concessions worth hundreds of millions of euros to flood-hit Pakistan as part of an effort to maintain stability in the country, diplomats said on Friday.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:45:34 +0000

Iran denies secret nuclear site claim

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday it had no covert uranium enrichment facility after a dissident group claimed it had evidence of a new secret underground atomic site in the Islamic state, a news agency reported.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:53:02 +0000

Hitmen kill 25 in bloodiest day on Mexico-US border

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - The murders of 25 people by suspected drug hitmen on the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday was the bloodiest day in almost three years in an area gripped by an escalating drug war, officials said on Friday.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:52:48 +0000

Bosnian Serbs could face new Srebrenica war crimes trial

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Six former Bosnian Serb military leaders convicted of crimes related to the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of thousands of Muslims could face more charges or longer sentences after the prosecution filed an appeal.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:37:25 +0000

Polish crash families want cross moved to Russia

WARSAW (Reuters) - The families of people who died with Poland's president in a plane crash in April have proposed moving a cross honouring the victims to the site of the disaster in Russia in order to defuse a bitter political row.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:17:01 +0000

More worker suicides reported at France Telecom

PARIS (Reuters) - Five employees of France Telecom (FT) have committed suicide in the past 10 days, a union official said, rekindling memories of a spate of suicides that rocked the company last year.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:45:15 +0000

Florida pastor's daughter says "he needs help"

BERLIN (Reuters) - The estranged daughter of a U.S. pastor who has threatened to burn copies of the Koran believes he has gone mad and needs help, she said in a German media interview conducted on Friday.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:39:18 +0000

Factbox - Highlights from Obama's news conference

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama held a news conference on Friday at the White House. Following are some of the highlights from the question-and-answer session:
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:42:38 +0000

Italy's Berlusconi downplays election talk

YAROSLAVL, Russia (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi played down talk of early elections Friday, saying he would keep going for his full term, despite months of speculation that his government will fall prematurely.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:21:20 +0000

Medvedev rebuffs criticism of Russian democracy

YAROSLAVL, Russia (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev rebuffed accusations of democratic backsliding on Friday and said trying to experiment with a parliamentary democracy would be a catastrophe for Russia.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:20:39 +0000

Factbox - Koran burning considered grave insult to God in Islam

(Reuters) - Intentionally burning the Koran, as a Florida preacher has threatened to do, is seen by Muslims as a blasphemous and insulting act because they consider the Islamic holy book to be the literal word of God.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:40:05 +0000

Afghan anti-U.S. protests grow in Kabul and five provinces

KABUL (Reuters) - Protests by thousands of angry Afghans over plans by an obscure U.S. church to burn copies of the Koran grew on Friday, with demonstrations spreading to the capital and at least five provinces, officials said.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:40:05 +0000

South Korea's Lee seeks to boost commercial ties with North

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak said on Friday he hoped to expand commercial ties with North Korea by building a second factory park when the two rivals defuse tensions.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:55:06 +0000

Gas blast near San Francisco burns homes and kills one

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A natural gas pipeline explosion ripped through a neighbourhood in a San Francisco suburb on Thursday, starting fires that burnt as many as 25 homes and killing at least one person, local media and officials reported.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:34:53 +0000

Kremlin vows to destroy bandits in North Caucasus

YAROSLAVL, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday that bandits in the North Caucasus must be destroyed.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:56:05 +0000

One shot dead in Koran protest in Afghan north

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - One man was shot dead when protesters, angry over plans by a U.S. pastor to burn copies of the Koran, attacked a NATO base in Afghanistan's north on Friday, a provincial government spokesman said.
Fri, 10 Sep 2010 09:53:34 +0000