CA-NEWS Summary

Moderate Rohani on course for outright Iran election win

DUBAI (Reuters) - Moderate Iranian cleric Hassan Rohani looked to be heading towards an outright victory over his conservative rivals in the presidential election, initial results showed on Saturday. The vote is unlikely to radically alter ties between Tehran and the West, but if Rohani wins he has indicated he would pursue a less confrontational foreign policy than current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and enact a "civil rights charter" at home.

Web companies begin releasing surveillance information after U.S. deal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook and Microsoft have struck agreements with the U.S. government to release limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive, a modest victory for the companies as they struggle with the fallout from disclosures about a secret government data-collection program. Facebook on Friday became the first to release aggregate numbers of requests, saying in a blog post that it received between 9,000 and 10,000 U.S. requests for user data in the second half of 2012, covering 18,000 to 19,000 of its users' accounts. Facebook has more than 1.1 billion users worldwide.

U.S. considers no-fly zone after Syria crosses nerve gas 'red line'

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United States is considering a no-fly zone in Syria as it weighs options for intervention into the 2-year-old civil war, Western diplomats said on Friday, after the White House said Syria had crossed a "red line" by using nerve gas. After months of deliberation, President Barack Obama's administration said on Thursday it would now arm rebels, having obtained proof the Syrian government used chemical weapons against fighters trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

How Obama crossed his own line on Syria after months of debate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Obama's decision to arm Syrian rebels for the first time follows an intense, nearly two-year debate within the White House in which the president and his closest advisers consistently expressed skepticism about U.S. intervention in a Middle East civil war, current and former officials said. The two deciding factors in the decision to change course, they said, were growing military gains by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, aided by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, and harder intelligence that the Syrian military had used chemical weapons in the form of sarin nerve gas.

World Bank, U.N. join hands in conflict zones but face hurdles

(Reuters) - When the heads of the World Bank and the United Nations flew into the violence-wracked African city of Goma on a cloudy day last month, it was the first time the giants of international development had joined forces in the struggle to help the world's most fragile regions. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon traveled to three countries in the Great Lakes region in East Africa to cement a new partnership, tying $1 billion in bank money to the U.N. peacekeeping efforts in the region.

Rockets kill one, gut historic building in Baluchistan

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - A rocket attack by unknown people killed a policeman on Saturday and gutted an historic summer retreat used by Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the resource-rich province of Baluchistan, only days after a new government vowed to end a guerrilla war there. Three rocket propelled grenades slammed into the heritage Quaid Azam Residency in the hill town of Ziarat in the early hours of the morning, district commissioner Nadeem Tahir said. A policeman died and the ensuing blaze tore through the two-storey wooden building, damaging several other houses nearby.

Assange: Britain loyal to U.S. in NSA leaker case

LONDON (Reuters) - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said on Friday that Britain had prevented NSA leaker Edward Snowden from flying to London out of loyalty to its ally, the United States. In an interview given to Reuters and others ahead of the first anniversary of his seeking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, Assange said he was concerned by reports that Britain had told airlines to stop Snowden from flying to London.

Erdogan makes conciliatory move to end Turkish protests

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told protesters on Friday he would put redevelopment plans for an Istanbul park on hold until a court rules, striking a markedly more conciliatory tone after two weeks of fierce anti-government demonstrations. Financial markets rose on hopes that environmentalists who oppose the construction on Gezi Park would be satisfied, but it remained unclear whether other protesters with a wide variety of grievances against Erdogan would go home.

Mexican judge orders detention of ex-governor suspected of graft

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican judge on Friday ordered the detention of a former Mexican governor suspected of embezzling millions in public funds, deepening a scandal that will test President Enrique Pena Nieto's anti-corruption agenda. Andres Granier, who was governor of Mexico's southern Tabasco state until his term ended in December, had been scheduled to appear before state prosecutors for questioning, but instead was admitted to a hospital after complaining of chest pains.

Britain lobbies for nuclear export group to admit India

VIENNA (Reuters) - Britain has stepped up efforts to let India join an influential global body controlling nuclear exports, a move that would boost New Delhi's standing as an atomic power but which has faced resistance from China and other countries. The diplomatic tussle centers on whether emerging power India should be allowed into a key forum deciding rules for civilian nuclear trade, even though it has refused to join an international pact under which it would have to give up its nuclear weapons.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-004242092.html

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