World News liveblog
Reuters live coverage of events around the world. Follow @ReutersWorld on Twitter for top news and @ReutersLive for live video events.
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A Turkish riot policeman uses tear gas as people protest against the destruction of trees in a park brought about by a pedestrian project, in Taksim Square in central Istanbul May 28, 2013.
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Reuters led early coverage of Turkey's protests. Photographer Osman Orsal captured the first iconic photograph of the scene: a woman in a red dress.
With her red cotton summer dress and white bag, she might have been floating across the lawn at a garden party; but before her crouches a masked policeman firing teargas spray that sends her long hair billowing upwards. Endlessly shared on social media and replicated as a cartoon on posters and stickers, the image of the woman in red has become an important symbol during days of violent anti-government demonstrations in Turkey -
Erdem Gunduz stands in a silent protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul early on June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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This Reuters photo from Rio earlier today says it all. #ProtestoRJ pic.twitter.com/77iaWueL6z
by KetyDC via twitter 6/17/2013 3:01:01 AM -
Thousands of people have protested in several Brazilian cities the past ten days, and organizers are planning for another march in Sao Paulo on Monday night.
Rising prices for public transportation was the original cause of the the protests, organized by Passe Livre São Paulo. Since then, Brazilians have joined protests for various other reasons, including rising crime, income inequality, and corruption.
The protests are quickly becoming a sign of a weakening public confidence for Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
On Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, the hashtags #SaladUprising and #VForVinegar referenced the arrests of those who carried vinegar with them as an aide against police tear gas.
When police tried to disperse the crowd on Thursday in Sao Paulo, violence erupted, injuring dozens and leading to nearly 200 arrests.
Read more: reut.rs -
Photo: posters read, "Dilma, we are the ones who pay for your housing" and "Communities exist." REUTERS/Alex Almeida
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Preview: Iran election offers choice, but little change
DUBAI | Tue Jun 11, 2013 6:16pm EDT (Reuters) - Friday's presidential election in Iran is unlikely to bring significant change to the Islamic republic, whose supreme leader has ensured hardline candidates dominate the field. But the sole moderate could yet upset the race.
World powers embroiled in talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program are looking for signs of a recalibration of its negotiating position after eight years of inflexibility under firey populist President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran's uncompromising nuclear negotiator Saed Jalili is prominent among four hardliners competing for the post, while one of his predecessors, the more conciliatory Hassan Rohani, has been endorsed by reformists after moderate former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was barred.
While intensifying nuclear-related sanctions on Iran have been a hot election topic, the other major global issue, its backing of President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Hezbollah in Syria's civil war, has not been raised by the six candidates.
Ahmadinejad, who gave repeated speeches seeming to call for the destruction of Israel, will not be missed in the West, but expectations for a radical change in direction are low.
"It would be good not to have someone like Ahmadinejad but it won't make much difference. We're not waiting with bated breath for the new president because the supreme leader is running policy," said a Western diplomat.
The president's comparative lack of power within the Iranian system does not make the election insignificant however.
"The Iranian president ... will have a seat at the table when Iran's major foreign policy and nuclear policies are decided," Mohsen Milani, an Iran expert at the University of South Florida told reporters. "Elections are not free," he said, "but they are extremely significant."
Continue reading: www.reuters.com -
Turkish police battle protesters in Istanbul square
Turkish riot police using tear gas and water cannons battled protesters for control of Istanbul's Taksim Square on Tuesday night, hours after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan demanded an immediate end to 10 days of demonstrations.
The governor of Istanbul went on television to declare that police operations would continue day and night until the square, focus of demonstrations against Erdogan, was cleared.
Police fired volleys of tear gas canisters into a crowd of thousands - people in office clothes as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes throughout the day - scattering them into side streets and nearby hotels. Water cannons swept across the square targeting stone-throwers in masks. The protesters, who accuse Erdogan of overreaching his authority after 10 years in power and three election victories, thronged the steep narrow lanes that lead down to the Bosphorus waterway. Gradually, many began drifting back into the square as police withdrew, and gathered around a bonfire of rubbish.
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Earlier: Turkish central bank boosts lira as clashes obscure economic gains
Reuters (June 11) -- Turkey's central bank acted to support the lira on Tuesday and Turkish debt insurance costs rose, as markets - looking past data on faster economic growth - took fright at fresh police and protester clashes in Istanbul. Citing "excessive volatility ... due to international and domestic developments during the last month", the central bank said it planned short-term extra policy-tightening steps through open market operations.
It skipped its usual fixed-rate repo auction and held five $50 million forex-selling auctions, saying it would continue such sales whenever necessary. It said it would also intervene directly in the foreign exchange market if needed. Two weeks of demonstrations against plans to redevelop an Istanbul park have spiraled into violent anti-government protests across the country, fueling losses in Turkish assets.
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@JosephHerbert: great question. Most countries are responding to the protests in Turkey differently, although for the most park, EU leaders have said they support "peaceful protests."
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READER COMMENT: Can you please advise if the EU is taking any action or not in respect of democracy? -
Reader note: have a question about Turkey? Use options bar above to submit a question to Reuters.
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In #Istanbul, a day of tear gas, fires & water cannon. Latest @Reuters photos: bit.ly/18tFfnb pic.twitter.com/ED3EwemCKd
by Jim Roberts via twitter 6/11/2013 8:18:26 PM -
Lawyers detained for joining Gezi Park protests released http://bit.ly/192M6AJby HDNER via twitter 6/11/2013 8:06:31 PM -
Protesters run as riot police fire teargas during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul, June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
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Amnesty International's Turkey researcher Andrew Gardner responds to Erdogan's speech, saying the prime minister bears "personal responsibility" for the violence:
“The Turkish Prime
Minister has sought to declare the recent wave of protest over by personal
diktat - this is not how the freedom of assembly works. Prime Minister Erdogan
now bears personal responsibility for the violence that immediately followed
his words. Peaceful protest must be respected and the international community
must urge him to change tack to prevent further unnecessary bloodshed.” -
Correction: Istanbul's governor, not mayor, made the now updated statement below.
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Reuters: Istanbul governor says police action continues until Taksim cleared
ISTANBUL, June 11 (Reuters) - Istanbul's governor said on Tuesday riot police would continue operations against protesters in Taksim Square day and night until it was cleared, and appealed to people to stay away for their own safety.
"We will continue our measures in an unremitting manner, whether day or night, until marginal elements are cleared and the square is open to the people," Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said in a brief television announcement.
The square has been the center of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Police began using teargas and water cannon on Tuesday morning in an attempt to clear it but clashes continued into the evening.
(Editing by Michael Roddy) -
BREAKING (REUTERS) ISTANBUL MAYOR SAYS POLICE WILL CONTINUE OPERATIONS ON TAKSIM SQUARE DAY AND NIGHT UNTIL IT IS CLEARED
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Turkish riot police fired teargas into Istanbul's Taksim Square, center of protests against Prime Minister Erdogan.
Police and water cannon vehicles advanced across the square, entirely clearing the north side after a day of skirmishes that had defied the authorities' efforts to restore full control.
Moments before their advance, police were confronted by protesters jeering and calling for them to leave the square. -
World Wrap: Rebel extremism makes U.N. nervous, six Americans among 15 killed in Kabul, and violence takes turn for the worse in Iraq. Read more on today's top stories here. -
World Wrap: U.N. General Assembly set to vote on resolution decrying Assad, sanctions cool off North Korean nuclear program, and apartheid tactics show dark side of Myanmar’s democratization. Read more here.
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World Wrap: Pakistan prepares for weekend election, Bangladeshi woman pulled from rubble after 17 days, and EU-bound Croatia may miss out. Read more on today's top stories here.
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Woman pulled alive from rubble of Bangladesh factory
Rescuers pulled a woman on Friday from the rubble of a Bangladesh garment factory 17 days after it collapsed, astonishing workmen who had been searching for bodies of victims of a disaster that has killed more than 1,000 people.
by Clare Richardsonon May 10, 2013 at 1:47 PM -
Members of the rescue team search through the debris of the collapsed control tower at Genoa's port May 8, 2013. Six people were killed and three are missing after a container ship crashed into a control tower in the northern Italian port of Genoa, rescuers said on Wednesday. The tower, which was more than 50 metres (160 feet) high and looked much like the ones common at airports, collapsed into the water late on Tuesday after being struck by the prow of the vessel, the Jolly Nero. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
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Sanctions help to stoke Iran property boom
While the sanctions threaten to bring the Iranian economy to its knees, million dollar apartments fitted out with the best imported equipment have become ever more common in Tehran.
Read the full story here. -
Gallery: The snipers of Syria
Members of the Free Syrian Army exchange fire with snipers during fighting against pro-government forces in Harem town, Idlib Governorate, October 25, 2012.by Clare Richardsonon May 7, 2013 at 3:48 PM
A Free Syrian Army sniper looks through the sight on his rifle inside a house in Aleppo, August 13, 2012.
REUTERS/Goran Tomasevicby Clare Richardsonon May 7, 2013 at 3:49 PM
A Free Syrian Army fighter reacts as he carries the body of a fellow fighter after he was killed by a sniper loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Khan al-Assal area, November 10, 2012.by Clare Richardsonon May 7, 2013 at 3:49 PMPreviousNext1 of 3
See the full photo gallery here. -
World Wrap: Kerry and Putin bury the hatchet on Syria, Fergie announces Man U retirement, and Kurdish militants begin withdrawal from Turkey. Read more on today's top stories here.
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A team of Japanese and Brazilian scientists say they may have discovered part of the earth's original continent off the coast of Brazil before the land masses drifted apart. Jessica Gray reports.
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With China's high net worth individuals moving from wealth creation to wealth preservation, a Bain study shows the siren call of overseas investments is stronger than ever. Jon Gordon reports.
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World Wrap: China brushes off Pentagon’s hacking allegations, Bank of China shutters North Korean account, and Israeli strikes on Syria highlight possible Assad vulnerabilities. Read more on today's top stories here.
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Reuters: OBAMA SAYS SO FAR US AND SOUTH KOREA HAVE NOT SEEN INDICATIONS FROM NORTH KOREA THAT IT IS PREPARED TO MOVE IN A PEACEFUL DIRECTION -
Reuters: OBAMA, SOUTH KOREA'S PARK VOW THEY WILL NOT REWARD NORTH KOREAN PROVOCATIONS, WILL MAINTAIN DETERRENT CAPABILITY
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Obama says he has never had a conversation with Kim Jong Un, in case you were wondering.by Blake Hounshell via twitter 5/7/2013 6:10:43 PM -
When Obama and Park talk about their US-ROK Alliance vision today, check if it builds on 2009 Joint Vision Statement. Continuity is good.by James Schoff via twitter 5/7/2013 5:46:12 PM -
U.S. President Barack Obama meets with South Korea's President Park Geun-hye in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, May 7, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed
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U.N. chief: North Korea missile move a step in right direction
UNITED NATIONS, May 7 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed reports that North Korea has taken two Musudan missiles off launch-ready status as "a step in the right direction," his spokesman said on Tuesday.
U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday that the missiles, which have a range of 3,000 to 3,500 km (1,900 to 2,200 miles), had been moved from North Korea's east coast after weeks of concern that Pyongyang had been poised for a test-launch.
"If the reports about the removal of ballistic missiles from their launch pads are correct, we would welcome that as a step in the right direction," Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, told reporters.
"The Secretary-General has been consistent in urging the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to refrain from threats and other provocative actions and to reengage in dialogue with the parties concerned," Nesirky said.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler) -
China rejects Pentagon espionage charges
By David Alexander and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is using espionage to acquire technology to fuel its military modernization, the Pentagon said on Monday, for the first time accusing the Chinese of trying to break into U.S. defense computer networks and prompting a firm denial from Beijing.
In its 83-page annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also cited progress in Beijing's effort to develop advanced-technology stealth aircraft and build an aircraft carrier fleet to project power further offshore.
Read on. -
Ecuador has pulled its ambassador from his post in Peru following a grocery store brawl caught on security cameras and broadcast on Peruvian TV.
Read the full story here. -
World Wrap: Israel says strikes not meant to help Syrian rebels, Malaysia’s prime minister glum over win, and pre-election violence mars rally in Pakistan. Read more on today's top stories here.
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World Wrap: Tragedy spotlights Bangladesh’s garment trade, Pakistani prosecutor killed by gunmen, and Myanmar’s Muslims react to steady sectarian violence. Read more here.
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In his new book "Beyond War," Reuters columnist David Rohde says President Obama failed to work with moderates across the Middle East, leaving the region ripe for extremists to take root.
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World Wrap: North Korea orders hard labor for U.S. man, local Bangladeshi mayor suspended after garment factory tragedy, and the ECB cuts rates to record low. Read more on today's top stories here.
U.S. State Department to ban American travel to North Korea
WASHINGTON/SEOUL The U.S. government will ban Americans from traveling to North Korea due to "the serious risk of arrest" after an American student was jailed while on a tour and later died, the State Department said on Friday.