CA-NEWS Summary

Cyprus faces last ditch chance to save economy

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades embarked on last-minute crisis talks with international lenders on Sunday in an attempt to save the Mediterranean island from financial meltdown. With Cyprus facing a Monday deadline to avert a collapse of its banking system and potential exit from the euro, late night negotiations in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund broke up without result.

British police give all clear on radiation at Putin critic's home

ASCOT, England (Reuters) - Specialist police with nuclear and chemical training gave the all clear at the British home of former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Sunday, a day after the fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin died in unclear circumstances. Once known as the "godfather of the Kremlin", the former billionaire powerbroker helped Putin rise to the top before falling out of favor himself and fleeing to Britain in 2000.

Ex-President Musharraf returns to Pakistan for elections

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, returned home on Sunday after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest elections despite the possibility of arrest and death threats from the Taliban. Musharraf hopes to regain influence so that his party can win seats in the general election scheduled for May 11, when he will face fierce competition, including from the man he ousted in a military takeover.

Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.

Central African Republic capital falls to rebels, Bozize flees

BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of the riverside capital Bangui after fierce fighting on Sunday, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee and raising fears of instability in the mineral-rich heart of Africa. At least nine South African soldiers were killed trying to prevent the rebels taking Bangui, a Reuters witness said, dealing a blow to Pretoria's attempt to stabilize the chaotic Central African nation and assert its influence in the region.

China's Xi arrives in Africa with focus on trade ties

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - African dancers and a 21-gun salute welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Dar es Salaam on Sunday at the start of an African tour that underlines the continent's strategic importance for China both for its resources and as a marketplace. Visiting, Tanzania, South Africa and Republic of Congo on his first trip abroad as president, Xi will aim to build on expanding economic relations that many Africans see as a healthy counterbalance to the influence of the West.

Israel says fence-mending with Turks does not end Gaza blockade

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel did not commit to ending its Gaza blockade as part of reconciliation with Turkey and could clamp down even harder on the Palestinian enclave if security is threatened, Israeli officials said on Sunday. After a U.S.-brokered fence-mending announcement on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had met his demands to apologize for killing nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound activist ship in 2010, pay compensation to those bereaved or hurt and lift the blockade by allowing in more consumer goods.

Afghanistan's Karzai heads to Qatar to discuss peace with Taliban

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Qatar within days to discuss peace negotiations with the Taliban, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to the twelve year war. Karzai's trip to Qatar would represent the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

John Kerry asks Iraq to stop arms to Syria

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and said he told Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of his concern about Iranian flights over Iraq carrying arms to Syria. Kerry also urged Iraq's Sunni Muslim, Shi'ite and ethnic Kurdish factions to commit to the political process as the country's precarious intercommunal balance comes under growing strain from the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Iran denies link to group arrested in Saudi Arabia

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said the country was not linked to a group of alleged spies arrested in Saudi Arabia, Iranian media reported on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it had detained an Iranian, a Lebanese, and 16 Saudis for spying. Political analysts and media in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have accused Shi'ite Iran of being behind the alleged espionage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001437480.html

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