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Cyprus not seeking to renegotiate bailout

Cyprus denied on Wednesday that it is trying to wriggle out of bailout commitments after President Nicos Anastasiades wrote a letter to international lenders criticising the terms of the deal. The European Commission said, meanwhile, that it had set up a support group for Cyprus, three months after the island secured a 10-billion-euro ($13 billion) EU-IMF bailout in exchange for breaking up its bloated banking sector.

Somali Islamist rebels attack U.N. base, 22 dead

By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. The assault, claimed by Islamist group al Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base. Rebel gunmen forced their way into the compound and fought with security guards.

New climate strategy coming within weeks: Obama adviser

By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will target carbon emissions from power plants as part of a second-term climate change agenda expected to be rolled out in the next few weeks, his top energy and climate adviser said on Wednesday. Obama will take several steps to make tackling climate change a "second-term priority" that builds on first-term policies, Heather Zichal, deputy assistant to the president for energy and climate change, said at a forum sponsored by the New Republic magazine.

Protests continue in Sao Paulo, troops sent to 5 Brazilian cities

By Asher Levine SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Demonstrators blocked a major highway and other roads in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, crippling transportation in Brazil's largest city and financial hub, in an ongoing wave of protests against poor public services, inflation and police violence.

Iraqi Shi'ites flock to Assad's side as sectarian split widens

By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Among the Iranian pilgrims, foreign executives and tourists in the departure lounge at Baghdad airport, a group of young Iraqis prepare to wage religious war in Syria - not for the rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad but against them. Dressed in jeans, their hair cropped short, the 12 men awaiting their flight are Iraqi Shi'ites, among hundreds heading for what they see as a struggle to defend fellow Syrian Shi'ites and their holy sites from the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels.

Qatar says Taliban office not for 'Islamic Emirate'

The Taliban office opened in Doha to facilitate peace talks does not carry the name of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," as it appeared earlier, Qatar said on Wednesday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai denounced as a provocation the use of the formal name of the Islamist movement's government from 1996 until it was toppled in 2001. "The office that was opened in Doha yesterday is the political office of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and is not the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Qatar's foreign ministry said, quoted by QNA state news agency.

Mugabe seeks to delay Zimbabwe election by two weeks

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has filed an urgent application with the country's top court to push back crucial elections by two weeks, following pressure by regional leaders. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told AFP he had filed papers on Tuesday that sought "a postponement of the date for the harmonised elections from July 31, 2013 to August 14, 2013." The announcement comes just days after Southern African leaders pressed Mugabe to delay the polls to allow more time for democratic reforms.

Singapore in smog alarm as Indonesia forest fires rage

Smog levels in Singapore hit a record high on Wednesday as raging forest fires from neighbouring Indonesia triggered a major health alarm and sent residents of the densely populated city-state scrambling for face masks. Singapore's air pollutant index soared past the government-designated "hazardous" level of 300 before midnight as officials in both countries desperately sought a solution to the environmental crisis.

Court rules relatives can sue over British soldier deaths

Relatives of British soldiers killed while fighting in Iraq can sue the government for negligence and claim damages under human rights law, the Supreme Court in London ruled on Wednesday. Lawyers for the family members, who can now proceed to trial, said the ruling means the Ministry of Defence owes a duty of care to properly equip service personnel who go to war. Debi Allbutt, who had brought one of the claims over the death of her 35-year-old husband Stephen in March 2003, said she "jumped up and down with joy" when she heard the news.

ABC News 'Nightline' anchor Moran named network's London-based chief foreign correspondent

NEW YORK, N.Y. - ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran is getting a new posting as the network's London-based chief foreign correspondent. Moran will head overseas late this summer, ABC said Wednesday. Moran was ABC's chief White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005 and has done many overseas and domestic stories for "Nightline," most recently from Syria. It's a revived position at ABC News. The late Peter Jennings spent several years as a London-based correspondent before becoming the network's chief news anchor.
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