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Chechen killed by FBI in Boston probe 'not violent'

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 08:17

A Chechen man shot dead by the FBI during questioning on his links to the Boston bombers was not violent, his father said in an interview broadcast Thursday, speaking from his home town of Grozny in Chechnya. Ibragim Todashev, 27, was shot by the FBI in Florida on Wednesday after he stabbed an agent during questioning on his possible involvement with Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a triple homicide that took place before the Boston bombings, local media reported.

Syria opposition open key talks on peace initiative

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 08:17

Syria's main opposition group opened key talks in Istanbul on Thursday to debate whether to agree to negotiate with the regime on ending the two-year civil war under a new US-Russia peace initiative. The Syrian National Coalition -- which is under pressure from both its backers abroad and rebels on the ground -- is also expected to choose a new president, discuss expansion to include new members and decide the fate of an interim rebel government, opposition members told AFP.

Twin car bombings at Niger uranium plant, army base kill 10

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 08:16

Twin car bombings at an army base and a French-run uranium mine in northern Niger killed at least 10 people Thursday, in unprecedented attacks claimed by an Islamist group fighting French-led troops in neighbouring Mali. The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) claimed the bombings, calling them punishment for Niger's participation in a French-led military offensive against Islamist extremists who had seized control of northern Mali last year and ruled it under a brutal version of Islamic law for some 10 months.

Syria-linked clashes kill six in Lebanese city

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 08:16

Overnight clashes killed six people in the Lebanese port of Tripoli, a security source said Thursday, as a fifth day of violence sparked by the Syria conflict spread to previously quiet neighbourhoods. "Very violent fighting took place last night until 5:00 am (0200 GMT) that killed six people and wounded 40. The clashes and shelling affected several areas of the city, including the centre," the source told AFP.

Mali Islamist group claims deadly Niger bombings

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 07:45

Malian Islamist group the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) claimed twin car bombings that killed 10 people at an army base and French-run uranium mine in Niger on Thursday. "Thanks to Allah, we have carried out two operations against the enemies of Islam in Niger," spokesman Abu Walid Sahraoui told AFP. He called the attacks a punishment for Niger's "cooperation with France in the war against sharia", a reference to Niger troops fighting with French-led forces against radical Islamists who had seized control of northern Mali last year. sd/jhb/txw

France says some dead in Niger twin bombings

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 07:16

France said Thursday that there were dead among the victims of twin bombings at a uranium processing plant owned by French nuclear giant Areva and a military base in northern Niger. "It is still too early for a definitive toll from these attacks," French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said, adding: "France extends its condolences to the families of the deceased." "France condemns these attacks in the strongest terms," he said, adding that France had offered assistance to authorities in Niger.

Mali Tuaregs reject army presence in bastion for July vote

Agence France-PresseMay 23, 2013 06:31

Mali's main Tuareg separatist group said Wednesday it supported the holding of a nationwide presidential poll in July but ruled out allowing the army in its northern bastion of Kidal for the vote. A delegation from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) held talks in Ouagadougou, the capital of neighbouring Burkina Faso, with the region's lead mediator in the Malian crisis, Djibrill Bassole.

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep workers in setback for decommissioning

The Canadian PressMay 23, 2013 05:08

TOKYO - Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.

Taliban claim bomb in southwest Pakistan that kills 13

Thomson ReutersMay 23, 2013 04:08

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Thursday for a bomb that killed 11 security personnel and two civilians in the southwestern city of Quetta. Sixteen people were wounded in the attack in the capital of Baluchistan province, and the death toll could rise, police said. The bomb was planted in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw and blew up as a truck carrying the security men passed by.

France backs call to put Hezbollah armed wing on EU terror list

Thomson ReutersMay 23, 2013 03:15

PARIS (Reuters) - France is ready to support a British initiative to put the armed wing of Hezbollah on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations, an official said on Thursday, confirming comments by Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. Paris has traditionally been cautious about backing steps to sanction Hezbollah, fearing it could destabilize Lebanon and potentially put U.N. peacekeepers at risk, but in recent weeks it has said it would consider all options.