CA-NEWS Summary

Pro-Assad forces attack villages near fallen Syrian border town

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters pushed toward villages near Qusair on Thursday, a day after driving rebels from the border town shattered in weeks of combat. Insurgents seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were putting up a fierce fight around the villages of Debaa and Buwayda as their opponents attacked rebel-held territory, activists and a photographer in the area said.

North, South Korea move to end rupture in ties

SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea announced on Thursday they were planning to hold talks for the first time since February 2011, signaling attempts to repair ties that have been ruptured for months. For months earlier this year, North Korea unleashed an almost daily stream of threats against the South and its ally, the United States, vowing to attack them with nuclear weapons. Tension on the Korean peninsula was at the highest in decades, but has waned since joint U.S.-South Korean military drills ended in late April.

Soldier pleads guilty to murdering 16 Afghan civilians

TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - A U.S. Army sergeant who killed 16 Afghan civilians in cold blood last year pleaded guilty on Wednesday to premeditated murder and other charges under a deal with military prosecutors that spares him from the death penalty. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, admitted to leaving his Army post in the Afghan province of Kandahar last March to gun down and set fire to unarmed villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks on their family compounds.

Turkey's Erdogan set to return to nation rattled by protest

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police clashed with demonstrators overnight ahead of the return of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to a nation rattled by a week of protest against his leadership. Erdogan returns from a visit to North Africa to face demands he apologize over a fierce police crackdown and sack those who ordered it, following six days of protests that have left two dead and more than 4,000 injured in a dozen cities.

China blames management's 'total mess' for slaughterhouse fire

BEIJING (Reuters) - Safety management at the Chinese firm whose poultry slaughterhouse caught fire earlier this week killing 120 people was a "total mess" and two senior executives have been detained by the authorities, state media said on Thursday. The local government is also to blame for failing to fulfill its safety oversight role at Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co, the small feed and poultry producer that owns the plant in the northeastern province of Jilin, state news agency Xinhua said.

Pirates release Pakistani crew kidnapped off Nigeria

YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Pirates have released five Pakistani crew they kidnapped from an oil tanker off the Nigerian coast two weeks ago, security sources said on Thursday. Increasing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region, which includes Africa's No. 1 oil producer Nigeria and is a significant source of cocoa and metals for world markets, is jacking up costs for shipping firms operating there.

Ukraine leader urges EU trade deal, doesn't budge on Tymoshenko

KIEV (Reuters) - President Viktor Yanukovich pressed the European Union on Thursday to conclude a milestone political and trade deal with Ukraine this year but he gave no ground on a key EU demand that he free jailed opponent Yulia Tymoshenko. Yanukovich made his call in a state-of-the-nation address issued in text form only, stirring the anger of pro-Tymoshenko lawmakers who demanded he appear in person to deliver it.

Supporters cheer defendants at 'show trial' of anti-Putin protestors

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Supporters applauded and chanted "We will win" in a Moscow courthouse on Thursday as 12 Russians went before a judge charged with mass disorder during a protest against Vladimir Putin. The protestors could face long prison terms if convicted over clashes with police in May last year on the eve of Putin's return to the presidency.

From factory to five-star hotel for Bangladesh's 17-day survivor

DHAKA (Reuters) - A teenage seamstress who survived 17 days trapped under the rubble of a collapsed Bangladesh garment factory walked smiling out of a military hospital on Thursday and into a new job in a five-star hotel. "I never dreamed I would return again, I am grateful to everyone," said 19-year-old Reshma Begum, wearing a bright green scarf and flanked by soldiers in fatigues at an event at the hospital where she was recovering from her ordeal.

Belgian royals face first tax bills, wage cuts

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's royal family will start paying taxes for the first time and will lose some state allowances, the government said, bringing them into line with some other monarchies at a time of belt-tightening around Europe. The Belgian government has been under pressure to reform the system of royal allowances after national media said Queen Fabiola, the widow of King Baudouin, had planned to pass on an estate in Spain by using a trust to avoid paying tax. The plan drew criticism from Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000723035.html

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