CA-NEWS Summary

Sporadic clashes in Turkey as Erdogan asserts authority

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Sporadic clashes between police and protesters flared up in Istanbul overnight after a weekend in which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sought to steal back the agenda, rallying his supporters and expelling demonstrators from an Istanbul park. Two union federations called a nationwide strike for Monday over the forced eviction of protesters from Gezi Park, a leafy corner of Istanbul's central Taksim Square and the focus of two weeks of fierce anti-government demonstrations that have spread to other big cities.

Iranians count on president-elect Rohani to bring change

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian president-elect Hassan Rohani, who won a landslide victory promising better relations abroad and more freedom at home, on Sunday paid his first visit since the vote to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will ultimately decide the pace of any change. Rohani, a mid-ranking Shi'ite cleric, is an Islamic Republic insider who has held senior political and military posts since the 1979 Islamic revolution and maintained a good rapport with Khamenei, Iran's most powerful man.

North Korea wants to hold high-level talks with U.S.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea on Sunday offered high-level talks with the United States to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, but the White House said that any talks must involve Pyongyang taking action to show it is moving toward scrapping its nuclear weapons. The offer came only days after North Korea abruptly canceled planned official talks with South Korea, the first planned talks in more two years. The North blamed the South for scuttling discussions that sought to mend estranged ties between the rival Koreas.

Putin says West arming Syrian rebels who eat human flesh

AMMAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, arriving in Britain ahead of an international summit set to be dominated by disagreement over the U.S. decision to send weapons to Syria's rebels, said the West must not arm fighters who eat human flesh. In Syria, rebels fought back on Sunday against forces of President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese Hezbollah allies near Aleppo, where Assad has announced a campaign to recapture the rebel-held north after seizing a strategic town this month.

Obama does not feel Americans' privacy violated: chief of staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama does not believe the recently disclosed top-secret National Security Agency surveillance of phone records and Internet data has violated Americans' privacy rights, his chief of staff said on Sunday. Denis McDonough, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation" program, also said he did not know the whereabouts of Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who said he was the source of reports in Britain's Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post about the agency's monitoring of phone and Internet data at big companies such as Verizon Communications Inc, Google Inc and Facebook Inc.

Merkel's challenger wells up after yet more strife

BERLIN (Reuters) - Peer Steinbrueck, the main opposition challenger to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, choked up during an interview on Sunday when he was asked about what motivated him to carry on despite all the pressure and criticism of his campaign. In an extraordinary display of emotion from a man known for his abrasive style, Steinbrueck struggled to find words, and sighed heavily. As his eyes welled up, the audience at the event by his Social Democrat (SPD) party stood up and applauded.

Czech prime minister steps down after graft scandal

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas was forced to quit on Sunday by a graft and spying scandal involving his closest aide, pitching the European Union member state into a period of uncertainty over who will form the next government. Under the Czech constitution, the whole government will now have to step down, and there is likely to be horse-trading between the governing coalition, the opposition and the president before a replacement is in place.

Greek PM dismisses talk of early election over TV closure

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Sunday dismissed talk of an early election over the abrupt closure of the state broadcaster, which brought protests from viewers, workers, the opposition and his coalition partners. Samaras defended his decision to close ERT and relaunch what he said would be a smaller, more efficient version as a way for Greece to show it was serious about implementing reforms and saving money under the terms of its international bailout.

Mandela getting better but remains 'serious'

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela continues to recover in hospital from a lung infection but remains in a serious condition, South African President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday. Mandela has been in a Pretoria hospital for a week, the fourth time the 94-year-old former president and anti-Apartheid leader has been admitted to hospital since December.

Sudan, South Sudan to take steps to lower oil tension

CAIRO (Reuters) - Sudan and South Sudan are prepared to take steps, brokered by the African Union, to try to avert an oil crisis between them amid accusations from both sides that the other is supporting insurgencies in their territories. Sudan officially informed South Sudan on Tuesday that it would stop allowing its neighbor to export crude through its territory within two months unless Juba gave up support for insurgents operating across their shared border.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-165530357.html

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