Ollanta Humalas approval rating in Peru slips to six-month low

Buenos Aires Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

President Ollanta Humala's approval rating fell 5 points to a six-month low of 46 percent, reflecting the unpopularity of his proposal to buy an oil refinery owned by Spain's Repsol and his support for Venezuela's new government, an Ipsos poll showed. The nationwide poll was published by the newspaper El Comercio. Humala abandoned his idea of buying the Repsol oil refinery after ...

US robots Israeli drones to help make 2014 World Cup in Brazil one of safest sporting events ever

RT - Sunday 19th May, 2013

World Cup 2014 Brazil has added 30 US military robots to the Israeli drones and 'Robocop-style' glasses with face recognition cameras to its arsenal after the country allocated $900 million to make 2014 World Cup "one of the most protected sports events in history." The 30 PackBot 510 units, which usually cost between $100,000 and $200,000 apiece, will arrive in Brazil as ...

US diplomat visits Colombian refugees in Ecuador urges greater focus on problem

Canada.com - Sunday 19th May, 2013

QUITO, Ecuador - The U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for refugee issues is drawing attention to the plight of Colombian refugees who have fled across the border into Ecuador. Anne C. Richards says the problem is continuing even though the Colombian government is in peace talks with rebels. Many refugees say they are fleeing threats and extortion by irregular and paramilitary ...

Jordy Smith surfs to ASP win in Brazil

Middle East Times - Sunday 19th May, 2013

surfing tournament Sunday. Smith navigated the 2-to-4 foot swells at Barra Da Tijuca to win the third stop on the Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour by a score of 17.80-16.34. Smith scored high by catching air on one productive wave and performing a so-called stailfish air-reverse on another. It was the third career ASP victory for the 25-year-old Smith and his first ...

Afghanistan India to Discuss Military Aid

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A spokesman for the Afghan president says Mr. Karzai will ask for assistance for the strengthening of the country's military and security institutions. Afghanistan and India signed a strategic partnership in 2011 which included India's training of Afghan forces as they prepare to takeover security from foreign troops in 2014. Pakistan has also offered a strategic partnership ...

Funeral Held for Slain Pakistani Politician

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Zahra Shahid Hussain was killed late Saturday after being approached by two unknown gunmen outside her home in Karachi. Pakistani politician and former cricket star Imran Khan, leader of Pakistan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, blamed Saturday's slaying of Zahra Shahid Hussain on the rival Muttahida Qaumi Movement party, or MQM. The party has denied any ...

Tunisians Fear Growing Threat of Radical Islamists

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

PARIS -- Police in Tunisia fired tear gas to disperse stone-throwing Islamists in two cities after the government banned the hardline Ansar al-Shariah group from staging its annual congress Sunday. The events underscore the growing clout of Muslim extremists in the once staunchly secular North African country. The assassination of secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid in February sparked ...

Nigeria Government Encouraged with Military Offensive Progress

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

An advisor to Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan says the government is encouraged by the progress of the ongoing military offensive against the Islamic militant sect, Boko Haram. "The majority of the various camps where the terrorists have converted into their hideouts have been heavily bombarded, both by air and on land. And I’m just receiving a report that about 55 ...

Immigration deadline may leave tens of thousands without legal status

Miami Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

WASHINGTON -- Huber David Hernandez got a surprising phone call from a friend a few months ago. Congress is working on immigration reform, she said, and it would benefit both of us.“It was great news,” said Hernandez, who is from Colombia and arrived in Orlando in May 2012 on a three-month tourist visa and never left, eager “to secure a better future, to achieve what they call ...

Report Says Iran Hangs 2 Spies Working for Israel US

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

DUBAI, UAE -- Iranian authorities executed two men on Sunday convicted of working for Israeli and U.S. spy agencies, Iran's Fars news agency reported. Mohammad Heidari, accused of passing security-related information and secrets to Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, accused of gathering information for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, were hanged at ...

Colombian generals investigated for role in mass killings of civilians Report

Colombia Reports - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Colombia ’s Prosecutor General’s Office is investigating former army commander General Mario Montoya and three other generals for their alleged role in the extrajudicial killings of thousands of civilians, reported El Tiempo ...

Syrian TV Troops Enter Rebel Stronghold of Qusair

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Syrian state television says government troops have entered the rebel town of Qusair as part of a weeks-long offensive to recapture the strategic area connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean ...

Islamists Riot in Tunisia After Major Rally is Banned

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Radical Islamists in Tunisia have engaged in street battles with police after authorities banned thousands of them from holding an annual conference in the center of the country. The radical activists, also known as Salafists, threw stones at Tunisian police who deployed heavily in the central town of Kairouan to prevent them from gathering on Sunday. Police responded to the stone throwers by ...

Santos has ‘every right’ to seek reelection FARC

Colombia Reports - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The group is currently involved in peace talks with delegates from the Santos administration to seek a negotiated end to Colombia’s nearly 50-year-old conflict. The FARC’s mild response to Santos’ apparent preparations to launch his candidacy is rather different that before the 2010 elections when the rebel group warned Santos would be a ';new paramilitary ...

Pope warns Church against closing in on itself

The Star - Sunday 19th May, 2013

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis warned the Catholic Church to not close in on itself at a Mass to mark Pentecost Sunday attended by more than 200,000 people, urging the faithful to be open and present in a new and changing ...

EU says worried by Russias human rights record

Reuters - Sunday 19th May, 2013

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union criticized Russia's human rights record on Sunday, saying it was increasingly concerned at a wave of restrictive legislation and prosecutions against ...

Philippine Workers in Taiwan Feel Backlash

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

MANILA -- Advocates for Philippine migrant workers say they are concerned about the effects of a hiring freeze Taiwan's government has put in place against the Philippines. The move came less than a week after a Philippine Coast Guard crew admitted shooting at a Taiwanese vessel, killing a fisherman. Statistics from ...

After crushing Mali Islamists France pushes deal with Tuaregs

Reuters - Sunday 19th May, 2013

BAMAKO (Reuters) - After winning adulation across Mali for a five month military offensive that crushed al Qaeda fighters, France is now frustrating some of its allies by pushing for a political settlement with a separate group of Tuareg ...

Egyptian police block Israel border crossing in fury at kidnapping sources

Reuters - Sunday 19th May, 2013

A member of Hamas security forces stands guard in front of the closed gate of the Rafah crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip May 17, ...

Uruguay and Brazil prove opposites attract

FIFA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Uruguay are filled with episodes of rivalry and tension, the countries' peoples insist instead on a relationship based on friendship and admiration. Thus, despite having motives aplenty to produce angst-filled on-the-pitch encounters, it is simply not the case ...

Syrian Town of Qusair Under Fire

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Qusair has been under fire for weeks as government troops seek to re-capture it with airstrikes and shelling. The town is strategically important because it links the capital, Damascus, with the coast. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will not step down before next year's elections. Mr. Assad's comments were published Saturday in the Argentine newspaper ...

Indian Chinese Leaders Meet to Strengthen Ties

VOA - Sunday 19th May, 2013

China says placing India first on the itinerary of new Premiere Li Keqiang demonstrates the importance Beijing places on the relationship between the two countries. The Chinese premier and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are expected to address how to smooth over a lingering border dispute - a root cause of their trust deficit. The Chinese leader's visit comes ...