CA-NEWS Summary

Cyprus faces last ditch chance to save economy

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, seeking a last-minute reprieve from financial meltdown at talks in Brussels on Sunday, has a "very difficult task" ahead of him if he is to save the island's economy, a government spokesman said. With Cyprus facing a Monday deadline to avert a collapse of its banking system and potential exit from the euro, late night talks in Nicosia to seal a bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund broke up without result.

Radiation experts search dead Putin enemy's house in Britain

ASCOT, England (Reuters) - Specialist police with nuclear and chemical training searched the British home of former Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Sunday, a day after the fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin died in unclear circumstances. The 67-year-old, a former powerbroker who helped Putin climb to the top of Russian politics before falling from grace, fled to Britain in 2000. His body was found at his house in Ascot, 25 miles west of London.

Ex-President Musharraf returns to Pakistan for elections

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, returned home on Sunday after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest elections despite the possibility of arrest and a threat from the Taliban to kill him. Musharraf hopes to regain influence so that his party can win seats in the general election scheduled for May 11, when he will face fierce competition, including from the man he ousted in a military takeover.

Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.

Congo asks U.N. to transport Bozize's family from border town

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's government asked the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) on Sunday for help transporting the family of Central African Republic President Francois Bozize after he fled his country, a U.N. official said. "(Government of DRC) has asked UNHCR to transport 25 family members of Bozize from (Congolese border town) Zongo to Gemena," the official, who asked not to be named, said via text message.

Fire in Thai refugee camp kills 36

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A fire swept through a remote camp in northwestern Thailand for refugees from Myanmar, killing 36 and destroying hundreds of make-shift shelters, officials said on Sunday. The fire, which broke out on Friday in Mae Hong Son province, about 900 km (550 miles) north of Bangkok, has left more than 2,000 people homeless, provincial governor Narumol Palavat told Reuters.

Israel says deal with Turks does not require Gaza blockade end

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel did not commit to ending its Gaza blockade as part of reconciliation with Turkey and could clamp down even harder on the Palestinian enclave if security is threatened, a senior Israeli official said on Sunday. After Friday's U.S.-brokered fence-mending announcement, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Israel had met his demands it apologize for killing nine Turks aboard a Gaza-bound activist ship in 2010, pay compensation and ease the blockade.

Afghanistan's Karzai heads to Qatar to discuss peace with Taliban

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Qatar within days to discuss peace negotiations with the Taliban, the Afghan Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday, as efforts intensify to find a negotiated solution to the war, now in its 12th year. Karzai's trip to Qatar would represent the first time the Afghan president has discussed the Taliban peace process in Qatar, and comes after years of stalled discussions with the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban.

Kerry urges Iraq to stop arms flow to Syria on Baghdad visit

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday and will urge Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to make sure Iranian flights over Iraq do not carry arms and fighters to Syria, a U.S. official said. Washington believes such flights and overland transfers take place nearly every day and help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his efforts to crush a two-year-old revolt against his rule, said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran says not linked to group arrested in Saudi Arabia for spying

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry said the country was not linked to a group of alleged spies arrested in Saudi Arabia, Iranian media reported on Sunday. Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it had detained an Iranian, a Lebanese, and 16 Saudis for spying. Political analysts and press in Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia have accused Shi'ite Iran of being behind the alleged espionage.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001437480.html

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