CA-NEWS Summary

Disputes over arms for Syria cloud U.S.-Russian peace drive

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Disputes between Russia and the West over arming warring sides in Syria on Tuesday dimmed prospects for peace talks that were also clouded by disarray among President Bashar al-Assad's political foes. As Western nations debate what action, if any, they should take on Syria, Assad's main allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah group - have been closing ranks behind him.

Muslims and Buddhists clash in northern Myanmar

YANGON (Reuters) - Muslims and Buddhists clashed in Myanmar's northern city of Lashio on Tuesday, witnesses said, as a wave of sectarian violence reached a mountainous region near China's border. Phone lines were down in the city of about 131,000 people and the extent of the violence was unclear. Witnesses reported several large fires and said a mosque and Buddhist monastery appear to have been torched.

Obama, NATO's Rasmussen to discuss Afghanistan on Friday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the White House on Friday to discuss Afghanistan and other security concerns, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. The meeting comes as NATO and the United States prepare to withdraw most troops from Afghanistan, ending a lengthy war that began after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Iran's presidential candidates clash over nuclear approach

DUBAI (Reuters) - A former Iranian nuclear negotiator running for president used his first television appearance of the campaign to reject accusations he had been too soft in talks with world powers. The most prominent moderate candidate in an election dominated by hardliners, cleric Hassan Rohani, nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, oversaw an agreement to suspend Iran's fledgling uranium enrichment-related activities.

Ecuador says UK violating human rights of WikiLeaks' Assange

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's foreign minister on Tuesday accused the British government of trampling on the human rights of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by refusing to allow him to travel to Ecuador, which granted him political asylum almost a year ago. Assange, 41, took refuge in Ecuador's tiny embassy in London last June to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over sex assault and rape allegations. He denies the allegations.

South China Sea tension mounts near Filipino shipwreck

MANILA (Reuters) - A wrecked navy transport ship perched on a remote coral reef could be the next flashpoint in the South China Sea, where China and five other claimants bitterly dispute territory. The Philippine government is accusing China of encroachment after three Chinese ships, including a naval frigate, converged just 5 nautical miles from an old transport ship that the Philippines deliberately ran aground on a reef in 1999 to mark its territory.

Family of London murder suspect says ashamed by soldier's slaying

LONDON (Reuters) - The family of a man suspected of hacking a British soldier to death on a London street condemned the attack as senseless on Tuesday, distancing itself from the murder which has provoked an anti-Muslim backlash. Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old veteran Of the Afghan war, was butchered in broad daylight by two men who said they killed him in the name of Islam.

Pakistan PM to take on foreign, defense portfolios himself: sources

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif will oversee the sensitive foreign and defense portfolios as he seeks to forge a working partnership with the all-powerful military in the early days of his tenure, sources close to him said on Tuesday. Sharif, ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999, has decided not to appoint defense and foreign ministers in the cabinet he is putting together. He led his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), back to power in May 11 elections.

Italy's voters give boost to fragile coalition, shun Grillo

ROME (Reuters) - Italian voters gave Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition government a badly needed boost in local elections, shunning Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement three months after its spectacular success in a parliamentary vote. Letta's battered and divided Democratic Party (PD) won control of five of the 16 biggest cities that voted on Sunday and Monday, and is in the lead before run-offs in two weeks' time for the rest, Interior Ministry results showed.

Canada finance minister keen to stay as cabinet shuffle looms

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has no plans to quit and has received no indication that his job is in jeopardy ahead of a cabinet reshuffling, his chief spokesman said on Tuesday. Flaherty's poor health - he suffers from a rare skin disease - has fueled speculation in recent months that he would step down. But Dan Miles, his director of communications, said Flaherty was feeling much better these days.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-012815400.html

old school nick swisher jaco san jose sharks humber perfect game ufc 145 fight card ufc145