CA-NEWS Summary

Two blasts at Iraqi Sunni mosque kill 43

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Two bombs exploded outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in the Iraqi city of Baquba as worshippers left Friday prayers, killing at least 43 people in one of the deadliest attacks in a month-long surge in sectarian violence. Attacks on Sunni and Shi'ite mosques, security forces and tribal leaders have mounted since troops raided a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk a month ago, and fears are intensifying of a return to all-out conflict.

Nigerian forces bomb Islamist militant camps from the air

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian forces used jets and attack helicopters to bombard militant camps in the northeast on Friday, their biggest offensive since Boko Haram began an insurgency almost four years ago to try create a breakaway Islamic state. Defense spokesman Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade said in a statement that troops had destroyed several Boko Haram camps and weapons stockpiles in forests around Borno state, epicenter of the uprising and relic of a medieval Islamic empire.

Protesting Egyptian police block Gaza crossing

GAZA (Reuters) - Egyptian police blocked the crossing into the Gaza Strip on Friday in protest against the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen, witnesses said. Officers strung barbed wire across the Rafah border post and chained up the gates, leaving hundreds of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the fence, locals told Reuters.

France opposes Syria conference if Iran to attend

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - France spelled out on Friday that it would oppose a peace conference for Syria if Bashar al-Assad's regional ally Iran is invited, clouding the prospect for a U.S.-Russian initiative to end the two-year-old war. No date has yet been agreed for the international meeting, which appears to face growing obstacles. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and said the conference should take place as soon as possible.

Protesting Bulgarian drivers block truck traffic to Turkey

SOFIA (Reuters) - Disgruntled Bulgarian truck drivers blocked traffic at two major border checkpoints with neighboring Turkey on Friday to protest against what they said were Turkish restrictions to their operations. Among those caught up in the blockade, now in its second day, was British band Depeche Mode, which was forced to cancel its concert in Istanbul on Friday because trucks carrying equipment from Bulgaria could not get through.

Italy PM Letta seeks to smooth property tax standoff

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta promised a wide reform of property taxes on Friday, addressing one of the main issues dividing his coalition government, but gave no details on where he would find the billions of euros to pay for it. He confirmed pledges to suspend the widely hated IMU tax on principal residences brought in by his predecessor Mario Monti but held back from the demands of center right members of his fragile left-right coalition for it to be scrapped entirely.

Analysis: Upgrade crowns Turkey's peaceful rise but pitfalls loom

PARIS (Reuters) - Turkey's achievement of investment-grade status crowns a decade of rapid growth, financial stability and political reform by a "tiger" economy on the seam of Europe and Asia, but the rising power still faces pitfalls in a dangerous neighborhood. Moody's Investors Service raised its rating on Ankara's sovereign bonds to Baa3, or investment grade, from Ba1 late on Thursday, following in the footsteps of Fitch credit ratings agency, which took that step last November.

U.N. chief appoints former Dutch minister to head Mali mission

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday appointed former Dutch development minister Albert Gerard Koenders as U.N. special envoy for Mali and head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the West African country. Ban said Aichatou Mindaoudou Souleymane of Niger would replace Koenders as head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast. Souleymane is currently deputy envoy for the African Union and U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Saudi Arabia says hackers sabotage government websites

RIYADH (Reuters) - Several government websites in Saudi Arabia were sabotaged in a series of heavy cyber attacks from abroad in recent days, disabling them briefly until the attacks were repelled, the government said. An investigation traced the "coordinated and simultaneous attacks" to hundreds of Internet protocol addresses in a number of countries, an unnamed source at the Saudi Interior Ministry told state news agency SPA.

Colombian president hints he will run for re-election in 2014

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hinted on Friday that he would seek re-election next year to ensure continuity of his policies - including peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels - though he did not explicitly announce his candidacy. "I want clearly and firmly to see that the government's policies continue after August 7, 2014," Santos said, referring to the date a new administration would take office.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-001248924.html

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