CA-NEWS Summary

Obama brokers Israel-Turkey rapprochement

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel apologized to Turkey on Friday for killing nine Turkish citizens in a 2010 naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla and the two feuding U.S. allies agreed to normalize relations in a surprise breakthrough announced by U.S. President Barack Obama. The rapprochement could help regional coordination to contain spillover from the Syrian civil war and ease Israel's diplomatic isolation in the Middle East as it faces challenges posed by Iran's nuclear program.

Italy president asks Bersani to see if can form government

ROME (Reuters) - President Giorgio Napolitano asked center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani on Friday to assess whether he can win enough support in Italy's divided parliament to form a government and end the political deadlock left by elections last month. After two days of consultations with political leaders, Napolitano said he had given Bersani a mandate to talk to other parties and see if he can get the guaranteed support needed for a vote of confidence in both houses of parliament, where no single group has a workable majority.

Analysis: Obama scores unexpected successes on Middle East trip

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama flew out of Israel in a duststorm on Friday, leaving behind a trail of symbolic gestures and fine oratory that should help preserve the status quo at a time of regional upheaval. In an unexpected diplomatic flourish, he also facilitated a surprise telephone call between the prime ministers of Israel and Turkey, putting two U.S. allies firmly on track to revive a once close relationship that had become badly frayed.

Assad says Syria will wipe out mosque attackers

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad vowed on Friday to purge Syria of "extremist forces" he accused of assassinating a leading Sunni Muslim cleric who backed his two-year battle against rebels and protesters. Assad made the pledge in a message of condolence over the death of Mohammed al-Buti, who was killed along with dozens of worshippers by an explosion in a Damascus mosque on Thursday.

Chinese leader bolsters Russian ties on first foreign trip

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Chinese leader Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of relations with Russia as a counterweight to U.S. influence by visiting Moscow on his first foreign trip as president, and secured more oil to fuel China's growing economy. Although relations between Moscow and Beijing have rarely been smooth, they have improved in the past decade and Xi highlighted this by signing energy, trade and political deals on Friday to strengthen ties between them.

Central African Republic rebels reach outskirts of capital

BANGUI (Reuters) - Rebels in Central Africa Republic reached the outskirts of the capital Bangui on Friday after seizing the nearby town of Damara, rebels and military officials said, a day after the insurgents rejected a peace offer from the president. A rebel spokesman said they had moved past Damara, some 75 km (50 miles) from Bangui, and had advanced to within 22 kilometers of the riverside capital, which some of their men had already infiltrated.

Fear of army reprisals sparks Mali refugee flight

MBERA, Mauritania (Reuters) - Fears of ethnic reprisals by government troops in Mali have driven thousands of Arabs and Tuaregs in the country's north to abandon their homes and flee to Mauritania, undermining efforts to reunite their war-torn homeland. At least 20,000 civilians have trekked westward across the dunes to the crowded Mbera refugee camp since mid-January when government forces reentered northern Mali on the coattails of a French ground and air campaign that swept Islamist rebels from the region.

Congolese warlord headed for war crimes court

KIGALI (Reuters) - A Congolese warlord known as "the Terminator" and accused of murder, rape and other atrocities was flown out of Rwanda on Friday to face war crimes charges in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Bosco Ntaganda walked off the street and gave himself up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali in a surprise move on Monday after a 15-year career that spanned a series of Rwandan-backed rebellions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lebanon's Prime Minister Mikati resigns

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced his resignation on Friday after Shi'ite group Hezbollah and its allies blocked the creation of a body to supervise parliamentary elections and opposed extending the term of a senior security official. "I announce the resignation of the government," Mikati told a news conference in the government offices overlooking central Beirut.

Turkish PM says Kurdish peace moves open to sabotage

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Kurdish politicians on Friday of trying to sabotage talks to end a 28-year-old insurrection, lamenting the absence of Turkish flags during a mass rally to mark a ceasefire by Kurdish rebels. Jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on his fighters to cease fire and withdraw from Turkey in a letter read to hundreds of thousands in the city of Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Thursday. Kurdish red-yellow-green flags and banners displaying Ocalan's face dominated the crowd.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000954849.html

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