CA-NEWS Summary

Moderate Rohani looks on road to winning Iran presidential vote

DUBAI (Reuters) - Moderate cleric Hassan Rohani took a commanding lead over conservative rivals in Iran's presidential election, partial vote counts showed on Saturday, in what could be the makings of a surprise victory over favored hardliners. The outcome is unlikely to transform relations between Iran and the outside world, the Islamic Republic's disputed policy on developing nuclear power or its support of Syria's president in the civil war there - matters of national security that remain the domain of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Web companies begin releasing surveillance information after U.S. deal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook and Microsoft have struck agreements with the U.S. government to release limited information about the number of surveillance requests they receive, a modest victory for the companies as they struggle with the fallout from disclosures about a secret government data-collection program. Facebook on Friday became the first to release aggregate numbers of requests, saying in a blog post that it received between 9,000 and 10,000 U.S. requests for user data in the second half of 2012, covering 18,000 to 19,000 of its users' accounts. Facebook has more than 1.1 billion users worldwide.

Syrian jets hit rebels awaiting promised U.S. weapons

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian artillery and warplanes pounded rebel areas in Damascus on Saturday as President Bashar al-Assad's foes pleaded for advanced weapons from the United States, which has promised them unspecified military aid. Western powers have been reluctant in the past to arm Syrian insurgents, let alone give them sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles that might fall into the hands of Sunni Islamist insurgents in rebel ranks who have pledged loyalty to al Qaeda.

Six Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi violence

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Six soldiers were killed in clashes between Libyan special forces and armed protesters outside a special forces' base in the eastern city of Benghazi, an military official said on Saturday. Residents in the area said heavy gunfire and explosions were heard during the fighting and hours earlier a group of men had forced their way into a different army compound to steal weapons.

Two killed in mortar attack on Iranian dissident camp in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two people were killed in a mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp in the Iraqi capital on Saturday, police sources said. The Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) group said a further 40 people were wounded in the attack, which follows one in February that killed at least five of its members.

British territories sign up to tax transparency deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain clinched a deal with its major offshore tax havens on Saturday that will see 10 British overseas territories and crown dependencies sign up to international protocols on information sharing. The self-governing regions, some of which are major tax havens, also pledged to produce plans on how to provide more information on the ownership of shell companies that are often used to hide wealth and profits.

Help us follow the dirty money, Guinea asks G8

LONDON (Reuters) - Guinea, one of Africa's poorest nations despite abundant natural resources, has urged the G8 to back its battle with corruption by helping trace shell companies used to hide crooked deals and track dirty money flows. The resulting increased prosperity, President Alpha Conde said, would help stem growing radicalism in a region already threatened by unrest in Mali that has placed Guinea and its neighbors at risk of becoming conduits for drugs and guns.

South Africa's Mandela 'recovering very well', grandson says

QUNU, South Africa (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is recovering well from a lung infection which has kept him in a serious condition in hospital for a week, his grandson said on Saturday. The comment by Mandla Mandela was the latest indication that the health of his 94-year-old grandfather, South Africa's first black president, was showing signs of improvement. Mandela has been receiving visits from family members after he was rushed to hospital a week ago with a recurrence of lung problems.

Southern African leaders discuss Zimbabwe election crisis

MAPUTO (Reuters) - Southern African leaders gathered on Saturday to try to draw up a road map for elections in Zimbabwe, amid high tension between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai over the timing of the vote. The summit of the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the Mozambican capital comes two days after Mugabe declared July 31 as election day, a date immediately rejected by Tsvangirai, his partner in a coalition and his main political rival.

Tea shop bomb in Somali town kills at least seven

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed when a bomb exploded in a tea shop popular with government troops in the Somali town of Wanlaweyn on Saturday, officials and residents said. Regional capitals and Western donors are nervous of any reversal of security gains made in Somalia by African Union peacekeepers in the fight against al Qaeda-linked militants, seen as a threat to stability in east Africa and beyond.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-004242092.html

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