CA-NEWS Summary

Mine union threatens to bring South Africa to 'standstill'

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The leader of South Africa's biggest platinum mining union threatened on Friday to bring Africa's No. 1 economy "to a standstill" and demanded a meeting with President Jacob Zuma, ramping up the rhetoric in an 18-month labor crisis. The rand, which tumbled to a four-year low against the dollar on Thursday on fears of a strike at Anglo American Platinum, extended its slide on concerns about further disruptions to an already struggling economy.

Nigerian forces bombard Islamist militant camps from the air

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian forces used jets and attack helicopters to bombard Islamist militant camps in the northeast on Friday, killing a number of insurgents, the defense headquarters spokesman said. Brigadier-General Chris Olukolade told Reuters by telephone several camps had been attacked, including in the Sambisa game reserve in Borno state, but did not have further details.

Turkey detains prime suspect in car bombings near Syrian border

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained a man they believe to be one of the main perpetrators of car bombings that killed more than 50 people near the Syrian border, officials said on Friday. Turkey has accused Syria of involvement in the two bombings last weekend in the town of Reyhanli, which fanned fears that Syria's civil war is dragging in neighboring states. Damascus denies any role.

Bulgarian president to convene parliament May 21

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev will convene a new parliament on May 21, in an attempt to have a new government formed quickly and end a political impasse in the European Union's poorest country. "The biggest challenge now is to restore the trust of the people, which can only happen through a working a parliament and government," Plevneliev said on Friday, after holdings talks with leaders of the four parties which will be represented in the assembly.

Hold Syrian peace talks soon, says U.N. chief

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - A proposed international conference on Syria should be held as soon as possible, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday, but no date has yet been agreed for a meeting that appears to face growing obstacles. Ban spoke as U.N. officials announced that the number of refugees fleeing the fighting in Syria, a conflict that has claimed the lives of 80,000 people over the past two years, had exceeded 1.5 million as conditions there deteriorate rapidly.

Myanmar frees political prisoners before president goes to U.S.

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's government has freed 23 political prisoners, a senior interior ministry official said on Friday, the day President Thein Sein was due to leave for a landmark visit to the United States. The official declined to be identified and would not provide the names of those released or give further details.

Gunmen attack police station beyond Nigeria emergency zone

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a police station and a bank in a town in Nigeria's northwest, beyond a region covered by a military crackdown on a Islamist insurgency, a sign the offensive could provoke violence by smaller militant cells across the north. It was not clear who carried out the attack.

Fearing Afghan instability, Russia mulls border troops

KABUL (Reuters) - Russia, predicting instability once NATO-led troops withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year, is considering deploying border guards on the Tajik-Afghan border, Moscow's envoy to Kabul told Reuters in an interview. Moscow, still sore from its disastrous, decade-long war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, is increasingly concerned by what it describes as the combined threat of narcotics and terrorism reaching Russia through former Soviet Central Asian countries.

Angry Egyptian policemen close crossing with Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) - Egyptian policemen blocked the crossing into the Gaza Strip on Friday to protest against the kidnapping of Egyptian security forces in the Sinai, witnesses and sources said. Locals said police had placed barbed wire across the entrance to the border and closed the gates with chains, leaving hundreds of Palestinians stranded on both sides of the fence.

Turkey's Erdogan says sees opportunity for Cyprus deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he saw a good opportunity for progress towards ending the division of Cyprus, a move that could further the exploitation of natural gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean. The island has been divided since a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by a Turkish invasion of the north in 1974. Turkey keeps some 30,000 troops in the north and is the only nation to recognize the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

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

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