CA-NEWS Summary

New poll shows Trudeau's opposition Liberals ahead in Canada

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's opposition Liberals, flying high under new leader Justin Trudeau, would most likely win an election held now but would not get a majority, according to a new poll. Trudeau, the telegenic son of former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau, took over the party leadership last month just before Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper became embroiled in a damaging expenses scandal. The next election is not due until October 2015.

Five killed in Oklahoma tornadoes, storms move northeast

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Tornadoes killed five people in central Oklahoma including a mother and her baby and menaced Oklahoma City and its hard-hit suburb of Moore, before the storm system tracked northeast early on Saturday. The National Weather Service said the severe weather threat would shift into neighboring Illinois and Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency on Friday.

Assad forces advance; West, Russia exchange barbs ahead of talks

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad tightened their siege of rebels in a strategic town on Friday, in a counter-offensive that is shifting the balance of the Syrian war ahead of a peace conference next month. Rebels said they had managed to infiltrate new fighters into the town of Qusair on the Lebanese frontier, where they are encircled by Assad's army and his allies in Lebanon's Hezbollah militia who have openly joined the war on his behalf.

U.S. rebalance to Asia-Pacific gaining steam, Pentagon chief says

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The U.S. military will devote more air power, ground troops and high-tech weaponry to the Asia-Pacific region as it moves ahead with a strategic rebalance, the U.S. defense chief said on Saturday in a speech that accused China of cyber incursions. In remarks laying out his vision for regional security, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel assured allies and partners at the annual Shangri-La Security Dialogue in Singapore that the United States was fully able to continue its strategic pivot to the region despite budget constraints at home.

More than 1,000 killed in Iraq violence in May

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 1,000 people were killed in violence in Iraq in May, making it the deadliest month since the sectarian slaughter of 2006-07, the United Nations reported on Saturday, raising fears of a return to civil war. "That is a sad record," Martin Kobler, the U.N. envoy in Baghdad, said in a statement. "Iraqi political leaders must act immediately to stop this intolerable bloodshed."

IRS faces more heat from watchdog report amid Tea Party fracas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new chief of the Internal Revenue Service conceded on Friday there was "inappropriate" spending on a 2010 agency conference, a subject set to be the focus of one of three U.S. congressional hearings next week at which the IRS will likely face more criticism. The IRS is already embroiled in a major political scandal over extra scrutiny it gave to conservative groups seeking tax-free status, and Republicans in the House of Representatives are likely to keep the White House on the defensive over the agency's actions.

U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States blacklisted on Friday eight companies in Iran's petrochemical industry, sending a warning to the Islamic Republic's global customers as Washington strives to cut off funds to the country's nuclear program. Petrochemical companies owned or controlled by the Iranian government that are on the Treasury Department list include Bandar Imam Petrochemical Co, Bou Ali Sina Petrochemical Co and Mobin Petrochemical Co.

NATO to hold 2014 summit on Afghanistan troop withdrawal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NATO countries will hold a summit next year to discuss troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The United States and its 28 NATO allies have been working toward withdrawing combat troops in 2014, a milestone Rasmussen said is in sight.

Vietnam PM seeks regional unity as China pushes maritime claims

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Vietnam's prime minister called for unity among Southeast Asian countries as China asserts its claims to the energy-rich South China Sea, warning that any conflict could disrupt international trade and the global economy. Tensions in the decades-old territorial dispute between six Asian claimants have risen in recent weeks after Chinese vessels converged near a ship the Philippines ran aground on a reef in 1999 to mark its territory.

Family stunned, confused over U.S. woman's death in Syria

FLINT, Michigan (Reuters) - The daughter of a 33-year-old Michigan woman who converted to Islam and was killed in fighting in Syria this week insisted on Friday her mother was "NOT a terrorist," although the woman's father said he had expressed concerns about her to the FBI. Syrian state media said Nicole Mansfield, a single mother from the Midwestern city of Flint, was killed with two others in an ambush by Syrian government forces on an opposition mission in northwestern Syria. Syrian media also showed the passport of a British man, Ali alManasfi, 22.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ca-news-summary-000647171.html

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