Today's Yahoo! News - Latest News & Headlines:
|
|
Arab observers fan out across Syria
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:17 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Arab monitors head to three more Syrian cities on Thursday to check if government forces are complying with a peace plan after a delegation to Homs, center of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, was mobbed by a protesters demanding protection. The Arab League mission, the first international involvement on the ground in Syria since the revolt began last March, got off to a controversial start when its Sudanese leader said he had seen "nothing frightening" on his first trip to Homs. ...
Full Story | Top |
Alibaba hires U.S. lobbying firm as it eyes Yahoo
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:14 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Alibaba Group has hired a Washington lobbying firm in a sign that the Chinese e-commerce company would be willing to make a bid for all of Yahoo Inc in the event that talks to unwind their Asian partnership fail. Japan's Softbank Corp, which owns a 30 percent stake in Alibaba and is a partner in Yahoo Japan, is also listed as an Alibaba affiliate in the disclosure by the lobbying firm, Duberstein Group Inc. Alibaba Group's founder, Jack Ma, said in September he was keen to buy all of Yahoo if the opportunity presented itself. ...
Full Story | Top |
Retail sales resilient in final holiday stretch
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Retail sales look poised for a solid finish to the holiday season as warm weather and deep discounts encouraged shoppers to hit stores or go online to snap up last-minute gifts, according to data released on Wednesday. Sales in the week ending December 24 soared 14.8 percent from a year ago to about $44 billion, helped by Christmas Eve falling on a Saturday, according to ShopperTrak, which monitors traffic at shopping malls. Good weather also helped as snowstorms had blanketed some areas at the same time last year. Sales on December 26, a public holiday this year, soared 25. ...
Full Story | Top |
Whistleblower documents illuminate case against BNY Mellon
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:26 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Confidential whistleblower documents that helped spark a massive state and federal investigation into how Bank of New York Mellon Corp charged pension funds for currency exchange, provide a rare window into how a bank insider aided a lawsuit against the bank. The information provided by whistleblower Grant Wilson, who worked at BNY Mellon, included a detailed analysis of how the bank allegedly provided "fictitious" foreign-currency costs for pension funds. ...
Full Story | Top |
Iowa's moderate Republicans: an edge for Romney?
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:45 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Iowa's moderate Republicans are a small and dispirited bunch, but they could provide a vital boost for Mitt Romney in the state's tight kickoff presidential contest. While the Republican White House contenders battle for the state's big but badly split bloc of religious conservatives, Iowa's moderates are a forgotten minority who have coalesced around the candidate they consider their only choice: Romney. But it is uncertain whether they will turn out for him at the caucus votes on January 3, when the state kicks off the Republican nominating fight. ...
Full Story | Top |
U.S. Fifth Fleet says won't allow Hormuz disruption
Wed,28 Dec 2011 09:12 AM PST
Reuters -  TEHRAN/DUBAI (Reuters) - The U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday it would not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran threatened to stop ships moving through the world's most important oil route. "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated," the Bahrain-based fleet said in an e-mail. ...
Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Manning's legal strategy could lead to plea deal
Wed,28 Dec 2011 04:23 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - While it may appear that the government's document-leaking case against U.S. Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning is strong, the defense could have some surprising leverage with prosecutors and force plea negotiations. Prosecutors may in particular find it difficult to prove the 24-year-old Manning intended to provide the information to enemies of the United States such as al Qaeda, and that the information was helpful to them, legal experts said. ...
Full Story | Top |
Snow and tears mark funeral for North Korean leader
Wed,28 Dec 2011 01:17 PM PST
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - The world watched anxiously on Wednesday as North Korea staged a huge funeral in the capital, Pyongyang, for former leader Kim Jong-il, searching for signs of what to expect from the isolated nation that may be close to attaining nuclear weapons capacity. Bleak pictures from state television showed a funeral cortege led by a limousine carrying a huge picture of the 69-year-old, who died on December 17, passing serried ranks of olive green-clad soldiers whose bare heads were bowed in homage in the main square of the snow-covered capital. ...
Full Story | Top |
More trouble for Gingrich as Iowa campaign quickens
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:31 PM PST
Reuters -  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich's campaign struggled to fend off more bad news on Tuesday after he was quoted supporting main rival Mitt Romney's healthcare reform in Massachusetts. Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, has seen his poll numbers drop in the early-voting state of Iowa under a blitz of negative ads accusing him of being an unreliable Washington insider. He tried to regain some of his lost momentum in a pugnacious interview with CNN in which he used some of his strongest language yet to attack his main opponents. ...
Full Story | Top |
Seven hurt as bomb hits madrassa in Nigeria
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:31 PM PST
Reuters - PORT HARCOURT/JOS (Reuters) - Assailants threw a homemade bomb into a madrassa in southern Nigeria's Delta state, police said, wounding seven people and escalating tensions between Muslims and Christians after a spate of church bombings across the nation. Six of the wounded were children younger than nine learning the Koran at the Islamic seminary, or madrassa. In a separate incident, armed Fulani herdsmen shot dead three members of a family in the ethnically and religiously mixed Plateau state on Wednesday, witnesses and officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
Alibaba hires U.S. lobbying firm as it eyes Yahoo
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:48 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Alibaba Group has hired Washington lobbying firm Duberstein Group Inc, in a sign that the Chinese company would be willing to make a bid for all of Yahoo Inc if talks for buying back Yahoo's Asian assets do not succeed. Japan's Softbank Corp is also listed as an Alibaba affiliate in the lobbying firm's disclosure. Alibaba declined to comment. ...
Full Story | Top |
Netflix, Gap lag in customer satisfaction online
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:27 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Netflix Inc and Gap Inc were among the worst performers in customer satisfaction among the largest online retailers this holiday season, according to a survey released on Wednesday. Overstock.com Inc came last out of the 40 largest online retailers, with a rating of 72 out of 100, down 4 points from last year, the survey by ForSee found. Gap.com, Gap's main website, was second last with 73 points, down 5 from a year ago. Other laggards included buy.com and websites run by Sony and Toys R Us, ForSee said. ...
Full Story | Top |
Deutsche Boerse, NYSE extend merger deadline to sway Europe
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:32 PM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext have extended the deadline for completion of their planned merger to March 31 next year as they seek to convince European regulators to back the $9 billion deal. The exchanges, which agreed the merger on February 14, told the Securities and Exchange Commission last week they were exercising their right to extend the initial termination deadline of December31 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
Poor kids miss out on playtime, pediatricians say
Wed,28 Dec 2011 02:32 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children in poor urban neighborhoods need more chances for old-fashioned playtime in their daily lives, says a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). A number of experts have raised concerns that children these days have little time for unstructured play -- which, they say, is important for kids' physical and mental development. The new report follows another from the AAP a few years ago, which argued that U.S. suburban children are "overscheduled" with formal classes and lessons, leaving them little time for simple play. ...
Full Story | Top |
Analysis: China needs new policy course as capital tide turns
Wed,28 Dec 2011 05:06 AM PST
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy has surfed for years on a crest of hefty capital inflows, but the tide that brought gains in money supply is turning as global growth slows. Capital has flowed out the past two months. If that persists, the challenge for the People's Bank of China will be to adjust policies to keep the country's growth rates from falling much. That will be no mean feat for policymakers schooled in absorbing inflows averaging 256 billion yuan ($40.5 billion) a month since July 2005, but short on experience of how to handle outflows. ...
Full Story | Top |
NKorea calls Kim Jong Un 'supreme leader'
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:35 PM PST
Associated Press -  Kim Jong Il's son and successor was declared "supreme leader" of North Korea's ruling party, military and the people during a memorial Thursday for his father in the first public endorsement of his leadership by the government.
Full Story | Top |
Bachmann loses Iowa campaign chairman to Paul
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:19 PM PST
Associated Press -  Michele Bachmann's struggling presidential campaign saw her Iowa chairman defect Wednesday to rival Ron Paul's side, an embarrassing blow that came as some called for her to leave the race to free up her supporters for other candidates.
Full Story | Top |
US warns Iran against closing key oil passage
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:50 PM PST
Associated Press -  The U.S. strongly warned Iran on Wednesday against closing a vital Persian Gulf waterway that carries one-sixth of the world's oil supply, after Iran threatened to choke off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz if Washington imposes sanctions targeting the country's crude exports.
Full Story | Top |
Family 'devastated' by Conn. Christmas house fire
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:23 PM PST
Associated Press -  An uncle of three girls killed with their grandparents in a Christmas morning house fire said Wednesday family members are devastated by the tragedy but comforted by each other and an outpouring of public sympathy.
Full Story | Top |
Avastin disappoints against ovarian cancer
Wed,28 Dec 2011 03:06 PM PST
Associated Press - Avastin, the blockbuster drug that just lost approval for treating breast cancer, now looks disappointing against ovarian cancer, too. Two studies found it did not improve survival for most of these patients and kept their disease from worsening for only a few months, with more side effects. Full Story | Top |
Muslims upset by NYPD to boycott mayor's breakfast
Wed,28 Dec 2011 07:51 PM PST
Associated Press - Several Muslim leaders have declined invitations to the mayor's annual year-end interfaith breakfast, saying they're upset at police department efforts to infiltrate mosques and spy on Muslim neighborhoods. Full Story | Top |
| |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment