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| Israel using deadly force on unarmed protesters, watchdog says Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 08:07 PM PST RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel is breaking its own rules of engagement by using deadly force to disperse unarmed Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli rights group B'Tselem reported on Monday. Israeli forces have killed 56 people since 2005 in clashes with rock-throwing Palestinians, said B'Tselem, which accused the military of having "extensively and systematically violated" rules barring deadly retaliation for non-lethal assault. "The Israeli military's standing orders explicitly state that live ammunition may not be fired at stone-throwers," it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon to boost cybersecurity force fivefold - report Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 07:42 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force to counter a growing threat of hacking and to conduct offensive operations against foreign foes, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing U.S. officials. The officials, who were not named because the plan is not yet public, said the move would increase the cybersecurity force fivefold, from 900 personnel to a total of 4,900 troops and civilians. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trial of China's Bo not being held Monday - court official Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 07:23 PM PST  GUIYANG, China (Reuters) - The trial of disgraced senior Chinese leader Bo Xilai, the central figure in the country's biggest political scandal in decades, will not be held on Monday as some media had reported, a court official in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang said. "To date, the People's Intermediate Court of Guiyang has received no information whatsoever about the trial of Bo Xilai taking place in Guiyang," said Jiang Hao, a court official in the city, the capital of Guizhou province. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's leader declares emergency after clashes kill dozens Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 07:17 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities along the Suez Canal where dozens of people have been killed over the past four days in protests that his allies say are designed to overthrow him. Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 people killed there when locals angered by a court decision went on the rampage as anti-government protests spread around the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan voters split on revising pacifist constitution: poll Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:45 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese voters are divided over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's goal of revising the post-World War Two pacifist constitution to ease limits on the military, although nearly 90 percent of lower house lawmakers back the change, an opinion poll showed. Abe, who returned to the premiership after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a huge election victory last month, has made clear he wants to loosen the constitutional limits on the military. The constitution has never been formally altered since it was drafted by U.S. Occupation forces in 1947. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: In Davos, world seeks U.S. engagement Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:41 PM PST  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - As President Barack Obama starts his second term, the world's business and political elite pines for greater American engagement to tackle a thicket of security challenges. From Syria to Mali, from Iran to the South China Sea, the United States' reluctance to be drawn into conflicts far from its shores was a leitmotiv of geopolitical debate at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos. ... Full Story | Top |
| No criticism at Davos Japan policy aimed to guide yen: Japan economics minister Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:38 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Monday that there was no criticism at the World Economic Forum in Davos over the weekend that Japan's fiscal and monetary policy was aimed at guiding the yen's level. Japan gained support for its strategy from figures including International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and Canada's central bank governor, Amari told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says struggling over whether to intervene in Syria Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:27 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said he has been wrestling with the question whether a U.S. military intervention in Syria's 22-month-old civil war would help resolve the bloody conflict or make things worse. In a pair of interviews, Obama responded to critics who say the United States has not been involved enough in Syria, where thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced according to U.N. officials. Transcripts of both interviews were released on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. condemns sentencing of American pastor in Iran Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:23 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Sunday condemned an Iranian court for sentencing an Iranian-American Christian pastor to eight years in prison. The State Department said it had confirmed reports of Saeed Abedini's sentencing with the family's attorney and called for his release. "We condemn Iran's continued violation of the universal right of freedom of religion and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini's human rights and release him," State Department spokesperson Darby Holladay said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois becomes fourth state to allow driver's licenses for undocumented Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:17 PM PST (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Sunday signed a law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for driver's licenses, in a move he said would improve road safety. Undocumented immigrants can also obtain driver's licenses in New Mexico and Washington state, while Utah allows driving permits. "Despite the stalemate on immigration reform in Washington D.C., Illinois is moving forward," Quinn said in a statement. "This common sense law will help everybody, regardless of their background, learn the rules of the road, pass a driving test and get insurance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela transfers inmates from prison after riot kills 58 Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 05:01 PM PST  URIBANA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan authorities transferred inmates out of a prison on Sunday following a bloody riot two days earlier that killed 58 people and again highlighted chaos in the country's jails. It was the fourth high-profile incident in 18 months in a penal system that has experienced repeated fatal clashes and shootouts. Venezuela's prisons house three times the number of inmates they were designed to hold. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan forecasts real GDP growth of 2.5 percent in year from April Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 04:19 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's economy will likely grow 2.5 percent in the fiscal year starting in April, the government said on Monday, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ambitious fiscal and monetary policies boost domestic demand and a rebounding overseas economy helps exports. The Cabinet Office's economic forecast, issued annually and revised every summer, will serve as a basis for the compilation of the government's budget, a draft of which is likely to be approved by the cabinet this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton coy about political future in joint interview with Obama Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 04:02 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sidestepped questions about whether she would run for president in 2016 in a CBS television interview done jointly with President Barack Obama, her rival in the 2008 race. Clinton, 65, denied there were any political tea leaves to read in the unusual joint interview for the CBS show "60 Minutes," and acknowledged that she still has "some lingering effects" from a recent concussion and blood clot that she said doctors expect to disappear over time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violence flares at Dominican opposition party office, eight injured Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 03:32 PM PST SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - At least eight people were injured, mostly by gunfire, during a dispute between rival factions competing for control of the Dominican Republic's leading opposition party, officials said on Sunday. The incident occurred at the headquarters of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) in the capital, Santo Domingo, in the wake of a party decision to expel former President Hipolito Mejia and three other senior members from its ranks. Police intervened after a confrontation between Mejia supporters and security guards at the offices, according to witnesses and authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela prison riot kills 61, government mum Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 03:24 PM PST  URIBANA, Venezuela (Reuters) - A prison riot in southwestern Venezuela killed 61 people, a hospital official said on Sunday, although the government has refused to give an official death toll in the bloody standoff that highlighted chaos in the country's jails. The violence took place on Friday at the Uribana jail near the city of Barquisimeto. Relatives who gathered outside the jail fumed at the lack of information from authorities who have started transferring prisoners to other facilities but have not confirmed how many were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia set to start posthumous trial of whistleblower Magnitsky Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 03:22 PM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia prepared to put whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky on trial more than three years after his death, with a preliminary hearing set for Monday in a move relatives and rights groups called politically motivated and a travesty of justice. Magnitsky's death in a Moscow jail has harmed Russia's image abroad and badly strained relations with the United States. His mother and her lawyer said they refused to participate. "I think it is inhuman to try a dead man," Magnitsky's mother Natalya told Reuters by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malians celebrate, French-led forces clear Timbuktu Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 03:10 PM PST  GAO/SEVARE, Mali (Reuters) - Residents of Mali's northern town of Gao, captured from sharia-observing Islamist rebels by French and Malian troops, danced in the streets to drums and music on Sunday as the French-led offensive also drove the rebels from Timbuktu. The weekend gains made at Gao and Timbuktu by the French and Malian troops capped a two-week whirlwind intervention by France in its former Sahel colony, which has driven al Qaeda-allied militant fighters northwards into the desert and mountains. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's leader declares emergency after clashes Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 03:10 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi declared a month-long state of emergency in three cities along the Suez Canal where dozens of people have been killed over the past four days in protests his allies say are designed to overthrow him. Seven people were shot dead and hundreds were injured in Port Said on Sunday during the funerals of 33 people killed there when locals angered by a court decision went on the rampage as anti-government protests spread around the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt opposition spokesman blames Mursi over security Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 02:40 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - The spokesman for the main opposition coalition on Sunday blamed President Mohamed Mursi's policies for Egypt's security problems and said he wanted more details about an invitation for dialogue with top politicians. The comments by Khaled Dawoud, spokesman for the National Salvation Front, were made shortly after Mursi declared a state of emergency in three cities on the Suez Canal and also called for a meeting with senior politicians and groups. "Of course we feel the president is missing the real problem on the ground which is his own polices," Dawoud told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thai takeover opens exit door for coveted F&N chairman Lee Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 02:31 PM PST  SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of Singapore's prime minister and chairman of Fraser and Neave Ltd (F&N), will enter a new chapter in his corporate life - and could well leave F&N - as the group looks set to be taken over by Thailand's third-richest man. Lee, 55, the second son of Singapore's founding leader Lee Kuan Yew, oversaw a bidding war for F&N that led to Southeast Asia's biggest corporate takeover. The deal values the 130-year-old drinks and property conglomerate at around $11 billion and will reward shareholders handsomely. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lauvergeon takes center-stage in EADS board shake-up Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 02:12 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - French officials threw support behind former nuclear boss Anne Lauvergeon to be the first chairwoman of EADS on Sunday in a move likely to test efforts to wrest the European aerospace group away from political influence. An adviser to French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the Socialist government strongly supported Lauvergeon, a former aide of late President Francois Mitterrand and France's most high-profile female business leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| In search of business, Europe changes tone in Latin America Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 02:05 PM PST  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Five years ago during the closing speeches of a summit in Chile, Spain's king told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" in an exchange that epitomized the fruitless meetings between Europe and Latin America at the time. Dominated by leftist rhetoric and instability in the Andes, the summits were sideshows to the rapid economic growth in Europe that followed the introduction of the euro a decade ago, and the concerns of Madrid and Brussels lay elsewhere. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel's comatose ex-leader Sharon shows signs of consciousness Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 01:50 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Seven years after suffering a massive stroke comatose ex- Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has surprised his doctors by displaying "a certain degree of consciousness," an expert who examined him using an MRI scan said on Sunday. The results of tests conducted by a joint Israeli-American team did not mean the former general and right-wing politician turned peacemaker was about to wake up from the coma he has been in since a January 2006 stroke. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's presidency issues invitation to dialogue Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 01:43 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's presidency said it was inviting political supporters and opponents for a national dialogue on Monday at 6 P.M. (11 a.m. ET) at the presidential palace in Cairo, it said in a statement. The announcement followed a television address by President Mohamed Mursi who sought to quell four days of violence across the nation by declaring a state of emergency in the three most volatile cities and calling for a national dialogue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Investigators still unable to find cause of 787 fire Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:59 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Further testing still has not found the cause of a battery fire aboard a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner in Boston earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday. In a statement released Sunday, the safety regulator said "no obvious anomalies were found" in its initial investigation of an undamaged battery aboard the plane and that a more detailed examination would follow. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protests erupt in Egypt city under state of emergency Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:47 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - About 200 people marched on Sunday in the streets of Ismailia, east of Egypt's capital, shortly after President Mohamed Mursi declared a state of emergency there and in two other Suez Canal cities, a witness reported. "Down with Mursi, down with the state of emergency," they chanted. Rights activists say the state of emergency will give police, working under the Interior Ministry, broad powers to detain people deemed a threat to security. (Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Jon Hemming) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi declares state of emergency in three cities Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:46 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's president declared on Sunday a state of emergency for 30 days in three cities along the Suez Canal that have been the scene of the worst violence that flared across the country at the weekend, killing 49 people. Mohamed Mursi, propelled to an election victory in June by the Muslim Brotherhood, made the announcement in a televised address after four days of clashes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel vows Syria strike at any sign of chemical arms transfer Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:29 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons is slipping as it battles an armed uprising could trigger Israeli military strikes, Israel's vice premier said on Sunday. Silvan Shalom confirmed a media report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had last week convened a meeting of security chiefs to discuss the civil war in Syria and the state of its suspected chemical arsenal. Israel and NATO countries say Syria has stocks of chemical warfare agents at four sites. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ontario's openly gay premier hopes to be example for others Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:26 PM PST  TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's new premier, the first openly gay head of a Canadian province, said on Sunday it would be "wonderful" if her victory can help society be more accepting of young gay people. Ontario's Liberals chose Kathleen Wynne, 59, on Saturday to become the head of the minority government ruling Canada's most-populous province, which is grappling with a huge deficit and tenuous growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Comprehensive immigration plan coming this week: McCain Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:12 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading Democratic and Republican senators said on Sunday there were encouraging signs in the push to overhaul U.S. immigration laws - a top priority for President Obama's second term - and they would introduce their plan this week. With Obama set to begin his push for immigration reform with a speech in Las Vegas on Tuesday, a group of three Democratic and three Republican senators have been working for weeks on a plan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Feinstein encourages Hillary Clinton to run for president Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:05 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One of the most prominent women in the Democratic Party on Sunday encouraged outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to mount a White House run in 2016 to try to become the first woman president. "I am a fan," California Senator Dianne Feinstein said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "I would love it if she would run." Feinstein was asked whether President Barack Obama's decision to have a joint interview on the CBS show "60 Minutes" - airing on Sunday - indicated the president's preference for his successor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands march in Paris to support gay marriage Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 12:01 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched through Paris on Sunday to support the French government's plan to legalize gay marriage and adoption, but the turnout fell well short of a mass demonstration against the project two weeks ago. Police estimated total attendance at about 125,000, while organizers put the number at 400,000. Two weeks ago, organizers of the anti-gay marriage protest claimed turnout of one million, while police put the number at 340,000, an unusually high turnout even in protest-prone France. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina, Iran to form "truth commission" for 1994 bombing Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:51 AM PST  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina said on Sunday it had agreed with Iran to establish a "truth commission" in a bid to resolve the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that Argentine courts accuse the Iran of sponsoring. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez agreed to open talks with Tehran on the attack last year in a sharp change in diplomatic policy that irked Israel and drew criticism from Jewish leaders in Buenos Aires and the United States. Fernandez said foreign ministers from Argentina and Iran had signed a memorandum of understanding during a meeting in Ethiopia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Monte Paschi seeks new investor as scandal deepens Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:43 AM PST  ROME/MILAN (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena said on Sunday it was seeking a financial investor as the political storm over a derivatives scandal at the ailing bank intensified ahead of next month's Italian election. Italy's third-biggest lender, which needs state loans to stay afloat, this week revealed opaque derivatives trades, conducted between 2006 and 2009, that could cost it some 720 million euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| House budget chief: automatic spending cuts "going to happen" Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:34 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Automatic spending cuts postponed at the start of the year will go into effect as scheduled in March but "no one" is talking about allowing a U.S. government shutdown, the Republican House of Representatives Budget Committee chairman said on Sunday. The automatic spending cuts had been delayed by two months as part of the deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and deep spending reductions - known as sequestration - that had loomed at the beginning of this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court ruling on Obama's appointments a victory: Corker Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:23 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican U.S. senator on Sunday said a federal appeals court ruling against President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board could invalidate rulings made by the agency. A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that Obama violated the U.S. Constitution when he used recess appointments in January 2012 and installed three nominees to the NLRB. Senator Robert Corker said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday" that the ruling indicated the administration had overreached, characterizing the appointments as abusive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans blame message, not ideas, for failures Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:10 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Days after President Barack Obama's inauguration, Republican leaders said on Sunday their party needed to change the way it communicates, not its ideas, to win back the White House. Former Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, appearing in his first live television interview since the November 6 election, said his party needs to demonstrate that Republican ideas can improve people's lives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed waits for job market to perk up Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 11:05 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's ultra-loose monetary policy is a root cause of the "currency wars" that some see as a looming threat to the world economy, but don't expect the U.S. central bank to signal a shift back to normal any time soon. The Fed, whose policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, said just last month that it expects to keep short-term interest rates exceptionally low until the U.S. unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent, inflation permitting. That goal is still distant. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi defends Mussolini, draws outrage from political left Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 10:49 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi triggered outrage from Italy's political left on Sunday with comments defending fascist wartime leader Benito Mussolini at a ceremony commemorating victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Speaking at the margins of the event in Milan, Berlusconi said Mussolini had been wrong to follow Nazi Germany's lead in passing anti-Jewish laws but that he had in other respects been a good leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council envoys in Yemen to bolster peace efforts Sunday, Jan 27, 2013 10:44 AM PST  SANAA (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council envoys flew to Yemen amid tight security on Sunday to show support for a U.S.-backed power transfer deal in danger of faltering and plunging the country back into chaos. Ending political turmoil in Yemen is an international priority - it flanks oil producer Saudi Arabia and major shipping lanes and is struggling with multiple conflicts including an al Qaeda insurgency, a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion in the north and separatist forces in the south. Britain's U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
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