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| Ministry of Justice slammed for "shambolic" commissioning Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 08:03 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British government plans to contract out billions of pounds worth of public services to private companies have been called into question in a parliamentary committee report published on Wednesday. The Ministry of Justice plans, which have been criticised by the Labour party, include allowing firms to run criminal probation services, and are part of a wider drive across government to cut spending by outsourcing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-AC Milan vice-president under fire for racist remark Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 08:00 PM PST Feb 5 (Reuters) - AC Milan vice-president Paolo Berlusconi has landed the Serie A giants in hot water after making a racist remark days after the unveiling of new signing Mario Balotelli. A video clip posted on Italian media websites shows Berlusconi, the brother of club president and former Italy prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, making the comment while flanked by a group of male companions. "And now let's go and watch the little black boy of the family, the crazy head," the vice president says in the video posted on Tuttosport (www.tuttosport. ... Full Story | Top |
| With conciliatory tone, Cantor seeks to rebrand Republican Party Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:53 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eric Cantor, the often combative second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, sought on Tuesday to rebrand himself and his party, voicing hope that they can work with President Barack Obama for the sake of all Americans. While not wavering from his conservative principles and desire to tame the record U.S. debt, Cantor expressed a new eagerness to help the needy in such areas as education, healthcare, immigration and moving up the economic ladder. ... Full Story | Top |
| China bans TV, radio ads for pricey gifts in anti-corruption push Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:40 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese radio and television stations are to ban advertisements for expensive gifts such as watches, rare stamps and gold coins, the Xinhua state news agency said on Wednesday, as part of a push by the government to crack down on extravagance and waste. Such advertisements had "publicised incorrect values and helped create a bad social ethos", the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said in a release, Xinhua said. The ban comes after repeated calls from Xi Jinping, China's president-in-waiting, for a renewed fight against graft. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. scales back goal on veterans' health records with an eye on costs Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:38 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is ditching ambitious plans to create a single computer system for troops and military veterans to track their health records, opting instead for a more modest, less costly plan that officials said will deliver on goals faster. The decision announced on Tuesday is complicated and technical but goes to the core of President Barack Obama's goal to create a smooth transition for troops as they leave the military after 11 years of war and seek care at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The two bureaucracies - the largest in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed says internal site breached by hackers, no critical functions affected Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:36 PM PST  WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that one of its internal websites had been briefly breached by hackers, though no critical functions of the U.S. central bank were affected by the intrusion. The admission, which raises questions about cyber security at the Fed, follows a claim that hackers linked to the activist group Anonymous had struck the Fed on Sunday, accessing personal information of more than 4,000 U.S. bank executives, which it published on the Web. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea dreams of an American city in flames Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:35 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - New York under missile attack is remote dream for impoverished North Korea, yet that is precisely what the latest propaganda video from the isolated state shows as it readies a third nuclear test. The video, posted on the semi-official Uriminzokkiri website (http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/) and fast becoming a viral Internet hit, shows a U.S. city in flames in scenes reminiscent of 9/11 -- part of a dream sequence in which a photographer circles the earth in a fictionalised North Korean space shuttle. ... Full Story | Top |
| California Supreme Court considers hazy pot rules Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:04 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California Supreme Court justices on Tuesday suggested that state law might empower local governments to ban medical marijuana shops, in a case set to determine how far cities and counties can go in clamping down on the industry. The case, which comes as elected officials across the nation grapple with how to handle a growing industry for the federally banned drug, pits the southern California city of Riverside against a medical pot dispensary it has sought to shut down, the Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center. ... Full Story | Top |
| Governor Christie, long a target of jokes, joins the fun on Letterman Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 07:02 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is one of the most closely watched figures in U.S. politics but he is also the frequent target of fat jokes. Now, Christie is making it clear he can play along. Appearing on Monday on "The Late Show with David Letterman," Christie recited one-liners the late-night comedian has performed at his expense. They included: "A billion dollars will be spent on potato chips for Super Bowl Sunday, and that's just at Governor Christie's house. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colorado lawmakers want gun owners exposed to civil liability Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 06:37 PM PST DENVER (Reuters) - Owners and makers of assault-style weapons would face civil liability under a package of measures unveiled on Tuesday by top lawmakers in Colorado, a state shaken by some of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history. The bills, introduced by Democrats who control the state legislature, could push Colorado to the forefront of a national gun control debate reignited by several mass shootings last year, including massacres of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, and moviegoers in suburban Denver. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stabbing at Ecuador campaign rally not politically motivated: Correa Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 06:33 PM PST  QUITO (Reuters) - A knife attack in Ecuador that killed two government supporters was perpetrated by a man under the influence of drugs and alcohol and was not politically motivated, President Rafael Correa said on Tuesday. The man killed two Correa supporters and injured five more at a campaign rally on Monday, about two weeks before a presidential election that the leftist leader is expected to win comfortably. "There is no indication that this attack may have been politically motivated. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused killer of decorated U.S. sniper "traded soul for truck" Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 06:29 PM PST DALLAS (Reuters) - The suspect accused of shooting dead former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and another man stole a vehicle from the scene and told his sister "I traded my soul for a new truck," investigators said on Tuesday. Eddie Ray Routh is being held on one count of capital murder and two counts of murder in the slayings on Saturday of Kyle and Chad Littlefield. Investigators said that shortly after the shooting Routh visited his sister, Laura Blevins, who said on a 911 emergency call released on Tuesday that the visit left her scared. ... Full Story | Top |
| Controversial Arizona lawman targeted by credit card scam Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 06:02 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - A controversial Arizona lawman, who styles himself "America's Toughest Sheriff" for his relentless pursuit of criminals, said on Tuesday that he has himself become a victim of credit card fraud. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his credit card information had been used to buy $291 in groceries in Chicago - a city he said he had not visited in years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois starts push to legalize same-sex marriage by Valentine's Day Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 05:11 PM PST CHICAGO (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers began a drive to legalize same-sex marriage in Illinois by Valentine's Day, but the fate of the effort is in doubt because the state faces a financial crisis that could overshadow other issues. A committee of the state Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to legalize same-sex marriage by a 9 to 5 vote with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed, paving the way for a possible vote in the full upper chamber next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| House Republicans try to chip away at immigration reform Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 05:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first major immigration reform effort since 1986 came under attack on Tuesday from congressional Republicans who cast doubt on a proposal backed by President Barack Obama to give 11 million illegal immigrants a chance to become citizens. An immigration overhaul suddenly looked possible last week when a group of senators from both parties launched a reform campaign. But it has not taken long for partisan rancor to emerge. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. urges lifting of U.N. arms embargo on Somalia: envoys Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 05:05 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States is urging fellow members of the U.N. Security Council to agree to demands by the government in Mogadishu to lift the arms embargo on Somalia, which has been in place for the past 21 years, U.N. diplomats said on Tuesday. The U.S. push comes after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week that the 15-nation council should consider lifting the arms embargo to help rebuild Somalia's security forces and consolidate military gains against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some 54 countries helped CIA detention efforts: report Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 04:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As many as 54 countries allegedly helped with CIA programs in which terrorism suspects were held in secret prisons overseas or turned over to foreign governments for interrogation, a human rights organization said in a report on Tuesday. The report by the Open Society Justice Initiative said it focused mainly on human rights abuses associated with the CIA's secret detention and "extraordinary rendition" operations after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alabama boy rescued from bunker eating, laughing Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 04:53 PM PST  MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - He played with a toy dinosaur and laughed with family and friends. His school district planned a birthday celebration, and his classmates returned to kindergarten. After nearly a week in captivity, the 5-year-old Alabama boy who was snatched from his school bus and held in an underground bunker began the process of recovering from an ordeal that captured national attention amid heightened U.S. concerns about gun violence and school safety. "For the first time in almost a week, I woke up this morning to the most beautiful sight ... ... Full Story | Top |
| British PM's party split as first gay marriage vote passes Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 04:41 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's parliament voted heavily in favor of legalizing gay marriage on Tuesday, but Prime Minister David Cameron's authority in his own party took a blow as his Conservatives split in two over the measure he had championed. In the first of several votes required for its passage, the lower house of parliament backed the legislation by 400-175, but more than half of Cameron's 303 lawmakers voted against or abstained, signaling deep unease with it and his leadership. ... Full Story | Top |
| Deficits to shrink through 2015, but debt to deepen: CBO Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 04:07 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The budget deficit will drop below $1 trillion this year for the first time during Barack Obama's presidency, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday, but it warned that debt will swell to unsustainable levels without further action by lawmakers. CBO forecast that the deficit for fiscal 2013, which ends September 30, will shrink slightly to $845 billion after four straight years above $1 trillion. The reason is an improving economy and higher taxes paid by wealthy Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detroit mayor wants to show city can break from past Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 04:05 PM PST DETROIT (Reuters) - A takeover of Detroit's shaky finances by the state of Michigan can be avoided by showing that the city is willing and able to fundamentally change how it works, Mayor Dave Bing said on Tuesday. "There are things we must do here and we've got to show clear evidence that we're not opposed to change," Bing told Reuters in his office in downtown Detroit. "If we don't and we continue going down the path we were going, it's a bottomless pit....We've been working diligently for quite some time to put measures in place so we don't go there," Bing said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused murderer of decorated sniper "traded soul for truck" Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:56 PM PST (Reuters) - The suspect accused of shooting dead former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and another man stole a vehicle from the scene and told his sister "I traded my soul for a new truck," investigators said. Eddie Ray Routh was being held on $3 million bond on a capital murder charge for the double-slaying on Saturday. The fact that Routh, 25, of Lancaster, Texas, served in the Marines from 2006 to 2010, including a tour in Iraq, put attention on the psychological wounds of war. The new evidence, which first came to light on Monday, suggests robbery could have formed part of the motive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican leader Cantor seeks to rebrand his unpopular party Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:54 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Eric Cantor, the combative second-ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, launched a major rebranding of his party on Tuesday, saying he hoped Republicans and President Barack Obama could "set differences aside" in the interest of helping ordinary Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition group to open New York, Washington offices Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:53 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Syrian National Coalition will open offices in New York and Washington as it prepares for meetings of Syrian opposition leaders with U.S. officials and U.N. Security Council members, a U.N. envoy and a Syrian opposition source said on Tuesday. "That is an important step and it's obviously a potential vehicle for inviting over ... (coalition leader Moaz) Alkhatib to come to New York at some point," a senior Western diplomat said on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disease spreads as Syria casualties and drug shortages grow: WHO Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:53 PM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Dirty water diseases are spreading in Syria, compounding the problems of hospitals that are perilously short of medicine and doctors after nearly two years of fighting, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The Health Ministry has run out of trauma treatments made in factories in rebel areas to help the increasing numbers of burns victims and wounded civilians in intensive care units, it said. That is assuming patients can reach treatment in the first place. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition chief says offers Assad peaceful exit Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:53 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib urged Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on Monday to start talks for its departure from power and save the country from greater ruin after almost two years of bloodshed. Seeking to step up pressure on Assad to respond to his offer of talks - which dismayed some in his own opposition coalition, Alkhatib said he would be ready to meet the president's deputy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamic summit to tackle Syria amid Sunni-Shi'ite tension Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:53 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Leaders of Islamic nations will press for a negotiated end to Syria's civil war at a summit in Cairo starting on Wednesday that thrusts Egypt's new Islamist president to center stage amid political and economic turbulence. With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad making an ice-breaking visit to Egypt after 34 years of estrangement, the two-day meeting will focus on how to stop bloodshed in Syria, where Tehran is one of President Bashar al-Assad's last allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition ponders course as leader offers talks Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:53 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition have called for an emergency meeting to discuss a controversial proposal by its head to negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad's government, opposition sources said. Sheikh Moaz Alkhatib, the moderate Islamic cleric who leads the 70-member assembly, said he would be ready to meet Assad's ceremonial deputy, Farouq al-Shara, if Assad fulfils conditions including the release of tens of thousands of political prisoners. ... Full Story | Top |
| Memo justifies drone kills even with patchy intelligence Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:34 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and its critics faced off on Tuesday over the legality of drone strikes to kill U.S. citizens abroad, in a likely preview of arguments that will be raised during this week's confirmation hearing for President Barack Obama's choice to head the CIA. The disclosure of an unclassified Justice Department memo laying out the legal framework for the U.S. government's ability to attack its own citizens drew criticism from civil liberties groups. But the White House strongly defended the controversial policy as legal and ethical. ... Full Story | Top |
| Acapulco mayor says regrets comments on rape of six Spanish tourists Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:33 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The mayor of Acapulco on Tuesday apologized for dismissive comments about the rape of six female Spanish tourists by armed men, an unusually aggressive crime against foreigners in the popular Mexican resort grappling with drug cartels. The women were raped in the early hours of Monday, when the hooded gunmen forced their way into a beach house they had rented and roughed up their seven male companions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Somali court sends alleged rape victim and journalist to jail Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:26 PM PST MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A Somali judge on Tuesday jailed a woman who said she had been raped by soldiers and a journalist who interviewed her, finding them guilty of making up the story to besmirch the government. The verdict and one-year jail sentences drew condemnation from Somalia's union of journalists. Human rights groups have called the trial politically motivated, aimed at covering up rampant sexual abuse of women by the security forces. "They fabricated a story to hurt the government," Judge Ahmed Aden said in court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors seek life sentence for Ohio Amish sect leader Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:24 PM PST CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Amish sect leader from Ohio convicted of federal hate crimes in a string of hair and beard-cutting attacks on other Amish in 2011 should serve life in prison, prosecutors said on Tuesday. The prosecutors said in a court filing that Samuel Mullet Sr., who was convicted in September along with 15 of his followers, should receive a life sentence as the mastermind behind the attacks, which targeted six Amish men and two women. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pension reform, layoffs in Pennsylvania proposed budget Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:11 PM PST HARRISBURG, Penn. (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett asked the state's Republican-led legislature on Tuesday for pension reform, layoffs, transportation investments and a $90 million increase in basic education funding in his proposed budget for fiscal 2014. The Republican governor's $28.4 billion blueprint, if approved by lawmakers, is $679 million, or about 2.4 percent, higher than the current budget and includes no tax increases. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama proposes short-term budget fix, Republicans swiftly object Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:05 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to pass a small package of spending cuts and tax reforms to delay larger, automatic cuts from going into effect and damaging the economy on March 1. Republican leaders quickly rebuffed his proposals, rejecting what they saw as a bid for new tax increases after lawmakers agreed to raise rates for top U.S. earners earlier this year. If launched as scheduled, the cuts - dubbed the "sequester" - would reduce federal spending across the board by about $85 billion for one year, split evenly between military and domestic ... Full Story | Top |
| In the government's eyes, S&P's ratings stopped making sense Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 03:03 PM PST (Reuters) - Barely two weeks after the big subprime lender New Century Financial Corp went bankrupt, a top Standard & Poor's executive assured Congress that her employer could be counted on to sound the alarm for the next credit disaster. S&P ratings are "grounded in the cornerstone principles of independence, transparency, credibility and quality," resulting in a "long-standing track record of analytical excellence and objective commentary," Susan Barnes, managing director in charge of U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), testified. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrats split on scope of tax code overhaul Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 02:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the Senate's tax committee on Tuesday veered slightly from President Barack Obama's call for quick tax code fixes to avert looming budget cuts, reflecting a split among Democrats on the scope of a possible tax code overhaul. If Congress cannot strike a deal to avert $85 billion in broad federal spending cuts set for March 1, as appears likely, it should at least pursue a short-term fix that includes closing "special interest" tax loopholes, Obama said on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama urged to reject tying immigration reform to border security Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 02:49 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Immigration reform advocates urged President Barack Obama on Tuesday to reject congressional proposals that would delay a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants by making changes contingent on stepped-up border security. After meeting Obama at the White House, the activists said they had pressed the Democratic president to ensure that reforms provide an unambiguous route to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the United States illegally. ... Full Story | Top |
| Social Security, health spending to hit $3.2 trillion a year Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 02:48 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending on Social Security and healthcare will double to $3.2 trillion a year over the next decade, threatening a sharp rise in national debt unless Congress acts to avoid the danger, congressional researchers warned on Tuesday. A report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office did not put forth a plan to resolve the long-term imbalance between revenues and spending on retirement and healthcare benefits. But it said that action taken now would help minimize the economic impact of whatever course lawmakers can agree on. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canadian's involvement in Bulgaria bombing underlines concerns Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 02:45 PM PST OTTAWA (Reuters) - The revelation on Tuesday that a Canadian-Lebanese dual national took part in the 2012 bombing of a tourist bus in Bulgaria underscores security agencies' concerns about the danger posed by Canadians joining attacks abroad. It is not a problem that is exclusive to Canada. But last April the government's Canadian Security Intelligence Service said as many as 60 Canadians had traveled - or tried to travel - to Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen to join al Qaeda-affiliated groups and engage in terror-related activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Near-term deficits to shrink, but debt to deepen: CBO Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 02:39 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The budget deficit will dip below $1 trillion this year for the first time during Barack Obama's presidency, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday, but it warned that debt will swell to unsustainable levels without further action by lawmakers. CBO forecast that the deficit for fiscal 2013, which ends September 30, will shrink slightly to $845 billion after four straight years above $1 trillion. The reason is an improving economy and higher taxes paid by wealthy Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
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