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| North Korea readies rockets after U.S. show of force Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:07 PM PDT  By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", the official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus bank controls to last a month, minister says Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 10:09 AM PDT  By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus conceded on Thursday that tight capital controls would remain in force longer than expected as the island's banks reopened for the first time after the government was forced to accept a tough EU rescue package to avoid bankruptcy. Cypriots lined up calmly to withdraw limited amounts of cash, but there was no sign of a run on deposits, as had been feared. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran, North Korea, Syria block U.N. arms trade treaty Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday prevented the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it was flawed and failed to ban weapons sales to rebel groups. To get around the blockade, British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant sent the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and asked him on behalf of Mexico, Australia and a number of others to put it to a swift vote in the General Assembly. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jobless claims rise, but GDP data shows more growth Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:43 AM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but not enough to suggest the labor market recovery was taking a step back. Other data on Thursday showed the economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, more than the government had previously estimated. The reports reinforced the view that the economy perked up in the first quarter, although it still appeared vulnerable to fiscal austerity measures that kicked in early in the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mortar kills 15 at Damascus University, Syria says Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:16 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Hamdi Istanbullu BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Fifteen Syrian students were killed when rebel mortar shells hit a Damascus University canteen on Thursday, state-run news agency SANA said, as attacks intensified in the center of the capital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group, said a mortar killed 13 people at the university, without saying who fired the bombs. Other activists confirmed the attack but no opposition group has denied or claimed responsibility. ... Full Story | Top |
| Attempt to end Italy crisis stalls, president mulls next move Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:57 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has failed in his attempt to find a way out of Italy's political deadlock and President Giorgio Napolitano will now seek another solution, the president's palace said on Thursday. Bersani reported back to Napolitano on Thursday night after being given a mandate almost a week ago to see if he could muster enough support to form a government after the inconclusive election in February. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Mandela "responding positively" to treatment Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:52 PM PDT  By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is "responding positively" to treatment for a recurring lung infection after being admitted to hospital overnight, the government said on Thursday. "He remains under treatment and observation in hospital," it added in a statement, without giving further details about the health of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| Putin flexes Russian military muscle in naval exercise Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:56 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered large-scale military exercises in the Black Sea on Thursday, projecting Russian power towards Europe and the Middle East in a move that may vex neighbors. Officials suggested the surprise drill would test reaction speed and combat readiness, but Putin's order also seemed a signal to the West of Russia's presence in the region. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Putin triggered the maneuvers as he flew back overnight from South Africa after a summit of the BRICS emerging economies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey denies mass deportation of Syrian refugees Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:44 AM PDT  By Hamdi Istanbullu and Jonathon Burch ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey denied on Thursday it had rounded up and deported hundreds of Syrian refugees following unrest at a border camp, highlighting the strain the exodus from Syria's civil war is placing on neighboring states. Witnesses said hundreds of Syrians were bussed to the border after Wednesday's clashes in which refugees in the Suleymansah camp, near the Turkish town of Akcakale, threw rocks at military police, who fired teargas and water cannon. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Blade Runner" Pistorius gets passport back Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:03 AM PDT  PRETORIA (Reuters) - "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius was granted permission to travel abroad on Thursday when a South African judge relaxed bail conditions imposed after the Paralympic and Olympic track star was charged with murdering his girlfriend. Judge Bert Bam said the 26-year-old, a double amputee who won worldwide fame last year when he reached the semi-finals of the 400m in the London Olympics, could have his passport back and no longer needed to report to a probation officer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Cerberus seeks to bankroll investor landlords Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:01 AM PDT  By Matthew Goldstein NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management wants to provide financing to small investment firms that are buying foreclosed homes as part of a long-term bullish bet on the housing recovery, according to four sources familiar with the situation. Cerberus is targeting investment firms that are looking to buy a small number of homes in niche housing markets in the U.S. and rent them out, the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| North readies rockets after U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:18 PM PDT By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its rocket units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Korea in warning to North Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By David Chance SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers on practice runs over South Korea on Thursday, in a rare show of force following a series of North Korean threats that the Pentagon said have set Pyongyang on a dangerous path. The drill by the two B-2 Spirit bombers - flying all the way from the United States and back - appeared to be the first exercise of its kind and showed America's ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes "quickly and at will," the U.S. military said. The bomber flights, and the unusual public announcement of them by the ... Full Story | Top |
| Mortar strike kills 15 in Damascus University: state media Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fifteen Syrian students were killed when rebel mortar bombs hit a Damascus University canteen on Thursday, state-run news agency SANA said, as attacks intensify in the center of the capital. A bastion for President Bashar al-Assad's forces, the city is a crucial prize in a two-year-old uprising that has developed into a war in which more than 70,000 people have been killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope includes women for first time in Holy Thursday rite Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 11:09 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Two young women were among 12 people whose feet Pope Francis washed and kissed at a traditional ceremony in a Rome youth prison on Holy Thursday, the first time a pontiff has included females in the rite. The pope traveled to the Casal del Marmo prison on Rome's outskirts for the traditional Mass, which commemorates Jesus's gesture of humility towards his apostles the night before he died. The ceremony has been traditionally limited to men because all of Jesus' apostles were male. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite threats, North Korea keeps border factories open Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:15 AM PDT  By Ju-min Park PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - A heavily armed border crossing between North and South Korea that allows the North access to $2 billion in trade a year, one of its few avenues to foreign currency, remained open on Thursday despite Pyongyang's move to cut communications. North Korea on Wednesday severed the last of three telephone hotlines with South Korea as it readied its troops to face what it believes to be "hostile" action from Seoul and Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Economy posts sluggish growth in fourth quarter Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 05:50 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy expanded at a sluggish pace in the fourth quarter although a big gain in business investment and higher exports of services led the government to push up its previous estimate for growth. Gross domestic product expanded at a 0.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, just below the 0.5 percent gain forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter of 2011 and far from what is needed to fuel a faster drop in the unemployment rate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Foul play not impossible in Berezovsky death: British police Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:56 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina WINDSOR (Reuters) - British police believe foul play cannot be completely ruled out in the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, whose body was found at the weekend with a piece of material around his neck, an inquest heard on Thursday. Berezovsky, a sworn enemy of President Vladimir Putin, was found dead on Saturday in a luxury mansion in Ascot, an affluent English town near Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle, west of London. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Bersani to inform president Thursday on attempts to form government Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:27 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani said he would report back to President Giorgio Napolitano on Thursday evening to inform him about his attempts to form a government following last month's inconclusive election. Bersani spoke to reporters briefly after completing a week of talks with social groups and parties, and took no questions. The talks have produced no clear sign of a breakthrough but Luigi Zanda, a senior official in Bersani's Democratic Party, said on Thursday there was still time to do a deal and appealed to the other parties to be constructive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Red-tape Belgium falls behind euro zone peers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:18 AM PDT  (Please note strong language in line 62) By Robin Emmott and Ben Deighton CHARLEROI, Belgium (Reuters) - Just a day after giving birth, Belgian entrepreneur Esmeralda Desart was back at work running her export business, putting in the kind of 16-hour day that has become the norm since she started up a company selling printer parts in 2007. Refused bank loans, looking after a baby was just one more concern as Desart confronted the problems of red tape and rising costs that entrepreneurs say are making her homeland at the heart of the euro zone a bad place for business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shell faces new probe over Alaska drill program Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:51 PM PDT  By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A fourth government probe is under way into Royal Dutch Shell's mishap-prone 2012 Alaska drilling season, this time for possible violations of international marine environmental rules, a U.S. Coast Guard official said on Wednesday. The Coast Guard has asked federal prosecutors to consider taking action on possible violations of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) committed in the operations of Shell's Kulluk drillship, said Rear Admiral Thomas Ostebo, head of the Coast Guard in Alaska. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Wal-Mart may get customers to deliver packages to online buyers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 05:42 AM PDT  By Alistair Barr and Jessica Wohl SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is considering a radical plan to have store customers deliver packages to online buyers, a new twist on speedier delivery services that the company hopes will enable it to better compete with Amazon.com Inc. Tapping customers to deliver goods would put the world's largest retailer squarely in middle of a new phenomenon sometimes known as "crowd-sourcing," or the "sharing economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democratic hopes dashed for Hong Kong 2017 election Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:11 PM PDT  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hopes that Hong Kong's 2017 election will be genuinely democratic have been dashed after a senior Chinese leader said, regardless of the vote, Beijing will have the final say on who is appointed Hong Kong's next leader. Qiao Xiaoyang, chairman of the law committee of the National People's Congress, said China will not allow someone who "confronts" Beijing to become Hong Kong's leader. "First, the nomination committee will decide. Then voters in Hong Kong will decide. ... Full Story | Top |
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