| | |
| Egyptian authorities arrest Muslim Brotherhood leader Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:08 PM PDT  By Tom Perry and Crispian Balmer CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities escalated their crackdown on deposed President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood by arresting the Islamist organization's top leader, state media reported on Tuesday. Mohamed Badie, 70, was detained at a residential apartment in Nasr City in northeast Cairo "after information came to the security apparatus locating his place of hiding," the state news agency reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guardian says Britain forced it to destroy Snowden material Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:06 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball and Pedro Fonseca WASHINGTON/RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The Guardian, a major outlet for revelations based on leaks from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, says the British government threatened legal action against the newspaper unless it either destroyed the classified documents or handed them back to British authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan's Musharraf indicted in Bhutto murder case Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:15 PM PDT  By Syed Raza Hassan RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - A court in Pakistan has formally indicted former military dictator Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday with the murder of former premier Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in 2007. "He should be tried," the public prosecutor, Mohammad Azhar, told reporters after a brief hearing in the city of Rawalpindi during which the three charges of murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder were read out to Musharraf. ... Full Story | Top |
| Operator of crippled Japan nuclear plant says tank leaked contaminated water Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:13 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said on Tuesday it believes about 300 tons of highly contaminated water has leaked from a storage tank designed to hold overflows from the site. Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority has classified the leak as a level 1 incident, the second lowest, on an international scale for radiological releases, a spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| California gets OK to force-feed some hunger-striking inmates Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:18 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California authorities won court approval on Monday to force-feed some prisoners on a hunger strike after officials voiced concerns that inmates may have been coerced into refusing food in a protest against the state's solitary confinement policies. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates near death, even if they had previously signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge endorses use of fraud law against Bank of America Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:09 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has endorsed a broad interpretation of a savings-and-loan era law that the Justice Department is trying to use in cases against Wall Street banks. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Monday that a "straightforward application of the plain words" of the Financial Institutional Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) allowed the interpretation sought by the government. The law has a low burden of proof, strong subpoena power and a 10-year statute of limitations, twice as long as the typical limit for fraud cases. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico left-leaning party proposes limited energy reform Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:59 PM PDT  By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's largest left-of-center political party has proposed a plan that would revamp state-oil monopoly Pemex, but without amending the constitution to permit more private investment in the oil, gas and electricity sectors, as the government has suggested. The proposal of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, seeks to modernize Pemex by providing it with budget and management autonomy, and create a new fund to administer the nation's energy riches. ... Full Story | Top |
| Falcone agrees to industry ban in new SEC settlement Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:49 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone agreed to a five-year ban from the financial industry and will admit wrongdoing to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that he improperly used money from his hedge fund and unfairly favored some of his investors, the SEC announced on Monday. The ban would put at least a temporary end to Falcone's controversial career of managing investor money, which was notable for a dramatic rise and fall during and soon after the financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad's forces push back rebels in Syria's Alawite mountains Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army and militia troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have pushed back a rebel offensive in the mountain heartlands of his Alawite sect, officials and activists said on Monday, after days of heavy fighting and aerial bombardment. The assault by Islamist rebels on the northern edges of the Alawite mountains overlooking the Mediterranean drove hundreds of Alawite villagers out to the coast and marked a major challenge to Assad's reassertion of power over central Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. panel to hear accounts of North Korean human rights abuses Monday, Aug 19, 2013 02:20 PM PDT  By Michelle Kim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.N. panel will start hearing harrowing testimony from North Korean defectors on Tuesday in a move that will likely mobilize public opinion on abuses in the one-party state that comes at or near the bottom of most measures of freedom. There are an estimated 150,000-200,000 people in North Korean prison camps, according to independent estimates, and defectors say many inmates are malnourished or worked to death. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite Bo's trial in China, no redress for victims of his crackdown Monday, Aug 19, 2013 02:03 PM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - The curtain may be about to fall on China's disgraced leader Bo Xilai, but victims of the harsh brand of justice he handed out in a high-profile crime crackdown are not making any headway in their campaign for redress. Lawyers estimate there are thousands of cases demanding restitution in the foggy southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, which Bo ruled as Communist Party boss until he was dramatically sacked early last year amid lurid allegations of graft and murder. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., China to expand military exchanges amid rows over cyber security, territory Monday, Aug 19, 2013 01:48 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China agreed on Monday to expand military exchanges and exercises as part of efforts to build more stable ties, despite tensions over cyber security and East Asian territorial disputes. U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan spelled out plans this year for senior American officers to visit China, counter-piracy drills in waters near Somalia and a humanitarian rescue exercise near Hawaii. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed tells big banks to improve capital planning Monday, Aug 19, 2013 11:01 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Big banks must improve the way they determine how much capital they need to withstand any future crisis, the U.S. Federal Reserve said, citing observations from regulators' periodic tests of banks' health. The Fed said in a paper released on Monday that banks participating in regular "stress tests" had flaws in their capital planning processes, such as being unable to show that they considered all of the relevant risks to their businesses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico opposition party, PRD, proposes limited energy reform Monday, Aug 19, 2013 02:28 PM PDT  By David Alire Garcia MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's largest left-of-center political party proposed a plan on Monday that would revamp state-oil monopoly Pemex, but without amending the constitution to permit more private investment in the oil, gas and electricity sectors, as the government has proposed. The proposal of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, would provide Pemex with budget and management autonomy, and create a new fund to administer the nation's energy riches. The proposal would also gradually lower the company's tax burden by 9 percent to 62. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden journalist to publish UK secrets after Britain detains partner Monday, Aug 19, 2013 01:32 PM PDT  By Pedro Fonseca RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The journalist who first published secrets leaked by fugitive former U.S. intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden vowed on Monday to publish more documents and said Britain will "regret" detaining his partner for nine hours. British authorities used anti-terrorism laws on Sunday to detain David Miranda, partner of U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald, as he passed through London's Heathrow airport. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. questions Egypt prisoner deaths, Mubarak may be freed Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Crispian Balmer CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court ruling has raised the prospect of freedom for deposed military strongman Hosni Mubarak, while the United States questioned Egypt's account of the deaths of dozens of Islamist detainees and called the incident "suspicious." Six weeks after the armed forces toppled President Mohamed Mursi and about a week after hundreds died when security forces broke up protests by his Muslim Brotherhood, the United States said on Monday it was still reviewing whether to freeze any of the $1.55 billion it gives Egypt in mainly military annual aid. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain forced Guardian to destroy copy of Snowden material Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:19 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The editor of the Guardian, a major outlet for revelations based on leaks from former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, says the British government threatened legal action against the newspaper unless it either destroyed the classified documents or handed them back to British authorities. In an article posted on the British newspaper's website on Monday, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger said that a month ago, after the newspaper had published several stories based on Snowden's material, a British official advised him: "You've had your fun. ... Full Story | Top |
| European Union sets Gibraltar mission as tensions simmer Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:12 AM PDT By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission is to send a fact-finding mission to Gibraltar to examine the legitimacy of border controls imposed by Spain in a growing dispute over the British Mediterranean enclave. It broke out after Gibraltar's construction of an artificial reef using concrete blocks in the bay off the tiny territory. Gibraltarian authorities say the move was necessary to help marine life recover from overfishing. Spanish fishermen counter that it hampers their access to certain waters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senator Cruz releases birth certificate amid talk of presidential run Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:52 AM PDT  By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican whose recent travel has fueled speculation he may run for president in 2016, has released his birth certificate, showing that he was born in Canada to an American mother, the Dallas Morning News said on Monday. The move came after President Barack Obama faced intense scrutiny from "birthers" about his eligibility to be president. Born in 1961 to an American mother and Kenyan father, Obama in 2011 released his birth certificate, which says he was born in the U.S. state of Hawaii. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers travel the world on lobbyists' tab Monday, Aug 19, 2013 10:06 AM PDT By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are once again taking advantage of their summer recess to race around the globe on privately financed tours to places like China, the Middle East and Scotland - trips watchdog groups cite as evidence that congressional ethics reforms are unraveling. Critics of such trips say it is unseemly for members of the House and Senate to take trips bankrolled by people and organizations with specific legislative desires. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mubarak one step nearer to freedom after Egypt court ruling Monday, Aug 19, 2013 10:20 AM PDT By Lin Noueihed and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian former president Hosni Mubarak, who was arrested after his overthrow in 2011, can no longer be held on a corruption charge, a court ruled on Monday, a decision his lawyer said removed one of the last obstacles to his release. Mubarak was the first leader toppled in a wave of Arab uprisings to face trial. In scenes that captivated Arabs, the man who ruled Egypt for 30 years appeared in a courtroom cage on charges ranging from corruption to complicity in the murder of protesters. ... Full Story | Top |
| German SPD ties itself in knots over tax pledge Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's opposition Social Democrats (SPD) scrambled on Monday to contain a damaging debate over their tax hike plans as new opinion polls showed the party falling further behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives before next month's election. Over the weekend the party's two top leaders, chairman Sigmar Gabriel and chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrueck, appeared to row back on the SPD's campaign demand to raise taxes on the wealthy, saying the hikes could later be reversed if a planned crackdown on tax evaders proved successful. ... Full Story | Top |
| Use of UK terror law to detain reporter's partner 'a disgrace' Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:30 AM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities came under pressure on Monday to explain why anti-terrorism powers were used to detain for nine hours the partner of a journalist who has written articles about U.S. and British surveillance programs based on leaks from Edward Snowden. Brazilian David Miranda, the partner of American journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained on Sunday at London's Heathrow Airport where he was in transit on his way from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro. He was released without charge. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top McAfee official named to U.S. Homeland Security cyber post Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior executive with Intel Corp's McAfee anti-virus software division was named the top cyber official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - filling a position that has turned over a couple of times this year. DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on Monday named Phyllis Schneck the new deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity in the department's National Protection and Programs Directorate. Schneck, chief technology officer for McAfee's global public sector unit, has worked in security and infrastructure protection for more than 14 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian navy says kills 12 pirates in gun battle Monday, Aug 19, 2013 09:23 AM PDT YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Nigerian navy killed 12 pirates in a gun battle as they tried to flee from a fuel tanker they hijacked off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea last week, the navy said on Monday. Pirates took control of the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged MT Notre on August 15, but an emergency signal was sent to the navy and several gunships were deployed to recover the vessel, Navy Flag Officer Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Hassan told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York City announces largest gun seizure in its history Monday, Aug 19, 2013 02:44 PM PDT  By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City authorities on Monday trumpeted the largest gun seizure in city history, capturing 254 weapons and arresting 19 people from smuggling rings that are accused of running guns northward from the Carolinas. "There is no doubt that the seizure of these guns has saved lives," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference, using the opportunity to defend the New York Police Department's controversial "stop and frisk" tactic, which a U.S. judge last week ruled was unconstitutional. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran may be limiting sensitive nuclear stockpile: diplomats Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:19 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran appears to be holding back growth of its most sensitive nuclear stockpile by continuing to convert some of it into reactor fuel, diplomats said on Monday, potentially giving more time for negotiation with world powers. The stock of medium-enriched uranium gas is closely watched in the West; Israel has threatened to attack if diplomacy fails to curb Iran's program and it amasses enough of the material - a short technical step from weapons-grade - to make a bomb. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda planning attacks on high-speed trains in Europe: newspaper Monday, Aug 19, 2013 06:13 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Al Qaeda is planning attacks on high-speed trains in Europe and the authorities in Germany have stepped up security on the country's rail system, a German newspaper reported on Monday. The information about the planned attacks came from the United States' National Security Agency (NSA), which apparently intercepted a call between senior al Qaeda members several weeks ago, the mass-circulation daily said. But the German Interior Ministry said it regularly received information about such threats and was not planning to increase overall security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: In Egypt, flickers of a new Islamist insurgency Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:43 AM PDT  By Tom Perry and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO/MINYA PROVINCE (Reuters) - Gunmen who fired rocket-propelled grenades at a police station near Cairo and slit an officer's throat daubed the wall with a warning before they left: "This is the penalty for the oppressors." The masked assailants attacked a few hours after the security forces began breaking up protest camps set up by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi in an operation last Wednesday that killed hundreds of people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rose-tinted return for French government but recovery not assured Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:04 AM PDT  By Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's return from holiday has been eased by a spurt in second-quarter growth. Yet looming tax hikes, raging unemployment and an upcoming pension overhaul will determine whether the rebound can last. France's exit from recession with growth of 0.5 percent last quarter buoyed a government meeting on Monday where ministers outlined rosy visions they had been asked to draw up during the two-week break of how the country could look in 2025. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptians yearn for return to normality Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:44 AM PDT  By Lin Noueihed CAIRO (Reuters) - It is early afternoon in downtown Cairo, but Khaled Fathi is already wondering how he will get home before curfew. His men's clothing store normally stays open late into the night in a city where people prefer to shop and socialize after dark. Today, he will close at five o'clock, giving him time to negotiate the traffic and make it home by nightfall. For Fathi and many like him, revolution fever has given way to revolution fatigue. Over the past two years, Egypt has seen revolt and counter-revolt, weeks of protests and bouts of bloody clashes. ... Full Story | Top |
| India says Pakistan testing its restraint in Kashmir Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:11 AM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - - India said on Monday it was running out of patience with Pakistan army-backed transgressions across disputed Kashmir as cross-border firing spread further north for the first time since the two armies agreed to a ceasefire in 2003. Tension has been running high along one of the world's most militarized borders in Kashmir since August 6 when five Indian soldiers were ambushed and killed while on a patrol. Indian Defense Minister A.K. ... Full Story | Top |
| China probe is latest legal headache for JPMorgan Monday, Aug 19, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  By David Henry NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal bribery investigation into whether JPMorgan Chase & Co. hired the children of key Chinese officials to help it win business is just the latest in a series of legal and regulatory headaches for Chief Executive Jamie Dimon. Dimon piloted the bank through the financial crisis, but it is now facing at least a dozen investigations from federal agencies and state and foreign governments, including over the "London Whale" trading scandal that cost it more than $6.2 billion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Egyptian crackdown hands al Qaeda new lease on life Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:22 AM PDT  By Myra MacDonald LONDON (Reuters) - You would probably have to go back a decade to find a cause with such potential to mobilize jihadis worldwide in a short space of time. With images of dying Islamist protesters in media across the globe, the unrest in Egypt plays into al Qaeda's narrative of victimization, giving it an ideal opportunity to expand a strategy of exploiting instability it has already used in Libya, Syria and Iraq. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius weeps in court as murder trial set for March 2014 Monday, Aug 19, 2013 07:45 AM PDT  By Peroshni Govender PRETORIA (Reuters) - South African Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, prayed and wiped away tears at a court hearing on Monday which set a March 3, 2014 start date for his trial. The trial was moved to a high court and is scheduled to run until March 23. If convicted of murder, he could face up to life in prison. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boeing undercuts rivals in South Korea fighter contest: sources Monday, Aug 19, 2013 08:14 AM PDT  By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - Boeing's bid in the 8.3 trillion won ($7.4 billion) tender to supply South Korea with 60 fighter aircraft was the only one below the price ceiling set by the country's arms procurement agency, sources close to the process said on Monday. A final decision was not expected until mid-September, the sources said, but the price submitted by the U.S. company appears to be a significant step toward winning the contract. ... Full Story | Top |
| Idaho wildfire rages into 12th day near Sun Valley ski resort Monday, Aug 19, 2013 12:47 PM PDT  By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Firefighters, aided by subdued winds, pressed their tactical advantage for the second day of a major air and ground offensive against an Idaho wildfire that has forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 homes near the world-class ski resort of Sun Valley. Part of the firefighting assault on Monday, day 12 of the so-called Beaver Creek blaze in central Idaho, focused on the famed ski slopes of Bald Mountain, where snow-making water cannons have been saturating the hills. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-CIA official to ask Italy for pardon over rendition: lawyer Monday, Aug 19, 2013 04:43 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Former CIA Milan station chief Robert Seldon Lady is to ask Italy's president to pardon him for kidnapping an Egyptian Muslim cleric under the U.S. "extraordinary rendition" program, his lawyer was quoted as saying on Monday. Lady was among 23 Americans sentenced at an Italian trial in 2009, the first time U.S. nationals had been convicted over the program, operated by the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush during the so-called war on terror. Human rights groups have repeatedly condemned the program. ... Full Story | Top |
| More than 20,000 Syrian refugees cross into Iraq: U.N. Monday, Aug 19, 2013 02:29 AM PDT  GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 20,000 Syrian refugees have entered northern Iraq since Thursday in one of the largest crossings in the more than two-year-old conflict and the influx is continuing, the United Nations said on Monday. Syrians began pouring into the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq last Thursday, taking advantage of a new bridge along the largely closed border, the U.N. says. "It looks like the total from last Thursday to now is somewhere in the region of 20,000 or more coming across," Adrian Edwards of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Egypt's rulers can count on Gulf aid despite bloodshed Monday, Aug 19, 2013 05:30 AM PDT  By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - In his full-throated cry of support for the Egyptian authorities, Saudi King Abdullah on Friday described street protests by the Muslim Brotherhood as representing "terrorism and sedition". That stark view of a crisis that has killed hundreds in the past week shows why the world's top oil exporter will continue to back Egypt's crackdown on the Brotherhood even while its Western allies try to convince the generals to back down. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment