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| Utah officials suspect bald eagle deaths linked to die-off of shore birds Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 06:43 PM PST The tally of unexplained bald eagle deaths in Utah this month rose to 20 on Thursday as state wildlife officials looked for possible links to diseases suspected in a coinciding die-off of thousands of shore birds around the Great Salt Lake. Since December 1, state wildlife specialists have documented a growing number of bald eagles of varying ages succumbing to an unexplained ailment that crippled them with leg paralysis and tremors before they died. Necropsies, the animal equivalent of autopsy examinations, have yet to pinpoint what is killing the eagles, but scientists now believe a disease rather than a toxin is the culprit, said Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator. McFarlane said a recent die-off in Utah of eared grebes that began in November and has now killed thousands of birds may be tied to the deaths of eagles, which are known to prey on the small shore birds. Full Story | Top |
| Iranian dissidents say rockets hit their Baghdad camp, kill two Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 06:18 PM PST A camp of Iranian dissidents in the Iraqi capital was hit by rockets on Thursday in an attack the group said killed at least two people and seriously wounded several others. A Shi'ite militia claimed responsibility for the attack on the Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) camp in western Baghdad, which has repeatedly been the target of mortar and rocket attacks in recent months. The group, which calls for the overthrow of Iran's clerical leaders and fought on Iraq's side during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, is no longer welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. It accused the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of being behind the attack in an attempt to win support from Iran's government ahead of elections next year. Full Story | Top |
| Dozens of bodies recovered after violence in Central African Republic Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 06:01 PM PST  By Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - Red Cross workers have recovered 44 bodies from the streets of Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, they said on Thursday after inter-religious fighting in the last two days. Six Chadian peacekeepers have also been killed in the former French colony, while judicial authorities said they had uncovered a mass grave with 30 bodies, many of them showing signs of torture, near a military base used by Seleka rebels. The rebels seized power in March, unleashing a wave of looting and killing on the mostly Christian population. The mostly Muslim Seleka and Christian self-defense militias have carried out tit-for-tat attacks on each other and on the local population. Full Story | Top |
| Connecticut police to release Newtown massacre documents Friday Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 05:38 PM PST  By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Connecticut state police plan to release a trove of documents on Friday tied to their investigation of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year that killed 20 children and six adults, the agency said on its website. The release comes about a month after the state Division of Criminal Justice released a report on the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre concluding that the gunman, Adam Lanza, 20, had acted alone, and that his motive may never be known. The material to be released online at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) on Friday "runs several thousand pages and has been redacted according to law," the state police announcement said. "The release of this document is indicative that this state police criminal investigation is concluded," it said, adding that the material would include text, photos and emergency 911 calls received by state police on the day of the massacre. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests dozens under anti-terror law, one killed in Cairo Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 04:55 PM PST  By Tom Perry and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt stepped up pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood a day after declaring it a terrorist group, using the new classification to detain dozens of its supporters on Thursday, while one person died in street clashes ignited by political tension. A bomb blast in a Cairo suburb wounded five people - the second attack this week after a suicide bomber killed 16 people north of the capital on Tuesday. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July, said Egypt would be "steadfast" in the face of terrorism. In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and "expressed concern" about the terrorist designation of the Muslim Brotherhood and recent detentions and arrests in Egypt, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. Full Story | Top |
| Attack on reporter restores passion to Ukraine demonstrations Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 03:31 PM PST  By Jack Stubbs KIEV (Reuters) - Protesters demanded Ukraine's interior minister resign on Thursday after an opposition journalist known for documenting the extravagance of the country's political elite was chased down in her car and savagely beaten in a midnight attack. Clutching pictures of Tetyana Chornovil's badly bruised face, hundreds marched on the Interior Ministry in the capital, Kiev. The attack on the 34-year-old restored passion to protests that have been losing steam more than a month after the government spurned a pact on closer ties with the European Union, turning instead to former Soviet master Moscow. Pro-EU demonstrators have been occupying central Kiev, but their numbers have been falling since Russia offered Ukraine a $15 billion bailout this month. Full Story | Top |
| Philadelphia court overturns priest's conviction in sex cover-up Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 03:22 PM PST  Monsignor William Lynn was convicted in June 2012 of endangering the welfare of a child by reassigning a priest with a history of sexual abuse to a Philadelphia parish that was unaware of his past. That priest, Edward Avery, later pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old altar boy in the Philadelphia parish. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said in a statement he would most likely appeal. Lynn served as secretary for clergy for the Philadelphia Archdiocese from 1992 to 2004 and, in that role, had access to the archdiocese's secret archives - a repository of information on infractions by its priests - according to the court papers. Full Story | Top |
| One killed in Cairo clash: Interior Ministry Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 03:21 PM PST One person was killed on Thursday when student supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with residents of a Cairo district where they were protesting, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It said the police fired teargas after the Al-Azhar University students clashed with residents in the Nasr City district of northeast Cairo. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests dozens under anti-terror law, bomb hits Cairo Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 02:41 PM PST By Tom Perry and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt increased pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday, detaining dozens of its supporters on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization the day after it was declared one by the government, security officials said. Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi in July, said Egypt would be "steadfast" in the face of terrorism. The government declared Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group on Wednesday in response to the suicide attack that targeted a police station a day earlier in the city of Mansoura. Full Story | Top |
| Obama calls on Congress to do more on Guantanamo Bay Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 02:28 PM PST  President Barack Obama on Thursday gave credit to Congress for relaxing restrictions on transferring detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the custody of foreign governments but said lawmakers need to go further. After signing the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2014, Obama noted that Congress retained regulations that prevent the transfer of prisoners to American soil, where they could be tried in federal court. "The executive branch must have the authority to determine when and where to prosecute Guantanamo detainees," Obama said in a signing statement released during his Hawaiian vacation. The regulations could remain an obstacle to the administration's years-long bid to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, where 158 detainees from various countries remain after years of detention without trial at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Full Story | Top |
| Two dead, six injured in Louisiana bar fight shooting Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 02:22 PM PST (Reuters) - Two people were killed and six injured on Thursday in a volley of gunfire after a bar fight spilled out into the streets of Slidell, near New Orleans, police said. The wounded were reported to be in either stable or guarded condition, Slidell police said. The two fatalities were identified as Errol Scott, 22, and Mark Womack, 23, police said. "This is an unfortunate, tragic incident," Police Chief Randy Smith said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Obama signs bipartisan budget deal, annual defense bill Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 02:07 PM PST  By Ros Krasny HONOLULU (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a compromise budget that reduces the risk of another government shutdown and a defense bill that cracks down on sexual assault in the military and smooths the path for transferring detainees from the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The two-year U.S. budget agreement, negotiated by Congress earlier this month, and the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2104 were among seven pieces of legislation signed by Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii. The U.S. Senate passed the budget deal on December 18 to ease automatic spending cuts and reduce the risk of a government shutdown. Obama at that time praised the measure - the first budget agreed to by a divided Congress since 2009 - saying it was "a good first step away from the shortsighted, crisis-driven decision-making that has only served to act as a drag on our economy." He did not comment further on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Gaza rocket fire draws Israeli air strikes Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 01:37 PM PST Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into southern Israel on Thursday, and Israel's military responded with a pair of air strikes, officials said. The rockets from Gaza fell in open areas, causing no damage or injuries, Israel's military said. It said its aircraft then hit a weapon manufacturing facility and a weapon storage facility in the enclave, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas. One Palestinian was wounded by the air strikes, medical workers said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. expedites delivery of missiles, drones to Iraq amid violence Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 01:12 PM PST  The United States has delivered dozens of Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to Iraq in recent weeks and plans shipments of Scan Eagle drones next year amid a surge in violence, U.S. officials said on Thursday, a day after at least 34 people died in Christmas day bomb attacks in Baghdad. Al Qaeda-linked militants have stepped up attacks on Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government and anyone seen to be supporting it. The United Nations estimates that more than 8,000 people have been killed in attacks in Iraq this year. A U.S. official said that about 75 Hellfire missiles were delivered to Iraq last week, earlier than originally envisioned, and a shipment of 10 unmanned Scan Eagles surveillance drones is due next year. Full Story | Top |
| Food prices; a bricks and mortar problem for Indian economy Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 01:05 PM PST  By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Aditi Shah GURGAON, India (Reuters) - Three months since journeying more than 700 milesfrom his village in central India to take a job in this bustling city near the capital, New Delhi, Charan is already looking forward to a 10 percent pay rise. India's biggest cities face a worsening shortage of migrant manual laborers like 26-year-old Charan, who goes by only one name. While India has long suffered from a dearth of workers with vocational skills like plumbers and electricians, efforts to alleviate poverty in poor, rural areas have helped stifle what was once a flood of cheap, unskilled labor from India's poorest states. Struggling to cope with soaring food prices, this dwindling supply of migrant workers are demanding - and increasingly getting - rapid increases in pay and benefits. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan rebels seize oil wells, mediators urge talks Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 12:52 PM PST  By Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho JUBA (Reuters) - Rebels in South Sudan have seized some oil wells and captured half of the capital of the main oil-producing region, the government and army said on Thursday as African leaders held talks to avert civil war. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in the capital Juba in an attempt to end nearly two weeks of fighting in the world's newest state. "South Sudan is a young nation that should be spared unnecessary distractions in its development agenda. It was not clear whether the delegation also met the rebel leader, former vice president Riek Machar, who was sacked by Kiir in July. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Tax Court rules against MBA student seeking tuition tax break Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 12:45 PM PST By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Tax Court has dealt a setback to young MBA students with little work experience who try to claim their tuition costs as a tax-deductible business expense, lawyers and accountants said on Thursday. In a ruling on Monday, a Tax Court judge denied Adam Hart of Florida, who was studying for a Master of Business Administration degree in finance, a $17,138 tax deduction he claimed for his tuition costs in 2009. "There is no evidence in the record that (the) petitioner was carrying on a trade or business before he enrolled in the MBA program," wrote Tax Court Judge Kathleen Kerrigan. Full Story | Top |
| Accused Los Angeles airport gunman pleads not guilty Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 12:44 PM PST  By Dana Feldman RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California (Reuters) - The man accused of killing a federal security screener and wounding three other people at Los Angeles International Airport, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of murder and attempted murder. This was the second court appearance for Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, in connection with the November 1 shooting spree that left him critically wounded after a gunfight with police. Ciancia, who had a bandage on his neck, spoke softly in a hoarse voice during the arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all charges in an 11-count federal indictment against him. Ciancia is accused of walking into Terminal 3 at the airport, removing a semi-automatic rifle from a bag and opening fire on an unarmed Transportation Security Administration officer standing at the entrance to a security checkpoint. Full Story | Top |
| Protesting Turkish prosecutor piles pressure on PM Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:56 AM PST  By Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish prosecutor accused police on Thursday of obstructing his pursuit of a high-level graft case, adding to public scrutiny of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government as it hunkered down defiantly. Three ministers had resigned after their sons were among dozens of people detained on December 17 as part of the probe into corrupt procurement practices, which has exposed Turkey's deep institutional divisions and left the pugnacious premier facing arguably the biggest crisis of his 11 years in power. The new interior minister, Efkan Ala, will be in charge of Turkey's domestic security and is considered especially close to Erdogan, who called the secretive investigation a foreign-orchestrated plot without legal merit and responded by sacking or reassigning some 70 of the police officers involved. In allegations disseminated to Turkish media in writing, prosecutor Muammer Akkas said he had also been removed from the case, which he described as compromised by police who had refused to comply with his orders to arrest more suspects. Full Story | Top |
| Empire State Building IPO hurt investors, lawsuit claims Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:46 AM PST  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in the Empire State Building have filed a lawsuit accusing the real estate magnates who took it public of short-changing them $300 million by refusing to sell the iconic skyscraper at a premium price. According to a complaint filed on Tuesday in a New York state court in Manhattan, Peter Malkin and his son Anthony put their own interests ahead of the building's investors by spurning all-cash offers of as much as $2.3 billion for the building and $1.4 billion for Empire State Building Associates LLC, which held the title and master lease. Instead, the Malkins put the landmark building and 17 other properties into Empire State Realty Trust Inc , whose October 1 IPO valued the property at just $1.89 billion and ESBA at just $1.1 billion, according to the complaint. The lawsuit by plaintiff Marc Postelnek seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 2,800 investors who hold shares in ESBA, which was created in 1961 and was supervised by a Malkin company, Malkin Holdings LLC. It claimed the Malkins acted in bad faith by aborting a "bidding war" for the building, and instead enriched themselves by hundreds of millions of dollars through an IPO. Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan police seek youths over Christmas Day church burnings Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:43 AM PST By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Youths threw petrol bombs at two Kenyan churches on Christmas day, police said on Thursday, in the latest bout of violence against Christians on the country's predominantly Muslim coast. Police and witnesses said the churches on the edge of port city of Mombasa were attacked in the early hours of December 25 after churchgoers held services to usher in Christmas. Police had no suspects but were exploring the possibility that the attacks may have been launched by Muslim militants or by supporters of the Mombasa Republican Council (MRC), an illegal movement that wants the coastal region to secede from Kenya. Many Muslims on the Indian Ocean coastline feel marginalized by Kenya's predominantly Christian government and the historically cordial relations between the two communities have suffered strains in recent years. Full Story | Top |
| Protesting theatre director rams French palace gate Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:35 AM PST A theatre director rammed a car into the rear gate of the French presidential palace on Thursday in protest over cuts in government funding for the arts, police and state officials said. The 67-year-old Italian national was arrested as he attempted to force his way through the 19th century Grille du Coq, or Rooster Gate, which leads into the gardens of the Elysee palace. He was protesting against cuts in subsidies to his small Parisian theatre, the Italian Comedy, a police source said, adding that the man was slightly injured in the collision and was being held in custody at a Parisian hospital. Socialist President Francois Hollande has cut into France's traditionally generous culture budget as part of his efforts to reduce the budget deficit. Full Story | Top |
| After early Boxing Day rush, UK shopper numbers flat on last year Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:33 AM PST  After an initial rush to British retail stores for the Boxing Day sales on Thursday, only 0.5 percent more shoppers showed up than last year, final figures from retail data company Springboard showed. Many shops started Britain's traditional "January sales" online on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to meet increasing demand for earlier and deeper discounting. Department store John Lewis reported record sales for the week before Christmas on Thursday and said that for the first time it expected most British shoppers to use smartphones rather than desktop computers to make online purchases. The retailer also said that on Christmas Day, three in four shoppers used their smartphones or tablets rather than traditional desktops to shop on its site. Full Story | Top |
| Tribesmen seize oil ministry building in east Yemen Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:23 AM PST Tribesmen seized an oil ministry building in Yemen's eastern Hadramout province on Thursday and exchanged gunfire with a pro-government tribe seeking to regain control of the premises, tribal sources and ministry employees said. Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, is struggling to restore state authority after long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to step down in 2011. The authorities face regular challenges from tribesmen who attack oil pipelines and power lines for reasons including demands for more employment and the release of jailed relatives. Sources said the building was under the control of al-Kathiry tribe who had told the oil ministry workers to leave. Full Story | Top |
| First Greenpeace activist leaves Russia Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 10:35 AM PST  The first of 30 Greenpeace activists arrested after a protest over Arctic oil drilling has left Russia, the environmental group said on Thursday, with all expected to get clearance to leave Russia by Friday. Soviet-born Swedish activist Dima Litvinov crossed the Finnish border after receiving an exit stamp in his passport. Thirteen others have also received the stamp which allows them to leave, Greenpeace said, with rest of the "Arctic 30" expected to go through the process on Friday. "I'm leaving Russia feeling like we won something here." Russia's treatment of the 30 activists from 18 countries - who spent two months in detention and faced hooliganism charges punishable by seven years in jail - had drawn heavy criticism from Western nations and celebrities. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. hopes for South Sudan reinforcements within 48 hours Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 10:33 AM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Thursday said it hopes to begin receiving within the next 48 hours critical reinforcements of military hardware and personnel for its overstretched peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, which is on the verge of civil war. Hilde Johnson, head of the U.N. mission in South Sudan, known as UNMISS, told reporters that some 50,000 civilians were seeking protection at U.N. bases across Africa's youngest country, which gained independence from Khartoum in 2011. "We are working around the clock to get assets in that can assist us in the current crisis as quickly as ever possible, and we have had conversations with other (U.N.) missions today," she told reporters by video link from Juba. U.N. officials have said that the South Sudan peacekeeping mission needs transport helicopters and planes, as well as troops. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan rebels capture some oil wells in Unity state: Minister Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 10:33 AM PST JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan rebels loyal to former vice president Riek Machar have captured some oil wells in Unity state where production was shut down earlier this week due to fighting, the petroleum ministry told Reuters on Thursday. "Some oil wells are in the hands of rebel soldiers loyal to former vice president Riek Machar and we fear they may cause damage to the facilities and the environment," Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's Abe visits shrine for war dead, China, South Korea angered Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 10:23 AM PST By Antoni Slodkowski and Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a shrine on Thursday that is seen by critics as a symbol of Tokyo's wartime aggression, infuriating China and South Korea and prompting concern from the United States about deteriorating ties between the North Asian neighbors. China and South Korea have repeatedly expressed anger in the past over Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese leaders convicted as war criminals by an Allied tribunal after World War Two are honored along with those who died in battle. The two countries have been especially touchy about visits to the shrine by serving Japanese prime ministers, and Abe is the first leader in office to pay homage at Yasukuni in the past seven years. Business ties between China and Japan, the world's second- and third-largest economies, have improved after a downturn sparked by a flare-up last year in a row over tiny East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jobless claims fall, holiday retail sales rise Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 10:00 AM PST  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest level in nearly a month, a hopeful sign for the labor market, while holiday retail sales rose in November and December. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits decreased 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 338,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. While the holiday season has made recent claims data so volatile it has been difficult to interpret, Thursday's report showed claims continue in a range that supports expectations for faster economic growth next year. "With labor markets on the mend and consumer confidence on the rise, we look for broader economic improvement to continue pushing claims (lower)," said Gennadiy Goldberg, an analyst at TD Securities in New York. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. experts urge U.S., Yemen to explain erroneous drone strikes Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 09:54 AM PST United Nations human rights experts told the United States and Yemen on Thursday to say whether they were complicit in drone attacks that mistakenly killed civilians in wedding processions this month. The independent experts questioned the legitimacy of drone attacks under international law and said the governments should reveal what targeting procedures were used. Local security officials said on December 12 that 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen were killed in an air strike after their party was mistaken for an al Qaeda convoy. The officials did not identify the plane in the strike in central al-Bayda province, but tribal and local media sources said that it was a drone. Full Story | Top |
| China celebrates Mao's birthday, but events scaled back Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 09:04 AM PST  By Ben Blanchard and Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - China celebrated the 120th birthday of Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, on Thursday, but with scaled-back festivities as President Xi Jinping embarks on broad economic reforms that have unsettled leftists. Mao has become a potent symbol for leftists within the ruling Communist Party who feel that three decades of market-based reform have gone too far, creating social inequalities like a yawning rich-poor gap and pervasive corruption. While all seven members of the party's elite inner core, the Politburo Standing Committee, visited Mao's mausoleum on Tiananmen Square, other activities nationwide were toned down. The state-run Xinhua news agency said that the leaders, including Xi, bowed three times in front of a statue of Mao and payed their respects to his embalmed body, "recalling Comrade Mao Zedong's great achievements." Xi said Mao was a great person who stuck to his beliefs and won the love and respect of the people but who also made "serious mistakes" like the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, Xinhua reported. Full Story | Top |
| Boxing Day shoppers up 8 percent as Britain begins annual bargain hunt Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 08:54 AM PST  Britons were out in force for the Boxing Day sales with 8 percent more shoppers than last year, despite heavy rainfall that left parts of the country under water and without power, figures from retail data company Springboard showed on Thursday. Shopping centres saw a 22 percent rise in the number of bargain-hunters coming through their doors, while high street stores saw 3.4 percent more shoppers as of 10am, the data showed. Many shops started Britain's traditional "January sales" online on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day as British shoppers increasingly demand earlier and deeper discounting. Britain's economy has been growing robustly and unemployment has fallen steadily but many Britons still face a squeeze in living standards due to stagnating wages and rising utility bills. Full Story | Top |
| Accused Los Angeles airport gunman to enter plea Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 08:45 AM PST  The man accused of opening fire at Los Angeles International Airport and killing a federal security screener and wounding three other people is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to charges of murder and attempted murder of federal officers. This is the second court appearance for Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, in connection with the November 1 shooting spree. On December 4, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bristow ordered Ciancia held without bond after finding he posed a danger to the community and represented a potential flight risk. Ciancia did not enter a plea at that hearing. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt arrests dozens under new anti-terror law Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 08:44 AM PST  By Tom Perry and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt increased pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday, detaining at least 38 of its supporters on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization the day after it was declared one by the government, security officials said. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief who led the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July, said the country would be "steadfast" in the face of terrorism, after a small bomb went off in Cairo, wounding five people. The government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group on Wednesday in response to a suicide attack a day earlier that killed 16 people in the Nile Delta, accusing the group of carrying out the bombing. The Brotherhood, which claims up to 1 million members, condemned the attack. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: As Fed tapers, don't count out emerging market currencies Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 08:40 AM PST  By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - When the Federal Reserve first started talking about cutting its massive stimulus earlier this year, emerging-market currencies went into a tailspin. Throughout the summer, while U.S. equities held relatively steady, riskier foreign markets were crushed, and their currencies battered by talk of a Fed pullback. Now, many investors are convinced the Fed's tapering won't cause that kind of market volatility again, and U.S. rates won't spike, just rise slowly. If that's the case, investors will be emboldened to move back into emerging currencies. Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Egyptian activists start hunger strike in prison Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 08:13 AM PST Three jailed Egyptian political activists have started a hunger strike against what they describe as mistreatment in prison, said a statement on the website of the April 6 protest movement that two of them belonged to. A court this month gave three-year jail sentences to Ahmed Maher, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Douma, symbols of the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, for protesting without permission and assaulting police. The statement on the April 6 website said they started the hunger strike on Wednesday, having been denied winter clothes and subjected to psychological abuse by prison staff. Douma, a prominent blogger, was previously detained in a separate case under ousted President Mohamed Mursi for calling him a criminal and inciting violence. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish official says graft prosecutor removed for mishandling case Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 07:41 AM PST ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish prosecutor who went public on Thursday with allegations of police obstruction in a high-level corruption case had himself mishandled the proceedings and was therefore removed, his superior said. Turhan Colakkadi, Istanbul's chief prosecutor, told reporters Muammer Akkas had leaked information to the media and had not given superiors timely updates on the case as required. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. regulator fines Barclays over decade of records failures Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 07:39 AM PST  Barclays Plc has been fined $3.75 million by a U.S. regulator over its alleged decade-long failure to properly keep electronic records, emails and instant messages. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Thursday said that from 2002 to April 2012, Barclays failed to preserve order data, trade confirmations, account records and other information in a format that prevented their alteration or erasure, known as "Write-Once, Read-Many" or "WORM." It also said Barclays failed to properly retain attachments to some Bloomberg emails from May 2007 to May 2010, and failed to properly retain about 3.3 million Bloomberg instant messages from October 2008 to May 2010. FINRA said that once Barclays' system encountered an attachment to an instant message that it had processed earlier on a given day, it would stop accepting instant messages for that day. Barclays did not admit or deny wrongdoing but agreed to a censure and the entry of FINRA's findings. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. rights boss urges Thailand to drop defamation charges Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 07:36 AM PST The top U.N. human rights official urged Thailand on Thursday to drop criminal charges against two journalists accused of defamation for citing a Reuters investigation into the role of Thai naval security forces in smuggling Rohingya asylum seekers. A Reuters investigation, based on interviews with people smugglers and more than two dozen survivors of boat voyages, revealed in July how some Thai naval security forces work systematically with smugglers to profit from the surge in Rohingya fleeing Myanmar to escape religious persecution. Thailand's navy denied the Reuters report, which was published in July. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay voiced concern on Thursday that two Phuket-based journalists, editor Alan Morison and reporter Chutima Sidasathian, have been charged with defamation and breaching the Computer Crimes Act for quoting the Reuters article. Full Story | Top |
| Inside Germany's campaign to free Khodorkovsky Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 07:29 AM PST  By Michelle Martin and Lidia Kelly BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) - One spring day in 2011 five people gathered around a small table at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin and hatched the beginnings of a plan to get former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky out of prison. Seated in a corridor of the five-star hotel's lobby, former German foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and his advisor Alexander Rahr put their heads together with Khodorkovsky's lawyers and Alexandra Hildebrandt, head of a Berlin Wall museum. They decided Genscher, who was trusted by the Germans, supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel and well known to the Russians, in part due to the role he played in negotiations on German reunification, would launch a behind-the-scenes diplomatic offensive. It was the start of a concerted German effort that reached from Genscher to the top of the Chancellery, to apply pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Khodorkovsky, who had been jailed in 2003 on fraud and tax evasion charges but who was considered by many in the West to be a political prisoner. Full Story | Top |
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