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| Special Report: Thailand secretly supplies Myanmar refugees to trafficking rings Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 04:50 PM PST  By Jason Szep and Andrew R.C. Marshall RANONG, Thailand (Reuters) - One afternoon in October, in the watery no-man's land between Thailand and Myanmar, Muhammad Ismail vanished. Thai immigration officials said he was being deported to Myanmar. In fact, they sold Ismail, 23, and hundreds of other Rohingya Muslims to human traffickers, who then spirited them into brutal jungle camps. As thousands of Rohingya flee Myanmar to escape religious persecution, a Reuters investigation in three countries has uncovered a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thailand's immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea. Full Story | Top |
| German minister snubs Ukraine leaders on Kiev visit Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 03:29 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Thomas Grove KIEV (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister met Ukrainian opposition leaders at their protest camp in Kiev on Wednesday, in a snub to President Viktor Yanukovich, who triggered mass street demonstrations by spurning a pact with the EU and seeking closer ties with Moscow. As pro-EU demonstrators packed the main square, the crisis took a further toll on Ukraine's fragile economy, with the central bank forced to support the currency and the cost of insuring the country's debt against default rising further. Tension was high in the capital as protesters confronted ranks of black-helmeted riot police in front of the main presidential offices and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov accused the opposition of trying to provoke violence. Ukrainian officials went to Moscow in search of aid to avoid a financial meltdown, while Yanukovich is in China, also seeking economic assistance. Full Story | Top |
| Biden says China's airspace zone has caused apprehension Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:23 PM PST  By Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea has caused "significant" unease in the region, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday, adding he had stated Washington's firm objection to the move during talks in Beijing. Biden had around five hours of discussions with President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, with both leaders laying out their perspective on an issue that has rattled East Asia. The zone, two thirds the size of Britain, covers an area that includes islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Japan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Newtown massacre recordings reveal calm, anguish and gunshots Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 03:24 PM PST  By Edith Honan DANBURY, Connecticut (Reuters) - A teacher calmly explains she has been shot in the foot. Officials in Newtown, Connecticut, on Wednesday released audio recordings of emergency 911 phone calls from the Connecticut school shooting that killed 20 children and six educators almost a year ago, revealing raw emotion in the voice of the callers. The audio files may be the final pieces of evidence released about the tragedy that rocked the United States on December 14, 2012, when gunman Adam Lanza, 20, shot dead his mother at home and then went to Sandy Hook Elementary school, where he massacred 26 people before killing himself. In the final seconds, she grows more insistent, pleading with the 911 operator for help. Full Story | Top |
| Objectors in Detroit bankruptcy ask to appeal directly to circuit court Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 07:49 PM PST  Organizations that objected to Detroit's bankruptcy separately asked the U.S. judge overseeing the case late on Wednesday to allow an appeal of the case to go directly to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Groups led by Detroit's largest union - Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - and the city's two pension funds filed requests with the bankruptcy court to bypass the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and go directly to the appeals court. Full Story | Top |
| After health law woes, Obama returns focus on middle class, poor Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 02:59 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to recover from the bungled rollout of his healthcare reforms, President Barack Obama went back to basics on Wednesday with a renewed focus on government policies that benefit the struggling poor and middle classes. With his job approval ratings sinking, Obama sought to promote some of the ideals he has championed throughout his presidency. "We have to relentlessly push a growth agenda," Obama told a supportive crowd at a community center in one of the capital's poorest neighborhoods. "A relentlessly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit." He challenged Republicans in Congress to do more than say 'no' to initiatives including raising the minimum wage or expanding health coverage: offer alternatives and set aside a preoccupation with cutting government spending. Full Story | Top |
| Billionaire investor Icahn steps up pressure on Apple Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 01:59 PM PST  Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said on Wednesday that he has filed a shareholder proposal with Apple for a much smaller stock buyback plan than he has advocated previously, as he continued to pressure Apple to share more of its cash pile. "Gave $AAPL notice we'll be making a precatory proposal to call for vote to increase buyback program, although not at $150 billion level," Icahn said in a tweet. CNBC said Icahn's plan calls for a $50 billion buyback program. Icahn had been urging Apple to buy back $150 billion worth of shares. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy agency gathers data on cellphone locations globally: report Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 03:27 PM PST  The National Security Agency gathers nearly 5 billion records a day on the location of mobile telephones worldwide, including those of some Americans, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources including documents obtained by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The records feed a database that stores information about the locations of "at least hundreds of millions of devices," the newspaper said, according to the top-secret documents and interviews with intelligence officials. The report said the NSA does not target Americans' location data intentionally, but acquires a substantial amount of information on the whereabouts of domestic cellular telephones "incidentally." One manager told the newspaper the NSA obtained "vast volumes" of location data by tapping into the cables that connect mobile networks globally and that serve U.S. cellphones as well as foreign ones. Full Story | Top |
| Delaying security deal a risk to Afghan forces: U.S. military chief Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 03:37 PM PST  By Phil Stewart and Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military could wait months for a political decision on whether troops stay or leave Afghanistan, but delaying a security pact would damage the confidence of Afghan forces and undermine NATO's plans, the top U.S. military officer said on Wednesday. The comments by General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, came amid an impasse over the security pact, which would allow American troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the end of 2014. President Barack Obama's administration has said the pact needs to be signed this year, despite resistance from Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has suggested the deal might not be concluded before presidential elections in April 2014. Full Story | Top |
| Thaksin's homecoming hopes dashed as Thai crisis reignites Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 01:03 PM PST  By Martin Petty BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's political future is cloudier than ever, but one thing is for certain - self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra won't be coming home soon. The chances of another round of political conflict seemed slim a few months ago as the government of Thaksin's sister, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, entered its third year in office after a fairly smooth ride, much to do with outwardly cordial ties with her brother's enemies, among them generals, royal advisers and opposition politicians. Having fled into exile to avoid a jail sentence for graft in 2008, Thaksin had hoped the climate was ripe for him to try to return. Protesters have marched for weeks in Bangkok streets, clashing with riot police and vowing to overthrow the "Thaksin regime" and replace it with "good people", effectively suspending Thailand's democratic system. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. seeks to better understand Syria Islamists Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 02:00 PM PST  The United States sees value in getting to know Islamist militias in Syria, in order to better understand their intentions in the civil war there and their possible links with al Qaeda, the top U.S. military officer said on Wednesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, did not say directly whether the United States is holding face-to-face talks with Islamist rebel groups. "So I think that finding that out, however we do so, is worth the effort." The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the United States and other countries have held direct discussions with certain Islamist groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil conflict. Also on Wednesday, a commander of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah who fought in Syria was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon. Full Story | Top |
| Biden calls for trust with China amid airspace dispute Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 03:06 PM PST By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, visiting China as a dispute over a new Chinese air defense zone rattles nerves around the region, said on Wednesday that relations between Washington and Beijing had to be based on trust. Beijing's decision to declare an air defense identification zone in an area that includes disputed islands has triggered protests from the United States, Japan and South Korea, and dominated Biden's talks in Tokyo on Tuesday. The United States has made clear it will stand by treaty obligations that require it to defend the Japanese-controlled islands, but it is also reluctant to get dragged into any military clash between rivals Japan and China. Full Story | Top |
| Attack on intelligence HQ in northern Iraq kills six Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 10:53 AM PST  Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a police intelligence headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more, a health official said. Hospitals in the city, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, counted six people killed and 47 wounded, said Sabah Amir Ahmed, head of the health directorate in Kirkuk. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to al Qaeda have regularly hit targets linked to the Shi'ite-led government and security services since the start of 2013. Areas around Kirkuk are strongholds of al Qaeda, according to security officials. Full Story | Top |
| Upbeat U.S. data points to growth momentum Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 12:18 PM PST  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. private-sector hiring rose in November at the fastest clip in a year, opening the door wider for the Federal Reserve to start trimming its bond purchases within the next few months. Other data on Wednesday also pointed to a brightening outlook, with the services industry expanding at a decent pace last month and exports hitting a record high in October. There was also good news on the housing market as new home sales posted their largest increase in nearly 33-1/2 years. "The economy seems to be building enough momentum that growth should accelerate as we move through the first part of next year," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisers in Holland, Pennsylvania. Full Story | Top |
| Rocket fire kills 17 in Syrian city of Aleppo Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:13 AM PST Rockets fired into a government-controlled district of Aleppo killed at least 17 people in the northern Syrian city on Wednesday, state media and a monitoring group said. Photographs from the incident in Meridien and Furqan, two adjacent neighborhoods in western Aleppo, showed pools of blood on the pavements and a crater in the road where one of the rockets appeared to have landed. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the casualties included nine civilians and five members of President Bashar al-Assad's security forces. Assad's forces have gained ground to the southwest of Aleppo and carried out air strikes, dropping improvised barrel bombs from helicopters on the town of al-Bab to the northeast. Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah says commander killed in Beirut, blames Israel Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 01:23 PM PST  By Laila Bassam and Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in a killing which the militant Shi'ite Muslim group blamed on Israel. Hassan al-Laqqis was shot in the head from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath district of Beirut, a source close to Hezbollah said. Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006, denied any role in the shooting and hinted that the motive may have been Hezbollah's military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war with Sunni Muslim rebels. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare uncertainty harming economic rebound, CEOs say Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 11:22 AM PST  Uncertain corporate costs for President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law and other regulations continue to stymie U.S. employment and capital spending, business leaders said on Wednesday. Roughly 39 percent of U.S. chief executives cited regulatory costs as their top concern for the next six months, according to a survey released by the Business Roundtable, a confederation of top U.S. companies. The group said uneven implementation of the healthcare law, commonly known as Obamacare, has made it tough for businesses to decide where to allocate capital for new construction or hiring. "There seems to be an exception every other day on the Affordable Care Act," Jim McNerney, head of the Business Roundtable and chief executive of airplane maker Boeing Co, said in a conference call on Wednesday, using the law's formal name. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil delays vote on anti-spying Internet bill -lawmaker Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 09:16 AM PST  A vote on a bill that would force Internet giants like Google and Facebook to keep Brazilians' information inside the country will be delayed until next year over disagreements about its content, a senior lawmaker told Reuters on Wednesday. The bill would give President Dilma Rousseff powers to order Internet companies to store users' data in local servers, a move seen as response to allegations that the United States spied on her communications and that of thousands of regular Brazilians. The delay is a temporary relief for Google and Facebook, which oppose a requirement they say would increase costs and erect unnecessary barriers in one of the world's largest Internet markets. The postponement of the vote stems from disagreements among government allies in Congress over the requirement and a "neutrality" clause that bars telecom companies from charging different rates for Internet speed. Full Story | Top |
| More Obamacare enrollees in two days than all of October: sources Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 11:52 AM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More people signed up on the government's new health insurance website on the first two days of December than in the entire first month of the launch of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, sources familiar with the numbers said on Wednesday. Obama's administration has been criticized by Republican opponents for not regularly disclosing figures over political concerns. The improved enrollment figures provide the first evidence that a five-week emergency effort by the administration to fix HealthCare.gov was allowing more people to sign up for insurance in 36 states served by the website. Full Story | Top |
| Most youth unhappy with Obama's job performance: poll Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:51 AM PST  By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) - Young Americans are unhappy with virtually every major thing President Barack Obama has done since he was re-elected, but they would still vote for him today, according to the results of a Harvard University survey released on Wednesday. This increasingly influential demographic known as the "millennial generation" has been a traditional base of Obama's support. Still, disapproval ratings were higher for both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. And a plurality of respondents, 46 percent, said they would still vote for Obama for president if they could recast their 2012 ballots, compared with 35 percent who said they would vote for the then-Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande offers Africa new aid and trade ties Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 09:33 AM PST  President Francois Hollande told African leaders on Wednesday France was ready to double its aid and trade to the continent over the next five years. The target, announced at a conference in Paris ahead of the formal opening on Friday of the annual Africa-France summit, is part of an effort by France to win back African business in the face of growing rivalry from China and others. "Africa's time has come - and France should see that as an opportunity," Hollande told the conference. "The road between France and Africa is not a one-way street," he told assembled leaders such as Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara. Full Story | Top |
| In Honduras slum, acid test for new leader's drug gang battle Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 09:03 AM PST  By Gabriel Stargardter TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - A sprawling, well-kept cemetery buttresses the entrance to Nueva Capital, a sketchy Honduran slum with panoramic views over Tegucigalpa, the capital city of this violent country with the world's highest murder rate. Like many of the drug-scarred shanties that creep up the hills surrounding Tegucigalpa, Nueva Capital is a testing ground for the militarized gang-fighting policies of Juan Hernandez, Honduras' president-elect. Gang culture is rife in the main cities of Honduras. First formed in the 1980s in the United States by Central American immigrants, the "Calle 18" and "Mara Salvatrucha" gangs, or "maras," later blossomed into international franchises as members were deported back to their home countries. Full Story | Top |
| UK major threw laptop with sensitive Iraq photos from ferry Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:54 AM PST  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A British army major disposed of a computer that contained original photographs of the bodies of Iraqis killed in disputed circumstances by throwing it into the sea from a ferry, a public inquiry heard on Wednesday. James Rands was appearing as a witness at the Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations that British troops executed and tortured Iraqis in the aftermath of a battle near the town of Majar al-Kabir in southern Iraq on May 14, 2004. Rands took photos of the bodies which are now key items of evidence in the inquiry. That act has become a sensitive issue because British lawyers for the Iraqis making the allegations have suggested that he got rid of the laptop to conceal that he had modified the original files to change the timing of the photos. Full Story | Top |
| Palestinian peace envoy urges Kerry to "save talks" with Israel Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 06:44 AM PST  The top Palestinian peace negotiator urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday to salvage American-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that both sides say are faltering. Sixteen Palestinians and four Israelis have been killed since negotiations began in July and Palestinian officials say the sides remain far apart on the central issues of borders, security, Jerusalem's status and Palestinian refugees. "Mr. Kerry must work to save the talks, to work to stop the deterioration of the talks caused by Israel's continuing settlement activity and crimes committed in cold blood," Saeb Erekat told Palestinian radio. For its part, Israel has accused Palestinian leaders of engaging in anti-Israel incitement and hampering talks by refusing to recognize the country as a "Jewish state." Palestinians have objected to continued Jewish settlement expansion on occupied land they want as part of a future state. Full Story | Top |
| EU, Turkey take step towards visa-free travel Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:51 AM PST  The European Union took steps on Wednesday towards lifting visa requirements for Turkish citizens, in a move underscoring a new thaw in relations between Ankara and the 28-member bloc. The two sides agreed to sign an agreement allowing EU governments to send back illegal immigrants crossing into Europe from Turkey. Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, lies on a major route for illegal migration into Europe from Africa and the Middle East. But talks on the "readmission agreement" to send back illegal immigrants have been stalled for years, largely due to Turkish distrust over the EU's willingness to ease visa rules. Full Story | Top |
| Local election gains boost Mozambique's MDM opposition party Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 08:20 AM PST  By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - The opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) has won three of the nation's four largest cities in local elections, emerging as a credible challenger to the ruling Frelimo party for presidential and parliamentary polls due next year. Besides retaining the mayorships of the ports of Beira and Quelimane in the November 20 municipal vote, MDM gained control of the northern city of Nampula in a re-run on Sunday, held following ballot errors in last month's polling. The results confirm MDM's growing support while President Armando Guebuza's Frelimo grapples with security and governance problems, as well as public frustration at slim pickings from a foreign mining investment boom that has made Mozambique one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. In a public statement late on Tuesday, Frelimo conceded victory to the MDM candidate in Nampula, Mahamudo Amurane. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan ministers will not sign US pact unless demands met: Karzai Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 07:35 AM PST By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai will not allow any of his ministers to sign a security pact with the United States unless key demands are met, the president's spokesman said on Wednesday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the bilateral security agreement (BSA) could be signed by Karzai's defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, effectively circumventing Karzai. But Karzai's spokesman Aimal Faizi said the president remained committed to his two main demands. "President Karzai wants an absolute end to the military operations on Afghan homes and a meaningful start to the peace process, and we are certain that the Americans can practically do that within days or weeks," Faizi said. Full Story | Top |
| Thai government says protest leader must surrender, no talks Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 02:42 AM PST By Pairat Temphairojana and Jutarat Skulpichetrat BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government said on Wednesday the leader of violent protests aimed at ousting the prime minister should surrender and face charges against him, including insurrection, ruling out further talks until he did so. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister, has dismissed the charges and vowed to press on with the protests after a pause out of respect for the 86th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Thursday. The protests are the latest eruption of a conflict that pits the Bangkok-based royalist establishment against mostly poorer Thais loyal to Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled by the military in 2006 and lives in self-imposed exile. Suthep, 64, a silver-haired politician from Thailand's south who resigned as a lawmaker for the pro-establishment Democrat Party to lead the protests, wants a vaguely defined "people's council" to replace the government. Full Story | Top |
| Iran eyes better ties with UAE after nuclear deal with West Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 05:50 AM PST  Iran's foreign minister went to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday hoping to improve relations with the U.S. ally after Tehran's deal with world powers under which it is to curb its disputed nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief. Across the Gulf from Iran and home to tens of thousands of Iranians, the UAE stands to benefit directly from any easing of sanctions under the nuclear deal that have dampened regional trade since they were imposed in late 2011. The UAE was Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's latest stop in a regional tour aimed at easing concerns among Iran's Gulf Arab neighbors about a potential resurgence in its influence following the November 24 deal. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. trade deficit narrows as exports hit record high Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 05:34 AM PST  The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October as exports hit a record high, pointing to a pick-up in global demand that should help to support domestic growth in the fourth quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $40.0 billion in October. The three-month moving average of the trade deficit, which irons out month-to- month volatility, inched up to $40.9 billion in the three months to October from $40.2 billion in the prior period. Petroleum exports were the highest on record in October. Full Story | Top |
| Mali, Tuaregs fault France on failing peace talks Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 07:18 AM PST  By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - Mali's government and Tuareg separatists both accused France on Wednesday of not doing enough to resolve the political crisis, underscoring the difficulties Paris has in disengaging itself from its former colony. After winning adulation across Mali for a 5-month military offensive earlier this year that scattered al Qaeda fighters, France is caught in a tug of war between the government in Bamako and rebels demanding some form of autonomy based at Kidal in the north. Mali's interim government signed a peace agreement with Tuareg representatives in mid-June, allowing national elections to take place. Full Story | Top |
| North Korean leader's ousted uncle alive and safe: South Korean minister Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 12:50 AM PST  The uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive and appears to be safe, South Korea's unification minister said on Wednesday, a day after the South's National Intelligence Service said he had been removed from two powerful positions. Jang Song Thaek, considered the second-most powerful man in the impoverished, reclusive North, was last seen in public in early November at a basketball match between North Korean and Japanese teams in Pyongyang. "I understand that Jang Song Thaek is not in any physical danger," Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told lawmakers gathered at an emergency sub-committee meeting in Seoul. Jang's wife, Kim Kyong Hui, also appeared to be safe, Ryoo added, but he declined to comment further. Full Story | Top |
| Biden says relations with China must be built on trust Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 02:56 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday that relations between the two countries must be built on trust. Biden, speaking in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, added that Xi is a candid person, and that candor generates trust which is the basis for real change. His visit comes as Beijing's decision to declare an air defense identification zone in an area that includes disputed islands has triggered protests from the United States, Japan and South Korea. The issue dominated Biden's talks in Tokyo on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| France vs U.S. in a tale of two layoffs Wednesday, Dec 04, 2013 02:32 AM PST  (This accompanies a Special Report on PSA Peugeot Citroen: http://link.reuters.com/ref25v) By Nicholas Vinocur and Bernie Woodall PARIS/DETROIT (Reuters) - Five years after Jeffrey Hand took a $100,000 buyout to leave Ford Motors, the U.S. auto industry has surged back to profit and is once again hiring. Across the Atlantic, father-of-three Hassan Chnaiti took a buyout from French carmaker Peugeot earlier this year, as it prepared to close his plant near Paris. But having pocketed his severance pay, he will soon start work as a public bus driver, thanks to a job placement scheme funded by his former employer. And both men accepted buyouts to leave a company they referred to as their "family." But the differences between their stories - some of them unexpected - highlight fundamental contrasts between running a business in the United States and France. Full Story | Top |
| Driver in fatal New York train crash 'zoned out': union Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 09:15 PM PST  By Chris Francescani , Mark Hosenball and Curtis Skinner (Reuters) - The driver of a New York commuter train that derailed on Sunday, killing four people, told federal investigators he "zoned out" shortly before the crash, the driver's labor union leader said. The driver, William Rockefeller, 46, applied the brakes five seconds before it derailed. The crash also critically injured 11 people and snarled travel for the roughly 26,000 regular commuters on the Metro-North Hudson line that serves suburbs north of New York City. On Tuesday, Rockefeller told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that "he nodded. Full Story | Top |
| Smuggling cartels, militants hinder revival of Somali port Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 10:07 PM PST  By Drazen Jorgic KISMAYU, Somalia (Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked militants, drug smugglers and shadowy criminal networks stand in the way of the Somali federal government's hopes of hiring a foreign firm to manage the lucrative but run-down southern port of Kismayu. One of only three deep-water ports in Somalia, Kismayu's proximity to northern Kenya and Ethiopia has for decades made it integral to a thriving business smuggling arms, sugar and increasingly narcotics across porous east African borders. Foreign powers trying to curb militant Islam in Somalia fret about the money-spinning charcoal trade that remains a big earner for the Islamist group al Shabaab. Rehabilitating the port is not only essential for generating new state revenues and creating jobs for former Islamist fighters, it is also vital to cutting off a steady flow of cash to al Shabaab, which showcased its threat to regional stability with September's bloody attack on a Nairobi mall. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine ministers beat street blockade, ready for cabinet meeting: spokesman Tuesday, Dec 03, 2013 11:40 PM PST  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian ministers reached the main government headquarters in Kiev on Wednesday despite attempts by protesters to block their way and were preparing to hold a regular cabinet meeting, the government press service said. Thousands of protesters, demonstrating against the government's policy U-turn away from Europe, earlier this week stopped employees reaching their offices at the main government buildings. But on Wednesday police sealed off streets to the protesters using requisitioned buses and allowed ministers to get through to the cabinet meeting. ... Full Story | Top |
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