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| Kerry: U.S. must pursue Iran talks before considering going to war Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 08:03 PM PST  The United States has an obligation to pursue nuclear negotiations with Iran before it considers going to war with Tehran to force it to give up its nuclear activities, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. "We took the initiative and led the effort to try to figure out if before we go to war there actually might be a peaceful solution," Kerry told a group of reporters. Iran reached a landmark preliminary agreement with six world powers, including the United States, in November to halt its most sensitive nuclear operations, winning some relief from economic sanctions in return. U.S. President Barack Obama, like his predecessors, has said that all options are on the table with regard to Iran's nuclear program, using diplomatic code for the possibility of military action. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Attorney subpoenaed Mt. Gox, other bitcoin businesses: source Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 08:00 PM PST  By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has sent subpoenas to Mt. Gox, other bitcoin exchanges, and businesses that deal in bitcoin to seek information on how they handled recent cyber attacks, a source familiar with the probe said on Wednesday. At least three exchanges were forced to halt withdrawals of bitcoins on February 7, including Mt. Gox, which was the largest at the time. Mt. Gox never resumed service before going dormant on Tuesday, leaving customers unable to recover their funds. "As there is a lot of speculation regarding Mt Gox and its future, I would like to use this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am still in Japan, and working very hard with the support of different parties to find a solution to our recent issues," Karpeles said in a statement posted on the Mt. Gox website. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit mayor promises more jobs, less blight for bankrupt city Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:44 PM PST  By Rachel Jackson DETROIT (Reuters) - Nearly two months into his tenure as Detroit mayor, Mike Duggan outlined a plan for adding jobs and removing abandoned buildings in the bankrupt city during his first state of the city address Wednesday night. The mayor's speech came just days after a state-appointed emergency manager filed his roadmap in federal court for dealing with the city's debt and investing in its future. Duggan, seeking to find an agenda of his own while operating in the shadow of Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, is doing what he can with the bankrupt city's limited resources to make headway on some of its most visible problems: decreasing urban blight and creating safe neighborhoods. Full Story | Top |
| Green group fights sand dump permit near Australia's Barrier Reef Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:40 PM PST Environmentalists launched an appeal on Thursday to overturn a permit granted for an Australian coal port to dump millions of cubic meters of sand near the Great Barrier Reef, arguing it fails to protect the World Heritage site. An independent agency charged with protecting the reef granted a permit in January for 3 million cubic meters of soil dredged up at the port of Abbot Point to be dumped about 25 km (15 miles) from the reef. The approval by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) sparked outrage among green groups opposed to coal expansions and fighting to protect the reef, as well as marine tourism operators, who help generate $5 billion a year. The North Queensland Conservation Council filed a challenge to the permit at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Brisbane on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry decries 'new isolationism', says U.S. acts like poor nation Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:39 PM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry decried what he called a "new isolationism" in the United States on Wednesday and suggested that the country was beginning to behave like a poor nation. Speaking to reporters, Kerry inveighed against what he sees as a tendency within the United States to retreat from the world even as he defended the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts from Syria to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In comments tied to the budget that U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to present on Tuesday, Kerry suggested that tighter spending, in part at the behest of congressional Republicans, may limit U.S. clout around the world. "There's a new isolationism," Kerry said during a nearly one-hour discussion with a small group of reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus junior governing partner confirms to quit government Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:16 PM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - A junior partner in Cyprus's ruling centre-right coalition said on Thursday it would be pulling out of the government in disagreement at a resumption of peace talks between estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots on the ethnically split island. The Democratic Party has expressed opposition to a decision by Cypriot President and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades to restart unification talks, saying terms of the dialogue contained too many concessions to Turkish Cypriots. The two sides resumed negotiations under UN auspices on February 11 after an 18-month hiatus. ... Full Story | Top |
| China paper slams West's "Cold War mentality" over Ukraine Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:16 PM PST China's top newspaper criticized the West on Thursday for remaining locked in a "Cold War mentality" against Russia in the contest for influence over Ukraine, calling for the shackles of such outmoded thinking to be cast off to deal with the crisis. The commentary published in the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, was the strongest reaction yet in Beijing to the rift between the West and Russia that has been growing since the ouster of Moscow's ally Viktor Yanukovich as president following weeks of protests. "The theories related to politics, economics and security during the Cold War period are still influencing many people on their concept of the world, and some Western people are still imbued with resentment towards Russia," the paper said. "Ridding the shackles of the Cold War mentality will reduce unnecessary confrontation, thereby allowing for a smoother transition in international relations." The commentary was published under the pen name "Zhong Sheng", meaning "Voice of China", which is often used to give the paper's view on foreign policy issues. Full Story | Top |
| New Ukraine ministers proposed, Russian troops on alert Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:16 PM PST  By Alessandra Prentice and Richard Balmforth SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine/KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's protest leaders named the ministers they want to form a new government following the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich, as an angry Russia put 150,000 troops on high alert in a show of strength. President Vladimir Putin's order on Wednesday for soldiers to be ready for war games near Ukraine was the Kremlin's boldest gesture yet after days of sabre rattling since its ally Yanukovich was ousted at the weekend. Moscow denied that the previously unannounced drill in its western military district was linked to events in its neighbor but it came amid a series of increasingly strident statements about the fate of Russian citizens and interests. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned Moscow that "any kind of military intervention that would violate the sovereign territorial integrity of Ukraine would be a huge - a grave mistake". Full Story | Top |
| Signed copies of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' up for auction Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:11 PM PST  Copies of Adolf Hitler's manifesto "Mein Kampf" signed by the German Nazi leader will go under the hammer on Thursday in Los Angeles, auction house Nate D. Sanders said. The autographed copies of the two-volume work steeped in anti-Semitism are inscribed as Christmas gifts to Josef Bauer, an officer in the German SS during World War Two and a participant in Hitler's failed Munich coup in 1923. Bidding in the online auction for the signed books starts at $20,000 and is expected to sell for around $25,000 when the auction concludes at 10 p.m. EST on Thursday (0300 GMT on Friday), the auctioneers said. The Bauer books fetched $25,000 in a sale at Bonhams auction house in London in 2012. Full Story | Top |
| Thirteen workers test positive for radiation at New Mexico waste site Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 07:01 PM PST Thirteen workers have tested positive for radiation exposure tied to an accidental release earlier this month of high levels of radiation in an underground nuclear waste repository in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday. No workers were underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project in southeastern New Mexico when air sensors half a mile below surface in an ancient salt formation triggered an alarm on February 14 indicating excessive amounts of radioactive particles. Particles emitted from the decay of those radioactive elements can harm humans if inhaled or ingested. But analyses released on Wednesday of biological samples lifted from the workers showed that 13 of them were in fact exposed to radioactive particles, Joe Franco, manager of the U.S. Energy Department field office that oversees the plant, said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Thai PM faces graft charges as standoff slips out of control Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:51 PM PST  By Pairat Temphairojana and Aukkarapon Niyomyat BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's anti-corruption agency is to bring charges of negligence against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday as anti-government protesters demand her ouster in a violence-pocked standoff that is slipping out of control. Guitarist Eric Clapton has pulled out of Bangkok concert on Sunday because of the deteriorating security. About 200 Yingluck supporters, who have become more boisterous in recent days, padlocked the gates of the National Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday, demanding all members quit and setting the scene for a possible confrontation. The protesters, whose disruption of a general election this month left Thailand in paralysis, want to topple Yingluck and erase the influence of her brother, ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen by many as the real power in the country. Full Story | Top |
| California lawmaker convicted of voter fraud allowed to take paid leave Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:41 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - A Democratic state senator convicted of eight felonies will be allowed to take a paid leave of absence, angering Republicans who called on Wednesday for his resignation, a move that could weaken Democrats' tenuous hold on their two-thirds majority. Senator Roderick Wright, who represents parts of Los Angeles and the suburb of Inglewood, was convicted last month of voter fraud and perjury after prosecutors said he did not physically live in the district he represented. But Democrats could at least temporarily lose two seats in the senate currently held by Wright and by Ron Calderon, who is under pressure to step down after his recent indictment on corruption charges. The senate's top Democratic leader approved a leave of absence for Wright until the judge in his case formally accepts the verdict and hands down a sentence. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says concerned with Thailand violence, calls for restraint Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:39 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday expressed concern with increased violence in Thailand and called for restraint by all sides in a conflict that shows no immediate sign of ending. Thailand has been dogged by nearly four months of around-the-clock violence between supporters of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and protesters who want her out. While the crisis is a long way from the running battles of April and May 2010 when more than 90 people were killed, it has stoked uncertainty and spooked investors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank of America disputes $2.1 billion claim in U.S. fraud suit Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:38 PM PST  By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp said it does not owe the U.S. government the $2.1 billion it is seeking in penalties after a jury found the bank liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit, according to a court filing made on Wednesday. Bank of America said in the filing that it should only have to pay the amount it made in profit from selling the loans, which it contended was zero. A spokesperson for Bank of America could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening. A federal jury in New York in October found Bank of America and Rebecca Mairone, a former mid-level executive at Countrywide, each liable for fraud in the civil lawsuit. Full Story | Top |
| Arizona governor vetoes bill widely criticized as anti-gay Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:29 PM PST  By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed a bill on Wednesday that has been derided by critics as a license to discriminate against gays in the name of religion, saying the controversial measure could "create more problems than it purports to solve." The measure, passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature last week, would have allowed business owners to cite their religious beliefs as legal grounds for refusing to serve same-sex couples or any other prospective customer. Brewer had come under mounting pressure to veto the measure after a number of major business organizations and some fellow Republican politicians, including the state's two U.S. senators, came out against the legislation, dubbed Senate Bill 1062. "Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific or present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona," Brewer said in a brief statement from her office in announcing her decision, to cheers from gay-rights activists rallying outside the capitol. Full Story | Top |
| Hillary Clinton defends Obamacare, but open to changes: report Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:27 PM PST  Hillary Clinton, who leads the pack of potential Democratic 2016 presidential contenders, defended Obamacare on Wednesday but added she was open to "evidence-based changes" in the program, CNN reported. President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform law is shaping up as a hot-button campaign issue in congressional elections in November and possibly the 2016 White House race. The law, which seeks to extend health coverage to millions of uninsured or underinsured people, has been under steady attack by Republicans, who say it is too costly, kills jobs and robs many Americans of healthcare choices. "But I would be the first to say if things aren't working, then we need people of good faith to come together and make evidence-based changes," said Clinton, who led a failed effort to pass healthcare reform during the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. needs to do more in approach to North Korea talks: report Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:06 PM PST  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. foreign policy and North Korea experts said in a report released on Wednesday that the United States should engage more with North Korea as a way to revive talks aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear-weapons program. The joint report from two think tanks, National Security Network and the National Committee on North Korea, said Washington needs to shift from an "all or nothing" approach requiring Pyongyang to meet conditions for the resumption of nuclear talks with major powers that were suspended in 2009. The current approach, in which U.S.-North Korean contact generally has been limited to a channel via the North Korean mission at the United Nations, effectively gave the initiative to Pyongyang when Washington should be aiming to set the agenda, the report argued. Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman lawyer seeks change in Florida trials on 'stand your ground' law Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 06:01 PM PST  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The lawyer for acquitted killer George Zimmerman said the rules for Florida murder trials should be changed so jurors are only instructed to consider the lenient standards of the state's "stand your ground" self-defense law when a case merits it. Attorney Mark O'Mara said he will send to the Florida Bar this week a proposal to let judges decide when juries should be instructed to consider stand your ground. "Only include it in those cases where the 'stand your ground, no duty to retreat' issue is relevant," O'Mara told Reuters on Wednesday. O'Mara argued self defense on behalf of his client Zimmerman in the Florida shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2011. Full Story | Top |
| Pope, U.N. urge calm and dialogue amid Venezuela unrest Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:55 PM PST  By Daniel Wallis and Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Pope Francis called on Wednesday for an end to violence in Venezuela that has killed at least 13 people and urged politicians to take the lead in calming the nation's worst unrest in a decade. Students and other opponents of President Nicolas Maduro are demanding that he quit over grievances including high inflation, shocking levels of violent crime, shortages of basic food, and what they say is his repression of political rivals. Among the latest world figures to speak out about the unrest, Pope Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square he was "particularly concerned" by recent events. Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver and union boss, hosted church and business leaders and some opposition politicians for a "national peace conference" on Wednesday night. Full Story | Top |
| BP loses bid to block seafood fund payments Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:33 PM PST  A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday denied BP Plc's request to halt payments from the $2.3 billion fund it has created to compensate commercial fishermen for financial losses claimed after the British company's 2010 offshore oil spill, according to court records. BP had sought to block the payments after alleging that some individuals supposedly injured by the spill, clients of attorney Mikal Watts, did not exist. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who is overseeing litigation stemming from the spill, denied the motion on Wednesday, according to an entry on the court docket. The judge also granted Watts's motion to stay BP's civil action against him over the alleged fraud pending a related federal criminal investigation. Full Story | Top |
| California police arrested over car-impound scheme targeting Latinos Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:31 PM PST By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A corruption probe in a small California town has resulted in the arrests of four current and former police officers for stealing impounded cars belonging to mostly poor Latino drivers, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Those arrested on Tuesday in the agricultural town of King City included interim Police Chief Bruce Miller and his brother Brian Miller, who owns a towing company, said Monterey County Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Spitz. "The victims were economically disadvantaged persons of Hispanic descent who were targeted by having their vehicles impounded, towed and stored by Miller's Tow," Monterey County District Attorney Dean Flippo said in a statement. "The vehicle owners were unable to pay the fees and the vehicles were sold or provided for free to some of the officers." King City has about 13,000 residents and is located 145 miles south of San Francisco and is more than 87 percent Latino, according to U.S. Census figures. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry likens Uganda anti-gay law to anti-Semitism and apartheid Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:29 PM PST  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday likened new anti-gay legislation in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties for homosexuality to anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa. "You could change the focus of this legislation to black or Jewish and you could be in 1930s Germany or you could be in 1950s-1960s apartheid South Africa," Kerry told a group of reporters. Kerry said the legislation signed by President Yoweri Museveni on Monday was "atrocious" and expressed concern at mounting discrimination against gays in 78 countries around the world. Homosexuality is a taboo in almost all Africa countries and illegal in 37, including in Uganda where it has been criminalized since British colonial rule. Full Story | Top |
| Texas judge rules against Lance Armstrong over prize money Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:19 PM PST  By Lisa Maria Garza DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas judge has denied a request by lawyers for Lance Armstrong to block a sports insurance company from re-opening an arbitration agreement in which the firm paid $12 million in bonuses to the disgraced cyclist. Dallas County Judge Tonya Parker refused to stop the original arbitration panel from considering whether Dallas-based SCA Promotions should be able to recoup the millions it paid Armstrong during his Tour de France winning streak, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. SCA attorney Jeff Tillotson said on Wednesday that the panel is scheduled to meet March 17 to consider his request that Armstrong pay back the millions in prize money because he had denied under oath that his seven championships were fueled by performance-enhancing drugs. The bonus money from SCA is for three of Armstrong's seven Tour de France victories. Full Story | Top |
| Amanda Knox's former boyfriend distances himself in Italian murder appeal Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:10 PM PST  The ex-boyfriend of Amanda Knox is distancing himself from the U.S. former exchange student, convicted of murdering her British roommate in an Italian university town, as he pursues his own appeal in the case, his U.S.-based lawyer said on Wednesday. Italian Raffaele Sollecito was convicted of murder along with Knox at a retrial last month in the 2007 stabbing death of Meredith Kercher, in a decision that reversed an earlier appeal judgment that cleared the pair. The facts and the evidence with regard to each of them is entirely different," said Kelly, who acts as Sollecito's spokesman in the United States. Kercher, 21, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia. Full Story | Top |
| Florida man executed for trooper's 1992 pipe-bomb death Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:03 PM PST By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A South Florida drug dealer, who was convicted in the pipe-bomb killing of a state highway patrolman during a traffic stop 22 years ago, was executed on Wednesday, state prison officials said. Paul Augustus Howell met with a spiritual adviser and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the hours before his death by lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Howell was sentenced to die in 1995 for the death of state trooper Jimmy Fulford. Fulford, 35, had stopped the car for speeding on I-10 in Jefferson County. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry: U.S. won't take Venezuelan blame for things it hasn't done Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 05:00 PM PST  The United States is seeking to improve relations with Venezuela's new government but will not stand by when Caracas falsely accuses it of stoking violence, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, a day after Washington ordered three Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country. Kerry said he had met and talked by phone to his Venezuelan counterpart since last year to ease long-standing tensions with Caracas that date back to the rule of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. Those tensions have continued under Chavez's successor, President Nicolas Maduro, who expelled three U.S. embassy staff he said had been recruiting students to rise up against him. Unrest in Venezuela has killed at least 13 people in recent weeks as students and others took to the street calling for Maduro to step down over high rates of crime and inflation, lack of basic foodstuffs and what they call his heavy-handed suppression of their protests. Full Story | Top |
| State Department acted properly on Keystone: report Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:58 PM PST By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department acted properly in its choice of an outside contractor to review the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a U.S. report said on Wednesday, raising calls by the project's supporters for President Barack Obama to approve it. The State Department inspector general's report cleared the State Department of accusations by environmentalists there was undue influence by the pipeline's developer on a draft federal environmental review of the contentious project. TransCanada Corp had recommended four companies to the State Department to do an environmental review, including Environmental Resources Management, Inc, or ERM, but did not tell the department it had previously worked with the company. Under U.S. law, major industrial projects like Keystone, which would carry 800,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf, must undergo an environmental review. Full Story | Top |
| Lawyer tied to Ukraine's Yanukovich says he's cooperating with authorities Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:28 PM PST By Mark Hosenball and Stella Dawson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reinhard Proksch, an Austrian lawyer with financial dealings linked to leaders in former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's government, said on Wednesday he is eager to cooperate with international authorities to freeze their assets. In a telephone interview with Reuters, Proksch said he is happy to provide information and has already made contact with the U.S. tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service, and with the Financial Intelligence Unit in Liechtenstein, which investigates money laundering and financial crimes. "I am not a crook," Proksch said in explaining his readiness to cooperate regarding his past work with top officials from the government of Yanukovich, who was ousted from power last weekend. Authorities are investigating how Yanukovich could have lived a lavish lifestyle, which included a luxury estate outside Kiev, on his state salary. Full Story | Top |
| NASA oversight led to spacewalker's near drowning, panel finds Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:24 PM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A panel investigating an astronaut's near drowning during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station in July found that his spacesuit leaked during an earlier outing, officials said on Wednesday. NASA misdiagnosed the earlier leak, believing the water found in the helmet of Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano on July 9 was due to a ruptured drink bag, said space station chief engineer Chris Hansen, who chaired an investigation panel appointed by the U.S. space agency. Instead, a week later on July 16, Parmitano and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy put on their spacesuits to continue work outside the space station, a $100 billion research complex that flies about 260 miles above Earth. Full Story | Top |
| Arizona governor expected to announce decision on bill critics call anti-gay Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:18 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, under mounting pressure to reject a newly passed bill derided by critics as a license to discriminate against gays in the name of religion, was expected to announce on Wednesday whether she will veto or sign the measure. Her office said she planned to make a statement at 5:45 p.m. local time concerning the bill, which would allow business owners to cite personal religious beliefs as legal grounds for refusing to serve same-sex couples or any other prospective customers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian military action in Ukraine would be 'grave mistake': U.S. Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:13 PM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned Russia on Wednesday it would be a "grave mistake" to intervene militarily in Ukraine and said it was considering $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees and additional funding to help Kiev. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued the warning after Russian President Vladimir Putin put 150,000 combat troops on high alert for war games near Ukraine, Moscow's boldest gesture since the ouster of ally Viktor Yanukovich as president in Kiev. Full Story | Top |
| Amnesty says some Israeli West Bank killings may be war crimes Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 04:04 PM PST  By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli forces are using excessive, reckless violence in the occupied West Bank, killing dozens of Palestinians over the past three years in what might constitute a war crime, Amnesty International said on Thursday. In a report entitled "Trigger Happy", the human rights group accused Israel of allowing its soldiers to act with virtual impunity and urged an independent review of the deaths. The Israeli army dismissed the allegations, saying security forces had seen a "substantial increase" in Palestinian violence and that Amnesty had revealed a "complete lack of understanding" about the difficulties soldiers faced. According to U.N. data, 45 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between 2011-2013, including six children. Full Story | Top |
| UK troops mentally resilient despite Iraq, Afghan conflicts Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 03:32 PM PST  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Intervention strategies have helped mitigate the psychological impact on British soldiers of more than 10 years of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, a new study suggests, leaving them mentally healthier than their U.S. peers. But the study, by the King's Centre for Military Health Research at King's College London, found some British soldiers - particularly reservists and soldiers deployed in combat - do seem more vulnerable to mental illness when they come home. "Overall, UK military personnel have remained relatively resilient in spite of the stresses endured in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Deirdre MacManus, who led the study. Full Story | Top |
| Wisconsin man gets three years for sexually assaulting stepsister Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 03:31 PM PST Joshua Drabek, 20, was convicted by a Dane County jury on February 21 of first degree sexual assault of a child without great bodily harm, second degree sexual assault of a child and child abuse-intentionally causing harm, according to court records. Drabek was accused of forcing her to engage in oral sex and trying to have intercourse with her, according to a criminal compliant. The girl's father, Chad Chritton, 42, and his wife Melinda Drabek-Chritton, 44, who is Drabek's mother, were sentenced to five years in prison each in the case. Full Story | Top |
| Washington state law to aid undocumented immigrant students Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 03:19 PM PST By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - Washington became the fifth U.S. state to offer college financial aid to students brought into the country illegally as children, as Democratic Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation on Wednesday to make them eligible for state grants. Inslee, in signing the bill to provide aid to students whose families meet income and residency guidelines, hailed it as a major victory for "thousands of bright, talented and very hard working students across the state of Washington." "I've had some good days as governor of the state of Washington, but this may be the best," Inslee said. Passage of the measure, dubbed by its supporters as the Dream Act of Washington state, marks a victory for immigrant-rights advocates and a shift within the state Republican party, whose members blocked a similar measure last year. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate leader Reid blasts Koch brothers over Obamacare ads Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 03:18 PM PST  By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused the billionaire Koch brothers on Wednesday of being 'un-American" for spreading headline-grabbing "lies" about President Barack Obama's healthcare law. Speaking on the floor of the Senate, the Nevada Democrat blasted ads by Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group backed by David and Charles Koch. Koch Industries Inc, the brothers' oil and gas conglomerate, fired back, saying the Kochs were not responsible for the ad by Americans for Prosperity and calling Reid's remarks "disgraceful." In its statement, Koch Industries said: "It is disgraceful that Senator Reid and his fellow Democrats are attacking a cancer victim as part of their campaign against Charles Koch and David Koch." Americans for Prosperity also struck back at Reid, saying in a statement: "Instead of admitting that the health care law is a bad deal for Americans, Senator Reid has chosen to attack the brave men and women who are sharing their personal stories about ObamaCare." The ad scored "two Pinocchios" out of a possible four by the Washington Post's fact checker Glenn Kessler, who said the commercial did not give a full accounting comparing the patient's old plan with a new one. Full Story | Top |
| Big utilities shunned green energy at their peril: Greenpeace Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 03:04 PM PST BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) - Europe's 10 biggest utilities, produce more than half of Europe's power, but only a tiny percentage is from the new green energy sources that could revive their profits, a report from campaign group Greenpeace said on Thursday. Traditionally profitable utility companies have been hurt by an EU-wide shift towards renewable power that has created pro-sumers - or consumers with their own sources, such as solar panels, which enable them to sell back power to the grid. While the uptake in renewables has been spurred by EU policy and subsidies, the top 10 utilities largely stuck to old business models for which they are now paying the price, Greenpeace's report said. It calculates the big 10 generated 58 percent of power within Europe, but only 4 percent of this was from non-hydro renewable sources, such as solar and wind, in 2012. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish Prime Minister targeted in second audio tape Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 02:46 PM PST  By Humeyra Pamuk ANKARA (Reuters) - A second audio recording, presented as the voice of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan asking his son not to accept an amount of money on offer in a business deal but to hold out for more, was published on YouTube by an anonymous poster using a pseudonym on Wednesday. An accompanying text within the YouTube clip says the reference is to Sitki Ayan, the chairman of Istanbul-based company Turang Transit Tasimacilik. Full Story | Top |
| Germany advises against travel to all of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 02:40 PM PST Germany's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it strongly advised against travel to all regions of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Previously the ministry had made a warning against travel in the north of the Sinai peninsula and the Egyptian-Israeli border area as well as the resort of Taba. The ministry said it advised travelers on the ground to contact their travel agent to organize an earlier departure from Sinai. Until then they are encouraged to keep movement to a minimum and follow instructions from travel agents and the Egyptian security forces, it said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama pitches plan to fix crumbling U.S. roads, bridges Wednesday, Feb 26, 2014 02:39 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton ST PAUL, Minnesota (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Wednesday a four-year, $302 billion plan to repair the country's crumbling roads and bridges, but the proposal, which relies on tax reform for funding, is not expected to gain traction on Capitol Hill. Congress faces a September 30 deadline to renew federal funding for transportation programs, and the Highway Trust Fund that helps pay for road and bridge projects is teetering on insolvency. "If Congress doesn't finish a transportation bill by the end of the summer, we could see construction projects stop in their tracks, machines sitting idle, workers off the job," Obama said, while standing in a refurbished train and bus station. But it no longer collects enough revenue to cover infrastructure needs and Congress has all but ruled out hiking the 18.4-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax. Full Story | Top |
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