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| Ukraine president agrees truce with opponents as U.S. imposes visa bans Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:54 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he reached agreement with opposition leaders on a "truce" to halt fighting that has killed 26 people, even as the United States stepped up pressure by imposing travel bans on 20 senior Ukrainian officials. A statement on the presidential website announced an accord for "the start to negotiations with the aim of ending bloodshed, and stabilizing the situation in the state in the interest of social peace." Responding cautiously, U.S. President Barack Obama deemed the truce a "welcome step forward," but said the White House would continue to monitor the situation closely to "ensure that actions mirror words." "My hope is at this point that a truce may hold but ... ultimately the government is responsible for making sure that we shift toward some sort of unity government, even if it's temporary, that allows us to move to fair and free elections so that the will of the Ukrainian people can be rightly expressed without the kinds of chaos we've seen on the streets," Obama told a news conference in Mexico after a North American summit. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook to buy WhatsApp for $19 billion in deal shocker Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:03 PM PST  Facebook Inc will buy fast-growing mobile-messaging startup WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock in a landmark deal that places the world's largest social network closer to the heart of mobile communications and may bring younger users into the fold. The WhatsApp deal is worth more than Facebook raised in its own IPO and underscores the social network's determination to win the market for messaging. Founded by a Ukrainian immigrant who dropped out of college, Jan Koum, and a Stanford alumnus, Brian Acton, WhatsApp is a Silicon Valley startup fairy tale, rocketing to 450 million users in five years and adding another million daily. "No one in the history of the world has ever done something like this," Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Beauty queen the latest victim in Venezuela unrest Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 06:16 PM PST  By Tomas Sarmiento and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - A local beauty queen died of a gunshot wound on Wednesday, the fifth fatality from Venezuela's political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, turned himself in to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of often rowdy protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government. The latest victims of the unrest included college student and model Genesis Carmona, 22, who was shot in the head at a protest on Tuesday in the central city of Valencia. Three people were shot dead in Caracas after an opposition rally a week ago, and a fourth person died after being run over by a car during a demonstration in the coastal town of Carupano. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Moldova, Georgia leaders to visit U.S. - congressional aides Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:48 PM PST  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leaders of Georgia and Moldova are due to visit Washington in the next two weeks, congressional aides said on Wednesday, in what appears to be an effort to show U.S. support for Russia's neighbors amid the ongoing political crisis in Ukraine. Congressional aides said that Georgian Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili will be in Washington next week and Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca will visit during the first week of March. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone pipeline approval in limbo after Nebraska ruling Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:11 PM PST By Patrick Rucker and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Nebraska court on Wednesday voided the governor's decision to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to pass through the Midwestern state, creating another snag for the controversial project to link Canada's oil sands with refineries in Texas. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman last year supported legislation that cleared the way for TransCanada Corp's $5.4 billion pipeline to cross parts of his state. The Nebraska Public Service Commission, or PSC, is the proper state agency to decide pipeline matters, Judge Stephanie Stacy wrote in a lengthy ruling, declaring the governor's decision "unconstitutional and void." State officials and a lawyer for landowners agreed a new permit application for the pipeline could require at least six months of work - and probably much longer. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. issues warning about shoe bombs on airplanes bound for U.S Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:00 PM PST  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities issued a warning on Wednesday to airlines flying to the United States to watch out for militants who may have hidden bombs in their shoes, U.S. government sources said. The warning came from the Department of Homeland Security, the sources said, and it is consistent with concerns security agencies have about militants trying to smuggle explosives onto airplanes in shoes, cosmetics or liquids. The sources said the warning principally applied to flights originating overseas and heading for the United States, rather than domestic flights or planes headed overseas from the United States. However, some sources said the warnings did not mean that the United States had specific intelligence indicating a plot to use a shoe bomb overseas was in progress. Full Story | Top |
| Islamists kill 47 in attack in northeast Nigeria: police Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:31 PM PST By Ibrahim Mshelizza MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - Gunmen from Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group attacked the northeastern town of Bama on Wednesday, opening fire on a school, shooting or burning to death 47 people and trashing the palace of a traditional ruler, officials and witnesses said. The death toll was confirmed by Lawal Tanko, the police commissioner for Borno state, which lies at the epicentre of an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands in the past four and half years. He added that the assailants had also partly burned down the palace of the traditional ruler of Borno, whose kingdom was one of West Africa's oldest medieval Islamic caliphates. "Boko Haram came in at about 4.00 a.m. (0300 GMT), just when we were getting ready for the morning prayers," said Bama resident Abba Masta, who lives near the palace. Full Story | Top |
| Iran, powers seek to agree basis for final nuclear deal Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 01:24 PM PST  By Fredrik Dahl and Justyna Pawlak VIENNA (Reuters) - Six world powers and Iran appeared to make some progress at a second day of talks in Vienna on Wednesday to hammer out an agenda for reaching an ambitious final settlement to the decade-old standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany want a long-term agreement on the permissible scope of Iran's nuclear activities to lay to rest concerns that they could be put to developing atomic bombs. Tehran's priority is a complete removal of damaging economic sanctions against it. The negotiations will probably extend at least over several months, and could help defuse many years of hostility between energy-exporting Iran and the West, ease the danger of a new war in the Middle East, transform the regional power balance and open up major business opportunities for Western firms. Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers target Iranian center in Beirut Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 07:18 AM PST By Laila Bassam and Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers targeted the Iranian cultural center in Beirut on Wednesday, killing four people and themselves in an attack claimed by Sunni militants who said it was a response to the intervention of Iran and Hezbollah in the Syrian war. The army said two cars packed with explosives had been used in the rush hour attack in the predominantly Shi'ite southern suburbs of Beirut. Similar tactics were used in a twin suicide attack on the nearby Iranian embassy in November. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al Qaeda-linked group, claimed responsibility for the attack, which wounded more than 100 people and was condemned by Lebanon's Sunni Prime Minister Tammam Salam as an act of terrorism. Full Story | Top |
| Thai court warns against using emergency powers to disperse protests Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:17 AM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court endorsed on Wednesday Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's declaration of a state of emergency, a day after five people were killed in gunbattles in Bangkok, but warned the government not to use it to disperse peaceful protesters. The country's police chief said the court ruling would not affect the security operation, but added that there were no plans to retake more protest sites after Tuesday's "Peace for Bangkok Mission" saw the deadliest clashes since anti-government demonstrations began in November. Yingluck, seen by opponents as a proxy for her brother, ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been working from a Defence Ministry compound in north Bangkok since the protests forced her to vacate her Government House offices. Full Story | Top |
| Facebook to buy Whatsapp for $16 billion Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:09 PM PST (Reuters) - Social networking company Facebook Inc said it would buy mobile messaging company WhatsApp for about $16 billion in cash and stock. Facebook said it would pay $4 billion in cash and about $12 billion in stock. Facebook said WhatsApp co-founder and Chief Executive Jan Koum would join Facebook's board. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee;; Editing by Savio D'Souza) Full Story | Top |
| Cold weather sinks U.S. home building in January Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 11:54 AM PST  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts recorded their biggest drop in almost three years in January as harsh weather disrupted activity, but the third month of declines in permits hinted at some weakness in the housing market. "The housing sector already slowed down in the fourth quarter and it's not picking up," said Thomas Costerg, a U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. "There is more than the weather at play and the underlying dynamics are not as favorable as people thought they were." Groundbreaking tumbled 16.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 880,000 units, the lowest level since September, the Commerce Department said. Full Story | Top |
| Nebraska court invalidates state's Keystone pipeline approval Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:11 PM PST By Patrick Rucker and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Nebraska court on Wednesday invalidated the governor's decision to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to pass through the Midwestern state, casting new uncertainty over the controversial project to link Alberta's oil sands with refineries in Texas. Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman last year supported legislation that cleared the way for TransCanada Corp's $5.4 billion pipeline to cross parts of his state. On Wednesday, the District Court of Lancaster County, Nebraska, sided with landowners, a move that makes additional months of delay to the project, already more than five years in the planning, seem inevitable. Judge Stephanie Stacy ruled that the recent law passed by the state's legislature, which gave Heineman the decision on the route instead of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, was "unconstitutional" and "void." TransCanada has been counting on President Barack Obama to approve its pipeline plan, but Keystone backers had anticipated the support of states and landowners as well. Full Story | Top |
| West readies Ukraine sanctions, Yanukovich slams coup bid Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 12:20 PM PST By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Western powers threatened sanctions on Wednesday over the death of 26 people in the worst violence since Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, pressuring President Viktor Yanukovich to compromise with his pro-European opponents. Yanukovich, backed by Russia, denounced the overnight bloodshed in central Kiev as an attempted coup, and his security service said it had launched a nationwide "anti-terrorist operation" after arms and ammunition dumps were looted. In the western bastion of Ukrainian nationalism, a regional assembly declared self-rule and crowds seized public buildings. U.S. President Barack Obama said he condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms and warned of consequences if it continued, while European Union leaders said they were preparing targeted sanctions against those responsible for the "unjustified use of excessive force by the Ukrainian authorities". Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela unrest kills fifth person, Lopez faces court Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 12:07 PM PST By Tomas Sarmiento and Deisy Buitrago CARACAS (Reuters) - A student demonstrator died of a bullet wound on Wednesday in the fifth fatality from Venezuela's political unrest, as imprisoned protest leader Leopoldo Lopez urged supporters to keep fighting for the departure of the socialist government. Tourism student and local beauty queen Genesis Carmona, 22, was shot in the head during a protest on Tuesday in the central city of Valencia, and died in a clinic. "She only needed one more semester to graduate." Tensions have risen in Venezuela since Lopez, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated economist, surrendered to troops on Tuesday after spearheading three weeks of often rowdy demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro's government. "Today more than ever, our cause has to be the exit of this government," he said, sitting next to his wife in a pre-recorded video to be released if he was arrested. Full Story | Top |
| Former UK PM Blair offered to help Murdoch over phone-hacking Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 07:50 AM PST  By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Former British prime minister Tony Blair offered to act as a secret adviser to Rupert Murdoch during his media empire's phone-hacking scandal, suggesting the firm follow steps he took to calm public anger over the Iraq war, a London court heard on Wednesday. Rebekah Brooks, the ex-boss of Murdoch's British newspapers, wrote an email to Murdoch's son James detailing advice Blair had given her during an hour-long phone call in July 2011 at the height of a furor over phone-hacking allegations at the media mogul's News of the World tabloid. The disclosure came as the prosecution wrapped up its case against Brooks, who is on trial at London's Old Bailey on charges relating to phone-hacking which she denies. Full Story | Top |
| South African platinum bosses may seek to have strike outlawed Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 08:36 AM PST  By Ed Stoddard and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The chief executive of Anglo American Platinum said on Wednesday court action might be taken to have a four-week strike against it and other platinum producers declared illegal given alleged violence by the AMCU union. Chris Griffith was speaking at a media briefing along with chief executives of Lonmin and Impala Platinum. The walkout by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) is affecting more than 40 percent of global output of the precious metal and has further eroded investor confidence in Africa's largest economy. Griffith said the AMCU was trying to achieve its wage demands through "through not only strike action but violence and criminal acts ... There have been extensive reports of both overt and covert intimidation at the various operations, as well as injuries and damage to property," he said. Full Story | Top |
| New Peugeot CEO pledges rebound after Dongfeng rescue Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 08:56 AM PST  By Laurence Frost PARIS (Reuters) - PSA Peugeot Citroen's new boss promised a back-to-basics turnaround as the troubled carmaker unveiled a French-backed rescue deal with China's Dongfeng on Wednesday, along with another multibillion-euro loss. Incoming CEO Carlos Tavares said he saw "huge room for improvement" as Peugeot announced a 3 billion euro ($4.1 billion) fundraising that brings new leadership, more time to recover and an end to two centuries of family control. Dongfeng Motor Group and the French state will each pay 800 million euros for 14 percent of the carmaker to match the founding Peugeot family's reduced holding, Peugeot said, confirming earlier Reuters reports. While the deal marks the end of an era, with Thierry Peugeot stepping down as the dynasty's last chairman, it may also clear the decks for a deep review of the group's business practices and corporate culture. Full Story | Top |
| British court quashes legal challenge by partner of Snowden leaks reporter Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 05:28 AM PST  By Costas Pitas LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's High Court has quashed a legal challenge against the detention under anti-terrorism laws of the partner of Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who brought leaks from former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to world attention. David Miranda had asked the court to rule on the legality of his detention and nine-hour questioning under terrorism legislation last August when he landed at London's Heathrow Airport en route from Berlin to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. British authorities seized items from Miranda which they said included electronic media containing 58,000 documents from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), Snowden's former employer, and from its British counterpart, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). The High Court ruled on Wednesday that the detention of the partner of the ex-Guardian newspaper journalist was lawful and that anti-terrorism laws were correctly used. Full Story | Top |
| Swiss firms fret over immigration vote backlash Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 04:13 AM PST  By Alice Baghdjian and Caroline Copley ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestled between the peaks of the Swiss Alps, the Hotel Schweizerhof has provided rooms for weary skiers and hikers for more than a century, profiting like scores of other businesses from Switzerland's close ties to Europe. But a shock vote last week to cap all immigration to the landlocked country and introduce quotas for those from the European Union, now threatens to cut the hotel off from the pool of workers on which it relies. "Switzerland is too small, we don't have enough qualified people here - not in tourism, not in the health sector, not in other industries," said Andreas Zuellig, manager of the hotel, which stands in the Swiss ski resort of Lenzerheide and draws around 40 percent of its staff from the EU. In a country that depends heavily on foreigners in all sectors of the economy, Zuellig is not alone in worrying about the consequences of the referendum, which the Swiss government opposed but must now write into law within three years. Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda-linked group claims Beirut bombings Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:54 AM PST By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - The al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed a twin bomb attack in Beirut on Wednesday, saying such attacks would continue until Hezbollah forces withdrew from the fighting in Syria and its own fighters were released from Lebanese jails. The radical Lebanese group, which claimed the attack on its Twitter account, also said it was responsible for a November 19 attack on the Iranian embassy that killed 23 people, using the same tactic of twin suicide bombs. Hezbollah is a powerful Shi'ite Muslim political and militant group in Lebanon that is funded by Iran. The group has sent hundreds of fighters to neighboring Syria, giving a boost to its ally President Bashar al-Assad against mainly Sunni rebels seeking to topple him. Full Story | Top |
| China says it will win West over to its view on Tibet, Xinjiang Tuesday, Feb 18, 2014 10:12 PM PST  By Natalie Thomas BEIJING (Reuters) - China has "time on its side" to win over Western opinion to its point of view on the restive regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, a senior official wrote on Wednesday, vowing with unusually strong language to ignore foreign pressure on human rights. Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the top advisory body to parliament, acknowledged this would be a difficult task but said dissenting voices were beginning to be heard in the West. "As China becomes more involved in international affairs, and as Tibet and Xinjiang further open to the world, more and more Westerners will have an understanding of Tibet and Xinjiang that better accords with reality," Zhu wrote in a lengthy article on the government-run website Tibet.cn. Full Story | Top |
| One dead, scores hurt as asylum seekers riot at PNG detention camp Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:28 AM PST  By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - An asylum seeker was killed and at least 77 injured in the second riot this week at a detention center in Papua New Guinea, Australia's immigration minister said on Tuesday. Iran's foreign ministry said the dead man was an Iranian citizen and called for an investigation into the clash, state news agency IRNA said on Wednesday. The facility, part of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's tough stance against asylum seekers, has come under fire over human rights concerns. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the riot began when detainees forced their way out of the center, but refugee advocates said it was triggered when Manus Island residents and police stormed the facility, attacking the asylum seekers. Full Story | Top |
| Stock buyers hesitant; euro holds gains Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 02:25 AM PST  By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Hesistant share investors kept a wary eye on interest rates in China while the euro left the dollar in its wake on Wednesday after soft U.S. economic data argued against any rapid withdrawal of Federal Reserve stimulus. "The euro strength over the last few days has been more of a process of elimination rather than fundamental euro area strength," said Alvin Tan, an FX strategist at Societe Generale in London. "The U.S. data has been weak over the last couple of weeks and the UK inflation number yesterday helped kick euro-sterling higher." Dealers have been surprised by the euro's resilience given speculation the European Central Bank would have to ease policy further to avert the risk of deflation. Full Story | Top |
| Australian Christian missionary arrested in North Korea Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014 03:03 AM PST By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - An Australian man has been arrested while doing missionary work in North Korea, his wife told Reuters on Wednesday, making him the second foreign Christian missionary to be held by the North. The wife of 75-year-old John Short told Reuters her husband was arrested in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Sunday and had been open about his religious work on his second trip to the isolated country. "He won't be intimidated by the communists," Karen Short told Reuters from Hong Kong by telephone. North Korea has held American missionary Kenneth Bae for more than a year and convicted him of trying to overthrow the state. Full Story | Top |
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