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| China's Xi urges political solution to Ukraine crisis Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:55 PM PDT BEIJING/BERLIN (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine and for all parties to exercise calm and restraint, during separate telephone calls with U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The situation in Ukraine is extremely complex, and what is most urgent is for all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid an escalation in tensions," China's foreign ministry on Monday cited Xi as telling Obama. China has an "open attitude" towards any suggestions or proposals which can ameliorate the situation, and is willing to remain in touch with all parties including the United States, he said. Full Story | Top |
| Colombia election shrinks government majority in Congress Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:54 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy and Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's governing coalition emerged from elections on Sunday with its congressional majority intact but shrunken by the arrival of ex-president Alvaro Uribe's new party which opposes peace talks aimed at ending five decades of civil conflict. The result consolidated President Juan Manuel Santos as front-runner in a presidential vote on May 25 but thins the majority he will rely on if re-elected, for legislative support to implement a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC rebels, if talks succeed. Santos is seeking a second term to allow him time to complete negotiations with the FARC that could end a war that has killed around 220,000 and transform Colombia's political makeup if the rebels' gain the political participation they seek. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-rebel, right-wing rival in El Salvador election cliffhanger Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:16 PM PDT  By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist guerrilla leader and his conservative rival were locked in an unexpectedly tight race in El Salvador's presidential election run-off on Sunday with the contest too close to call. Polls ahead of the run-off showed Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group in the country's 1980-1992 civil war, the favorite to win with about 55 percent support. But he had only a razor-thin lead over his conservative challenger Norman Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, with returns in from 98.8 percent of polling stations. Sanchez Ceren had 50.08 percent support against 49.92 percent for Quijano. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador opposition candidate cries foul, claims election win Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 08:00 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's opposition presidential candidate Norman Quijano on Sunday cried foul in a cliffhanger election that showed him only slightly behind his leftist rival, claiming victory and calling the country's election tribunal corrupt. Former rebel leader Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) had a wafer-thin lead over Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, with returns in from 98.4 percent of polling stations. Sanchez Ceren had 50.09 percent support against 49. ... Full Story | Top |
| Search planes scour sea for missing Malaysian jetliner Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:54 PM PDT  By Niluksi Koswanage and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - Search and rescue planes scoured waters off the southern tip of Vietnam on Monday, searching for any trace of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner 48 hours after it vanished from radar screens with 239 people on board. Questions mounted over possible security lapses and whether a bomb or hijacking could have brought down the Beijing-bound plane, after Interpol confirmed at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents. Flight MH370 disappeared in the early hours of Saturday, about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur, after climbing to a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said on its website late on Sunday that a Vietnamese navy plane had spotted an object in the sea suspected of being part of the Boeing 777-200ER, but that it was too dark to be certain. "We are sending more planes there this morning." Shares in Malaysia Airlines fell as much as 18 percent to a record low on Monday morning. Full Story | Top |
| Zap! Australian scientists look at lasers to cull space junk Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:49 PM PDT  By Pauline Askin SYDNEY (Reuters) - It may sound like science fiction but an Australian team is working on a project to zap orbital debris with lasers from Earth to reduce the growing amount of space junk that threatens to knock out satellites with a "cascade of collisions". The project is very realistic and likely to be working in the next 10 years, Matthew Colless, director of Australian National University's Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, told Reuters. "It's important that it's possible on that scale because there's so much space junk up there," he said. Australia now has a contract with NASA, the U.S. space agency, to track and map space junk with a telescope equipped with an infra-red laser at Mount Stromlo Observatory. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel and Xi agree Ukraine crisis needs to be solved via dialogue Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:46 PM PDT German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed during a telephone conversation on Sunday that the crisis in Ukraine needed to be solved via diplomacy. "The chancellor explained the situation in Ukraine and efforts to come to a political solution of the conflict," German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a written statement. Xi said the Ukraine situation is "very complicated and highly sensitive" and needs to be weighed carefully, according to a statement from China's foreign ministry. China supports mediation efforts and constructive actions by the international community, he said, adding that the German side should continue communicating with all sides in a constructive manner. Full Story | Top |
| California Democrats, eye on election, adopt activist agenda Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:39 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Democrats wrapped up their annual convention on Sunday with an appeal to their progressive base even as leaders vowed to stay on a centrist path that has won wide popularity for Governor Jerry Brown and firm control over the state legislature. Facing the 2014 election season flush with a formidable political advantage in the most populous U.S. state, Democrats used the two-day gathering in Los Angeles to showcase their successes in California and to draw a contrast with partisan gridlock in Washington. They cited California's improving economy and a newly exerted fiscal discipline that has allowed Brown to pay down the state's debt as proof of Democrats' ability to govern effectively. "We took a state that seemed to be a punch line for a national joke, and we made it a how-to guide for national governments," incoming state Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins told the crowd. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico says kills drug kingpin reported dead years ago Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 07:10 PM PDT Nazario Moreno led a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, and was known as "El Mas Loco," or "The Craziest One." He had been reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010, but his body was never recovered and he was widely believed to be still alive. Government security spokesman Alejandro Rubido said after security forces discovered Moreno was still alive, he was tracked down and found to be the undisputed leader of the main drug cartel operating in the area, The Knights Templar. Officials said the identity of Moreno, who was killed near Tumbiscatio, a village about 50 km (30 miles) north of the port of Lazaro Cardenas, was confirmed via fingerprints. SURVIVOR Moreno led a drug cartel known as La Familia, which fractured after his reported demise in 2010. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, U.S. differ on China in talks on 'grey zone' military threats Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:19 PM PDT  By Nobuhiro Kubo, Linda Sieg and Phil Stewart TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Japan and the United States start talks on how to respond to armed incidents that fall short of a full-scale attack on Japan, officials in Tokyo worry that their ally is reluctant to send China a strong message of deterrence. Tokyo hopes to zero in on specific perceived threats, notably China's claims to Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea, while Washington is emphasizing broader discussions, officials on both sides say. Washington takes no position on the sovereignty of the islands, called the Senkaku by Japan and the Diaoyu by China, but recognizes that Japan administers them and says they fall under the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, which obligates America to come to Japan's defense. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador election rivals in dead heat at halfway count Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:11 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Former Marxist rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren was running neck and neck with his right-wing rival Norman Quijano in El Salvador's presidential election after 50 percent of polling stations had reported on Sunday. Both candidates had 50 percent of the vote, according to partial results on the country's electoral tribunal's website. (Reporting by Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
| Nuns held by rebels in Syria are freed, arrive at border: witnesses Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 06:00 PM PDT  By Firas Makdesi and Alexander Dziadosz JDAIDAT YABBOUS, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - About a dozen nuns held by rebels in Syria for more than three months were released on Sunday and arrived back in Syria after traveling through Lebanon, officials and witnesses said. Witnesses at the Syrian border with Lebanon said the nuns arrived at the crossing late on Sunday night and headed toward Damascus in a minibus. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-rebel, right-wing rival in tight El Salvador election Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:51 PM PDT SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A former Marxist guerrilla leader and his conservative rival were in an unexpectedly tight race on Sunday in El Salvador's presidential election run-off with the race too close to call after results came in from over one-third of polling stations. Polls ahead of the run-off showed Salvador Sanchez Ceren of the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), the rebel group in the country's 1980-92 civil war, with about 55 percent support. However, his conservative rival Norman Quijano, the former mayor of San Salvador, had 50. ... Full Story | Top |
| China February exports tumble unexpectedly, heighten slowdown fears Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:35 PM PDT  By Kevin Yao and Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - China's exports unexpectedly tumbled in February, swinging the trade balance into deficit and adding to fears of a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy despite the Lunar New Year holidays being blamed for the slide. A resilient Chinese economy is good news for the world, particularly for major commodity exporters such as Australia. Full Story | Top |
| Central bank guidance soothes markets but also carries risks: BIS Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:30 PM PDT  Central bank efforts to become more predictable on future interest rate moves have smoothed out short-term upsets in financial markets but could also lead to excessive risk-taking, research from the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday. Central bank forward guidance, whether publishing rate forecasts or promising rates will remain at certain levels for a given time or until certain economic conditions are reached, has been in the spotlight recently as economies recover from the financial crisis and investors try to pick the beginning of the end of easy money policies. Research published in the BIS quarterly review found guidance from the Bank of England, European Central Bank and Federal Reserve had a calming influence on markets and also helped shield the UK and euro zone economies from turbulence last year about when the Fed slowing asset purchases. But BIS economists said there were risks from markets focusing too narrowly on certain aspects of forward guidance and from central banks themselves potentially becoming too worried about markets' reaction, to the extent that it could delay a return to more normal policy settings. Full Story | Top |
| Maldives court sacks elections officials for disobedience Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:25 PM PDT The Maldives Supreme Court on Sunday dismissed the country's top elections officials for failing to follow its guidelines during last year's presidential polls and for disbanding eight political parties ahead of a parliamentary election this month. The court ordered the head of the commission, Fuwad Thowfeek, and his deputy, Ahmed Fayaz, removed from their posts and asked the parliament to appoint replacements within six days. The election commission came under the seven-member court's scrutiny last year when it went ahead with a presidential run-off after three previous attempts were annulled or postponed by the court. Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected president who was ousted in February 2012, narrowly lost a November 16 run-off to the current president, Abdulla Yameen. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Malaysia plane probe narrows on mid-air disintegration - source Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:23 PM PDT  Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished after climbing to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing in the early hours of Saturday. "The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source, who is involved in the preliminary investigations in Malaysia. Full Story | Top |
| Bayern boss Hoeness goes on trial for tax evasion Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 05:05 PM PDT  By Jörn Poltz MUNICH (Reuters) - Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, once one of Germany's most admired soccer managers, heads to court on Monday to face charges that he dodged taxes in a case that shocked the German public and spurred others to turn themselves in. Hoeness, who as a player won the World Cup with West Germany in 1974 and has been credited with turning Bayern Munich into one of the world's most respected clubs, has said he told tax authorities about his Swiss bank account and undeclared income of his own accord in January 2013. While he has now paid back the taxes and fines he owed, it is unclear whether he informed the tax office about his offence early enough or comprehensively enough. A regional court in Munich will decide on the 62-year-old's fate. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico kills drug kingpin reported dead years ago: official Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:49 PM PDT A Mexican drug lord who had been reported dead more than three years ago was killed in a shootout with federal forces in western Mexico early on Sunday, a government official said. Nazario Moreno, a leader of a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, had been reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010. The death of Moreno, who was known as "El Mas Loco," or "The Craziest One," marks another major victory for President Enrique Peña Nieto's government in its campaign to bring Mexico's powerful drug gangs to heel. Full Story | Top |
| Arab League, Abbas reject recognizing Israel as 'Jewish state' Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:46 PM PDT  The Arab League on Sunday endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rejection of Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, as U.S.-backed peace talks approach a deadline next month. The United States want Abbas to make the concession as part of efforts to reach a "framework agreement" and extend the talks aimed at settling the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a 'Jewish state'," Arab foreign ministers said in a statement in Cairo. Full Story | Top |
| National hero Shevchenko fails to unite Ukrainians and Russians Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 04:09 PM PDT By Natalia Zinets and Timothy Heritage KIEV (Reuters) - When President Vladimir Putin visited Ukraine a decade ago, he recited four lines of verse by national poet Taras Shevchenko to show his love of Russia's fellow Slavs and neighbors. Two years ago, Putin announced with great fanfare after talks with Ukraine's president that their two countries would celebrate the 200th anniversary of Shevchenko's birth together. As recently as December, Putin said preparations for the anniversary were in full swing and declared: "Taras Shevchenko was such a seer, who foresaw and bequeathed us so much." On Sunday, the anniversary passed, without any sign that Putin noticed. Celebrations of the poet, artist and writer - as revered in Ukraine as William Shakespeare is in Britain - were cast into the shadows by events further down the Black Sea Coast - in Crimea, where Russian forces have seized control from Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| EU watchdog eyes gains from revalued Bank of Italy stakes: reports Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:51 PM PDT  The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has raised doubts about whether Italian banks will be able to book gains in their 2013 results resulting from a hike in the value of stakes they hold in the Bank of Italy, newspapers said on Sunday. Late last year Italy's government increased the value of the Bank of Italy's share capital to 7.5 billion euros ($10 billion)from 156,000 euros, a level that had not been changed since the 1930s. But in February the European Commission said it was looking into the decree to see if it amounted to state aid. Esma is ready to ask Italian banks not to include the gains in 2013 results, according to a report in La Repubblica newspaper. Full Story | Top |
| Save the Children describes healthcare disaster in Syria Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:41 PM PDT  Newborns freezing to death in hospital incubators, doctors cutting off limbs to stop patients from bleeding to death, surging cases of polio: a new report published on Monday paints a dire picture of Syria's collapsing healthcare system. The report, issued by charity Save the Children, said some 60 percent of Syria's hospitals have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the three-year-old conflict and nearly half of its doctors have fled the country. Over 140,000 people have died in the war, which started as a peaceful protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad and degenerated into civil conflict fuelled by regional and international rivalries. In its report, Save the Children described the fallout from the collapse of the medical system as "horrific," as remaining hospitals and medical staff struggle to treat hundreds of thousands of people wounded by the fighting. Full Story | Top |
| Nuns yet to reach Syria after reported release by rebels Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 03:09 PM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - An operation to release about a dozen nuns held by rebels in Syria for more than three months began on Sunday, security sources and church officials said, but hit an unexplained delay. A Lebanese security source had said the nuns had been taken to the Lebanese town of Arsal earlier in the week and would head to Damascus on Sunday accompanied by the head of a Lebanese security agency and a Qatari intelligence official. By late Sunday, however, they had not arrived at the Syrian border. Full Story | Top |
| Qatar-backed bloc says to rejoin Syrian opposition coalition Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:44 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - A large Qatar-backed bloc that left Syria's opposition National Coalition has reversed its decision and wants to rejoin, setting the scene for a clash with the group's Saudi-backed president, opposition sources said on Sunday. The 40-member bloc, which quit the 120-member coalition before Syrian peace talks began in Geneva in January, said it had returned to confront what it saw as its unfair exclusion from decision-making. Infighting within the opposition coalition has undermined rebel efforts to take on forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and has also played into the hands of rival, more hardline Islamist outfits which include foreign militants. Addressing Arab foreign ministers at an Arab League meeting in Cairo on Sunday, Jarba said the Geneva talks had suffered a "setback" and called for advanced weapons to be supplied to moderate rebel brigades. Full Story | Top |
| Missing Malaysian jet may have disintegrated in mid-air: source Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 02:28 PM PDT  By Siva Govindasamy and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - Officials investigating the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 239 people on board suspect it may have disintegrated in mid-flight, a senior source said on Sunday, as Vietnam reported a possible sighting of wreckage from the plane. International police agency Interpol confirmed that two passengers on the flight had used stolen Austrian and Italian passports, raising suspicions of foul play. An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more "suspect passports" that were being further investigated. Malaysia's state news agency quoted Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as saying the passengers using the stolen European passports were of Asian appearance, and criticizing border officials who let them through. Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain says foreign 'terrorists' behind blast that killed three police Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:58 PM PDT Questioning of four men detained in connection with a bomb blast that killed three policemen in Bahrain last week showed they had been guided by "terrorists" abroad, public prosecutors said on Sunday. The Interior Ministry has said the blast occurred as police were trying to disperse protesters who were blocking roads in the village of Daih, west of the capital Manama. A statement from public prosecutors named four suspects who had been arrested, saying they had confessed to carrying out the bombing along with others. Bahrain accused Shi'ite Iran on Thursday of fomenting bloodshed in the kingdom, and an Iranian official accused the Sunni-ruled island state of torturing and jailing its critics. Full Story | Top |
| 'Dead' Mexican drug kingpin likely killed in shootout: official Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:40 PM PDT A Mexican drug lord who had been reported dead more than three years ago was likely killed in a shootout with federal forces in western Mexico early on Sunday, a government official said. Nazario Moreno, a leader of a powerful criminal gang that has ravaged the western state of Michoacan, was reported killed by the government in a firefight in December 2010. Authorities were checking on reports that Moreno was shot dead early on Sunday during a gunfight in Michoacan, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. If confirmed, the death of Moreno would be another victory for President Enrique Pena Nieto's government in its campaign to bring Mexico's powerful drug gangs to heel. Full Story | Top |
| Competitiveness matters more than euro strength: French finance minister Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:25 PM PDT  Competitiveness in France and Europe must be improved regardless of how strong the euro is, France's finance minister said on Sunday, in a rebuttal to critics who blame the currency's rise for French firms' export woes. Several French politicians and companies including carmaker Renault and energy management firm Schneider Electric have in recent months raised flags over the impact of the euro's strength on profits. "The euro is at a high level...(But) we must not make a scapegoat out of currency," French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told BFM TV. "What we must first restore is the health of our companies, their competitiveness...The euro's strength must not be a scapegoat or a pretext to avoid reforming Europe and France." France's trade deficit, which hit a record of 74 billion euros in 2011, is one of the signs of French firms' loss of competitiveness on international markets. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan rebels warn of 'war' if navy attacks oil tanker Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:22 PM PDT By Ulf Laessing and Ayman al-Warfalli TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Armed protesters in eastern Libya traded threats with the government on Sunday in a tense stand-off over the unauthorized sale of oil from a rebel-held port. A North Korean-flagged tanker, the Morning Glory, docked on Saturday at the port of Es Sider and local daily al-Wasat said it had loaded $36 million of crude oil. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has said the military will bomb the 37,000-tonne vessel if it tries to leave. The rebels said any attack on the tanker would be "a declaration of war." The escalating conflict over the country's oil wealth is a sign of mounting chaos in Libya, where the government has failed to rein in fighters who helped oust veteran ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and who now defy state authority. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge says RBC liable in Rural/Metro buyout case Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 01:06 PM PDT  A Delaware judge said Royal Bank of Canada should be held liable to former shareholders of Rural/Metro Corp because it failed to disclose conflicts of interest that tainted the $438 million buyout of the ambulance operator. Bankers at RBC Capital Markets were so eager to collect higher fees that they convinced Rural/Metro directors to sell the company in June 2011 to private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC at an unreasonably low $17.25 per share, wrote Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster of the Delaware Chancery Court. Former Rural/Metro Corp shareholders are seeking about $172 million from Toronto-based RBC, representing the difference between the buyout price and what they believe the company was worth, according to published reports. Full Story | Top |
| Merkel raps Putin as Russian forces tighten grip on Crimea Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 12:56 PM PDT By Andrew Osborn SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution. Putin defended breakaway moves by pro-Russian leaders in Crimea, where Russian forces tightened their grip on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula by seizing another border post and a military airfield. As thousands staged rival rallies in Crimea, street violence flared in Sevastopol, when pro-Russian activists and Cossacks attacked a group of Ukrainians. Full Story | Top |
| Police arrest 52 after Massachusetts college party turns violent Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 12:35 PM PDT Police in Massachusetts arrested a total of 52 people after nearly a dozen more were taken into custody early on Sunday as a pre-St. Patrick's Day party turned violent, with officers in riot gear sparring with revelers in skirmishes that lasted nearly 24 hours. The Amherst Police Department said officers brought the situation under control and made final arrests around 4 a.m. EDT Sunday. "The party had become dangerous and out of control," a police spokesman said. "As officers began to disperse the crowd, they were again met with glass bottles, full beer cans, rocks and snowballs being thrown at them." The gathering, traditionally held the last Saturday before Spring Break, brought thousands of students from campus onto surrounding streets, Amherst police said. Full Story | Top |
| Asian and European industrial health under scrutiny this week Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 12:08 PM PDT  With China's leaders seeking to rebalance the world's industrial powerhouse more toward consumer spending, and with bad weather distorting most United States data since the start of the year, some clarity would be helpful. After private sector business surveys suggesting services activity around the world is on the up, investors and policymakers will shift their focus to industrial production figures for the euro zone, Britain, Japan and China. Industrial output growth in China, the world's second largest economy, is likely to have slowed further in January from 9.7 percent in December, hurt by weaker local and foreign demand. "China's export growth is likely to have softened in February after the surge in January due to the front-loading of exports before the Lunar New Year," said David Mann at Standard Chartered. Full Story | Top |
| Armed men seize another military airport in Ukraine's Crimea Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:55 AM PDT An armed pro-Russian force wearing military uniforms bearing no designated markings sealed off another military airport in Ukraine's Crimea on Sunday, a defense ministry spokesman on the peninsula said. The 80 or so-strong group, who were supporting 50 civilians, blocked off the entrance to the airport near the village of Saki and established machine-gun posts along the landing strip, the spokesman, Vladislav Seleznyov, told Reuters by telephone. Russian forces have taken control of strategic points in Crimea, including Belbek military airport and the main civilian airport in Simferopol, without bloodshed following the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on February 21 after a three-month revolt against his rule. There have been several standoffs with Ukrainian forces at military installations but the Ukrainians have not put up armed resistance. Full Story | Top |
| Putin defends Crimea's decision to hold referendum Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:50 AM PDT MOSCOW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin defended breakaway moves by the pro-Russian leaders of Crimea on Sunday in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron, according to the Kremlin. The three leaders spoke amid tensions on the Black Sea peninsula since the Moscow-backed regional parliament declared the Ukrainian region part of Russia and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm this. "Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin underlined in particular that the steps taken by Crimea's legitimate authorities are based on international law and aimed at guaranteeing the legitimate interests of the peninsula's population," the Kremlin said. Merkel, however, told Putin the referendum violated Ukraine's constitution and was against international law, a statement from the German government said. Full Story | Top |
| Libyan rebels say navy attack on tanker would be 'declaration of war' Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:36 AM PDT An armed movement which has seized oil ports in eastern Libya said on Sunday any attempt by government forces to attack a North Korea-flagged tanker loading crude at a terminal under its control would be "like a declaration of war". Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the movement, warned Libya's navy not to "harm" the tanker docked at Es Sider, according to a statement. "Such a move would be a declaration of war," said the statement, sent to Reuters by a spokesman. Full Story | Top |
| Michigan race highlights Tea Party versus Establishment struggle Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:35 AM PDT  By Susan Cornwell GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (Reuters) - Over cocktails and chocolate-covered strawberries, a group of west Michigan Republicans gathered at a Tudor-style home in Grand Rapids and vented frustrations with Congressman Justin Amash and his Tea Party tactics that they blame for Washington's gridlock. "The Republican establishment has lost confidence in Justin," said Mark Bissell, chief executive of vacuum manufacturer Bissell Inc. "We're sort of feeling like we're not represented, because he is so far out there," lamented small businessman Dan Bogo. The venue was a fundraiser last month for Amash's Republican primary opponent, Brian Ellis, the head of an investment firm who bills himself as "West Michigan Nice" for his collaborative style. The contest in Michigan's third district, for a congressional seat once held by President Gerald Ford, is emblematic of the nationwide struggle between the five-year-old Tea Party and more traditional Republicans who believe conservative upstarts like Amash have gone too far. Full Story | Top |
| Five years from U.S. stock market's low, it's joy versus worry Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:33 AM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five years ago, the United States was in the midst of its worst recession in seven decades, and stocks were feeling it. On this day in 2009, the S&P 500 hit its nadir, closing at 676.53. That low marked a climax of a 16-month selloff that took more than half the S&P 500's value. Naturally, some investors are questioning whether the bull run is nearing an end. Full Story | Top |
| Four new gases that harm ozone layer found, despite bans: study Sunday, Mar 09, 2014 11:29 AM PDT By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent OSLO (Reuters) - Scientists have detected four new man-made gases that damage the Earth's protective ozone layer, despite bans on almost all production of similar gases under a 1987 treaty, a study showed on Sunday. The experts were trying to pinpoint industrial sources of tiny traces of the new gases, perhaps used in making pesticides or refrigerants, that were found in Greenland's ice and in air samples in Tasmania, Australia. The ozone layer shields the planet from damaging ultra-violet rays, which can cause skin cancer and eye cataracts, and has been recovering after a phase-out of damaging chemicals under the U.N.'s 1987 Montreal Protocol. "The concentrations are not yet a threat to the ozone layer," lead author Johannes Laube of the University of East Anglia in England told Reuters of the three types of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon) and one HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbon). Full Story | Top |
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