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| Philippine ship dodges China blockade to reach South China Sea outpost Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:10 PM PDT  By Erik de Castro and Roli Ng SECOND THOMAS SHOAL, South China Sea (Reuters) -The Philippine government vessel made a dash for shallow waters around the disputed reef in the South China Sea, evading two Chinese coastguard ships trying to block its path to deliver food, water and fresh troops to a military outpost on the shoal. It's also a reminder of how assertive China has become in pressing its claims to disputed territory far from its mainland. "If we didn't change direction, if we didn't change course, then we would have collided with them," Ferdinand Gato, captain of the Philippine vessel, a civilian craft, told Reuters after his boat had anchored on the Second Thomas Shoal under a hot sun. China, which claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, says the shoal is part of its territory. Full Story | Top |
| Washington mudslide victims remembered at tearful church services Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:09 PM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky and Bryan Cohen DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Churches offered prayers on Sunday for dozens of people dead and missing from last week's mudslide in Washington state, as well as words of solace for grieving families, many still waiting for news of loved ones who vanished. The formal death toll rose to 21 on Sunday, including the remains of 15 victims identified by medical examiners and six still awaiting positive identification, said Jason Biermann, program manager for the Snohomish County Emergency Management Department. Full Story | Top |
| Japan factory output slides, outlook clouded by sales tax hike Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:51 PM PDT  By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's factory output unexpectedly fell in February at the fastest pace in eight months in a possible sign that the benefits from last-minute demand before an impending sales tax hike may have run their course. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said industrial output fell 2.3 percent in February from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent rise expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to rise 0.9 percent in March but decrease 0.6 percent in April, the METI data showed, suggesting a lack of confidence in domestic demand. The data comes a day before the national sales tax rises to 8 percent from 5 percent on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| North Korea starts firing drill off west coast: media Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:41 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has started a firing drill off its west coast, South Korean media reported on Monday, hours after Pyongyang notified Seoul and issued a warning to shipping to avoid an area near a disputed maritime border between the two countries. Shells appeared to have landed in the water north of one of the populated South Korean islands off the west coast of the peninsula but it was not clear whether they fell in South Korean waters, YTN news television said. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by David Chance) Full Story | Top |
| Bank of England says may revive securitisation to aid recovery Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:15 PM PDT By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England may try to revive the securitised debt market to support the economic recovery, a policymaker said on Friday, in the latest sign that products that triggered the financial crisis are being brought in out of the cold. Clara Furse, a member of the BoE's Financial Policy Committee, said small firms are finding it hard to get loans from banks focused on meeting tougher capital requirements following the 2007-09 financial crisis. The FPC monitors risks in the broader financial system. Furse said the FPC would assess and where necessary act to promote a better-functioning market in Britain for securitisation, which bundles loans into bonds. Full Story | Top |
| UK posts big current account deficit, household savings down Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:14 PM PDT By William Schomberg and Ana Nicolaci da Costa LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's current account deficit was much bigger than expected in the fourth quarter and households ran down savings to keep up their spending, reminders of the need to put the economy on a more balanced footing to maintain growth. The current account deficit in the October-December period was 22.4 billion pounds, or 5.4 percent of gross domestic product, down only slightly from a record of 5.6 percent in the third quarter, official data showed. The Office for National Statistics confirmed the economy grew 0.7 percent in October-December last year compared with the previous quarter and was 2.7 percent bigger than in the fourth quarter of 2012. The current account shortfall was driven largely by an increase in foreign investment earnings leaving the country and a drop in income on British investments abroad, heightened by a rise in sterling, the ONS said. Full Story | Top |
| Tyrie calls insurance review leak an 'extraordinary blunder' Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:11 PM PDT  The head of the Treasury Committee on Saturday described as an "extraordinary blunder" the leak of a planned review by the financial services watchdog into the life insurance industry, which sent shares in insurers tumbling. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was due to announce the investigation in its annual business plan on Monday. But a senior FCA supervisor outlined the review in a press interview on Friday. "On the face of it, this is an extraordinary blunder," Andrew Tyrie, the Treasury Committee head, said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Osborne denies report that independent Scotland would keep pound Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:10 PM PDT  Chancellor George Osborne on Saturday denied a newspaper report that Scotland may keep the pound even if it votes for independence later this year, an issue at the heart of the Scottish secession debate. Polls show the question of what currency an independent Scotland would use has been high in Scottish voters' minds ahead of an independence referendum on September 18, with many worrying about the economic uncertainties a new currency would bring if they voted to end the 300-year-old union with England. "Walking out of the UK means walking out of the UK pound," he said on Saturday in a joint statement with Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander. Scottish nationalists want to share the pound in a currency union with the UK and retain the services of the Bank of England. Full Story | Top |
| Minister warns Scotland could vote for independence, despite polls Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:54 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - The government minister responsible for Scotland warned on Sunday nationalists could win an independence referendum this year because of complacency among those campaigning to hold the United Kingdom together. Speaking ahead of a September 18 vote that will decide whether Scotland breaks its three-century-old union with England, Alistair Carmichael, the Secretary of State for Scotland, said nationalists had a huge "war chest" to fund their campaign and appeared more "hungry" for victory. "Well I've got to tell everybody it could." Opinion polls have long shown Scots would vote to reject independence by a clear margin. Full Story | Top |
| FCA to announce increase in 2014-15 budget - Sky News Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:51 PM PDT  The Financial Conduct Authority will set out plans on Monday for an increase in its annual funding requirement for 2014-15, Sky News reported late Sunday. The FCA's 2014-15 budget does not take into account the cost of regulating thousands of consumer credit providers, which will transfer to the auspices of the regulator for the first time this week, Sky said. The news service reported without citing sources that the fees will be frozen for thousands of the smallest firms regulated by the FCA, with the minimum charge remaining at 1,000 pounds. Earlier in the day, the Sunday Times reported that Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA, is facing calls for his resignation after a gaffe that wiped billions of pounds from the value of insurance companies. Full Story | Top |
| Committee fears for BBC World Service under new funding Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:42 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee raised fears on Monday for the future of the BBC World Service, the world's largest international broadcaster, as funding shifts from government grants to financing by domestic television user fees. The BBC World Service, which started as the "Empire Service" in 1932, airs news and discussions around-the-clock in 28 languages, reaching about 190 million people a week. "We have clear differences with the BBC on governance of the World Service .. It remains to be seen whether they will indeed safeguard the distinct nature of the World Service," the committee said in a report on Monday. The World Service has been given a budget of 245 million pounds in 2014/15, which the committee welcomed along with an undertaking by the BBC's news director to maintain this level until the current licence fee period ends in 2016. Full Story | Top |
| North Korea declares no-sail warning off coast to conduct firing drills Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:24 PM PDT North Korea declared a no-sail warning on Monday for areas off its west coast near a disputed border with South Korea and has notified the South that it will conduct firing drills, a South Korean government official said. The area is near the so-called Northern Limit Line, drawn up at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which the North has refused to recognize. The warning comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the North after the U.N. Security Council condemned Pyongyang for its mid-range missile launches last week, just as the leaders of South Korea, Japan and the United States met to discuss the North's arms program. The areas marked by the North are north of the naval border but lie close to islands populated by civilians, said the official, who requested anonymity. Full Story | Top |
| China to crack down on videos, audios promoting terrorism Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:18 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China will crack down on videos and audio recordings that promote terrorism, religious extremism and separatism, the government said on Monday. The notice, published by judicial, cultural and public security organs, said it is forbidden to spread such video and audio recordings on the web, via mobile phone, on social media and online marketplaces, among other means. ... Full Story | Top |
| No time limit on Malaysia jet search: Australia PM Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:14 PM PDT  By Michael Martina and Adam Jourdan PERTH/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there was no time limit on the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, missing for more than three weeks in the Indian Ocean with 239 people on board. A total of 20 aircraft and ships will resume scouring a massive area in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) west of Perth on Monday, search authorities said. Families have strongly criticized Malaysia's handling of the search and investigation, including the decision last week to say that, based on satellite evidence, the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Abbott rejected suggestions his Malaysian counterpart had been too hasty to break that news, given that no confirmed wreckage from the plane has been found and its last sighting on radar was northwest of Malaysia heading towards India. Full Story | Top |
| Official death toll in Washington state mudslide raised to 21 from 18 Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:11 PM PDT ARLINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - The official death toll from last week's devastating mudslide in Washington state has risen to 21 from 18, Snohomish County Emergency Management Department officials said on Sunday. Agency program manager Jason Biermann told reporters the latest tally is based on the positive identification of three more victims, and said an additional four sets of remains were found on Sunday in the debris field. (Reporting by Bryan Cohen; Writing by Steve Gorman) Full Story | Top |
| Kerry meets with Lavrov on Ukraine, urges troop pullback Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:11 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Alexei Anishchuk PARIS/MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks on Sunday about ways to defuse the crisis over Ukraine, with Kerry telling Moscow that progress depended on a Russian troop pullback from Ukraine's borders. "Both sides made suggestions of ways to de-escalate the security and political situation in and around Ukraine," Kerry told a news conference late on Sunday after meeting with Lavrov for four hours in Paris. "Any real progress in Ukraine must include a pullback of the very large Russian force that is currently massing along Ukraine's borders," Kerry said. Full Story | Top |
| French left loses dozens of towns in local elections: exit poll Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:07 PM PDT French President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists and their allies scored 42 percent of the total vote in local elections on Sunday, trailing opposition conservatives on 49 percent, a TV exit poll by survey group BVA showed. The National Front, which fielded candidates in a minority of municipalities across France, scored a total nine percent of the vote in the second-round run-offs, BVA estimated. Full Story | Top |
| Hollande's Socialists set to hold Paris town hall: exit poll Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:07 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists looked set to retain control of Paris town hall in local elections on Sunday as their candidate Anne Hidalgo won 54.5 percent of votes, according to a TV exit poll. If confirmed, the victory would be some consolation for Hollande's ruling party, which according to partial tallies and exit polls was on track to lose its grip on dozens of major towns elsewhere across France. (Reporting by Marion Douet; editing by Mark John) Full Story | Top |
| French reshuffle may loom after Hollande's Socialists routed in local elections Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 06:07 PM PDT  By Mark John PARIS (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande will take soundings on a possible cabinet reshuffle on Monday after the drubbing of his Socialists in local elections handed the far-right National Front victory in a record number of towns. Provisional results from Sunday's voting showed the protectionist, anti-EU party of Marine Le Pen set to take control of 11 towns across the country, easily surpassing a past record in the 1990s when it ruled in four towns. At least another 140 towns swung from the left to mainstream opposition conservatives as voters punished Hollande for his failure to turn around the euro zone's second largest economy and above all to tackle an unemployment rate stuck at more than 10 percent. While Hollande himself, who surveys show is the least popular leader in France's 56-year-old Fifth Republic, will remain in power, the question is whether he will replace Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, whose government has been accused of amateurishness and of being paralyzed by policy splits. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish PM Erdogan tells enemies they will pay price after poll Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:36 PM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk and Ralph Boulton ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. But while Erdogan's AK Party was well ahead in overall votes after Sunday's elections, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) appeared close to seizing the capital Ankara. Erdogan, fighting the biggest challenge of his 12-year rule, addressed supporters from a balcony at AKP headquarters at the end of a long and bitter election campaign in which he has labeled his opponents "terrorists" and an "alliance of evil". The election campaign has been dominated by a power struggle between Erdogan and a moderate U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom he accuses of using a network of followers in police and judiciary to fabricate graft accusations in an effort to topple him. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan woman bids for power to halt slide in rights Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:22 PM PDT  By Katharine Houreld and Jessica Donati KABUL/KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The deeply conservative, all-male crowd at Afghanistan's Kandahar stadium stared in disbelief as the small woman in a modest black headscarf stood up and reached for the microphone. Habiba Sarabi's speech in the southern Taliban heartland city lasted only a few minutes, thanking the crowd for supporting her candidacy in next month's presidential election. During their strict Islamist rule from 1996-2001, the Afghan Taliban had banned women from education, voting and most work, and they were not allowed to leave their homes without permission and a male escort. A fair election would mark Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power, a monumental achievement for Afghans struggling to end decades of bloodletting and cement fragile gains in education, health and human rights. Full Story | Top |
| Global warming threat heightened in latest U.N. report Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:07 PM PDT Global warming poses a mounting threat to the health, economic prospects, and food and water sources of billions of people, a report by top scientists said, in a call for urgent action to counter the effects of carbon emissions. The latest report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), places an emphasis on the risks and may make the case for cutting greenhouse gas emissions clearer both to policymakers and the public by placing it in the category of an insurance policy for the planet. "Climate change is really a challenge of managing risks," Christopher Field, co-chair of the IPCC group preparing the report, told Reuters before its release on Monday. "One critical way is in decreasing the amount of climate change that occurs, and the other is finding a way to cope as effectively as we can with the climate changes that can't be avoided," Field said. Full Story | Top |
| British lawmakers fear for BBC World Service under new funding Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:06 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers raised fears on Monday for the future of the BBC World Service, the world's largest international broadcaster, as funding shifts from government grants to financing by domestic television user fees. Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee said it was concerned that a change in funding and a lack of presence on the BBC's executive or management boards would erode the on-air and online influence of the radio and television service. The BBC World Service, which started as the "Empire Service" in 1932, airs news and discussions around-the-clock in 28 languages, reaching about 190 million people a week. "We have clear differences with the BBC on governance of the World Service .. It remains to be seen whether they will indeed safeguard the distinct nature of the World Service," the committee said in a report on Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Greece passes reform bill, government majority shrinks to two seats Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 05:03 PM PDT  By Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece approved on Monday a contentious reform bill to secure bailout aid but the government was forced to expel a dissenting lawmaker, reducing its majority in parliament to just two seats. A total of 152 lawmakers backed the bill, which incorporates into Greek law hundreds of reform measures Athens agreed earlier this month with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund after more than six months of tough negotiations. The passage allows Athens to obtain loans to repay 9.3 billion euros of debt maturing in May, but left the fragile pro-bailout government with a new headache as three deputies refused to vote or voted against key articles in the bill. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras expelled one lawmaker who failed to back one article, while the Socialist PASOK party, one of the two ruling parties, was facing a new crisis after one of its lawmakers did not vote and another voted against an article. Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian police backed by troops occupy slum by Rio airport Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:42 PM PDT  Brazilian police backed by troops occupied a massive slum next to Rio de Janeiro's international airport without firing a shot on Sunday to secure one of the city's most violent neighborhoods long run by drug dealers. Wresting control of the area from drug lords was a security priority for authorities because it surrounds the expressway to Galeao airport where tens of thousands of foreigners will land in June for the soccer World Cup. Traffickers have been there for years," Rio de Janeiro state security chief José Beltrame told reporters. The occupation follows a wave of attacks on police posts in slums that been occupied under Rio's so-called "pacification" program launched in 2008 to expel drug gangs to make the city safer ahead of the World Cup and the 2016 Olympic games. Full Story | Top |
| Credit markets open to Argentina for first time in years: ministry Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:34 PM PDT  Argentina has been approached by financial institutions offering it loans at favorable rates, the economy ministry said on Sunday, marking a tentative reopening of international credit markets for the first time in over a decade. The economy ministry issued a statement on Sunday, saying it had received offers of credit from abroad. "In recent weeks ... various financial institutions have presented proposals of access to external financing with repayment timetables and interest rates similar to those offered to other countries in the region," it said. It would be the first time Argentina has received loans from international creditors since a massive default in 2002. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry, Lavrov hold talks on de-escalating Ukraine crisis Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:22 PM PDT By Lesley Wroughton and Alexei Anishchuk PARIS/MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, discussed ways to defuse the Ukraine crisis during talks in Paris on Sunday in which Kerry made clear Washington still considered Russian actions in Crimea "illegal and illegitimate." Kerry said after his four-hour meeting with the Russian foreign minister that while they differed on events leading to the crisis, both sides recognized the importance of finding a diplomatic solution that meets the needs of the Ukrainian people. "Both sides made suggestions of ways to de-escalate the security and political situation in and around Ukraine," Kerry told a news conference, adding he raised "strong concerns" with Lavrov about the presence of Russian troops on the Ukraine border, which he said created a climate of fear and intimidation. The two were seeking to hammer out the framework of a deal to reduce tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Full Story | Top |
| Japan March manufacturing PMI slows for second month, snowstorms blamed Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:20 PM PDT  Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pace in March, a survey showed on Monday, pulling back further from an eight-year high set in January as heavy snow in some areas curbed production. The Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 53.9 in March from 55.5 in February. "Firms attributed this increase in output to last minute demand before the increase in the sales tax from 5 percent to 8 percent, which is due to be implemented in April this year," said Amy Brownbill economist at Markit. "It will be interesting to see whether output in the manufacturing industry will continue to grow as fast after the increase in the sales tax is implemented." The output component of the PMI index fell to 54.2 from 58.4 in February, indicating the slowest growth in six months due to disruptions caused by unusually cold weather. Full Story | Top |
| Liberian health authorities confirm two cases of Ebola: WHO Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:18 PM PDT By Alphonso Toweh MONROVIA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Sunday that Liberia has confirmed two cases of the deadly Ebola virus that is suspected to have killed at least 70 people in Guinea. The outbreak of the highly contagious Ebola, which in its more acute phase, causes vomiting, diarrhoea and external bleeding, has sent Guinea's West African neighbors scrambling to contain the spread of the disease. Eleven deaths in towns in northern Sierra Leone and Liberia, which shares borders with southeastern Guinea where the outbreak was first reported, are suspected to be linked to Ebola. Full Story | Top |
| Shootout in Nigerian capital during attempted jail break kills 21 Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 04:00 PM PDT Detainees suspected of being members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram overpowered their guards at a prison near Nigeria's presidential villa in Abuja, seizing a rifle and triggering a gun battle that killed 21 people, security officials said. The prisoners struck on Sunday as the guards from Nigeria's State Security Service (SSS) came in to feed them at their headquarters' prison near the residence of President Goodluck Jonathan, SSS spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar said. Jail breaks by Islamists in Nigeria are common. Boko Haram militants, who are fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria and are seen as the main threat to Africa's top oil producer, attacked the main military barracks in the northeast, freeing dozens of prisoners on March 14. Full Story | Top |
| Long search looms for Malaysia jet, families renew protests Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 03:58 PM PDT  By Matt Siegel and Rujun Shen HMAS STIRLING NAVAL BASE, Australia/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - T he search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 could take years, U.S. Navy officials suggested on Sunday, as search and rescue officials raced to locate the plane's black box recorder days before its batteries are set to die. Ten ships and as many aircraft are searching a massive area in the Indian Ocean west of Perth, trying to find some trace of the aircraft, which went missing more than three weeks ago and is presumed to have crashed. U.S. Navy Captain Mark Matthews, who is in charge of the U.S. Towed Pinger Locator (TPL), told journalists at Stirling Naval Base near Perth that the lack of information about where the plane went down seriously hampers the ability to find it. "Right now the search area is basically the size of the Indian Ocean, which would take an untenable amount of time to search," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry, Lavrov discuss ways to de-escalate Ukraine crisis Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 03:39 PM PDT U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said late on Sunday he and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, discussed suggestions for de-escalating the Ukraine crisis during four hours of talks in Paris. Kerry told a news conference that the United States made clear it still considered Russian actions in Crimea to be "illegal and illegitimate." "The U.S. and Russia have differences of opinion about events that led to this crisis but both of us recognize the importance of finding a diplomatic solution and simultaneously meeting the needs of the Ukrainian people, and that we agreed on tonight," Kerry said. "Both sides made suggestions of ways to de-escalate the security and political situation in and around Ukraine," he said. Kerry and Lavrov were seeking to hammer out the framework of a deal to reduce tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, with Western leaders considering broader sanctions against Russia that would target vital sectors of its economy including its mainstay oil and gas industry. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan declares victory in polls despite graft crisis Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 03:34 PM PDT Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. Erdogan spoke from a balcony at his AK Party headquarters to thousands of cheering supporters as early results showed it winning some 44-46 percent of the vote, and the opposition CHP trailing with 23-28 percent. Erdogan accuses a U.S.-based Islamic cleric, a former ally, of mounting a smear campaign using a network of followers in the police force to concoct a corruption case against him. Full Story | Top |
| Wall St. Week Ahead: U.S. jobs and Russia to rule stocks Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 03:15 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock investors will take their cues this week from March jobs data and diplomacy to defuse East-West tensions over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Friday's monthly jobs report, the most widely watched U.S. economic indicator, is expected to show that employers added 200,000 jobs in March to nonfarm payrolls, according to a Reuters poll of economists. Employers added 175,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in February after creating 129,000 new positions in January. WATCHING RUSSIA AND UKRAINE When trading begins on Monday, investors will keep an eye on developments involving Russia and Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Delphi told panel GM approved ignition switches below specifications Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 03:08 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan, Eric Beech and Paul Lienert WASHINGTON/DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co approved ignition switches for cars that have been linked to 13 deaths, even though the parts did not appear to meet the company's specifications, officials of Delphi Automotive told U.S. congressional investigators. In a memo released on Sunday by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, documents provided by GM and a federal regulator provided "unsettling" information, according to Republican Representative Tim Murphy, who leads a subcommittee of the panel. The memo was released ahead of Tuesday's testimony from GM Chief Executive Mary Barra, who will appear at the committee's first public hearing on the recalls. She is likely to be asked why it took GM so long to identify and address the ignition switch problem. Full Story | Top |
| Thailand's 'red shirts' gear up for a fight Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:50 PM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Aubrey Belford KHON KAEN/BANGKOK (Reuters) - The clock is ticking for Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who faces impeachment within weeks, but her supporters are hatching plans to thwart any move to dismiss her, with some leaders assembling what amount to militias. Yingluck has until later on Monday to defend herself before the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against charges of dereliction of duty over a ruinously expensive rice-buying scheme. If the commission recommends Yingluck's impeachment, and the Senate then seeks to remove her, it could be a tipping point for the pro-government "red shirts", who have mostly stayed out of the fray since anti-government protests first flared in November. "We'll act when our democratically elected prime minister is kicked out by the elite," Suporn Attawong, a red shirt leader known by followers as "Rambo Isarn", told Reuters in Bangkok. Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Russia meeting on Ukraine ends after four hours of talks Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:26 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, ended late on Sunday after four hours of negotiations to defuse tensions over Ukraine. The goal of the meeting was to develop a proposal conceived by Kerry and Lavrov during earlier meetings to de-escalate the crisis over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region. Both sides are expected to hold separate news conferences on the outcome of the talks. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Peter Cooney) Full Story | Top |
| SocGen facing bribery lawsuit over Libyan deals: Financial Times Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:25 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The Libyan Investment Authority has accused France's second-biggest bank Societe Generale of funneling bribes worth tens of millions of dollars to associates of Saif al-Islam, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Financial Times reported late Sunday. "Societe Generale contests the unfounded allegations in the Libyan Investment Authority's (LIA) complaint," a spokeswoman for the bank said in an emailed statement, without giving more details. The FT said that the LIA claims to have suffered heavy losses in the deals with SocGen, and is seeking to have the trades voided to recoup the money allegedly paid to Leinada and to be awarded damages for the alleged fraud. Full Story | Top |
| Greece secures votes to pass reform bill demanded by EU/IMF lenders Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:21 PM PDT Greece's government secured enough votes in parliament early on Monday to pass a key reform bill demanded by its international lenders, in exchange for further bailout loans to avoid default. A majority of deputies voted in favor of the reform measures Athens agreed earlier this month with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, after more than six months of tough negotiations. Passing the bill was a condition for Greece to qualify for fresh bailout aid it needs to repay 9.3 billion euros of debt maturing in May. But it also gives a boost to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' government before local and EU elections in May, as it includes a 527-million euro windfall to be spent on poor, austerity-hit Greeks. Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Swedish fans must take responsibility after death - Larsson Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 02:19 PM PDT Former Sweden striker Henrik Larsson called on fans to take responsibility for combating hooliganism following the death of a supporter in his home town of Helsingborg on Sunday. A Djurgarden fan in his forties died from head injuries at a hospital in the southern city of Helsingborg having been assaulted on the way to a game shortly before kickoff. The game between Helsingborg and Djurgarden went ahead as planned but was abandoned late in the first half as news of the fan's death spread around the terraces. I mean, we're supposed to be going to football," an emotional Larsson told TV station CMore after his Falkenberg side fell to a 3-0 defeat some 60 kilometres away from Helsingborg in Malmo. Full Story | Top |
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