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| U.S. tech giants' offshore cash piles earn interest from government: report Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 09:04 PM PDT  Four of the biggest U.S. technology groups collectively hold an estimated $124 billion in U.S. Treasury debt, much of it offshore, earning them tax-free interest, the UK's Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) said on Thursday. The finding means Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Google Inc and Cisco Systems Inc hold a large proportion of the $254.9 billion held in their foreign subsidiaries in U.S. Treasuries, according to securities filings reviewed by the London-based BIJ, a not-for-profit news organization. Democratic party Senator Carl Levin, who has campaigned for years against tax avoidance, was quoted saying by the BIJ that if U.S. corporations invested offshore funds in U.S. government debt, this income should face U.S. taxes. Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration to endorse cut in drug sentences Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 09:02 PM PDT  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Thursday plans to throw its weight behind a proposal that it says could cut the average prison sentence for a federal drug defendant by 11 months, a change designed to help reduce the massive U.S. prison population. Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to endorse the idea in a speech to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a government body that guides federal judges on how long they should sentence people convicted of crimes. The United States keeps a larger proportion of its population behind bars than any other country except the Seychelles, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies in London. Holder's office says the impact could be wide, affecting about 70 percent of federal drug trafficking defendants in future cases if the commission adopts the proposal. Full Story | Top |
| China says will keep supporting Hong Kong as world financial hub Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:50 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China will continue to support Hong Kong's position as a global financial hub, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, reassuring the investment community in the former British colony as it adjusts to the rise of Shanghai. Li made the remarks to reporters at the closing of the country's annual parliamentary session on Thursday. Known for its free-wheeling capitalist economy, Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. (Reporting By Michael Martina, Ben Blanchard and Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Full Story | Top |
| Chinese premier says there is 'friction' with the United States Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:49 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said there is "friction" with the United States and the world's two biggest economies must respect each other's core interests. Li was speaking at a media conference at the close of China's annual parliamentary session on Thursday. (Reporting By Sui-Lee Wee, Ben Blanchard and Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Paul Tait) Full Story | Top |
| Australia to buy U.S. Triton drones to secure Indian Ocean resources Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:45 PM PDT  By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has committed to purchasing the U.S. Navy's MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft, its prime minister said on Thursday, continuing a trend amongst Asia-Pacific nations to protect commercial maritime interests amid rising regional tensions. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that Australia will acquire an undisclosed number of the surveillance aircraft once they become available. The U.S. Navy is still testing the Triton and has plans to buy 68, with the first due in service in 2017. The aircraft will be used "to secure our ocean resources, including energy resources off northern Australia, and help to protect our borders", Abbott said in the statement. Full Story | Top |
| China Premier Li says will target corruption, no matter how high Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:30 PM PDT  China will "seriously deal with" corrupt officials no matter how senior they are, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday. "We will show zero tolerance for corrupt behavior and corrupt officials. No matter who it is, or how senior their position, everyone is equal before the law," Li said in remarks to reporters at the closing of the country's annual parliamentary session. "If they violate party discipline or national law they will be seriously dealt with and punished according to the law." Chinese President Xi Jinping has made fighting corruption a central pillar of his administration and has said it threatens the ruling Communist Party's very survival. Full Story | Top |
| Loan defaults in China won't stir systemic risks: Premier Li Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:30 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Any default of loans in China will not set off systemic risks in the world's second-largest economy, Premier Li Keqiang said at a press conference on Thursday. Li reiterated the government's standard line that debt risks in China are under control. (Reporting by Adam Rose and Shao Xiaoyi; Editing by Paul Tait) Full Story | Top |
| China Premier Li calls for relevant party to step up plane search Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:29 PM PDT  Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said as long as there remains a "glimmer of hope" China will not stop the search for a missing Malaysian airliner flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and called for the "relevant party" to step up coordination. "This is an international and large-scale search operation involving many countries. The Chinese government has asked the relevant party to enhance coordination, investigate the cause, locate the missing plane as quickly as possible and properly handle all related matters," Li said in remarks to reporters. The so-far fruitless search for the plane entered its sixth day on Thursday and China has dispatched multiple aircraft, ships and satellite in the multinational search mission. Full Story | Top |
| Search planes checking China satellite report on missing airliner Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:17 PM PDT  By Eveline Danubrata and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC, Vietnam (Reuters) - Search planes were flying on Thursday to an area where a Chinese satellite has seen objects that could be debris from the Malaysian airliner missing for almost six days, but those waters had been checked before and nothing found, officials said. At the same time, China heaped pressure on Malaysia to improve its coordination over the search for the Malaysia Airlines plane, which disappeared early on Saturday on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Premier Li Keqiang, speaking at a news conference in Beijing, demanded that the "relevant party" step up coordination while China's civil aviation chief said he wanted a "smoother" flow of information from Malaysia, which has come under heavy criticism for its handling of the disaster. Full Story | Top |
| World Bank panel rejects Venezuela's appeal over Conoco Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:13 PM PDT  A World Bank panel has rejected Venezuela's request for a new hearing to contest a 2013 partial ruling that it failed to act in good faith regarding negotiations to compensate U.S. oil company ConocoPhillips for expropriations. The dispute dates from then-President Hugo Chavez's socialist government's takeover of three oil projects in 2007. "The majority of the tribunal concludes that it does not have the power to reconsider the decision," the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) said on its website. Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said that decision last year was unfair because it had offered $2.3 billion in compensation, which was higher than its $1.8 billion estimate of the assets' value, excluding tax and royalties claims. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy bars 151 sailors from jobs after sex assault review Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:10 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Wednesday that 151 sailors had been disqualified from working as sexual assault counselors and other positions as the military tries to improve how it helps victims following a string of high-profile sexual assault cases. The sailors were disqualified mainly for lack of training after the Navy reviewed the records of about 20,000 personnel who were involved in some way with preventing sexual assault or helping victims, said Lieutenant Commander Chris Servello, a Navy spokesman. News of the Navy action came just weeks after the Army said it had removed 588 people from positions of trust following a similar review of recruiters, drill sergeants, instructors, victim advocates and sexual assault response coordinators. The reviews were ordered by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel as the Pentagon struggles to deal with rising reports of sexual assault and a series of embarrassing sexual assault cases. Full Story | Top |
| Front companies, embassies mask North Korean weapons trade: U.N. Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:08 PM PDT  By James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has developed sophisticated ways to circumvent United Nations sanctions, including the suspected use of its embassies to facilitate an illegal trade in weapons, a United Nations report issued on Tuesday said. It said North Korea was also making use of more complicated financial countermeasures and techniques "pioneered by drug- trafficking organizations" that made tracking the isolated state's purchase of prohibited goods more difficult. The report, compiled by a panel of eight U.N. experts, is part of an annual accounting of North Korea's compliance with layers of U.N. sanctions imposed in response to Pyongyang's banned nuclear weapons and missile programs. "From the incidents analyzed in the period under review, the panel has found that (North Korea) makes increasing use of multiple and tiered circumvention techniques," a summary of the 127-page report said. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge asked to order Utah to recognize gay marriages Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:03 PM PDT By Jennifer Dobner SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Lawyers for four same-sex couples who wed in Utah while a ban on gay marriage was briefly lifted urged a U.S. judge on Wednesday to force the conservative, heavily Mormon state to recognize their nuptials while the legal battle over marriage plays out in an appeals court. Utah became the 18th U.S. state to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples when a federal district judge, Robert Shelby, ruled in December that a state ban on gay matrimony was unconstitutional. The decision was put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court, but not before more than 1,300 gay couples had tied the knot. The Utah governor's office has said the state cannot recognize those weddings - or grant those couples any marriage rights - until an appeal of the case is decided by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Release of Afghan prisoners exposes root of rift with U.S Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 07:10 PM PDT  By Sayed Anwar Amani and Mirwais Harooni KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. military commanders believe Sardar Mohammad is a dangerous Taliban bomb-maker who has attacked foreign and Afghan soldiers. In April last year, U.S. and Afghan forces captured Sardar and placed him in a military prison. The Afghan government ordered Sardar and 64 other men to be released last month. A quiet man who says he is in his late teens, Sardar headed back to his village in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. Full Story | Top |
| GM waited on Ion recall despite awareness of fatal crashes Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 06:58 PM PDT  By Ben Klayman, Richard Cowan and Paul Lienert DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co waited more than two weeks to expand a major recall to include the Saturn Ion and other compact cars, even though its engineers were aware of four fatalities in crashes involving the model, GM said in filings published on Wednesday. In an amended submission to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM also said it had identified an issue with the ignition switch, the central failing in the recall of more than 1.6 million cars, in 2001 preproduction testing on the Ion. Before Wednesday, GM had said that it became aware of the problem in 2004, in the Chevrolet Cobalt. GM says the switch has been connected with at least 34 crashes and is linked to at least 12 deaths. Full Story | Top |
| EU moves toward sanctions on Russians; Obama meets Ukraine PM Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 06:43 PM PDT  By Martin Santa and Aleksandar Vasovic BRUSSELS/SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - The European Union agreed on a framework on Wednesday for its first sanctions on Russia since the Cold War, a stronger response to the Ukraine crisis than many expected and a mark of solidarity with Washington in the drive to make Moscow pay for seizing Crimea. U.S. President Barack Obama warned Russia it faced costs from the West unless it changed course in Ukraine, and pledged to "stand with Ukraine" as he met with the country's new prime minister in Washington. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, U.S. make 'bit of progress' in trade talks: Japanese official Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 06:26 PM PDT The United States and Japan made some progress on resolving a deadlock over tariffs on farm and industrial exports which is dragging on a wider Pacific trade deal, a senior Japanese official said on Wednesday. Plans for a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have been bogged down amid a stand-off between the United States and Japan over market access. The United States had hoped to wrap up the TPP, which includes Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Malaysia and others, by the end of last year but many issues are still on the table. Japan, which has tried to protect its rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy and sugar from outside competition, is at the center of the debate as farmers in big agricultural exporting nations push for elimination of all tariffs. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's president faces revolt by coalition allies Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 06:02 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - The rift between President Dilma Rousseff and her main political allies widened on Wednesday one day after they voted in Congress to look into bribery allegations leveled at Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras. They also invited Maria das Graças Foster, the chief executive officer of state-controlled oil producer Petróleo Brasileiro SA, to answer questions about the allegations that a Dutch company paid bribes to company officials to win contracts for floating oil platforms. The revolt in the ranks of the ruling coalition is led by Brazil's largest party, the center-right PMDB, which is jockeying for a bigger role in Rousseff's government and more funds for its members' districts in an election year. "The government has neglected the allied parties and their leaders," said PMDB lawmaker Danilo Forte, who proposed calling a party convention to decide whether to end the alliance with Rousseff's leftist Workers' Party (PT). Full Story | Top |
| Former Manson Family killer Bruce Davis granted parole Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:48 PM PDT  By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Manson Family member Bruce Davis, who was sentenced to life in prison for two 1969 murders carried out with other members of the cult, was granted parole on Wednesday by a California parole board, although it was not certain he would be freed. Davis' parole must still be affirmed by California Governor Jerry Brown, who reversed a similar decision by the same board last year, saying that the 71-year-old convicted killer remained a danger to the public. Davis has been serving a life sentence in a California state prison since his 1972 conviction for the murders of music teacher Gary Hinman, who was stabbed to death in July 1969, and stunt man Donald "Shorty" Shea, who was killed the following month. Davis, who was arrested in 1970 after nearly a year on the run, was previously granted parole in 2010 but remained incarcerated after that decision was reversed by then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Full Story | Top |
| Funding shortage could delay U.S. road, rail projects this summer Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:44 PM PDT By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. transportation officials warned lawmakers on Wednesday that dwindling funds for highway and rail projects may cause delays in work this summer during the height of the construction season unless they quickly approve billions of dollars in new funding. The Highway Trust Fund, which receives money from a federal tax on every gallon of gasoline and diesel fuel sold in the United States, is expected to become insolvent by 2015. Funding for some programs could fall to dangerously low levels by this summer, forcing the Department of Transportation to delay payments to states, Peter Rogoff, the department's acting under secretary for policy testified before Congress. The United States levies 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents per gallon on diesel to pay for transportation projects. Full Story | Top |
| El Salvador army rules out coup in election result dispute Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:43 PM PDT  By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's top military commander said on Wednesday the armed forces would not intervene in the disputed presidential election between a former leftist guerrilla leader and his right-wing rival, who has asked for the result to be annulled. Norman Quijano of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) came second in Sunday's vote, narrowly trailing the ruling leftist party candidate Salvador Sanchez Ceren, who was known as Commander Leonel Gonzalez during the country's 12-year civil war. Quijano has asked the country's election tribunal, which has called the outcome "irreversible," to annul the result, claiming widespread fraud and threatening to take his complaint to the Supreme Court if necessary. Full Story | Top |
| Three more killed in Venezuela unrest, students battle troops Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:42 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Protesters battled soldiers in the streets of Caracas again on Wednesday as three more fatal shootings raised to 25 the death toll from a month of demonstrations against Venezuela's socialist government. Thousands of supporters and foes of President Nicolas Maduro took to the capital's streets for rival rallies marking a month since the first bloodshed in the recent unrest around the South American OPEC nation. Violence began when National Guard troops blocked opposition marchers from leaving Plaza Venezuela to head to the state ombudsman's office. Students threw stones and petrol bombs while security forces fired teargas and turned water cannon on them. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chief condemns rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:35 PM PDT U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned a series of rocket attacks against Israel that originated in the Gaza Strip and provoked swift Israeli retaliation. Israel bombed 29 targets in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said, after Palestinian militants in the coastal territory fired 60 rockets into Israel in the heaviest such barrage since 2012. "The Secretary-General strongly condemns the multiple rocket attacks today on Israel from Gaza, for which Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility," Ban's press office said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Preservationists fight to save rare albino redwood tree in California Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:35 PM PDT By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Northern California preservationists are fighting to keep a rare albino redwood, one of just 10 trees of its kind known to exist, from being chopped down to make way for a new commuter rail system, arborists and city officials said on Wednesday. The albino chimera coast redwood, standing 52 feet high in a commercial district of Cotati, a town in California's wine country, also is the tallest and widest specimen of its type, said Tom Stapleton, a certified arborist who is leading a group of researchers and community members pushing to save the tree. The tree is a form of albino redwood with a genetic mutation that causes its branches to be striped, in a candy cane-like pattern, with a mix of green and white needles. Albino redwoods are a mutant variety of the evergreen species known as the California redwood, giant redwood or coast redwood, which is named for the reddish color of its bark and includes the tallest living trees on Earth. Full Story | Top |
| GOP takes aim at Obamacare to fund Medicare Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:33 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Republicans said on Wednesday that they are pushing a plan to delay for five years the penalties for failing to buy health insurance under Obamacare, and to use the savings to spare doctors from a steep cut in Medicare payments. Delaying until 2019 the financial penalty for not signing up for health insurance would slow down Obamacare signups and save the government billions of dollars that would otherwise be paid out in taxpayer subsidies to enrollees, the Republicans say, citing Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. Democrats derided the idea as a "poison pill." They complained that House Republicans have tried dozens of times to change or repeal Obamacare and now proposed another change to a bipartisan deal making a long-sought repair to the formula used to determine Medicare payments to physicians. Full Story | Top |
| White House tried to mediate dispute between Senate panel, CIA Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:33 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House tried to mediate between the CIA and the Senate panel that oversees it after both sides alleged they were spied on by the other over a Bush-era interrogation program, a source familiar with the discussion told Reuters on Wednesday. The involvement of the White House's most senior lawyer indicates President Barack Obama's interest in ending the increasingly bitter dispute between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Senate Intelligence Committee. White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler has attempted to "de-escalate" the tension, the source said. The fight burst into the open on Monday when the committee chair Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said the CIA had possibly broken the law by spying on Congress. Full Story | Top |
| Britain to award more contracts for nuclear deterrent Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:04 PM PDT By Brenda Goh and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is to award firms millions of pounds worth of contracts for its submarine fleet, bringing it a step closer to the costly and controversial renewal of its Trident nuclear deterrent, an issue which has divided its coalition government. The country has been locked in debate over the merits of replacing the vessels carrying the deterrent - which currently consists of four ageing Vanguard-class submarines carrying Trident missiles - which would cost 20 billion pounds ($33 billion) at a time when the cash-strapped government is trying to cut back on spending. The Conservative party, the senior member of the two-party ruling coalition, favours a like-for-like replacement of the deterrent while its junior Liberal Democrat partner believes the current size of the fleet is more suited for the Cold War era and should be scaled down. Full Story | Top |
| UK house price growth eases in Feb but recovery has further to run - RICS Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:02 PM PDT  British house prices rose at the slowest pace in six months in February, but strong expectations for rising prices and activity suggest the housing market recovery still has a long way to run, a survey showed on Thursday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its main house price balance measure eased last month to +45, its lowest since August, from +52 in January, downwardly revised from +53 reported earlier. RICS suggested the easing in levels of activity last month may have been down in part to bad weather, with rain, wind and flooding making people less inclined to go out and view houses. Yes, it is true that more and more are being built, but supply is simply not enough to satisfy demand," said Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS. Full Story | Top |
| Animal rights activist wanted in California bombings may be in Hawaii: FBI Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:00 PM PDT U.S. authorities in pursuit of a fugitive animal rights activist suspected in a pair of California bombings over a decade ago have focused their hunt on Hawaii's big island following a lead he may be there, an FBI spokesman said on Wednesday. The fugitive, Daniel Andreas San Diego, is a suspect in connection with a bomb blast at a biotechnology firm near Oakland in August 2003. San Diego, 36, was also suspected of involvement in a nail-filled bomb blast at a nutritional products company in the San Francisco-area suburb of Pleasanton the following month. "He may or may not actually be on Hawaii Island, but we are taking this lead seriously out of genuine concern for local residents." said Special Agent Tom Simon, spokesman for the FBI's Honolulu office, referring to the island's official name. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Ukraine premier outline potential opening over Crimea Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:57 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Just days before a referendum in Crimea to decide if it should become part of Russia, President Barack Obama and Ukraine's prime minister outlined a potential diplomatic opening on Wednesday that could give Russians a greater voice in the disputed region. The United States and its European allies are trying to head off the referendum that Crimea's pro-Russian parliament is to stage in the southern region of Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk told an Atlantic Council forum in Washington that his interim government was ready to have a dialogue and negotiations with Russia about Moscow's concerns for the rights of ethnic Russians in Crimea, which has already been seized by the Russian military. Full Story | Top |
| Oklahoma teens to be tried as adults in Australian athlete's murder Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:48 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Two Oklahoma teenagers were ordered on Wednesday to stand trial as adults for the murder of Australian baseball player Chris Lane, who was shot dead while jogging last year, an Oklahoma court clerk said. Stephens County Court Judge Jerry Herberger decided there was enough evidence to try Chancey Luna, 16, and Michael Jones, 18, on first-degree murder charges, which in this case could mean life in prison without the possibility of parole if they were convicted. James Edwards, a third teenager who was in a car with the pair at the time of the shooting and was also charged with first-degree murder, will testify for the prosecution and could have his charges reduced, the clerk said. Oklahoma law allows for the death sentence for first-degree murder, but people convicted of capital crimes committed before age 18 cannot be sentenced to death in the United States. Full Story | Top |
| Herbalife says FTC opens inquiry long sought by Ackman Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:37 PM PDT  By Diane Bartz and Svea Herbst-Bayliss (Reuters) - Herbalife Ltd said on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission had opened an inquiry into its operations, news that briefly sent the nutrition and weight loss company's share price down more than 16 percent. Billionaire investor William Ackman, who has a $1.16 billion short bet on Herbalife, has for months called on regulators to investigate Herbalife's distribution model, which he calls a "pyramid scheme," where a company makes most of its money by recruiting new distributors rather than selling products to real customers. Herbalife said it "will cooperate fully with the FTC." "Herbalife welcomes the inquiry given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the marketplace," the company said in a statement. "We are confident that Herbalife is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations." So far, Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital Management, has lost money on his short bet as rivals such as businessman Carl Icahn took the other side. Full Story | Top |
| Turkish protester, police officer die in day of clashes: media Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:35 PM PDT  A protester in Istanbul died from a head injury and a police officer suffered a fatal heart attack during Turkey's worst day of civil unrest since anti-government protests swept the nation last summer, local media said late on Wednesday. A defiant Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a damaging corruption scandal weeks ahead of elections, cast the latest unrest as part of a plot against the state. Police fired water cannon, tear gas and rubber pellets on a major Istanbul avenue to stop tens of thousands of protesters from reaching the central Taksim square. Officers in riot gear chased pockets of protesters into side streets late into the night. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. rebukes Sudan over Darfur violence, wants more from peacekeepers Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday condemned the recent upsurge in violence in Sudan's western Darfur region, and said civilians are being "terrorized, displaced, and killed" despite the presence of one of the world's biggest peacekeeping missions. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power criticized the Sudanese government and the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, known as UNAMID. Dozens have been killed in Darfur in recent weeks in fighting between rebels and security forces. "The Government of Sudan's proxies and other armed groups continue to attack civilians in Darfur," Power said in a statement issued during a closed-door meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Darfur. Full Story | Top |
| Missing jet may have strayed to west, Malaysia military says Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:18 PM PDT By Eveline Danubrata and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC, Vietnam (Reuters) - Malaysia's military has traced what could have been the jetliner missing for almost five days to an area south of the Thai holiday island of Phuket, hundreds of miles to the west of its last known position, the country's air force chief said on Wednesday. His statement followed a series of conflicting accounts of the flight path of the Boeing 777-200ER with 239 people on board, which left authorities uncertain even which ocean to search in for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The last definitive sighting of the aircraft on civilian radar screens came shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, as it flew northeast across the mouth of the Gulf of Thailand bound for Beijing. In the latest potential lead, a Chinese government agency website on Wednesday said a Chinese satellite had photographed three "suspicious floating objects" on Sunday in waters northeast of Kuala Lumpur and south of Vietnam. Full Story | Top |
| GM recommends light key rings after recall Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:16 PM PDT  Also on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill said a Senate subcommittee plans to hold a hearing in early April on GM's recall last month of more than 1.6 million vehicles with the faulty ignition switches which have been linked to 12 deaths. GM became aware of the problem a decade ago. "We need to find out who dropped ball and put millions of Americans at risk." GM has been telling owners affected by the recall that until the repairs are made only the key should be on the key ring. "We recommend that customers only utilize the key, key ring and key fob (if equipped) that came with the vehicle," GM said in the document filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-NFL star Sharper indicted in Arizona sex assaults Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:13 PM PDT  By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - Former NFL star Darren Sharper, who faces accusations in several states of drugging and raping women, has been indicted in Arizona on sexual assault charges, Tempe police said on Wednesday. Sharper, who played 14 years in the National Football League and helped the New Orleans Saints win a 2010 Super Bowl title, is in custody in Los Angeles, where he is accused of drugging four women and raping two of them. He faces similar accusations in Louisiana and is the subject of sex crimes investigations in Florida and Nevada. Sharper, 38, was indicted by a grand jury in Maricopa County on two counts of sexual assault and three counts of administering dangerous drugs, said Tempe police Sergeant Michael Pooley in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine bill with sanctions, IMF reforms clears hurdle in U.S. Senate Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:06 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday approved legislation that would impose strict sanctions on Russians involved in Moscow's intervention in Ukraine, provide aid to the new government in Kiev, and implement reforms of the International Monetary Fund. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 14-3 for the measure, with several committee Republicans joining the Democratic majority in favor. The bill next goes to the full Senate for a vote. If it passes there, it would have to win approval in the House of Representatives to become law. Full Story | Top |
| Florida congressman's wife drops restraining order against him Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 04:06 PM PDT The wife of Florida Congressman Alan Grayson dropped her request for a permanent restraining order against him, according to a court filing on Wednesday. Lolita Grayson had accused her husband of shoving and bruising her, and on March 3 obtained a temporary restraining order against him, based on her account of what happened when they met at the family home on March 1. The couple is estranged, with Lolita Grayson having filed for divorce in January. Grayson's lawyer Mark Nejame later produced a video shot by the congressman's aide of the encounter which he said showed that Lolita Grayson was the aggressor. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry says to meet Russia's Lavrov in London on Ukraine Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 03:53 PM PDT By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to London to meet with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday to discuss proposals for resolving the Ukrainian crisis days before a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region on joining Russia. Kerry told lawmakers that he was traveling at the request of President Barack Obama, who met with Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk at the White House on Wednesday. Russia's bloodless seizure of the Crimea has brought U.S.-Russian relations to one of their lowest points since the Cold War, with no sign that tensions are easing. Full Story | Top |
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