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| Safety advocates alarmed by fatal accidents in recalled GM cars Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 09:10 PM PDT  By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Safety advocates say two recent fatal accidents involving recalled General Motors Co cars provide evidence that the automaker should advise owners to take vehicles off the road until they are repaired. In both incidents airbags failed to deploy, which is one sign of an accident related to the faulty ignition switch behind GM's 2.6 million vehicle recall. It is not known whether in either accident the key slipped from "run" to "accessory" position, which could indicate a faulty ignition switch. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, which is probing GM's slow response in recalling the vehicles, said it is aware of these accidents but would not say whether it plans to launch a formal investigation into whether they were caused by ignition switch malfunctions. Full Story | Top |
| Australian PM says confident of position of MH370's black box Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 09:05 PM PDT Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday that searchers were confident they knew the position of the black box flight recorder from a missing Malaysian airliner, but cautioned this was not the same as recovering wreckage. "Still, confidence in the approximate position of the black box is not the same as recovering wreckage from almost four and a half kilometers beneath the sea or finally determining all that happened on the flight." Malaysia Airlines MASM.KL Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished on March 8 and is believed to have flown thousands of kilometers off its Kuala Lumpur-to-Beijing route and into the Indian Ocean. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. agency recommends shorter prison sentences for drug offenders Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:59 PM PDT By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Up to 70 percent of all federal drug offenses could carry shorter prison sentences if the recommendation passed on Thursday by an agency that advises U.S. federal judges on sentencing is not opposed by Congress. The U.S. Sentencing Commission's recommendation reflects a policy supported by the Obama administration to bring punishments for low-level drug offenders in line with the severity of their crime. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he opposes lowering sentences. The amendment would not reduce penalties for drug traffickers with the greatest drug quantities, and sentencing guidelines already take into account whether the drug offense was combined with violence or possession of a firearm. Full Story | Top |
| CIA's 'harsh interrogations' exceeded legal authority: report Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:52 PM PDT  A classified U.S. Senate report found that the CIA's legal justification for the use of harsh interrogation techniques that critics say amount to torture was based on faulty legal reasoning, McClatchy news service reported on Thursday. The report also concluded that the CIA used interrogation methods that were not approved by its own headquarters or the U.S. Justice Department, impeded White House oversight and actively evaded oversight both by Congress and its own Inspector General. The CIA also provided false information to the U.S. Justice Department, which used that information to conclude that the methods would not break the law because those applying them did not specifically intend to inflict severe pain or suffering, the report added. "The report's findings appear to show that the CIA systematically misled Congress, the White House, and the Department of Justice about its brutal and unlawful interrogation program," said Raha Wala, senior counsel at Human Rights First in Washington. Full Story | Top |
| Japan minister to head to U.S. for trade talks next week: media Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:50 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari will travel to the United States for trade talks late next week in a bid to reach agreement in a two-way deal that is seen as critical for a broader regional pact, Jiji news agency reported on Friday. Amari will meet U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on April 17, Jiji said, without citing a source. The two top negotiators ended two days of intense talks in Tokyo on Thursday saying progress had been made but big gaps remain ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's state visit to Tokyo later this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hackers steal South Korean credit card data to aid forgeries Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:49 PM PDT Hackers stole the personal information of about 200,000 South Korean credit card users, using some to make fake cards and rack up fraudulent charges of about 120 million won ($115,400), an official of the country's financial regulator said on Friday. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement several suspects had late last year hacked into a server of a firm managing card payment processing terminals, and extracted data such as numbers, expiry dates and passwords for a point-amassing loyalty card. The suspects exploited the fact that some users had the same pin number or password for both credit cards and the loyalty card to create fake cards and charge items earlier this year, an official with direct knowledge of the investigation said. South Korean police, who are leading the investigation, have so far identified 268 separate cases of wrongful charges, said the official, who declined to be identified as the probe is still underway. Full Story | Top |
| DoJ probes Citigroup unit over suspicious transactions: WSJ Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:39 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The Justice Department is investigating whether a Citigroup Inc unit in California failed to alert the government about suspicious banking transactions along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. U.S. prosecutors want to know why Citigroup did not submit so-called suspicious-activity reports flagging the questionable transactions that in some cases involved suspected drug-cartel members, the newspaper said. (http://r.reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Committee to quiz Lazard over Royal Mail sale Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:24 PM PDT  By Freya Berry LONDON (Reuters) - A parliamentary committee will question independent financial adviser Lazard this month regarding its role in the sale of Royal Mail, a committee spokeswoman said on Thursday. Lazard, which advised the government on the Royal Mail stock market listing, will be called before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on April 30, the spokeswoman said. This comes a week after a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) criticised the government for its reliance on independent advisers during the 2 billion pound listing of Royal Mail and said it had sold the company too cheaply. Lazard, which has also advised the government on selling part of its holding in Lloyds Banking Group, received 1.5 million pounds for its role in the Royal Mail deal. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editor 'a man I would trust', ex-archbishop tells hacking trial Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:22 PM PDT  A former Archbishop of Canterbury took to the witness stand in the phone-hacking trial on Thursday to tell a jury the ex-managing editor of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World tabloid was "a man I would trust". George Carey, the head of the Anglican church for 11 years until 2002, appeared as a character witness at Old Bailey court and said Stuart Kuttner was a man of integrity. Kuttner, 74, who was managing editor of the downmarket weekly tabloid for 22 years until 2009, is on trial with the paper's former editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson accused of conspiracy to intercept voicemails on mobile phones. Brooks, Coulson and the News of the World's former royal editor Clive Goodman, also face charges over illegal payments to public officials, which they deny. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Maduro and opposition talk as death toll hits 40 Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:12 PM PDT  By Diego Ore and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hosted opposition leaders on Thursday at the start of mediated talks intended to stem two months of political unrest that has killed dozens in the OPEC nation. The meeting, brokered by foreign ministers from the Unasur bloc of South American governments, took place at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas and was broadcast live on TV. Full Story | Top |
| Nigel Evans cleared of sex offences Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:12 PM PDT  Nigel Evans, a former deputy speaker of the Commons, was cleared on Thursday of sexual assault and a rape charge and said afterwards he had been through 11 months of 'hell'. The 56-year-old openly gay MP, who was vice chairman of Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative Party from 1999 to 2001, had been accused of offences against seven young men, including alleged incidents inside the Houses of Parliament. However, he was found not guilty of all the accusations by a jury at Preston Crown Court in northern England. Full Story | Top |
| Health secretary resigns after Obamacare launch woes Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:07 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is resigning after overseeing the botched rollout of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, a White House official said on Thursday. Her departure removes one lightning rod for critics as Obama and nervous Democrats try to retain control of the U.S. Senate in November midterm elections, but Republicans continue to see problems with the Affordable Care Act as a winning issue. I think it's just going to embolden Republicans," said David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. The October 1 launch of new Obamacare health insurance marketplaces, which was plagued by computer problems that stymied access for millions of people, has been condemned by Republicans as a step toward socialized medicine. Full Story | Top |
| Northern Ireland charges man with murder in Omagh bombing Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 08:07 PM PDT  By Ian Graham BELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland has charged a man with 29 counts of murder in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst attack in decades of violence in the province, police said on Thursday. Seamus Daly, who lives in Culloville, County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, was arrested on Monday when he crossed the border into Northern Ireland. The "Good Friday" peace agreement largely ended more than three decades of violence in which more than 3,600 people died between mainly Catholic Irish nationalists, seeking union with Ireland, and predominantly Protestant unionists who want to remain part of the United Kingdom. The only man to stand trial on a murder charge for the Omagh attack was acquitted in 2007. Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Chinese activist defiant as jail term upheld Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:48 PM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - A prominent Chinese rights activist expressed defiance on Friday after a court upheld his four-year jail sentence, saying the pall of communism and dictatorship would eventually give way to freedom and justice. Although the ruling had been expected, as China's courts are controlled by the Communist Party and almost never rule in favor of dissidents, the decision is likely to renew an outcry by the United States, the European Union and rights groups. Activist Xu Zhiyong's lawyer said an appeal to the Beijing Municipal High People's Court had been rejected. "The appeal verdict was within our expectations," the lawyer, Zhang Qingfang, told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. may give up demand for zero Japan beef tariffs in trade deal: Nikkei Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:41 PM PDT  The United States appears willing to accept a big cut in Japanese tariffs on beef imports rather than insist on scrapping the levy, the Nikkei business daily said on Friday, as the two countries seek a trade deal seen as vital to a broader regional pact. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari wrapped up two days of intense talks on Thursday on the bilateral deal, a cornerstone of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with both saying progress had been made but that big gaps remained. "There was a bit of progress but big differences remain," Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi reiterated at a news conference on Friday. Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters that an April 24 summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be an important juncture for the trade talks, but repeated Japan's stance that the meeting was not a deadline for a deal, Kyodo news agency reported. Full Story | Top |
| Judge restores $120 million in tobacco settlement to Pennsylvania Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:37 PM PDT By Daniel Kelley PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia judge on Thursday set aside most of an arbitration ruling that could have cost the state of Pennsylvania some $180 million from a landmark 1998 settlement with the nation's tobacco companies. The decision restores $120 million of the $180 million in payments from tobacco companies that Pennsylvania was set to lose when a September 2013 arbitration found that it and five other states failed to enforce part of an agreement that was part of the settlement. In a statement hailing the decision by Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas Judge Patricia McInerney, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane said the ruling showed "what can happen when government works together for the people". "While we were not able to win the entire amount," Kane said, "we are excited for this victory and what it means for the future of important smoking cessation, medical research and health programs that depend on this money." A spokesman for the tobacco companies could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday evening. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia Airlines search zeroing in after latest pings Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:35 PM PDT  By Matt Siegel and Swati Pandey SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - The international effort to find a missing Malaysian jetliner was zeroing on a small patch of the Indian Ocean on Friday that officials now believe offers the best hope of solving the mystery of Flight MH370. The Australian agency overseeing the search said it would use some of the most sophisticated resources at its disposal on the small search area after a new acoustic signal, that could be from the plane's black box recorders, was detected on Thursday. The latest signal, which was captured by a listening device buoy, seems to lend credence to four previous "pings" detected by a U.S. Navy "Towed Pinger Locator" (TPL) towed by Australia's Ocean Shield vessel. "The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a man-made source," Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency co-ordinating the search, said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses Russia after Putin warning on gas supplies to Europe Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:21 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk and Bill Trott MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted if Moscow cuts the flow to Ukraine over unpaid bills, drawing a U.S. accusation that it is using energy "as a tool of coercion". In a letter to the leaders of 18 European countries, Putin made clear that his patience would run out over Kiev's $2.2 billion gas debt to Russia unless a solution could be brokered urgently. Russia has nearly doubled the gas price it charges Ukraine, whose economy is in crisis, since pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown two months ago. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry urges end to South Sudan fighting in meeting with senior official Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:19 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a senior South Sudan official on Thursday that the Juba government needed to end the fighting in the African country, as the State Department brandished the threat of sanctions. In a meeting with South Sudan's minister of the office of president, Awan Riak, Kerry said: "We will not stand by while the hopes of a nation are held hostage to short-sighted and destructive actors." In a statement about the meeting, the State Department pointedly noted that President Barack Obama last week authorized possible targeted sanctions against those committing human rights abuses in South Sudan or undermining democracy and obstructing the peace process. A civil war in South Sudan between the government and rebels has created a humanitarian crisis in the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011 but has since been plagued by disorder. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge accepts SAC guilty plea, approves $1.2 billion deal Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:12 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - SAC Capital Advisors' $1.2 billion criminal settlement for insider trading received final court approval on Thursday, as a U.S. judge accepted a guilty plea from the hedge fund firm run by billionaire Steven A. Cohen. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain accepted SAC Capital's guilty plea to fraud charges and payment of a $900 million fine. In total, SAC Capital has agreed to pay $1.8 billion to resolve criminal and civil probes into insider trading. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy looks to leverage submarine work to keep costs down Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:06 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy hopes to save money and time by leveraging industry investments as it replaces its Ohio-class nuclear-armed submarines with the Virginia-class attack submarines now built by General Dynamics Corp and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. Navy chief weapons buyer Sean Stackley told the Senate Armed Services Committee's seapower subcommittee on Thursday that Navy officials were studying ways to drive down the cost of the new submarine, including a combined purchase that would include another batch of Virginia-class submarines. The congressional Government Accountability Office estimated last month that it would cost $95 billion to develop and build a dozen new submarines to replace the current fleet of Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines as they begin to retire in 2027. Full Story | Top |
| Music labels follow movie studios in suing Megaupload Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:03 PM PDT  Four music labels filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Thursday against the file-sharing website Megaupload and its founder Kim Dotcom, three days after several major movie studios did the same. The lawsuit says that Megaupload, Dotcom and other defendants "engaged in, actively encouraged, and handsomely profited from massive copyright infringement of music," according to a statement issued by the Recording Industry Association of America. The plaintiffs are Warner Music Group Corp, a unit of Time Warner Inc, UMG Recordings Inc, a unit of Vivendi SA, Sony Music Entertainment, a unit of Sony Corp and Capitol Records, also owned by Vivendi, and all RIAA members. Full Story | Top |
| Ad hoc reforms for IMF seen unlikely Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 07:00 PM PDT  By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Global finance officials appear inclined to give the United States more time to endorse a series of long-delayed International Monetary Fund reforms aimed at giving more weight to emerging economy nations, rather than trying to implement alternative proposals to get around U.S. intransigence. Last month, Democrats in the U.S. Senate dropped an effort to include the reforms as part of an aid package for Ukraine because the Republican-led House of Representatives refused to consider the matter. Frustrated by the U.S. foot-dragging, international finance officials are bandying about a clutch of alternatives. The options will be debated at a meeting of the IMF steering committee and the top 20 economies on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Japan approves energy plan reinstating nuclear power Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 06:31 PM PDT  Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a new energy policy, reversing the previous government's plans to gradually mothball nuclear power plants following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The plan defines nuclear as an "important baseload power source" and also says Japan will do as much as possible to increase renewable energy supplies, Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a news conference after the Cabinet meeting. The decision to reinstate nuclear power is likely to be unpopular and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had to spend months convincing skeptical members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party as well coalition partner New Komeito, which opposes atomic energy, to accept the final draft of the plan. Full Story | Top |
| Hillary Clinton dodges shoe during Las Vegas speech Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 06:08 PM PDT  A woman hurled a shoe at Hillary Clinton on Thursday as the former secretary of state was delivering a speech at a Las Vegas hotel, but Clinton dodged it and continued with her remarks, a U.S. Secret Service spokesman said. Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said the protester was not a ticketed guest for Clinton's speech at the Mandalay Bay hotel and had been spotted by Secret Service agents and hotel security guards before the incident. Full Story | Top |
| Democrats relish chance to attack Republicans over austere budget Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 06:04 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress can hardly contain their glee over the latest Republican budget plan, even though they loathe the details of the blueprint that would cut programs for the poor and funding of medical research. Democrats view the document as a potent weapon in the November congressional elections and are betting that its emphasis on austerity and cuts to popular programs such as Medicare will provoke a backlash against Republicans. Crafted by Representative Paul Ryan, the leading Republican voice on fiscal policy, the budget proposes to eliminate annual deficits within 10 years. It won approval on Thursday in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives. Full Story | Top |
| China's U.S. ambassador plays down tensions after Hagel trip Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:55 PM PDT  By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's ambassador to the United States on Thursday played down the tense exchange this week in Beijing between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and his Chinese counterpart and praised the frank talk between the two countries. Ambassador Cui Tiankai spoke after Hagel's meeting on Tuesday with Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, who called on the United States to restrain Japan and chided another U.S. ally, the Philippines. "He had a very substantive and direct exchange with his Chinese counterpart," Cui said. Hagel's trip to China exposed tensions over its territorial disputes with regional U.S. allies, including the Philippines and Japan. Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles County sheriff deputies mistakenly kill man fleeing assailant Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:50 PM PDT An aspiring TV producer who was being held captive by a knife-wielding man in West Hollywood was mistakenly shot and killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies as he tried to escape his assailant, the sheriff's department said on Thursday. John Winkler, 30, was one of three men being held and attacked by a 27-year-old man with a knife at an apartment on Monday night, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said in a statement. "Believing Winkler was the assailant and the assault was ongoing and he would attack the entry team, three deputies fired their duty weapons at him." The deputies then heard sounds of a fight from the apartment and went inside to find the attacker, identified as Alexander McDonald, assaulting another person. Winkler was taken to a hospital, where he later died, the sheriff's department said. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine says fulfilled all conditions for first IMF tranche Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:47 PM PDT By Lidia Kelly and Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine Finance Minister Oleksander Shlapak said on Thursday that Kiev has fulfilled all conditions to receive the first portion of the financial aid package from the International Monetary Fund. "We're here to speak in more specific terms about time and conditions of (international) support," Shlapak told journalists on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF spring meeting in Washington. "Moreover, Ukraine has fulfilled all the conditions set by the IMF for the first tranche." The IMF agreed in late March to a $14 billion-$18 billion two-year bailout for Ukraine, a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of $27 billion. Full Story | Top |
| Former Maker Studios CEO sues to block Disney purchase: WSJ Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:42 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The co-founder and former chief executive of Maker Studios, Danny Zappin, filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing a shareholder vote on a takeover offer from Walt Disney Co, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Zappin and three other former Maker executives asked a California court to issue a temporary restraining order to delay an April 15 vote by Maker shareholders, the Journal said. Disney agreed in March to buy Maker Studios, one of YouTube's largest networks, for $500 million. A Disney spokeswoman had no comment. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine. Editing by Andre Grenon) Full Story | Top |
| Philippine, Vietnamese navies to unite against China over beers and volleyball Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:32 PM PDT  By Manuel Mogato and Greg Torode MANILA/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The Philippine navy will soon return to a South China Sea island it lost to Vietnam 40 years ago to drink beer and play volleyball with Vietnamese sailors, symbolizing how once-suspicious neighbors are cooperating in the face of China's assertiveness in disputed waters. Diplomats and experts describe the nascent partnership as part of a web of evolving relationships across Asia that are being driven by fear of China as well as doubts among some, especially in Japan, over the U.S. commitment to the region. When U.S. President Barack Obama visits Asia this month he will see signs that once-disparate nations are strategizing for the future, even though he will likely seek to shore-up faith in America's "pivot" back to the region. Among the new network of ties: growing cooperation between Japan and India; Full Story | Top |
| Education gap is an 'urgent' civil rights issue: George W. Bush Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:09 PM PDT  By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Inequality in the U.S. education system favors white children over minorities, the poor and the disabled, making it "one of the most urgent civil rights issues of our time," former President George W. Bush said on Thursday. Speaking to a crowd of students, activists, and national leaders in Austin, Texas, his home state, Bush said he fears a return to "the soft bigotry of low expectations" that strips disadvantaged students of a strong education. Bush was among four American presidents who addressed the three-day meeting, joining President Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to mark a half century since former President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Full Story | Top |
| Former Connecticut governor indicted on campaign charges Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:05 PM PDT  Former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, who spent time in federal prison for corruption, was indicted on Thursday on charges of illegal campaign activities, authorities said. Rowland, 56, a Republican, is accused of trying to conceal payments made to him for working on two congressional campaigns, the office of the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut said. He pleaded guilty to corruption and spent 10 months in federal prison. The indictment charges Rowland, who also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991, with working illegally on the 2012 congressional campaign of Republican Lisa Wilson-Foley. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. renews call for human rights monitoring in Western Sahara Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:59 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday renewed his appeals for sustained human rights monitoring in the disputed territory of northern Africa's Western Sahara and warned against unfair exploitation of the region's natural resources. The comments were included in Ban's latest report on Western Sahara to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, an advance copy of which was obtained by Reuters. Morocco took control of most of the territory in 1975 when colonial power Spain withdrew, prompting a guerrilla war for independence that lasted until 1991 when the United Nations brokered a cease-fire and sent in a peacekeeping mission known as MINURSO. Ban said he welcomed Morocco's willingness to allow special investigators from the U.N. Human Rights Council to visit the territory and the Polisario Front independence movement's willingness to work with United Nations rights bodies. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy aims to smooth impact of fiscal 2015 cut to ship orders Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:58 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy hopes to smooth out the impact on Lockheed Martin Corp and Australia's Austal of a budget-driven decision to order three Littoral Combat Ships instead of four in fiscal year 2015, the Navy's top weapons buyer said on Thursday. Assistant Navy Secretary Sean Stackley told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee's seapower subcommittee that Navy officials would now meet with both companies, and evaluate their schedules, material purchases, expenditures and performance before deciding how to divvy up the orders this year. Full Story | Top |
| Jim Flaherty dies soon after quitting as Canada's finance minister Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:39 PM PDT  By Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Former Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who steered Canada through the global financial crisis and then nearly eliminated the huge budget deficits he had run up in the process, died on Thursday just weeks after resigning. An unnamed source close to the family told CBC television that Flaherty had suffered a massive heart attack. Canada's federal and provincial legislatures, where Flaherty had served, suspended their sessions. "Today is a very sad day for me, for our government and for all of our country," Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his voice quaking, said of the friend who had stood at his side since the Conservatives took power in 2006. Full Story | Top |
| IOC tightens control over Rio 2016 preparations Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:38 PM PDT  The International Olympic Committee has announced a series of measures including a stronger presence in Rio de Janeiro to monitor progress and speed up lagging preparations for the 2016 Olympics, president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday. Preparations for the 2016 Games, the first on the South American continent, have been plagued by delays, rising costs and bad communication between different levels of the Brazilian government and organizers. "We had the meeting (on Thursday) in a very constructive atmosphere with our partners from Rio," Bach told a news conference in Turkey at the end of a two-day executive board meeting. "We then took some decisions about... how we can accelerate one way or another the works in Rio and how we can work even closer with the organizing committee and the different levels of government." Among the measures agreed were the setting up of a decision-making body involving the government, IOC and organizers so decisions are taken faster, and sending the IOC's Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli to Rio sooner than initially planned. Full Story | Top |
| Obama's health secretary resigns after Obamacare launch woes Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:26 PM PDT By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. health secretary who oversaw the botched rollout of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reforms, has resigned, a senior administration official said on Thursday. Obama has chosen Sylvia Mathews Burwell, his budget director, to replace Sebelius, a second official said. Obama was due to announce the change with Sebelius and Burwell at his side at a White House event at 10:45 ET on Friday. Sebelius, 65, became the public face for the problem-plagued start to the enrollment period for Obamacare, which was meant to reduce the number of Americans without health insurance and cut into massive U.S. healthcare costs. Full Story | Top |
| Varian wins partial victory in radiation device patent case Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:25 PM PDT Medical device company Varian Medical Systems Inc won a partial victory in a patent fight with the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday, when an appeals court disagreed with a lower court's multimillion-dollar damages award. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the earlier finding that the infringement was willful on one portion of the patent, also called a claim. The appeals court also questioned the district court's reading of a second claim. It vacated the damages award based on that claim and sent it back to the lower court for reconsideration. Full Story | Top |
| Former Massachusetts Senator Brown comes out swinging on Obamacare in New Hampshire Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:20 PM PDT  By Scott Malone PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts launched a Republican campaign on Thursday to represent neighboring New Hampshire in the Senate, with an attack on incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen's vote for Obamacare. Brown, who moved to his native New Hampshire late last year to explore a run for office, has focused much of his energy on attacking the Affordable Care Act, an issue Republicans are making a centerpiece of 2014 campaigns. And Obamacare could not have happened without a rubber-stamp 'yes' vote from Senator Shaheen," Brown told a crowd of a couple hundred supporters in a hotel ballroom in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, near the state's southern coast. Full Story | Top |
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