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| U.S. accuses Russian agents of stirring eastern Ukraine unrest Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 06:23 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Thomas Grove WASHINGTON/LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russian agents and special forces on Tuesday of stirring separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine, saying Moscow could be trying to prepare for military action as it had in Crimea. Ukraine's security service said separatists occupying the security headquarters in Luhansk had planted bombs in the building and were holding as many as 60 hostages. Kerry said he feared Moscow might repeat its Crimean operation. "It is clear that Russian special forces and agents have been the catalyst behind the chaos of the last 24 hours," he said in Washington, and this "could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea." Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula last month after a referendum staged when Russian troops were already in control. Full Story | Top |
| Race to find Malaysia plane as 'pings' prove illusive Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 08:57 PM PDT  By Matt Siegel and Swati Pandey SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - The search for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner continued on Wednesday, as the U.S. Navy said it had been unable to relocate possible "pings" from the black box recorders that had injected fresh urgency into the international effort. A U.S. Navy "towed pinger locator" (TPL) onboard Australia's Ocean Shield on the weekend picked up two signals consistent with black box locator beacons - the first for more than two hours and the second for about 13 minutes - at the weekend. Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said that the signals represented the best lead yet in the month-long hunt in the Indian Ocean. But Commander William J. Marks, public affairs officer for the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet, told Reuters on Wednesday that they had so far failed to replicate the findings, raising concerns as time ticks down on the devices' batteries. Full Story | Top |
| In smartphone mass-market, Samsung, Apple have margins on their minds Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 07:52 PM PDT  By Miyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - As the smartphone action shifts to the mass market, leaders Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple Inc are under pressure to make their high-end phones more affordable to revive sales. Samsung, which said on Tuesday it would likely post a second straight quarterly profit decline, has knocked around a tenth off the price of its Galaxy S5 in South Korea, in the first such move for a marquee smartphone launch - the S5 rolls out globally on Friday. The mass market - where a smartphone can be had for as little as $25 - is the new mobile device battleground, as high-end growth eases off with sales slowing in mature markets. Japan, for example, may see smartphone shipments shrink this year, according to researcher IDC. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, United States face off in crucial trade negotiations Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 09:02 PM PDT  Japan and the United States on Wednesday began a round of crucial talks aimed at concluding a trade pact seen as critical to the success of regional negotiations, although officials warned that bridging differences would be difficult. Tokyo and Washington are seeking a two-way trade deal, regarded as a key part of the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that is the centerpiece of Washington's push to increase its Asian presence, before U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Japan for an April 24-25 state visit. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has touted the multilateral framework as a key part of his growth strategy but the outlook for a Japan-U.S. deal is cloudy as both sides accuse each other of inflexibility. "I think if there is good will on both sides we can make progress on bridging our differences," U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman told reporters before talks with officials including Economy Minister Akira Amari. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Iowa, North Carolina join states studying Experian breach Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 05:09 PM PDT  By Jim Finkle and Karen Freifeld BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iowa and North Carolina said they are looking into a breach involving a subsidiary of Experian Plc that exposed some 200 million social security numbers, in addition to two states that previously announced investigations. Separately U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, chided the company, saying she was concerned it had changed its explanation of how it was responding to the breach. McCaskill told Reuters she was troubled to learn Experian has recently said it would not be able to notify people whose social security numbers were compromised in the scheme. "It's troubling that Experian would wait three months after testifying, only to change their story, all while victims who had their identities stolen remain at risk as a result of this crime," McCaskill told Reuters via email. Full Story | Top |
| Untaxed U.S. corporate profits held overseas top $2.1 trillion: study Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 05:35 PM PDT  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign profits held overseas by U.S. corporations to avoid taxes at home nearly doubled from 2008 to 2013 to top $2.1 trillion, said a private research firm's report, prompting a call for reform by the Senate's top tax law writer. I do think there need to be some reforms in this area," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Under U.S. law, corporations do not have to pay income tax on most of their overseas profits until they are brought into the United States. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. fines GM for not answering recall questions Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:48 PM PDT  General Motors is being fined $7,000 a day for missing an April 3 deadline to provide information about its recall of 2.6 million cars for defective ignition switches, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday. In a letter to GM, NHTSA said the automaker had been fined $28,000 so far and would be subject to daily fines until it answers all 107 questions the agency asked in its investigation. GM said in a statement it had "fully cooperated" with NHTSA. The automaker said it had sent more than 271,000 pages of documents to the agency and would provide additional documents "as soon as they become available." The NHTSA said the automaker had not responded to over a third of its questions by the April 3 deadline. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Republicans battle over bill on pay equity for women Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:38 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House and congressional Republicans blasted each other on Tuesday over equal pay in a battle for women's votes as Democrats try to hold the U.S. Senate in the November midterm elections. President Barack Obama signed an executive order prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees for disclosing pay levels to co-workers and attacked Republicans for opposing broader legislation that would make the practice illegal for companies nationwide. Republicans said pay discrimination was already illegal and predicted the Democrat-supported Paycheck Fairness Act would prompt frivolous lawsuits and discourage companies from hiring. The Democratic-led Senate is set to hold a procedural vote on the measure on Wednesday but even if the legislation clears that chamber, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives appears likely to oppose it. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns on Iran 'breakout' capability as nuclear talks start Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:43 PM PDT  By Justyna Pawlak and Parisa Hafezi VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States said on Tuesday Iran has the ability to produce fissile material for a nuclear bomb in two months, if it so decided, as Tehran and six world powers swung into a new round of talks in Vienna on resolving their atomic dispute. Secretary of State John Kerry's comments in Washington highlighted Western concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions and the wide divisions between the two sides that could still foil a deal. Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry suggests Israeli housing announcement triggered impasse Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:32 PM PDT  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry suggested on Tuesday that Israel's announcement of plans to build about 700 housing units in East Jerusalem was the proximate cause for the near collapse of its peace talks with the Palestinians. However, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry was not seeking to blame Israel for the impasse in the talks, which appear close to breaking down ahead of the April 29 date by which Kerry had hoped to reach a peace agreement. Any hint that the United States was blaming Israel was likely to upset Israeli officials. Among the steps were Israel's failure to release a fourth batch of Palestinian prisoners as promised, its announcement of tenders to build 708 new housing units in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of a Palestinian state, and the Palestinians signing 15 international agreements, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war, last week. Full Story | Top |
| Troubled Mideast peace effort compounds U.S. policy woes in region Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 05:57 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and William Maclean WASHINGTON/RIYADH (Reuters) - Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September, President Barack Obama declared the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace one of the two main U.S. foreign policy priorities for his second term. Fast-forward to today, the Obama administration faces a stark choice: expend more energy on a faltering peace process or absorb the hit to an already-troubled record in the Middle East and walk away from negotiations. Secretary of State John Kerry, who met Obama on Tuesday for a "reality check," says he hopes both sides will work with U.S. mediators to "find a way back." But as optimism fades, many inside and outside the Middle East warn now is not the time for a U.S. diplomatic failure in the region. Full Story | Top |
| NATO to triple Baltic air patrol from next month Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:50 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO will triple its usual number of fighter jets patrolling over the Baltics next month to beef up its eastern European defenses due to tension with Russia over Ukraine, a NATO military official said on Tuesday. Four NATO fighters are usually based in the Baltics but the United States, which currently has responsibility for patrolling the skies there, increased that to 10 F-15s to reassure those states following Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region. The number of fighters assigned to the Baltic "air policing" mission is now set to increase further to 12, three times the normal complement, when the next four-month period starts in May, the NATO military official said. The strengthening of air patrols over the Baltics is part of a plan of air, land and sea reinforcements for central and eastern European allies that NATO's top military commander, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, is drawing up by April 15. Full Story | Top |
| Australian ship seeks signals from missing jet Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:55 AM PDT By Lincoln Feast and Swati Pandey SYDNEY/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - An Australian ship which picked up possible "pings" from the black box recorders of a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner has been unable to detect any further signals and time is running out to narrow the massive search, officials said on Tuesday. Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said the month-long hunt in the Indian Ocean was at a critical stage given the batteries in the black box beacons had already reached the end of their 30-day expected life. A U.S. Navy "towed pinger locator" onboard Australia's Ocean Shield picked up two signals consistent with black box locator beacons over the weekend - the first for more than two hours and the second for about 13 minutes. "If we don't get any further transmissions, we have a reasonably large search area of the bottom of the ocean to prosecute and that will take a long, long time. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses Russian agents of stirring eastern Ukraine unrest Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 04:48 PM PDT By Arshad Mohammed and Thomas Grove WASHINGTON/LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russian agents and special forces on Tuesday of stirring separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine, saying Moscow could be trying to prepare for military action as it had in Crimea. Ukraine's security service said separatists occupying the security headquarters in Luhansk had planted bombs in the building and were holding as many as 60 hostages. Kerry said he feared Moscow might repeat its Crimean operation. "It is clear that Russian special forces and agents have been the catalyst behind the chaos of the last 24 hours," he said in Washington, and this "could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea." Moscow annexed the Black Sea peninsula last month after a referendum staged when Russian troops were already in control. Full Story | Top |
| Big U.S. banks must boost capital by $68 billion under new rules Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:39 PM PDT  By Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The eight biggest U.S. banks must boost capital levels by a total of about $68 billion under new rules, U.S. regulators said on Tuesday, prompting industry complaints that less-stringent global standards will give overseas competitors an advantage. The rules would limit banks' reliance on debt, part of efforts to prevent another financial crisis. Banks' insured subsidiaries face tougher limits and must boost capital holdings by a total of about $95 billion, regulators said. Officials said most firms are already on track to comply and could meet the requirements by retaining earnings, or could shrink or restructure some assets to reduce capital needs. Full Story | Top |
| Untaxed U.S. corporate profits held overseas top $2.1 trillion: study Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 04:19 PM PDT  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign profits held overseas by U.S. corporations to avoid taxes at home nearly doubled from 2008 to 2013 to top $2.1 trillion, said a private research firm's report, prompting a call for reform by the Senate's top tax law writer. I do think there need to be some reforms in this area," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Under U.S. law, corporations do not have to pay income tax on most of their overseas profits until they are brought into the United States. Next were software maker Microsoft Corp, with $76.4 billion; Full Story | Top |
| Comcast defends Time Warner Cable deal as U.S. review kicks off Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 01:47 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh and Liana B. Baker WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp sought to rebut critics of its planned $45.2 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable Inc, arguing that newcomers like Google Inc and Apple Inc would ensure competition in both Internet and video markets. In a 175-page filing with the Federal Communications Commission that kicks off the FCC's review of the deal, Comcast argues that combined with Time Warner Cable, it will compete with an "array of sophisticated companies with national or even global footprints" such as Google, Netflix Inc or Verizon that have gained ground against Comcast. Full Story | Top |
| Afghanistan's surprises Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 01:57 PM PDT  In a nation more associated with calamity than consensus, the initial results of Saturday's Afghan presidential election are startling. Despite Taliban threats to attack polling stations nationwide, the same percentage of Afghans turned out to vote - roughly 58 percent - as did Americans in the 2012 U.S. presidential race. And a leading candidate to replace Hamid Karzai is Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank technocrat who has a PhD in cultural anthropology from Columbia University, a Lebanese Christian wife, and an acclaimed book and TED talk entitled "Fixing Failed States." "Relative to what we were expecting, it's very hard to not conclude that this was a real defeat for the Taliban," Andrew Wilder, an American expert on Afghanistan, said in a telephone interview from Kabul on Monday "And a very good day for the Afghan people." Two forces that have long destabilized the country - its political elite and its neighbors - could easily squander the initial success. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. rights chief says Syria government abuses 'far outweigh' rebels Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:20 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Human rights violations by Syrian government forces "far outweigh" those by armed opposition groups, U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Tuesday, prompting the Syrian U.N. envoy to accuse her of acting like an irresponsible "lunatic." Pillay briefed the 15-member U.N. Security Council on the human rights situations in Syria, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Mali and Libya. She again called for the situation in Syria, which has been ravaged by a three-year civil war, to be referred to the International Criminal Court. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: GM planning lower-priced version of 2016 Chevy Volt - sources Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:11 PM PDT  By Paul Lienert and Bernie Woodall DETROIT (Reuters) - Hoping to boost demand for its slow-selling Volt hybrid, Chevrolet is planning to sell two versions of the redesigned 2016 Volt, including a lower-priced model with a smaller battery pack and shorter driving range, supplier sources told Reuters on Tuesday. The second-generation Volt is slated to go into production in about 16 months at General Motors Co's Detroit Hamtramck plant, the sources said. Chevrolet spokesman Mike Albano declined to comment on the brand's future plans but said: "Volt customers are the happiest customers in the world. We found a formula that works for them, and we're not going to deviate from that formula." Chevrolet has sold just 58,158 Volts since the car went on sale 39 months ago, despite price cuts and heavy discounting. Full Story | Top |
| France's Valls wins parliament backing for tax and spend shake-up Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:25 PM PDT  By Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - New Prime Minister Manuel Valls won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday after unveiling planned tax and public spending cuts, vowing to bring France's public deficit down while resisting outright austerity. In a keynote speech to the National Assembly after being chosen last week by President Francois Hollande, Valls said an over-strong euro was damaging economic recovery, complaining that the monetary policy of the independent European Central Bank was "less expansionist" than that of its international counterparts. Deputies backed his government by 306 votes to 239 in a test of his authority that, despite grumbling from leftist allies that he is too centrist, was never in question given the absolute majority of ruling Socialists in the lower house. "Yes, we must put our public finances right, but not destroy our social model or public services - the French people would never accept that," he said, adding: "We will explain that to our European partners." He confirmed an expected package of 30 billion euros ($41 billion) in payroll tax cuts on companies by 2016, and said a revenue tax on companies, known as "C3S", would be scrapped by the same date, handing six billion euros back to business. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: CESCO-Chile expects 2014 Codelco funding to top last year's Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 01:00 PM PDT  By Alexandra Ulmer and Fabian Cambero SANTIAGO (Reuters) - State copper producer Codelco should receive more government funds this year than Chile allocated for the world's No. 1 red metal miner in 2013, the country's mining minister told Reuters on Tuesday. The previous, conservative government handed Codelco $1 billion in 2013. That was followed by a second distribution of $1 billion, but Codelco said that tranche was essentially an accounting change that did not amount to comprehensive funding for the ambitious and costly overhaul of its tired mines. "Naturally that's the case," Mining Minister Aurora Williams told Reuters when asked if funding this year would be more than last year's. "And also last year, more than giving Codelco fresh funds it was fundamentally an accounting transaction that in practice didn't give Codelco fresh funds," she said on the sidelines of the CESCO/CRU copper conference. Full Story | Top |
| Japan drugmaker Takeda to fight $6 billion damages awarded by U.S. jury Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 10:36 AM PDT  By Daniel Levine and Edmund Klamann SAN FRANCISCO/TOKYO (Reuters) - Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said it would contest $6 billion in punitive damages imposed by a jury in the United States in a case that accused Japan's largest drugmaker of concealing cancer risks associated with its Actos diabetes drug. Eli Lilly and Co, Takeda's co-defendant in the case, was ordered to pay $3 billion in punitive damages by the jury in Louisiana on Monday. It also awarded $1.475 million in compensatory damages. Eli Lilly and Takeda have said they would dispute the verdict, which could include appeals to a higher court or filing motions asking the trial judge to set aside or reduce the verdict. Full Story | Top |
| IMF sees rich nations propelling global growth, but risks linger Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 10:32 AM PDT  By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted the global recovery would strengthen this year and next as output in richer nations picked up, but it warned of rising risks in emerging economies. While less fiscal austerity should help unshackle growth in the United States and Europe, emerging markets are likely to grow more slowly than thought just a few months ago, the IMF said. Geopolitical risks have also entered the picture because of the conflict between Russia and Western countries over Ukraine. "The strengthening of the recovery from the Great Recession in the advanced economies is a welcome development," the IMF said. Full Story | Top |
| Tit-for-tat gestures would replace Middle East talks Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 08:17 AM PDT  By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - If Middle East peace talks collapse this month, lawfare rather than warfare looks likely to fill the void, with the Palestinians set to confront Israel on the diplomatic stage rather than in any popular uprising. After eight months of largely fruitless discussion aimed at achieving peace, the Israelis and Palestinians are at stalemate, prompting an increasingly glum U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to call for a "reality check". The two sides have until the end of April to step back from the brink, with their row focused on how to proceed and not on the core issues which have stymied previous peace efforts, such as the status of Jerusalem or the fate of Palestinian refugees. President Mahmoud Abbas signed 15 conventions last week, with around 50 others being primed, including a possible application to join the International Criminal Court. Full Story | Top |
| Fourteen killed in bomb blast on Pakistani train Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 06:11 AM PDT  By Gul Yousafzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Fourteen passengers were killed and about 50 wounded on Tuesday when militants bombed a train in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, hospital sources and officials said. The blast came a day after Pakistani security forces said they had killed 30 separatist militants in one of the biggest clashes in months in the gas-rich province. The separatist United Baluch Army claimed responsibility, saying in a text message to Reuters the bombing was retaliation for the raids by security forces. Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique confirmed the death toll. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. defense chief gets earful as China visit exposes tensions Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 04:24 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart BEIJING (Reuters) - Tensions between China and the United States were on full display on Tuesday as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faced questions in Beijing about America's position in bitter territorial disputes with regional U.S. allies. Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, standing side-by-side with Hagel, called on the United States to restrain ally Japan and chided another U.S. ally, the Philippines. Then, Hagel was sharply questioned by Chinese officers at the National Defense University. One of them told Hagel he was concerned that the United States was stirring up trouble in the East and South China Sea because it feared someday "China will be too big a challenge for the United States to cope with." "Therefore you are using such issues ... to make trouble to hamper (China's) development," the officer said. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan presidential election provokes more than 3,000 complaints Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:54 AM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan authorities have received more than 3,000 reports of violations from last weekend's presidential election, exceeding the tally following a 2009 vote that was marred by widespread fraud. But just half the 3,103 complaints registered so far will be investigated, a complaints commission spokesman said, since the rest were reported by telephone and lacked the required supporting evidence. The three frontrunners have all complained of fraud in the April 5 vote meant to usher in Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power, as incumbent Hamid Karzai prepares to step down after more than 12 years as head of state. A final tally could take days to become available, since observers, voters and other parties all had means to lodge complaints at polling stations. Full Story | Top |
| Beleaguered Thai PM pleads for justice, fair treatment Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:28 AM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - With legal cases against her mounting, embattled Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra pleaded on Tuesday for fair and proper treatment from the national anti-corruption commission and Thailand's Constitutional Court. Thailand's political crisis looks set to enter a new, potentially turbulent phase as Yingluck faces at least two legal cases that could see her removed from office in coming weeks, a move that is likely to jolt her supporters in to action and bring the country closer, some fear, to civil strife. "I ask that the Constitutional Court and National Anti-Corruption Commission use fair treatment when they deliberate the cases against me. Her supporters have accused the Constitutional Court of bias in frequently ruling against the government. Full Story | Top |
| Safety group calls for U.S. probe of Chevy Impala air bags Monday, Apr 07, 2014 11:15 PM PDT  General Motors, which has recalled 2.6 million cars for faulty ignition switches that caused air bags to deactivate, may also have a defect in air bags in 2003 to 2010 Chevrolet Impalas, an auto safety watchdog group said on Monday. In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Center for Auto Safety said that the computer code, or algorithm, which determines when an air bag deploys in an accident, may improperly turn off the air bag if the passenger is bounced in his or her seat just before an accident. Air bags are not designed to deploy when a passenger's weight is below a certain amount, and a bouncing motion, even when the person is belted, could reduce the weight registered by the seat sensor linked to the air bag algorithm. There have been 143 fatalities in front-impact crashes in 2000-2010 model year Impalas in which the air bags failed to deploy, according to the center, and in 98 of them, the occupants were wearing safety belts. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine accuses Russia of orchestrating separatist moves Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:27 AM PDT  By Richard Balmforth and Lina Kushch KIEV/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Police detained 70 people occupying a regional administration building in eastern Ukraine overnight, but pro-Moscow protesters held out in a standoff in two other cities in what Kiev called a Russian-led plan to dismember the country. Kiev says the seizure of public buildings in eastern Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking industrial heartland on Sunday night is a replay of events in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed last month. Ukrainian authorities gave few details of the "anti-terrorist" operation that cleared the building in the town of Kharkiv but said two police had been wounded by a grenade that was thrown. Russia has denied Ukrainian charges of involvement but warned Kiev against any use of force against Russian-speakers. Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians press on with peace talks rescue bid Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 10:44 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators ended another U.S.-mediated session on Tuesday with no sign of a breakthrough in efforts to save peace talks from collapse, but an Israeli official said they had agreed to meet again. In a statement about the latest discussions, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: "Gaps remain, but both sides are committed to narrow the gaps." The U.S.-brokered negotiations, which began in July, plunged into crisis last week after Israel, demanding a Palestinian commitment to continue talking beyond an April 29 deadline for a peace deal, failed to carry out a promised release of about two dozen Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responded by signing 15 global treaties, including the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war and occupations, on behalf of the State of Palestine, a defiant move that surprised Washington and angered Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, speaking on Israel Radio on Tuesday, said Abbas would have to reverse that step in order for the prisoner release to be re-addressed. Full Story | Top |
| Samsung's lower first-quarter estimate highlights smartphone challenges Monday, Apr 07, 2014 10:12 PM PDT  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday said it is on track to post its second straight quarter of profit decline, as slowing smartphone sales growth continued to weigh on earnings. The South Korean tech giant estimated that its January-March operating profit fell by 4.3 percent to 8.4 trillion won ($7.96 billion), slightly below an average forecast of 8.5 trillion won by 40 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The world's biggest smartphone maker is counting on the fifth version of its flagship Galaxy S smartphone, which goes on sale globally from Friday, to right the ship and prove the firm's staying power as a mobile innovator. Underscoring the challenges, Samsung priced the S5 about 10 percent cheaper than the S4 even though main rival Apple Inc is not widely expected to update its line-up until September. Analysts said the company's efforts to rein in component costs and make products that appeal to a wider audience will be crucial as Samsung braces for what could be its first annual profit decline in three years. Full Story | Top |
| Most midsize SUVs fail tough U.S. crash tests Monday, Apr 07, 2014 10:51 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Most of the midsize SUVs did not fare well in a new small overlap front-crash test conducted by an influential U.S. safety group, in yet another jolt to the industry already shaken by safety concerns. Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain from the General Motors Co were the only vehicles to earn the highest rating of "good" in the test, according to results released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) on Tuesday. Out of the nine participating models, Toyota Motor Corp's Highlander was rated "acceptable" while rest of the group earned "marginal" or "poor" ratings. The worst performers in the test were Mazda Motor Corp's CX-9 and Honda Motor Co's Pilot, which sustained "significant structural collapse," IIHS said. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine launches 'anti-terrorist' operation in eastern city, 70 arrested Monday, Apr 07, 2014 10:13 PM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in the eastern city of Kharkiv and about 70 "separatists" have been arrested for seizing the regional administration building, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Tuesday. On his Facebook page, Avakov said: "An anti-terrorist operation has been launched. The city center is blocked along with metro stations. Do not worry. Once we finish, we will open them again. ... Full Story | Top |
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