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| Landmark Afghan election begins under shadow of violence Friday, Apr 04, 2014 08:17 PM PDT  By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. Taliban insurgents launched a spate of attacks that killed dozens in the run-up to the vote, which they brand as a U.S.-backed sham, but there was no word of violence as voting got under way. There are eight candidates contesting, with former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Almay Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani the favorites. Hamid Karzai, the incumbent, is not allowed to run for the presidency again by the constitution. Full Story | Top |
| Biggest search yet for Malaysian missing jet Friday, Apr 04, 2014 08:40 PM PDT  By Swati Pandey PERTH (Reuters) - Four weeks after the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner, searchers on Saturday launched the most intensive hunt yet in the southern Indian Ocean, trying to find the plane's black box recorders before their batteries run out. Up to 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships will scour a 217,000-sq-km (88,000-sq-mile) patch of desolate ocean some 1,700 km (1,060 miles) northwest of Perth near where investigators believe the plane went down on March 8 with the loss of all 239 people on board. "If we haven't found anything in six weeks we will continue because there are a lot of things in the aircraft that will float," Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, told reporters. "Eventually I think something will be found that will help us narrow the search area." Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as a cause but say the evidence, including the loss of communications, suggests Flight MH370 was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometers from its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Full Story | Top |
| California's senator Yee indicted on gun, corruption charges Friday, Apr 04, 2014 04:04 PM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - A prominent Democratic California state senator and gun-control advocate was indicted by a San Francisco grand jury on charges of corruption and conspiracy to traffic in firearms, according to court documents released on Friday. The indictment adds to the troubles facing state Senator Leland Yee, who was arrested last week and criminally charged along with two dozen others in the same case. Yee, 65, is the third California state senator to face criminal charges this year in separate cases that have cost Democrats a cherished two-thirds legislative majority in an election year and prompted them to cancel a major fundraiser planned for this weekend. Senate Democratic leader Darrell Steinberg, who has said that the charges against Yee "sickened" him, on Friday renewed calls for the senator to resign. Full Story | Top |
| More Wall Street economists see rate hike in first half of 2015: Reuters poll Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:10 PM PDT  More Wall Street economists now believe the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the first half of 2015, as evidence builds that the U.S. economy has regained some momentum lost during an unusually rough winter, a survey showed on Friday. Eight of 18 U.S. primary dealers said they expected the U.S. central bank to increase its policy rate by the end of June next year, according to a poll conducted by Reuters among the Wall Street's top 22 firms that do business directly with the Fed. A Reuters poll done three weeks earlier showed only four primary dealers anticipated a rate hike by the first half of 2015 despite comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen that suggested increases might come sooner. Another key job measure, the monthly unemployment rate, held at 6.7 percent. Last month, the Fed as expected scrapped its use of a 6.5 percent household unemployment rate as a barrier before raising interest rates. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: IEX eyes stock exchange status as firms come knocking Friday, Apr 04, 2014 05:12 PM PDT  By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upstart stock trading venue featured in Michael Lewis' book "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt," may apply to become a fully registered stock exchange sooner than planned, IEX Group Inc's chief executive said on Friday. "Flash Boys" hit the stands on Monday and unleashed a fierce debate over the fairness of the U.S. stock market, which the book characterized as rigged in favor of high-speed traders who use their advantages to bilk the system for billions. The book also thrust IEX, and its CEO, Brad Katsuyama, former head of electronic trading at a unit of Royal Bank of Canada, in New York, into the spotlight. "We've been getting interest from corporate clients about listings and I think that definitely increases our interest in looking at becoming an exchange earlier than thought," Katsuyama said in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Internet companies' growing ambitions spook 51 percent of Americans: Reuters/Ipsos poll Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:16 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The personal data gathering abilities of Google, Facebook and other tech companies has sparked growing unease among Americans, with a majority worried that Internet companies are encroaching too much upon their lives, a new poll showed. Google and Facebook generally topped lists of Americans' concerns about the ability to track physical locations and monitor spending habits and personal communications, according to a poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos from March 11 to March 26. The survey highlights a growing ambivalence towards Internet companies whose popular online services, such as social networking, e-commerce and search, have blossomed into some of the world's largest businesses. Now, as the boundaries between Web products and real world services begin to blur, many of the top Internet companies are racing to put their stamp on everything from home appliances to drones and automobiles. Full Story | Top |
| 'Verbal altercation' may have led to Fort Hood rampage: Army Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:10 PM PDT  By Lisa Maria Garza and Eileen O'Grady FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - The suspected gunman at Fort Hood in Texas argued heatedly with fellow soldiers before going on a shooting spree that left three dead and 16 injured at the expansive U.S. Army base, a military investigator said on Friday. The suspected shooter Ivan Lopez, a 34-year-old soldier battling mental illness, then turned the gun on himself in the second mass shooting at the base in the last five years. "We do have credible information he was involved in a verbal altercation with soldiers from his unit just prior to him allegedly opening fire," Christopher Grey, of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, told a news conference, without offering further details. Investigators from the military, Texas Rangers and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have interviewed more than 900 people to gather details of the crime scene that played out over an area covering about two city blocks, Grey said. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry warns U.S. is evaluating role in Middle East peace talks Friday, Apr 04, 2014 05:38 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton RABAT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that Washington was evaluating whether it was worth continuing its role in Middle East peace talks, signaling his patience with the Israelis and Palestinians was running out. There was a limit to U.S. efforts if the parties themselves were unwilling to move forward, Kerry said during a visit to Morocco after a week of setbacks. It is reality check time, and we intend to evaluate precisely what the next steps will be," Kerry said, adding he would return to Washington on Friday to consult with the Obama administration. White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged that President Barack Obama shared Kerry's frustration over "unhelpful" actions by both sides and the two men would discuss the path forward in the eight-month-old talks after the secretary of state's return to Washington. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine PM says will stick to austerity despite Moscow pressure Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:36 AM PDT  By Natalia Zinets, Richard Balmforth and Paul Ingrassia KIEV (Reuters) - The Kiev government will stick to unpopular austerity measures "as the price of independence" as Russia steps up pressure on Ukraine to destabilise it, including by raising the price of gas, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk told Reuters. Yatseniuk, 39, who stepped in as interim prime minister last month after Viktor Yanukovich and his ministers fled the "Euromaidan" protests, conceded that it would be very difficult "under the current Russian presence" to undo what he described as Russia's "international crime" in seizing Crimea. But he said Ukraine would never recognise the Russian takeover in exchange for re-establishing good relations. We will never recognise the annexation of Crimea ... The time will come when Ukraine will take over control of Crimea," he said, speaking in English, seated in his cavernous, Soviet-built government headquarters beneath the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. reports three million Medicaid enrollments under Obamacare Friday, Apr 04, 2014 12:00 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three million lower-income Americans have enrolled in the Medicaid program for the poor so far during the rollout of U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, the administration announced on Friday. That brings to more than 10 million the number of people who have signed up for both public and private health coverage since the October 1 launch of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. "The increase in Medicaid enrollments across the country is encouraging," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a government blog posting. The latest data show for the first time actual enrollments in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from October 1 through February 28 for 46 states that have reported statistics to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Full Story | Top |
| McDonald's quits Crimea as fears of trade clash grow Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:53 PM PDT  By Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Friday it had closed its restaurants in Crimea, prompting fears of a backlash as a prominent Moscow politician called for all of the U.S. fast food chain's outlets in Russia to be shut. Crimea's annexation by Russia, which Ukraine and the West do not acknowledge, has worried companies with assets in the Black Sea peninsula as it is unclear how the change may affect their business. McDonald's said the decision was strictly based on business and had "nothing to do with politics." Nevertheless, its move to temporarily close restaurants in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta is likely to be seen as emblematic of the rift in Western-Russian relations, now at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. "Like many other multi-national companies, McDonald's is currently evaluating potential business and regulatory implications which may result from the evolving situation in Crimea," McDonald's said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jobs market shakes off winter's icy grip Friday, Apr 04, 2014 01:56 PM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers hired at a brisk pace last month and ramped up the hours their workers put in on the job, the strongest signals yet the economy was breaking free of its winter doldrums. At the same time, the jobless rate held near a five-year low even as Americans poured into the labor market to hunt for work, another upbeat signal of the economy's health. "It is strong enough to indicate the economy is back on track, but not so robust that the Federal Reserve would have to start thinking about actually raising rates," said Joel Naroff, head of Naroff Economic Advisers in Holland, Pennsylvania. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 192,000 jobs last month after rising by 197,000 in February, the Labor Department said on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry warns U.S. is evaluating role in Middle East peace talks Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:40 PM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton RABAT (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday Washington was evaluating whether it was worth continuing its role in Middle East peace talks, signaling his patience with the Israelis and Palestinians was running out. There was a limit to U.S. efforts if the parties themselves were unwilling to move forward, Kerry said during a visit to Morocco after a week of setbacks. White House spokesman Josh Earnest acknowledged that President Barack Obama shared Kerry's frustration over "unhelpful" actions by both sides and the two men would discuss the path forward in the eight-month-old talks after the secretary of state's return to Washington. Kerry's decision to declare a time-out could be an attempt to pressure Israel and the Palestinians to soften their entrenched positions but, should that fail, it might mark the beginning of the end for his signature diplomatic initiative. Full Story | Top |
| North Korea tells world 'wait and see' on new nuclear test Friday, Apr 04, 2014 04:22 PM PDT  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday that the world would have to "wait and see" when asked for details of "a new form" of nuclear test it threatened to carry out after the United Nations Security Council condemned Pyongyang's recent ballistic missile launch. North Korea fired two medium-range Rodong ballistic missiles into the sea on March 26. Its first firing in four years of mid-range missiles that can hit Japan followed a series of short-range rocket launches over the past two months. North Korea (DPRK) reacted on Sunday with a threat to conduct what it called "a new form of nuclear test. Full Story | Top |
| Afghan policeman shoots two foreign journalists, one killed Friday, Apr 04, 2014 06:32 AM PDT  A veteran Associated Press photographer who had covered wars around the world was shot dead and another reporter was wounded on Friday when an Afghan policeman opened fire on them in eastern Afghanistan, the news agency said. The attack took place on the eve of a presidential election in Afghanistan that Taliban insurgents have pledged to disrupt through a campaign of bombings and assassinations. The AP said photographer Anja Niedringhaus, 48, was killed and reporter Kathy Gannon, 60, wounded while they were sitting in the back of a car. Niedringhaus, an acclaimed German photographer who had covered conflict zones including Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, Gaza and the West Bank, was killed instantly, according to an AP Television freelancer who witnessed the shooting. Full Story | Top |
| Russia faces July deadline to fix $2.2 billion trucking row Friday, Apr 04, 2014 10:44 AM PDT  By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia is inflicting $2.2 billion of annual costs on crossborder trade by enforcing illegal customs charges and inspections on trucks, the Secretary General of the International Road Transport Union said on Friday. The IRU is a U.N.-backed organization that runs the "TIR" system of customs guarantees, intended to make road haulage cheaper and quicker. Its members - national associations of trucking firms - gave IRU's board a mandate on Friday to withdraw TIR coverage from Russia if Moscow does not fix the problem by July 1. IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto told Reuters that he remained hopeful of a solution, saying it was inconceivable that Russia would drop out of a system that has guaranteed speedy border crossings for trucks across Europe since 1954. Full Story | Top |
| Spike in Iran executions seen politically motivated Friday, Apr 04, 2014 06:05 AM PDT  By Babak Dehghanpisheh BEIRUT (Reuters) - Within the small community of minority Arabs where he lived in southwest Iran, Hashem Shaabani was known as a teacher, an advocate for civil rights and a poet. Shaabani, 32, was arrested in February 2011 and accused of belonging to an armed separatist group. "It also made me think that we have a long road ahead before we can reach democracy and freedom." Since president Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate in Iran, took office last August, there has been a surge in executions: at least 537 people have been executed in the past eight months, nearly 200 of them since the beginning of this year, according to figures compiled by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. That compares with a total for 2013 of 624, according to data gathered by the United Nations. Full Story | Top |
| Poll shows India's Modi holding strong lead before voting begins Friday, Apr 04, 2014 11:51 AM PDT Indian opposition leader Narendra Modi appeared on course to become the next prime minister on Friday, with an opinion poll showing his Hindu nationalist party maintaining a strong lead ahead of a general election that begins next week. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has benefited from a wave of public anger over corruption scandals and a slowing economy under the ruling Congress Party, which may be facing one of its weakest-ever showings at the polls. The BJP is expected to win 35 percent of votes, a poll published by CNN-IBN and Lokniti at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) showed, 1 percent higher than a similar poll in January. Congress is likely to claim 25 percent of the vote, down from 27 percent in the January poll, according to the last major survey before the election. Full Story | Top |
| Hunt for Malaysian plane heads underwater to find black box Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:34 AM PDT  By Swati Pandey PERTH (Reuters) - The search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in remote seas off Australia headed underwater on Friday, with a U.S. Navy high tech "black box" locator deployed for the first time as the battery life of the cockpit data recorder dwindles. "The area of highest probability as to where the aircraft might have entered the water is the area where the underwater search will commence," Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, the head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, told reporters in Perth. "On best advice the locator beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire." On Monday it will be 30 days since the jetliner lost communications and disappeared from civilian radar less than an hour into an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. The Boeing 777 was briefly picked up on military radar on the other side of Malaysia and analysis of subsequent hourly electronic "handshakes" exchanged with a satellite led investigators to conclude the plane crashed far off the west Australian coast hours later. Full Story | Top |
| New French government seeks confidence vote to save reform Friday, Apr 04, 2014 08:01 AM PDT  By Alexandria Sage PARIS (Reuters) - France's newly formed government will seek a confidence vote from parliament on Tuesday, a step that would allow it to press ahead with President Francois Hollande's business reforms to spur growth without having to risk a separate vote. New Prime Minister Manuel Valls approved the vote during his first cabinet meeting as his reshuffled team of 16 Socialist ministers strives to present a united front after the Greens party broke away from the coalition over energy policy. "On Tuesday afternoon, the prime minister will present a general policy speech and there will be a vote of confidence," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told a news briefing after the cabinet's first meeting on Friday. "It's the general policy speech of the prime minister that will outline the stakes and the overall themes." ELECTION DRUBBING Hollande originally intended to tie the vote of confidence to a subsequent vote on the responsibility pact. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns China not to try Crimea-style action in Asia Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:43 AM PDT  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama's diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China's intentions might be, but Russia's annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. flies Italian executive to Florida in first bid-rigging extradition Friday, Apr 04, 2014 08:04 AM PDT The United States has extradited a former executive of an Italian marine hose manufacturer to face price-fixing charges in what the Justice Department said was its first extradition on antitrust charges. Romano Pisciotti, a former executive with Italy's Parker ITR SRL, was extradited from Germany and arrived in Miami on Thursday to face a single count of rigging bids and allocating market share in the marine hose industry, the department said. Marine hose is used to move oil between storage facilities and tankers. Five companies - Parker ITR, Bridgestone Corp, Trelleborg, Dunlop Marine and Oil Ltd, and Manuli Rubber Industries, SpA, a Florida subsidiary of Manuli SpA - have pleaded guilty to price-fixing in the marine hose industry, the department said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia's card plan seen unlikely to replicate China's UnionPay Friday, Apr 04, 2014 06:30 AM PDT  By Megan Davies MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's push to develop a domestic payment system to reduce its reliance on the West may overcome the country's strong cash culture, but is likely to stumble on the international stage. Prompted by the suspension of Visa and Mastercard services to Bank Rossiya because of Western sanctions over Crimea, Russian officials have revived attempts to create a national payment system. "We certainly must do this, and we will do it," Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week. After the United States imposed sanctions on officials believed to be close to President Vladimir Putin and Rossiya bank, which Washington said was the "personal bank" for the leader's inner circle, Moscow has signaled a shift towards Asian markets and told businessmen to bring their assets home. Full Story | Top |
| German industry orders rise in February, point to strong first quarter Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:27 AM PDT  By Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) - Domestic demand drove a stronger-than-expected 0.6 percent rise in German industrial orders in February, Economy Ministry data showed on Friday, marking the fourth consecutive monthly gain and underscoring the pickup in Germany's mighty industry. "Order books are well filled ... and that supports the economy because production should remain strong," said Thomas Amend at HSBC Trinkaus, noting that mild winter weather had fostered the recovery in the industrial sector. Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan takes battle with enemies beyond Turkish frontiers Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:30 AM PDT  By Ralph Boulton and Orhan Coskun ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's battle to root out the "terrorists" he says are embedded in the Turkish state is extending beyond its frontiers to Africa and Asia, further complicating foreign policy already hit by tensions with the Arab world and Western allies. Last month, parents of the Yavuz Selim school in Kanifing, Gambia, received a letter announcing its immediate closure. A source at the school, run by the Hizmet organization of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, said the decision had been conveyed to the principal in a one sentence missive. Ahmet Beyaz, Chief executive of the bank, which has among its shareholders Kaynak Holding, which is close to Hizmet, told Reuters the bank was not in any danger. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Top investors press Allianz to step up oversight of Pimco Friday, Apr 04, 2014 02:34 AM PDT  By Kathrin Jones and Jonathan Gould FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Several of the biggest investors in Allianz are pressing the German insurer to step up oversight of its California asset management unit Pimco and one is considering the unusual step of going public with its concerns at a shareholder meeting in May. Reuters contacted the 10 top investors in Allianz as well as smaller shareholders to gauge their views on Pimco, the bond powerhouse whose reputation has been tarnished by a run of poor returns and the departure of CEO Mohamed El-Erian amid a row with co-founder Bill Gross. Six of the biggest shareholders declined to comment ahead of the Allianz annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled to take place on May 7. However three other top shareholders, speaking to Reuters on condition that they were not identified, were more critical, saying Allianz still needed to persuade them that the problems at Newport Beach-based Pimco were under control. Full Story | Top |
| Companies rein in flashy perks, find other rewards for CEOs Friday, Apr 04, 2014 01:22 AM PDT  Often the shifts follow pressure from shareholders, who in recent years have criticized soaring executive pay and over-the-top perks. But it doesn't mean that the "extras" package that comes with a C-suite job is in decline - in many cases the surging value of more mundane freebies like financial planning assistance or life insurance is more than making up the difference. "Companies are really digging in on identifying what areas it makes sense to focus their benefits programs," said Robert Newbury, director at pay consulting firm Towers Watson. "You will see companies spend less on areas that raise red flags with investors." Take for instance casino mogul Steve Wynn. Full Story | Top |
| Thai PM's supporters head for huge Bangkok rally, rule out violence Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:54 AM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Thai government supporters are expected to descend on Bangkok this weekend in a symbolic show of force after months of sometimes violent protests aimed at bringing down Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The speed at which political opponents are bringing court cases against Yingluck appears to have prompted her supporters into action, raising fears of a confrontation between the two sides. Tens of thousands of Yingluck's "red shirt" supporters rallied at a Bangkok stadium in November to counter growing anti-government sentiment but abruptly disbanded the following month after violent clashes with anti-government protesters left five people dead and scores wounded. "Anti-government protesters will be in inner city Bangkok whereas the red shirts will outside," Paradorn Pattanathabutr, a security adviser to the prime minister, told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan Taliban extend ceasefire for 10 days after prisoner release Friday, Apr 04, 2014 12:21 AM PDT By Haji Mujtaba MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban have extended their March ceasefire until April 10, a spokesman said Friday, following the release of a batch of low-level prisoners by the Pakistani government. "Mujahideen (holy fighters) are being ordered to cease all activities against the government and security forces for this period." The Taliban, its fighters most active in the lawless northwest of the country, announced a month-long ceasefire on March 1, but commanders were divided on whether to extend it, saying the government had failed to meet their demands. On Thursday, the interior ministry said it had freed 16 low-level prisoners not actively involved in the insurgency as a trust-building measure with the Taliban. It is not yet clear if the 16 men were on the list of 800 prisoners put forward by the Taliban. Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan criticises court ruling lifting Twitter ban Friday, Apr 04, 2014 12:09 AM PDT  Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Friday criticized a constitutional court ruling lifting a ban on Twitter, saying the court should have rejected an application to restore access to the micro-blogging site. "We complied with the ruling but I do not respect it," Erdogan told reporters at a news conference before departing on a trip to Azerbaijan. "It should have been rejected on procedural grounds." Access to Twitter was blocked on March 21 in the run-up to local elections and Turkey's telecoms authority lifted the two-week-old ban on Thursday after the court ruled the block breached freedom of expression. Full Story | Top |
| South Korea extending ballistic missile range to counter North's threat Friday, Apr 04, 2014 12:17 AM PDT  South Korea has test-fired a new ballistic missile with a range of 500 km (310 miles) and will try to extend the range to 800 km so it can strike any site in North Korea, its defense ministry said on Friday, days after Pyongyang fired a mid-range missile. The new missiles are intended to counter the threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear programs, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said, but the move is likely to rattle the North, hit with U.N. sanctions for its own missile tests. South Korea adopted a voluntary ban on developing ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300 km, under an agreement with the United States, but the allies agreed in 2012 to allow the South to develop 800 km-range missiles. "We test-fired it, and we succeeded," Kim told a briefing, when asked if the military had recently conducted a 500-km missile test. Full Story | Top |
| Letterman retirement gives CBS chance to draw younger viewers to late night Friday, Apr 04, 2014 03:02 AM PDT  By Ronald Grover LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - David Letterman's surprise retirement announcement gives CBS a much-needed chance to lure younger viewers to his late-night television time slot, matching the recent elevation of Jimmy Fallon that reenergized rival NBC's "Tonight Show" franchise, according to media executives. Since the 39-year old Fallon succeeded Jay Leno as star of "The Tonight Show," NBC's ratings for the 11:35 p.m. hour have jumped both in overall audience numbers and among the key demographic of viewers aged 18 to 49 that advertisers most desire. In the most recent Nielsen ratings, "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" averaged 5.2 million viewers, up 41 percent from Leno's numbers before his February departure from NBC. Full Story | Top |
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