| | |
| Search for missing Malaysia plane set to move to sea floor Monday, Apr 07, 2014 05:55 PM PDT  Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said the month-long hunt was at a critical stage given the black box recorder batteries were dying - or had died. An Australian ship that picked up signals consistent with the beacons from aircraft black box recorders over the weekend had not registered any further pulses, Houston said. "The locator beacon has a shelf life of 30 days and we are now passed that time and as a consequence there is a chance that the locator beacon is about to cease transmission, or has ceased transmission," Houston told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. Full Story | Top |
| Gloves off as India's BJP woos the Hindu vote in northern heartland Monday, Apr 07, 2014 08:07 PM PDT  By Sharat Pradhan MUZAFFARNAGAR, India (Reuters) - India's main opposition party, tipped to form the next government, appears to be returning to its Hindu nationalist roots at the start of a five-week general election, raking up divisive issues and using strong language in an area hit by religious riots. Criss-crossing the country for months before the first phase of voting began on Monday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, had mainly campaigned on a ticket of better governance, economic development and job creation. But just hours after voting started, the election commission demanded an explanation from Modi's chief aide Amit Shah, accusing him of incendiary speeches in towns where dozens of people, mostly Muslims, were killed in Hindu-Muslim riots last year. When justice is not done to all the parties and the action is one-sided action, then the public is forced to come out in the streets," Shah said in the town of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh state last week, according to a transcript provided by the commission. Full Story | Top |
| Safety group calls for U.S. probe of Chevy Impala air bags Monday, Apr 07, 2014 05:06 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 |
| Pro-Moscow protesters seize arms, declare republic; Kiev fears invasion Monday, Apr 07, 2014 02:09 PM PDT By Richard Balmforth and Lina Kushch KIEV/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Moscow protesters in eastern Ukraine seized arms in one city and declared a separatist republic in another, in moves Kiev described on Monday as part of a Russian-orchestrated plan to justify an invasion to dismember the country. Kiev said the overnight seizure of public buildings in three cities in eastern Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking industrial heartland were a replay of events in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow seized and annexed last month. "An anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation ... under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize the territory of the country," Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said in public remarks to his cabinet. "We will not allow this." Pro-Russian protesters seized official buildings in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk on Sunday night, demanding that referendums be held on whether to join Russia like the one that preceded Moscow's takeover of Crimea. Full Story | Top |
| Samsung's lower first quarter estimate highlights smartphone challenges Monday, Apr 07, 2014 08:09 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 |
| Senate votes to extend jobless benefits, faces divided House Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:41 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Senate passed a bill on Monday to restore expired jobless benefits for 2.4 million Americans who have been out of work for at least six months. President Barack Obama responded by urging the Republican-led House of Representatives to give the measure final approval so he can sign it into law. "The Senate just took action on a bipartisan bill" to renew unemployment insurance, Obama said in a Twitter message. "It's up to the House to follow suit." The bill, passed by the Senate 59-38, had long seemed certain to die in the House amid stiff Republican opposition. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare 'accomplishing goal': Gallup poll Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:09 PM PDT  By Curtis Skinner NEW YORK (Reuters) - The percentage of Americans without health insurance dipped to its lowest in nearly six years due in part to U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, commonly known as Obamacare, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday. Some 15.6 percent of Americans lacked health insurance in the first three months of 2014, down from a high of 18 percent in late 2013, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey. "'Obamacare' appears to be accomplishing its goal of increasing the percentage of Americans with health insurance coverage," the report said. Black and low-income Americans saw some of the most pronounced drops in the uninsured rate, with declines of more than 3 percentage points. Full Story | Top |
| Ford to recall about 434,000 vehicles Monday, Apr 07, 2014 03:14 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Monday it would recall about 434,700 vehicles mainly in North America due to two separate and unrelated issues. Ford said that rusting could occur in vehicles used in high-corrosion environments, particularly those areas where salt was used on the roads to melt ice. The company also said it was calling back about 48,950 model-year 2013-2014 Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, Escape and C-MAX vehicles to replace seat-back frames that did not comply with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses on with Middle East talks rescue attempt Monday, Apr 07, 2014 05:59 PM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to save Middle East peace talks from collapse showed little sign of progress on Monday amid threats from Israel to retaliate for what it saw as unilateral Palestinian moves towards statehood. The U.S.-brokered negotiations plunged into crisis last week after Israel, demanding a Palestinian commitment to continue talking after the end of the month, 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. In a statement later about the Monday meeting, she said: "Gaps remain but both sides are committed to narrow the gaps." Secretary of State John Kerry signaled on Friday he may scale back his intense mediating efforts due to "unhelpful actions" by Israel and the Palestinians, saying it was time for a "reality check" and Washington would re-evaluate its role. Full Story | Top |
| Huang's tale: from Walmart cashier to labor leader in China Monday, Apr 07, 2014 01:54 PM PDT  By John Ruwitch DENGFENG, China (Reuters) - Huang Xingguo took a job as a cashier at a new Walmart store in his hometown in southern China for a steady paycheck and the prospect of upward mobility after a string of sales jobs and a run as a day trader. Five years later, he has landed on the frontlines of China's labor rights movement, an unlikely leader of several dozen workers seeking better severance pay after the store in the Hunan province city of Changde announced last month it was closing. It's not the biggest labor dispute China has seen in a recent surge of activism that has included factory strikes involving thousands of workers, but experts say it's among the more significant. In China, as in other countries, Wal-Mart Stores Inc has figured prominently in the debate over worker rights. Full Story | Top |
| Smooth Afghan election raises questions about Taliban's strength Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:59 PM PDT  By John Chalmers and Maria Golovnina KABUL (Reuters) - A bigger-than-expected turnout in Afghanistan's presidential election and the Taliban's failure to significantly disrupt the vote have raised questions about the capacity of the insurgents to tip the country back into chaos as foreign troops head home. The Taliban claimed that they staged more than 1,000 attacks and killed dozens during Saturday's election, which they have branded a U.S.-backed deception of the Afghan people, though security officials said it was a gross exaggeration. There were dozens of minor roadside bombs, and attacks on polling stations, police and voters during the day. But the overall level of violence was much lower than the Taliban had threatened to unleash on the country. Full Story | Top |
| Iran hopes nuclear deal drafting can start by mid-May Monday, Apr 07, 2014 09:37 AM PDT  By Parisa Hafezi and Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said it hopes enough progress will be made with major powers this week to enable negotiators to start drafting by mid-May a final accord to settle a long-running dispute over its nuclear program. The Islamic Republic and six world powers will hold a new round of talks in Vienna on Tuesday and Wednesday intended to reach a comprehensive agreement by July 20 on how to resolve a decade-old standoff that has stirred fears of a Middle East war. "We will finish all discussions and issues this time to pave the ground for starting to draft the final draft in Ordibehesht (an Iranian month that begins in two weeks)," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said upon arrival in Vienna. A U.S. official gave a similar timetable last week, voicing hope that the drafting of an agreement could begin in May. Iran says its enrichment program is a peaceful bid to generate electricity and has ruled out shutting any of its nuclear facilities. Full Story | Top |
| India kicks off world's biggest election in remote northeast Monday, Apr 07, 2014 10:29 AM PDT By Shyamantha Asokan DIBRUGARH, India (Reuters) - The first Indians cast their votes on Monday in the world's biggest election, with Hindu nationalist opposition candidate Narendra Modi holding a strong lead but likely to fall short of a majority. Elderly women in saris and young men in jeans and polo shirts lined up outside a dilapidated sports center in Dibrugarh, a river town in the tea-growing state of Assam, one of two states to vote on Monday. During high-octane campaigning at well-attended rallies the length and breadth of India, Modi has been promising to jumpstart a flagging economy and sweep out the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled India for most of the period since independence in 1947. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and allies are forecast to win the biggest chunk of the 543 parliamentary seats up for grabs, but fall shy of a majority, according to a survey released last week by Indian pollsters CSDS. Full Story | Top |
| Search for missing Malaysia plane set to move to sea floor Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:48 PM PDT  Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, said the month-long hunt was at a critical stage given the black box recorder batteries were dying - or had died. An Australian ship that picked up signals consistent with the beacons from aircraft black box recorders over the weekend had not registered any further pulses, Houston said. "The locator beacon has a shelf life of 30 days and we are now passed that time and as a consequence there is a chance that the locator beacon is about to cease transmission, or has ceased transmission," Houston told Australian Broadcasting Corp radio. Full Story | Top |
| Safety group calls for U.S. probe of Chevy Impala air bags Monday, Apr 07, 2014 02:03 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 an occupant is bounced in his or her seat just before an accident. Air bags are not designed to deploy when an occupant'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 that is 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 |
| France takes mixed messages to Germany on economy Monday, Apr 07, 2014 09:38 AM PDT  By Annika Breidthardt BERLIN (Reuters) - France's new Socialist government delivered mixed messages on Monday to Germany, its closest partner and the European Union's pivotal power, on its priorities for reducing the budget deficit and stepping up economic reforms to boost growth. Finance Minister Michel Sapin told his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, that Paris would stick to promised deficit reductions and that any measures to cut France's budget gap would come from savings and growth. But his attempt to convey a clear, orthodox message was blurred when an outspoken leftist promoted to economy minister told French television that public finances were secondary to promoting growth and that Germany had shown understanding. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. defense chief, in first, visits China's aircraft carrier Monday, Apr 07, 2014 09:00 AM PDT  By Phil Stewart QINGDAO, China (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel took a two-hour tour around China's sole aircraft carrier on Monday, in an unprecedented opening by Beijing to a potent symbol of its military power. The carrier visit came at the start of Hagel's three day trip to China, his first as defense secretary, and was described by one U.S. official traveling with him as an apparently genuine gesture of transparency by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Hagel's tour of the Liaoning gave him a close-up look at the carrier's flight deck, medical facilities and living quarters and also allowed him to speak directly with Chinese sailors. But, yes, we felt this was an honest, genuine effort to be open about this brand new capability that they're trying to develop," said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Full Story | Top |
| 'I'm scared to sleep', tearful Pistorius tells court Monday, Apr 07, 2014 12:55 PM PDT By David Dolan PRETORIA (Reuters) - His voice trembling with emotion, Oscar Pistorius took the witness stand in his own defense on Monday, saying the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend last year had left him sleepless, terrified and plagued by nightmares. The disabled South African track star, on trial for murder, apologized to the mother of model Reeva Steenkamp, saying he had fired four times through a toilet door at his luxury Pretoria home in the belief he was defending her from an intruder. Steenkamp, a law graduate and model, was hit by at least three rounds, one of which - to the head - killed her almost instantly, the court has heard. "I was simply trying to protect Reeva," Pistorius told the Pretoria High Court at the start of his testimony. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan military will 'preserve dignity' despite ex-chief's trial Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:49 AM PDT  Pakistan's military will protect its dignity "at all costs", the army chief said on Monday in an apparent show of irritation over the treason trial of former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf. Such talk from the army chief, General Raheel Sharif, the most powerful figure in Pakistan, is likely to raise concern about political intervention by the army, which would set back hopes for the development of democracy and civilian rule. The case again Musharraf highlights the competition for influence between Pakistan's three power centres: an increasingly assertive judiciary, the fledgling civilian government and the powerful military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 67-year-history. "The Pakistan army looks at all institutions with respect," Sharif said on a visit to a military base in response to questions from soldiers about recent criticism of the army, including, a military source said, one about the trial. Full Story | Top |
| Japan, Australia clinch trade deal as U.S.-Tokyo talks heat up Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:58 AM PDT  Japan and Australia clinched a basic trade deal on Monday to cut import tariffs, as U.S. and Japanese officials stepped up efforts to reach a parallel agreement that would re-energize stalled talks on a broader regional pact. The agreement between Japan and Australia comes as the United States and Japan push for their own two-way trade deal - a key component of a broader U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact - before a visit this month by President Barack Obama. Full Story | Top |
| Credit Suisse faces threat of new U.S. tax probe Monday, Apr 07, 2014 08:35 AM PDT  By Silke Koltrowitz ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse may face a new investigation of its role in helping wealthy Americans to avoid paying taxes, after New York state's top financial regulator requested documents from the Swiss bank. Switzerland's second-largest lender had raised expectations it was emerging from its long-running American tax controversy when it set aside an extra half a billion dollars last week to deal with a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of its participation in offshore tax evasion. But Benjamin Lawsky, New York's financial services superintendent, is now examining whether the bank lied to New York authorities about creating tax shelters, raising the possibility of another investigation, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Shares in Credit Suisse dropped 2.6 percent to 28.69 Swiss francs in Zurich on Monday, underperforming the European benchmark, which was 1 percent weaker, as investors digested the possibility of a costly inquiry. Full Story | Top |
| Protests in eastern Ukraine aimed at bringing in Russian troops, warns PM Monday, Apr 07, 2014 01:51 AM PDT By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Protests in eastern Ukraine in which pro-Russian activists seized public buildings in three cities are part of a plan to destabilize Ukraine and bring in Russian troops, Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said on Monday. Saying Russian troops were within a 30 km (19 mile) zone from the Ukrainian border, Yatseniuk told a government meeting: "An anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation ... under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize the territory of the country. Pro-Russian protesters in the east seized official buildings in three cities - Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk - on Sunday night, demanding that referendums be held on whether to join Russia. A similar move preceded a Russia-backed takeover of Crimea in March followed by annexation of the peninsula by Russia. Full Story | Top |
| Hungary re-elects PM, far-right opposition gains Monday, Apr 07, 2014 08:27 AM PDT  By Gergely Szakacs and Krisztina Than BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has clashed repeatedly with the European Union and foreign investors over economic policy, said on Monday a weekend poll victory gave him a clear mandate to "continue what we have started". A twenty percent vote for the far-right opposition Jobbik party, accused of anti-Semitism, raised concern among ethnic minorities. That outcome will be noted also in other European Union countries expecting a rise in right-wing and anti-immigration parties at May European Parliament elections. Orban has raised concern among foreign investors and in the EU with policies including a windfall tax on the banking sector, and reductions in household energy prices. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses on with Mideast talks rescue attempt Monday, Apr 07, 2014 03:56 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. efforts to save Middle East peace talks from collapse showed little sign of progress on Monday amid threats from Israel to retaliate for what it saw as unilateral Palestinian moves towards statehood. The U.S.-brokered negotiations plunged into crisis last week after Israel, demanding a Palestinian commitment to continue talking after the end of the month, 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. The wrangling attracted little interest on the streets, where both Israeli and Palestinians have become inured to decades of conflict and deadlock. Full Story | Top |
| Syria's Assad secure, will seek re-election: Hezbollah leader Monday, Apr 07, 2014 04:42 AM PDT  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will stand for re-election this year and no longer faces a threat of being overthrown, the head of his Lebanese Shi'ite ally Hezbollah said in an interview published on Monday. Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose fighters have been supporting Assad inside Syria, also said that after three years of conflict the danger of the country fragmenting was receding. Assad has lost control of large swathes of northern and eastern Syria to Syrian Islamist rebels and foreign jihadis. But his forces, backed by Hezbollah, Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim fighters and Iranian military commanders, have driven rebels back from around Damascus and secured most of central Syria. Full Story | Top |
| Costa Rica leftist easily wins presidential run-off Sunday, Apr 06, 2014 09:31 PM PDT  By Alexandra Alper SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - A center-left academic who has never held elected office easily won Costa Rica's presidential election on Sunday, ousting the graft-stained ruling party from power after its candidate quit campaigning a month ago. Former diplomat Luis Guillermo Solis, of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), won with around 78 percent of votes by tapping in to public anger at rising inequality and government corruption scandals. "More than 1 million Costa Ricans have said yes to change," Solis told thousands of cheering supporters waving red-and-yellow party flags on Sunday night. "We need to shift away from ... a violence expressed in poverty, in inequality and in the utterly perverse form of corruption." Solis was a relative unknown just a few months ago but he defied pollsters' predictions by coming in ahead of his rivals in a first round of voting in February, and then took a huge lead in opinion polls ahead of the run-off. Full Story | Top |
| Strait, Lambert lead winners at Academy of Country Music awards Monday, Apr 07, 2014 11:54 AM PDT  By Robert Galbraith LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Country music veteran George Strait and singer Miranda Lambert led the winners at the 49th Academy of Country Music awards, while the genre's biggest names, including Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum, Eric Church and Keith Urban, sang their hits. Strait, 61, won the night's top prize of Entertainer of the Year, beating out Lambert, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and Taylor Swift. Full Story | Top |
| Mickey Rooney, versatile actor and master showman, dies at 93 Monday, Apr 07, 2014 08:34 AM PDT  Actor Mickey Rooney, who became the United States' biggest movie star while a brash teenager in the 1930s and later a versatile character actor in a career that spanned 10 decades, died on Sunday of natural causes, Los Angeles authorities said. Rooney, who developed a reputation as a hard-partying, off-screen brat in his heyday and married eight times, died at his home in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said, citing information from the Los Angeles Police Department. There was nothing he couldn't do," said actress Margaret O'Brien, who recently worked with Rooney on a film adaption of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Actress Rose Marie, a long-time friend of Rooney, said he was one of the greatest talents show business had ever had. Actor William Shatner described him as "one of the greats," and author Anne Rice said he was not only an actor but a legend. Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment