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| 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 |
| 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 |
| Obama says U.S., partners need to be ready to sanction Russia again Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 05:44 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked on Thursday about potential further sanctions for Russia over its actions in Ukraine, calling again on Moscow to move its troops back from the border region, the White House said. The administration said pro-Russian separatists, "apparently with support from Moscow," were destabilizing Ukraine through "an orchestrated campaign of incitement and sabotage. ... 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 |
| Tiny Minnesota museum's canoe a 1,000-year-old historic find Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:36 PM PDT For 46 years, a canoe thought to date to the 1700s sat in the back of a display case as a minor exhibit at a small museum run by a volunteer historical group in Minnesota. But this week, archaeologists who conducted radio carbon tests on the canoe said it was crafted almost 1,000 years ago, making it the oldest canoe in the state and shedding light on early navigation of Minnesota lakes. "It was a total shock," said Russ Ferrin, president of the Western Hennepin County Pioneer Association museum. The dugout canoe was hollowed out of a single large tree, said Ann Merriman, nautical archaeologist for Maritime Heritage Minnesota, which researched the age of the canoe and seven others as part of a Maritime History Minnesota project. Full Story | Top |
| 'Heartbleed' computer bug threat spreads to firewalls and beyond Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 04:03 PM PDT  By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Hackers could crack email systems, security firewalls and possibly mobile phones through the "Heartbleed" computer bug, according to security experts who warned on Thursday that the risks extended beyond just Internet Web servers. Developers rushed out patches to fix affected web servers when they disclosed the problem, which affected companies from Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc to Yahoo Inc. Yet pieces of vulnerable OpenSSL code can be found inside plenty of other places, including email servers, ordinary PCs, phones and even security products such as firewalls. Def Con's network uses an enterprise firewall from McAfee, which is owned by Intel Corp's security division. Full Story | Top |
| Scientists grow viable vaginas from girls' own cells Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 03:34 PM PDT  By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - Four young women born with abnormal or missing vaginas were implanted with lab-grown versions made from their own cells, the latest success in creating replacement organs that have so far included tracheas, bladders and urethras. Follow-up tests show the new vaginas are indistinguishable from the women's own tissue and have grown in size as the young women, who got the implants as teens, matured. It is not yet clear whether these women can bear children, but because they are menstruating, it suggests their ovaries are working, so it may be possible, said Dr Anthony Atala, director of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina. The feat, which Atala and colleagues in Mexico describe in the journal the Lancet, is the latest demonstration from the growing field of regenerative medicine, a discipline in which doctors take advantage of the body's power to regrow and replace cells. Full Story | Top |
| TSX slumps as U.S. selloff darkens mood Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 03:26 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index dropped on Thursday as a selloff in U.S. technology and biotechnology stocks hit investor sentiment and fueled declines in every major sector. The market brushed aside figures indicating the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to a near seven-year low. Worries about Fed policy and a feeling that stock prices were getting extended have roiled markets over the past week and sparked a surge in volatility. Those fears took center stage again on Thursday, a day after global equity markets rallied on comments from the Federal Reserve that helped ease concerns the U.S. central bank might adopt a more aggressive timetable for raising interest rates. Full Story | Top |
| Nasdaq drops 3 percent, worst day since November 2011 Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 03:14 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq suffered its biggest drop in two-and-a-half years on Thursday after another sharp selloff in biotech and momentum names, including Gilead Sciences and TripAdvisor , increasing investor anxiety about a broader pullback. The Nasdaq biotechnology index shed 5.6 percent, its biggest one-day drop since August 2011, adding to recent losses since a large drop in Gilead more than two weeks ago triggered a wider selloff for biotechs and other recent big gainers. The S&P 500 also posted its biggest percentage loss since February 3, while the Nasdaq has dropped 7 percent from its closing high for the year, set on March 5. All stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index posted a loss, with the exception of CH Robinson Worldwide , which ended up 1.6 percent at $53.80. Full Story | Top |
| More than 100 passengers sick on cruise off California Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 03:09 PM PDT By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A cruise ship with more than 100 passengers and crew suffering from a gastrointestinal ailment caused by Norovirus, have arrived in San Diego, a cruise line spokeswoman said on Thursday. The Crown Princess, carrying 3,141 passengers in all, docked in San Diego and planned to continue on to Los Angeles on its normal itinerary along the coast of California and Northern Mexico. Onboard testing proved the presence of Norovirus, said Princess Cruises spokeswoman Karen Candy. Outbreaks of Norovirus have been reported by nearly a dozen cruise lines sailing from U.S. ports in recent years, including Holland America, Celebrity, Cunard Line and a National Geographic cruise on Lindblad Expeditions. Full Story | Top |
| Georgia governor outlines alternative plan for medical marijuana Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 02:54 PM PDT  By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia Governor Nathan Deal is working on a way to legalize medical marijuana for treatment of children with seizure disorders after a bill to do so died in the Georgia legislature last month, he said on Thursday. Deal said he is discussing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration how the state can launch legal clinical trials of liquid cannabis for child patients with epilepsy. One option would be for Georgia Regents University in Augusta to work with a pharmaceutical company that is currently testing a purified form of cannabis, Deal said. "The product contains no THC, which is the component in marijuana that intoxicates a user," Deal said. Full Story | Top |
| Lockheed to begin building asteroid sampler for NASA Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 02:33 PM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A NASA mission to pluck samples from a distant asteroid and return them to Earth passed a major technical review, clearing engineers to begin building the robotic spacecraft, officials said on Thursday. The $800 million mission, known as OSIRIS-Rex, is targeted for launch in September 2016 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. "This is a pioneering effort, both technologically and scientifically," lead scientist Dante Lauretta, with the University of Arizona in Tucson, said in a statement. An independent review panel completed a comprehensive technical assessment of the mission, clearing prime contractor Lockheed Martin Corp to begin building the spacecraft, flight instruments and ground system, the company said in a press release. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel discuss Ukraine in phone call: White House Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 02:24 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. Carney said the call, which happened while Obama was traveling on Air Force One from Austin, Texas, was "just to check in on the situation." He said more details would be provided later on Thursday. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns Russia over any oil-for-goods deal with Iran Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 02:21 PM PDT  U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told his Russian counterpart on Thursday that any oil-for-goods deal Moscow might strike with Iran could run afoul of U.S. sanctions. "Secretary Lew reiterated our serious concerns regarding reports of a possible deal between Russia and Iran involving oil-for-goods," a Treasury representative said in a statement after Lew met with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Lew also told Siluanov a deal would run counter to an agreement between Iran and six world powers, including the United States and Russia, in which Tehran promised to curb its nuclear program in return for a modest easing in Western sanctions. The sanctions were imposed to choke off Iran's oil revenues. Full Story | Top |
| Atlas rocket blasts off with secret U.S. military satellite Thursday, Apr 10, 2014 01:54 PM PDT By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday to put a classified satellite into orbit for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The 20-story tall rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, blasted off its seaside launch pad at 1:45 p.m. ET (1745 GMT). United Launch Alliance is a partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The secretive National Reconnaissance Office designs, builds and operates the nation's fleet of spy satellites. Full Story | Top |
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