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Panetta: Israel must get to the "damn" peace table
Fri,2 Dec 2011 06:56 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Israel on Friday to get back to the "damn" negotiating table with Palestinians and take steps to address what he described as the Jewish state's growing isolation in the Middle East. Panetta, addressing a forum in Washington, also made one of his most extensive arguments to date against any imminent military action against Iran over its nuclear program, saying he was convinced that sanctions and diplomatic pressure were working. "You always have the last resort ... of military action. ...
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Michael Jackson doctor plans to appeal conviction
Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:48 PM PST
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's doctor filed court papers on Friday indicating he plans to appeal his involuntary manslaughter conviction over the singer's death and his four-year jail sentence. Lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray filed the papers with Los Angeles Superior Court in a precursor to a formal appeal being lodged with a California Appeals Court. Murray was convicted last month of involuntary manslaughter, or gross negligence, after admitting he gave the pop star nightly doses of the anesthetic propofol in June 2009 to help him sleep. ...
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Exclusive: MF Global mixed funds, transferred abroad
Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:41 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators investigating the collapse of MF Global have determined that the firm combined money between securities and futures accounts owned by customers, and transferred funds outside the country to at least one entity, a source said on Friday. "The further we get into (the investigation) the more complex it is ... but we're making progress," the source said, adding that the commingling and transferring of money is making it harder for regulators to determine what money belongs where. ...
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Debt funds needed in all eurozone states: Germany
Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:33 PM PST
Reuters -  BERLIN (Reuters) - Every country in the euro zone needs to set up a special national fund for sovereign debt that is more than 60 percent of gross domestic product, Germany's finance minister told a newspaper. Wolfgang Schaeuble, detailing a proposal he will make at a European Union summit on December 9, told the Passauer Neue Presse that a total of 500 billion euros ($672 billion) would need to go into the German fund. "We need a redemption fund in every single country of the euro zone," he told the newspaper in comments released on Saturday. ...
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Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S
Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - Displaying new vigor after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosted fellow Latin American leaders to launch a new regional body on Friday that pointedly excludes the United States. The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also does not include Canada, was the Venezuelan socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since he underwent surgery in June. ...
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After NATO strike, Pakistan adjusts rules of engagement
Fri,2 Dec 2011 05:03 PM PST
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's commanders in the wild Afghan border region can return fire if under attack without waiting for permission, the army chief said on Friday, a policy change that could stoke tensions after Saturday's NATO strike killed 24 Pakistani troops. Exactly what happened in the attack is unclear. Two U.S. officials told Reuters early indications were that Pakistani officials had cleared the NATO air strike, unaware they had troops in the area. A Pakistani official denied this. The attack sparked fury in Pakistan and further complicated U.S. ...
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Obama promises big push on payroll tax cut
Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:18 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday pledged an aggressive push to pass an extension to the payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, saying lawmakers must not leave for their holiday break without taking action on it. "We need to get this done. And I expect that it's going to get done before Congress leaves. Otherwise, Congress may not be leaving and we can all spend Christmas here together." Speaking after fresh data showed the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 2-1/2-year low of 8.6 percent, Obama said it was not the time to "slam the brakes" on the U.S. economy recovery. ...
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Lockheed F-35 output should slow: program chief
Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:10 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Production of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the costliest arms purchase in history, should be slowed because of the potential number of airframe cracks and "hot spots" turning up in testing and analysis, the Pentagon's F-35 program director said. "The analyzed hot spots that have arisen in the last 12 months or so in the program have surprised us at the amount of change and at the cost," U.S. Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet, the program chief, said in an interview published Thursday. "Most of them are little ones. ...
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Congress subpoenas Corzine on MF Global collapse
Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:07 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former MF Global chief Jon Corzine was subpoenaed to testify before Congress, setting up an awkward legal situation for the ex-senator facing multiple probes into the firm's collapse. A House Agriculture Committee voted unanimously on Friday to compel Corzine to testify at its December 8 hearing after he reportedly refused an earlier invitation. The move intensifies pressure on Corzine. ...
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White House to testify at hearing on "home-grown" militants
Fri,2 Dec 2011 04:02 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has signaled it will cooperate with a controversial congressional inquiry into alleged threats posed by "home-grown" Islamic militants that critics have branded a "witch hunt." The House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security said on its website that the White House would supply two official witnesses for a December 7 hearing on "The threat to military communities inside the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
Enbridge sees native support for Gateway pipeline
Fri,2 Dec 2011 03:30 PM PST
Reuters - TORONTO (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc expects to win support for its C$5.5 billion ($5.4 billion) Northern Gateway oil pipeline from a majority of native communities along the proposed route based on current negotiations, an executive said on Friday. The company has signed deals with some aboriginal groups for an overall 10 percent equity stake in the project, which would carry oil sands-derived crude to the West Coast from Alberta, Enbridge Vice-President Janet Holder said during a conference call to discuss one agreement. ... Full Story | Top |
Panetta: Israel must address its growing isolation
Fri,2 Dec 2011 03:29 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called on Israel on Friday to take diplomatic steps to address what he described as its growing isolation in the Middle East. Panetta, in prepared remarks that he was due to deliver in Washington on Friday evening, stressed U.S. efforts to bolster regional stability and to safeguard Israel's security. "Israel, too, has a responsibility to pursue these shared goals -- to build regional support for Israeli and United States security objectives," Panetta said, according to portions of the speech released to reporters before delivery. ...
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Geithner to urge Europe leaders to take action
Fri,2 Dec 2011 03:24 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is set to urge key European officials to take decisive action next week at a make-or-break summit to prevent a debt crisis from turning into runaway contagion. Treasury announced Geithner will meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy, new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, and Spanish Prime Minister-elect Mariano Rajoy on the December 6-8 trip, which will include stops in Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Marseille and Milan. ...
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Lee Enterprises to file for bankruptcy relief
Fri,2 Dec 2011 03:06 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Lee Enterprises Inc said it would file for voluntary prepackaged bankruptcy protection before December 12, as the media company struggles to pay off its debt. The company, which publishes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and scores of other daily newspapers, said it had reached a refinancing agreement with most of its creditors, extending the maturity date on some of its debt to December 2015. The bankruptcy filing plan comes two months after the company had reached an agreement with most its lenders to refinance $769.5 million of its distressed loans. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. hands main war base, Saddam palaces back to Iraq
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:54 PM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military passed a milestone in its pending withdrawal from Iraq on Friday, vacating its vast main base near Baghdad airport that once housed the American war operations hub and hosted a captive Saddam Hussein before his execution. Victory Base Complex, a site ringed by 42 kilometers (27 miles) of blast walls and razor wire, was the U.S. nerve center for the Iraq war almost from the moment American troops entered the capital and pulled down Saddam's statue in 2003. The handover of Victory Base to Iraq's government was a big step in the U.S. ...
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Second director quits Irish charity GOAL
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:53 PM PST
Reuters - DUBLIN (Reuters) - A board member has quit one of Ireland's largest charities, GOAL, citing corporate governance issues, the second director to resign in as many months. GOAL receives significant funding from the Irish government, which spent 675 million euros (579 million pounds) on direct overseas aid last year. The charity operates in 13 countries in Africa, Asia and central America. ... Full Story | Top |
Pakistani pleads guilty in U.S. to aiding militants
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:48 PM PST
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pakistani-born man living in Virginia pleaded guilty in a U.S. court on Friday to providing support to the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba by making a propaganda video and posting it online. Jubair Ahmad, 24, pleaded guilty in federal court in Virginia to one count of providing material support to the group, the Justice Department said. He faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced on April 13, 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. jobless rate drops to 2-1/2 year low
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:46 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate tumbled to a 2-1/2 year low in November, even though the pace of hiring remained too slow to suggest a significant acceleration in the labor market recovery. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 120,000 jobs, the Labor Department said on Friday, and the jobless rate dropped to 8.6 percent, the lowest since March 2009, from 9 percent in October. It was the biggest monthly decline since January. ...
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Iraq says PM possible target in Green Zone bomb
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:40 PM PST
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi authorities said on Friday a rare attack inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone this week was carried out by a suicide bomber in a car and may have targeted the country's prime minister. Reports a suicide bomber was able to penetrate the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. and other embassies as well as parliament and some ministries, raised questions about security just as the remaining American troops leave Iraq. The attack took place a day before a visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Iraq's capital. ...
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Moscow knocks U.S. for "silence" on dead Russian child
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:34 PM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States "inexcusably" failed to inform Moscow about the death of a Russian-born toddler adopted by an American couple, a Kremlin official said on Friday, highlighting tensions over an adoption accord the two countries signed in July. Russia's children's rights commissioner Pavel Astakhov criticised U.S. authorities for not informing Russia that an American man had been acquitted of the murder of his Russian-born son. In November a jury in U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. man losing hope after 2 years in Cuba jail
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:33 PM PST
Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - An increasingly despondent U.S. aid contractor, Alan Gross, finishes his second year behind bars in Cuba on Saturday, with hopes fading he will be freed anytime soon in a case caught up in the tangled web of U.S.-Cuba relations. His wife, Judy Gross, is stepping up her campaign for his release, after two years of fruitless efforts to convince Havana to let him go and get Washington to do more on his behalf. Gross, 62, was arrested in Havana on December 3, 2009, for his work in a semi-covert U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Lively Chavez hosts Latin American peers, snubs U.S.
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:30 PM PST
Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - Showing off new energy after his recent cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez hosted Latin American leaders at a meeting on Friday to create a new regional body that pointedly excludes the United States. The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also deliberately excludes Canada, was the Venezuelan socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since he underwent surgery in June. ...
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Egypt election turnout 62 percent, protesters honor dead
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:24 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - More than eight million Egyptians voted in the opening round of their first free vote in six decades in what the election chief said Friday was a turnout of 62 percent, far higher than in the rigged polls of deposed President Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood's party and its ultra-conservative Salafi rivals looked set to top the polls, to the alarm of many at home and abroad. Moderate Islamists have won elections in Tunisia and Morocco in the past two months. The emergence of ambitious Salafi parties is one of the starkest measures of change in post-Mubarak Egypt. ...
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Rights body condemns Syria; Shell pulls out
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:21 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - The main U.N. human rights forum condemned Syria's crackdown on protests on Friday and Royal Dutch Shell shut down oil work there because of EU sanctions, signs of the deepening isolation of President Bashar al-Assad. The 47-member rights forum overwhelmingly voted to adopt a resolution put forward by the European Union, condemning "gross and systematic" rights violations. Russia and China, which have so far protected Assad by vetoing measures at the U.N. Security Council, were among the four countries to vote against it. ...
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Sweden keeps Syrian telecoms firms off EU sanctions list
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:21 PM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden blocked an effort by other EU states to add two telecoms firms in Syria with commercial links to Swedish firm Ericsson to an EU sanctions list this week, EU diplomats said. European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday agreed to add 11 Syrian firms or entities to the sanctions list as part of international efforts to end government violence against pro-democracy protests. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. rights forum condemns Syria
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:21 PM PST
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations top human rights forum strongly condemned Syria on Friday for "gross and systematic" violations by its forces, including executions, and set the stage for possible action by U.N. political bodies in New York. The 47-member forum adopted a resolution put forward by the European Union by a vote of 37 states in favor and four against, including China and Russia, with six abstentions. The text called for the "main bodies" of the U.N. to consider a U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
After NATO strike, Pakistan adjusts rules of engagement
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:20 PM PST
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's commanders in the wild Afghan border region can return fire if under attack without waiting for permission, the army chief said on Friday, a policy change that could stoke tensions after Saturday's NATO strike killed 24 Pakistani troops. Exactly what happened in the attack is unclear. Two U.S. officials told Reuters early indications were that Pakistani officials had cleared the NATO air strike, unaware they had troops in the area. A Pakistani official denied this. The attack sparked fury in Pakistan and further complicated U.S. ...
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Pakistan tells Germany it will definitely shun Bonn
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:20 PM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Pakistan has officially withdrawn from an international conference on Afghanistan, Germany's foreign ministry said on Friday, saying that it regretted the boycott. Pakistan said on Tuesday it planned to pull out of the meeting in reaction to a cross-border attack by NATO that killed 24 of its soldiers and plunged U.S.-Pakistani relations deeper into crisis. Pakistani Foreign Minister Rabbani Khar told his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle in a telephone call late on Friday that his country would not send a delegation, but wished the conference success, the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
Over 20 arrested at U.S. London embassy protest
Fri,2 Dec 2011 02:20 PM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Police said they had made more than 20 arrests at a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy in London on Friday. Twenty people had been held on suspicion of being members of a banned group while another two were detained for obstruction and violent disorder. A Metropolitan Police spokesman declined to confirm a report that the protesters were members of Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), a fringe Islamist group. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. official: Lockheed F-35 production should slow
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:53 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Production of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 joint strike fighter, the costliest arms purchase in history, should be slowed because of the potential number of cracks and "hot spots" turning up in fatigue testing and analysis, the Pentagon F-35 program director said. "The analyzed hot spots that have arisen in the last 12 months or so in the program have surprised us at the amount of change and at the cost," U.S. Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet said in an interview with Web-based publication AOL Defense. ...
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Senate panel may subpoena MF Global's Corzine
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:44 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Agriculture Committee will meet next week to vote on whether to subpoena former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine, if he and other company officials do not agree to appear before the panel on December 13. Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow said in a statement on Friday that the committee has yet to hear from Corzine on whether he will voluntarily appear before her committee. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper)
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Detroit could face $400 million penalty in takeover scenario
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:41 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Detroit could face a penalty of $400 million if the city's finances are taken over by the state of Michigan, according to sources. The Detroit penalty would be triggered by termination of existing swap agreements with banks, said analysts at credit ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's. The penalty could be as high as $400 million, according to a source familiar with the deals. Previous agreements were renegotiated after a termination in 2009 and could be renegotiated again. (Reporting By Karen Pierog)
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RIM is "national jewel" worthy of support: minister
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:39 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackBerry smartphone maker Research In Motion is a national "jewel" worthy of support, Canada's industry minister said on Friday, insisting that Canada is open to foreign investment even though it blocked a $39 billion potash deal last year. "RIM is a Canadian jewel," Christian Paradis told Reuters in an interview in New York on Friday, speaking in his native French. "I think we have to support companies like RIM. ...
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Obama administration backs education diversity
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:38 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration released new guidelines on Friday aimed at promoting diversity and reducing racial isolation in education, replacing the policy adopted in 2008 under then-President George W. Bush. Administration officials said the new guidance makes clear that educators may consider the race of students in certain plans designed to promote diversity and may reduce racial isolation among students in elementary and secondary schools. ...
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U.S., Canada to set security deal at White House
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:36 PM PST
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The United States and Canada are scheduled to announce a new security agreement next Wednesday designed to lower obstacles between the two nations while ensuring the perimeter around them is secure. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are set to unveil the agreement after a meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The two countries already have a free-trade agreement but the new deal is supposed to improve commerce in a number of ways, such as through joint regulation and safety standards for different products. ...
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Cain to say Saturday if still in race
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:35 PM PST
Reuters -  ROCK HILL, South Carolina (Reuters) - Herman Cain, battling allegations of infidelities, is expected to announce on Saturday in Atlanta whether he is continuing his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. In remarks at a campaign stop in South Carolina, Cain gave no hint as to what his decision might be. He is to meet with his wife, Gloria, who has so far stood by her husband as he has tried to weather a chain of sexual allegations from several women that have included groping and a 13-year affair. ...
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U.S., Canada to set security deal at White House
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:34 PM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - The United States and Canada are scheduled to announce a new security agreement next Wednesday designed to lower obstacles between the two nations while ensuring the perimeter around them is secure. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are set to unveil the agreement after a meeting at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The two countries already have a free-trade agreement but the new deal is supposed to improve commerce in a number of ways, such as through joint regulation and safety standards for different products. ... Full Story | Top |
Senators wade into flood insurance fray again
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:06 PM PST
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two members of the Senate have revived the debate over the federal government's flood insurance program, with one pushing to extend the program before it expires and the other demanding faster payment on existing claims. The National Flood Insurance Program has survived for years on a series of last-minute annual extensions. The program has an unsustainable debt load after a post-Hurricane Katrina bailout, but reform efforts have repeatedly bogged down amid differences over how to handle that debt. ... Full Story | Top |
UK envoy tells of fear as mob rampage in Iran embassy
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:49 PM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ambassador to Iran described Friday how he took refuge while a mob rampaged through his embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, tearing up portraits and starting fires, while seven staff were seized by protesters at a second compound. Speaking three days after the attack by protesters on the British embassy in Iran that sparked a crisis in British-Iranian relations, Dominick Chilcott said he had feared he might be taken hostage as U.S. diplomats were in 1979. ... Full Story | Top |
UK envoy tells of fear as mob rampage in Iran embassy
Fri,2 Dec 2011 01:00 PM PST
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ambassador to Iran described on Friday how he took refuge while a mob rampaged through his embassy in Tehran, smashing windows, tearing up portraits and starting fires, while seven staff were seized by protesters at a second compound. Speaking three days after the attack by protesters on the British embassy in Iran that sparked a crisis in British-Iranian relations, Dominick Chilcott said he had feared he might be taken hostage as U.S. diplomats were in 1979. ... Full Story | Top |
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