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FBI probes China's ZTE over Iran tech deals: report
Thu,12 Jul 2012 07:25 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into ZTE Corp over the Chinese company's sale of banned U.S. computer equipment to Iran and its alleged subsequent attempts to cover it up and obstruct a Department of Commerce probe, the Smoking Gun website reported. The federal investigations stem from a Reuters report in March that Shenzhen, China-based ZTE, a telecommunications equipment maker, sold Iran's largest telecom firm a powerful surveillance system capable of monitoring landline, mobile and Internet communications. ...
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DC officer investigated over alleged remark about first lady: report
Thu,12 Jul 2012 07:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Authorities were investigating a Washington police officer on Thursday over a possibly threatening remark he allegedly made about first lady Michelle Obama, reports said. The unidentified officer assigned to a motorcade detail was speaking with colleagues on Wednesday about potential threats against the Obamas and allegedly made a comment about shooting Mrs. Obama, The Washington Post reported, citing police sources. The comment was apparently overheard by another officer, who told a superior. ...
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Moody's downgrades Italy by two notches, warns might cut further
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:57 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Moody's on Friday surprised markets by downgrading Italy's government bond rating by two notches to Baa2 and warned it could cut it further, piling on pressure just hours before the country launches its latest bond sale. The move left Italy's rating just two notches above junk status and could raise already-painful borrowing costs. The stark warning from Moody's, which highlighted Italy's vulnerability to political shocks in the euro zone and could deepen worries about the region's debt crisis, knocked the euro down about a quarter of a cent to $1.2190 in Asian trade. ...
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Nicaraguan court sentences Colombian in spying case
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:55 PM PDT
Reuters -  MANAGUA (Reuters) - A Nicaraguan court on Thursday sentenced a Colombian to 16 years in prison on charges of spying and passing information to his home country. The court sentenced Luis Rios to two consecutive eight-year prison terms for violating state secrets and meddling in domestic affairs. Rios was captured last month and accused of bribing two Nicaraguan military officers for secrets he then passed to Colombian intelligence officials. ...
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Washington state town mulls disincorporation, citing finances
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:53 PM PDT
Reuters - SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Washington state town founded a century ago as a gold prospectors' camp in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains may ask residents to consider disincorporation to avoid having to file for bankruptcy, its mayor said on Thursday. Mayor Joe Beavers said the town of Gold Bar would otherwise spend roughly a sixth of its $550,000 general fund, or about $90,000, out of a total $1.4 million annual budget, to defend itself this year against a slew of mostly recall and public records lawsuits. ... Full Story | Top |
Rights groups file suit challenging Arizona abortion ban
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:51 PM PDT
Reuters - PHOENIX (Reuters) - Rights groups challenged a controversial Arizona law banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy on Thursday, seeking to block the measure before takes effect in early August. The law was signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April, handing Republicans a win in an ongoing national drive to impose greater restrictions on abortion in a presidential election year. The law, due to take effect August 2, would bar healthcare professionals from performing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in a medical emergency. ... Full Story | Top |
Penn State investigator Freeh wins praise for tough report
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:42 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Louis Freeh, the FBI director under Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush who left amid criticism just before the September 11, 2001, attacks, won praise Thursday for his unflinching report on Penn State University's handling of child sex abuse by a former football coach. Experts said Freeh pulled no punches and made no excuses. He concluded the school's leaders, including late head coach Joe Paterno and former President Graham Spanier, allowed Jerry Sandusky to prey for years with impunity on young boys. ... Full Story | Top |
House vote on Russia trade bill in doubt
Thu,12 Jul 2012 06:28 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress appears increasingly unlikely to approve a controversial bill to upgrade trade relations with Russia before the November elections, despite a push by the White House and U.S. business groups for votes this month. ...
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Republicans may delay House bill to cut food stamps
Thu,12 Jul 2012 05:51 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives may set aside a bill providing for the biggest reduction in food stamps for the poor since 1996, averting a fight over cuts that critics assail as immoral during hard times, House leaders said on Thursday. Food stamps would see the largest cut, $16 billion over 10 years, in the House farm bill - $2 billion more than for farm subsidies and nearly half of all the savings in the bill. The cuts, mostly in eligibility rules, are estimated to reduce enrollment by 5 percent. A near-record 46. ... Full Story | Top |
Police find drug tunnel under U.S.-Mexico border
Thu,12 Jul 2012 05:13 PM PDT
Reuters -  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Police have discovered a sophisticated drug smuggling tunnel the length of two football fields running beneath the Arizona border with Mexico, and arrested three suspects, authorities said on Thursday. The tunnel measuring 240 yards linked a building in San Luis, a small town in far western Arizona, to an ice plant in the Mexican border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a news release. The clandestine passageway descended more than 55 feet into the ground and measured six feet in height. ...
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Romanian prime minister pledges to address EU concerns
Thu,12 Jul 2012 05:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Romanian government will quickly address European concerns over rule of law and will respect any Constitutional Court decisions regarding a referendum on the impeachment of President Traian Basescu, the prime minister said on Thursday. Victor Ponta met European Union leaders in Brussels to defend his campaign to oust Basescu and to address charges that it failed to respect constitutional checks and balances. ...
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Immigrant files proposed class action suit over U.S. gay marriage ban
Thu,12 Jul 2012 05:01 PM PDT
Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Philippine immigrant filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking a legal right to stay in the United States based on her same-sex marriage to an American. The suit seeks to win for gays and lesbians the same immigration rights as heterosexual couples. The group that helped file the suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security called it the first proposed class action of its kind. Plaintiffs Jane DeLeon, an immigrant from the Philippines, her son Martin Aranas, 25, and DeLeon's U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney and Republican House leader far apart on China currency
Thu,12 Jul 2012 05:00 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican in the U.S. Congress highlighted a policy rift Thursday with his party's presidential hopeful when he reiterated his opposition to using legislation to press China to revalue its currency. Staking out a position in contrast to the hawkish views of Mitt Romney, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, who has opposed repeated efforts in recent years to pass laws that would put tariffs on Chinese goods unless it allowed the yuan to appreciate, told reporters he still felt the same way. ... Full Story | Top |
Sigourney Weaver turns political animal for new TV show
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:44 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - In new TV series "Political Animals," Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond, who has just lost a presidential bid, laments that the country just doesn't adore her as much as her womanizing husband and former President. If that sounds like current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, actress Sigourney Weaver, who portrays Elaine, disagrees. The similarities between the real-life politician and the TV one are clear in the frothy series premiering July 15 on the USA Network, yet Weaver swears she did not have Clinton in mind. ...
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U.S. cracks down on Iran's oil tanker company, exposes fronts
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States ramped up pressure on Iran's ability to export oil on Thursday, identifying Tehran's main tanker firm and exposing dozens of its vessels as government-controlled entities. In the latest set of measures designed to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, the U.S. Treasury identified the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), 58 of its vessels and 27 of its affiliates as extensions of the state, which would undermine Iran's attempts to use renamed, disguised vessels to evade sanctions, the department said. ...
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Over 200 massacred in Syrian government forces attack: activists
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:25 PM PDT
Reuters -  AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 200 Syrians, mostly civilians, were massacred in a village in the rebellious Hama region when it was bombarded by helicopter gunships and tanks and then stormed by militiamen, opposition activists said. If confirmed, it would be the worst single incident of violence in 16 months of conflict in which rebels are fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad and diplomacy to halt the bloodshed has been stymied by jostling between world powers. ...
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No evidence Trayvon Martin's killer is racist: FBI interviews
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:18 PM PDT
Reuters -  MIAMI/ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - FBI interviews with dozens of friends, coworkers and neighbors of George Zimmerman found no evidence that the accused murderer of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was a racist, according to new documents released on Thursday. The reports from the FBI were among a new collection of evidence, including crime scene photos, bank surveillance videos and other documents, that were released by Florida's state attorney's office in the racially charged case. ...
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Peugeot cuts 8,000 jobs; Opel axes CEO
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:15 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS/MUNICH (Reuters) - The woes confronting Europe's auto industry surfaced dramatically Thursday when France's PSA Peugeot Citroen announced 8,000 job cuts and a plant closure and Germany's Opel got its fourth CEO in less than three years. The two automakers - one a French national icon and the other the principal European subsidiary of General Motors Co. - are struggling with mounting losses and pursuing restructuring plans likely to spark political tension in austerity-strapped Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
Missouri law to deny birth control coverage vetoed
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:04 PM PDT
Reuters - KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Missouri's Democratic Governor Jay Nixon on Thursday vetoed a bill that could have resulted in women being denied insurance coverage for contraception, in the latest battle over Catholic Church objections to providing birth control coverage as part of the new health care law. Republican lawmakers in Missouri drafted the law in response to President Barack Obama's policy of requiring insurers to cover birth control for free as part of the new federal health care law, even if they work for a church or other employer that has a moral objection. ... Full Story | Top |
Chile's Pinera signs hate crime law after gay youth death
Thu,12 Jul 2012 04:04 PM PDT
Reuters - SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile on Thursday became one of the last Latin American nations to pass an anti-discrimination law, after a brutal beating that led to a young gay man's death put pressure on conservative president Sebastian Pinera's government to act. The hate-crime bill, which was originally introduced by ex-president Ricardo Lagos, was signed into law by Pinera after being tied up in Congress for seven years. Chile, one of Latin America's richest countries, remains conservative and heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, which considers homosexual acts sinful. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia says no to Syria sanctions as U.N. talks begin
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:53 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it would not agree to a threat of sanctions to end the 16-month conflict in Syria as a deeply divided U.N. Security Council began negotiations on a resolution to extend a U.N. monitoring mission there. The 15-member council must decide the future of the U.N. mission, known as UNSMIS, before July 20, when its 90-day mandate expires. UNSMIS was deployed to monitor a failed truce as part of international envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan. ... Full Story | Top |
Lockheed, Taiwan's AIDC sign memo on F-16 upgrades
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:39 PM PDT
Reuters - FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - Taiwan's state-owned aerospace company and Lockheed Martin Corp on Thursday said they had signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on upgrades of Taiwan's 145 F-16 A/B fighter jets once Washington and Taipei finalize the deal. Lockheed officials confirmed the news, which was announced in Taipei by Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, a state-owned aerospace company, although the memorandum was signed at the Farnborough International Airshow on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
Sweden to watch British interests in Iran
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:37 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday Sweden would look after its interests in Iran as part of a deal hammered out after the UK closed its Tehran embassy late last year at the height of a diplomatic confrontation. Iranian protesters broke into two British diplomatic compounds in Tehran in November, ransacking offices and burning British flags in protest against new sanctions. The incident sparked a major row between the two countries, with Britain shutting its embassy in Tehran and then expelling all Iranian diplomats from London. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney faces new questions over tenure at Bain
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:32 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney faced new questions on Thursday over whether he worked for Bain Capital longer than he previously claimed, prompting denials from the campaign and criticism from President Barack Obama's campaign. Romney, who made a fortune as a private equity executive at Bain, has said he left the firm in 1999, when he was tapped to lead the then-troubled Salt Lake City Olympics. But the Boston Globe reported on Thursday that public records indicate he was still registered as a top official at Bain for three more years. ...
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U.S. says Syria envoy's defection shows Assad losing grip
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:30 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday that the defection of a Syrian ambassador showed that desperation was growing within President Bashar Assad's government and was a further sign that he was losing his grip on power. "Those around him, both in his inner circle and more broadly in the military and governmental leadership are beginning to assess Assad's chances of remaining in power ... and making the choice that they will abandon him in favor of the Syrian people," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
Senators call for more vigorous Libor probe
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:21 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of Democratic senators on Thursday pressured Attorney General Eric Holder and financial regulators to step up investigations into whether global banks manipulated benchmark interest rates. The senators, including Carl Levin, Jack Reed and Dianne Feinstein, said investigators should also look into allegations that U.S. and foreign bank regulators may have been aware for years of wrongdoing in the setting of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR. ...
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Green Party's Stein at 'ground zero,' aiming for debates
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dr. Jill Stein, expected to be chosen as the presidential candidate of the Green Party on Saturday, acknowledges her ultra-long-shot status in this year's White House race. "We don't have to win the election in order to win the day," the Harvard-trained physician said on Thursday in a telephone interview. "The whole reason we're in this race is to ensure that everyday people have a voice in this election and a choice at the polls. ... Full Story | Top |
Death toll in attack on Syrian village is over 200: activists
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian government forces killed more than 200 people, most of them civilians, in a village in the province of Hama on Thursday, opposition activists said. The village of Taramseh was shelled by Syrian troops and later stormed by pro-government Shabbiha militia, they said. Several people in the village were killed by the shelling and more were shot later in the head, execution-style, they added. Syrian television said three security personnel had been killed in fighting in Taramseh, and accused "armed terrorist groups" of committing a massacre there. ... Full Story | Top |
Hank Williams, Jr.'s new music takes on Obama
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:13 PM PDT
Reuters -  NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Hank Williams, Jr. is a country singer, record executive and political pundit, and he wears all those hats on his new CD, "Old School, New Rules". He picks up on politics where he left off last year with some more fighting words for President Barack Obama. Williams calls himself "an executive hillbilly," but he's more than that. The second son in a line of country stars - legend Hank Williams is his dad and country/punk/metal singer Hank III his son - Williams is known for such standards as "Family Tradition" and "A Country Boy Can Survive. ...
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In Wyoming, Romney rustles up cash with the Cheney gang
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  JACKSON, Wyoming (Reuters) - Republican party grandees gathered in the shadow of Wyoming's majestic Grand Teton mountains on Thursday for a high-dollar fundraising event that will add to presidential candidate Mitt Romney's brimming campaign coffers. Hosted by former vice president and native son Dick Cheney, who often goes fly-fishing for trout in nearby streams, the country club reception and dinner are expected to bring in $4 million for Romney, in one of the biggest fundraising nights of the 2012 election season. ...
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U.S.-Canada tunnel reopens after bomb threat
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:07 PM PDT
Reuters -  DETROIT (Reuters) - One of the busiest border crossings between the United States and Canada, the tunnel connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ontario, was shut down for five hours on Thursday following a bomb threat, but nothing suspicious was found, authorities said. Detroit police bomb-sniffing dogs explored the nearly mile-long tunnel and gave the all-clear. Travelers were told to use the Ambassador Bridge linking the two countries instead. Windsor police received a call announcing there was a bomb in the tunnel, prompting an evacuation around midday. ...
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More than 50 groups demand Alberta pipeline inquiry
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:07 PM PDT
Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Fifty-four advocacy groups, from environmentalists to landowners to aboriginal nations, called on the Alberta government on Thursday to launch an independent inquiry into the safety of pipelines in the Western Canadian province in response to oil spills at home and in the United States. In an open letter to Alberta Premier Alison Redford, the groups demanded a speedy investigation into pipeline integrity so people in the country's largest oil-producing region can be assured that their communities and drinking water are safe. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney camp steps up response to Democrats' attacks
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For weeks, anxious Republicans called on Mitt Romney to respond more aggressively to attacks from the Democrats, afraid his hopes of winning the presidency could slip away if his rivals are able to define him as being out of touch with ordinary Americans. This week, those Romney supporters are getting their wish. Over the Internet and the airwaves, Romney and his allies have launched a stream of counterpunches against President Barack Obama and his team. The effort is aimed at countering the Democrats' attempts to cast Romney as someone who shipped U.S. ...
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Democrats seek to reassure vulnerable senators on tax cuts
Thu,12 Jul 2012 03:03 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Senate Democrat said on Thursday that politically vulnerable lawmakers will be "just fine" if they back President Barack Obama's plan to extend tax cuts only for households making $250,000 or less, a vote that could be perilous for some facing re-election in November. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's remarks to reporters came as he tried to steer Obama's initiative -- a centerpiece of the president's re-election campaign -- to Senate passage by the end of this month. "Ninety-eight percent of the American people will get a tax cut," Reid said. ... Full Story | Top |
Brain tissue from former NFL star Seau to be studied for damage
Thu,12 Jul 2012 02:35 PM PDT
Reuters -  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tissue from the brain of former San Diego Chargers star Junior Seau, who committed suicide in May, has been sent to the National Institutes of Health for analysis amid growing concerns over the long-term effects of football-related head injuries. The brain sample was sent to the NIH, the U.S. government's primary biomedical research institution, at the request of Seau's family members, said Sarah Gordon, spokeswoman for the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office. Gordon declined to comment further on the decision. ...
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United Tech export case highlights risks in global trade
Thu,12 Jul 2012 02:20 PM PDT
Reuters - FARNBOROUGH, England (Reuters) - William Swanson, head of U.S. missile maker Raytheon, gathered 100 colleagues on the eve of Britain's Farnborough Airshow this week to review the company's strict rules for interacting with international arms buyers. "I'm trying to make sure my tone's loud and clear," Swanson told Reuters afterward in an interview. "I kind of treat the brand the way I treat my family name. ... Full Story | Top |
Libya's Jibril in election landslide over Islamists
Thu,12 Jul 2012 02:03 PM PDT
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The moderate National Forces Alliance of wartime prime minister Mahmoud Jibril scored a landslide victory over rival Islamist parties in Libya's first free national election in a generation, partial tallies showed on Thursday. Counts from across the North African country attested to a resounding defeat for the political wing of Libya's Muslim Brotherhood, bucking a trend of success for Islamist groups in other Arab Spring countries such as Egypt and Tunisia. Final official results are not due until next week. ...
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Leftist seeks to void Mexico's presidential election, again
Thu,12 Jul 2012 01:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The runner-up in Mexico's presidential election will ask the electoral tribunal to void the results, arguing that the winner violated campaign finance laws to buy votes, his lawyers said on Thursday. Left-wing candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador came in 3.3 million votes behind Enrique Pena Nieto from the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), according to the official count from the July 1 vote. ...
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Last-minute security shortfall embarrasses UK
Thu,12 Jul 2012 01:44 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain could be forced to deploy thousands of extra troops in London during the Olympics after a last-minute security blunder dealt an embarrassing blow to the government just two weeks before the Games. With the eyes of the world trained on London, the government was forced to answer questions in parliament on the issue on Thursday as it struggled to contain snaking airport queues and extensive road works that threaten to harm its reputation. ...
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Kazakh leader raps police for security lapses
Thu,12 Jul 2012 01:26 PM PDT
Reuters - ALMATY (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev rebuked his secret police for lapses after the discovery of guns and religious literature on Thursday in the garage of a house destroyed by fire. Nazarbayev said law enforcement agencies, including the Committee for National Security (KNB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, were not gathering enough intelligence to prevent militant groups from operating in the Central Asian state. ... Full Story | Top |
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