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Teens set themselves on fire, take Tibet burnings over 50: group
Mon,27 Aug 2012 07:41 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - The number of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire in protest at Chinese rule of their homeland has topped 50 after two teenagers burned to death in a southwestern corner of the country, a rights group said. The pair, one an 18-year-old monk and the other a 17-year-old former monk, died on Monday after setting themselves on fire outside the Kirti monastery in Ngaba, a heavily Tibetan part of Sichuan province, the London-based Free Tibet group said. ... Full Story | Top |
Colombian government seeking peace with FARC rebels
Mon,27 Aug 2012 07:31 PM PDT
Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government is seeking peace with the country's biggest rebel group, the FARC, and could consider also holding talks with a second guerrilla movement to end five decades of war, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday. In a televised address from the presidential palace, Santos said his government would learn from the mistakes of so many previous leaders who tried but failed to clinch a lasting ceasefire with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. "Since the first day of my government I have completed my constitutional obligation to find peace. ... Full Story | Top |
Exclusive: Colombia's ELN rebels offer peace talks
Mon,27 Aug 2012 07:19 PM PDT
Reuters -  BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's second-biggest guerrilla group says it is willing to hold unconditional peace talks to end five decades of war, but will not end its campaign of kidnappings, bombings and extortion against foreign oil and mining firms before negotiations begin. Nicolas Rodriguez, leader of the National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, told Reuters in a rare interview that he is open to negotiate an end to the bloodshed with President Juan Manuel Santos' conservative government. ...
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San Francisco archbishop-elect apologizes for drunken driving
Mon,27 Aug 2012 06:49 PM PDT
Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic bishop newly chosen by the Vatican to lead the archdiocese of San Francisco and two other Bay Area counties publicly apologized on Monday after he was arrested and held behind bars over the weekend on suspicion of drunken driving. Salvatore Cordileone, 56, appointed in July by Pope Benedict XVI to preside over more than 500,000 Catholics as metropolitan archbishop of San Francisco, was taken into custody on Saturday near San Diego State University, according to the San Diego Police Department. ... Full Story | Top |
Haitian migrants to be repatriated from Bahamas, 16 missing
Mon,27 Aug 2012 06:24 PM PDT
Reuters - NASSAU (Reuters) - Up to 16 illegal Haitian migrants aboard a boat carrying more than 200 passengers that ran aground at the height of Tropical Storm Isaac are missing and may have died, the Bahamian government said on Monday. Fred Mitchell, the Bahamas' foreign minister, said that no bodies had been recovered, but a man identifying himself as the sail boat's captain had said four Haitians jumped overboard during the voyage and another 12 had drowned. The captain told Bahamian officials that the boat, which ran aground off Mangrove Cay on the island of Andros, left Cap Haitien a week ago. ... Full Story | Top |
Syrian man threatens to blow up the Arab League
Mon,27 Aug 2012 06:19 PM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian authorities arrested late on Monday a Syrian man who threatened to blow up the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo after he learned that his parents had been killed in Syria during a battle between the rebels and troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, Egyptian news agency MENA reported. At least 62 people were killed in an assault on the suburbs of Damascus on Monday, according to opposition activists, as the anti-Assad uprising is about to enter its 18th month in September. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney's storm-delayed convention limps into motion
Mon,27 Aug 2012 06:09 PM PDT
Reuters -  TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Forget the loud music, cheering crowds and funny hats. Instead of opening with a bang as originally planned, Mitt Romney's Republican convention started with a whimper on Monday as party leaders staged a low-key session while Tropical Storm Isaac churned through the Gulf of Mexico. ...
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Isaac menaces U.S. Gulf Coast 7 years after Katrina
Mon,27 Aug 2012 06:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Isaac closed in on the U.S. Gulf coast on Monday, triggering evacuation orders in some areas and disrupting offshore oil production as it threatened to make landfall between Florida and Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane. The wide, slow-moving storm swiped south Florida on Sunday and strengthened over the warm Gulf waters. It was expected to reach land late on Tuesday or early Wednesday, the anniversary of devastating Hurricane Katrina seven years ago. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warned the storm could buffet towns and cities in at least three ...
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Almost half of voters want Osborne out: poll
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:57 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of British voters believe George Osborne should be removed from his post of finance minister in the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle, an opinion poll showed on Tuesday. Osborne is under pressure to ditch his hard line austerity program in favor of growth measures to keep Britain's economy from sinking deeper into a double-dip recession. Speculation that Osborne may be replaced by foreign minister William Hague was supported by an ICM poll for the left-leaning Guardian newspaper, which found that 48 percent of voters think he should lose his job in the reshuffle. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney to make early visit to Florida convention
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:46 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEWTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will make an early appearance at the Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida, on Tuesday, a campaign official said. Romney, who had been scheduled to arrive on Thursday ahead of his prime time speech that night, will now fly to Florida the same day his wife, Ann, is scheduled to give her address. On Sunday and Monday, Romney and his wife were at their home in New Hampshire and made trips to a local high school where they practiced their speeches. ...
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Clooney star guest at Obama fundraiser in Switzerland
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  GENEVA (Reuters) - George Clooney was the star attraction on Monday in what was billed as the U.S. Democratic Party's biggest fundraising event abroad aimed at helping President Barack Obama win re-election. The American actor and activist, who traveled by car from his residence on Lake Como, Italy, attended a private reception followed by a gala dinner in Geneva's Old Town. "I'm very proud to be here and to be supporting the next President of the United States," Clooney told the reception, drawing applause. ...
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U.N. seeks details on employees sentenced in Myanmar
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:29 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations is seeking information on three people working for the world body who were sentenced by a Myanmar court in connection with sectarian violence there earlier this year, a U.N. spokesman said on Monday. "The country team in Yangon has received information that a court in Maungdaw has sentenced three people - one from the U.N. refugee agency, one from the World Food Program and a third person who works for a partner organization of the refugee agency," spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
China investigates Japan flag-snatching report: Xinhua
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:27 PM PDT
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities are "seriously" investigating reports that a national flag on the Japanese ambassador's car was ripped off in Beijing on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said, amid a territorial row over disputed islands. "The Chinese government always conscientiously fulfills the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to protect the safety of foreign embassies and personnel," Xinhua, citing the Foreign Ministry, said in an overnight report. ... Full Story | Top |
Michigan court sides with backers of pro-union initiative
Mon,27 Aug 2012 05:11 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The Michigan Court of Appeals on Monday ordered state officials to put a voter initiative that would enshrine the right to collective bargaining in the state constitution on the November 6 ballot. Opponents of the union-backed proposal, who include the attorney general, said an appeal would be filed quickly to the Michigan Supreme Court. The measure, known as the "Protect Our Jobs" initiative, would make collective bargaining a constitutionally protected right in Michigan and cripple efforts to pass so-called "right to work" legislation in the state. ... Full Story | Top |
Poll: Romney faces headwinds in race against Obama
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:58 PM PDT
Reuters -  TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Mitt Romney enters Republican convention week facing serious challenges in his drive to unseat President Barack Obama in the November 6 election, with the Democrat outscoring him on eloquence and likability, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday. But many factors weigh in the Republican's favor as he seeks a boost from his Tampa, Florida, convention. An overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track, the poll found. ...
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Top California lawmaker sees pension reform deal Tuesday
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:45 PM PDT
Reuters - SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Democrats who control California's legislature aim to hammer out a pension overhaul deal by Tuesday, improving the odds for voter approval of Governor Jerry Brown's November tax measure. State Senate President Darrell Steinberg told reporters in the state capital Sacramento that a committee of lawmakers would vote on Tuesday on a package of bills based on Brown's pension proposals. Lawmakers end this year's session on Friday and Brown, a Democrat, wants to show voters the state's leaders are intent on curbing retirement expenses. ... Full Story | Top |
Republicans call for crackdown on pornography
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:44 PM PDT
Reuters - TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - The Republican Party is calling for a crackdown on pornography in a move that could pit social conservatives against hotel operators, television providers and other businesses that profit from the sale of sexually explicit material. As they prepare to nominate Mitt Romney as their presidential candidate for the November 6 election, Republicans have added language to their official platform that anti-smut activists said would encourage the federal government to step up prosecution of pornography involving adults. ... Full Story | Top |
Black, Mormon and female, Utah Republican embodies new hope
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT
Reuters - SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Rock star. Novelty. Myth-buster. Surprise. That's how some pundits describe Mia Love, a Republican congressional nominee in Utah who is upending stereotypes about the state and its predominant faith. A rising star and mayor of a small Utah city, she will have a brief prime-time speaking role on Tuesday at the Republican convention. Love, 36, is a black Mormon in a deeply conservative state where her race makes up less than 3 percent of the population. ... Full Story | Top |
Exclusive: New Egypt leader steps out on world stage seeking "balance"
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:21 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new Islamist president said on Monday he would pursue a "balanced" foreign policy, reassuring Israel its peace treaty was safe, hinting at a new approach to Iran and calling on Bashar al-Assad's allies to help lever the Syrian leader out. Mohamed Mursi, who was elected in June and consolidated his power this month by dismissing top military leaders, is seeking to introduce himself to a wider world ahead of a trip to Iran - the first by an Egyptian leader in three decades - and China. "Egypt is now a civilian state ... ...
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Jury selected in Ohio Amish hair-cutting attacks
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:18 PM PDT
Reuters - CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A jury was selected Monday in Cleveland in the hate-crime trial of 16 members of an Ohio Amish splinter group charged in beard- and hair-cutting attacks on other Amish people last fall. The 16 men and women, most of them related, are charged in three separate attacks on nine people, including the parents of some of the suspects. The series of crimes rocked the normally quiet, pacifist Amish community in Jefferson County in southeast Ohio. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. soldiers killed two to shield anarchist plot: prosecutor
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:14 PM PDT
Reuters - ATLANTA (Reuters) - Four soldiers in Georgia who belonged to an anarchist militia that wanted to overthrow the U.S. government killed a former soldier and his girlfriend because he had learned of their plans, prosecutors said on Monday. Prosecutors revealed the suspected motive as one of the soldiers pleaded guilty on Monday to voluntary manslaughter and other charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors over the December 5, 2011, shooting deaths of Michael Roark, 19, and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Tiffany York. ... Full Story | Top |
Pennsylvania judge halts Harrisburg's incinerator debt payments
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge on Monday ordered Harrisburg, the state's cash-strapped capital, to suspend debt service payments on its troubled incinerator and to implement a 1 percent tax hike. Commonwealth Court Judge Bonnie Leadbetter ruled that the city should not make any further debt payments on its waste-to-energy incinerator - which helped plunge the city into at least $320 million in debt - until further notice. An attorney for Harrisburg's state-appointed receiver, William Lynch, said during a court hearing last week that the city would be $500,000 in the hole if it made a $3. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. troops punished over Koran burning, urination video
Mon,27 Aug 2012 04:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Monday it was disciplining U.S. troops over two incidents that provoked outrage in Afghanistan early this year, one involving a video depicting Marines urinating on corpses and another over burned copies of the Koran. The administrative punishments -- which could include things like reduce rank or forfeiture of pay -- fell short of criminal prosecution, and it was unclear whether they would satisfy Afghan demands for justice. ...
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South Carolina defends voter ID law in court
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:58 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Carolina defended its new voter-identification law in federal court on Monday, arguing the requirement that all voters show a form of photo ID prevents fraud without discriminating against black voters. The Obama administration blocked the law in December, its latest attempt to stop a wave of laws in Republican-controlled states that require voters to show certain forms of photo ID at the polls. ... Full Story | Top |
Gambia executes nine prisoners by firing squad: government
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters - BANJUL (Reuters) - Gambia said on Monday it had executed nine prisoners, prompting critics to call for sanctions on the president whose plans to clear the country's death row by mid-September had already drawn a flurry of international condemnation. Six civilians and three members of the military were executed by firing squad on Sunday after their appeal processes had been exhausted, the interior ministry said in a statement. It named the prisoners and said they had been found guilty of a variety of crimes, all involving murder. ... Full Story | Top |
Exclusive: Venezuela refinery could restart Friday
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARAGUANA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's biggest refinery could restart operations on Friday and fires still burning in three storage tanks will be extinguished within two days, the country's energy minister told Reuters, following the country's worst oil industry accident. An explosion on Saturday at the Amuay refinery killed 48 people and pushed up U.S. fuel prices in markets that were already bullish because of a threat that Tropical Storm Isaac could disrupt refinery operations on the U.S. Gulf Coast. ...
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Another Republican steps into controversy over rape comments
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:52 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another Republican U.S. Senate candidate sparked a controversy on Monday with comments on rape, comparing his family member's decision to have a child outside marriage to a pregnancy caused by rape. Tom Smith, who badly trails Democrat Bob Casey in polls in their U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, stepped into political trouble after telling reporters that abortion should be banned without exceptions. ... Full Story | Top |
Warplane attacks on Damascus suburbs kill 60: activists
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:52 PM PDT
Reuters -  AMMAN/ALEPPO (Reuters) - Syrian fighter planes made rare sorties on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, killing at least 60 people in its eastern suburbs, the same day a Syrian military helicopter crashed while under rebel fire, activists said. They said aerial attacks by at least two fighter planes late on Monday had targeted the neighborhood of Zemalka and the more easterly suburb of Saqba where Free Syrian Army fighters had attacked and overrun several army roadblocks earlier in the day. ...
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Regulators to study rules for electronics on planes
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:47 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The U.S. will take a look at the rules governing which electronic devices travelers can use during flights to help airlines decide if they should allow wider use of the gadgets, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday. A group that will be formed this fall will study the testing methods airline operators use to decide which new devices passengers can safely use and when, as well as other issues, the FAA said in a statement. Airlines often tell travelers not to use iPods, laptops and other devices while planes are taking off and landing. ... Full Story | Top |
Israeli court to rule on U.S. activist Corrie death
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:36 PM PDT
Reuters - HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - The family of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old pro-Palestinian activist whose killing by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza in 2003 drew international attention, will hear a court rule on Tuesday on their long-running civil lawsuit against Israel. Corrie's family filed the lawsuit in the northern Israeli city of Haifa in 2005, accusing Israel of intentionally and unlawfully killing their daughter and failing to conduct a full and credible investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
Rich-poor divide scars Angola as it heads for polls
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:35 PM PDT
Reuters -  HUAMBO, Angola (Reuters) - A four-lane avenue separates the shelled ruins of the art deco Ruacana Cinema from Huambo's shiny new Chinese-built railway station, a symbol of the leaps Angola has made to recover from a devastating 27-year civil war that ended a decade ago. As Angolans prepare to go to the polls on Friday for only the second time since the end of the war, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos's ruling MPLA party reminds them daily of the rewards of peace and boasts of its reconstruction achievements. ...
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Israel shells Gaza compounds after rocket attacks
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:31 PM PDT
Reuters - GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli forces shelled two compounds run by the Hamas government's security services in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding two Palestinians, Hamas said. Israel described the targets as weapons manufacturing and storage sites and said they were hit in retaliation for recent short-range rocket salvoes launches from the coastal enclave into the Jewish state. Two such salvoes, on Sunday and Monday, caused no casualties and were claimed by ultra-conservative Salafi Islamists who have a presence in Gaza and the neighboring Egyptian Sinai. ... Full Story | Top |
Military says trial of accused Fort Hood shooter can go ahead
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Proceedings may resume in the court martial of alleged Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan, a military court ruled on Monday, less than a week after it stopped the trial to consider whether Hasan's beard could be forcibly shaved. The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces did not say whether Colonel Gregory Gross, the military trial judge, could order Hasan shaved. Gross has threatened to have Hasan shaved if he does not get rid of the beard himself before his next court appearance, saying the beard breaks Army regulations. ...
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Exclusive: Colombia's ELN rebels offer peace talks, refuse ceasefire first
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:28 PM PDT
Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's second-biggest guerrilla group says it is willing to hold unconditional peace talks to end five decades of war, but refuses to end its kidnapping, bomb attacks and extortion of foreign oil and mining companies before negotiations start. Nicolas Rodriguez, leader of the National Liberation Army, known as the ELN, told Reuters in a rare interview that he is open to negotiate an end to the bloodshed with President Juan Manuel Santos' conservative government. ...
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Colombia and rebels to begin peace talks soon: source
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:28 PM PDT
Reuters - BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's government will soon begin talks that could lead to formal negotiations for peace with the country's biggest guerrilla group, known as the FARC, a Colombian intelligence source said on Monday. As part of the deal to hold negotiations, President Juan Manuel Santos agreed that leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia would not be extradited to another country to stand trial, said the source who declined to be identified. ... Full Story | Top |
FDA approves Gilead's four-drug HIV treatment
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:27 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Monday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's four-drug combination pill to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The four drugs in one pill, which was formerly called the Quad and had been considered one of Gilead's more important future growth drivers, will be sold under the brand name Stribild, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Gilead shares were virtually unchanged from their $57.19 Nasdaq close as Wall Street has been focused on development of the experimental hepatitis C treatment that Gilead acquired with its $11 billion purchase of Pharmasset. ... Full Story | Top |
In his own words: Romney crafting his own convention speech
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:18 PM PDT
Reuters -  TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - For the most important speech of his political career, Mitt Romney has turned to those he trusts the most: himself, his wife, Ann, and a top aide. The speech that the Republican presidential candidate will deliver Thursday night, in the coda to his party's convention and seen by millions on national television, is being written largely by Romney himself. "The governor wants to make sure the words are right and that they are his," said a senior aide. In addition to Romney's wife, senior strategist Stuart Stevens will be helping with the speech. ...
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Republicans vow to keep taxes low on investment income
Mon,27 Aug 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans are pledging to keep a lid on the tax rates for investment income and maintain prized tax breaks for home mortgage and charitable donations, as part of their party's election platform set to be voted on in Tampa, Florida, this week. The platform, a version of which was made available to news organizations, backs a 15 percent tax rate on capital gains and dividends and calls for eliminating these taxes for lower and middle-income taxpayers, in line with the stance taken by Republican presidential candidate Romney. ... Full Story | Top |
San Francisco archbishop-elect arrested for drunk driving
Mon,27 Aug 2012 02:42 PM PDT
Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco Archbishop-elect Salvatore Cordileone, known for a conservative stance on same-sex marriage, has been arrested in his native San Diego for drunk driving, police said on Monday. Cordileone, 56, was stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence on Saturday near the San Diego State University campus, the San Diego Police Department said. Further details of his arrest were not immediately available. ... Full Story | Top |
Senator Portman will play Obama in Romney debate prep
Mon,27 Aug 2012 02:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney is turning to an experienced hand to play the role of President Barack Obama in debate preparations: Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, a campaign official said. Romney and Obama will face off in three presidential debates this fall. Romney has begun some early debate preparations, talking over subjects with top aides. But when he gets more serious and has an actual practice debate, Portman will stand in as Obama to represent the Democrat's views. ...
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