Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: - Mexico lower house approves diluted labor reform
- Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail
- U.N. criticizes "shrill war talk" in Iran nuclear dispute
- Somalia, allies batter al Shabaab, but gains may be fragile
- China takes islands dispute with Japan to pages of U.S. newspapers
- Satellite launch stirs passions before Venezuela vote
- Independent Scotland won't pay up to borrow: Salmond
- Senior ally of former Ivory Coast president re-arrested in Ghana
- Obama blocks Chinese wind farms in Oregon over security
- At U.N., Muslim world questions Western freedom of speech
- Nations seeking Assad's exit struggle to produce a plan
- U.S., France boost Syria support, less than rebels hoped
- Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences
- Trial of Pope Benedict's former butler to start on Saturday
- Libya thwarts planned anti-militia protests
- Seven killed in flash floods in southern Spain
- Canadians don't want Parliament to focus on China oil deal: poll
- Cameron leads British hunt for business in Brazil
- U.S. intelligence now says Benghazi attack "deliberate and organized"
- U.S. plan for emergency Egypt aid hits roadblock
- U.S., Gulf countries seek to advance missile defense plan
- U.S. drops Iranian MEK dissident group from terrorism list
- Russian punk band supporters expect little of legal appeal
- Del Ponte joins U.N. war crimes inquiry on Syria
- Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive
- Irving Oil charged in Quebec gas-price fixing case
- Slovenia debt to rise but no bailout needed: PM
- Man fires plastic pellets at Czech president, no injuries
- Al Qaeda convicts break out of jail in Iraq
- Fed's Fisher says U.S. "drowning in unemployment"
- Georgia opposition says ready to accept defeat in fair vote
- Egypt's Copts abandon Sinai homes after threats, attack
- Canada won't say if China involved in hacking incident
- Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence
- Italy's Monti pleases investors, but politics to come
- France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time
- French guarantees for lender CIF worth 28 billion euros
- French government proposes law to stem industrial closures
- Protesters, police clash in Bahrain
- Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city
| | Mexico lower house approves diluted labor reform Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:43 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's lower house of Congress on Friday gave provisional approval to a bill that would mark the biggest shake-up of the country's labor market in four decades. In a show of cooperation between the outgoing and incoming administrations, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto backed the bill, which the PRI had gutted of measures aimed at curbing the power of unions. ... Full Story | Top | Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:35 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California man behind an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was being held at a federal high-rise jail in downtown Los Angeles on Friday over possible probation violations, a prison official said. Federal officials, citing safety concerns, were tight-lipped about the conditions of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's confinement, including whether he was being held with the general population or was isolated from other inmates. ... Full Story | Top | U.N. criticizes "shrill war talk" in Iran nuclear dispute Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:25 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. on Friday urged all sides in the dispute over Iran's nuclear program to tone down "shrill war talk," reacting to this week's clashes at the world body between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "It's obvious that harsh tones and rhetoric are not going to be helpful, that is quite clear," said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky when asked about Netanyahu's speech on Thursday to the General Assembly. ... Full Story | Top | Somalia, allies batter al Shabaab, but gains may be fragile Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:00 PM PDT Reuters - MARKA, Somalia (Reuters) - "Paradise lies under the shade of swords," reads the Arabic inscription on an arch leading into the Somali port of Marka, abandoned last month by Islamist al Shabaab militants under pressure from advancing African Union peacekeepers and government troops. The inscription, along with a white column by the beach where al Shabaab held public executions, is one of the reminders of the al Qaeda-allied rebels' four-year occupation of the coastal town, 90 km (55 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu. ... Full Story | Top | China takes islands dispute with Japan to pages of U.S. newspapers Fri,28 Sep 2012 05:45 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - With world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, China has taken its dispute with Japan over the ownership of a chain of islands to the ad pages of major American newspapers. China Daily, an organ of the Communist Party and the country's official English-language daily newspaper, took out full-page-spread advertisements on Friday in the New York Times and the Washington Post. The ad's headline asserts "Diaoyu Islands Belong to China" over a color picture of the string of islands in the East China Sea. ... Full Story | Top | Satellite launch stirs passions before Venezuela vote Fri,28 Sep 2012 05:36 PM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan satellite will be launched on Friday in a move President Hugo Chavez says highlights the achievements of his self-styled revolution as he seeks re-election on October 7, but which his rival says underscores his neglect of problems closer to home. As campaigning in the close race approaches its final week in South America's biggest oil exporter, both sides are making last-minute efforts to win over undecided voters and planning huge rallies next week. ... Full Story | Top | Independent Scotland won't pay up to borrow: Salmond Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:22 PM PDT Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scotland will probably be able to borrow at rates "no worse" than London if Scots approve a referendum to secure independence from Britain in two years, Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond said in an interview in Chicago on Friday. "The essence of what people normally do in these circumstances is to look at the balance sheet of the country," said Salmond, who is in Chicago to promote Scotland as a destination for U.S. corporate investment. "Our balance sheet is a bit better than the U.K.'s ... ... Full Story | Top | Senior ally of former Ivory Coast president re-arrested in Ghana Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:17 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Interpol agents in Ghana have rearrested a senior ally of former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo amid a deepening dispute that has led to the closure of the border between the two West African neighbors, his lawyer said late on Friday. Ivorian authorities are seeking the extradition of Justin Kone Katinan, a former budget minister, who was first arrested in Ghana last month during a wave of deadly attacks in Ivory Coast that the government there blamed on pro-Gbagbo exiles. ... Full Story | Top | Obama blocks Chinese wind farms in Oregon over security Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama blocked on Friday a privately owned Chinese company from building wind turbines close to a Navy military site in Oregon due to national security concerns, and the company said it would challenge the action in court. The rare presidential order to divest interests in the wind farms comes as Obama campaigns for a second term against Republican Mitt Romney, who has accused him of being soft on China. ... Full Story | Top | At U.N., Muslim world questions Western freedom of speech Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:14 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Muslim leaders were in unison at the United Nations this week arguing that the West was hiding behind its defense of freedom of speech and ignoring cultural sensitivities in the aftermath of anti-Islam slurs that have raised fears of a widening East-West cultural divide. A video made in California depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a fool sparked the storming of U.S. and other Western embassies in many Islamic countries and a deadly suicide bombing in Afghanistan this month. The crisis deepened when a French magazine published caricatures of the Prophet. ... Full Story | Top | Nations seeking Assad's exit struggle to produce a plan Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:10 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Western and Arab states demanding Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's exit are under pressure to produce a plan to make that happen, but their unwillingness to act outside a deadlocked U.N. Security Council leaves them looking fractured and powerless. Foreign ministers and senior diplomats from the "Friends of Syria" - a group that includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey - are due to meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. "I just expect ideas to be presented. ... Full Story | Top | U.S., France boost Syria support, less than rebels hoped Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:09 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States and France announced increased support for opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, but there was no sign that the direct military aid the rebels want to create safe havens for civilians is on the way. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a meeting of foreign ministers in New York that the United States would provide an additional $45 million in non-lethal and humanitarian aid to the Syrian opposition. Of this, $30 million would be for humanitarian assistance and $15 million for non-lethal help, such as radios and training. ... Full Story | Top | Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a show of unity on Friday on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, seeking to tone down the acrimony between the two leaders that has become an issue in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face to face with him during his U.S. visit, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli prime minister amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words over how to confront Tehran. Netanyahu used his U.N. ... Full Story | Top | Trial of Pope Benedict's former butler to start on Saturday Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:01 PM PDT Reuters - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, goes on trial on Saturday in one of the most embarrassing episodes in recent Vatican history. The trial of the 46-year-old man who served the pope his meals and helped him dress is due to start at 9:30 a.m. (4.30 p.m. EDT) in the Vatican's little-used tribunal, a small room with rich paneled wood and a papal emblem on its ceiling. ... Full Story | Top | Libya thwarts planned anti-militia protests Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:51 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Authorities in Libya thwarted plans for a huge demonstration against militia in the capital Tripoli on Friday, while in Benghazi, scene of mass anti-militia protests last week, supporters of an ousted Islamist group returned to the streets. Activists had hoped that a planned demonstration in the capital would be as successful as a giant anti-militia protest held in Benghazi last week, but only about 400 protesters turned up on Friday after the country's mufti and mosque preachers warned people not to attend. ... Full Story | Top | Seven killed in flash floods in southern Spain Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:44 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Seven people were killed and hundreds evacuated after flash floods caused by torrential rain swept through the southern Spanish regions of Andalucia and Murcia, emergency services said on Friday. Roads were closed and some public transport was disrupted after heavy rains that started early on Friday, flooding streets and homes after months of drought. Four of the victims were in the coastal provinces of Malaga and Almeria, which are both popular tourist destinations. (Reporting By Teresa Medrano; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Full Story | Top | Canadians don't want Parliament to focus on China oil deal: poll Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:32 PM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - In a sign Canadians may accept CNOOC Ltd's $15.1 billion bid to buy Canadian oil company Nexen Inc, a poll released on Friday showed few people want Parliament to focus on foreign ownership of the energy sector. The Ipsos-Reid survey for Postmedia News and Global Television said only 22 percent of those surveyed felt investment in, or ownership of, the energy sector by China or other countries should be one of Parliament's top priorities. ... Full Story | Top | Cameron leads British hunt for business in Brazil Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:30 PM PDT Reuters - BRASILIA (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron had oil and sports on his mind when he visited Brazil this week seeking business opportunities in the South American nation that overtook Britain last year to become the world's No. 6 economy. With the European Union in a slump, Cameron has turned to emerging BRIC nations - Brazil, Russia, India and China - as alternative markets for British exports and investments, with little to show so far. ... Full Story | Top | U.S. intelligence now says Benghazi attack "deliberate and organized" Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:25 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. intelligence authority issued an unusual public statement on Friday declaring it now believed the September 11 attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, was a "deliberate and organized terrorist attack." The statement by the office of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged that it represented a change in the U.S. intelligence assessment of how and why the attack happened. During the attack on two U.S. government compounds in the eastern Libyan city, four U.S. ... Full Story | Top | U.S. plan for emergency Egypt aid hits roadblock Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:13 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration notified Congress on Friday that it planned to transfer $450 million to Egypt to help the country's new government, but the move was quickly blocked by a skeptical lawmaker who said she saw no immediate need for the cash infusion. Representative Kay Granger, the Texas Republican who chairs the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee for foreign operations, said the administration's $450 bailout proposal for Egypt was premature. "This proposal comes to Congress at a point when the U.S. ... Full Story | Top | U.S., Gulf countries seek to advance missile defense plan Fri,28 Sep 2012 02:35 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States and its Gulf partners are looking to deepen cooperation on missile defense as tensions rise with Iran, and announcements could come soon on new purchases, U.S. officials said on Friday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) officials in New York as Washington seeks to boost regional defenses against perceived Iranian threats. "Our aim is to help our Gulf partners with their defense needs ... there is a missile threat that they face, we want to help them face that threat as best they can," one senior U.S. ... Full Story | Top | U.S. drops Iranian MEK dissident group from terrorism list Fri,28 Sep 2012 02:08 PM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday formally removed the Iranian dissident group Mujahadin-e Khalq from its official list of terrorist organizations, but underscored serious concerns about the group which is seeking to recast itself as an Iranian opposition force. ... Full Story | Top | Russian punk band supporters expect little of legal appeal Fri,28 Sep 2012 02:02 PM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court's decision to hand two-year jail terms to punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Kremlin song in Moscow's main cathedral prompted fury in the West and refocused attention on President Vladimir Putin's rights record. But as a judge prepares to rule on Monday on an appeal filed by the three female jailed band members their legal team and their relatives hold out little hope that the sentences - which they believe were overly harsh - will be quashed or reduced. "Such a decision is impossible," said Mark Feigin, a defense lawyer. ... Full Story | Top | Del Ponte joins U.N. war crimes inquiry on Syria Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:53 PM PDT Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Carla del Ponte, the International Criminal Court's former chief prosecutor, was on Friday appointed a member of a United Nations commission investigating war crimes in Syria. The commission is gathering evidence for possible future trials of individuals and military units suspected of committing abuses in the 18-month-old conflict in which forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad are seeking to quell an uprising against him. ... Full Story | Top | Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:53 PM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they were struggling to make headway against a barrage of government jet and artillery attacks in their latest attempt to take control of the country's largest city Aleppo after weeks of deadlock. On the second day of an offensive they had billed as a "decisive battle", rebels also threatened to start fighting local Kurdish militants - a move which would further complicate a war that has already spilled over Syria's borders. ... Full Story | Top | Irving Oil charged in Quebec gas-price fixing case Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:51 PM PDT Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's Competition Bureau has charged Irving Oil Ltd, part of the big Eastern Canadian family-run business empire, and one of its managers in a sweeping Quebec gasoline price-fixing case that has already resulted in jail terms and C$3 million ($3.1 million) in fines, the agency said on Friday. Irving Oil and the manager of the company's business in Quebec, Serge Parent, each face three charges in connection with fixing the price of fuel in Victoriaville, Thetford Mines and Sherbrooke, Quebec, the federal bureau said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top | Slovenia debt to rise but no bailout needed: PM Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:51 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Slovenia's economy, saddled by a banking crisis, does not need a financial bailout, even though public debt levels will likely breach European Union rules in two years, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Friday. Jansa expects government reform programs, such as increased public-sector wage cuts, job cuts, an increase in the retirement age and consolidation of a privatization program, if executed in time, will boost economic growth and make a bailout unnecessary. ... Full Story | Top | Man fires plastic pellets at Czech president, no injuries Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:19 PM PDT Reuters - PRAGUE (Reuters) - A young man wielding a plastic gun fired pellets at Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Friday, hitting him on the arm but causing no injuries. The attacker wearing military camouflage approached Klaus during a ceremony to open a bridge in Chrastava, a village 100 km (60 miles) north of Prague, television footage showed. He opened fire with a handgun that fires plastic pellets used in a game called airsoft, similar to paintball, Nova TV said on its website. The attacker told a Nova reporter the government was "blind and deaf to the laments of the people" before he was arrested. ... Full Story | Top | Al Qaeda convicts break out of jail in Iraq Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:12 PM PDT Reuters - TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - Dozens of inmates, including convicted members of al Qaeda, fought their way out of a prison in Iraq using weapons smuggled in during family visits, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. The prison, in the city of Tikrit, held just over 300 inmates and was attacked by gunmen dressed in police uniforms late on Thursday after a car bomb exploded outside the gate, security sources said. Inmates then took control of the jail. Sixteen members of the security forces were killed in ensuing clashes, the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top | Fed's Fisher says U.S. "drowning in unemployment" Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Reuters - RICHARDSON, Texas (Reuters) - The United States is "drowning in unemployment," its economy is running at stall speed and inflation is "not a problem," but easier monetary policy is not the answer, one of the Federal Reserve's most hawkish policymakers said on Friday. "We've had a recovery that is quite disappointing," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told a group at the University of Texas at Dallas. But without more certainty on tax policy and regulation, he said, "all the monetary accommodation in the world" will not get businesses hiring again. ... Full Story | Top | Georgia opposition says ready to accept defeat in fair vote Fri,28 Sep 2012 12:40 PM PDT Reuters - TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian opposition leader Bidzina Ivanishvili said on Friday he will not stir unrest if his coalition loses fairly in a parliamentary election, due to be held amid tension following nationwide protests against prison brutality. Ivanishvili, a once-reclusive tycoon whose wealth at $6.4 billion equals nearly half of Georgia's economic output, launched his political movement last year and has campaigned on calls for President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign. ... Full Story | Top | Egypt's Copts abandon Sinai homes after threats, attack Fri,28 Sep 2012 12:00 PM PDT Reuters - ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Most Christians living near Egypt's border with Israel are fleeing their homes after Islamist militants made death threats and gunmen attacked a Coptic-owned shop, a priest said on Friday. The departure of nine families that made up the small Christian community in the border area of Egypt's Sinai peninsula will fuel worries about religious tolerance and the rise of militancy after the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak last year. "Coptic Christian families decided to leave ... ... Full Story | Top | Canada won't say if China involved in hacking incident Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:48 AM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said it was aware hackers had breached security at a domestic manufacturer of software used by big energy companies, but declined to comment on a report that a Chinese group could be responsible. Calgary-based Telvent Canada Ltd, which is owned by France's Schneider Electric SA, warned customers about the attack, which hit operations in the United States, Canada and Spain, the cyber security news site KrebsOnSecurity.com reported on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top | Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Mosque preachers told Libyans on Friday to call off planned demonstrations against militia groups for fear marches could lead to renewed bloodshed. Despite the discouragement, some 400 anti-militia protesters nonetheless gathered in Tripoli's Algeria Square and marched across to the main Martyr's Square, chanting and clapping. The mufti of Libya, Sadeq al-Gharyani, had said in a statement published by LANA news agency that protests called for Friday should be halted. "I call on the people not to participate in this march so that no blood is spilled," he said. ... Full Story | Top | Italy's Monti pleases investors, but politics to come Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:49 AM PDT Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's declaration that he would be willing to serve a second term if asked may have reassured international investors, but there is no way around the treacherous waters of Italian politics. It was no accident that Monti, an economist brought in last year to run an emergency government of technocrats, made his announcement in New York; just a short taxi ride from Wall Street, he was comfortably far from the fevered atmosphere in Rome, where manoeuvring for the 2013 election is in full swing. ... Full Story | Top | France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:37 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) - France unveiled an austerity budget that would tax business and the super rich, but a report showing Spain's banks needed a manageable 59 billion euros in new funds bought time for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he seeks to avoid a bailout. Socialist President Francois Hollande's 2013 budget amounts to France's toughest belt-tightening for 30 years as the debt crisis takes its toll on the euro zone. The package aims to narrow France's deficit to 3.0 percent of national output next year from 4. ... Full Story | Top | French guarantees for lender CIF worth 28 billion euros Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's 2013 budget foresees guarantees worth up to 28 billion euros ($36.02 billion) for troubled mortgage lender Credit Immobilier de France (CIF), up from 20 billion euros flagged previously, according to budget documents. The government agreed to extend guarantees to the bank earlier this month after it failed to find a buyer and faced an imminent funding crunch that threatened its survival. ... Full Story | Top | French government proposes law to stem industrial closures Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:32 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - The French government aims to pass a law before the end of the year that would force companies intent on closing down industrial plants to sell them to alternative operators, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg said on Friday. The push comes as the Socialist government is battling to prevent the permanent closure of two idled blast furnaces at a steel mill in northeastern France that symbolize an industrial decline President Francois Hollande has promised to tackle. ... Full Story | Top | Protesters, police clash in Bahrain Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT Reuters - ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Around one hundred anti-government protesters threw stones and petrol bombs as riot police tried to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades in Bahrain on Friday, witnesses said, after an earlier demonstration attended by thousands passed peacefully. At least two protesters were injured in the clashes, the witnesses said, which took place after a march near the capital Manama, which had been called for by main opposition bloc al-Wefaq and was authorized by the Bahraini authorities. Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top | Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:16 AM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Kenyan troops attacked the Somali port city of Kismayu on Friday, seeking to drive al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants from their last major stronghold and end a five-year rebellion. The loss of the southern port would deal a huge blow to al Shabaab as it is a lucrative source of revenue and a centre for operations over areas it has controlled in Somalia since 2007, but by nightfall, it was not clear who was in control. Residents said shelling had subsided after earlier fighting near a beach just outside Kismayu. ... Full Story | Top |
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