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Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News CNOOC bid for Nexen raises tough issues: Canada PM Romney says his 47 percent comment was "completely wrong" Obama fights back after debate setback Toyota China sales tumble as islands row hits Japan Inc Son of prominent Mexican politician shot dead Billionaires cool on London property as rich-bashing grows Bullard: Fed risks putting itself in a "box" by targeting unemployment Colombian drug boss turns himself in to U.S. officials Federal court is asked to put Oakland Police Department in receivership Lawmaker cites new cyber threats to financial networks Federal judge approves scaled-down Florida voter purge Parole granted to former Manson Family member Bruce Davis Georgia poll winner asks supporters to end vote-rigging protests Turks on Syrian border skeptical after shelling Analysis: In fog of numbers, little tax clarity from Obama-Romney Venezuela's Chavez fights young rival in re-election bid U.N. Security Council condemns Syrian attack on Turkey U.S. credit union regulator sues Credit Suisse State Department "appalled" by ambush in western Darfur White House in sight, Romney steers a more moderate course Judge allows suit over NY police tactics in public housing CNOOC bid for Nexen raises tough issues, says Canada PM U.S. prosecutors indict Sinaloa cartel figure over tunnels Blast outside Nigerian bar kills one, wounds 11: witness Obama-Romney debate draws 67.2 million TV viewers Tax whistleblower gets $2 million IRS award: lawyer United Nations says little time to deal with Mali extremists U.S. investigators visit Libya compound where ambassador was killed Obama, Romney debate sheds little light on healthcare issues Feathers fly over Romney's "Big Bird" debate comments Americans have mixed feelings about healthcare: Reuters/Ipsos poll Poll shows dead heat in Connecticut Senate race For Obama, words not said in debate spoke the loudest Ex-Greek deputy interior minister in wealth probe kills himself U.N. Security Council condemns Syria attack on Turkish town World Bank chief Kim signals changes to come U.S. backs Turkey, hopes Syria dispute doesn't escalate Son of ex-Mexican opposition party chief shot dead Colombian president says doing well after cancer surgery EADS-BAE merger could be hostage to U.S. politics CNOOC bid for Nexen raises tough issues: Canada PM OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Thursday that a $15.1 billion Chinese bid for domestic oil company Nexen Inc raised difficult policy questions, but the government gave no sign it would bow to an opposition demand to veto the deal. Speaking hours after the main opposition party demanded a veto on CNOOC Ltd's bid, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government would look at a range of issues in determining whether the deal, the largest foreign takeover ever launched by a Chinese firm, would be of net benefit to Canada. ... Full Story Top Romney says his 47 percent comment was "completely wrong" HARRISONBURG, Virginia (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said on Thursday his comment on a secretly taped video in which he disparaged 47 percent of voters as dependent on government "was just completely wrong," as he attempted to repair the damage from the controversy. Romney's interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity was the first time he completely disavowed remarks he made at a private fundraiser in May and which have emerged as a major stumbling block in his campaign against Democratic President Barack Obama. ... Full Story Top Obama fights back after debate setback DENVER (Reuters) - A day after a muted performance in a presidential debate, U.S. President Barack Obama fought back against Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday and the Democrat's re-election campaign vowed to learn lessons from the setback. A feisty Obama told a rally of some 12,000 people that the former Massachusetts governor was untruthful during Wednesday's 90-minute debate in Denver, which most observers reckoned the Republican won. "When I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney," Obama said. ... Full Story Top Toyota China sales tumble as islands row hits Japan Inc BEIJING (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp's China sales fell about 40 percent in September from the year before, while those of rivals such as Hyundai and BMW jumped, underscoring how badly Japanese brands have been hit by a territorial row between the two countries. Showroom traffic and sales have plunged at Japanese car makers since violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products broke out across China in mid-September over the Japanese government's purchase of a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea from their private owner. ... Full Story Top Son of prominent Mexican politician shot dead MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A son of the former chairman of Mexico's most powerful political party was found shot dead in a town south of the U.S. border notorious for drug traffickers, as the violence dogging the country struck the ruling establishment. The body of Jose Eduardo Moreira, son of the embattled ex-chairman of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and former Coahuila state governor Humberto Moreira, was discovered near Ciudad Acuna, across the Rio Grande river from Texas, late on Wednesday, the state's government said on Thursday. ... Full Story Top Billionaires cool on London property as rich-bashing grows LONDON (Reuters) - The love affair between the global super-rich and London property is souring as UK politicians tap into a mood of public resentment of the wealthy, with tax increases and rhetoric playing up their own humble origins. Prices of homes costing more than 10 million pounds have risen 56 percent since 2007 as overseas investors park money in the relative safety of London bricks and mortar, with foreign buyers accounting for about a two thirds of deals, a report by property consultant Knight Frank shows. ... Full Story Top Bullard: Fed risks putting itself in a "box" by targeting unemployment MEMPHIS (Reuters) - The U.S. central bank risks limiting its policy flexibility by explicitly tying its actions to a numerical unemployment target, a senior Federal Reserve official said on Thursday. "I think this threshold thing will put the committee in more of a box," said St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard, voicing disagreement with fellow policymakers, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). ... Full Story Top Colombian drug boss turns himself in to U.S. officials BOGOTA (Reuters) - Suspected Colombian drug trafficker Luis Enrique Calle has surrendered to U.S. drug enforcement officials in Panama, Colombia's defense minister said on Thursday. "These criminals have no option. The pressure by the security forces leaves them no room and that's why they end up handing themselves in," Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon told a press conference in Bogota. ... Full Story Top Federal court is asked to put Oakland Police Department in receivership (Reuters) - A group of plaintiffs in a long-running civil rights complaint involving allegations of police brutality asked a federal court on Thursday to put the Oakland Police Department into receivership. The plaintiffs, who are parties to a consent decree to resolve the allegations, asked U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson of Oakland to take action "because less drastic means have failed to bring the city into compliance with reforms mandated," a court filing said. ... Full Story Top Lawmaker cites new cyber threats to financial networks WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Thursday that significant new cyber threats to U.S. financial networks appeared to be emerging from an "unusual" source. Committee Chairman Mike Rogers did not specifically identify the purported new threat nor its origin but referred several times to what he described as Iran's growing cyber espionage capabilities. ... Full Story Top Federal judge approves scaled-down Florida voter purge TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to Florida's recent voter purge efforts, clearing the way for the removal of about 200 suspected non-U.S. citizens from state voter rolls before the November 6 presidential election. District Judge William Zloch dismissed the remaining challenges from voter advocacy groups, including the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and the Florida Immigrant Coalition. ... Full Story Top Parole granted to former Manson Family member Bruce Davis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former member of the notorious Manson Family cult and a two-time convicted killer came a step closer to freedom on Thursday when he was granted parole, but the decision was subject to a mandatory review and could still be reversed, California prison officials said. Bruce Davis, 69, has been in state prison serving a life sentence since his 1972 conviction for the murders of music teacher Gary Hinman and stuntman Donald "Shorty" Shea. ... Full Story Top Georgia poll winner asks supporters to end vote-rigging protests TBILISI (Reuters) - The winner of Georgia's parliamentary election urged his supporters on Thursday to end street protests against alleged vote rigging by rivals allied to President Mikheil Saakashvili. The billionaire leader of the Georgian Dream coalition sought to calm tensions after his supporters protested outside local election commission offices and were accused by their opponents of making threats to officials. "I'd like to ask you to stop all street protests," Bidzina Ivanishvili said in comments to reporters. ... Full Story Top Turks on Syrian border skeptical after shelling AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Frightened residents of a Turkish border town shelled by Syria expressed skepticism on Friday that military and political retaliation by Ankara would succeed in deterring more deadly strikes by Damascus forces. Turkish artillery bombarded Syrian military targets for a second day on Thursday, responding to the mortar fire that killed five people the day before in the southeastern town of Akcakale. ... Full Story Top Analysis: In fog of numbers, little tax clarity from Obama-Romney (Reuters) - For an event so freighted with expectations of tax insights, the Obama-Romney debate on Wednesday offered few clues on what the candidates' tax plans could mean for average Americans. Republican nominee Mitt Romney stuck to his strategy of promising tax cuts. To pay for this, he pledged again to close yet-to-be-named tax loopholes. And he said new tax revenues would come from economic growth spurred by lower taxes. ... Full Story Top Venezuela's Chavez fights young rival in re-election bid (Note: Election law forbids publication of polls in Venezuela a week prior to voting) CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez faces the toughest election of his 14-year rule on Sunday in a vote pitting his charisma and oil-financed largesse against fresh-faced challenger Henrique Capriles' promise of jobs, safer streets and an end to cronyism. Chavez, 58, staged a remarkable comeback from cancer this year and wants a new six-year term to consolidate his self-styled socialist revolution in the OPEC nation. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council condemns Syrian attack on Turkey UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned a Syrian mortar attack on a Turkish border town that killed five people and demanded that "such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated." The rare agreement on a Syria statement condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" and came after Russia rejected an initial text on Wednesday's incident and proposed a diluted version calling on both Turkey and Syria to exercise restraint. ... Full Story Top U.S. credit union regulator sues Credit Suisse (Reuters) - The U.S. credit union regulator filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Credit Suisse Securities (USA), alleging misrepresentations in the underwriting and sale of mortgage-backed securities. The National Credit Union Administration said in a statement that three failed credit unions paid more than $715 million for the securities at issue in the lawsuit, which filed in U.S. district court in Kansas. "Credit Suisse is one of several firms that sold faulty securities to corporate credit unions, which led to their collapse," the agency said. ... Full Story Top State Department "appalled" by ambush in western Darfur WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department said on Thursday it was "appalled" by an attack that killed four Nigerian peacekeepers and wounded eight others earlier this week in Sudan's western Darfur region. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the United States condemns the ambush on UNAMID personnel that occurred on October 2, and called for an investigation into the attack and for those responsible for the violence to be held accountable. ... Full Story Top White House in sight, Romney steers a more moderate course WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A beaming Mitt Romney made a surprise visit to a meeting of conservative activists in Denver on Thursday, telling the group that his debate with President Barack Obama the night before had given voters "a choice between two different visions for America." During the first of three debates between the two presidential candidates, Romney himself appeared to have made a few choices, less than five weeks before the November 6 election. ... Full Story Top Judge allows suit over NY police tactics in public housing NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawsuit by a group of black and Latino New York City public housing residents who say police violated their civil rights may proceed to trial, a judge ruled on Thursday. The case, filed in 2010, is one of three proposed class action lawsuits before Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin. All three suits say the New York Police Department's controversial crime-fighting tactic known as "stop and frisk" improperly targets minorities. ... Full Story Top CNOOC bid for Nexen raises tough issues, says Canada PM OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada admitted on Thursday that a Chinese bid for domestic oil company Nexen Inc raises difficult policy questions, but the government gave no sign it would bow to an opposition demand to veto the deal. Speaking hours after the main opposition party demanded a veto on CNOOC Ltd's $15.1 billion bid, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government would look at a range of issues as it determines whether the transaction, the largest foreign takeover ever launched by a Chinese firm, is of net benefit to Canada. ... Full Story Top U.S. prosecutors indict Sinaloa cartel figure over tunnels SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - U.S. federal prosecutors have indicted a man they describe as an important member of Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel who organized efforts to build two sophisticated smuggling tunnels under the U.S. border from Tijuana to San Diego. Jose Sanchez-Villalobos, who is being held in a Mexican jail after his arrest in January on money-laundering charges, was indicted by a U.S. grand jury in February. But prosecutors did not unseal the indictment until Wednesday. ... Full Story Top Blast outside Nigerian bar kills one, wounds 11: witness MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - A bomb at an outdoor bar in a remote part of eastern Nigeria killed at least one person and wounded 11 on Thursday, a witness said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in the town of Jalingo, Taraba state, an area which has been occasionally targeted by Islamist sect Boko Haram. The sect is waging a low level insurgency against President Goodluck Jonathan's government and wants to impose sharia law on the northern part of Nigeria, a country whose 160 million people are spilt roughly evenly between Muslims and Christians. ... Full Story Top Obama-Romney debate draws 67.2 million TV viewers LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - More than 67 million Americans tuned in to Wednesday's first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, ranking the match-up among the top 10 of the past 30 years. Final Nielsen data on Thursday showed that 67.2 million people across 11 TV networks watched Obama and Romney go head to head on the economy - a 28 percent increase on the 52.4 million who saw the first 2008 debate between Obama and Republican John McCain. ... Full Story Top Tax whistleblower gets $2 million IRS award: lawyer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A tax whistleblower received a $2 million reward from the Internal Revenue Service for his role uncovering an alleged multimillion-dollar tax-avoidance scheme attempted by Illinois Tool Works Inc in the late 1990s, the whistleblower's lawyer said on Thursday. The informant, a Wall Street banker who remained anonymous to protect his career, previously received two other million-dollar payouts from the IRS, said his attorney, Erika Kelton, with Phillips & Cohen in Washington. ... Full Story Top United Nations says little time to deal with Mali extremists UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman told a closed Security Council meeting on Thursday that Mali urgently needed international help to reclaim the north of the country from Islamist militants and that "time is not on our side," U.N envoys said. Mali descended into chaos in March when soldiers toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum that enabled Tuareg rebels to seize two-thirds of the country. But Islamist extremists, some al Qaeda allies, hijacked the revolt in the north. ... Full Story Top U.S. investigators visit Libya compound where ambassador was killed BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A team of U.S. investigators travelled for the first time to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday to analyze the crime scene where the U.S. ambassador was killed in an attack last month, Libyan and U.S. sources said. FBI agents were sent to Libya after the September 11 assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission and on another facility in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. ... Full Story Top Obama, Romney debate sheds little light on healthcare issues WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney agree that the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare system is broken, but neither candidate on Wednesday presented voters with a clear idea of how to fix it. Their comments about Medicare, Medicaid and healthcare in general dominated more than one-quarter of a presidential debate and gave both candidates a chance to articulate their policies for an estimated 50 million viewers. Healthcare is a top issue in the November 6 election. The U.S. ... Full Story Top Feathers fly over Romney's "Big Bird" debate comments NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forget about financial reform, Obamacare and job creation. The biggest newsmaker in Wednesday night's presidential debate may have been Big Bird, the lovable "Sesame Street" character whose public TV funding Republican candidate Mitt Romney vowed to end. Romney told debate moderator Jim Lehrer, whose "PBS News Hour" program is also subsidized by the Public Broadcasting Service, that if elected to the White House he would end federal PBS funding - long a goal for some U.S. conservatives. "I'm sorry, Jim, I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I'm going to stop other things. ... Full Story Top Americans have mixed feelings about healthcare: Reuters/Ipsos poll (Reuters) - It's no secret that 2010's Affordable Care Act is unpopular - except when it's not. Reuters/Ipsos polling reveals a remarkably high level of approval for nearly all the provisions of the act, often in the 80 percent range, even though respondents oppose the legislation, commonly known as "Obamacare," by 55 to 45. Remarks made during the October 3 presidential debate added confusion rather than clarity to the healthcare issue. ... Full Story Top Poll shows dead heat in Connecticut Senate race NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Connecticut Senate race is essentially tied one month before the November election as Democratic Representative Christopher Murphy tries to fend off former wrestling magnate Linda McMahon, a Quinnipiac University poll showed on Thursday. McMahon, a former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment who lost a Senate race in the state two years ago, has battered Murphy with negative television ads since before the August 14 primaries. The poll showed McMahon leading the three-term congressman 48 percent to 47 percent. ... Full Story Top For Obama, words not said in debate spoke the loudest WASHINGTON (Reuters) - During their 90-minute debate on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama talked four minutes longer than Republican challenger Mitt Romney. But when the debate was over, it was what Obama didn't say that defined the evening - and helped make it a good one for Romney. In a debate that largely was a mix of campaign talking points and tedious policy detail, the themes that Obama's campaign have emphasized to drive down Romney's approval ratings did not surface. ... Full Story Top Ex-Greek deputy interior minister in wealth probe kills himself ATHENS (Reuters) - A former Greek deputy interior minister being investigated by the financial police on suspicion of amassing ill-gotten wealth has committed suicide, police said on Thursday. A family member found Leonidas Tzanis, a socialist politician, at his home in the central Greek town of Volos on Thursday evening, a police official said. He had hanged himself. Tzanis served as deputy interior minister from 1999-2000 after being elected to parliament as a lawmaker for the socialist PASOK party in 1993. A lawyer, he was married with two children. ... Full Story Top U.N. Security Council condemns Syria attack on Turkish town UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned on Thursday a mortar attack by Syria on a Turkish border town that killed five people and demanded that "such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated." "The members of the Security Council underscored that this incident highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability," the 15-member council said in a statement. ... Full Story Top World Bank chief Kim signals changes to come WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the World Bank said on Thursday he is preparing broad reforms at the development lender to make it more effective in ending global poverty and will discuss the changes with member countries at meetings in Tokyo next week. The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank from October 11-14 in Japan will be the first opportunity for Jim Yong Kim to put his mark on the institution since becoming president in July. "We're not ready to ask for specific changes yet ... ... Full Story Top U.S. backs Turkey, hopes Syria dispute doesn't escalate WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States expressed hope on Thursday that Turkey's border clash with Syria does not escalate further, but stood by its NATO ally's right to defend itself against aggression spilling over from Syria's internal armed conflict. The State Department said Turkey's decision to mount retaliatory artillery strikes after a Syrian mortar killed five civilians in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday was appropriate and proportional. Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters, "We hope that this doesn't escalate into a broader conflict. ... Full Story Top Son of ex-Mexican opposition party chief shot dead MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The son of the embattled former leader of the Mexican political party set to take power in December was found shot to death in a town south of the U.S. border notorious for drug cartel violence, authorities said on Thursday. Jose Eduardo Moreira, 28, the son of the former chairman of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and ex-Coahuila state governor Humberto Moreira, was found shot to death near Ciudad Acuna, across the Rio Grande river from Texas, late on Wednesday, the state's public safety director said. ... Full Story Top Colombian president says doing well after cancer surgery BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made his first public appearance after prostate cancer surgery on Thursday and said he was fine and working from his hospital room. At a critical time in his presidency when Santos is about to start peace negotiations with Marxist rebels, the 61-year-old shocked the Andean country this week when he announced he was suffering from prostate cancer and needed surgery. "Everything went fine ... ... Full Story Top EADS-BAE merger could be hostage to U.S. politics WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - To win approval for their planned $45 billion merger, EADS and BAE systems must persuade Washington to let a pan-European behemoth control some of the most sensitive U.S. defense contracts, without triggering a political backlash. Defense industry experts say it should not be difficult for Washington to protect its security interests in allowing the deal to go ahead, but the politics could become complicated if Boeing and other competitors lobby against the deal. ... Full Story Top

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