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| Threat of Hurricane Sandy grows as it targets East Coast Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 08:34 PM PDT  HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy closed in on the United States on Saturday as coastal communities along the East Coast scrambled to prepare for torrential rains, high winds, major flooding and power outages a week before the presidential election. Governors in states in the hurricane's path declared emergencies, announcing mandatory evacuations of vulnerable areas. New York City officials discussed whether to shut the subway system on Sunday in advance of the storm. Rain accumulations of up to 12 inches and heavy snowfall inland are considered likely in some areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hurricane Sandy looms over 10-day sprint to election Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 08:50 PM PDT  NASHUA, N.H./KISSIMMEE, Florida (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney campaigned feverishly in closely contested battleground states on Saturday but changed travel plans to avoid Hurricane Sandy, the massive storm approaching the U.S. East Coast. With just 10 days before Election Day and polls showing the national race a dead heat, Romney held three rallies in Florida, whose 29 electoral votes are the biggest prize among states considered too close to call. ... Full Story | Top |
| 7-plus magnitude quake hits Canada's British Columbia Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 09:18 PM PDT (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake with a 7.7 magnitude hit Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia late Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported But there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake was centered 123 miles south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 6.2 miles, the USGS said. Earthquakes Canada said it detected a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the Haida Gwaii region, placing it 43 miles west-southwest of Queen Charlotte City. "It was felt across much of north-central B.C., including Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, and Houston. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi authorities disperse anti-Assad protest in Mecca Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 06:08 PM PDT  MECCA (Reuters) - Saudi authorities quickly dispersed a protest by hundreds of Syrian pilgrims calling for the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and denouncing what they said was international failure to stop bloodshed in Syria, a Reuters witness said. Protesters held up rebel flags and marched toward the Jamarat Bridge in Mina, east of the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, where more than 3 million Muslim pilgrims congregated for the annual haj. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel kills Palestinian militant in Gaza: Palestinian officials Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 05:09 PM PDT GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed a Palestinian militant from the Hamas Islamist group and wounded another in an air strike on a motorcycle in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian officials said. The Israeli military confirmed there was an attack but had no further details. The violence followed a three-day lull since a surge last week in which Israel killed at least four Gaza militants as dozens of rockets were launched at Israeli towns, damaging a couple of homes and wounding several agricultural workers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Satellite images suggest Sudan arms factory was bombed: group Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 04:59 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Analysis of satellite imagery of a Sudanese munitions factory that Khartoum accused Israel of bombing earlier this week suggests the site may have been hit with aerial bombardment as Sudan claims, a monitoring group said on Saturday. The Satellite Sentinel Project, whose founders include Hollywood actor George Clooney and the Enough Project, said it conducted a comparative analysis of DigitalGlobe imagery of the arms factory in Khartoum, where a huge explosion on Tuesday killed two people and caused a large fire. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indonesia arrests 11 suspected militants over U.S. embassy plot Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 01:31 PM PDT  JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's anti-terrorist squad arrested 11 suspected Islamic militants it said planned to attack the U.S. embassy, a plaza near Australia's embassy and the offices of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, a police spokesman said on Saturday. The Detachment 88 squad seized bomb-making equipment and one bomb ready to be used by a new militant group called Harakah Sunni for the Indonesian Society (HASMI), said National Police spokesman Suhardi Alius in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi threatens to bring down Monti government Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 01:54 PM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday his centre-right bloc may withdraw its support from the government of Mario Monti, a move that could throw Italy into political chaos ahead of next April's national elections. "We have to recognize the fact that the initiative of this government is a continuation of a spiral of recession for our economy," Berlusconi told a news conference in northern Italy a day after he was convicted and sentenced to four years for tax fraud related to his Mediaset media empire. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six new cases reported in meningitis outbreak Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 01:02 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Six new cases of fungal meningitis have been reported in an outbreak tied to contaminated steroid injections that has led to 25 deaths in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday. The CDC reported three new cases in Florida, two in Ohio and one in Indiana, raising the total number of meningitis cases attributed to the tainted steroid to 337 in 18 states. This type of meningitis cannot be spread person-to-person. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guinea Bissau arrests suspected counter-coup bid leader Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 04:27 PM PDT BISSAU (Reuters) - The suspected leader of a failed October 21 counter-coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau was arrested on Saturday, witnesses and a security official said. Captain Pansao Ntchama, a bodyguard to the then head of the army under ousted Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, and four other suspects were detained at a farm on an island near the West African country's capital Bissau. "Ntchama and his men have been incarcerated in a cell at the headquarters of the armed forces," an army officer told Reuters, requesting not to be named. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama cancels stops in Virginia, Colorado because of storm Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 08:05 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is canceling campaign stops in Virginia and Colorado early next week because of the impending landfall of Hurricane Sandy and will instead monitor the storm from the White House, his spokesman said on Saturday. Obama was to have campaigned with former President Bill Clinton in Virginia on Monday as part of a three-state swing through political battlegrounds including Ohio and Florida. The Virginia stop has been canceled along with a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two dead as police clash with protesters in Peru's capital Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 01:39 PM PDT  LIMA (Reuters) - Two people died and 21 others were injured in Peru's capital on Saturday as protesters clashed with police trying to shut down a sprawling wholesale market, raising the death toll to four since street battles erupted at the site on Thursday. The unrest in Lima's downtown has stunned residents and could hurt Mayor Susana Villaran's chances of winning a recall election in the chaotic city of 8 million. The date of the vote has not been set, but must occur within 40 days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainian President Yanukovich's party set to win poll Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 03:14 PM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business ruling party seems likely to win parliamentary elections on Sunday, but will face a re-energized opposition which has vowed to fight growing authoritarianism and corruption. The former Soviet republic of 46 million is more isolated internationally than it has been for years. The imprisonment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's main rival, has put it at odds with the United States and European Union, while Russia turns a deaf ear to Kiev's calls for cheaper gas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Massive Hurricane Sandy takes aim at East Coast Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 02:29 PM PDT HATTERAS ISLAND, North Carolina (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy closed in on the United States on Saturday as it threatened to smack the eastern third of the country with torrential rains, high winds, major flooding and power outages a week before the U.S. presidential election. On its current projected track, Sandy could make U.S. landfall on Monday night or Tuesday anywhere between Maryland and southern New England, forecasters said. Rain accumulations of up to 12 inches and heavy snowfall inland are considered likely in some areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Baghdad blasts kill more than 30 over Eid holiday Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 12:25 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombings on Shi'ite neighborhoods in Baghdad and a blast on an Iranian pilgrim bus killed more than 30 people on Saturday, marring Iraqi celebrations of the second day of the Islamic Eid al Adha religious festival. Violence in Iraq has eased sharply, but Sunni Islamist insurgents and al Qaeda's Iraq wing often target Shi'ites in an attempt to stir up the kind of sectarian tensions that dragged the country close to civil war in 2006-2007. ... Full Story | Top |
| European Parliament cancels trip to Iran over activists Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 12:28 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A European Parliament delegation has called off a trip to Iran after a request to meet two jailed activists was refused. The decision came after Iran's ambassador to the European Union said it was impossible to guarantee that the members of the European Parliament could meet jailed human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and filmmaker Jafar Panahi, the European Parliament said on Saturday. The parliament awarded the two its Sakharov prize for human rights and freedom of thought on Friday. "I deeply regret that permission to meet the Sakharov laureates was withheld. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria bombards major cities, weakening truce Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 10:14 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad renewed their bombardment of major cities on Saturday and rebels launched several attacks, further undermining a truce meant to mark the Muslim Eid al-Adha religious holiday. The violence, reported by residents, opposition supporters and Syria's government, came on the second day of the ceasefire called by international peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who had hoped to use it to build momentum to end the 19-month-old conflict in which an estimated 32,000 people have been killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece to vote on labor reform despite coalition split Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 11:30 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's government plans to put labor reforms demanded by foreign lenders to a parliamentary vote despite a junior coalition partner's refusal to back them, the finance minister said on Saturday. The government will present the 2013 budget law - which contains the bulk of new austerity measures demanded by lenders - in parliament on Wednesday, and a separate bill with reforms including the contested labor measures a few days later, Yannis Stournaras said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Presidential race still virtually even: Reuters/Ipsos poll Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 03:39 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama holds a narrow lead of 2 percentage points over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in Reuters/Ipsos poll results released on Saturday, leaving the race effectively tied as fewer voters say they are likely to change their minds. Obama led Romney by 47 percent to 45 percent among likely voters, a slim margin within the daily national online tracking survey's credibility interval. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Massachusetts' regulator eyes other firms on research Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 06:29 AM PDT  BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts' top securities regulator said on Friday that his office is looking into whether top Wall Street investment banks in addition to Citigroup have leaked research in violation of state law on how to share this kind of information. "We are looking at all of them, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan," regulator William Galvin said in a telephone interview about the probe. "It is a very active investigation," Galvin said, declining to give more information about what kind of charges may be made. ... Full Story | Top |
| In wake of Sandusky scandal, Penn State holds child sex abuse conference Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 05:02 AM PDT  STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Pennsylvania State University, which was shaken by a molestation scandal that put former coach Jerry Sandusky in prison and tarnished its famed football program, holds a three-day conference starting this weekend aimed at preventing child abuse. The conference features child sex abuse survivors Sugar Ray Leonard, a former world boxing champion, and Elizabeth Smart, who was abducted in 2002 and held captive for nine months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombs kill 23 in Baghdad Shi'ite neighborhood: police Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 11:36 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two car bombs hit a Shi'ite neighborhood in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 23 people on the second day of the Islamic Eid al-Adha religious festival, police and hospital sources said. (Reporting by Baghdad newsroom; writing by Patrick Markey) Full Story | Top |
| Insight - BP oil spill settlement before election seen unlikely Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 03:04 AM PDT  HOUSTON (Reuters) - For a president locked in a tough re-election fight, it may look like political gold: a settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and BP Plc over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that could send billions of dollars to Florida, one of a handful of politically divided states that could decide the November 6 contest. Yet a last-minute settlement with London-based oil giant BP is unlikely before the election, experts say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda's Zawahri calls for kidnap of Westerners Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 01:44 AM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has called on Muslims to kidnap Westerners, join Syria's rebellion and to ensure Egypt implements sharia, SITE Monitoring reported on Saturday, citing a two-part film posted on Islamist websites. The Egypt-born cleric, who became al Qaeda leader last year after the death of Osama bin Laden, spoke in a message that lasted more than two hours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Up to 40 percent may vote early in election: Obama ahead Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 11:21 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Early voters could account for up to 40 percent of all ballots cast in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and polls of people who already voted show President Barack Obama with a comfortable lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Both candidates have been urging supporters not just to vote but to do it early as Republicans and Democrats campaign vigorously - particularly in key battleground states - to lock up as many votes as possible before Election Day on November 6. Polls of people who say they already have voted show Obama with a lead in many of the states. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tropical cyclone Sandy regains hurricane strength Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 05:39 AM PDT  MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical cyclone Sandy regained hurricane strength on Saturday after flagging wind speeds earlier in the day triggered its downgrade to a tropical storm, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. At 8 a.m. EDT, the Miami-based Hurricane Center said Sandy's top sustained winds were 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour), making it a weak Category 1 hurricane. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Berlusconi sentenced to jail for tax fraud Saturday, Oct 27, 2012 05:24 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to four years in jail on Friday for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company. The 76-year-old billionaire media magnate, who was convicted three times during the 1990s in the first degree before being cleared by higher courts, has the right to appeal the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive. That process is likely to be lengthy and he will not be jailed unless he loses the final appeal. ... Full Story | Top |
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