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| New home sales stagnant, cast shadow on housing Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:57 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales fell slightly in October and sales for the prior month were revised sharply lower, casting a faint shadow over one of the brighter spots in the U.S. economy. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday sales dropped 0.3 percent last month to a 368,000-unit annual rate, while September's sales pace was revised to 369,000 from 389,000. The housing sector has been a point of relative strength this year in an economy beset by flagging business confidence and cooling demand from abroad. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chief recommends "offensive military operation" in Mali Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:55 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday recommended that the Security Council approve an African Union peace enforcement mission be deployed to combat Islamist extremists in northern Mali, but did not offer financial support from the world body. Diplomats and U.N. officials say that peace enforcement missions allow the use of lethal force in serious combat situations, while peacekeeping operations are intended to support and monitor an already existing ceasefire. The last U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Riot police move in to end Myanmar copper mine protest Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:47 PM PST YANGON (Reuters) - Riot police fired water cannon and tear gas early on Thursday to break up a three-month protest against a vast copper mining project run by the powerful Myanmar military and its partner, a subsidiary of a Chinese arms manufacturer. After decades of oppression, the Monywa mine has become a test of Myanmar's commitment to reform as protesters probe new-found freedoms, including a relaxation of laws on protests that took effect in July. It also illustrates growing resentment towards Chinese companies that have expanded in recent years across the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Milwaukee flight delayed after passenger finds shotgun shell Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:43 PM PST MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - A Delta flight from Milwaukee to Detroit was delayed on Wednesday after a passenger found a live shotgun shell by his seat and everyone on board had to pass through a security check a second time, a sheriff's official said. The passenger found the shell at 6:47 a.m. local time in the seat-back pocket in front of him, said Fran McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office. The incident occurred at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. A sheriff's canine unit swept the plane and found no other shell casings, McLaughlin said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese police plan to board vessels in disputed seas Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:41 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which enter into what China considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Thursday, a move which could raise tensions further. The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan opposition LDP remains election favorite: poll Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:37 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held on to its comfortable lead ahead of the December 16 general election, an opinion poll by the Nikkei daily showed on Thursday, with the hawkish Japan Restoration Party firmly in second place ahead of the ruling Democratic Party. The survey gave 23 percent support in the election for the lower house of parliament to the LDP, which is calling for aggressive monetary steps to end deflation. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. agents arrest ex-soldier wanted for war crimes in Bosnia Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:22 PM PST (Reuters) - A former Bosnian platoon commander accused of war crimes has been arrested by federal agents in New York on an extradition request from his home country, authorities said on Wednesday. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, said Sulejman Mujagic was arrested on Wednesday in Utica, New York, by federal agents following an extradition request from the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's new Restoration Party seeks bigger defense spending Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 07:06 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - A new Japanese party that hopes to become a force to contend with in a December 16 general election is calling for more defense spending to protect national interests and lower corporate and income taxes to bolster the economy, domestic media said on Thursday. The Japan Restoration Party, which came in second to the main opposition Liberal Democrats in an opinion poll published on Thursday, also wants to shrink the role of the central government while promoting free-market competition and making it easier to revise Japan's pacifist constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chavez's return to Cuba for treatment rattles Venezuela Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:51 PM PST  CARACAS/HAVANA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was back in Cuba on Wednesday for cancer-linked medical treatment that revived questions about the viability of his socialist rule and left Venezuelans again guessing about his exact condition. After weeks of scarce public appearances, Chavez, 58, announced in a letter on Tuesday that he was going to Havana for therapy known as "hyperbaric oxygenation" - a method used to reduce bone decay caused by radiation therapy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon says "lot of money" still to be made in arms business Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:45 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Pentagon's chief weapons buyer on Wednesday reassured industry executives and investors that there was still "a lot of money" to be made in the defense business, despite mounting budget pressures that will limit spending on new arms programs. Frank Kendall, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said the budget outlook had clearly changed after a decade of continuous increases in U.S. military spending. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. scales back planned habitat protection for rare reindeer Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:40 PM PST SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - In a far corner of the northern Rockies dwells a dwindling band of reindeer so few in number they could hardly pull a sleigh, and environmentalists say a government plan to safeguard the elusive creatures' habitat offers them little hope. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Wednesday unveiled a final version of its habitat-protection rules for the last U.S. woodland caribou, popularly known as wild reindeer, that reduces the amount of land the government plans to set aside for the endangered animal by more than 90 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Farm murders highlight apartheid's toxic legacy in South Africa Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:16 PM PST ERMELO, South Africa (Reuters) - In a country cursed by one of the world's highest murder rates, being a white farmer makes a violent death an even higher risk. Whether attacks have been motivated by race or robbery, a rising death rate from rural homicides is drawing attention to the lack of change on South Africa's farms nearly two decades after the end of apartheid - and to the tensions burgeoning over enduring racial inequality. Some of South Africa's predominantly white commercial farmers go as far as to brand the farm killings a genocide. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three accused of plotting to join al Qaeda indicted in California Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:13 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three men accused of plotting to join up with al Qaeda and Taliban militants for training in Afghanistan were indicted on Wednesday in California in a move that could allow prosecutors to move to trial more quickly. But the four-page indictment, returned by a grand jury in Riverside, offered few details beyond those contained in a criminal complaint filed earlier this month against the men, all U.S. citizens or permanent residents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shifting account of CIA's Libya talking points fuels Rice controversy Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:09 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. intelligence officials testified behind closed doors two weeks ago, they were asked point blank whether they had altered the talking points on which U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice based her comments about the Benghazi attacks that have turned into a political firestorm. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, acting CIA Director Michael Morell and National Counterterrorism Center Director Matthew Olsen each said no, according to two congressional sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cracks show in Republican unity on tax rates Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 06:05 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican unity against raising tax rates for the wealthy began to show cracks on Wednesday after a conservative congressman said he would back an agreement with President Barack Obama to raise rates on the rich but extend tax cuts for income below $250,000. With Congress scrambling to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts due to kick in at the end of the year - known as the "fiscal cliff" - Representative Tom Cole said Republicans should approve a deal ensuring 98 percent of Americans do not suffer a tax increase that endangers the economic recovery. ... Full Story | Top |
| Animal rights group sues California restaurant over foie gras ban Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:59 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The animal rights group PETA sued a California restaurant on Wednesday that it says serves outlawed foie gras to patrons, in what appears to be the first lawsuit to enforce a state ban on the delicacy, PETA officials said. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said that Hot's Kitchen claimed to have stopped selling foie gras when a ban on producing or selling it took effect in July, but was offering it as a complimentary side dish to customers who order "THE Burger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi to urge unity in face of political crisis Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:45 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will address the nation on Thursday, calling for unity as he pushes through a new constitution he hopes will defuse a crisis prompted by his decision to grant himself sweeping powers. The assembly tasked with writing the constitution ended its session in the early hours on Thursday, wrapping the final draft it will put to vote later in the day. But as Mursi's opponents pressed on with their week-old protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square, critics said the Islamist-dominated assembly's bid to finish the constitution quickly could make matters worse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona declines to set up state-based health insurance exchange Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:34 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer said on Wednesday she was rejecting a major provision of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law that calls for creating state-based health insurance markets where consumers can purchase private, federally subsidized coverage. Citing lingering questions about the plan and operating costs she said would be passed on to families and small businesses, Brewer, a Republican, said Arizona would join at least 16 other states in opting instead for a federally run health insurance exchange. ... Full Story | Top |
| At White House, CEOs offer support for higher tax rates Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives from corporations such as Goldman Sachs and Deloitte LLP met with President Barack Obama on Wednesday and offered support for resolving U.S. fiscal problems with an approach that included higher tax rates for wealthy Americans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rice meets with Republicans, fails to win them over Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:19 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice failed on Wednesday to win over Republicans opposing her possible candidacy for U.S. secretary of state, and more senators - including a one-time supporter - questioned statements she made after the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi in September. U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with Rice for over an hour and said afterward she could not back Rice for secretary of state, if she were nominated by President Barack Obama, without more information. ... Full Story | Top |
| Low-profile lawmaker breaks into high-profile fiscal debate Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 05:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a U.S. Congress packed with big egos, Tom Cole keeps a low profile but isn't afraid to speak his mind. He did so on Wednesday, breaking ranks with Republicans by suggesting that they agree to President Barack Obama's plans to extend Bush-era tax rates on all but the wealthiest Americans. The comments thrust Cole, 63, into the spotlight, drawing a swift rebuke from House Speaker John Boehner and giving hope to Democrats that Republicans' opposition to any and all tax hikes was starting to crack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy centre-left rivals face off in TV debate Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 04:51 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy's centre-left rivals Pier Luigi Bersani and Matteo Renzi went head-to-head in a final television debate on Wednesday before a runoff vote to choose who will stand in next year's election as candidate to succeed Prime Minister Mario Monti. In a calm discussion with few moments of tension, the candidates reaffirmed plans to continue the budget discipline and economic policy agenda of Monti's government while also ensuring fairness in society and protection for workers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shooting death of black teen puts Florida law back under spotlight Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 04:47 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - A Florida man appeared in court on Wednesday to face charges in the shooting death of an apparently unarmed black teenager in a case putting Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law back under the U.S. media spotlight less than a year after the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Michael Dunn, 45, is being held without bail on charges of second-degree murder for the Friday night shooting of Jordan Davis, who was also 17. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to honor Israel's Barak, outgoing architect of Iran policy Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 04:46 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Outgoing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will receive the highest award he could be given by a U.S. secretary of defense when he visits the Pentagon on Thursday, three days after announcing his exit from political life next year. The 70-year-old Barak, a leading strategist in confronting Iran over its nuclear program who has also served as Israel's prime minister and armed forces chief, has been a regular visitor to the Pentagon in recent years as tensions with Tehran simmer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama takes "fiscal cliff" battle to Twitter Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 04:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama opened a new front on Wednesday in the battle between Democrats and Republicans over the best way to avoid the year-end "fiscal cliff" - Twitter. The web-savvy Obama administration launched a social media campaign that asks Twitter users to add the "#my2k" hashtag to messages with examples of what $2,000 means to them. The amount is roughly what a middle-class family of four would have to pay extra in taxes next year if Congress cannot strike a deal to remove the threat of roughly $600 billion in tax hikes and federal spending cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels keep hold on towns they pledged to leave Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:55 PM PST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo kept a firm grip on Wednesday over towns captured from government forces, despite a pledge to respect a deal brokered by Uganda and withdraw. World powers and regional neighbors are scrambling to contain the latest violence in Congo's volatile east, where political and ethnic rifts and competition for vast mineral resources are again threatening to ignite a regional war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rice meets with Republican senators, doesn't win them over Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:50 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Susan Rice's attempts to ease the concerns of her Republican critics seemed to have little effect on Wednesday, as more U.S. senators - including a moderate one-time supporter - raised new questions about her despite two days of meetings at the Capitol. U.S. Senator Susan Collins met with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for over an hour, over the September 11 attacks on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya. Collins said afterward she could not back Rice for secretary of state, if she is nominated by President Barack Obama, without more information. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois delays vote on legalizing medical marijuana Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:48 PM PST  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois General Assembly on Wednesday put off a vote to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes because the measure lacked the support for approval, its chief sponsor said. Democratic Representative Lou Lang did not request a vote on his proposal because he did not want it to fail. "He didn't call it because he was short of the votes," said Lang's spokeswoman, Beth Hamilton. Lang had earlier predicted the measure would pass if a few undecided members shifted to support. ... Full Story | Top |
| Day of reckoning for Cameron and British press Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:47 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron faces a no-win dilemma on Thursday when a far-reaching inquiry into British newspapers delivers its verdict on how to curb the excesses of the country's notoriously aggressive press. Cameron, who was embarrassed when details of his personal links to Rupert Murdoch and his media empire emerged at the inquiry, will have to decide whether to accept its findings, which risk dividing his coalition government and angering an already hostile press. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon eyes project to preserve helicopter design capabilities Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:45 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department may fund initial work on a new military helicopter in a year or two to preserve the industry's critical design capabilities for that sector, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer said on Wednesday. Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall told an investor conference he was concerned that the U.S. defense industry could lose the capacity to generate new designs for military helicopters because the Pentagon had not funded development of a new attack helicopter for many years. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York lobbies for $42 billion in Sandy disaster aid Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:42 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York state is seeking $42 billion in aid to deal with damage from superstorm Sandy, but there is no assurance Congress will move quickly as it grapples with a budget crisis, officials from the state said on Wednesday. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg lobbied Congress on Wednesday, saying he was confident that lawmakers would agree to help pay for damage from Sandy, the second-costliest disaster in U.S. history, even as they deal with the looming "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and automatic spending cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois House votes to give Chicago more time on school closings Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:38 PM PST SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois House voted by a wide margin on Wednesday to give the Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest district, four more months to announce what could be dozens of school closings. The state Senate, which also needs to approve the measure, will vote Thursday, an aide to Senate President John Cullerton said. The district, which was hit with a strike by public school teachers in September, forecasts a $1 billion deficit next year and is widely expected to try to balance its budget in part by closing public schools. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline - Phone-hacking scandal Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:37 PM PST (Reuters) - These are the major events in the phone-hacking scandal over the last 18 months as the inquiry by Lord Justice Brian Leveson on British media ethics is published on Thursday: July 4, 2011 - A lawyer for the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler says police have told him her voicemail messages were hacked in 2002, possibly by a News of the World investigator. The disclosure comes days after the government backs plans by News Corp to buy out British pay-TV group BSkyB. Three days later News Corp announces it will close the News of the World. The July 10 edition is the last. ... Full Story | Top |
| UPDATE 1-Soccer-Euro Under-21 teams play down security worries in Israel Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:25 PM PST * Spain face tough group in effort to retain title * Tournament is biggest sports event in Israel in decades (Adds Platini quotes) TEL AVIV, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Teams have shrugged off security fears in Israel and are looking forward to next year's Euro Under-21 soccer championships due to be held in cities targeted by Palestinian militants last week, coaches said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senator advises defensive posture on wind power tax credit Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:23 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wind energy companies should focus on ensuring that the tax credit at the center of their industry survives at all in coming months, and not so much on trying to beef it up next year, said a senior U.S. Republican senator on Wednesday. "The issue right now is the existence of the tax credit," Charles Grassley told reporters after speaking at an industry event. "We've got to worry about that first and foremost." The tax credit for new turbine projects expires at the end of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama calls Rice "extraordinary," Cabinet members applaud Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:22 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama gave a show of moral support to his embattled ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday, calling Susan Rice "extraordinary" and prompting applause from his Cabinet during a meeting at the White House. Rice, who is considered a top candidate to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has been meeting this week with senators on Capitol Hill who have been critical of her initial remarks about what prompted the September 11 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. bans BP from new government contracts after oil spill deal Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:21 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government banned BP Plc on Wednesday from new federal contracts over its "lack of business integrity" in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, possibly imperiling the company's role as a top U.S. offshore oil and gas producer and the No. 1 military fuel supplier. The suspension, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency, comes on the heels of BP's November 15 agreement with the U.S. government to plead guilty to criminal misconduct in the Gulf of Mexico disaster, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The British energy giant agreed to pay $4. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada sticks to formula on CNOOC despite CFIUS refile Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:17 PM PST  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Wednesday it would decide soon on two big foreign takeover bids for domestic energy companies, despite possible delays in approval by U.S. regulatory authorities. "We intend obviously to take decisions on a couple of particular matters along with some more general guidance to the marketplace. We intend to do that in the near future and that's all I'll say about that," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. Harper has previously spoken about deciding in the "not-too-distant future", the "very near future" and "very soon". Harper's government is studying a $15. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cracks surface in Republican unity on tax rates Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican unity against raising tax rates for the wealthy began to show cracks on Wednesday after a conservative congressman said he would back an agreement with President Barack Obama to raise rates on the rich but extend tax cuts for income below $250,000. With Congress scrambling to avert a series of tax increases and spending cuts due to kick in at the end of the year - known as the "fiscal cliff" - Congressman Tom Cole said Republicans should approve a deal ensuring 98 percent of Americans do not suffer a tax increase that endangers the economic recovery. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers seek Libor controls at Deutsche Bank hearing Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012 03:14 PM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - German politicians called for tighter regulation of global interest rates after questioning Deutsche Bank about the manipulation of London's Libor benchmark lending rate. The flagship lender said it had made some provisions to cover the costs of various probes of possible manipulation of benchmark interest rates and reiterated that there were no signs that senior management had behaved inappropriately. But politicians in Berlin were unimpressed. ... Full Story | Top |
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