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| Palestinians win de facto U.N. recognition of sovereign state Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:58 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against the move to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity," like the Vatican. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas records raise question about warning before train crash Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:52 PM PST SAN ANGELO, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas railroad crossing where four U.S. military veterans were killed this month during a parade was designed to give 30 seconds warning but gave only 20, according to state records and federal investigators. Sixteen other people were injured when a train slammed into a parade float in Midland, Texas, on November 15 at the start of a weekend of festivities to honor veterans wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. ... Full Story | Top |
| WikiLeaks' Assange downplays health concerns Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:50 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy for nearly six months, played down concerns about his health on Thursday, saying he enjoyed being at the centre of the legal and diplomatic storm. Assange, 41, whose website angered the United States by releasing thousands of secret diplomatic cables, took sanctuary in Ecuador's embassy in June, jumping bail after exhausting appeals in British courts against extradition to Sweden for sexual assault allegations. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. soldier in WikiLeaks case says he was held in a "cage" Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:48 PM PST  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - A U.S. Army private facing court-martial on suspicion of leaking secret documents to the WikiLeaks website testified on Thursday he was confined to a "cage" in the early days after his arrest in 2010, and thought he would die there. Bradley Manning, in his first public comments since his arrest in Iraq, said his isolation quickly led to a breakdown, and his military captors eventually put him on suicide watch. "My nights were my days and my days were my nights," Manning said. "It all blended together after a couple of days. ... Full Story | Top |
| As clock ticks down, lawmakers and USDA push for new farm law Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 07:39 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With time running out, agricultural leaders in Congress vowed on Thursday to do everything they can to pass a farm bill that cuts spending by at least $23 billion - savings that could assure support by lawmakers determined to reduce the federal deficit. The five-year, $500 billion farm bill has been deadlocked in the House of Representatives since mid-July, although the Senate has passed its version of the bill. Without a new law, one of the first major ramifications could be a sharp increase in milk prices in early 2013 under the dictates of an archaic fall-back ... Full Story | Top |
| Rights groups challenge Arizona's denial of benefits to immigrants Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:36 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - Civil rights groups filed suit on Thursday to challenge an order by Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer blocking illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses despite receiving temporary legal status under an Obama administration program. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of five immigrants who qualify for deferred deportation status under a new policy by President Barack Obama's administration, says that the governor's executive order issued this summer was unconstitutional and should be blocked. ... Full Story | Top |
| California bill seeks lower threshold for passing school tax measures Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:31 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A top California Democrat aims to ease requirements for voters to approve local taxes for schools, a potential first test of the state's tax-limiting Proposition 13 now that Democrats hold a supermajority in the Legislature State Senator Mark Leno said on Thursday he would introduce a bill on Monday for a constitutional amendment that would reduce the threshold for approving school "parcel taxes" to 55 percent from two-thirds of voters set by Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 voter-approved measure best known for limiting property taxes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois delays election to fill Jackson's House seat until April Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:25 PM PST CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois decided on Thursday to delay until April 9 an election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who resigned last week amid an ethics investigation and concerns over his health. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn had said on Monday that the special election would be March 19 after a primary on February 26. But the state Senate voted on Thursday to delay the vote until April to coincide with local elections and save money for the state, which faces a financial crisis. The state House had approved the change on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. gives Iran until March to cooperate with IAEA Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:23 PM PST  VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council. The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program. Iran - which was first reported to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asian buyers of Iran oil to secure U.S. sanctions waiver extension Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:23 PM PST SEOUL/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Asia's top buyers of Iranian crude are likely to secure U.S. approval to continue imports from the Islamic Republic without incurring sanctions, after cutting volumes sharply in the second half of the year, according to government and trade sources. Government officials in India and South Korea said they expect waivers from U.S. sanctions on Iran, secured in the middle of the year, to be rolled over for another six months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate set to consider broader economic sanctions on Iran Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:23 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is set to consider a broader set of economic sanctions on Iran's energy, port, shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as lawmakers look for new ways to pressure Tehran to stop efforts to enrich uranium to levels that could be used in weapons. It is the third time in a year that U.S. lawmakers have looked for new ways to cut off revenues they believe fund Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran has said is strictly for civilian purposes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans already announcing U.S. Senate campaigns for 2014 Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 06:07 PM PST  (Reuters) - Former South Dakota Republican Governor Mike Rounds said on Thursday he will run in 2014 for a U.S. Senate seat now held by a Democrat, the second state where a Republican has jumped into the campaign two years before the election. The announcement by Rounds came just weeks after President Barack Obama won re-election and Democrats unexpectedly strengthened their U.S. Senate majority. Rounds is running for the seat now held by Democratic Senator Tim Johnson. Republican U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia on Monday said she would run for the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Environmental activist long wanted in U.S. arson attacks surrenders Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:58 PM PST PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A Canadian environmentalist accused of taking part in a campaign of arson attacks across the U.S. West surrendered on Thursday after a decade on the run to face charges in what authorities call the "largest eco-terrorism case" in U.S. history. Rebecca Jeanette Rubin turned herself in to FBI agents at the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: The next stop for Palestinians could be global courts Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:44 PM PST  (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly's overwhelming vote to recognize Palestine as a non-member state offers little prospect for greater clout in world politics but it could make a difference in the international courts. The formal recognition of statehood, even without full U.N. membership, could be enough for the Palestinians to achieve membership at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), where member states have the power to refer for investigation alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity. With its upgraded status at the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Air Force sticking to plans to buy 1,763 F-35 jets Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:12 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force affirmed on Thursday its plans to buy 1,763 F-35 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp in coming years, as Lockheed and the government neared agreement on a multi-billion dollar contract for a fifth batch of planes. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told an investor conference that the service remained committed to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which alone accounts for 15 percent of the service's annual investment spending, and had no plans to revise its projected purchase of 1,763 of the new radar-evading jets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia says no to U.N. ruling until rights are defended Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 05:10 PM PST BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will not apply a U.N. court ruling that shifts some of its resource-rich waters to Nicaragua until the Andean nation is sure that "the rights of Colombians are well defended," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday. The Hague-based International Court of Justice last week shocked Colombia by reducing a large expanse of its maritime territory, drawing the border in favor of Nicaragua while giving a cluster of disputed islands to Bogota in a binding ruling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese police plan to board vessels in disputed seas Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:59 PM PST BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) - Police in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan will board and search ships which illegally enter what China considers its territory in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Thursday, a move likely to add to tensions. The South China Sea is Asia's biggest potential military trouble spot with several Asian countries claiming sovereignty over waters believed to be rich in oil and gas. The shortest route between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it has some of the world's busiest shipping lanes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia, FARC wrap up first round of peace talks Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:58 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist-led FARC rebels said their peace talks with the government were going well, but the lead negotiator for President Juan Manuel Santos was more reserved as the two sides finished the first round of meetings aimed at ending their protracted conflict. In separate sessions with the press, neither side spoke of breakthroughs in the talks, but nor was there any sign they had hit irresolvable obstacles as happened in previous peace attempts. They will reconvene in Havana on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Strauss-Kahn in preliminary deal with maid in civil case: source Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:49 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year have reached a preliminary agreement to settle the civil lawsuit she brought against him, a person familiar with the case said. The person, however, cautioned that the agreement could still fall apart. The development was first reported by the New York Times, which cited people with knowledge of the case. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, will appear before a judge in New York next week, the Times reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boehner sees no progress in "fiscal cliff" talks Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:38 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that "fiscal cliff" talks with the White House had made no substantive progress and criticized President Barack Obama and Democrats for failing to get serious about including spending cuts in a final deal. Boehner said he was "disappointed" after a phone call with Obama on Wednesday night and a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday moved the two sides no closer to an agreement to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered at the start of 2013 unless Congress ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda battle in Afghanistan to stretch for years: U.S. Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:33 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda fighters are still trying to make inroads into Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, cautioning that battling the group would be a core U.S. mission there for years to come. Panetta made the comments as the United States weighs how large a military force to keep in Afghanistan when the NATO combat mission ends in 2014, ending a war that, at that point, will have stretched for over 13 years. There are approximately 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but the residual force may number less than 10,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition cries foul as Egypt constitution finalized Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:23 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-led assembly was expected to finalize a new constitution on Friday aimed at transforming Egypt and paving the way for an end to a crisis which erupted when President Mohamed Mursi gave himself sweeping new powers last week. Mursi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage". "It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama's opening "fiscal cliff" bid seeks debt limit hike, stimulus Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:21 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's opening bid on Thursday in negotiations to avert a year-end fiscal crunch included a demand for new stimulus spending and authority to unilaterally raise the U.S. borrowing ceiling, a Republican congressional aide said. The proposal, made by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to congressional Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, was seen as offering little the Republicans could agree to and was greeted with laughter, the aide said. "We can't move any closer to them because they're not even on our planet," the aide said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mauritanian president says returning to France for treatment Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:20 PM PST  NOUAKCHOTT (Reuters) - Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said on Thursday he will once again travel to France for medical treatment for a bullet wound he suffered in mid-October. The Western ally in the fight against al Qaeda in Africa already spent nearly six weeks in France recuperating from the wound to his abdomen, which his government said was caused when a Mauritanian patrol accidentally fired on his car. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vatican hails U.N. Palestine vote, wants guarantees for Jerusalem Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:18 PM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican hailed the United Nations' implicit recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and called for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem, something bound to irritate Israel. The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from "entity" to "non-member state," the same status as the Vatican. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas says Gaza conflict, U.N. recognition go together Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:12 PM PST DOHA, Qatar (Reuters) - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state won by his rival Mahmoud Abbas should be seen alongside Gaza's latest conflict with Israel as a single, bold strategy that could empower all Palestinians. Meshaal said the short war which claimed 162 Palestinian lives and five Israelis was concluded on terms set by the Palestinian Islamist movement and ended its isolation, creating a new mood that could lead to reconciliation with Abbas's Fatah. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two ex-Ernst partners' convictions reversed in tax case Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:11 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out the convictions of two former Ernst & Young LLP partners over illegal tax shelters the accounting firm used to help wealthy people evade income taxes. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York found a lack of evidence to support the convictions of tax lawyers Martin Nissenbaum and Richard Shapiro. The panel affirmed the related convictions of former partners Robert Coplan, also a tax lawyer, and Brian Vaughn, an accountant. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. review will not affect Canada review of CNOOC's Nexen bid Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:07 PM PST  CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada's government said on Thursday that pending U.S. approvals for CNOOC Ltd's $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc will not affect its own review of the transaction. A spokeswoman for Industry Minister Christian Paradis said that under the Investment Canada Act (ICA), the government's review of the bid is not altered by the two companies' decision earlier this week to refile their application to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's over-50s ignorant of retirement prospects - report Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 04:06 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's over-50s are in blissful ignorance of how little their pension pots will pay out and need an urgent financial health check if their retirements are to be as comfortable as they expect, an industry report said. Workers approaching retirement in the next 15 years need to see their pension pots grow by almost 80 percent to meet their expectations, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Strauss-Kahn to settle civil suit with hotel maid: NY Times Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:50 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will settle the civil lawsuit brought by the hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and Nafissatou Diallo will appear before a judge in New York next week, the Times reported, though the newspaper said one person familiar with the details emphasized that a final agreement has not yet been signed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon official hopeful Congress will stop January 2 cuts Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:47 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Pentagon official said on Thursday he is "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will avert automatic budget cuts that are due to kick in on January 2, citing some increased willingness among Republicans to consider additional revenue now that the presidential election is over. Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale said the tone of discussions between Republicans and Democrats had improved and neither side wanted to see the additional cuts to military spending, which would total $52 billion in fiscal 2013 alone, take effect. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia says won't apply U.N. court ruling until rights defended Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:46 PM PST BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will not apply a U.N. court ruling shifting some of its resource-rich waters to Nicaragua until the Andean nation is sure that "the rights of Colombians are well defended," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Thursday. The Hague-based International Court of Justice reduced a large expanse of sea belonging to Colombia last week, drawing the border in favor of Nicaragua while giving a small cluster of disputed islands to Bogota in a binding ruling. Both countries have warships in the area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians take to streets to cheer UN statehood vote Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:46 PM PST RAMALLAH/GAZA (Reuters) - Thousands of flag-waving Palestinians set off fireworks and danced in the streets on Thursday to celebrate a United Nations General Assembly vote granting de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state. In Bethlehem, the bells of the Church of the Nativity peeled in honor of the vote, and thousands of people crowded around to watch a live broadcast of President Mahmoud Abbas's speech in New York projected on the concrete of Israel's separation wall. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait opposition demand vote boycott on eve of election Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:43 PM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - Activists and opposition figures will march in Kuwait on Friday to urge voters to boycott the next day's parliamentary election, dashing any hopes the poll could ease years of political tensions in the U.S. ally and major oil producer. Opposition politicians, who have already said they will not stand, and campaigners called the rally to protest against a change in voting rules which they argue would skew the poll in favor of pro-government candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| As clock ticks down, lawmakers and USDA push for new US farm law Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:35 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With time running out, agricultural leaders in Congress vowed on Thursday to do everything they can to pass a farm bill that cuts spending by at least $23 billion -- savings that could assure support by lawmakers determined to reduce the federal deficit. The five-year, $500 billion farm bill has been deadlocked in the House of Representatives since mid-July, although the Senate has passed its version of the bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Grocery giant Kroger wins $567 million tax fight Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:24 PM PST  (Reuters) - Kroger Co said Thursday it won a tax battle with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which has dropped an effort to collect $567 million in disputed deductions from the grocery giant. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month dismissed the government's claims against Kroger, the Cincinnati-based company disclosed in a securities filing. The dismissal by a three-judge panel came several weeks following a government move to drop its claims, after pursuing Kroger for nearly a decade, court papers showed. An IRS spokesman declined to comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting cuts access to Damascus airport, flights suspended Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:24 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just outside Damascus on Thursday, cutting access to its international airport, and Dubai-based Emirates airline and EgyptAir stopped flights to the Syrian capital. The Internet and some telephone lines went down across Syria. Rebels and the government traded blame for the blackout, the worst communications outage in 20 months of conflict. Rebels fighting to topple Assad have been making gains around Syria by overrunning military bases and have been ramping up attacks on Damascus, his seat of power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Farm murders highlight apartheid's toxic legacy in South Africa Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:22 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 |
| Israel says U.N. vote won't hasten Palestinian state Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:18 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A U.N. General Assembly vote on Thursday recognizing a Palestinian state will do nothing to make it a reality, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Israel had fiercely opposed the Palestinian bid to become a "non-member state" at the United Nations, but had been unable to prevent wide international support for the initiative, notably among its European allies. "This is a meaningless resolution that won't change anything on the ground. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state Thursday, Nov 29, 2012 03:03 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity. ... Full Story | Top |
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