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| Cuban leader Raul Castro announces he will retire in 2018 Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:49 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro announced on Sunday he will step down from power after his second term ends in 2018, and the new parliament named a 52-year-old rising star to become his first vice president and most visible successor. "This will be my last term," Castro, 81, said shortly after the National Assembly elected him to a second five-year tenure. In a surprise move, the new parliament also named Miguel Diaz-Canel as first vice president, meaning he would take over if Castro cannot serve his full term. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Spiral of Karachi killings widens Pakistan's sectarian divide Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:39 PM PST  KARACHI (Reuters) - When Aurangzeb Farooqi survived an attempt on his life that left six of his bodyguards dead and a six-inch bullet wound in his thigh, the Pakistani cleric lost little time in turning the narrow escape to his advantage. Recovering in hospital after the ambush on his convoy in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial capital, the radical Sunni Muslim ideologue was composed enough to exhort his followers to close ranks against the city's Shi'ites. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi invites opposition to dialogue on elections Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:34 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi invited opposition parties to a meeting on Monday to discuss concerns about upcoming parliamentary elections, which some parties have threatened to boycott, and agree on ways to ensure their fairness. The invitation was similar to offers Mursi has made previously that were spurned, and the National Salvation Front opposition coalition immediately rejected the offer to meet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Grounding, budget woes cloud F-35 warplane sales push in Australia Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 07:11 PM PST  WASHINGTON/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - This year's second grounding of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 warplane, plus looming U.S. defense cuts, will complicate a push this week by Lockheed and U.S. officials to convince Australian lawmakers and generals to stick to a plan to buy 100 of the jets. Australia, a close American ally, is considering doubling its fleet of 24 Boeing Co F/A-18 Super Hornets amid delays and setbacks in Lockheed's $396 billion F-35 project. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea's new president demands North drop nuclear ambitions Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:36 PM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's new president Park Geun-hye urged North Korea on Monday to abandon its nuclear ambitions, and to stop wasting its scarce resources on arms development, less than two weeks after the country carried out its third nuclear test. Park, 61, the daughter of South Korea's former military ruler Park Chung-hee, is the first female president of prosperous South Korea and one of her campaign promises was to engage with the North if it halted its nuclear weapons plans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan likely to nominate ADB's Kuroda as Bank of Japan head: sources Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:08 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government is likely to nominate Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as its next central bank governor, sources told Reuters on Monday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also seen filling one of two deputy governor posts with Kikuo Iwata, an academic critical of Bank of Japan policy and an advocate of unorthodox monetary easing steps, the Nikkei newspaper reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan president to expel U.S. special forces from key province Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 06:04 PM PST  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has given U.S. special forces two weeks to leave a key battleground province after accusations that Afghans working for them tortured and killed innocent people, the president's spokesman said on Sunday. The decision by Karzai could further complicate negotiations between the United States and Afghanistan over the presence of Americans troops in the country once most NATO forces leave by the end of 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House warns states of looming pain from March 1 budget cuts Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:59 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With five days left before $85 billion is slashed from government budgets, the White House issued more dire warnings about the harm the cuts will do to Americans, breaking down the loss of jobs and services to each of the states. The estimates show how many teachers could lose their jobs in each state, how many toddlers could be kicked out of subsidized preschool programs, and how many children could lose funding for vaccines for measles and mumps. ... Full Story | Top |
| Downgrade pressures reluctant Osborne to change course Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:43 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne said he would not flinch from his austerity drive, despite increasing pressure to change course after the loss of the country's 'AAA' credit rating and with elections approaching in two years. Moody's dealt Britain its first sovereign rating downgrade on Friday, saying the $2.5 trillion economy faced years more sluggish growth and debt would continue to rise until 2016. ... Full Story | Top |
| African leaders sign deal aimed at peace in eastern Congo Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:21 PM PST  ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - African leaders signed a U.N.-mediated deal on Sunday aimed at ending two decades of conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and paving the way for the deployment of a new military brigade to take on rebel groups. Congo's army is fighting the M23 rebels, who have hived off a fiefdom in North Kivu province in a conflict that has dragged Congo's eastern region back into war and displaced more than half a million people. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon F-35 chief says grounding will not delay delivery Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 05:02 PM PST MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The grounding of Lockheed Martin Corp's F-35 fighter fleet last week due to a crack found in the engine of one test aircraft would not delay major milestones or delivery of the aircraft, the Pentagon's F-35 program chief said on Monday. All flights by the 51 F-35 fighter planes were suspended on Friday after a routine inspection revealed a crack on a turbine blade in the jet engine of a test aircraft in California. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM Abe keeps ratings high as he pushes reflation steps Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:42 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Voter support for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rose to 70 percent or more in two weekend opinion polls, signaling that his drastic economic policies are winning backing and giving him a shot at becoming a rare long-term leader. Abe, who took office in December after his conservative Liberal Democratic Party's massive election win, has promised to beat deflation and revive the long-stagnant economy with a mix of hyper-easy monetary policy and big fiscal spending. Abe, just back from a summit in Washington with U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Southeast Asian margin squeeze snags Singapore Inc Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 04:32 PM PST  (Reuters) - The most widespread margin squeeze in at least a decade is pushing some Singapore companies out of the city state as rising costs and slow growth sap profitability. A Reuters study of 268 listed Singapore companies showed that 57 percent reported a year-on-year drop in operating profit margin for the first three quarters of 2012. That was the biggest percentage for the nine-month period on record, according to Thomson Reuters data going back to 2002. Full-year data for 2012 was not yet available. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protest votes add to uncertainty in close Italy election Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:43 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italians finish voting in one of the most closely watched and unpredictable elections in years on Monday with a surge in protest votes fuelling concern that the ballot may not produce a government strong enough to pull Italy from its economic slump. A bitter campaign, fought largely over economic issues, has been closely watched by financial markets, still wary after the debt crisis that took the whole euro zone close to disaster and brought technocrat prime minister Mario Monti to office in 2011. For the euro zone, the stakes are high. ... Full Story | Top |
| After election win, Anastasiades faces Cyprus bailout quagmire Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:42 PM PST  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot president-elect Nicos Anastasiades faces weeks of difficult talks with foreign lenders on a financial rescue for the island nation after sweeping to a resounding victory in a run-off election on Sunday. Eight months of inconclusive talks on a bailout package have turned tiny Cyprus into a big headache for the euro zone, triggering fears of a financial collapse that reignites the bloc's debt crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fidel Castro surprises with parliament appearance amid leadership speculation Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:33 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro made a rare public appearance Sunday by joining the opening session of the National Assembly, state media reported amid speculation the gathering could give clues on planning for a future leadership succession. Since falling ill in 2006 and ceding the presidency to his brother, Fidel Castro has given up all official positions except as a deputy in the National Assembly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan likely to nominate ADB's Kuroda as BOJ head: sources Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:32 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government is likely to nominate Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as its next central bank governor, sources told Reuters on Monday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also seen filling one of two deputy governor posts with Kikuo Iwata, an academic critical of Bank of Japan policy and an advocate of unorthodox monetary easing steps, the Nikkei newspaper reported. The yen sank 1.4 percent in early trade to 94. ... Full Story | Top |
| Markets brace for crucial Italy election test Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 03:02 PM PST  MILAN (Reuters) - Investors are awaiting the outcome a wide open Italian election that could trigger a sell-off in stocks and bonds and renew concerns about the euro if the polls bring an unstable government. Polling stations open for a second and final day on Monday and exit polls will be published soon after they close at 3 p.m. (1400 GMT). Opinion polls have suggested the center-left Democratic Party (PD) of Pierluigi Bersani could secure a narrow victory in the recession-hit country, the euro zone's third-largest economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey, its "comeback" derailed, sets another budget Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:57 PM PST  (Reuters) - A year ago, New Jersey's firebrand Republican Governor Chris Christie called on lawmakers to cut the state's income tax rate as part of the "New Jersey Comeback," a campaign aimed at boosting economic growth. But the Democrat-led legislature effectively killed his tax cut when revenues lagged forecasts. Then Superstorm Sandy slammed the state, its full fiscal impact still uncertain. As Christie gets ready to propose another budget on Tuesday, New Jersey, the 11th most populous state, is still in need of a comeback. It has the fourth highest unemployment rate of any U.S. state, at ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition says captures former nuclear site Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:34 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have captured the site of a suspected nuclear reactor near the Euphrates river which Israeli warplanes destroyed six years ago, opposition sources in eastern Syria said on Sunday. Al-Kubar site, around 60 km (35 miles) west of the city of Deir al-Zor, became a focus of international attention when Israel raided it in 2007. The United States said the complex was a North Korean-designed nuclear reactor geared to making weapons-grade plutonium. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Wyoming, a bare-knuckle fight for control of education Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:29 PM PST CODY, Wyoming (Reuters) - Thinly populated Wyoming is embroiled in debate over how to manage a school system that has achieved only moderate gains in test scores despite having one of the top five highest rates of education spending in the nation. Anger over how the education system is managed in the staunchly conservative state has prompted the state legislature to strip the elected superintendent of schools of her main duties and cut her budget and staff while appointing an interim director of public education to serve in her stead. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry makes first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:04 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - John Kerry views his first trip as U.S. secretary of state as a listening tour, but the leaders he meets will want to hear whether he has any new ideas on Syria, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kerry arrived on Sunday in London, the first stop on a nine-nation, 11-day trip that will also take him to Berlin, Paris, Rome, Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Doha before he returns home on March 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| In South Carolina, disgraced former governor seeks a resurrection Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 02:01 PM PST  CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - The appearance by a candidate for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District here last week was delayed. The event's co-host, an undertaker, had been detained at his funeral home by an unexpected "delivery." A couple of people in the audience laughed as they realized what sort of delivery a funeral home receives. Questions of life and death seemed oddly appropriate because the afternoon's guest of honor was a man who is trying to undergo a political resurrection: former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: China central bank takes lead in economic reform push Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 01:12 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's readiness to bend retirement rules to keep arch-reformer Zhou Xiaochuan at the helm of the central bank signals clearly that new Communist Party chiefs want to speed economic reform in the country's most critical development phase in three decades. Central bank insiders interviewed by Reuters say the People's Bank of China (PBOC) is the country's most potent force for reform in the face of powerful vested interests, echoing sources with leadership ties who last week said Zhou would keep his job despite reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting in Sudan's Darfur region kills 51: government Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:59 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Recent fighting between Arab tribes in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur has killed 51 people and wounded 62, state news agency SUNA said on Sunday, in the first official comment on fresh violence in the western region. Conflict has raged in the vast arid region since mainly non-Arab tribes revolted against the Arab government in Khartoum in 2003, accusing it of political and economic neglect. Violence ebbed from 2004 but has picked up again in recent months. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK's Clegg on defensive as sexual harassment claims batter party Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:55 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Sunday denied covering up allegations of sexual misconduct by a former senior member of his Liberal Democrat party, already floundering in opinion polls. Allegations of sexual impropriety by former party chief executive Chris Rennard threaten to engulf Clegg and further undermine the Lib Dems, the junior member of Britain's coalition government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clegg on defensive as sexual harassment claims batter party Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:54 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Sunday denied covering up allegations of sexual misconduct by a former senior member of his Liberal Democrat party, already floundering in opinion polls. Allegations of sexual impropriety by former party chief executive Chris Rennard threaten to engulf Clegg and further undermine the Lib Dems, the junior member of Britain's coalition government. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. urges Syrian opposition to attend Rome talks Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:42 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official on Sunday urged the Syrian opposition to attend a planned international meeting in Rome this week, saying it was a chance for rebels to make their case for more support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was dissension among the opposition about the utility of such meetings and some members have signaled they may not attend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Palestinians say detainee tortured before death Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 12:14 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinian officials said on Sunday a Palestinian detainee who died in an Israeli prison was tortured before his death, but Israel said autopsy findings were preliminary and inconclusive. The death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli jail on Saturday and a hunger strike by four inmates have flared tension across the occupied West Bank, where stone-throwing protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Sunday. The Palestinian autopsy findings could further fuel unrest that has surged in the Palestinian Territories weeks before U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot president-elect vows to work for swift bailout deal Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:35 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot president-elect Nicos Anastasiades vowed on Sunday to work with Cyprus's European Union partners to nail down a swift bailout deal to stave off insolvency in the cash-starved nation. In a statement outlining his priorities after cruising to a resounding victory in presidential elections earlier Sunday, conservative Anastasiades, 66, said he would work for the completion of a bailout at the "earliest possible". He said it needed to be structured such that it safeguarded vulnerable groups, social cohesion and industrial peace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says it has brought down a mock spy drone Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:31 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had conducted tests aimed at bringing down a "hypothetical" foreign surveillance drone during a military exercise, the official Fars news agency said on Saturday. The Islamic Republic News Agency, another official news agency, also reported the exercise, but omitted the word hypothetical giving the impression that a real drone had been downed. Other official Iranian media outlets later referred to the downing of a "hypothetical" aircraft. In the past, there have been incidents of Iran claiming to have seized U.S. drones. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hollande, Ayrault approval ratings rise slightly: poll Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:09 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - The popularity of French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has improved slightly since last month, according to an OpinionWay poll carried out for newspaper Metro and TV channel LCI. The survey published on Sunday showed 39 percent of those interviewed were satisfied with Hollande's performance, up 1 percentage point, while 57 percent were dissatisfied, down 3 points. The proportion of people satisfied with Ayrault rose 1 point to 36 percent, with the percentage of those dissatisfied with him decreasing by 5 points to 54 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans, Democrats brace for impact of March 1 cuts Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:08 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With five days left before $85 billion is slashed from U.S. government budgets, governors and lawmakers from both parties said the White House and Congress should pull out the stops to avert indiscriminate cuts. Republicans, who are seeking spending cuts, urged President Barack Obama to apply what's known as the "sequester" in a more careful way, rather than slashing budgets across the board. ... Full Story | Top |
| Regulators examine if big banks evade payday loan laws: NYT Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 11:07 AM PST  (Reuters) - Federal and state regulators are examining whether some of the largest U.S. banks are helping Internet-based lenders evade state laws that cap interest rates on payday loans, The New York Times said on Sunday. Citing several people with direct knowledge of the matter, the newspaper said the FDIC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, D.C. are examining the role of banks in online payday loans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Affymax, Takeda recall anemia drug Omontys after deaths Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 10:22 AM PST TOKYO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.-based Affymax Inc and Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said they are voluntarily recalling all lots of anemia treatment Omontys (peginesatide) in the United States due to reports of serious hypersensitivity reactions, including some deaths. As of Sunday, fatal reactions to the injection have been reported in about 0.02 percent of 25,000 patients after receiving their initial injection of the treatment, Affymax said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten Chadian soldiers killed fighting Islamists in Mali Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 10:14 AM PST  N'DJAMENA/GAO (Reuters) - Ten Chadian soldiers were killed in combat in northern Mali's mountainous border with Algeria where Islamist rebels regrouped after losing urban areas to a French-led offensive, Chad's army said on Sunday. The latest Chadian fatalities came in an area of the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains where 13 Chadian soldiers were killed in clashes on Friday that centered around what one senior commander said was a rebel base of "significant importance". At least 93 rebels have been killed in fighting in the area so far, Chad's army said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot presidential victor turns "Nasty" to "Nice" Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 10:07 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Conservative chief Nicos Anastasiades's victory in Cyprus's presidential elections on Sunday marks a stunning comeback for a politician whose career was almost destroyed by a political gamble in 2004. A sharp and rousing public speaker who pulls no punches, Anastasiades, 66, comfortably beat his leftist rival Stavros Malas by taking 57.5 percent in the run-off vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel: China, Russia seeing Syrian president's time is up Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 09:44 AM PST KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey (Reuters) - China and Russia are increasingly realizing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's time is up, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday, as she visited German troops stationed with NATO Patriot missiles close to the Turkish-Syrian frontier. Merkel, beginning a two-day trip to Turkey, said the missiles, provided at NATO member Turkey's request, were a signal that the alliance would not tolerate Damascus dragging its neighbors into its conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot conservative chief declares victory in runoff vote Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 09:15 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot conservative leader Nicos Anastasiades declared victory in a presidential runoff vote on Sunday after taking an insurmountable lead against his leftist rival. "It is a clear lead for Mr. Anastasiades," Tasos Mitsopoulos, Anastasiades's spokesman, told reporters. "It is a clear and strong mandate for change, for reform, for our country to exit this vicious circle of crisis." Anastasiades took a 57.5 percent share of the vote after 98 percent of the vote was counted, 15 points ahead of rival Stavros Malas, who is backed by the Communist party AKEL. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel to vote on U.S. Treasury nominee this week Sunday, Feb 24, 2013 09:04 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel will vote this week on the nomination of Jack Lew to be U.S. treasury secretary, the committee said on Sunday. The Senate Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday to vote on Lew, President Barack Obama's pick to replace Timothy Geithner at Treasury, said the panel's chairman, Max Baucus. At a hearing earlier this month Lew defused heated questions from lawmakers about his work at Citigroup, paving the way for his expected confirmation by the full Senate. ... Full Story | Top |
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