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| UK PM's party humbled in vote as anti-EU party surges Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:53 PM PST  EASTLEIGH, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservative party was humiliated in an election in England on Friday after it was defeated by a scandal-ridden coalition partner and pushed into third place by an anti-EU party. Cameron and his party had hoped to come second or even win the parliamentary election in Eastleigh, but were pushed into third place by the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a party that advocates taking Britain out of the European Union and strongly opposes immigration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Evans: hiking rates too soon would send U.S. into tailspin Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:50 PM PST DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - The best way to set the stage for an eventual return to higher interest rates is, paradoxically, to keep rates low for now, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday. If the Fed were to raise rates too soon, "what would happen is the economy would slow and we'd find ourselves in another tailspin," Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans told the CFA Society of Iowa. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed likely needs to keep up bond buys through 2013: Evans Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:50 PM PST DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will likely need to keep buying bonds to boost employment through the end of the year, and longer if the drag from fiscal consolidation is bigger than expected, a top Fed official said on Thursday. "I don't think we are anywhere near the end of the program," Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Charles Evans told reporters after speaking to the CFA Society of Iowa here. "It's premature to talk about tapering" the asset-purchase program. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Evans sees economy achieving "escape velocity" by 2014 Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:50 PM PST  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - The U.S. economy should emerge from the doldrums next year if the Federal Reserve sticks to its super-easy monetary policies, a top Fed official said on Thursday, even as he warned that cutting back too early would be a "big mistake." The Fed is buying $45 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage bonds per month, its third round of "quantitative easing," and has said it will continue the purchases until it sees substantial improvement in the labor market outlook. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Turkey row over Zionism deepens rift between ex-allies Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:29 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's prime minister accused his Turkish counterpart on Thursday of making a "dark and false" statement by calling Zionism a crime against humanity - a comment likely to hit efforts to repair ties between the two former allies. The Turkish premier's statement, made at a U.N. meeting in Vienna a day earlier, was also condemned by the head of Europe's main rabbinical group who called it a "hateful attack" on Jews. ... Full Story | Top |
| Super-majority tax law struck down in Washington state Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 06:48 PM PST SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state's Supreme Court made it easier for lawmakers to raise taxes on Thursday, striking down as unconstitutional a voter-approved law that required a two-thirds majority of the state legislature to approve such increases. In a 6-3 vote, the court ruled against an initiative launched by conservative political activist Tim Eyman and twice approved by voters, most recently in November, to require a super-majority to raise taxes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian lawmakers confident in F-35's future Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:57 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition, which is expected to win elections in September, said on Thursday it supported Lockheed Martin's troubled F-35 to be the country's next frontline warplane, despite problems and huge cost blowouts. A day after the Pentagon's F-35 program chief lashed Lockheed and engine maker Pratt & Whitney for trying to "squeeze every nickel" out of the U.S. government, Australian lawmakers expressed confidence in the futuristic jet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles asks Supreme Court to overturn ban on Skid Row seizures Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:55 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to allow police and city workers to seize or destroy property that homeless people leave unattended on sidewalks, saying Skid Row homeless encampments presented a public-health risk. The greater Los Angeles area has one of the nation's largest populations of homeless people, and the city's legal fight is seen as having implications for how other municipalities deal with transients. ... Full Story | Top |
| Donors step up ties with Somalia; praise rebuilding efforts Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:45 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major Western donors have stepped up efforts in recent weeks to reengage with Somalia, opening the way for increased development assistance to a country trying to shake off years of conflict. A senior British official said in Washington that London will host a conference with the new Somali government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on May 7. The meeting will focus on rebuilding the security forces, police, and justice system and discuss resuming relations with the World Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. agency says average cost of immigrant detention $119 per day Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:44 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A government agency caught in a political firestorm for releasing hundreds of illegal immigrants from detention because of budget concerns said on Thursday the cost of holding someone was more than six times that of alternative supervision methods. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has been sharply criticized by some Republicans in Congress for releasing "several hundred" illegal immigrants ahead of mandatory "sequestration" cuts across the government that become effective on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Poll shows 61 percent of Californians back gay marriage Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:40 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California voters favor same-sex marriage by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, a poll showed on Thursday, a month before the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over a gay marriage ban approved by the state's residents in 2008. The Field Poll found 61 percent of surveyed voters in California believe gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to wed, the highest level of support the organization has ever found on that question in the state. ... Full Story | Top |
| D.C. law firm Patton Boggs lays off lawyers, sources say Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:27 PM PST (Reuters) - The Washington, D.C. law firm Patton Boggs has laid off a unknown number of lawyers and administrative staff, according to two sources inside the firm and two sources outside the firm with direct knowledge of the matter. The law firm, which has more than 550 attorneys in nine offices worldwide, is known best for its lobbying and public policy work in Washington and is expected to have a firm-wide meeting early on Friday to discuss the state of the firm, according to a Patton Boggs partner. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama urges high court to allow gay marriage in California Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In President Barack Obama's latest act in support of gay rights, his administration on Thursday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California. The administration filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case set to be argued on March 26 on whether California's 2008 measure, known as Proposition 8, is unlawful under the U.S. Constitution. In the brief, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued that states cannot give all the benefits of marriage to gays and lesbians without calling it marriage. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan sends more troops to volatile border state Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:13 PM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan is sending reinforcements to Blue Nile state to fight rebels near the border to South Sudan, state-linked media said on Thursday. Last week, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) said it had launched an offensive to take Kurmuk near the border to South Sudan and Ethiopia. Sudan's army has been fighting rebels of the SPLM-North in Blue Nile and nearby South Kordofan state since around the time of South Sudan's secession in July 2011 under a 2005 deal which ended decades of civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bradley Manning pleads guilty to misusing classified data in WikiLeaks case Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:11 PM PST  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private accused of providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website pleaded guilty on Thursday to misusing classified material he felt "should become public," but denied the top charge of aiding the enemy. Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, entered the pleas prior to his court martial, which is set to begin on June 3, in a case that centers on the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history. Military judge Colonel Denise Lind accepted the guilty pleas late in the afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hungary PM seen picking his "right hand" to head central bank Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:04 PM PST  BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to nominate the man he calls his "right hand" to head Hungary's central bank on Friday, a move that could prompt cheap money being pumped into the economy ahead of elections in 2014. Orban, who has often been at loggerheads with the European Union, banks and the International Monetary Fund, is widely seen as appointing Economy Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, one of his closest allies, to replace hawkish Governor Andras Simor, whose six-year mandate is expiring. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Cannibal Cop" kidnap plots were fantasy: defense lawyers Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:56 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City police officer accused of plotting to kidnap, cook and eat women would not have plotted last year for three kidnappings in a single week if he had been serious, defense attorneys argued on Thursday. Lawyers for Officer Gilberto Valle, dubbed "the cannibal cop" by local media, argued that the plots were pure fantasy and that he was a member of a fantasy role-playing website where people pretend to act out violent sexual fantasies. Prosecutors have said that out of two dozen plots involving women at least three were real. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge accepts soldier's guilty plea in WikiLeaks case Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:50 PM PST FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Military judge Colonel Denise Lind on Thursday accepted the guilty plea on 10 charges from U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning in his military court-martial for providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website. Manning. 25, pleaded guilty to a series of 10 lesser charges that he misused classified information for which he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, although he pleaded not guilty to the top charge of aiding the enemy. (Reporting by Medina Roshan; Editing by Daniel Trotta) Full Story | Top |
| Hardline Arizona sheriff suffers broken shoulder in fall Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:43 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - A controversial 80-year-old Arizona lawman, who styles himself as America's toughest sheriff and is known for targeting illegal immigrants, broke his left shoulder on Thursday after taking a spill in downtown Phoenix, authorities said. Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio was being treated for the shoulder fracture at a local hospital and will not require surgery, said sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Allen. It was not clear if he will remain overnight. "He's feeling fine," Allen said in a telephone interview from the hospital. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Dakota extends abortion wait period for weekends, holidays Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:41 PM PST (Reuters) - The South Dakota Senate on Thursday passed a bill affecting abortion waiting times that could potentially make them the longest in the country. The bill, passed by a 24-9 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate, would exclude weekends and holidays from the calculation of a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion. The bill was passed by the state House last week. It will go to Governor Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, next week, his spokesman, Tony Venhuizen, said. Venhuizen said he could not say if the governor would sign the bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clegg pressured in Eastleigh vote, UKIP surges Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:38 PM PST  EASTLEIGH, England (Reuters) - Residents of an English town that hardly anyone outside Britain has heard of cast their votes on Thursday in an election that could help determine the political fate of the country's deputy prime minister and, ultimately, its government. The poll to choose a member of parliament for Eastleigh may prove make-or-break for Nick Clegg's leadership of the Lib Dems, the junior member of Britain's two-party coalition. "Most by-elections are events of only fleeting interest. Some are sufficiently dramatic to linger a while in the memory. Only a few truly matter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to name Edith Ramirez as FTC chief Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:35 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is to name Edith Ramirez, once his colleague at the Harvard Law Review, as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, the FTC said on Thursday. Ramirez, 44, a Democrat who worked for Obama during the 2008 presidential race, was a lawyer specializing in business litigation and intellectual property in Los Angeles. She has been a commissioner since 2010. Ramirez is to begin work as chairman on Monday, the FTC said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Governor likely to OK Tennessee's "guns-in-trunks" bill Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:32 PM PST NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) - Tennessee residents who hold permits that allow them to carry handguns will be able to take their weapons to work as long as they leave them locked in their cars, the result of legislation passed on Thursday by the state's House. Following the Senate earlier in the month, the House passed the bill 72-22 after about an hour's debate, despite reservations from the business community. The bill was dubbed "guns-in-trunks" because permit holders could keep guns in car trunks. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. cities face threats from federal cuts to revenues, economies Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:31 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, talks about the federal spending cuts set to begin on Friday, she does not mention appropriations committees, line items or revenue rates. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake first talks about crime. "Number one is the public safety impact," she said. "We have made Baltimore a safer city, but we're not where we need to be and this isn't the time to pull the rug out from under us." In the public imagination, Baltimore is closely linked to the HBO crime drama, "The Wire," which portrayed it as a post-industrial, drug-infested wasteland. ... Full Story | Top |
| Michigan governor to declare Detroit fiscal emergency: source Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:18 PM PST  LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - Michigan Governor Rick Snyder will officially declare a financial emergency for Detroit on Friday, paving the way for a state takeover of the city, a state government source said on Thursday. At a forum in Detroit, the Republican governor will endorse the February 19 findings of a six-member review team that concluded the city's dire financial situation constituted an emergency, according to the source, who asked not to be identified. Sara Wurfel, Snyder's spokeswoman, said the governor will outline "his determination on whether or not there is an emergency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois House deals setback to pension reform Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:10 PM PST  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - The Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday dealt a setback to efforts to fix the worst-funded state pension system in the United States, defeating several proposals to make substantial changes that would affect public sector workers. Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan had put forward four ideas that financial analysts said would go a long way toward resolving the problem, but lawmakers rejected them as being too extreme. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blame game gets louder with budget cuts looking inevitable Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:10 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day before sweeping budget cuts begin, the White House and Republicans blamed each other on Thursday for failure to prevent a fiscal crisis which the International Monetary Fund warned could slow the U.S. and world economies. Absent a highly unlikely last-ditch deal, the $85 billion in cuts across federal government agencies start on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Haiti's Duvalier finally in court to face abuse of power charges Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:05 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier faced corruption and human rights charges in a court on Thursday for the first time since a popular revolt forced him into exile in 1986, and denied responsibility for abuses under his 15-year rule. Individual government officials "had their own authority," the 61-year-old Duvalier said when asked about his role as head of state from 1971 to 1986. "Under my authority, children could go to school, there was no insecurity. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Milestone" reached in Iran nuclear talks: minister Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:05 PM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's negotiations with world powers over Tehran's disputed nuclear program reached "a turning point" this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday, suggesting a breakthrough was within reach. "I call it a milestone. It is a turning point in the negotiations," Salehi told Austrian broadcaster ORF in an interview during a visit to the Austrian capital for a United Nations conference. "We are heading for goals that will be satisfactory for both sides. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran nuclear talks show progress, Western diplomat says Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:05 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers this week were more constructive and positive than in the past, but Iran's willingness to negotiate seriously will not become clear until an April meeting, a senior Western diplomat said on Thursday. The diplomat was more upbeat about the talks in Kazakhstan than other Western officials have been, suggesting there could be a chance of diplomatic progress in the long standoff over Iran's nuclear activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man charged with killing gay Mississippi mayoral candidate Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:00 PM PST  CLARKSDALE, Mississippi (Reuters) - A 22-year-old man has been charged with killing a gay black mayoral candidate in the small but violent Mississippi town of Clarksdale after his body was found near the river, authorities said on Thursday. Marco McMillian, 34, was one of the first viable, openly gay candidates in Mississippi, according to the Victory Fund, a national organization that supports homosexual candidates and officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Journalist Bob Woodward caught in crossfire with White House Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 02:59 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Journalist Bob Woodward has uncovered scandals and shed a withering light on secretive policy decisions for decades, so when he expressed outrage about an emailed crossfire with a senior White House aide, Washington sat up and took notice. But a closer examination of his dust-up with White House economic adviser Gene Sperling may undercut Woodward even as it sheds a light on hardball tactics used by President Barack Obama's team to try to rein in reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: From builders to managers: educating China's leadership Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 02:19 PM PST  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Sun Zhengcai earned his PhD from China Agricultural University in 1997, experimenting with different fertilizers for crop rotation in northern China, according to his doctoral thesis. For the world's biggest grain grower and consumer, this type of research is crucial for improving yields. But it was an unlikely qualification for political leadership in China where engineers have traditionally held many of the top posts. Sun represents one of the more far reaching changes in Chinese politics. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algerian suspect in "Jihad Jane" case faces U.S. extradition Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 02:14 PM PST  DUBLIN (Reuters) - An Irish court on Thursday began extradition hearings against an Algerian man facing two terrorism charges in the United States connected to the so-called Jihad Jane conspiracy. Ali Charaf Damache is wanted by the FBI for conspiracy in a failed international plot to murder a Swedish cartoonist whose depiction of the Prophet Mohamed with the body of dog inflamed public opinion in Muslim countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| African leaders call for U.N. mandate for Mali mission Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 02:11 PM PST  YAMOUSSOUKRO (Reuters) - West African leaders on Thursday called for a regional military operation against al Qaeda-linked rebels in north Mali to be transformed into a U.N. peacekeeping mission as quickly as possible to secure desperately needed funding. France sent troops into its former colony last month to drive out Islamist fighters, claiming their seizure of Mali's north last year posed a threat to international security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda commander Abou Zeid killed in Mali: Algeria's Ennahar TV Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 02:11 PM PST ALGIERS/DAKAR (Reuters) - French forces have killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of the most feared commanders of al Qaeda's north Africa wing, during an operation against Islamist fighters in mountainous northern Mali, Algeria's Ennahar television said on Thursday. Abou Zeid was among 40 militants killed three days ago in the foothills of the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains near the Algerian border, said Ennahar, which is well connected with Algeria's security services. French and Chadian troops have been hunting fighters there after a lightning campaign to dislodge them from northern Mali. ... Full Story | Top |
| Van Rompuy tells Britain: leaving EU "not free" Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:57 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - One of Europe's most powerful officials cautioned Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday that leaving the European Union could cost Britain dear and that the bloc's other leaders do not want to renegotiate Europe's founding treaties. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said Britain had a chance to play a leading role in building the European economy now the euro zone had the "artillery" of economic tools to get itself out of the worst crisis in its history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran steps up arrests, torture, executions: U.N. Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:41 PM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran has stepped up executions of prisoners including juveniles as well as arrests of dissidents who are often tortured in jail, sometimes to death, the United Nations reported on Thursday. In twin reports issued in Geneva, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the U.N. special investigator on human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, voiced concern at what they called an apparent rise in the frequency and gravity of abuses in Iran. ... Full Story | Top |
| Special Report: Freedom fizzles out in China's rebel town of Wukan Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:34 PM PST  WUKAN, China (Reuters) - Zhuang Liehong, a 28-year-old cigarette and liquor salesman, was fed up. Businessmen were seizing land here in Wukan, his hometown fishing village in southern China. Village officials not only didn't help - they had secretly sold the land. Outside authorities did nothing. In 2009, Zhuang and a handful of other young villagers launched what they called the Wukan Hot-Blooded Patriotic Youth League. They began with a petition campaign. It was ignored. An early rally drew few supporters. They kept at it. By the fall of 2011, the village of 15,000 was in open rebellion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to urge high court to allow gay marriage in California Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:30 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In President Barack Obama's latest act in support of gay rights, his administration will urge the U.S. Supreme Court to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California, an administration official said on Thursday. Thursday is the deadline for the administration to file a friend-of-the-court brief in a case that is due to be argued on March 26 on whether California's 2008 law, known as Proposition 8, is unlawful under the U.S. Constitution. The official confirmed an NBC News report of the administration's plans. ... Full Story | Top |
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