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| George Zimmerman's brother says Twitter rant a "mistake" Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 08:25 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The brother of George Zimmerman, the man charged in the 2012 shooting death of unarmed black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, said on Wednesday he was wrong to tweet a series of racially charged comments about his brother's case. "I made a mistake," Robert Zimmerman Jr. said during an appearance on CNN's Piers Morgan Live. "It unfortunately may not have helped George." George Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder for killing Martin, who was 17, after an altercation in a residential neighborhood in Sanford, Florida. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to cut all channels with South Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - Reclusive North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment", it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack. The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to "hostile" military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea. The North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite threats, North Korea keeps border factories open Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 08:13 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - A heavily armed border crossing between North and South Korea that allows the North access to $2 billion in trade a year, one of its few avenues to foreign currency, remained open on Thursday despite Pyongyang's move to cut communications. North Korea on Wednesday severed the last of three telephone hotlines with South Korea as it readied its troops to face what it believes to be "hostile" action from Seoul and Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston Mayor Menino will not seek sixth term: Boston Globe Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston Mayor Tom Menino, a Democrat who has run the city for almost two decades, will not seek a sixth term, the Boston Globe reported on its website Wednesday night. Menino will announce his decision at a Thursday afternoon news conference, the newspaper said. Staff at the mayor's office could not be reached for immediate comment. The 70-year-old mayor was hospitalized for a month last year for a virus and back pain that cut short an Italian vacation. ... Full Story | Top |
| JP Morgan names Guyett, Priestley as new regional CEOs in Asia Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  (Reuters) - JP Morgan Chase & Co has named Greg Guyett and Rob Priestley as its new chief executives for the Greater China and ASEAN regions, respectively, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters on Thursday. These appointments follow a global restructuring of JP Morgan that began last summer, which saw the firm combine its corporate and investment banking operations into a single unit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nations close to deal on U.N. arms trade treaty: envoys Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:39 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations members on Wednesday were close to a deal on the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, though delegates and rights groups said India, Iran or others could still block agreement. Arms control campaigners and human rights groups say one person dies every minute worldwide as a result of armed violence and a treaty is needed to halt the uncontrolled flow of arms and ammunition they say fuels wars, atrocities and rights abuses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida officials push for answers at boys' school graveyard Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:19 PM PDT By Bill Cotterell MARIANNA, Florida (Reuters) - Florida officials said on Wednesday they will seek federal money for a forensic investigation into unmarked graves on the grounds of a shuttered state reform school for boys that has been the target of numerous allegations of abuse and mysterious deaths of children. Dozens of unmarked graves have been uncovered at the Dozier School in the Florida Panhandle city of Marianna and investigators are trying to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths, which experts say probably occurred between 1914 and 1952. ... Full Story | Top |
| Documents show Arizona gunman's father had taken away his shotgun Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:02 PM PDT  By Brad Poole TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - The father of the man who wounded former U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in a 2011 mass shooting told police that before the rampage he had taken a shotgun from his mentally disturbed son and locked it in the trunk of a car, investigators said in documents released on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate candidates in Massachusetts spar on abortion, gay marriage Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:21 PM PDT By Scott Malone NEEDHAM, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The five candidates running for Massachusetts' open seat in the Senate sparred on social issues on Wednesday, staking out opposing views on abortion and gay marriage in the first debate to feature candidates from both parties. But even those who took more conservative stances tried to draw a line between their personal beliefs and existing laws, in a nod to the liberal views of many of the New England state's voters. On the Republican side, former Boston U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal government says no risk Cyprus deal can be template Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:19 PM PDT LISBON (Reuters) - The Portuguese government ruled out any chance of a tax on bank deposits under a bailout for Cyprus being used as a template for other euro zone states, and said its own depositors remain confident in Portuguese banks. "The Cyprus case in unique. There is no risk whatsoever, and this has been said by more than one European official, no risk that this solution may be generalized," Luis Marques Guedes, state secretary for cabinet matters, told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tensions in Cyprus over bailout underscore pitfalls ahead Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:19 PM PDT By Michele Kambas and Laura Noonan NICOSIA (Reuters) - The ink is barely dry on a deal struck in Brussels to save Cyprus from bankruptcy, but rising tension between the island's conservative president and the Communist-appointed governor of the central bank foreshadow difficulties ahead. Thinly veiled disdain for governor Panicos Demetriades expressed by officials close to President Nicos Anastasiades has reinforced the perception of a Cypriot leadership reeling under the backlash against an unpopular, last-minute accord hammered out in fraught negotiations in Brussels. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus to cap cash withdrawals, scrutinise transactions Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:19 PM PDT NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus will limit the use of cheques to businesses, cap cash withdrawals to 300 euros per day and scrutinise all commercial transactions over 5,000 euros when banks reopen on Thursday, a Central Bank official said. Yiangos Demetriou, head of internal audit at the Central Bank, said the controls would allow unlimited use of credit cards within Cyprus, but set a limit of 5,000 euros ($6,400) per month abroad. He said the measures would remain in place for four days, contradicting an earlier report by the Athens newspaper Kathimerini that the controls would last seven days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cypriot banks to reopen at 6:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday: central bank Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:19 PM PDT NICOSIA (Reuters) - Banks in Cyprus will reopen at midday (6:00 a.m. EDT) on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the island's Central Bank said, 10 days after they closed their doors to avert a run on deposits. The spokeswoman said banks would open their doors between midday and 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). The Cypriot authorities are expected later on Wednesday to detail the capital controls they plan to impose to prevent a flight of funds. (Reporting by Michele Kambas; Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Giles Elgood) Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus reopens banks, under strict restrictions Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:19 PM PDT  By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriots are expected to descend in their thousands on Thursday on banks, which reopen with tight controls imposed on transactions to prevent fleeing depositors from cleaning out the vaults in a catastrophic bank run. The east Mediterranean island fears a stampede at banks almost two weeks after they were shut by the government as it negotiated a 10 billion euro ($12.78 billion) bailout package with the European Union to escape financial meltdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Chilean leader Bachelet seeking presidential comeback Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:01 PM PDT  By Alexandra Ulmer SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet ended months of speculation late on Wednesday by announcing she will run in a November presidential election that she is favored to win. A popular center-leftist who ruled the copper-exporting nation from 2006 to 2010, Bachelet will likely face a candidate from the right-wing bloc of President Sebastian Pinera, who is barred from seeking a consecutive term under the constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Banks seek to expand presence in Canada, Flaherty says Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:48 PM PDT OTTAWA (Reuters) - Banks are lining up to expand their presence in Canada, and the government welcomes this as a way of fostering competition, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday. "Banks that have already established themselves in Canada as something less than the chartered bank level seek to move up the chain," Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa by telephone from Thailand, where he is promoting Canadian financial institutions. "We are interested in expanding the availability of bank products in Canada, and there are a number of pending applications. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Supreme Court energizes gay rights even as it resists Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:28 PM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After two days of Supreme Court arguments over same-sex marriage, the United States may be left with this irony: While the high court is not likely to alter the constitutional landscape for gays, the justices nevertheless have provided a rallying point for the gay-rights cause. Three major legal outcomes appeared likely as the justices on Wednesday ended the second dramatic day of arguments in the most closely watched dispute of their current term: * The court would not rule that gay people need special constitutional protection from discrimination. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP to go ahead with $500 million North Sea investment Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:08 PM PDT  By Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - British Oil major BP is to proceed with a $500 million (330.4 million pounds)-plus investment plan in the remote Shetland Islands, another shot in the arm for North Sea oil. Though North Sea production has fallen by about two thirds since 2000 and a surprise tax increase in 2011 led to dire predictions about the region's future, industry body Oil & Gas UK in February forecast a pick-up in production from 2014, fuelled by a surge in investment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawyers for accused Colorado theater gunman offer guilty plea Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:06 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman Chris Frantz DENVER (Reuters) - Defense attorneys for the former graduate student accused of killing 12 people at a Denver area movie theater last July have offered to have him plead guilty in exchange for a life prison term, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. Public defenders for James Holmes, 25, said in the Arapahoe County District Court filing that prosecutors have so far not accepted the offer, which would spare their client the death penalty in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans in Massachusetts Senate race debate abortion, Social Security Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:59 PM PDT By Scott Malone NEEDHAM, Massachusetts (Reuters) - The three Republicans seeking to fill Massachusetts' open seat in the Senate sparred over social issues on Wednesday, staking out opposing views on abortion and social programs in the first debate to feature candidates from both parties. The Republican front-runner Michael Sullivan, a former U.S. Attorney in Boston, was the sole candidate from his party to say he opposed abortion while rivals Daniel Winslow, a state representative, and Gabriel Gomez, a private equity executive, said they supported abortion rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain opens inquest into Berezovsky's unexplained death Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina LONDON (Reuters) - Britain opens a judicial inquiry into the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Thursday to establish how he died in the locked bathroom of his vast mansion near London. Berezovsky, who survived years of intrigue, power struggles and assassination attempts in Russia, was found dead on Saturday in his home in Ascot, a town close to Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle. Police said there was no sign of a struggle and the 67-year-old's death was "consistent with hanging", suggesting he might have killed himself. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Chicago, thousands march to protest proposed school closings Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:54 PM PDT  By Renita Young and James B. Kelleher CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators rallied in downtown Chicago on Wednesday to protest the city's plan to close 54 public schools, primarily in Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods. The closings, which the school board plans to vote on in May, would be the biggest one-time shutdown ever by a U.S. city. Wednesday's demonstration, organized by the teacher's union, drew parents, students and other critics of the plan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Next step in Obama charm offensive: Dinner with Republican senators Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:51 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will launch a new round of schmoozing with his political opponents when he sits down to dinner with a dozen Republican senators on April 10. Obama has been trying to gain Republican cooperation on a host of items on his second-term agenda including a deficit-reduction package, an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws and a tightening of gun regulations. Criticized in his first term for keeping his opponents at arms-length, Obama is taking a different tack in the early months of his second term. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council concerned Syria war spilling over into Golan Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:23 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voiced concern on Wednesday about repeated violations of the ceasefire line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the danger to U.N. peacekeepers there due to the escalating Syrian civil war. The armed struggle between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has posed increasing difficulties for the 1,000-strong U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). U.N. peacekeepers monitoring the line halted patrols this month after rebels held 21 Filipino observers for three days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eritrean man gets 9 years in prison for aiding Somalia's al Shabaab Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:18 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - An Eritrean man who admitted to having ties to the al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab was sentenced on Wednesday to 9-1/4 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan said. Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to provide material support to al Shabaab, and to conspiring to receive military-type training from the group. Ahmed, 38, was arrested in Nigeria in November 2009 and brought to Manhattan federal court to face U.S. terrorism charges in March 2010. He is an Eritrean national and a permanent resident of Sweden. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arkansas Senate votes to override veto of voter ID bill Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled Arkansas Senate voted 21-12 on Wednesday to override a veto by the state's Democrat governor of a bill that would require voters to show photo identification. The measure would become law if the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives also votes to override Governor Mike Beebe's veto. In Arkansas, lawmakers can override a veto by a simple majority in each chamber. This year, state lawmakers have overridden two vetoes of bills that restrict abortion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition opens first embassy, says world lets it down Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  By Yara Bayoumy and Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - A Syrian opposition bloc recognized by the Arab League as the sole representative for Syria opened its first embassy in Qatar on Wednesday in a diplomatic blow to President Bashar al-Assad. But opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib, who took Syria's seat at an Arab summit in Doha on Tuesday, used the ribbon-cutting ceremony to voice his frustration with world powers for failing to do more to help in the two-year-old struggle to topple Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Supreme Court indicates it may strike down marriage law Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:00 PM PDT By Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court seemed to be leaning on Wednesday toward striking down a law that denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples in a move that would reflect a shift in Americans' attitudes about gay marriage. In a second day of oral arguments on same-sex marriage, a majority of the court raised serious concerns with the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, enacted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sanctions noose makes it harder for Japan's Koreans to help their own Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park TOKYO (Reuters) - When the now elderly man left Japan on a Soviet ship in 1960 for North Korea, he thought he was headed to the promised land. In reality, he survived 47 years there thanks only to $1 million in support from his half-brother in Japan. The man's Korean-born parents decided to migrate to North Korea when he was a teenager, lured by the promise of free education and healthcare in a country that at the time was richer than South Korea in the wake of the 1950-53 Korean War. ... Full Story | Top |
| State budget officers seek overhaul of university funding Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 03:43 PM PDT  By Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public colleges and universities face a funding crunch, state budget officers from across the country said on Wednesday, as the fiscal watchdogs called for reforms and even broached the possibility of boosting state spending to limit tuition increases. The National Association of State Budget Officers joined a chorus of voices calling to make college affordable and also suggested increased state spending could keep tuition in check. State budget officers rarely advocate for appropriations or policy. "Resources for the states are getting tighter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senators say they expect to deliver immigration bill Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 03:36 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor NOGALES, Ariz (Reuters) - Members of a bipartisan group of eight Senators took their quest for a deal on immigration reform to the Arizona-Mexico border on Wednesday where they said they were on track to deliver a bill when Congress resumes next month. The senators - New York Democrat Charles Schumer, Arizona Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake and Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet - toured a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border where many foreigners have entered the United States illegally. ... Full Story | Top |
| Actress Ashley Judd opts not to enter Kentucky Senate race Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 03:29 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Actress Ashley Judd's next role will not be as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Judd said on Wednesday she has decided not to run in 2014 to try to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, after considering such a candidacy for months. "After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities & energy at this time need to be focused on my family," she wrote on Twitter. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. law to restrict government purchases of Chinese IT equipment Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh and Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress quietly tucked in a new cyber-espionage review process for U.S. government technology purchases into the funding law signed this week by President Barack Obama, reflecting growing U.S. concern over Chinese cyber attacks. The law prevents NASA, and the Justice and Commerce Departments from buying information technology systems unless federal law enforcement officials give their OK. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York City marks 10th anniversary of smoking ban Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:40 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg marked the tenth anniversary on Wednesday of his ban on smoking in bars and restaurants with a report saying the ban and subsequent anti-smoking measures had prevented 10,000 premature deaths. "Ten years ago when New York City prohibited smoking in restaurants and bars, many predicted the end of the hospitality, restaurant and tourism industries," Bloomberg said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| First female Secret Service director sworn in at White House Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:33 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first female director of the U.S. Secret Service, Julia Pierson, was sworn in at the White House on Wednesday during a short ceremony that marked a historic shift for the agency charged with protecting the president. Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath of office to Pierson, with President Barack Obama standing at their side. "Obviously, she's breaking the mold in terms of directors of the agency, and I think that people are all extraordinarily proud of her," Obama told reporters at the end of the ceremony. ... Full Story | Top |
| JPMorgan risk disclosures fell short for regulators: documents Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:23 PM PDT  By David Henry and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - For months after JPMorgan Chase & Co executives first admitted that they had wrongly brushed off questions about the "London Whale" derivatives losses, officials at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pressed the company to disclose more to investors about risks it was taking. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Hampshire House votes to repeal "stand your ground" law Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:11 PM PDT By Jason McLure LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New Hampshire's Democrat-controlled House of Representatives narrowly voted on Wednesday to repeal a controversial 2011 law that expanded the rights of citizens to use deadly force rather than retreat when they felt threatened. The National Rifle Association and gun rights supporters had campaigned to defeat the bill repealing the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, arguing the change would embolden criminals and lead to greater violence against women. The bill passed by a roll call vote of 189-184 after a heated debate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy politics still stuck as Bersani to face president Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:51 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani was left on Wednesday with only slim hope of forming a government after talks with rival party leaders ended with rejection from Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement. Bersani said he would report back to President Giorgio Napolitano on Thursday and called on all parties to "accept their responsibilities" and allow a government to be formed. ... Full Story | Top |
| From Dumbledore to Nutella, gay marriage signs play for laughs Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:39 PM PDT  By Joseph Ax WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amid the debates over gay marriage, Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act this week in Washington, there was another contest going on outside the U.S. Supreme Court: who could make the best sign. There were entries aimed at the legal nerd, like the sign one woman carried that punned, "Lesbians Love Boies," in reference to lawyer David Boies, who argued in support of gay marriage on Tuesday. A group of Georgetown law students wrote a legal "brief," complete with citations, on four posters and stood holding them side-by-side on the steps. ... Full Story | Top |
| Internet slowed by cyber attack on spam blocker Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:32 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - One of the largest ever cyber attacks is slowing global internet services and the disruption could get worse, experts said on Wednesday, after an organization blocking "spam" content became a target. Spamhaus, a London and Geneva-based non-profit group which helps weed out unsolicited "spam" messages for email providers, said it had been subjected to "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attacks on an unprecedented scale for more than a week. ... Full Story | Top |
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