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| Indonesia should ban all private cars from using subsidized fuel: adviser Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By Randy Fabi and Janeman Latul TANJUNG BENOA, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia should slap a nationwide ban on the use of subsidized fuel by the country's 11 million private cars, a move that would save the government $8.6 billion this year and erase a widening fiscal deficit, a presidential adviser said. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is struggling to find a way to deal with runaway fuel subsidy costs that now account for more than 30 percent of state spending and are draining funds that should be used for much-need infrastructure in Southeast Asia's largest economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian-American crew taking short cut to space station Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:46 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman and Irene Klotz MOSCOW/CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut took a short cut to the International Space Station on Thursday, arriving at the orbital outpost less than six hours after their Soyuz capsule blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The express route, used for the first time to fly a crew to the station, shaved about 45 hours off the usual ride, allowing NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin to get a jumpstart on their planned 5.5-month mission. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors reject plea offer of accused Colorado theater shooter: report Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:35 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Prosecutors have rejected the plea offer of the man accused of gunning down 12 people in a Colorado movie theater last July, saying his defense team's offer of a guilty plea in exchange for avoiding the death penalty was not legitimate, the Denver Post newspaper reported on Thursday. "There is not — and has never been — an actual or unqualified 'offer' to plead guilty," prosecutors wrote in court documents released on Thursday, according to the paper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran, North Korea, Syria block U.N. arms trade treaty Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, Syria and North Korea on Friday prevented the adoption of the first international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade, complaining that it was flawed and failed to ban weapons sales to rebel groups. To get around the blockade, British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant sent the draft treaty to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and asked him on behalf of Mexico, Australia and a number of others to put it to a swift vote in the General Assembly. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea readies rockets after U.S. show of force Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:07 PM PDT  By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its missile units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", the official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suspect in Colorado prison chief killing spent bulk of sentence in solitary Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 08:05 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A parolee suspected of killing Colorado's prisons chief spent most of his eight-year prison sentence in solitary confinement for assaulting and threatening to kill jailers and fighting with other inmates, prison records made public on Thursday showed. Evan Spencer Ebel incurred 28 disciplinary infractions in the five state prisons where has housed between 2005 and his mandatory parole in January, the Colorado Department of Corrections said in a statement accompanying the records. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea pushes up state of missile site readiness: report Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 07:45 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Increased activities involving vehicles and troops at North Korea's mid- and long-range missile units have been detected by South Korea's military, Yonhap news agency said on Friday, just hours after the North's leader ordered rocket units to be ready to attack U.S. bases. "Sharply increased movements of vehicles and soldiers have been detected recently at North Korea's mid and long-range missile sites," South Korea's Yonhap news quoted a military source as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| For first time, Nevada legislature ousts lawmaker after arrests Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 07:32 PM PDT  By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - The Nevada State Assembly expelled Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks on Thursday after he was arrested twice this year, in the first time the chamber ousted a member in the history of the state legislature. Brooks' expulsion was approved by a voice vote and the ouster was effective immediately. Lawmakers who spoke on Thursday before the vote did not say why they were moving to expel Brooks. The action came a day after a Nevada Assembly Select Committee met behind closed doors and voted 6-1 to recommend the lawmaker's ouster. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer fails to end lawsuit over Bextra, Celebrex safety Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:57 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc has failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit accusing the company of fraudulently misrepresenting the safety of its Celebrex and Bextra pain-relieving drugs. While dismissing some of the claims, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan said a reasonable jury could find that Pfizer and several top executives intended to mislead shareholders about the drugs' cardiovascular risks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former Pennsylvania state trooper kills wife then himself Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:57 PM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A former Pennsylvania state trooper killed his estranged wife on Thursday before taking his own life in a Decatur Township grocery store, according to state police and local media. Investigators said Mark Miscavish, 51, went to the County Market, where his wife Traci worked, found her in an upstairs office and shot her with a shotgun before shooting himself at about 10 a.m. Traci Miscavish, 49, filed for divorce on Friday, according to Centredaily.com. Her husband was a state policeman for 15 years, the Web site said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama makes impassioned plea for gun control legislation Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:39 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama attempted on Thursday to inject fresh momentum into efforts to pass gun-control legislation, pleading with U.S. lawmakers not to forget those shot to death in Newtown, Connecticut three months ago. Amid signs that he may have to accept a scaled-down version of gun legislation, Obama sounded a note of frustration in calling upon Americans to demand action from the U.S. Congress in the weeks ahead. He said the legislation's opponents, the powerful U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan says 150 killed in battle with rebels Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:34 PM PDT  JUBA (Reuters) - More than 150 people have been killed in a battle between South Sudan's army and insurgents in the eastern Jonglei state, officials said on Thursday. The African country's army earlier this month launched an offensive against rebels led by David Yau Yau in Jonglei where the government hopes to search for oil with the help of France's Total. Since winning independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan has been struggling to impose its authority across vast swathes of territory bristling with weapons after decades of civil war with Khartoum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors say lawyers for Holmes have not made legitimate plea offer Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:29 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Thursday that lawyers for a former graduate student accused of killing 12 people at a Colorado movie theater last July have not made a legitimate offer to have him plead guilty in the case, the Denver Post newspaper reported on Thursday. Arapahoe County prosecutors made the assertion in court papers responding to a defense motion filed by attorneys for James Holmes, in which the defense said that Holmes was willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life prison term. ... Full Story | Top |
| North readies rockets after U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:18 PM PDT By David Chance and Phil Stewart SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea put its rocket units on standby on Friday to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific, after the United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers over the Korean peninsula in a rare show of force. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation", official KCNA news agency said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. nominates Breedlove as top NATO commander Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama nominated U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove on Thursday to become NATO's top military commander, a key role as NATO aims to wind down an 11-year-old combat mission in Afghanistan that has tested the resolve of allies. Breedlove, whose nomination was widely expected and endorsed by ambassadors from the 28 NATO allies, would succeed Admiral James Stavridis as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe. His appointment requires U.S. Senate confirmation. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge rejects defense arguments in BNY Mellon forex case Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:09 PM PDT By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said on Thursday he was sympathetic to the U.S. government's use of a 1989 law against Bank of New York Mellon Corp in a lawsuit accusing it of overcharging clients for trading currencies The arguments before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan were a test of the U.S. Justice Department's use of a powerful law born out of the savings-and-loan crisis. The law, known as the Financial Institutional Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, is at the heart of a series of civil lawsuits filed in the wake of the recent financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Newtown school gunman fired 154 rounds in less than 5 minutes Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:02 PM PDT  By Mary Ellen Clark and Noreen O'Donnell MERIDEN/NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - The gunman who killed 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school fired 154 rounds in less than 5 minutes, selecting high capacity magazines from a home arsenal stocked with swords, knives and a cache of guns, officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea leader orders rocket units on standby to hit U.S. bases: KCNA Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 04:00 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the country's rocket units to be on standby to attack U.S. military bases in South Korea and the Pacific in an emergency meeting on Friday after the United States flew Stealth bombers in a show of force to Pyongyang. The North's official KCNA news agency said Kim signed off on the orders at a midnight meeting of top generals and "judged the time has come to settle accounts with the U.S. imperialists in view of the prevailing situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Gay marriage rights may carry bigger U.S. tax burden for some Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:48 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down a federal law defining marriage as between a man and woman, the newfound rights for gay married couples may bear something not so welcome - a bigger tax burden. That's because with equality, gay couples will face the same tax woes of many heterosexual couples with similar incomes, including the tax hit known in America as the marriage penalty. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nevada legislature ousts lawmaker, as "personal matters" cited Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:42 PM PDT By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - The Nevada State Assembly voted on Thursday to expel Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks, in the first ouster of its kind in the history of the state legislature. Brooks had been on administrative leave from the Assembly since just one week after the legislature convened on February 4, after he was arrested twice in separate incidents in January and February. In January, Brooks was jailed on suspicion of leveling a death threat against the incoming Assembly speaker, Marilyn Kirkpatrick, a Democrat from North Las Vegas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hawaiians are laid back about North Korean threats Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:39 PM PDT  By Suzanne Roig HONOLULU (Reuters) - When Japanese warplanes strafed the USS Honolulu in the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Navy sailor Ray Emory fired back with a machine gun, so the World War Two veteran knows all about being on the front line of America's defenses. But North Korea's latest threats of a pre-emptive nuclear strike and rocket attacks on Hawaii do not faze him. "They're not gonna do anything," Emory, 91, said at his Honolulu home. "They can't even control their missiles. North Korea doesn't bother me. It really doesn't," he added. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spy who foiled jet bomb plot to be MI5 chief Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:37 PM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - A British counterspy who helped to thwart an al Qaeda plot to blow up planes with explosives hidden in soft drink bottles and led the response to the 2005 London transport bombings will be the new head of MI5, the government said on Thursday. Andrew Parker has three decades' experience at MI5, countering Islamist militants, violent Irish republicans and organised criminals. He has been deputy chief since 2007, and once served as a British security liaison in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| France says too early to send arms to Syria rebels Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:33 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that the situation in Syria was still too unsure to start supplying weapons to opposition rebels, an idea France backs in the longer term. France and Britain are both pressing for the relaxation of an arms embargo on Syria so that arms can flow to outgunned rebels waging a two-year-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The embargo expires on June 1 and both countries say it should be allowed to lapse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Animal rights groups sue FDA over egg labeling concerns Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:32 PM PDT (Reuters) - Animal rights advocates on Thursday sued U.S. regulators to correct what they say is misleading labeling on cartons of eggs that come from caged hens. The lawsuit comes more than seven years after animal rights groups started petitioning the federal government to take action, with no success. The suit, filed in U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon revises unpaid leave plan for civilian workers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:31 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday that most of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees would be placed on unpaid leave for only 14 days this year instead of 22 after Congress approved a measure easing pressure on the department's budget. "We are going to be able to reduce and delay ... but not eliminate furloughs," Hagel told a Pentagon news conference. "Right now it looks as though we'll be able to go from an original estimate of 22 days to 14." Under the current plan, workers would be notified of their unpaid leave in early May. ... Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande hits companies with 75 percent wealth tax Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:28 PM PDT  By Catherine Bremer and Nicholas Vinocur PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande declared on Thursday that companies would have to pay a 75 percent tax on salaries over a million euros after his plan for a "super-tax" on individuals was knocked down by the constitutional court. Hollande, battling to win back support as his economic goals fall away within a year of his election, said shifting the millionaires' tax onto companies would be a way of getting the wealthiest French to contribute to ending the crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia to fight move by Syrian opposition to take Syria's U.N. seat Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:27 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia vowed on Thursday to oppose an expected push by the Syrian opposition to take over Syria's seat at the United Nations and predicted that any Syrian National Coalition bid at the world body would fail. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, made the comment to reporters after Moscow criticized the Arab League for giving Syria's seat to the opposition at a league summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Arab League had abandoned hope for a peaceful end to Syria's 2-year civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former U.S. soldier accused of fighting with al Qaeda in Syria Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:27 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. soldier was arrested and charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting with an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria against the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday. Eric Harroun, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, was accused of fighting with the al-Nusrah Front, also known as al Qaeda in Iraq, which is designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the FBI said in a joint statement. Even as U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spy who foiled jet bomb plot to be Britain's intelligence chief Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:25 PM PDT  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - A British counterspy who helped to thwart an al Qaeda plot to blow up planes with explosives hidden in soft drink bottles and led the response to the 2005 London transport bombings will be the new head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency, the U.K. government said on Thursday. Andrew Parker has three decades' experience at the Security Service, known as MI5, countering Islamist militants, violent Irish republicans and organized criminals. He has been deputy chief since 2007, and once served as a British security liaison in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britons in aid convoy briefly kidnapped in Libya Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:24 PM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Five British nationals who were part of an aid convoy passing through Libya on the way to Gaza were briefly kidnapped by an armed group, and one was sexually assaulted, security officials said on Thursday. The incident happened in the eastern city of Benghazi early on Wednesday morning and the group was released several hours later. They were now with the Turkish consul in Benghazi, Libyan security officials said. "They were on their way to Benghazi airport when they were stopped shortly after passing a checkpoint manned by the national army. ... Full Story | Top |
| Organized labor says closer to deal on immigration reform Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:03 PM PDT By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. labor unions said on Thursday they were closer to resolving problems with wages for future unskilled immigrant workers like janitors and housekeepers - an issue that has stalled progress on a U.S. Senate proposal to overhaul the immigration system. "We have moved off poverty level wages and are moving forward and are working on a standard that will protect U.S. workers," said Andrea Zuniga DiBitetto, legislative representative for the biggest union the AFL-CIO. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. flies stealth bombers over South Korea in warning to North Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:02 PM PDT  By David Chance SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States flew two nuclear-capable stealth bombers on practice runs over South Korea on Thursday, in a rare show of force following a series of North Korean threats that the Pentagon said have set Pyongyang on a dangerous path. The drill by the two B-2 Spirit bombers - flying all the way from the United States and back - appeared to be the first exercise of its kind and showed America's ability to conduct long-range, precision strikes "quickly and at will," the U.S. military said. The bomber flights, and the unusual public announcement of them by the ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. debates how severely to penalize Russia in human rights spat Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 03:00 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a controversy underscoring continued stresses in U.S.-Russia relations, Obama administration officials are debating how many Russian officials to ban from the United States under a new law meant to penalize Moscow for alleged human rights abuses. The debate's outcome, expected in about two weeks, is likely to illustrate how President Barack Obama will handle what critics say is a crackdown on dissent in Russia and set the tone for Washington-Moscow relations in the president's second term. ... Full Story | Top |
| French defense spend flat in 2014: Hollande Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:49 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday there would be no cuts to the country's 31-billion-euro annual defense budget next year despite pressure to save billions of euros in public spending. Hollande's Socialist government is eyeing its defense budget as it struggles to pare down a large public spending bill and meet public deficit targets, telling ministries they must save an extra 5 billion euros in 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chief Justice Roberts a victim of credit card fraud Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief Justice John Roberts, who spent the last two days presiding over high-profile oral arguments on gay marriage, has been a victim of credit card fraud, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said on Thursday. Roberts' credit card problem was first reported by the Washington Post in a story that said the chief justice was heard talking about it in a suburban Maryland Starbucks on Tuesday morning. That was the day the court weighed the validity of Proposition 8, a California ban on gay marriage. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sharapova into Sony Open final, Murray to semis Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:43 PM PDT  MIAMI (Reuters) - Russia's Maria Sharapova demolished Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-2 6-1 on Thursday to book her place in the final of the Sony Open, one of the few titles missing from her CV. Britain's Andy Murray was also in great form, defeating Croatia's Marin Cilic 6-4 6-3 to reach the semi-finals of the men's draw. Sharapova, an impressive winner at this month's Indian Wells event in California, extended her winning streak to 11 matches with a lopsided win in just over an hour against Jankovic, a former world number struggling to regain her best. ... Full Story | Top |
| Landslide in Washington state destroys two homes Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:28 PM PDT By Laura L. Myers SEATTLE (Reuters) - A 1,000-foot landslide that tore off a chunk of a subdivision on Washington state's Whidbey Island, north of Seattle, has now destroyed at least two homes and left several others in imminent danger, a county commissioner said on Thursday. The landslide first hit the Ledgewood Beach community about 50 miles north of Seattle at 4:15 a.m. local time on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| France to cut Mali troops to 1,000 by year-end Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:10 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - France will reduce its troop numbers in Mali to 2,000 by July and to 1,000 by the end of the year, down from 4,000 at present, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday. After its intervention in January to halt an advance by northern al Qaeda-linked rebels towards the capital Bamako, France is keen to wind down its presence quickly and hand over to African and U.N. troops. Hollande said France was determined that Mali should hold elections as scheduled in July but insisted that France did not have a preferred candidate. ... Full Story | Top |
| End of the road for Boston's longest-serving mayor Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 02:05 PM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - The longest-serving mayor in Boston history told voters on Thursday that he would not seek a sixth term in office, setting the stage for the city's most competitive mayoral race in decades. Mayor Tom Menino, 70, declared his intention not to seek reelection to the office he has held since 1993 at Boston's historic Fanueil Hall. "I never dreamed I would end up here, mayor of Boston, during its best years," said Menino, who was hospitalized for a month last year after falling ill while on vacation in Italy. ... Full Story | Top |
| More than 300,000 homes are foreclosed "zombies," study says Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 01:59 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A national survey found 301,874 "zombie" properties dotting the U.S. landscape in which homeowners in foreclosure have moved out, leaving vacant property susceptible to vandalism and degradation. Florida tops the list of zombie properties with 90,556 vacant homes in foreclosure, according to a foreclosure inventory released on Thursday by RealtyTrac, a real estate information company in Irvine, California. Illinois and California ranked a distant second and third with 31,668 and 28,821 zombie properties respectively on the list. ... Full Story | Top |
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