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| In abortion debate, both sides point to Philadelphia trial Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:04 PM PDT Full Story | Top |
| Utah excels in economy and business: Chamber of Commerce report Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When it comes to economic growth and business strength, there may be no better U.S. state than Utah, according to a report set to be released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday. The business association found that Utah, population 2.8 million, ranked third among all states in overall economic performance - a measure of how states' economies have fared over time in terms of jobs, gross domestic product, productivity and income. ... Full Story | Top |
| Conservatives turn on anti-EU rival before vote Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:46 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives derided the rival UK Independence Party as a "collection of clowns" on Sunday as they tried to stop supporters switching to the surging anti-European Union movement in local elections this week. Thursday's vote in England and Wales offers parties a chance to test the political climate before a national election in 2015 at a time when Conservative strategists fear UKIP will split the centre-right vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:33 PM PDT By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten killed in battles between armed groups in Mexico: reports Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:25 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ten people were reported killed in clashes on Sunday between armed groups in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, which is plagued by battles between rival drug gangs. Skirmishes broke out in two communities near the town of Apatzingan, a drug gang stronghold, according to local media. State officials could not be immediately reached by Reuters and a federal official could not confirm details of the battles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Millions in CIA "ghost money" paid to Afghan president's office: New York Times Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader. The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting reported near suspected chemical arms site in Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 06:48 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting erupted in Damascus on Sunday near a complex linked to Syria's chemical weapons program, on the third day of an offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces aimed at driving rebels from main sectors of the capital, activists said. The fighting occurred near the Scientific Studies and Research Centre on the foothills of Qasioun Mountain in the northern Barzeh district, opposition sources said from Damascus. ... Full Story | Top |
| London property being snapped up as quickly as before 2007 crisis - Hometrack Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Property in London is being snapped more quickly than at any time since October 2007 when the market hit its peak before the financial crisis, according to figures from real estate data firm Hometrack. Homes in London were typically on the market for 4.6 weeks in April - nearly half the period of more than eight weeks seen at the end of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Sellers achieved more than 95 percent of their asking price, also a level not seen since 2007. Property prices in the capital rose 0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Austerity is hurting our health, say researchers Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday. Detailing a decade of research, Oxford University political economist David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and an epidemiologist at Stanford University, said their findings show austerity is seriously bad for health. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. identifies four American victims in Afghan crash Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon identified four U.S. victims in Saturday's crash of a surveillance aircraft in southern Afghanistan and said the incident appeared unrelated to Taliban violence. The police chief in Zabul province, Rogh Lewanai, told Reuters on Saturday that bad weather caused the plane to crash, in the district of Shahjoi. At the time, NATO did not identify the nationality of the victims but said they were part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The Pentagon said on Sunday the crash of the MC-12 was under investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fire breaks out in Bangladesh building where 377 die Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:17 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers. Police said the owner of the factory, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, as hopes of finding more survivors from the country's worst industrial accident began to fade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers press Obama to take action on Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:06 PM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican senators on Sunday pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria's civil war, saying America could attack Syrian air bases with missiles but should not send in ground troops. Pressure is mounting on the White House to do more to help Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which the Obama administration last week said had probably used chemical arms in the conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bissau leader pledges election by year end Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  BISSAU (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's interim leader returned home on Sunday after weeks abroad seeking medical treatment and pledged to organize elections in his coup-prone nation before the end of the year. President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo refused to comment on this month's U.S. drug sting that targeted his country's top brass, accused of trafficking Latin American cocaine, but said he expected leaders to unite so donors could fund the election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to nominate Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate on Monday Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx to be his next transportation secretary, a White House official said on Sunday. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, who has served as transportation secretary since January 2009. Foxx is African-American and would add to the Obama Cabinet's racial diversity, something the president's supporters have been urging him to do. As Charlotte mayor, Foxx is credited with improving the city's transportation systems. ... Full Story | Top |
| Key Egyptian negotiator with IMF quits Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - A key Egyptian negotiator with the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday he has resigned as first deputy finance minister, in a potential blow to Cairo's prospects of an early IMF deal. Hany Kadry Dimian has been the crucial point man in Egypt's protracted and so far fruitless negotiations to obtain a $4.8 billion loan needed to help combat a severe economic crisis. "The only comment I can make for the time being is that yes, my term ends on April 30 according to my resignation, which I submitted in December," Kadry told Reuters by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry to push demands Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan hopes Russia summit can bring momentum on island dispute Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will revive efforts to end a territorial dispute that has prevented the nations signing a treaty to end World War Two. Japan also expects Russia to present a proposal for Japan's participation in building a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and a planned $38 billion Vladivostok gas hub built by state-controlled Russian export monopoly Gazprom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Greens lurch left in bid to beat Merkel Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens lurched to the left at a party congress in Berlin over the weekend by endorsing a "soak-the-rich" campaign for new taxes, a risky attempt to win power in September's election that upset the party's pragmatist wing. Ignoring warnings against raising too many taxes at once from their most successful leader, Greens state premier Winfried Kretschmann, the 800 delegates voted to push to raise the top income tax rate to 49 percent from 42 percent and introduce an annual 1.5 percent wealth tax on assets above a million euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece passes reform law to unlock more EU/IMF rescue loans Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 01:54 PM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers on Sunday approved a reform law to unlock about 8.8 billion euros ($8.9 billion) of rescue loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The law, which was a condition for further aid installments, passed easily with the solid backing of the three parties comprising Greece's ruling coalition, by 168 to 123 votes. Following parliament's approval, senior euro zone officials will meet on Monday to approve overdue payment of 2.8 billion euros ($3.65 billion) in rescue loans, finance minister Yannis Stournaras said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Far right stumbles again in Austrian state election Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:39 PM PDT  VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's far-right Freedom Party lost ground on Sunday at a third consecutive state election, further clouding its prospects for joining a national coalition after parliamentary elections due by September. Heinz-Christian Strache's Freedom Party - which had stumbled badly in two other state votes this year, including in its heartland of Carinthia - fell below 10 percent in the western province of Tyrol, provisional results showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Authorities seek "persons of interest" in U.S. tied to Boston bombing Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:24 PM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Congressional intelligence leaders said on Sunday that authorities are pursuing "persons of interest" in the United States in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, and asked for more help from Russian spy agencies. Congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Of Representatives intelligence committee said better cooperation from Russia was needed in Washington's probe of the two suspected bombers' recent contacts and activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi backs down, to seek compromise on judges Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and top judges agreed on Sunday to seek a compromise to defuse a battle over Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges that have deeply polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Mursi's Islamist allies had proposed legislation to purge more than 3,000 judges at a stroke by reducing their mandatory retirement age to 60 from 70 to sweep away senior jurists appointed under autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Still stuck on central-bank life support Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:06 PM PDT  By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Five years after the onset of the global financial crisis, the world economy is in such a chronic condition that the European Central Bank might cut interest rates this week and the Federal Reserve is likely to indicate no let-up in the stimulus it is providing the U.S. economy. With the euro zone economy in recession, momentum is building for the ECB to lower interest rates for the first time since July 2012, according to senior sources involved in the deliberations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Boston bomb suspects' parents retreat to village, cancel U.S. trip Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN NORTH CAUCASUS, Russia (Reuters) - The parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have retreated to a village in southern Russia to shelter from the spotlight and abandoned plans for now to travel to the United States, the father of the suspects told Reuters on Sunday. Speaking in the garden of a large house, Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed he would not be allowed to see his surviving son DzhokharŸ, who was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 bomb blasts that killed three people and wounded 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy prosecutors aim to hasten Finmeccanica graft trial: source Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors investigating allegations of corruption by Finmeccanica in the sale of 12 helicopters to India believe their evidence is strong enough to warrant an urgent trial without preliminary proceedings, a legal source with direct knowledge of the situation said. Prosecutors in the city of Busto Arsizio will ask a judge to order that Finmeccanica's former chairman, Giuseppe Orsi, and other suspects skip preliminary hearings and are sent directly to trial, the source said. Pre-trial hearings can last for months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank of Cyprus converts portion of uninsured savings to equity Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:23 AM PDT  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot lender Bank of Cyprus said on Sunday it had carried out a conversion of uninsured cash deposits in the bank into equity, one of the conditions of international lenders to offer the cash-starved island financial aid. The process, known as a 'bail-in', made depositors in the bank pay for its recapitalization, after the institution was hit by massive losses from its exposure to debt-crippled Greece. Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest bank, said it had converted 37.5 percent of deposits exceeding 100,000 euros into "class A" shares, with an additional 22. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iceland seeks end to austerity with new center-right government Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:17 AM PDT  By Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's center-right parties began talks on Sunday to form a new government, promising to end years of austerity and provide debt relief to households, and only arguing about which one of them should lead the government. Fed up with years of belt tightening and soaring debt, Icelanders ousted the Social Democrats on Saturday, handing the biggest defeat to any ruling party since independence from Denmark in 1944 and offering a new chance to the very parties that presided over its economic rise and collapse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two policemen shot as new Italy government sworn in Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:02 AM PDT  By Gavin Jones and Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Enrico Letta was sworn in as Italy's new prime minister on Sunday and immediately faced an emergency after an unemployed man shot two police officers outside his office. The 49 year-old gunman, from the poor southern region of Calabria, told investigators he had planned to attack politicians but had found none within range. One of the officers was shot in the neck, hitting his spinal cord, and he was in a serious condition, surgeons said. The other was shot in the leg. ... Full Story | Top |
| German finance minister calls anti-euro party's policy "insane" Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 10:03 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - A core policy of a new anti-euro party was criticized as "economically insane" by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in an interview published on Sunday. Support for the Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), which wants Germany to quit the euro and reintroduce the deutsche mark, is at 2 percent, according to a survey by Emnid pollsters also released on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senator Paul stirs business ire over blocking of tax treaties Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:56 AM PDT By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Rand Paul is coming under pressure from some multi-national businesses to drop his opposition to tax treaties between the United States and other nations. Citing privacy concerns about Americans' tax data, Paul, a Republican and libertarian, has single-handedly blocked Senate action on treaties with Hungary, Switzerland and Luxembourg that have been signed by authorities on both sides, but have been awaiting Senate review since 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's PM says concerned about claims of torture in UAE Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:32 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron is concerned about allegations that three Britons charged with drug offences in Dubai have been tortured, his office said on Sunday, two days before the president of the United Arab Emirates visits Britain. Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh have been held in the UAE since taking a holiday there in July 2012. Police said they had found a form of synthetic cannabis in their hire car. They are due to hear a verdict in their case on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt opens alcohol-free hotel in popular Red Sea resort Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:26 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian tourism managers celebrated the opening of an alcohol-free hotel at the popular beach resort of Hurghada over the weekend, a move they hoped would lure conservative Muslim tourists to a region popular with foreign and local visitors. Le Roi Hotel is one of the first "dry" hotels to open on Egypt's Red Sea coast, and comes as liberals voice concerns that Islamists who came to power last year were seeking to limit personal freedoms and impose conservative ideology. ... Full Story | Top |
| One year on, France's Hollande says he will weather poll slump Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:17 AM PDT  By Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - France's Francois Hollande said he was undeterred by a first year in power marked by economic slowdown and a record slump in his personal popularity, arguing his 5-year presidency would achieve results over time. In comments to correspondents from Reuters and Agence France Presse a week before the anniversary of his May 2012 election win over Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande shrugged off polls showing his popularity rating around 25 percent, after the sharpest fall for any president in over half a century. "I'm aware how serious the situation is. ... Full Story | Top |
| British PM's party turns on anti-EU rival before vote Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:14 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives derided the rival UK Independence Party as a "collection of clowns" on Sunday as they tried to stop supporters switching to the surging anti-European Union movement in local elections this week. Thursday's vote in England and Wales offers parties a chance to test the political climate before a national election in 2015 at a time when Conservative strategists fear UKIP will split the center-right vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rocky trail for Kremlin's conflict-zone ski resorts Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:13 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel ELBRUS, Russia (Reuters) - Police checkpoints, pot-holed roads and a billboard that shows the Earth in flames and warns "Terrorism is a threat to humanity" might put off visitors to Russia's ski resort at Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe. These days only a handful of the most intrepid skiers and hikers make it to Elbrus, which dominates the North Caucasus region, where Islamist insurgents from ethnic minorities are fighting Russian rule and want to establish an Emirate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court may limit use of race in college admission decisions Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:09 AM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court set the terms for boosting college admissions of African Americans and other minorities, the court may be about to issue a ruling that could restrict universities' use of race in deciding who is awarded places. The case before the justices was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white suburban Houston student who asserted she was wrongly rejected by the University of Texas at Austin while minority students with similar grades and test scores were admitted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy gunman wanted to shoot politicians: prosecutor Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 08:05 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - The gunman who shot two police officers and a passerby outside the Italian prime minister's office in Rome on Sunday told investigators he had acted out of anger with politicians, one of the prosecutors working on the case said. "His intention was to strike politicians, deputy Rome prosecutor Pierfilippo Laviani told reporters after the shooting, which took place as the new government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta was being sworn in at the nearby presidential palace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algeria president shows no permanent damage from minor stroke: APS Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  By Lamine Chikhi and Hamid Ould Ahmed ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was transferred to France for medical tests on Saturday night after suffering a minor stroke that Algeria's official news agency said had caused no permanent damage. Bouteflika, who has ruled over the North African oil and gas producer for more than a decade, had a "transient ischemic attack" or mini-stroke on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudanese protesters stone government convoy after rebel attack Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:36 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Residents of a provincial Sudanese city set government offices on fire and threw rocks at local officials on Sunday, accusing them of failing to protect them from a rebel attack the day before, witnesses said. Insurgents from Sudan's Darfur region stormed Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state on Saturday, witnesses said. State media said late in the evening authorities had regained control of the city, located some 500 km (300 miles) from Khartoum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court orders detention of Bosnia federation head in graft probe Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:34 AM PDT  SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A Bosnian court on Sunday ordered that the president of the country's autonomous Muslim-Croat federation and four other officials be detained for a month after prosecutors said they took bribes to arrange pardons for convicts. Federation President Zivko Budimir was arrested on Friday along with 19 others in the most high-profile anti-corruption drive in Bosnia since independence more than two decades ago. ... Full Story | Top |
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