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| U.S. suspects Syria used chemical weapons, wants proof Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 09:06 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad had probably used chemical weapons on a small scale in the country's civil war, but insisted that President Barack Obama needed definitive proof before he would take action. The disclosure created a quandary for Obama, who has set the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" that Assad must not cross. It triggered calls from some hawkish Washington lawmakers for a U.S. military response, which the president has resisted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Capriles to challenge Venezuela election in court Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 08:58 PM PDT  By Daniel Wallis and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles said on Thursday he will challenge President Nicolas Maduro's narrow election victory in the courts and that an audit of the vote being prepared by electoral authorities risked being "a joke." Maduro, the hand-picked successor of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, won the April 14 vote by less than 2 percentage points. The opposition says there were thousands of irregularities in the election and that their figures show Capriles won. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. seizes on ruling to boost Wells Fargo mortgage fraud case Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 08:26 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Justice Department has promptly capitalized on a court victory to bolster a case before another federal judge, citing a ruling on Wednesday that endorsed the agency's use of a little known financial fraud law to prosecute bank actions during the financial crisis. In a letter made public on Thursday, the agency told District Judge Jesse Furman on Wednesday that the ruling is one reason why its mortgage-fraud case against Wells Fargo & Co should not be dismissed. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida ordered to improve access to jobless benefits Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 08:04 PM PDT  By Tom Brown MIAMI (Reuters) - The Department of Labor has ordered Florida to improve access to jobless benefits for people with disabilities or limited English proficiency in a ruling that could help make the state's unemployment insurance program more accessible to everyone, employment rights and legal advocacy groups said on Thursday. "This is a huge victory," Valory Greenfield, an attorney for the non-profit Florida Legal Services, said of the Labor Department ruling. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate passes bill to end air traffic control furloughs Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:54 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan and Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate moved quickly late on Thursday to end air traffic controller furloughs that were causing widespread airline flight delays related to last month's automatic federal spending cuts. Without any debate, the Senate unanimously passed legislation giving the Department of Transportation flexibility to use unspent funds to cover the costs of air traffic controllers and other essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston suspects had "spontaneous" bomb plan for New York Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:49 PM PDT  By Edith Honan and Mark Hosenball NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two brothers suspected of carrying out last week's deadly Boston Marathon bombing decided, after the FBI released photos of them, to drive to Manhattan and detonate more explosives in Times Square, New York City officials said on Thursday. Their plan unraveled when they realized a Mercedes sport utility vehicle they had hijacked on April 18, three days after the Boston bombing, did not have enough gasoline for the journey, said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama nominates antitrust expert Shelanski as new regulatory czar Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 07:37 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he would pick Howard Shelanski, an antitrust expert, as his new regulatory czar, a powerful White House position charged with reviewing regulations proposed by government departments. Shelanski, who is both an economist and a lawyer, is currently in charge of a team of economists that reviews competition and consumer protection issues at the Federal Trade Commission. ... Full Story | Top |
| MPs criticise accounting firms on tax avoidance Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 06:35 PM PDT  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - MPs criticised the role of accounting firms in helping big companies avoid paying tax and said in a report on Friday that close corporate relationships with government raised concerns about undue influence on tax policy. Corporate tax avoidance has risen to the top of the political agenda in Britain in the past year following reports which showed some major companies paid little or no tax in the country by shifting profits to tax havens. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama honors firefighters killed in Texas fertilizer plant blast Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 06:29 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WACO, Texas (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, standing before a line of flag-draped coffins, consoled family and friends on Thursday at a memorial service for firefighters killed in a massive explosion last week at a Texas fertilizer plant. The deaths of 14 people, nearly all of them emergency responders, ripped a hole in the heart of the town of West, where farming is a way of life and where many people volunteer for the fire department in their spare time. "To the families, the neighbors grappling with unbearable loss, we are here to say you are not alone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Blatter misplaces Argentines' joy at 1978 World Cup win Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 06:04 PM PDT  By Rex Gowar BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's first World Cup victory in 1978 was a catharsis for fans desperate for a title to go with the belief their team had often been the best on the planet without being able to show it. It was not what FIFA president Sepp Blatter claimed on Wednesday, "a kind of reconciliation of the public, of the people of Argentina, with the system, the political system, the military system at the time". ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to meet business executives ahead of Central American trip Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet on Friday with a group of U.S. business executives whose companies have a major presence in Mexico and Central America, the White House said on Thursday. Obama departs for a trip to Mexico and Costa Rica next week. Here is the list of business leaders expected to meet with him at the White House: John Bilbrey, chief executive, Hershey Co Franklin Chang Díaz, president, Ad Astra Rocket Company Andres Gluski, chief executive, AES Corp Robert A. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves bill to end air traffic controller furloughs Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:44 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate late on Thursday approved legislation to provide enough funding for federal air traffic controllers through September 30 to end furloughs that have brought widespread airline delays. Without debate, the Senate unanimously approved the measure. The House of Representatives could consider the bill on Friday. (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Paul Simao) Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Blatter misplaces Argentines' joy at 1978 World Cup win Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 05:39 PM PDT By Rex Gowar BUENOS AIRES, April 25 (Reuters) - Argentina's first World Cup victory in 1978 was a catharsis for fans desperate for a title to go with the belief their team had often been the best on the planet without being able to show it. It was not what FIFA president Sepp Blatter claimed on Wednesday, "a kind of reconciliation of the public, of the people of Argentina, with the system, the political system, the military system at the time". ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate foe of Obama's gun-control bid may face voter backlash Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:50 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire faces a possible voter backlash along with critical ads from gun control advocates following her vote against President Barack Obama's bid to curb gun violence. According to a survey by Public Policy Polling released Wednesday, Ayotte's approval rating stands at 44 percent, down 15 points since October when the organization last conducted a poll on her. The poll of 933 New Hampshire voters, from April 19 to April 21, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canadian priest killed in snatch and grab shooting in Haiti Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:49 PM PDT By Susana Ferreira PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - A Canadian missionary was shot to death on Thursday as he left a bank in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, according to authorities. The priest, Richard Joyal, 62, of Manitoba, was shot three times in the back by a man on a motorcycle who snatched a bag the priest was carrying, according to a police official. Joyal, who belonged to the Catholic order of the Societe de Marie, had previously worked in the Philippines and Ivory Coast, according to a source familiar his activities in Haiti. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate bill on Web sales tax moves forward but support erodes Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:33 PM PDT By Kim Dixon and Lisa Lambert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to move forward with legislation that would allow states to force retailers to collect online sales taxes, though the measure lost supporters after opponents stepped up lobbying this week. The bipartisan proposal cleared a procedural hurdle after 63 members in the 100-seat Senate backed it; the measure previously was held up by opponents. Critics largely cited potential burdens on small businesses, many in states that do not impose sales taxes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senators reach bipartisan deal on air traffic controllers Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:28 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. senators reached a tentative deal to fully fund air traffic controllers with a proposal that would end their furloughs, which have led to widespread airline delays, Senate aides said on Thursday. The full Senate could vote later on Thursday to approve the measure. If so, the House of Representatives likely would vote on the measure on Friday. (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Paul Simao) Full Story | Top |
| Congressman questions legal handling of Boston suspect Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:18 PM PDT By Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers has expressed concern to Attorney General Eric Holder that the legal handling of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect may have "prematurely cut off" a lawful FBI interview. Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said he wanted more information about the appearance by U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler at the hospital where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is being held after being charged in the bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 200. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon downplays comment on F-35 fighter jet cyber threat Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday downplayed a comment by one of its officials that he is not totally confident in the ability of the $396 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, built by Lockheed Martin Corp, to survive a cyber attack. The Pentagon's F-35 program office issued a statement that the Department of Defense was "fully aware of evolving cyber threats and is taking specific action to counter them for all fielded systems, including F-35. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI says more tests may be needed to probe ricin potency Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:15 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell and Marilyn W. Thompson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI said on Thursday that more tests may be necessary to determine the potency of a granular material identified as ricin that was packed into letters sent to President Obama, a U.S. senator and a Mississippi judge. Last week, the FBI said laboratory testing had confirmed the presence of the toxin in the letters. But FBI spokesman Chris Allen said Thursday he was reluctant to say all tests were complete because "they may be doing more tests on it as the investigation is ongoing. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK should do more to speed shale gas development - MPs Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:12 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - MPs criticised the government on Friday for unnecessarily delaying development of shale gas, saying it should now encourage companies to come up with more accurate estimates of recoverable reserves. The lack of progress over the past two years in exploration and development of UK shale gas is disappointing and needs to speed up, members of the influential cross-party Energy and Climate Change Committee in parliament said in a report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protest planned over Cleveland police response to deadly chase Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:11 PM PDT By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Cleveland community activists are planning to protest against what they see as the use of excessive force by city police after a review found 100 officers broke rules in a car chase in which an unarmed driver and his passenger were shot dead. Activist Kathy Coleman told Reuters on Thursday that residents plan a rally on Monday to demand police officers involved in the chase receive appropriate punishment and the city take action against the problem of excessive force. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bombing victim shuts out anger, eyes recovery Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:11 PM PDT By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - Bleeding heavily after being hurled into the entryway of a restaurant seconds after twin blasts shattered a festive mood at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Heather Abbott had no doubt about what had just happened. "I thought, 'Of course this is a terror attack," said the 38-year-old from Newport, Rhode Island, who recalled thinking about the September 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks as she lay screaming for help. The Boston bombing on April 15 killed three people and injured 264 others. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK lawmakers criticize accounting firms on tax avoidance Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - UK lawmakers criticized the role of accounting firms in helping big companies avoid paying tax and said in a report on Friday that close corporate relationships with government raised concerns about undue influence on tax policy. Corporate tax avoidance has risen to the top of the political agenda in Britain in the past year following reports which showed some major companies paid little or no tax in the country by shifting profits to tax havens. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canadian train plot suspects caused unease with extreme views Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:16 PM PDT By Randall Palmer and Alastair Sharp MONTREAL/TORONTO (Reuters) - Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian doctoral student in Quebec, ran afoul of his research institute's administration two years ago when he tore down posters for the charity United Way showing naked men and women with the slogan "Underneath, we are all equal." "We met with him to discuss with him and to try to understand why he did that. We explained that we don't do that here," said Julie Martineau, a spokeswoman at the INRS research center at Varennes, south of Montreal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bomb suspects also wanted to attack New York: officials Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:13 PM PDT By Edith Honan and Mark Hosenball NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The two men suspected of carrying out last week's deadly Boston Marathon bombing decided after authorities identified them to drive to Manhattan and set off additional explosives in Times Square, New York City officials said on Thursday. Their plan unraveled only when they realized that a Mercedes sport utility vehicle they had hijacked on April 18, three days after the bombing, did not have enough gasoline for the journey, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. ... Full Story | Top |
| AT&T fires back at Justice Dept over U.S. airwaves auction rules Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 03:00 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc on Thursday slammed the Justice Department for what it called "blatant favoritism" toward smaller wireless rivals in recommending that regulators help them compete in the forthcoming spectrum auction. Eager to control more airwaves and satisfy a booming demand for wireless services, mobile companies are hoping to influence the Federal Communications Commission as it drafts rules for an auction that will profoundly shake up ownership of highly valuable low-frequency spectrum. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. council warns of threat of cyber attacks, market runs Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:59 PM PDT  By Emily Stephenson and Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators should guard against runs on the shadow banking system and watch out for cyber attacks on banks in coming months, the top U.S. financial stability group said on Thursday. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, which was set up after the 2007-2009 crisis to watch for developing threats to the financial system, also urged a reform of market benchmarks after a global rate-rigging scandal hit the Libor interbank rate. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Russian spies' "trust deficit" may have clouded Boston case Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Susan Cornwell and Peter Apps WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have long cast a wary eye on counterterrorism intelligence from Russia, Obama administration officials say, raising questions about whether a "trust deficit" clouded efforts to determine if Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev posed a danger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Southeast Asia's 2015 unity dream collides with reality Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:22 PM PDT  By Stuart Grudgings BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations have quietly begun to row back on a deadline of forming an "economic community" by 2015, confirming what many economists and diplomats have suspected for years as the diverse group hits tough obstacles to closer union. Rather than referring to the end of 2015 as a firm goal, officials at this year's first summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose 10 members range from glitzy Singapore to impoverished Myanmar, prefer to call it a "milestone" to be built on in years ahead. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. announces espionage charge against former government lawyer Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:17 PM PDT By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday alleged that a former federal government lawyer helped the Cuban intelligence service recruit a woman who was later sentenced to 25 years in prison for spying. An indictment filed in 2004 was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charging Marta Rita Velazquez with conspiracy to commit espionage for her alleged role in recruiting Ana Belen Montes to the Cuban intelligence service and helping her get a federal government job. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada train plot suspect traveled to Iran: U.S. officials Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:15 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators believe one of two suspects charged in Canada with plotting to blow up a railroad track carrying passenger trains traveled to Iran within the past two years, U.S. law enforcement and national security officials said on Thursday. Chiheb Esseghaier, a Tunisian-born doctoral student, traveled to Iran on a trip that was directly relevant to the investigation of the alleged plot, the officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-backed" train plot, Iran denies role Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:13 PM PDT  By Euan Rocha and Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police have arrested two men and charged them with plotting to derail a Toronto-area passenger train in an operation that they say was backed by al Qaeda elements in Iran. "Had this plot been carried out, it would have resulted in innocent people being killed or seriously injured," Royal Canadian Mounted Police official James Malizia told reporters on Monday. U.S. officials said the attack would have targeted a rail line between New York and Toronto, a route that travels along the Hudson Valley and enters Canada near Niagara Falls. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, former presidents rally around George W. Bush as library opens Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:10 PM PDT  By Steve Holland DALLAS (Reuters) - George W. Bush basked in warm praise from President Barack Obama and three fellow former U.S. presidents on Thursday as Bush's library was dedicated in a ceremony that emphasized his resolute response to terrorism while skirting controversies such as his decision to invade Iraq. Obama and fellow Democrats Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, along with Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, came together on the campus of Southern Methodist University to honor one of their own. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: North Korea's epic drama: stage now set for next act Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By David Chance and Paul Eckert SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If North Korea's bellicose rhetoric threatening the United States and South Korea with nuclear war was aimed at dragging Washington to the negotiating table, it has likely failed. Pyongyang may once again feel it needs to up the ante. Two months of shrill threats following the North's nuclear test in February appeared at times to drag the Korean peninsula close to war as its young leader celebrated a year in power with a fusillade of verbal aggression that has now died down. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer arthritis drug rejected by European regulators Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:07 PM PDT  (Reuters) - European regulators declined to approve marketing of Pfizer Inc's new rheumatoid arthritis treatment Xeljanz, citing the risks of the drug compared with its potential benefit, the company said on Thursday. Pfizer said it plans to appeal and "immediately seek a re-examination of the opinion" by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). Shares of Pfizer, which rose 1 percent to close at $30.26 on the New York Stock Exchange, were down 2.7 percent at $29.45 after hours. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan police take first, faltering steps in fight against corruption Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:02 PM PDT  By Katharine Houreld HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghanistan's security forces are routinely accused of murder, rape and corruption on a grand scale, but a new anti-corruption police unit's sole conviction last year was a junior policeman who forged some documents, the head of the unit told Reuters. Abuses by the 152,000-strong Afghan police have pushed whole districts into the arms of the Taliban, officials say. Now international forces hope the Shafafiyat - Dari for transparency - anti-corruption unit will crack down on corrupt police. ... Full Story | Top |
| The Pyongyang power couple behind dynastic dictator Kim Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 02:00 PM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - Kim Kyong-hui has battled alcoholism and the killing of her lover to stand alongside her nephew, North Korea's youthful leader Kim Jong-un, as a reminder that he is the true heir of the dynasty's blood-line. The 67-year-old daughter of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung cuts a rare female figure in Pyongyang's male-dominated hierarchy and ranks as a four-star general, often sporting her trademark dark glasses at important events. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh building tragedy down to West's cost squeeze: NGOs Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 01:56 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Major western clothing retailers squeezing Asian suppliers and a flawed approach to ensuring even basic working standards are fuelling conditions for tragedies like the latest factory collapse in Bangladesh, NGOs said on Thursday. At least 260 people, mainly female workers, were killed and more than 1,000 were injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza factory building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside the capital Dhaka, collapsed on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least one person shot dead in Guinea protest Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 01:41 PM PDT CONAKRY (Reuters) - At least one person was shot dead and several were wounded in clashes between security forces and demonstrators after a protest by tens of thousands of opposition supporters in Guinea on Thursday, government and opposition figures said. Opposition parties accuse President Alpha Conde, who took office in 2010 following Guinea's first democratic transfer of power since independence in 1958, of trying to rig coming legislative elections in the world's largest bauxite exporter. ... Full Story | Top |
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