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| Lawmakers grill FBI on Boston bombing investigation Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 07:06 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers grilled top security officials on Tuesday about the handling of the Boston Marathon bombing investigation and why one of the suspects flagged as a possible Islamist radical was not tracked more closely. FBI officials briefed members of Congress behind closed doors in Washington about the investigation into the April 15 blasts that killed three people and injured 264 others. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alleged Canada plot turns focus to rail transport's vulnerability Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:03 PM PDT  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An alleged al Qaeda-backed plot to derail a U.S. passenger train in Canada sought to exploit the vulnerabilities of railroads that have not gotten much attention from the American public. While the United States has sharply tightened security around airlines since the September 11, 2001, attacks, trains are far harder to police, with masses of passengers getting on and off and stops at many stations on a single line. Thousands of miles (km) of track, bridges and tunnels present a major challenge to monitor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple unlocks more cash for investors as profit slides Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:02 PM PDT  By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Tuesday bowed to investors' demands to share more of its $145 billion cash pile, while posting its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade. The new expanded capital plan includes issuing debt for the first time to fund $100 billion in share repurchases and higher dividends until the end of 2015. That doubles the amount from a program set up last year and makes Apple the largest dividend-paying company in the world. The company's shares, which last week closed below $400 for the first time since December 2011, rose briefly. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drops charges against Mississippi man in ricin letters case Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 07:33 PM PDT  By Robbie Ward TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors dropped charges on Tuesday against a Mississippi man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a state judge, according to court documents. The surprise decision came hours after Paul Kevin Curtis was released from a Mississippi jail on bond. Prosecutors said the "ongoing investigation has revealed new information," but provided no additional details, according to the court order dismissing the charges. Curtis told reporters he respected Obama. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Crossing Obama's "red line" on Syria will require concrete proof Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:00 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and David Alexander WASHINGTON/RIYADH (Reuters) - While President Barack Obama has declared a "red line" over Syrian use of chemical weapons, U.S. officials suggested on Tuesday that Washington was unlikely to respond without clear-cut evidence of such use - evidence that may be very hard to come by. Israel's top military intelligence analyst said in Tel Aviv on Tuesday that Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons - probably the nerve gas sarin - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House says open to legislation to halt FAA furloughs Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 03:12 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday it would be open to legislation to put air traffic controllers back to work full-time as key U.S. senators demanded more information about the impact of furloughs on safety and air operations. The Federal Aviation Administration will furlough 47,000 employees for up to 11 days through the end of the fiscal year in September as part of its plan to meet $637 million in required spending cuts. Nearly 13,000 of those are air traffic controllers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rail car with ammonium nitrate didn't cause Texas blast: fire official Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:29 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor WEST, Texas (Reuters) - A rail car filled with extremely hazardous ammonium nitrate did not cause the fiery explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant, investigators said on Tuesday, in their first statement ruling out possible sources of the deadly blast six days ago. Fourteen people died in the explosion at the West Fertilizer Co last Wednesday, and some 200 were injured. Investigators said they also ruled out a weather event such as lightning as the cause of the fire and blast, and said they had narrowed down the possible sources to an accident, arson or an unexplained cause. ... Full Story | Top |
| United States, Russia agree to try to revive Syria plan Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had agreed to look for ways to revive a Syrian peace plan, but admitted that doing so would be extremely difficult. Kerry, speaking after talks with Lavrov and NATO colleagues in Brussels, also backed away from earlier comments suggesting he was calling for increased NATO contingency planning on Syria. Kerry said he and Lavrov had discussed ways to revive a peace plan agreed in Geneva last June that called for a transitional government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Michael Jackson wrongful death trial set to get underway Monday Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:19 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The civil trial over the death of Michael Jackson is set to get formally underway next week after jury selection was completed on Tuesday in the $40 billion case that pits the pop star's mother against concert promoters AEG Live. Six alternate jurors were chosen on Tuesday following the selection a day earlier of a jury of six men and six women for what is expected to be an emotional three-month trial. The conclusion of the month-long search for a jury set the stage for opening statements to begin in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yemeni at U.S. hearing describes drone strike on his village Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 05:04 PM PDT By Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Yemeni man told a Senate hearing on Tuesday about a U.S. drone strike on his village last week that he said turned residents against America. In an emotion-filled voice, Farea Al-Muslimi, a writer, described his shock at the drone attack and the blowback in public opinion from residents against the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chesapeake, Bank of New York, square off in bond trial Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 10:49 AM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp began an expedited trial on Tuesday against Bank of New York Mellon Corp over the energy company's effort to redeem $1.3 billion of notes at par. The proceeding in Manhattan federal court comes less than two months after Chesapeake sued the bank, the trustee for the bonds, seeking to prevent it from interfering with the redemption. The dispute is separate from other legal issues involving Chesapeake, the second-largest natural gas producer in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bomb suspect's wife assisting probe -lawyer Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 02:08 PM PDT By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Scott Malone PROVIDENCE, R.I./BOSTON (Reuters) - The wife of the dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect is assisting authorities and in absolute shock that her husband and brother-in-law were accused of the deadly blasts, her lawyer said on Tuesday. "She cries a lot," attorney Amato DeLuca said of Katherine Russell, 24, an American-born convert to Islam who was married to Tamerlan Tsarnaev in June 2010. "She can't go anywhere. She can't work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq raid on Sunni protest sparks clashes, 44 killed Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 01:38 PM PDT  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces stormed a Sunni Muslim protest camp on Tuesday, triggering a gunfight between troops and demonstrators that spread to army clashes with Sunni militants and killed more than 40 people. The fighting was the bloodiest Iraq has seen since thousands of Sunni Muslims started staging protests in December to demand an end to perceived marginalization of their sect by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alleged Canada plot turns focus to rail transport's vulnerability Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:52 PM PDT By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An alleged al Qaeda-backed plot to derail a U.S. passenger train in Canada sought to exploit the vulnerabilities of railroads that have not gotten much attention from the American public. While the United States has sharply tightened security around airlines since the September 11, 2001, attacks, trains are far harder to police, with masses of passengers getting on and off and stops at many stations on a single line. Thousands of miles (km) of track, bridges and tunnels present a major challenge to monitor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple unlocks more cash for investors as profit slides Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:34 PM PDT By Poornima Gupta SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Tuesday bowed to investors' demands to share more of its $145 billion cash pile, while posting its first quarterly profit decline in more than a decade. The new expanded capital plan includes issuing debt for the first time to fund $100 billion in share repurchases and higher dividends until the end of 2015. The plan, doubled from a previous one set last year, makes Apple the largest dividend-paying company in the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factory data a new sign of slowing U.S. economic growth Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory activity expanded at its slowest pace in six months in April, the latest sign that economic growth continued to lose momentum early in the second quarter, though the recovery has not been derailed. Even as the economic picture has dimmed in recent weeks as the effects of government austerity started to filter through, strength in the housing market has provided an anchor. New home sales in March were at their second-highest level in three years and overall house prices rose in February, other data showed on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Alienation draws some vulnerable immigrants to jihad Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 09:51 AM PDT  By Myra MacDonald LONDON (Reuters) - In the United States, two Chechen immigrants are accused of the Boston Marathon bombings. In Canada, a doctoral student at a Montreal university is one of two non-citizens accused this week of plotting to derail a passenger train. The headlines in North America in the past week echo an issue that authorities have been grappling with for more than a decade: why do a tiny minority of men in immigrant communities in the West appear to be drawn to Islamist violence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli spy says Syria used chemical arms, U.S. unconvinced Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:12 PM PDT By Maayan Lubell JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday. The assessment met with skepticism from the United States, which has declared any use of chemical weapons in Syria's two-year-old civil war a "red line" that could trigger intervention. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Immigration bill could fix some Boston security issues: official Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 11:35 AM PDT  By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Obama administration official said on Tuesday that an immigration bill starting to move through Congress would fix some border control weaknesses that may have contributed to last week's Boston Marathon bombings. The immigration to the United States of two ethnic Chechen brothers who are suspects in the bombings has become a point of controversy in the early debate over the legislation, with some conservatives saying that Congress should now go slower. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya car bomb hits French embassy, wounds guards Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 12:34 PM PDT  By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A car bomb devastated France's embassy in Tripoli on Tuesday, wounding two French guards in the Libyan capital, which had not seen major attacks like that which killed the U.S. ambassador in Benghazi last year. Since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled by Western-backed rebels in 2011, Tripoli, like the rest of the sprawling desert state, has been awash with weapons and roving armed bands, but violence in the city has not targeted diplomats before in the way Western envoys have been shot at and bombed in the east of the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Napolitano speeds search for new government Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 08:38 AM PDT  By Francesca Piscioneri and Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - Italy's president held urgent talks on Tuesday aimed at naming a prime minister to head a coalition government backed by the rival parties on the center-left and center-right and end two months of post-election stalemate. Hopes that a government can be formed quickly gave a further boost to financial markets on Tuesday, with the yield on 10-year Italian government bonds dropping below 4 percent and the spread, or risk premium over German bonds, narrowing further. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anger in Lebanese streets as Syria border fighting rages Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Stripped to the waist, his face heavily bruised and a rope around his neck, the grey-haired Syrian man was led by his captors on a humiliating parade through the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. "I am an Alawite shabbiha," read slogans daubed on the bare chest of the man, referring to militias from a minority sect fighting for President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria. Vigilantes led the man through Tripoli, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city, on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bombing suspect condition upgraded to "fair" from "serious" Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  BOSTON, April 23 - The suspect in last week's Boston Marathon bombing attack is now in "fair" condition at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an upgrade from his prior condition of "serious," the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Full Story | Top |
| French parliament allows gay marriage despite protests Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Nicholas Vinocur PARIS (Reuters) - France became the 14th country to allow same-sex marriage on Tuesday after parliament approved a new law championed by President Francois Hollande, but it came at a political price amid violent street protests and a rise in homophobic attacks. Hollande's "marriage for all" law is one of the biggest social reforms in France since his left-wing mentor and predecessor Francois Mitterrand abolished the death penalty in 1981, a move which also split opinion. ... Full Story | Top |
| New home sales rise, housing recovery still on track Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 07:04 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new single-family homes rose in March, indicating the housing market recovery remains on track. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 units. Last month's rise followed a 7.6 percent drop in February. Economists polled by Reuters had expected sales to rise to 420,000-unit rate last month. Compared with March 2012, sales were up 18.5 percent, indicating the strength in the housing market that has helped boost the economy was on course. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lockheed profit beats view; budget cuts hit sales outlook Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 05:51 AM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon's biggest weapons supplier, reported a better-than-expected 14.8 percent rise in per-share earnings on Tuesday but warned that full-year revenue was likely to come in at the low end of earlier guidance due to U.S. budget cuts. Lockheed is the first of the big U.S. weapons makers to report first-quarter earnings. Analysts have forecast lower sales and earnings across the sector as U.S. military spending declines after more than a decade of sharp growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran offers to be West's "reliable partner" in Middle East Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 10:36 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday it would be a "reliable partner" in the Middle East if Western countries would take a more cooperative approach in talks on its nuclear program. Western powers blame tension with Iran in part on its refusal to fully cooperate with United Nations calls for curbs on its nuclear activity to ensure it is for peaceful purposes only, and to open up to investigations by U.N. inspectors. Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's ambassador to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, said U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish PM rejects U.S. request to delay Gaza visit in May Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 05:27 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan will not reschedule his trip to the Palestinian Gaza strip, he said on Tuesday, despite a request to do so from the United States that had irked Ankara. During a visit to Turkey on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Erdogan to delay his visit to avoid endangering U.S. efforts to revive Ankara's ties with Israel and Middle East peace talks. Erdogan, who has always underlined his desire to visit the Palestinian enclave, said last week he planned to go to Gaza following an official visit to the United States in May. ... Full Story | Top |
| Myanmar frees 56 political prisoners day after sanctions dropped Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 05:45 AM PDT  By Aung Hla Tun YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's president announced an amnesty on Tuesday for about 100 prisoners, a senior official said, 56 of whom were confirmed as political detainees by a group monitoring activists held in the country's jails. The release is the latest in a series of amnesties decided by reformist President Thein Sein and came a day after the European Union lifted all sanctions on Myanmar excluding an arms embargo. Bo Kyi, of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told Reuters the group had confirmed the release of 56 political prisoners from five jails. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. rejects North Korean demand for nuclear status Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:44 AM PDT  By Robert Birsel and Stephanie Nebehay SEOUL/GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea insisted on Tuesday that it be recognized as a nuclear weapons state, a demand the United States promptly dismissed as "neither realistic nor acceptable". After weeks of tension on the Korean peninsula, including North Korean threats of nuclear war, the North has in recent days begun to at least talk about dialogue in response to calls for talks from both the United States and South Korea. The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper rejected as unacceptable the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan shrine visits, isles dispute stir East Asia tensions Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 02:36 AM PDT  By Kaori Kaneko TOKYO (Reuters) - Tensions flared between Japan and its Asian neighbors after a group of Japanese lawmakers visited a shrine seen by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, and Chinese patrol vessels played cat-and-mouse with a flotilla of Japanese nationalists near disputed islands in the East China Sea. Beijing protested over the voyage by 10 boats carrying about 80 Japanese activists into waters near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. ... Full Story | Top |
| DuPont profit doubles as drought boosts farm sales Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 07:17 AM PDT  By Garima Goel (Reuters) - Chemicals maker DuPont's quarterly profit more than doubled as the worst dry spell in decades encouraged U.S. farmers to buy its drought-hardy seeds and crop-protection products to boost yields. Strong wheat, corn and soybean prices also spurred agricultural sales in the Americas, helping DuPont beat estimates for the quarter despite an ongoing decline in demand for its once-lucrative titanium dioxide paint pigment. The Wilmington, Delaware-based company's shares traded up 0.7 percent at $50.74 before the bell on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| What next for Boston bombing suspect? Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 03:47 AM PDT  By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - A decision to charge the Boston Marathon bombing suspect in a civilian rather than a military court means he will face the same legal process as other federal criminal defendants in U.S. courts. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was charged on Monday with using a weapon of mass destruction and malicious destruction of property resulting in death. The White House said earlier that Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who is a naturalized U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada thwarts "al Qaeda-backed" train plot, Iran denies role Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 02:43 AM 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 |
| U.S. soldier accused of Afghan killings to appear at pre-trial hearing Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 02:04 AM PDT  By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier charged with killing 16 civilians, most of them women and children, near his Army post in Afghanistan last year is set to appear at a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, as lawyers prepare a defense based on his mental state. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan accused of gunning down Afghan villagers during two rampages through their family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| China HSBC Flash PMI falls, points to tepid second-quarter recovery Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 12:49 AM PDT  By Kevin Yao BEIJING (Reuters) - Growth in China's vast factory sector dipped in April as new export orders shrank, a preliminary survey of factory managers showed on Tuesday, suggesting the world's second-largest economy still faces formidable global headwinds into the second quarter. The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index for April fell to 50.5 in April from 51.6 in March but was still stronger than February's reading of 50.4. A sub-index measuring new export orders fell to 48.6 in April from 50.5 in March, reflecting weaker global demand as the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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