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| Obama says Democrats could win back U.S. House in 2014 Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:45 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, whose agenda has been frustrated by Republicans in Washington, said on Wednesday he believed his party could reclaim control of the House of Representatives in the 2014 midterm elections but conceded it was an uphill struggle. The party in power in the White House typically loses seats in the first midterm election after a presidential campaign, and many political analysts believe Democrats could lose seats in Congress in 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge rejects legal challenges by accused Colorado theater gunman Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado judge rejected challenges on Wednesday to the state's insanity defense statute and death penalty law by accused movie theater spree gunman James Holmes, resolving a key legal hurdle in the sensational case. Lawyers for Holmes, accused of killing 12 moviegoers and wounding dozens more in a rampage last July, had argued that the state's insanity law was unconstitutional because it forces their client to cooperate with court-appointed psychiatrists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top U.S. tax breaks to cost $12 trillion over decade, benefit wealthy: CBO Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:52 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top ten tax deductions, credits and exclusions will keep $12 trillion out of federal government coffers over the next decade, and several of them mainly benefit the wealthiest Americans, a new study from the Congressional Budget Office shows. The top 20 percent of income earners will reap more than half of the $900 billion in benefits from these tax breaks that will accrue in 2013, the non-partisan CBO said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. soldier accused of killing Afghans in deal to avoid execution -lawyer Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:48 PM PDT  By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in two rampages from his Army post last year has reached a plea deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, one of his lawyers said on Wednesday. Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is accused of gunning down villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks on their family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Angry about immigration plan, some gay donors cut off Democrats Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:57 PM PDT  By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some disappointed activists say they are yanking their support for the Democratic Party after Senate Democrats opposed a proposal in an immigration bill that would have allowed citizens to bring their foreign-born, same-sex spouses to the United States. Jonathan Lewis, a Miami philanthropist who donated more than $35,000 in 2012, has stopped giving and is urging others to do the same until President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats stop breaking promises to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition says peace talks must mean Assad exit Wednesday, May 29, 2013 11:36 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Syrian opposition said on Wednesday it would only take part in planned international peace talks if a deadline was set for a settlement that forces President Bashar al-Assad to leave power. In its first official reaction to the Geneva conference being prepared by the United States and Russia, the opposition coalition adopted a declaration calling for "binding international guarantees" for any resolution of Syria's two-year-old conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wife of Philadelphia abortion doctor sentenced to prison Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:30 PM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The wife of a Philadelphia doctor convicted of murdering babies during late-term abortions was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 23 months in prison for helping her husband. Pearl Gosnell, 52, whose husband, Dr Kermit Gosnell, ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society clinic in Philadelphia, had pleaded guilty to performing an illegal abortion, being part of a corrupt organization and conspiracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Buddhist mobs attack Muslim homes in Myanmar, one dead Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:31 PM PDT  By Jared Ferrie LASHIO, Myanmar (Reuters) - Security forces struggled to control Buddhist mobs who burned Muslim homes on Wednesday for a second day in the northern Myanmar city of Lashio in a dangerous widening of ultra-nationalist Buddhist violence. Scores of young men and boys on motorbikes and on foot marauded through the city of 130,000 people, some singing nationalist songs, a day after a mosque and religious school were torched. One person was killed and four were wounded in fighting, Ye Htut, spokesman for President Thein Sein, said in a Facebook post. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drone kills Pakistan Taliban No 2 : security officials Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:34 PM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed the No. 2 of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said, in what would be a major blow to the militancy. The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman, in the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue. It was also the first reported U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. nuclear investigation could be foiled by clean-up: diplomats Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:59 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog acknowledged on Wednesday it might not find anything if allowed access to an Iranian military facility, in an apparent reference to suspected clean-up work there, diplomats said. Herman Nackaerts, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the comment during a closed-door briefing where he showed satellite imagery indicating Iran had now partly paved the site, they said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Over 19,000 refugees flee conflict in eastern South Sudan: U.N. Wednesday, May 29, 2013 10:42 AM PDT  By Hereward Holland JUBA (Reuters) - More than 19,000 people have fled fighting raging in the east of South Sudan and sought refuge in neighboring countries since the start of the year, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Almost 12,000 have entered Ethiopia from South Sudan's Jonglei state, where the army is trying to put down a rebellion. Some 5,000 South Sudanese have crossed the border to Kenya, and another 2,500 to Uganda. "The increase in numbers in Ethiopia in the past weeks has been particularly sharp, with around 4,000 new arrivals since 7 May," the UN said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's president sends controversial NGO law to parliament Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:49 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi submitted to parliament on Wednesday a controversial bill regulating NGOs and human rights groups but said it did not impose restrictions on their activities. An earlier draft had drawn criticism from activists, Western governments and the United Nations human rights chief, who said it was more stifling than regulations under the deposed President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Attack on Red Cross in eastern Afghanistan kills one guard Wednesday, May 29, 2013 09:52 AM PDT  By Hamid Shalizi and Rafiq Sherzad JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Insurgents attacked the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, killing an Afghan guard in the second major assault on a humanitarian organization in less than a week. Seven staff members, believed to be the total number of foreign workers at the ICRC in Jalalabad, were rescued by Afghan police during the attack, which involved a suicide bomber and three gunmen, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drone kills Pakistan Taliban No 2 : security officials Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:06 PM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed the No. 2 of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said, in what would be a major blow to the militancy. The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman, in the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue. It was also the first reported U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Buddhist mobs attack Muslim homes in Myanmar, one dead Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:19 PM PDT  By Jared Ferrie LASHIO, Myanmar (Reuters) - Security forces struggled to control Buddhist mobs who burned Muslim homes on Wednesday for a second day in the northern Myanmar city of Lashio in a dangerous widening of ultra-nationalist Buddhist violence. Scores of young men and boys on motorbikes and on foot marauded through the city of 130,000 people, some singing nationalist songs, a day after a mosque and religious school were torched. One person was killed and four were wounded in fighting, Ye Htut, spokesman for President Thein Sein, said in a Facebook post. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wife of Philadelphia abortion doctor sentenced to prison Wednesday, May 29, 2013 03:39 PM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The wife of a Philadelphia doctor convicted of murdering babies during late-term abortions was sentenced on Wednesday to up to 23 months in prison for helping her husband. Pearl Gosnell, 52, whose husband, Dr Kermit Gosnell, ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society clinic in Philadelphia, had pleaded guilty to performing an illegal abortion, being part of a corrupt organization and conspiracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top US tax breaks to cost $12 trillion over decade, benefit wealthy : CBO Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:06 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top ten U.S. tax deductions, credits and exclusions will keep $12 trillion out of federal government coffers over the next decade, and several of them mainly benefit the wealthiest Americans, a new study from the Congressional Budget Office shows. The top 20 percent of income earners will reap more than half of the $900 billion in benefits from these tax breaks that will accrue in 2013, the non-partisan CBO said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU shifts policy focus in quest for growth Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - After three years of deep spending cuts, the European Union confirmed a shift in policy on Wednesday, telling countries they must focus on structural economic reforms to boost growth, while not abandoning budget discipline. In a long-flagged move reflecting growing frustration among euro zone governments and voters over the hardships of austerity, the European Commission announced that several countries would have more time to meet deficit targets. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Bulgarian government may struggle to govern Wednesday, May 29, 2013 08:15 AM PDT  By Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's new Socialist-led government won a parliamentary vote of confidence on Wednesday, ending months of political impasse but lacking the broad backing that may be required to steer the economy and attract much needed investment. The European Union's poorest member has been without a permanent administration since February, when street protests against low living standards and corruption toppled a government led by the center-right GERB party. The minority government received 119 votes in favor and 98 against. ... Full Story | Top |
| New bridge linking Europe and Asia embodies Turkey's rise Wednesday, May 29, 2013 07:46 AM PDT  By Daren Butler and Evrim Ergin ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey launched construction on Wednesday of a third bridge linking its European and Asian shores, the latest in a slew of multi-billion dollar projects that Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan sees as embodying its emergence as a major power. Erdogan, who has led a decade-long transformation of a once crisis-prone economy into Europe's fastest growing, has prioritized the building frenzy as the nation's infrastructure struggles to keep up with its growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan opposition TV station tones down, angers Capriles Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:43 AM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - A flagship Venezuelan TV channel known for its militant opposition to late socialist leader Hugo Chavez has toned down under new owners, depriving the opposition of a favored platform as it fights a new government. During Chavez's tumultuous 14-year rule, Globovision played a controversial and high-profile role: it was derided by officials as a pro-U.S., law-breaking broadcaster but feted in the opposition as a beacon of free speech. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drone kills Pakistan Taliban Number two: security officials Wednesday, May 29, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike killed the number two of the Pakistani Taliban in the North Waziristan region on Wednesday, three security officials said, in what would be a major blow in the fight against militancy. The drone strike killed seven people, Pakistani security officials said, including Taliban deputy commander Wali-ur-Rehman, in the first such attack since a May 11 general election in which the use of the unmanned aircraft was a major issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| OECD cuts world economic forecast Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:37 AM PDT  By Leigh Thomas PARIS (Reuters) - The recession-hit euro zone will fall further behind a generally improving United States and a rebounding Japan this year, the OECD said on Wednesday, cutting its global growth forecasts. In its twice-yearly Economic Outlook, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast the world economy would grow 3.1 percent this year before accelerating to 4 percent in 2014. The estimates marked a slightly more pessimistic view after in November the Paris-based think tank forecast global growth of 3.4 percent this year and 4.2 percent next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia faults U.S. over 'odious' Syria rights resolution Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:38 AM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced as "odious" a U.S.-backed draft resolution condemning the Syrian government before a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday and said it would undermine peace efforts. Lavrov said U.S. support for the draft resolution, which would condemn "widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights" by Syrian authorities and affiliated militias, ran counter to U.S.-Russian efforts to convene a peace conference. "The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| India, Japan seek early agreement on civil nuclear pact Wednesday, May 29, 2013 05:22 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Indian counterpart agreed on Wednesday to speed up talks on a deal to allow Japan to export nuclear plants and to strengthen security cooperation as both sides keep a wary eye on China's military clout. The Indo-Japanese summit meeting follows Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit last week to India, which has been shaken by a recent border spat with China and is cautious about Beijing's friendship with rival Pakistan. Japan, for its part, has been locked in a territorial dispute with China over a group of East China Sea islets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Under fire, conservative Bachmann calls it quits in U.S. Congress Wednesday, May 29, 2013 02:40 PM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party firebrand and 2012 presidential contender, announced on Wednesday she will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives but said her surprise decision had nothing to do with multiple investigations into her campaign finances. Bachmann, a conservative Minnesota Republican whose outspoken style and sharp criticism of President Barack Obama made her a prominent and polarizing national figure, did not give a specific reason for stepping down. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Khamenei says has no favorite to succeed Ahmadinejad Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:53 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday he does not favor any candidate for June's presidential election, although hardliners with outlooks similar to his dominate the field. The field of candidates was narrowed considerably last week when the Guardian Council, a body of clerics and jurists that vets all candidates, disqualified two independent contenders - former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a close aide of current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. accuses currency exchange of laundering $6 billion Wednesday, May 29, 2013 06:39 AM PDT  By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have filed an indictment against the operators of digital currency exchange Liberty Reserve, accusing the Costa Rica-based company of helping criminals around the world launder more than $6 billion in illicit funds linked to everything from child pornography to software for hacking into banks. The indictment unsealed on Tuesday said Liberty Reserve had more than a million users worldwide, including at least 200,000 in the United States, and virtually all of its business was related to suspected criminal activity. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel seals deal ending military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Wednesday, May 29, 2013 03:57 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel clinched a deal on Wednesday to abolish wholesale exemptions from military service for Jewish seminary students, ended a brief crisis that divided the ruling coalition parties. The issue of "sharing the national burden" is at the heart of heated debate over privileges the ultra-Orthodox minority has enjoyed for decades, and a government-appointed committee had failed to formulate a new conscription law earlier this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boko Haram rebels say Nigerian military offensive is failing Wednesday, May 29, 2013 04:09 AM PDT By Isaac Abrak KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The leader of Boko Haram Islamist rebels said on Wednesday a Nigerian military offensive is failing in its goal of crushing the four-year-old insurgency. Abubakar Shekau's statement, in a video seen by Reuters, was the first word from Boko Haram since President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency on May 14 in the three northeastern state worst hit by the insurgency. Thousands of extra troops were sent to the region and Boko Haram camps were hit with air strikes. The military has since claimed that insurgents have been halted. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's spurned mistresses can't be relied on to bust graft: paper Wednesday, May 29, 2013 03:43 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China must not rely on whistle-blowing mistresses to expose corrupt officials, China's top newspaper said on Wednesday, after a string of such incidents has led to some people hailing the girlfriends as graft-busters. President Xi Jinping has singled out corruption as a threat to the Communist Party's survival, and the keeping of mistresses in lavish apartments, which breaks party rules, has come to represent to many people the excesses of power in China. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused Fort Hood gunman plans to represent self at trial Wednesday, May 29, 2013 03:35 AM PDT  By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan will ask a U.S. military court on Wednesday to rule he can represent himself at his trial this summer which could bring the death penalty on charges he killed 13 people in a 2009 shooting rampage. Jury selection in Hasan's military trial at Fort Hood was delayed until next week after he asked the judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, to let him fire his lawyers and represent himself. The trial is scheduled to start July 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF cuts China growth outlook, urges cap on social financing Wednesday, May 29, 2013 01:55 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for China this year to 7.75 percent from 8 percent, citing a weak world economy and exports, adding to concerns that the world's second-largest economy is losing momentum. The IMF move follows a series of lowered 2013 growth estimates for China by private economists after soft factory output and investment performance data for April and weak factory activity in May. The IMF's forecast is above the government's target of 7. ... Full Story | Top |
| South China Sea tension mounts near Filipino shipwreck Wednesday, May 29, 2013 12:00 AM PDT  By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - A wrecked navy transport ship perched on a remote coral reef could be the next flashpoint in the South China Sea, where China and five other claimants bitterly dispute territory. The Philippines is accusing China of encroachment after three Chinese ships, including a naval frigate, converged just 5 nautical miles from an old transport ship that Manila ran aground on a reef in 1999 to mark its territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers attack peaceful province in Afghan north Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:17 PM PDT  PANJSHIR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban suicide bombers, some dressed as police, killed a policeman in a rare attack on a governor's compound in Afghanistan's fiercely anti-Taliban Panjshir valley on Wednesday, a stark indication of their broadening reach. The attack was the first of its kind in the Panjshir since October 2011. The Panjshir was an important rallying area for anti-Taliban forces that toppled the Islamist group's government in late 2001. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO sees more 'gamechangers'; hints at wearable devices Tuesday, May 28, 2013 10:54 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic and Poornima Gupta RANCHOS PALOS VERDES, Calif./SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook defended the company's record of innovation under his stewardship, saying he expected it would release "several more game changers" and hinting that wearable computers could be among them. "It's an area where it's ripe for exploration," Cook said on Tuesday at the All Things Digital conference, an annual gathering of technology and media executives in the California coastal resort town of Rancho Palos Verdes. "It's ripe for us all getting excited about. ... Full Story | Top |
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