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| U.S. accuses currency exchange of laundering $6 billion Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:28 PM 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 |
| Home prices accelerate by most in seven years Tuesday, May 28, 2013 05:41 PM PDT  By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home prices accelerated by the most in nearly seven years in March as the spring buying season gave the sector traction, while surging consumer confidence pointed to some resilience for the economic recovery. The data on Tuesday also suggested the two segments could act as buffers as the broader economy faces the pinch of belt-tightening in Washington. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas climbed 10.9 percent year over year, beating expectations for 10.2 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO sees more 'gamechangers'; hints at wearable devices Tuesday, May 28, 2013 08:43 PM PDT  By Alexei Oreskovic RANCHOS PALOS VERDES, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Tuesday he expects the iPhone and iPad maker would be responsible for "several more gamechangers" and that wearable computers could be the next big thing. "It's an area where it's ripe for exploration," Cook told an 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. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan PM to take on foreign, defense portfolios himself: sources Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Mehreen Zahra-Malik ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif will oversee the sensitive foreign and defense portfolios as he seeks to forge a working partnership with the all-powerful military in the early days of his tenure, sources close to him said on Tuesday. Sharif, ousted in a bloodless military coup in 1999, has decided not to appoint defense and foreign ministers in the cabinet he is putting together. He led his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), back to power in May 11 elections. ... Full Story | Top |
| Disputes over arms for Syria cloud U.S.-Russian peace drive Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Disputes between Russia and the West over arming warring sides in Syria on Tuesday dimmed prospects for peace talks that were also clouded by disarray among President Bashar al-Assad's political foes. As Western nations debate what action, if any, they should take on Syria, Assad's main allies - Russia, Iran and Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah group - have been closing ranks behind him. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF cuts China growth outlook, urges cap on social financing Tuesday, May 28, 2013 07:36 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for China this year to 7.75 percent from a previous 8 percent, citing a weak world economy and exports, and said the country's priority should be on reining in social financing growth. The IMF also recommended China conduct fiscal stimulus if growth falls below the IMF's forecast, David Lipton, the first managing director of the IMF, told a media briefing on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan CPI decline expected to slow, BOJ price goal still in doubt Tuesday, May 28, 2013 07:46 PM PDT  By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's deflation likely abated further in April and factory output picked up, but economists say the Bank of Japan is unlikely to achieve its 2 percent inflation target in two years as demand won't catch up with oversupply quickly enough. In a slew of data due out on Friday, April household spending will have cooled slightly after rapid gains in the first quarter, a Reuters poll shows, but spending is forecast to regain momentum as consumer sentiment improves. Industrial production is expected to have risen 0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to discuss cybersecurity with China's Xi: White House Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  ON BOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will discuss cybersecurity with Chinese President Xi Jinping when the two leaders meet in California next week, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. Carney declined to comment on a Washington Post report that Chinese hackers had gained access to designs of more than two dozen major U.S. weapons systems. He said cyber issues were a key concern for the United States and raised at every level of meetings between U.S. and Chinese counterparts. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Jeff Mason; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) Full Story | Top |
| Iran's presidential candidates clash over nuclear approach Tuesday, May 28, 2013 10:43 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - A former Iranian nuclear negotiator running for president used his first television appearance of the campaign to reject accusations he had been too soft in talks with world powers. The most prominent moderate candidate in an election dominated by hardliners, cleric Hassan Rohani, nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, oversaw an agreement to suspend Iran's fledgling uranium enrichment-related activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Brazil investments have a long, potholed road ahead Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:12 PM PDT  By Brad Haynes and Silvio Cascione SAO PAULO (Reuters) - If you think you're seeing light at the end of the tunnel for Brazil's economy, look again: it's just brake lights from a growing line of 18-wheelers. Investment in Brazil probably grew at the fastest pace in three years in the first quarter, official data should show on Wednesday. But as much as two-thirds of the rise may have come from the construction of heavy trucks - hardly the steady capital spending that Brazil so badly needs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumer confidence strongest in over five years in May Tuesday, May 28, 2013 08:12 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence strengthened in May to the highest level in more than five years, suggesting Americans' attitudes were resilient in the face of belt-tightening in Washington, a private sector report showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes jumped to 76.2 from an upwardly revised 69 in April, topping economists' expectations for 71. It was the best level since February 2008. April was originally reported as 68.1. After dropping in March, it was the second month in a row confidence has improved. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's voters give boost to fragile coalition, shun Grillo Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:38 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italian voters gave Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition government a badly needed boost in local elections, shunning Beppe Grillo's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement three months after its spectacular success in a parliamentary vote. Letta's battered and divided Democratic Party (PD) won control of five of the 16 biggest cities that voted on Sunday and Monday, and is in the lead before run-offs in two weeks' time for the rest, Interior Ministry results showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Muslims and Buddhists clash in northern Myanmar Tuesday, May 28, 2013 11:28 AM PDT YANGON (Reuters) - Muslims and Buddhists clashed in Myanmar's northern city of Lashio on Tuesday, witnesses said, as a wave of sectarian violence reached a mountainous region near China's border. Phone lines were down in the city of about 131,000 people and the extent of the violence was unclear. Witnesses reported several large fires and said a mosque and Buddhist monastery appear to have been torched. ... Full Story | Top |
| Home prices accelerate by most in seven years Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:30 PM PDT  By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home prices accelerated by the most in nearly seven years in March as the spring buying season gave the sector traction, while surging consumer confidence pointed to some resilience for the economic recovery. The data on Tuesday also suggested the two segments could act as buffers as the broader economy faces the pinch of belt-tightening in Washington. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas climbed 10.9 percent year over year, beating expectations for 10.2 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya's congress chief steps down after political ban Tuesday, May 28, 2013 10:50 AM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Marie-Louise Gumuchian TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The head of Libya's national assembly said he was stepping down on Tuesday following the passing of a law banning anyone who held a senior post in Muammar Gaddafi's regime from government, regardless of their part in toppling the dictator. In a televised speech to congress, Mohammed Magarief announced his resignation after the passage of the "political isolation" law, which critics and diplomats fear could strip government of experienced leaders, further complicating the transition to an orderly democracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan MPs defy president, hike pay to 130 times minimum wage Tuesday, May 28, 2013 10:18 AM PDT  By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan members of parliament, already among the world's best-paid lawmakers, voted on Tuesday to increase their salaries to more than 130 times the minimum wage in defiance of government plans to cut them as part of spending reforms. President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won a closely fought March 4 election on an economic growth agenda, has implored lawmakers to accept pay cuts and help rein in public sector salaries to free up cash to create jobs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe minister says economy shrinking on vote uncertainty Tuesday, May 28, 2013 09:10 AM PDT  By MacDonald Dzirutwe HARARE (Reuters) - Uncertainty over the date of elections in Zimbabwe is pushing the fragile economy closer to recession just as it was pulling out of a decade of decline, the finance minister said on Tuesday. Presidential and parliamentary elections should be held this year but political reforms and problems finding the money to pay for the vote in the impoverished country are holding things up and no date has been set. ... Full Story | Top |
| France calls for action against Islamists in southern Libya Tuesday, May 28, 2013 08:24 AM PDT  By Abdoulaye Massalatchi NIAMEY (Reuters) - France urged African nations on Tuesday to make a concerted effort to tackle a growing Islamist threat in the deserts of southern Libya. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, speaking on a visit to Niger where suicide bombers attacked a French-run uranium mine last week, said there were signs that Libya's lawless south was becoming a safe haven for Islamist groups in the Sahara. "It seems we must make a special effort on southern Libya - which is also what Libya wants," Fabius said after meeting Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia to send Syria air defense system to deter 'hotheads' Tuesday, May 28, 2013 07:04 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will deliver an advanced air defense system to the Syrian government despite Western opposition because it will help deter "hotheads" who back foreign intervention, a senior Russian official said on Tuesday. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also accused the European Union of "throwing fuel on the fire" by letting its arms embargo on Syrian expire, saying it would complicate efforts to arrange an international peace conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-AIG chief Greenberg seeks dismissal of case against him Tuesday, May 28, 2013 05:28 AM PDT  By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York's highest court will hear arguments on Tuesday on whether to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Hank Greenberg of orchestrating sham transactions when he was head of insurance company American International Group Inc. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman dropped damages claims in the case last month, but he is still trying to have Greenberg, 88, banned from the securities industry and from being a director or officer of a public company. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan police defectors return to fold, kill seven colleagues Tuesday, May 28, 2013 04:39 AM PDT KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Two Afghan police officers who had recently rejoined the force after defecting to the Taliban, shot dead seven of their sleeping colleagues on Tuesday, a police chief said. The killings came during a particularly bloody 24 hours for Afghan forces, with another 16 soldiers, police and bodyguards killed in different attacks, underscoring concern about government forces as foreign troops prepare to leave. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian army says kills three Islamists in Boko Haram crackdown Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:52 AM PDT ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian soldiers have killed three members of Islamist militant sect Boko Haram and arrested 25 more in the northeast, the army said on Tuesday, two weeks after the launch of a major ground and air offensive to crush the group's four-year rebellion. President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa on May 14 and ordered thousands of additional troops to the area where Boko Haram has established bases and weapons dumps. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House security adviser calls for deeper China military ties Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States called for deeper military ties with China on Tuesday, including working closer together in areas like peacekeeping, fighting piracy and disaster relief, despite growing tensions between the two on a range of security issues. White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon made the remarks at a meeting with senior Chinese military leader Fan Changlong, two weeks ahead of a summit between the U.S. and Chinese presidents in California. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition disarray threatens international support Tuesday, May 28, 2013 06:07 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Diplomatic efforts intensified on Tuesday to solve a crisis in Syria's opposition which threatens to derail a planned peace conference and rob the Islamist-dominated alliance of international support. After six days of talks in Istanbul, the 60-member Syrian National Coalition has failed to agree on the wider involvement of a liberal opposition bloc, to the dismay of Western and some Arab backers keen to reduce the influence of Islamists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece's ruling conservatives extend lead in opinion polls Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:49 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling conservatives have widened their lead over anti-austerity opponents, three polls showed, in a sign that improving business sentiment has bolstered support for the crisis-ridden country's government. A survey by GPO pollsters for Mega TV released on Tuesday put support for the New Democracy party at 21.3 percent, 1.8 percent ahead of the leftist Syriza party, which opposes Greece's international bailout. Two polls published on Sunday by agencies RASS and ALCO showed Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservatives leading by as much as 2. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Syrian village gives up secrets after dawn killings Tuesday, May 28, 2013 02:44 AM PDT  BAIDA, Syria (Reuters) - Awakened by the sound of gunfire, Ahmad could hear the armed men knocking on his brother's door, shouting insults and calling the family "dogs". Ahmad's sister-in-law said the gunmen told her husband to "bow to your god, Bashar" -- the Syrian president. She and her husband and their two teenage sons were dragged towards the village square. "She told me her son's knees were bloodied as they kicked and dragged him," Ahmad said. When the violence was over, Ahmad ventured out from his hiding place in an attic. ... Full Story | Top |
| AstraZeneca buys heart firm Omthera for up to $443 million Tuesday, May 28, 2013 04:36 AM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is to buy Omthera Pharmaceuticals for as much as $443 million to build up its cardiovascular drug business, a priority area for Britain's second-biggest drugmaker. The acquisition of the U.S.-based specialist in fish oil-derived medicine underscores a drive by new Chief Executive Pascal Soriot to revive AstraZeneca's fortunes through a series of bolt-on deals. It is his second purchase in the cardiovascular field, following the acquisition last month of AlphaCore Pharma, a small early-stage U.S. biotechnology company. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea shuts more nuclear reactors over fake certificates Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:51 AM PDT  By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea said on Tuesday it was suspending the operations of two nuclear power reactors and extended a shutdown of a third to replace cables that were supplied using fake certificates, threatening power shortages in Asia's fourth-biggest economy. The government warned there could be "unprecedented" electricity shortages and rolling blackouts this summer due to the nuclear shutdowns. South Korea previously halted the operations of some of its 23 reactors last November after a scandal emerged over parts being supplied using fake documents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Lebanese soldiers killed near Syria border Tuesday, May 28, 2013 07:26 AM PDT  By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen killed three Lebanese soldiers at an army checkpoint in the eastern Bekaa Valley on Tuesday before fleeing towards the Syrian border, Lebanese officials said. It was not clear who carried out the attack, the latest incident in a frontier region which has been increasingly drawn into the violence in neighboring Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Belgian city scraps headscarf ban imposed by center-right in 2007 Tuesday, May 28, 2013 03:51 AM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Belgian city of Ghent has scrapped its ban on civil servants wearing headscarves after its Socialist and Green majority overturned a measure imposed in 2007 when center-right parties dominated the city council. More than 10,000 adult citizens, or about five times the number required to call the vote, had signed a petition calling for the prohibition to be lifted. ... Full Story | Top |
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