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| CA-NEWS Summary Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:18 PM PDT Three men charged with undermining Boston bombing probe BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged three men with interfering with the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing, saying they hid fireworks and a backpack belonging to one of the suspected bombers as a manhunt was under way. The three, two students from Kazakhstan and a U.S. citizen, were described as college friends of surviving bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. They were not charged with direct involvement in the April 15 marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea sentences American to 15 years hard labor Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:17 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's Supreme Court sentenced U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years hard labor on Thursday for committing crimes against the North, according to state news agency KCNA. The ruling for the unspecified crimes came after two months of tensions between Pyongyang and Washington that saw the isolated and impoverished state threaten nuclear war with the United States and South Korea. KCNA said the trial for a man it named as Pae Jun-ho, a Korean rendering of Bae's name, was held on April 30. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers action, Pope weighs in, after Bangladesh disaster Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:49 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Pope Francis condemned the conditions of workers who died in the disaster as "slave labor", while in Dhaka several thousand workers rallied to mark Labour Day, some calling for capital punishment for those responsible for the tragedy. "The owner of the building ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Chad government foils coup attempt: minister Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:52 PM PDT N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Security forces in Chad foiled a coup against the government of President Idriss Deby that had been in preparation for several months, the West African desert nation's communications minister announced late on Wednesday. "Today, May 1, a group of individuals with bad intentions sought to carry out an action to destabilize the institutions of the republic," Hassan Sylla Bakary read in a statement broadcast on state-owned television. "They did not count on the valiant security forces who have tracked them since December 2012 and who, this morning, neutralized them," he ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM's 'stealth' constitution plan raises civil rights fears Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:42 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Shinzo Abe makes no secret of wanting to revise Japan's constitution, which was drafted by the United States after World War Two, to formalize the country's right to have a military - but critics say his plans go deeper and could return Japan to its socially conservative, authoritarian past. Abe, 58, returned to office in December for a second term as prime minister and is enjoying sky-high support on the back of his "Abenomics" recipe for reviving the economy through hyper-easy monetary policy, big spending and structural reform. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff insists oil royalties should fund education Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Wednesday she has sent lawmakers another proposal to earmark all oil royalties collected by the state for public education after Congress shelved an earlier effort. She made the announcement in a televised Labor Day speech in which she said improving education was vital for Brazil's development in a highly competitive world. Rousseff last year proposed earmarking for education all revenue from future oil royalties, which are expected to rise when Brazil taps huge subsalt fields off its Atlantic coast. ... Full Story | Top |
| Americans want U.S. to keep out of Syria conflict: poll Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:19 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria's civil war even if the government there uses chemical weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, in a clear message to the White House as it considers how to respond to the worsening crisis. Only 10 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said the United States should become involved in the fighting. Sixty-one percent opposed getting involved. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six ministers to change in Egypt cabinet reshuffle: state paper Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - A limited cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced in Egypt, state newspaper al-Ahram said on Thursday, citing government sources. The new ministers, who could swear oath on Tuesday, are expected to be those of justice, legal and prosecution affairs, culture, agriculture, planning and international cooperation, and one of the economic portfolio ministries, al-Ahram said, without naming the candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| British overseas territories sign deal to curb tax evasion Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Tax havens such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands will work more closely with Britain and other European countries to fight tax evasion, British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday. With governments in most advanced economies short of tax revenue after the financial crisis, pressure has been growing on small territories with big banking sectors to lift bank secrecy and do more to combat tax dodging and money laundering. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anti-EU party pressures Britain's PM Cameron in local vote Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn ASHFORD, England (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives are set to lose hundreds of seats in local polls on Thursday that will go some way to measuring the threat the surging anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) poses to their hopes of re-election in 2015. Even in towns like Ashford in southeast England, which has returned a Conservative MP to the national parliament at every election since 1945, surveys suggest UKIP could win up to one fifth of the votes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Starving Virginia settlers turned to cannibalism in 1609- study Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Settlers at Virginia's Jamestown Colony resorted to cannibalism to survive the harsh winter of 1609, dismembering and consuming a 14-year-old English girl, the U.S. Smithsonian Institution reported on Wednesday. This is the first direct evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown, the oldest permanent English colony in the Americas, according to the Washington-based museum and research complex. ... Full Story | Top |
| From Toronto to Dagestan; Canadian jihadi draws parallels with Tsarnaev Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:27 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina UTAMYSH, Dagestan, Russia (Reuters) - A mess of rubble, ash and charred vehicles is all that's left at the desolate farmhouse where a Canadian Muslim convert died fighting his last battle alongside Islamist insurgents in the Russian region of Dagestan. At the time, few people beyond local villagers noticed William Plotnikov's death in a region where skirmishes occur daily. But almost a year on, Plotnikov has emerged into the limelight following the Boston Marathon bombings. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria mediator is determined to resign, U.N. diplomats say Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:20 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - International Syria mediator Lakhdar Brahimi is determined to resign because he is fed up with the deadlock over how to end the country's two-year civil war and believes his role has been compromised, U.N. diplomats said on Wednesday. Brahimi was persuaded to hang on for a "few more days" at least before quitting his joint U.N. and Arab League role and possibly being reappointed as an adviser to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Syria, a senior U.N. diplomat said. Brahimi, appointed last year after former U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bolivia expels U.S. aid agency after Kerry 'backyard' comment Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:16 PM PDT  LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales expelled a U.S. development agency from his country on Wednesday, marking the latest confrontation between Washington and a bloc of left-wing governments in Latin America. Morales said he was kicking out the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as a "protest" after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently referred to Latin America as Washington's "backyard." The term evokes strong emotions in the region, which experienced several U.S.-backed coups during the Cold War. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU gives support to Italy's Letta, cautions on debt Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:11 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said on Wednesday that the European Union supported efforts by new Italian prime minister Enrico Letta to grow Italy's economy, but public finances must be kept in order. Letta has preached an end to austerity while at the same time pledging to meet European Union debt targets, but his fledgling coalition already is at odds over how to pay for cuts to an unpopular housing tax. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta wins French backing for focus on growth Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's new prime minister Enrico Letta won French backing on Wednesday for calls to spur economic growth alongside budget rigor, but problems lay closer to home with coalition partners demanding tax cuts that would blow a hole in the budget. Letta, who took his message to Berlin on Tuesday, met French President Francois Hollande and said he was "100 percent satisfied" with the meeting and Hollande's response to his calls for Europe to start focusing on growth as well as consolidation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three men charged with undermining Boston bombing probe Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:03 PM PDT  By Scott Malone, Tim McLaughlin and Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday charged three men with interfering with the investigation of the Boston Marathon bombing, saying they hid fireworks and a backpack belonging to one of the suspected bombers as a manhunt was under way. The three, two students from Kazakhstan and a U.S. citizen, were described as college friends of surviving bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. They were not charged with direct involvement in the April 15 marathon bombings, which killed three people and injured 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hedge fund faces challenge in Tim Hortons shakeup bid Wednesday, May 01, 2013 02:40 PM PDT  By Euan Rocha and Jessica Toonkel TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Highfields Capital, a U.S. hedge fund agitating for change at Tim Hortons Inc, may have a hard time convincing institutional investors that the chain that says it sells eight out of every 10 cups of coffee in Canada needs a wake-up call. The Boston-based activist investor, with an about 4 percent stake in the company, wants Tim Hortons to boost shareholder returns by taking on new debt to buy back its stock. It is also pushing Tim Hortons to scale back its U.S. expansion and focus more closely on its thriving Canadian business. ... Full Story | Top |
| iPads and low-end rivals propel higher tablet shipments: report Wednesday, May 01, 2013 02:32 PM PDT  By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Global tablet shipments more than doubled in the first quarter and while Apple remained the top seller, Asian manufacturers making low-end gadgets accounted for a major chunk of the growth, according to a report. Tablet shipments reached 49.2 million units in the January-to-March period, 142.4 percent more than in the same quarter in 2012, market research firm IDC said on Wednesday. Apple's iPads accounted for 19.5 million units, an increase of 65.3 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Most Americans do not want U.S. involved in Syria: Reuters/Ipsos poll Wednesday, May 01, 2013 02:28 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans do not want to intervene in Syria's civil war, although the percentage in favor more than doubles if President Bashar al-Assad's forces use chemical weapons against their people, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Only 10 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said the United States should intervene in the fighting. Sixty-one percent opposed getting involved. But the figure favoring intervention rises to 27 percent if the Damascus government uses chemical weapons, while 44 percent would remain opposed. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 22 killed in Iraq attacks Wednesday, May 01, 2013 02:09 PM PDT By Kamal Naama RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed in attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said, after weeks of intensifying violence that threatens all-out sectarian conflict. Iraq has become increasingly volatile as the civil war in neighboring Syria strains fragile relations between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims. Tensions are at their highest since U.S. troops pulled out of the country more than a year ago. In the north of the capital Baghdad, gunmen attacked a police station and occupied it after killing five policemen, medics and police said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelans hold rival May Day marches as vote dispute drags on Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Diego Ore and Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition and government supporters flooded Venezuelan streets in rival May Day marches on Wednesday as a continuing dispute over the results of last month's presidential vote kept political tensions high in the OPEC nation. On Tuesday, opposition deputies were beaten in a fracas in Congress resulting from their refusal to recognize the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly won the April 14 election triggered by the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope condemns Bangladesh working conditions as "slave labor" Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:14 PM PDT By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday condemned the conditions of workers who died in the Bangladesh factory collapse as "slave labor," saying unjust salaries and the unbridled quest for profits were "against God". His words were his toughest yet on workers' rights since his election on March 13, and another indication that the former archbishop of Buenos Aires was intent on making social justice a major plank of his pontificate. "Living on 38 euros ($50) a month - that was the pay of these people who died. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU considers trade action after Bangladesh factory collapse Wednesday, May 01, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - The European Union is considering trade action against Bangladesh, which has preferential access to EU markets for its garments, to pressure Dhaka to improve safety standards after a building collapse killed more than 400 factory workers. Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into a $19 billion a year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey investigates use of chemical weapons in Syria Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:16 AM PDT  By Ece Toksabay REYHANLI, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey is testing blood samples taken from Syrian casualties brought over the border from fighting in recent days to determine whether they were victims of a chemical weapons attack, local government and health officials said on Wednesday. The samples were sent to Turkey's forensic medicine institute after several Syrians with breathing difficulties were brought to a Turkish hospital on Monday in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province along the Syrian border. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cracks in Mexican political pact threaten president's reforms Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The fanfare accompanying Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's first months in office is increasingly being drowned out by discord in Congress that could undo his plans to raise more tax revenue and open up state oil giant Pemex to outside investment. A pact that Pena Nieto painstakingly built with opposition leaders to strengthen his hand in Congress risks falling apart over accusations his ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, has been using dirty tricks to buy votes in the first major round of state elections since July's presidential ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria pledges justice as pressure over killings grows Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:58 AM PDT By Ibrahim Mshelizza BAGA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan promised on Wednesday to punish any soldier found guilty of misconduct during a deadly raid on a suspected Islamist hideout after a rights group said satellite pictures had raised concerns of a cover-up. Scores of houses were destroyed in the fishing village on the shores of Lake Chad raided by troops from Nigeria, Niger and Chad searching for Islamist militants, and there were 22 fresh graves, a Reuters reporter who visited said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Resource deals audit overshadows Liberia anti-graft push Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:41 AM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis DAKAR (Reuters) - Almost all the $8 billion worth of resource contracts signed by Liberia since 2009 have violated its laws, according to a draft audit report commissioned by the government, casting doubt on anti-graft and good governance efforts under President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Sirleaf, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said the billions of dollars in foreign investment she has drawn since becoming Africa's first freely-elected female president in 2006 should help ordinary Liberians to climb out of poverty. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armed protests in Libya threatening safety in capital Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Armed protests targeting Libya's ministries and media in the capital this week have alarmed international observers who say deteriorating security conditions are becoming a matter of serious concern. Reporters without Borders said there was cause for "grave concern about recent violent attacks on Libyan journalists, whose safety conditions are deteriorating drastically" and called on the government to act. ... Full Story | Top |
| No freedom of speech in Cuba despite easier foreign travel: activist Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:05 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The Castro government's easing of foreign travel restrictions on Cubans has not led to greater freedoms on the island, a leading dissident said on Wednesday. Elizardo Sanchez said 19 opposition activists had been allowed to leave since a new exit policy was introduced on January 14. Dozens more would go in the next few weeks, he said. But the Communist government, in power since 1959, was keeping strict control on dissident voices at home, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| What could U.N. sleuths unearth at Iran's Parchin base? Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl SEIBERSDORF, Austria (Reuters) - The self-styled "Sherlock Holmeses" of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, now seeking access to a major Iranian base, say they have the capability to find tiny traces of atomic material at a site even if a country were to try to cover it up. In talks later this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency will once again press Tehran to allow its inspectors to visit Iran's sprawling Parchin military complex. That would enable them to bring back swab samples for thorough checks at the IAEA's high-tech laboratory near Vienna. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leaked video undermines Turkmen leader's superhero image Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  ASHGABAT (Reuters) - Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wields almost absolute power in his secretive Central Asian state, but even he could not prevent footage being leaked that shows him falling head-first off a speeding horse. State media on Monday showed Berdymukhamedov, wearing a traditional white "telpek" sheepskin hat and crimson caftan, riding his horse to a victory - and an $11-million prize - that took his strongman personality cult to a new dimension. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy investigates racist slurs against first black minister Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:22 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government ordered an investigation on Wednesday into slurs on right-wing websites against the country's first black minister, a case that has put Italy's racial problems back in the spotlight. Cecile Kyenge, an eye doctor and Congo-born Italian citizen, was named integration minister in the new government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta last Saturday. She is one of seven women in the government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands rally against European austerity on May Day Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:18 AM PDT By Clare Kane MADRID (Reuters) - Workers hit by lower living standards and record high unemployment staged May Day protests across Europe on Wednesday, hoping to persuade their governments of the case for easing austerity measures and boosting growth. In the debt-laden euro zone countries of Spain, Greece, Italy and France tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand jobs and an end to years of belt-tightening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police, May Day protesters clash in Istanbul Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:59 AM PDT By Murad Sezer ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish riot police in Istanbul fired water cannons and teargas on Wednesday to disperse tens of thousands of May Day protesters, some of whom threw stones at security forces as they tried to breach barricades to reach the city's main square. The city's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said 22 police officers and three civilians were wounded in the clashes. Roughly half of Istanbul's 40,000-strong police force was drafted in to the center of the city to block access to Taksim Square, earlier placed off limits by authorities to a march organized by trade unions. ... Full Story | Top |
| On May Day, Cuba remembers 'best friend' Chavez Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:59 AM PDT By Jeff Franks HAVANA (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Cubans filed through Havana's Revolution Square on Wednesday in a May Day parade that paid tribute to Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan leader who was the Caribbean island's top ally and benefactor before his death from cancer in March. A sea of workers, many wearing red shirts like those favored by Chavez and carrying signs with his image, paraded past a giant statue of 19th century Cuban independence hero Jose Marti in the vast square where Cuba holds its biggest political rallies. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses China to stop growing trade secret theft Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:35 AM PDT  By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative's office criticized China on Wednesday for failing to stop the growing theft of American trade secrets that are the lifeblood of U.S. economic might, in the latest sign of Washington's frustration with the problem. "Not only are repeated thefts occurring inside China, but also outside of China for the benefit of Chinese entities," USTR said in its annual report on countries with the worst records of protecting U.S. intellectual property rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| For poor Bulgarians, anywhere else is a better bet Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:58 AM PDT  By Tsvetelia Tsolova VRATSA, Bulgaria (Reuters) - The factories of Vratsa that once fed Bulgaria's chemical and metallurgical industries and provided jobs are abandoned now. Crumbling buildings and pitted roads add to the city's gloomy air. For people like Alexander Angelov, 27, work is hard to find and his thoughts are turning to trying his luck abroad, as many Bulgarians have before him. The northwestern city, in the poorest part of the European Union's poorest country, is a microcosm of the challenges facing whoever wins a national election on May 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe trade action against Bangladesh would have big impact Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:41 AM PDT By Ethan Bilby BRUSSELS (Reuters) - If Bangladesh were to lose its preferential trading status with Europe over conditions in its garment factories, it could face hundreds of millions of dollars in duties and limits on access to its largest trading partner. EU officials said on Wednesday they hoped the threat of action would be enough to make Bangladesh change its laws to secure a market which formed over a quarter of the south Asian state's $40.5 billion annual exports in 2011. Any action would likely take more than a year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Youth voice hope for change in static Palestinian politics Wednesday, May 01, 2013 07:28 AM PDT  By Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Far from the children who beg for change from idling cars and the teenagers who hurl rocks at armed Israeli troops, a different spectacle of Palestinian youth is playing out in the ballroom of a luxury Ramallah hotel. Young contestants are gathered for a taping of "The President", a game show that aims to select a "new leader" for the Palestinians based on their views on the pressing political issues of the day. The panel of judges is made up of top officials and businessmen. ... Full Story | Top |
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