| | |
| Top China paper hits back at U.S. accusations on Snowden Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:08 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top state newspaper praised fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden on Tuesday for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask" and rejected accusations that it had facilitated his departure from Hong Kong. The strongly worded front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, comes after Washington harshly criticized Beijing for allowing Snowden to flee. ... Full Story | Top |
| All assailants in attack on Afghan presidential palace killed: police Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:54 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - An early morning insurgent attack on Tuesday on Afghanistan's presidential palace has been put down with all the assailants killed, Kabul's police chief said. General Ayoub Salangi told Reuters the gunfight ended after about 90 minutes with all the attackers killed. (Reporting by Mirwais Harooni and Dylan Welch, Editing by Ron Popeski) Full Story | Top |
| Taliban attack Afghan presidential palace: Reuters witnesses Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:54 PM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen attacked Afghanistan's presidential palace and surrounding buildings, including the CIA's Afghan headquarters, early on Tuesday, with explosions and gunfire shaking the city center. A Reuters reporter at the palace said the attack began soon after 6.30 a.m. (0200 GMT), when at least one man opened fire with an automatic rifle at a gate to the palace in the central Shash Darak district. Karzai's whereabouts were not immediately known, though he was due to attend a press event at the palace after 9 a.m. (0430 GMT). ... Full Story | Top |
| Taliban say they attacked Afghan presidential palace Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:08 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an early morning attack on the presidential palace and nearby government and other buildings as fighting raged in the area. "Today at 6.30 a.m. a number of martyrs attacked the presidential palace, defense ministry and the Ariana Hotel," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message. The Ariana Hotel is known to house the headquarters of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan. (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Ron Popeski) Full Story | Top |
| Singapore smog eases as Indonesian planes waterbomb fires Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:49 PM PDT  By John O'Callaghan and Chris Nusatya SINGAPORE/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Air quality in Singapore improved significantly to "moderate" pollution levels on Saturday, as Indonesian planes waterbombed raging forest fires and investigators scrambled to determine the cause of one of Southeast Asia's worst air pollution crises. Indonesia's environment minister said eight domestic firms were suspected of being responsible for the blazes on Sumatra island that blanketed neighboring Singapore in record levels of hazardous smog. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sign of Snowden as Aeroflot plane lands in Havana Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:22 PM PDT  HAVANA (Reuters) - An Aeroflot flight from Moscow that was being closely tracked by media organizations in case Edward Snowden, the former security contractor who revealed details of U.S. surveillance programs, was on board, landed in Cuba uneventfully on Monday. Russian reporters on board the flight and foreign press gathered at Havana airport reported no sightings of Snowden or any unusual security. When the captain of the Aeroflot plane emerged from customs he was surrounded by photographers. He pulled out his own camera, took picture of the photographers and said "No Snowden, no. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff calls for constitutional vote to quell protests Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:15 PM PDT  By Brad Haynes and Maria Carolina Marcello SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff sought to overcome a sudden wave of national discontent with a surprising call on Monday for a referendum on what would be the country's most ambitious political reform in decades. Rouseff proposed a national vote on amending Brazil's constitution in a meeting with governors and mayors the week after the country's largest protests in 20 years jolted politicians of all stripes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian team threatens legal action over new America's Cup rules Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:59 PM PDT By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawyer for the Italian team competing in this summer's America's Cup sailing regatta in San Francisco said on Monday that he is prepared to go to court over last-minute rule changes that came in the wake of a fatal training accident in May. The four teams competing for the cup have been meeting with mediators to reach agreement on 37 safety measures that Regatta Director Iain Murray and race organizers formulated after the wreck of an Artemis Racing catamaran killed Olympic gold medalist Andrew Simpson. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses Russia as mystery over Snowden deepens Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:59 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Lidia Kelly WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States increased pressure on Russia on Monday to hand over Edward Snowden, the American charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, and said it believed he was still in Moscow. Snowden, until recently a contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency, had been expected to fly to Havana from Moscow on Monday, perhaps on the way to Ecuador, according to sources at the Russian airline Aeroflot who spoke on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| BRICS seek to limit fallout of U.S. stimulus withdrawal Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:09 PM PDT By Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Major emerging-market nations will work together to limit the effects that a strong U.S. dollar could have on their economies as the Federal Reserve signals plans to scale back its massive stimulus program, the Brazilian government said on Monday. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed ways to strengthen policy coordination on Monday in a telephone conversation, said Thomas Traumann, spokesman for the Brazilian government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian army chief of staff to leave post Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:59 PM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian army chief Rachid Ammar abruptly announced his retirement on Monday night amid increased political tensions surrounding the country's transition to democracy. "I decided to leave the service under the age limit .. I asked the president on Saturday and he agreed to my departure," Ammar, 65, said in a live television program. Tunisian democracy activists initially hailed the army's role in the revolution that toppled former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and inspired revolts across the Arab world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Same-sex couples wait - and hope - for U.S. high court marriage ruling Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:55 PM PDT  By Ronnie Cohen and Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) - The Reverend Paul Mowry, a minister at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church near San Francisco, awoke at 6:30 a.m. Monday, hoping it would be the day the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that would allow him to marry Joe Silverman, his companion of 27 years. But despite widespread expectations, the court put off releasing its opinions on two key same-sex marriage cases until later this week, leaving Mowry and his partner to wait that much longer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:46 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Asian powers are outpacing the United States to become the biggest spenders on defense by 2021 and are fuelling an "explosion" in the global arms trade, a study showed. The global arms trade jumped by 30 percent to $73.5 billion between 2008-2012 in spite of the economic downturn, driven by surging exports from China and demand from countries like India, and is set to more than double by 2020, defense and security consultancy IHS Jane's said on Tuesday. "Budgets are shifting East and global arms trade is increasing competition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Questions turn to U.S. competence in Snowden saga Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:37 PM PDT  By Andy Sullivan and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has spent the past few weeks arguing it can wield power responsibly after Edward Snowden unveiled its sweeping spying programs. Now the administration must prove it can wield power effectively. As the 30-year-old leads the world's lone superpower on a global game of hide and seek, U.S. government officials faced questions about whether they had botched the effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong to face charges related to his leak of classified information. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lebanon faces tumult after deadliest Syria-related clashes Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese government will try on Tuesday to secure the country after the deadliest violence since the start of a two-year conflict in neighboring Syria that has pushed Lebanon's myriad militia to clashes. Gunfights between the army and Sunni Muslim radical groups in the southern port of Sidon extended into Monday night after Lebanese soldiers stormed a complex holding gunmen loyal to a radical Islamist cleric and arrested dozens of his supporters. Violence also spread to the city of Tripoli in the north. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. angry about Snowden's protectors, but will it get even? Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:16 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials and lawmakers have made it clear they're furious at the governments that have played a role in enabling fugitive security contractor Edward Snowden's globe-trotting, but the United States is expected to take a restrained approach to any retribution. President Barack Obama's administration has been trying to track Snowden since he slipped out of Hong Kong and flew to Moscow on Sunday, but his whereabouts remained a mystery amid a blizzard of speculative reports that he could be headed to Cuba, Ecuador, or Iceland. ... Full Story | Top |
| Column: NSA and the Pandora's box of surveillance Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:31 PM PDT  By Jack Shafer (Reuters) - Let's assume for a moment that National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander was telling the truth yesterday on ABC News's This Week when he said that the NSA material leaked by Edward Snowden "has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and to our allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Immigration bill passes key test vote in Senate Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:25 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An immigration bill endorsed by President Barack Obama easily cleared an important test on Monday when the U.S. Senate backed new border security steps seen as essential to the legislation's fate. By a vote of 67-27, the border security amendment cleared a procedural hurdle, leaving opponents of the bill with few remaining opportunities for killing or further delaying passage of the legislation this week. In a sign of the bill's growing strength, 15 Republicans voted with Democrats, who control the Senate. The bipartisan legislation would bring the biggest changes to ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Supreme Court takes small step to bridge ideological divide Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:23 PM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may never be clear what happened behind the scenes at the U.S. Supreme Court to yield Monday's compromise decision upholding university affirmative action. The case was heard in October, the first month of the term, and as the months went by and the justices deliberated in secret, the suspense grew. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey poised to become second state to ban anti-gay therapy Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Victoria Cavaliere (Reuters) - The New Jersey Assembly voted on Monday to ban so-called conversion therapy, taking a step toward becoming the second U.S. state to prohibit licensed therapists from counseling gay and lesbian youths to change their sexual orientation The bill passed by a 56-14 vote, with seven abstentions, and it was expected to be adopted by the state Senate in a vote on Thursday. Governor Chris Christie in March said he opposed the practice of conversion therapy, but on Monday his office declined to comment on whether he would sign or veto the bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish investors to berate Bankia executives at annual meeting Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) - Thousands of ordinary investors who lost money when Spain's Bankia had to be bailed out barely a year after its stock market listing intend to protest at the lender's annual general meeting on Tuesday. Shareholder activist groups have hired buses to the meeting in Valencia, in eastern Spain, and have berated Bankia executives for failing to book a larger venue. The government had pitched Bankia's public offering as the solution to Spain's banking ills when it was listed in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| World's bankers meet, pressing for clarity on regulatory change Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Steve Slater and Laura Noonan PARIS (Reuters) - Top bankers and policymakers from around the world will search for ways to kick-start Europe's economy and seek clarity on regulatory changes at this week's conference of the financial industry's global trade body. More than 1,000 bankers, politicians, regulators and investors meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday for a conference of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which lobbies on behalf of banks over regulatory, financial and economic issues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rapper 'Fat Joe' sentenced to prison on tax charges Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Hip hop artist Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena was sentenced on Monday to four months in federal prison and fined $15,000 for failure to file tax returns on more than $3.3 million in income. The 42-year-old rapper faced the possibility of up to two years in prison after pleading guilty in December to two counts of failing to file with the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor gave the Bronx-born rapper credit for paying $718,000 in back taxes prior to his sentencing and for his charitable work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trayvon Martin murder case: Opening clash on shooter's motive Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  (Editor's note: This story contains language in the 4th paragraph that some readers may find offensive) By Tom Brown and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin simply because "he wanted to," because he was an armed vigilante, and because he viewed the 17-year-old whom he'd never met as just another "punk," a prosecutor said in opening statements to the jury in a trial that promises to raise thorny issues of race and gun rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton letters, Lewinsky clothing gifts up for auction Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:52 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A collection of items used in the investigation of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky's sexual encounters with then U.S. President Bill Clinton is being auctioned online, Nate D. Sanders Auctions said on Monday. The 32-item collection was submitted by Lewinsky's former lover Andy Bleiler to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr during his investigation of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in the 1990s, the auction house said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Labor Dept probes whether food court workers were underpaid in federal building Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:48 PM PDT By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Labor Department is investigating whether food court vendors in Washington's largest U.S. government building underpaid workers and denied them overtime pay. Good Jobs Nation, a non-union group representing current and former workers in the Ronald Reagan Building, had urged the Labor Department on Monday to probe whether nine of the food court's 18 employers - including Subway, Quick Pita and Smoothie King - owed as much as $1 million in back wages and damages. "The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. officials don't know how much secret material Snowden took Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:46 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies are worried they do not yet know how much highly sensitive material is in the possession of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, whose whereabouts are unclear, several U.S. officials said. The agencies fear that Snowden may have taken many more documents than officials initially estimated and that his alliance with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange increases the likelihood that they will be made public without considering the security implications, they said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. panel takes action aimed at needless patent lawsuits Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:45 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. trade panel that deals with patent infringement cases took a step on Monday that could rein in companies, often known as patent trolls, accused of embarking on frivolous litigation. The International Trade Commission said it will soon require some complaining companies to prove upfront that they have a significant presence in the United States. The commission said it created a pilot program in which its six administrative judges will in some cases determine within 100 days if companies that sue for infringement have adequate U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alberta promises C$1 billion in flood funding, won't balance budget Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  TORONTO (Reuters) - Alberta Premier Alison Redford on Monday promised C$1 billion ($950 million) in initial funding to help pay for damage caused by major flooding this past weekend, and said the oil-rich province would no longer be able to balance its operating budget this year. Redford said funding was a preliminary contribution to pay for the initial cost of cleaning up the floods in southern Alberta that began last week and for those that affected the oil sands center of Fort McMurray earlier this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| IRS 'lookout' lists cast wider net than conservative groups Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:31 PM PDT  By Patrick Temple-West and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Internal Revenue Service agents used more than just "Tea Party" and other conservative terms to screen tax exempt applications, the newly-appointed IRS chief said on Monday after a month-long review ordered by President Barack Obama. The IRS has scrapped use of the "be on the lookout" (BOLO) lists, newly appointed IRS chief Daniel Werfel said in a conference call with reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| CBO finds border security amendment would cut illegal immigration Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded on Monday that an amendment to bolster border security in a landmark immigration bill would reduce unlawful entries as well as visa overstays. Republican Senator John Hoeven, a chief author of the amendment, told Reuters he welcomed the CBO's findings and that it may help build support for the legislation in the Senate as well as in the House of Representatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: BRICS nations monitoring 'complex' global markets - source Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:11 PM PDT BRASILIA (Reuters) - Major emerging-market economies are paying close attention to "new and complex" developments in global financial markets and want closer coordination of their macroeconomic policies, a diplomatic source briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed ways to strengthen policy coordination on Monday in a telephone conversation, said the official, who asked not to be identified. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox - U.S. top court rulings on campus racial affirmative action Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:57 PM PDT (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a major ruling on Monday in a closely watched case on the University of Texas's affirmative action student admissions policy, sending the case back to a lower court to consider. It marked the top U.S. court's latest decision relating to university policies that consider an applicants' race in the admissions process to ensure campus diversity. Here is a look at three important university affirmative action cases over the past 35 years. * Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justices duck major ruling on affirmative action Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:57 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court avoided a major ruling on affirmative action in college student admissions on Monday, but warned that university policies that take race into account could be more vulnerable to legal challenges in the future. In a lopsided 7-1 vote that few expected, the justices sent a case about the policy at the University of Texas at Austin back to a lower court for reconsideration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff proposes political reform to quell protests Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:56 PM PDT  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Monday proposed a popular referendum to embark on a sweeping political reform in response to the country's largest public protests in 20 years. Rousseff called for a public vote to eventually amend Brazil's constitution as she sought to seize the momentum in a national debate set off by two weeks of increasingly disruptive demonstrations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justices to hear presidential 'recess appointments' case Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:53 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley and Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case involving the National Labor Relations Board that raises fundamental questions about the authority of the U.S. president to make appointments without Senate approval. The so-called recess appointments have been increasingly used over the past several decades by presidents from both major political parties to appoint a candidate who would likely have trouble winning U.S. Senate confirmation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canadian regulator takes Ernst & Young to task on Zungui Haixi Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:50 PM PDT By Euan Rocha TORONTO (Reuters) - Accounting firm Ernst & Young (E&Y) conducted improper audits of Chinese clothing and footwear retailer Zungui Haixi before it collapsed in 2011 following claims of fraud, Canada's top securities regulator alleged on Monday. Toronto-listed Zungui was one of several Chinese companies with North American listings to come under pressure in the wake of fraud allegations against now defunct Chinese forestry company Sino-Forest Corp. ... Full Story | Top |
| Billie Jean King film replays tennis battle for women's equality Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:49 PM PDT  By Ian MacKenzie EDINBURGH (Reuters) - As Wimbledon gets under way, former U.S. tennis champion Billie Jean King is telling the tale of how she struck one of the most famous blows for female equality in a new documentary film. "The Battle of the Sexes" recounts King's journey from an amateur player to a feminist sports idol whose 1973 defeat of self-confessed "chauvinist pig" Bobby Riggs set women's rights and tennis on the road to a modern game where Serena Williams can enjoy equal status and prize money with Novak Djokovic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Major law firms Weil, Patton Boggs face layoffs, defections Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:45 PM PDT By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a sign that the financial challenges buffeting the law industry continue unabated, two major U.S. firms are facing significant staff reductions. Weil Gotshal & Manges, one of the world's most prominent firms, said on Monday it would lay off 60 associate lawyers and 110 support staff. Meanwhile, Patton Boggs, a Washington, D.C.-based firm known best for its lobbying practice, confirmed that 17 of its partners announced last week they would be departing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Convicted NY child molester was rightfully prosecuted: report Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:31 PM PDT By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man who spent 13 years in prison for the sexual abuse of minors in the 1980s was rightfully convicted, prosecutors said on Monday, a legal setback in a decade-long campaign to exonerate Jesse Friedman after an Oscar-nominated documentary questioned his prosecution and guilt. An extensive three-year review "has only increased confidence in the integrity of Jesse Friedman's guilty plea and adjudication as a sex offender," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a 155-page report. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment