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| Gay marriage gets big boost in two Supreme Court rulings Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 01:59 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark victory for gay rights on Wednesday by forcing the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal and paving the way for it in California, the most populous state. As expected, however, the court fell short of a broader ruling endorsing a fundamental right for gay people to marry, meaning that there will be no impact in the more than 30 states that do not recognize gay marriage. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mandela still critical, Zuma cancels Mozambique trip Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:29 PM PDT By Ed Cropley JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma canceled a trip to neighboring Mozambique on Thursday, intensifying speculation about a deterioration in the health of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela, who remains critically ill in hospital. Zuma made his decision not to leave the country after visiting the 94-year-old late on Wednesday in the Pretoria hospital where he has been receiving treatment for a lung infection for nearly three weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas governor mounts new bid for abortion restrictions Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 06:51 PM PDT  By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry on Wednesday launched another battle to pass sweeping abortion restrictions after a marathon speech by a Democrat lawmaker briefly halted a bill critics say could shut most abortion clinics in one of the nation's biggest states. Democratic Senator Wendy Davis, once a teenage mother who went on to earn a Harvard Law degree, was propelled on to the national political stage when she spoke for more than 10 hours to block a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi offers to listen, opponents unimpressed Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 06:14 PM PDT  By Yasmine Saleh and Alastair Macdonald CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi offered opponents a say in amending Egypt's constitution, but railed against "enemies" he accused of undermining the new democracy in a defiant speech ahead of mass protests planned to demand that he step down. As the Islamist head of state ended a marathon televised address early on Thursday, liberals said they had heard nothing new, including any offer to include them in committees to draft institutional reforms and study "national reconciliation". ... Full Story | Top |
| Mongolian president wins second term amid focus on mining curbs Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 08:32 PM PDT  ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolia's incumbent president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who wants more controls on foreign mining investments, has emerged as the winner of Wednesday's polls with a narrow majority of votes cast, the country's election commission said on Thursday. Elbegdorj, 50, who has served as president since 2009, was the overwhelming favorite in the contest, played out amid worries about Mongolia's faltering economy as well as the growing role of foreign mining firms. The commission said Elbegdorj got 50. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden still at airport, Ecuador asylum decision could take months Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Alessandra Prentice and Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - A former U.S. spy agency contractor facing charges of espionage remained in hiding at a Moscow airport on Wednesday while the prospect grew of a protracted wrangle over his fate. Ecuador, where Edward Snowden has requested asylum, said a decision could take months and asked Washington to argue its case for extradition. Russia said Snowden, whose flight is proving a growing embarrassment for President Barack Obama, was still in the transit area of Sheremetyevo airport. A leading U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fresh protests in Brazil despite government concessions Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle and Tatiana Ramil BRASILIA/BELO HORIZONTE (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets on Wednesday in new demonstrations calling for a crackdown on corruption and better public services, just a day after Congress ceded to some of the key demands galvanizing protests across the country. In Belo Horizonte, authorities said 40,000 people gathered to demand improved education and healthcare as Brazil's third-largest city hosted a Confederations Cup semi-final soccer game between Brazil and Uruguay in a warm-up for the 2014 World Cup. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rudd sworn in as Australian prime minister after overthrowing Gillard Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 09:03 PM PDT  By James Grubel CANBERRA (Reuters) - Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australian prime minister for the second time on Thursday, a day after toppling Julia Gillard and three months out from scheduled elections with polls suggesting the ruling Labor Party is staring at a devastating defeat. Rudd's resurrection as prime minister comes after three years of bitter infighting within the Labor leadership and as the world's 12th largest economy faces challenges from a slowdown in top trade partner China. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia frees three Europeans jailed for topless feminist protest Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:42 PM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian court on Wednesday decided to release three European feminist activists who staged a topless protest in Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government. The release of the three women -- one German and two French members the women's rights group, Femen -- could ease the anger of the European Union, Tunisia's main economic ally. They were sentenced to four months in jail for indecency earlier this month after their May 29 protest to call for the release of fellow activist Tunisian Amina Tyler. Tyler, 18, remains in custody, awaiting trial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate backs border amendment to immigration bill Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About $46 billion in border security was added on Wednesday to a comprehensive immigration bill headed toward bipartisan passage in the U.S. Senate, but Republicans in the House of Representatives voiced strong opposition. The Democratic-led Senate is expected to approve the White House-backed bill on Thursday or Friday and send it to the House, which likely will not even bring it up for a vote, largely because of resistance to a proposed pathway to citizenship for up to 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed communication went through 'rocky' patch: official Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:04 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve communications have been through a "rocky" patch but financial markets are now more in sync with the central bank's message, a senior Fed official said on Wednesday, shrugging off a week of violent volatility. Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a persistent critic of the Fed's massive bond- buying campaign, said it was always going to be difficult to discuss ending the program because of its open-ended nature. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrats pressure IRS inspector over scrutiny of liberal groups Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:46 PM PDT  By Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats on Wednesday intensified pressure on Internal Revenue Service Inspector General Russell George, who is becoming entangled in the controversy over the targeting of conservative groups for extra scrutiny begun by his office. Last month's report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), headed by George, set off a furor in Washington, leading President Barack Obama to fire the agency's chief as the FBI and Congress opened investigations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria death toll tops 100,000, rebels lose border town Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:51 PM PDT By Dominic Evans and Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have retaken a town on the Lebanese border as they press an offensive against rebels in a conflict that has now cost more than 100,000 lives, activists said on Wednesday. The army took full control of Tel Kalakh, driving out insurgents and ending an unofficial truce under which it had allowed a small rebel presence to remain for several months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas governor mounts new bid for abortion restrictions Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 04:14 PM PDT  By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry on Wednesday launched another battle to pass sweeping abortion restrictions after a marathon speech by a Democrat lawmaker briefly halted a bill critics say could shut most abortion clinics in one of the nation's biggest states. Democratic Senator Wendy Davis, once a teenage mother who went on to earn a Harvard Law degree, was propelled on to the national political stage when she spoke for more than 10 hours to block a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi offers constitution change before protests Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:52 PM PDT By Alastair Macdonald and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi offered opponents a say on Wednesday in amending a controversial new constitution and a forum to seek "national reconciliation", as he sought to avert a violent showdown in the streets. In a televised address lasting more than two and a half hours, the Islamist head of state blamed loyalists of fallen dictator Hosni Mubarak for the "paralysis" that has marked his first year in office but also offered an olive branch to opponents that also seemed to address demands from the army. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Big poll win for Japan PM Abe's party could defeat bold economic reform Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Will the real Shinzo Abe please stand up? Abe, back as Japan's premier in a rare second term, is expected to lead his ruling bloc to victory in a July upper house election, but what he will do with the mandate is a puzzle. Pessimists fear too decisive a win will weaken commitment to reforms needed to end the stagnation that has long plagued the economy. The risks are twofold. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy government coalition averts split over F-35 jet purchase Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:39 AM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's ruling coalition averted a split over a motion to scrap its purchase of 90 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets on Wednesday by agreeing to seek parliament's approval before going ahead with further spending on the program. The awkward right-left governing bloc, formed two months ago to end a political stalemate that followed February's deadlocked national election, risked fragmenting over a vote to pull out of the fighter program first agreed more than a decade ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tributes for 'pillar of peace' Mandela pile up at hospital Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 08:32 AM PDT  By Jon Herskovitz PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africans have been coming in their hundreds to offer notes, flowers and prayers for Nelson Mandela at a wall surrounding a Pretoria hospital where the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero remains in a critical condition. Well-wishers' messages, bouquets and stuffed animals have piled up at the guarded boundary around the compound where doctors are treating the former South African president for a recurrent lung infection. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rudd returns as Australia PM after toppling Gillard Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  By James Grubel CANBERRA (Reuters) - Kevin Rudd returned as Australian prime minister on Wednesday, executing a stunning party room coup on Julia Gillard almost three years to the day after being ousted by his former deputy and less than three months out from a general election. The reinstatement of Rudd was a last-ditch effort to shore up support by the governing Labor Party, which opinion polls show faces catastrophic defeat at a poll scheduled for Sept 14. ... Full Story | Top |
| Video of kidnapped Czechs demands release of jailed Pakistani Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 10:01 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - A video message on Wednesday purporting to show two Czech women hostages in Pakistan demanded the release of a Pakistani national jailed in the United States in return for their freedom. Antonie Chrastecka and Hana Humpalova, both 24, were kidnapped in Pakistan in March. They speak in the video against a background of photographs of Aafia Siddiqui, a neuroscientist who was given an 86-year sentence by a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Marc Rich, 'King of Oil' pardoned by Clinton, dies at 78 Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 09:28 AM PDT  By Alice Baghdjian LUCERNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Billionaire Marc Rich, who invented oil trading and was pardoned by President Bill Clinton over tax evasion, racketeering and busting sanctions with Iran, died on Wednesday in Switzerland aged 78. Rich fled the Holocaust with his parents for America to become the most successful and controversial trader of his time and a fugitive from U.S. justice, enjoying decades of comfortable privacy at his sprawling Villa Rosa on Lake Lucerne. ... Full Story | Top |
| First-quarter growth reading slashed in cautionary note on economy Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 11:25 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government slashed its estimate for first-quarter economic growth on Wednesday, offering a cautionary note on the recovery as the Federal Reserve ponders curtailing its massive monetary stimulus. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the quarter, the Commerce Department said. The economy was previously reported to have grown at a 2.4 percent pace after a gain of just 0.4 percent in the final three months of last year. Almost all categories were revised lower, with the exception of home construction and government. ... Full Story | Top |
| As Gaza heads for water crisis, desalination seen key Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:42 AM PDT  By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - A tiny wedge of land jammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean sea, the Gaza Strip is heading inexorably into a water crisis that the United Nations says could make the Palestinian enclave unliveable in just a few years. With 90-95 percent of the territory's only aquifer contaminated by sewage, chemicals and seawater, neighborhood desalination facilities and their public taps are a lifesaver for some of Gaza's 1.6 million residents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador tells U.S. to send its position on Snowden in writing Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:18 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ecuador said on Wednesday the United States must "submit its position" regarding Edward Snowden to the Ecuadorean government in writing as it considers the former U.S. spy agency contractor's request for asylum. Ecuador, in a statement from its embassy in Washington, said it would review the request "responsibly." "The legal basis for each individual case must be rigorously established, in accordance with our national Constitution and the applicable national and international legal framework. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama embarks on trip to Africa, Mandela's health a question Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 06:30 AM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama set out on an eight-day trip to Africa on Wednesday that is aimed at reviving U.S. engagement with the continent but that will be overshadowed by the uncertain health of South Africa hero Nelson Mandela. Obama's trip, his second to the continent as president, will take him to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. While the president hopes to spotlight trade and economic development themes, his visit would be dwarfed if Mandela's condition takes a turn for the worse. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden at Moscow airport, no Aeroflot flight booked for days Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:10 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - A former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by Washington on espionage charges appeared on Wednesday to be still in hiding at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and the national airline said he was not booked on any of its flights over the next three days. Edward Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of secret U.S. government surveillance programs, then flew on to Moscow on Sunday, evading a U.S. extradition request. President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he was in the transit area of the airport and he had no intention of handing him to Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trayvon Martin was followed by Zimmerman, witness tells murder trial Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:27 PM PDT  By Tom Brown and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A friend speaking to Trayvon Martin by phone moments before he was shot to death heard him say "Get off!, Get off!," jurors were told in the murder trial of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman on Wednesday. Rachel Jeantel, 19, whose identity had been a closely guarded secret until her appearance in court, testified that she had spent several minutes on the phone listening to the unarmed black teen describe his efforts to get away from Zimmerman, until the line suddenly went dead. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rotting corpses spark fears of epidemic amid India floods Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 07:41 AM PDT  By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI, June 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Rotting corpses contaminating water sources and poor sanitation amid devastating floods in northern India could lead to a serious outbreak of diseases such as cholera and dysentery, aid groups warned on Wednesday. The floods, triggered by heavy monsoon rains more than 10 days ago, have killed at least 822 people in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand and forced tens of thousands from their homes. Officials say the death toll may cross 1,000 and thousands are still reported missing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rising NFL star Hernandez charged with murder in Massachusetts Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 02:57 PM PDT  By Scott Malone ATTLEBORO, Massachusetts (Reuters) - National Football League player Aaron Hernandez was charged with the execution-style murder of a friend and fired by the New England Patriots on Wednesday, a rapid fall for the rising star who was signed to a $41 million contract with one of the league's top teams. The charges capped a day of furious developments in which Hernandez, 23, was removed from his home in handcuffs and paraded into court to face accusations that he gunned down semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait cabinet sets parliamentary vote for July 27: KUNA Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 05:35 AM PDT KUWAIT (Reuters) - The Kuwaiti government on Wednesday set a fresh date of July 27 for a parliamentary election, delaying by two days the sixth assembly contest in seven years in the politically volatile Gulf country. The government had earlier scheduled July 25 for the poll, a snap vote ordered by its top court earlier this month after the current assembly was dissolved. "The ministerial council adopts a decree to invite voters to elect members of the National Assembly (parliament) on July, 27, 2013," official news agency KUNA reported, without giving any further details. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. first-quarter growth cut to 1.8 percent Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 05:32 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth was more tepid than previously estimated in the first quarter, held back by a moderate pace of consumer spending, weak business investment and declining exports. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Wednesday. Output was previously reported to have risen at a 2.4 percent pace after a 0.4 percent stall speed in the fourth quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-quarter GDP growth would be left unrevised at 2.4 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. employer held captive in China factory keeps his hopes up Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 03:36 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. businessman held captive by about 100 workers in a Beijing factory said on Wednesday he was hopeful of a resolution to a row about pay in the next day or two. Chip Starnes, president of the Florida-based Specialty Medical Supplies, said from behind his barred office window that the workers were demanding severance packages identical to those offered to 30 recently laid off employees - even though there weren't going to be any more layoffs. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says Israeli, Palestinian leaders want peace talks Wednesday, Jun 26, 2013 08:11 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian leaders are both committed to reviving peace talks, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday, but he acknowledged that progress on the long-stalled negotiations would be tough. Israeli-Palestinian talks broke down in late 2010 in a dispute over construction of Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land that Palestinians want as part of their future state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Flaws found in security checks by U.S. contractors four years ago Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 10:14 PM PDT  By Diane Bartz and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Government auditors discovered four years ago that a select group of private contractors conducting background checks for high-security jobs were not doing enough to ensure the quality of their investigations. ... Full Story | Top |
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