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| Muslim Brotherhood calls for rallies across Egypt after day of bloodshed Friday, Aug 16, 2013 05:27 PM PDT  By Crispian Balmer and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood defiantly called for a week of protests across Egypt starting on Saturday, a day after more than 100 people died in clashes between Islamists and the security forces that pushed the country ever closer to anarchy. Undeterred by the bloodshed in which about 700 have been killed since Wednesday, the Brotherhood urged its supporters back onto the streets to denounce the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and a crackdown on his followers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Under fire, U.S. spy agency defends surveillance programs as lawful Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:38 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under increasing pressure to justify electronic surveillance programs that at times capture communications of American citizens, the U.S. National Security Agency went to unusual lengths on Friday to insist its activities are lawful and any mistakes largely unintentional. In a sign of how much heat it has taken since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden started disclosing details of highly classified U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Icahn's bid to fast-track key Dell lawsuit fizzles out Friday, Aug 16, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By Dave Warner WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn's legal effort to derail a $25 billion takeover of Dell Inc stalled after a judge refused to fast-track his lawsuit against the personal computer maker, blunting an integral part of his months-long opposition campaign. Delaware Court of Chancery Judge Leo Strine on Friday waved off Icahn's request to accelerate the lawsuit, dismissing claims that the company and its board wronged shareholders by accepting an undervalued offer from Chief Executive Michael Dell. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans may boycott CNN, NBC presidential debates Friday, Aug 16, 2013 03:09 PM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Republican party resolved on Friday to boycott any 2016 presidential debates sponsored by CNN and NBC if the networks go ahead with plans to make special programs on Hillary Clinton, who is widely expected to seek the Democratic nomination. Delegates to a meeting of the Republican National Committee voted for a resolution that included the boycott and said the programs would be "little more than extended commercials promoting former Secretary Clinton. ... Full Story | Top |
| CIA acknowledges its mysterious Area 51 test site for first time Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:40 PM PDT By Steve Gorman (Reuters) - National security scholars at George Washington University have some good news and bad news for UFO buffs - the U.S. government has finally confirmed the existence of Area 51 in Nevada, but it makes no mention of little green men or alien spaceships. The government acknowledged the existence of the mysterious aviation test site known as Area 51, a remote installation about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, in a newly declassified CIA history of its U-2 spy plane program. ... Full Story | Top |
| UPS pilots warned of low altitude seven seconds before crash Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:32 PM PDT  By Verna Gates BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - U.S. government investigators looking into the crash of a UPS cargo plane said on Friday the pilots received a low altitude warning barely seven seconds before the sound of impact, according to data recovered from the cockpit voice recorder. Investigators retrieved data from the cockpit and flight data recorders on Friday that could shed light on Wednesday's fiery crash in Alabama that killed the jet's pilot and co-pilot. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hundreds flee as wildfire menaces Idaho ski resort towns Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:18 PM PDT  By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Firefighters battled on Friday to check a fast-moving wildfire raging near the Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho, where more than 1,000 people were evacuated as flames menaced multimillion-dollar homes in the area, authorities said. The so-called Beaver Creek Fire, the nation's top firefighting priority, has raced across 64,000 acres of mountains and canyons intersected by luxury housing developments since it was sparked by lightning in the Sawtooth National Forest on August 7. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street slips, Dow posts biggest weekly loss of 2013 Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:39 PM PDT  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell slightly on Friday, and the Dow industrials posted the biggest weekly loss this year as rising bond yields hurt shares paying rich dividends and earnings from retailers disappointed investors. The S&P 500 utilities sector, down 1.1 percent, led the day's decline as the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to a two-year high, making the highest dividend-paying stocks less attractive. Nordstrom late Thursday was the most recent department store chain to miss revenue estimates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Military judge finds Manning's WikiLeaks acts 'wanton and reckless' Friday, Aug 16, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Tom Ramstack FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The military judge who will determine how long U.S. soldier Bradley Manning will spend in prison for the biggest breach of classified data in the nation's history on Friday said she found that his acts were "wanton and reckless." Judge Colonel Denise Lind last month found Manning, 25, guilty of 20 criminal counts, including espionage and theft, for handing over some 700,000 secret U.S. documents to the WikiLeaks pro-transparency website. On Monday, she will begin deliberations on Manning's sentence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ferry sinks in Philippines killing 24, with 217 missing Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:16 PM PDT  By Enrique de Castro CEBU, Philippines (Reuters) - A Philippine ferry sank after colliding with a container ship owned by a company involved in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster, killing at least 24 people and leaving more than 200 missing, the coast guard said on Saturday. Divers were searching for bodies in the ferry, which sank on Friday minutes after the collision just outside the port of Cebu in the central Philippines that left two holes in the bow of the cargo vessel. Some 629 people had been rescued, many by fishing boats, with 217 missing, the coast guard said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. consumer confidence dips; housing starts miss forecasts Friday, Aug 16, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment ebbed in August and residential construction rose less than expected last month, potentially dimming hopes of an acceleration in economic activity in the third quarter. The data on Friday suggested that a recent spike in interest rates, in anticipation of the Federal Reserve tapering its massive bond purchases as early as next month, was starting to have an impact on households. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment slipped to 80. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge clears the way for Chicago to close 50 schools Friday, Aug 16, 2013 09:57 AM PDT CHICAGO (Reuters) - A federal judge cleared the way for Chicago to close 50 public schools by denying a request from some parents to stop the closings because they affected mainly African-American students. Sean Morales-Doyle, an attorney for the parents who brought the complaint, said Friday that attorneys are reviewing the opinion, issued Thursday, and deciding what to do next. U.S. District Judge John Z. ... Full Story | Top |
| India navy says four bodies found in submarine, no chance of survivors Friday, Aug 16, 2013 09:17 AM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Divers have found the bodies of four sailors who were on board an Indian naval submarine that was badly damaged by a fire after an explosion, but it was unlikely any of the 14 other crew members would be found alive, the navy said on Friday The explosion in a weapons store in the forward section of the Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak on Tuesday night caused a fire so hot it melted steel as the vessel lay berthed in Mumbai, resulting in the navy's worst loss in more than four decades. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: FDA says working with Merck, USDA on cattle drug Zilmax Friday, Aug 16, 2013 11:24 AM PDT By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it was working with drugmaker Merck & Co and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to gather information on the cattle feed additive Zilmax and determine if it is unsafe. The FDA, in an email response to a Reuters query, said it had received "a very small number of reports of lameness or lying down" in cattle whose feed contained zilpaterol, also known as Zilmax. ... Full Story | Top |
| UPS pilots warned of low altitude 7 seconds before crash Friday, Aug 16, 2013 04:46 PM PDT By Verna Gates BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - U.S. government investigators looking into the crash of a UPS cargo plane said on Friday the pilots received a low altitude warning barely seven seconds before the sound of impact, according to data recovered from the cockpit voice recorder. Investigators retrieved data from the cockpit and flight data recorders on Friday that could shed light on Wednesday's fiery crash in Alabama that killed the jet's pilot and co-pilot. ... Full Story | Top |
| Muslim Brotherhood calls rallies across Egypt after day of bloodshed Friday, Aug 16, 2013 03:02 PM PDT By Crispian Balmer and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood defiantly called for a week of protests across Egypt starting on Saturday, a day after more than 100 people died in clashes between Islamists and the security forces that pushed the country ever closer to anarchy. Undeterred by the bloodshed in which about 700 have been killed since Wednesday, the Brotherhood urged its supporters back onto the streets to denounce the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and a crackdown on his followers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Seventeen dead, hundreds rescued after ferry sinks in Philippines Friday, Aug 16, 2013 12:08 PM PDT  By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - At least 17 people were killed but hundreds were rescued after a passenger ferry sank following a collision with a cargo vessel in the central Philippines, a coastguard commander said. "We don't know if there are still people missing," Rear Admiral Luis Tuason told local radio early on Saturday, citing a discrepancy between the actual numbers killed or rescued and the ferry's manifest, which showed 692 crew and passengers on board. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Wall Street clashes with regulators over repo market reforms Friday, Aug 16, 2013 09:53 AM PDT  By Douwe Miedema and Lauren Tara LaCapra WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street banks are arguing that a proposal from U.S. regulators intended to rein in risk taking could severely hurt the $7 trillion repurchase market, a critical source of short-term loans in the financial system. A new rule, known as the supplemental leverage ratio, is being proposed by the Federal Reserve, but also globally, as regulators seek to control a market they see as unstable enough to cause a new financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Magnitude 5.4 quake shakes Mexico City, no injuries or damage Friday, Aug 16, 2013 09:07 AM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook Mexico City on Friday morning, with buildings evacuated but no immediate reports of damage. A preliminary earthquake report from the U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 6 miles northeast of Ometepec in the western state of Guerrero, and 190 miles south of Mexico City. "We've concluded standard examination, no damages or injuries," Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said on Twitter. Witnesses in the central Roma neighborhood reported up to 20 seconds of moderate shaking. ... Full Story | Top |
| GM to recall 293,000 Cruze cars over brake assist defect Friday, Aug 16, 2013 10:25 AM PDT  DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co will recall 292,879 Chevrolet Cruze cars in the United States due to a defect that can cause loss of the brake assist function in models with the 1.4-liter turbocharged engine and six-speed automatic transmission. The largest U.S. automaker said on Friday that the problem occurred in model year 2011 and 2012 Cruze cars. GM said it was aware of 27 low-speed crashes, but no injuries, tied to the problem. (Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Full Story | Top |
| U.N. chemical weapons team to visit Syria on Sunday Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:55 AM PDT  (Reuters) - A U.N. mission to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war tentatively plans to enter the country on Sunday, officials said on Friday. The team, consisting of weapons experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, plans to look into claims of use of sarin gas and other toxic nerve agents. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday details of the trip had been worked out with the Syrian government and that the team's departure was imminent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Reclusive preacher holds sway over Turkish politics Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:44 AM PDT  By Nick Tattersall ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A rare defense from a secretive Islamic movement of its role in Turkish political life has exposed a rift with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that could weaken one of modern Turkey's most powerful leaders. The spell of Fethullah Gulen, a 72-year-old U.S.-based Islamic preacher with a global network of schools, whose supporters say they number in the millions, has long loomed large over Turkey's constitutionally-secular state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Beirut bomb may have been suicide attack: minister Friday, Aug 16, 2013 10:08 AM PDT  By Stephen Kalin BEIRUT (Reuters) - The death toll from a car bomb which ripped through the southern Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah rose to 24 on Friday, and the government said the explosion may have been a suicide attack. Thursday's blast, a month after a car bomb wounded more than 50 people in the same district of the Lebanese capital, came amid sectarian tensions over the intervention of Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah against Sunni rebels in Syria's civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Politkovskaya murder suspect shot in leg on Moscow street Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:25 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Chechen man on trial for the murder of journalist and government critic Anna Politkovskaya was shot in the leg, his lawyer said on Friday, calling it an attempt to silence him. Dzhabrail Makhmudov is accused along with his two brothers, their uncle and an ex-policeman of gunning down Politkovskaya at her Moscow home in 2006, a murder that came to symbolize the risks faced by Kremlin critics under Vladimir Putin, who returned to the presidency last year. Makhmudov was shot on a Moscow street late on Wednesday and taken to hospital where he underwent surgery, Musayev said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sri Lankan court bars Fonterra milk products for 2 weeks Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:58 AM PDT  By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez COLOMBO (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan court on Friday banned the sale and advertising of all Fonterra milk products for two weeks, officials said, following a complaint by a health sector trade union that the company's marketing was misleading. The National Health Services Union said it sought the court ban because Fonterra products suspected of being contaminated with the toxic agricultural chemical dicyandiamide (DCD) were still on the market despite an order from the health ministry to recall them. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel's Livni sees peace talks aiding Arab world alliance shift Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:19 AM PDT  By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's top peace negotiator said on Friday newly resumed talks with the Palestinians also held a wider opportunity for Israel to seek alliances with Arab world moderates against militants in the Middle East. The U.S.-brokered talks were renewed last month after a three-year standoff, the latest session on Wednesday coming amid a row over new plans by Israel to expand its enclaves in territory Palestinians want for a state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japanese watchdog hints won't block Abe on military changes Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:04 AM PDT  By Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - The head of a Japanese constitutional watchdog suggested on Friday that it would not block a bid by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to ease constraints on the country's military. Abe wants to lift Japan's self-imposed ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense, or coming to the aid of an ally under attack. Article 9 of the U.S.-drafted, post-war constitution, if taken literally, bans Japan from maintaining a military, but it has already been stretched to allow armed forces as big as France's. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zuma's government pulls out of commemoration for mine killings Friday, Aug 16, 2013 04:52 AM PDT  By Xola Potelwa MARIKANA, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's ANC government pulled out at the last minute from a memorial ceremony marking the anniversary of the nation's bloodiest post-apartheid labor violence, drawing attention to the dominant party's loss of support among many mineworkers. President Jacob Zuma's government had planned a unifying day of prayer and reflection to commemorate the killings by police last year of 34 striking platinum workers at Lonmin's Marikana mine. ... Full Story | Top |
| Polish PM plans to replace Finance Minister Rostowski within months: sources Friday, Aug 16, 2013 07:04 AM PDT  By Karolina Slowikowska WARSAW (Reuters) - Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans to replace his finance minister, Jacek Rostowski, as part of a major cabinet reshuffle planned in a few months' time, three sources with knowledge of Tusk's thinking told Reuters. They said the move was aimed at rebuilding public confidence in the ruling Civic Platform party and prepare it for a series of elections - regional polls in 2014 and parliamentary elections in 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain detention center riot leaves 40 hurt Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:46 AM PDT DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 40 Bahraini prisoners were hurt on Friday when security forces used batons, tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades against inmates protesting over their conditions, an activist said. The Interior Ministry said security forces had restored order after a number of detainees rioted. "They tried to break the doors, the police interfered and restored order," a tweet by the ministry said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Student's death touches nerve in austerity-hit Greece Friday, Aug 16, 2013 05:53 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - A 19-year old Greek student who died after an argument with a bus ticket inspector has come to symbolize the plight of a population ground down by worsening poverty and unemployment. Thanassis Kanaoutis suffered a fatal head injury when he fell or jumped from a moving bus as it passed through a middle-class neighborhood of Athens late on Tuesday. Prosecutors have not yet established how Kanaoutis died. Witnesses said they saw him brawl with the ticket inspector. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fort Hood-area Muslims still stunned by gunman's violent outburst Friday, Aug 16, 2013 06:02 AM PDT By Eric M. Johnson KILLEEN, Texas (Reuters) - Members of Killeen's tight-knit Muslim community remember Nidal Hasan as a quiet loner who stood shoeless on the carpet of their mosque almost four years ago and sang the first words of the morning call to prayer: "Allahu akbar." They still have trouble understanding how, just a few hours later, the Army psychiatrist could have shouted those same words - "God is greatest" in Arabic - and then fatally shot 13 soldiers and wounded 31 others, witnesses said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Poland to cut number of troops in Afghanistan in October Friday, Aug 16, 2013 04:50 AM PDT WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will reduce the number of its soldiers stationed in Afghanistan in October to 1,000 from 1,600 as it moves to wind down its presence there before the NATO combat mission ends next year, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday. The country had previously announced that its 14th troop rotation in Afghanistan starting in October would be its last. "We are reducing the number of Polish soldiers in Afghanistan because we are preparing to end the withdrawal, as we announced in 2014," Tusk said at an airbase in Nowy Glinnik, central Poland. ... Full Story | Top |
| As Egypt lionizes police, activists worry Friday, Aug 16, 2013 05:34 AM PDT  By Tom Perry and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - As the bodies of hundreds of people killed by security forces lay at a Cairo mosque, ignored by Egyptian media, four of the policemen who died in the violence were feted as heroes in a funeral broadcast live on state television. "They died guarding this nation," said the TV commentator, as the four coffins draped with Egyptian flags were placed on separate fire trucks for a procession accompanied by a brass band. In somber tones, the commentator said: "The coming period is one of security and safety. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indian navy says three bodies found in submarine, no chance of survivors Friday, Aug 16, 2013 12:56 AM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - - India's navy said on Friday divers had found the bodies of three sailors who were on board a submarine badly damaged by a fire and explosions and that it was unlikely any of 15 other missing crew members would be found alive. Eighteen sailors were missing after weapons stored in the forward section of the Russian-built INS Sindhurakshak exploded in the middle of Tuesday night, causing a fire as it lay berthed in Mumbai, the navy's worst losses in more than four decades. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: In Britain, economic recovery increases PM Cameron's political capital Friday, Aug 16, 2013 02:33 AM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron may be close to pulling off one of the most significant feats of his premiership: delivering a solid economic recovery ahead of a 2015 election. Two consecutive quarters of growth have shifted the sands of British politics: six months ago, lawmakers in his ruling Conservative party warned him that failure to lead Britain out of stagnation could cost him, and them, the election. Those fearful voices have fallen silent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boeing traces faulty fire extinguishers to supplier: WSJ Thursday, Aug 15, 2013 10:50 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Boeing Co has traced the incorrectly assembled engine fire extinguishers on 787 Dreamliners to the manufacturing of bottles at a supplier's facility while saying there were no risks to flight safety, the Wall Street Journal reported. On Wednesday, Japanese airline ANA Holdings said it had found an electrical wiring problem in the fire extinguishers of the engines of three of its Boeing Dreamliner jets. The problem was first discovered during pre-flight maintenance of a jet at Tokyo airport. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: U.S. retailers say uneven recovery keeps consumers cautious Thursday, Aug 15, 2013 10:02 PM PDT  By Phil Wahba and Lisa Baertlein (Reuters) - From Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Gap Inc to Macy's Inc and McDonald's Corp, chains that cater to middle- and lower-income Americans say they are feeling the pinch of an uneven economic recovery. A host of retailers have reported tepid sales lately, highlighting the stress that consumers are feeling because of higher payroll taxes, expensive gasoline and a slow job market four years after the U.S. economy started to rebound. ... Full Story | Top |
| China seen probing IBM, Oracle, EMC after Snowden leaks Friday, Aug 16, 2013 01:08 PM PDT  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Public Security and a cabinet-level research center are preparing to investigate IBM Corp, Oracle Corp and EMC Corp over security issues, the official Shanghai Securities News said on Friday. The report follows revelations by former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden of widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency. It also comes as Beijing probes Western drugmakers over allegations of bribery and over-pricing. ... Full Story | Top |
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