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| Ghana's Supreme Court rejects opposition challenge to 2012 vote Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 03:56 PM PDT  By Kwasi Kpodo ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an opposition challenge to President John Mahama's victory in presidential elections, a ruling that should ease political uncertainty in the booming African oil- and cocoa-exporting country. Mahama narrowly clinched December's vote with 50.7 percent of the ballot but the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) had alleged fraud ranging from inflated tallies to the participation of unregistered voters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Puma helicopters given all-clear to fly North Sea again Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 02:12 PM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - A British safety group on Thursday ended a six-day suspension of flights by Super Puma helicopters in the North Sea, imposed after four oil rig contractors were killed in a crash last week. Although the cause of last Friday's fatal accident near Scotland's Shetland Islands remains unknown, the Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) said there was no evidence to continue a suspension on flights put in place on Saturday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Telecoms gains, bank earnings take TSX higher Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 02:05 PM PDT  By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index advanced on Thursday, led by gains in financials and telecoms, as bullish quarterly profit reports from major lenders and strong economic data from the United States drove the market. A jump in telecoms shares also lifted sentiment. Investors concluded that a move by Verizon Communications to buy out the rest of its stake in Verizon Wireless from Britain's Vodafone Group will likely force the U.S. heavyweight to shelve its plans to enter the Canadian market. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Massive wildfire prompts new travel restrictions through Yosemite Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Laila Kearney SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Firefighters determined to keep a massive blaze from invading the heart of California's Yosemite National Park took advantage of cooler weather early on Thursday to slow the spread of flames ahead of a holiday weekend marking the end of the peak summer tourist season. Progress came after a long stretch of Yosemite's main east-west road was closed on Wednesday through the western half of the park as crews tightened their grip on the blaze, extending containment lines around 30 percent of the fire's perimeter by the end of its 12th day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Study finds poverty reduces brain power Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 11:01 AM PDT By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Poverty and the all-consuming fretting that comes with it require so much mental energy that the poor have little brain power left to devote to other areas of life, according to the findings of an international study published on Thursday. The mental strain could be costing poor people up to 13 IQ (intelligence quotient) points and means they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions that amplify and perpetuate their financial woes, researchers found. "Our results suggest that when you are poor, money is not the only thing in short supply. ... Full Story | Top |
| Endangered black rhino born at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 10:55 AM PDT  By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Eastern black rhinoceros, a critically endangered species, was born at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo this week, the first in 24 years, officials said on Thursday. The male calf, weighing 60 pounds at birth, was born on Monday to first-time mother, Kapuki, age 8, according to the zoo. The father is 27-year-old Maku. Black rhinos were nearly driven to extinction in the 1990s. They are a major poaching target, mainly due to the misconception that their horns have medicinal value. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. eyes crude-by-rail safety in wake of Canada mishap Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 09:57 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Thursday they were scrutinizing crude-by-rail shipments as they consider rules meant to prevent another tragedy like the runaway train that killed dozens in Canada last month. Regulators began stepping up rail cars inspections over the weekend to ensure that train manifests accurately reflect the cargo, in an operation dubbed "Bakken Blitz" after the oil patch region around North Dakota. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zurich chairman Ackermann quits over CFO suicide Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 09:44 AM PDT  By Katharina Bart ZURICH (Reuters) - Josef Ackermann, the former head of Deutsche Bank , resigned on Thursday as chairman of Zurich Insurance over the apparent suicide of the Swiss insurer's finance chief. Ackermann said the family of chief financial officer Pierre Wauthier, who had worked at Europe's No. 3 insurance group for 17 years, believed he shared some of the blame for his death. Wauthier's death came just weeks after the head of telecoms firm Swisscom , Carsten Schloter, died in another apparent suicide. ... Full Story | Top |
| Activism in energy sector creates obstacles for M&A Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 09:30 AM PDT By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) - When hedge fund TPG-Axon launched its activist campaign at U.S. oil and gas company SandRidge Energy Inc last year, the activist investor laid out hopes that the company could explore a sale. But an outright sale of the company has not happened. Paradoxically, that is at least in part because of a surge in activism in the energy sector this year, bankers and analysts said. According to Thomson Reuters data, there have been 13 activist situations involving publicly traded energy companies in the first eight months of 2013 alone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mouse body clock study offers clues to possible jet lag cure Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 09:21 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found a genetic mechanism in mice that hampers their body clock's ability to adjust to changes in patterns of light and dark, and say their results could someday lead to the development of drugs to combat jet lag. Researchers from Britain's Oxford University and from the Swiss drug firm Roche used mice to analyze patterns of genes in an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) - which in mammals pulls every cell in the body into the same biological rhythm. ... Full Story | Top |
| NASA's Mars rover spies solar eclipse Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 09:12 AM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity turned its cameras skyward to snap pictures of the planet's moon, Phobos, passing in front of the sun, images released on Thursday show. Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012 for a two-year mission to determine if the planet most like Earth in the solar system has, or ever had, the chemical ingredients for life. It struck pay dirt in its first analysis of powder drilled out from inside a once water-soaked piece of bedrock. ... Full Story | Top |
| India rupee bounces from record low; government seeks solutions Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 08:59 AM PDT  By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Neha Dasgupta NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian rupee rebounded on Thursday from a record low as the central bank sold dollars to oil companies, while policymakers scrambled for more lasting solutions to what some investors are describing as a crisis. Among the steps debated by policymakers on Thursday were monetizing the country's stash of gold and lowering fuel consumption to reduce import demand. ... Full Story | Top |
| US FDA probes brain infection in patient on Novartis's MS drug Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 08:38 AM PDT  (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating a case of a rare and serious brain infection that developed in a patient in Europe, who was being treated with Novartis's multiple sclerosis drug, Gilenya. The FDA said this was the first instance of the infection, called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), being reported in a Gilenya patient, who had not previously received Biogen Idec's Tysabri. (http://r.reuters.com/xuc72v) Tysabri is another multiple sclerosis (MS) drug associated with a high risk of PML. ... Full Story | Top |
| Investigators find black box of crashed North Sea helicopter Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 08:37 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - A team investigating a fatal helicopter crash in the North Sea near Scotland's Shetland Islands said on Thursday it had retrieved the aircraft's "black box" flight recorder which could help determine the cause of the accident. Four oil rig contractors were killed when a Super Puma L2, made by EADS unit Eurocopter, crashed into the sea off Shetland's rocky southern coast on Friday night. The helicopter, carrying 16 passengers and two crew, was operated by CHC Helicopter for France's Total. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. reviews safety of Dakota crude-by-rail transport: official Thursday, Aug 29, 2013 08:08 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A regulator for U.S. rail and pipeline safety on Thursday said officials are reviewing crude-by-rail shipments from North and South Dakota. The safety review, dubbed "Bakken Blitz" by regulators, refers to the oil-rich region principally in North Dakota that has seen a production boom. The review began days ago and will check that rail manifests properly reflect cargo and that trains are properly staffed, said Cynthia Quarterman, administrator of the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. ... Full Story | Top |
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