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| Colombia leader rejects Jesse Jackson help in release of U.S. hostage Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 08:04 PM PDT  By Carlos Vargas and Peter Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's president rejected the involvement of U.S. civil rights activist Jesse Jackson in overseeing the release of a former U.S. Marine kidnapped by FARC rebels, saying on Saturday he would not allow the guerrillas a "media spectacle." The FARC kidnapped Afghanistan war veteran Kevin Scott Sutay in June as he trekked through jungle in southeastern Colombia despite warnings from the police to abandon the trip through what it said was a "red zone" of guerrilla activity. ... Full Story | Top |
| More than 30 still missing after Australia-bound refugee boat sank: police Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  JAKARTA (Reuters) - More than 30 people were still missing two days after a boat carrying asylum seekers to Australia sank off the Indonesian coast, killing 22 people including seven children, Indonesian security officials said on Sunday. The latest disaster to strike refugees using Indonesia's southern coast to try to make the perilous crossing suggests Australia's tough new immigration rules may not be enough to deter asylum seekers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon chief urges lawmakers to avert government shutdown Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 07:26 PM PDT  By David Alexander ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel appealed on Saturday for lawmakers to take action to avert a government shutdown next week, saying it was "astoundingly irresponsible" to try to influence policymaking by triggering a funding crisis. Hagel, speaking to reporters en route to Seoul to mark the 60th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea defense alliance, said he had spent much of the week working on future spending cuts while planning for a shutdown next week that could force 400,000 civilian defense workers to take unpaid leave. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. concerned about Turkey's choice of Chinese missile system Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 06:51 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Saturday it had expressed serious concerns to Turkey over its decision to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system with a Chinese firm under U.S. sanctions. Turkey, a member of the NATO military alliance, announced this week that it had chosen the FD-2000 missile defense system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp, or CPMIEC, over rival systems from Russian, U.S. and European firms. CPMIEC is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. ... Full Story | Top |
| Special Report: Myanmar old guard clings to $8 billion jade empire Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 06:48 PM PDT  By Andrew R.C. Marshall and Min Zayar Oo HPAKANT, Myanmar (Reuters) - Tin Tun picked all night through teetering heaps of rubble to find the palm-sized lump of jade he now holds in his hand. He hopes it will make him a fortune. It's happened before. "Last year I found a stone worth 50 million kyat," he said, trekking past the craters and slag heaps of this notorious jade-mining region in northwest Myanmar. That's about $50,000 - and it was more than enough money for Tin Tun, 38, to buy land and build a house in his home village. ... Full Story | Top |
| House advances spending bill Obama says he'll veto Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 06:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to fund the U.S. government in the new fiscal year starting on Tuesday but delay President Barack Obama's healthcare law cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Saturday. By a vote of 231-191, the Republican-controlled House set up final debate of the legislation with a vote on passage expected soon, despite a White House promise to veto the legislation because it would gut "Obamacare." (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney) Full Story | Top |
| Idaho smokejumper dies in parachute training drill Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 05:54 PM PDT By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - A veteran smokejumper for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has died after parachuting from a plane during a training exercise in Idaho, the first such accident in 13 years, an agency spokesman said on Saturday. It was unclear if an equipment flaw, medical emergency or weather conditions caused the death on Friday of Mark Urban, 40, of Boise, said Bureau of Land Management spokesman Ken Frederick. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House moves federal government closer to shutdown Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 05:26 PM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a decision that could make a U.S. government shutdown hard to avoid on Tuesday, the House of Representatives on Saturday prepared to reject an emergency spending bill approved by the Senate and push instead to delay President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. The vote by the Republican-controlled House was set to begin Saturday night. But there was little doubt about the outcome among Republicans, who cheered and chanted jubilantly in a meeting earlier Saturday after choosing their course of action. Democrats were grim. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. deputy nuclear commander suspended during investigation Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 05:08 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the American military's nuclear arsenal and its space operations, has been suspended during an investigation into issues related to gambling, a U.S. official said on Saturday. Navy Vice Admiral Tim Giardina was suspended on September 3 over the probe, Strategic Command said, without offering details on the nature of the investigation being carried out by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. A spokesman for the investigative service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina says Iran committed to probing 1994 bombing Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 04:58 PM PDT By Hugh Bronstein BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Iran has approved a deal with Argentina to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that courts in the South American country accuse Tehran of sponsoring, Argentine official state news service Telam said. Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman met in New York on Saturday with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who assured him Iran "would honor all points of the agreement" to shed light on the bombing that killed 85 people, Telam said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek police arrest leader, lawmakers of far-right Golden Dawn Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 04:54 PM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police arrested the leader and more than a dozen senior members of the far-right Golden Dawn party early on Saturday after the killing of an anti-fascist rapper by a party supporter triggered outrage and protests across the country. The arrests, which are the most significant crackdown on a political party in Greece since the fall of a military dictatorship in 1974, are the biggest setback to Golden Dawn since it entered parliament on an anti-immigrant agenda last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy agency used some Americans' data to map their behavior: NYT Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 04:49 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The New York Times reported on Saturday that the National Security Agency, the main U.S. government surveillance organization, had since 2010 used data it gathered to map some Americans' "social connections that can identify their associates, their locations at certain times, their traveling companions and other personal information. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cameron speeds up launch of controversial housing plan Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By William Schomberg and Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's prime minister launched a critical week for his party's run-up to the 2015 elections by unexpectedly bringing forward the launch of a mortgage guarantee programme that critics say risks stoking a housing bubble. Conservative leader David Cameron said on Saturday that the plan would be up and running next week, three months earlier than previously planned. The "Help to Buy" plan is aimed at people who have been frozen out of the property market by the soaring size of deposits required to get a mortgage. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council demands elimination of Syria chemical arms Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 03:34 PM PDT  By John Irish and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday that demands the eradication of Syria's chemical weapons but does not threaten automatic punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government if it does not comply. The unanimous vote by the 15-member Security Council capped weeks of intense diplomacy between Russia and the United States. It was based on a deal between the two countries reached in Geneva earlier this month following an August 21 sarin nerve gas attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Austrian coalition faces far-right challenge in vote Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 03:09 PM PDT By Michael Shields VIENNA (Reuters) - A resurgent right-wing party keen to end taxpayer-funded bailouts of euro zone laggards takes on Austria's political establishment in parliamentary elections on Sunday. The ruling Social Democrats (SPO) and their People's Party (OVP) conservative partners are counting on their record in piloting the Alpine republic through the global financial crisis relatively unscathed to win another five-year term. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate likely to meet Monday on government spending bill -aide Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 03:08 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is unlikely to hold a Sunday session and instead probably will convene as planned on Monday to consider any government funding bill passed this weekend by the House of Representatives, a Senate Democratic aide said on Saturday. The aide added that the Senate would likely use a parliamentary maneuver allowing it to strip out objectionable amendments to the emergency funding bill the Republican-controlled House is expected to attach. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamists, ruling party members chide Sudan's Bashir amid protests Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 02:49 PM PDT  By Khalid Abdelaziz and Ulf Laessing KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Islamists and members of Sudan's ruling party called on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday to cancel deeply unpopular austerity measures, the first sign of dissent inside ruling circles after a week of unrest that has killed dozens. Police fired teargas to break up thousands of people in the capital during a sixth day of protests against cuts to subsidies on cooking oil and fuel that doubled pump prices overnight. Some in the crowd chanted "Freedom, Freedom" and "Bashir, you are a killer", said witnesses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jesse Jackson accepts role in Colombia hostage release Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 02:23 PM PDT  By Carlos Vargas BOGOTA (Reuters) - U.S. civil rights activist Jesse Jackson accepted a request on Saturday by Colombia's FARC rebels to oversee the release of a former U.S. Marine they kidnapped in June while he trekked through a known guerrilla zone despite warnings of the risks. Jackson, speaking in Havana where he met on Friday night with Colombian rebel commanders who are in Cuba for peace talks with the Bogota government, said he hoped to arrive in Colombia within a week to facilitate the release of Kevin Scott Sutay. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House warns U.S. House it's moving toward government shutdown Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 02:19 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Saturday that any lawmaker who votes for a new House Republican government funding bill is "voting for a shutdown." In a brief statement, Carney said the Republican-led House of Representatives needed to pass instead the measure approved by the Democratic-led Senate on Friday that, unlike the House alternative, would fund the healthcare law known as Obamacare. (Reporting By Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Peter Cooney) Full Story | Top |
| Iraq Kurd opposition party consolidates position in regional vote Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 02:03 PM PDT ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdistan's main opposition party has come in second in the autonomous region's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results on Saturday that left the shape of the government still unclear a week after the vote. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) share power in the previous cabinet with a combined 59 out of 111 parliamentary seats, having fought out their rivalries in a civil war during the 1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Republicans reject Senate bid to avoid government shutdown Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 01:33 PM PDT By Thomas Ferraro and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government edged closer on Saturday to a shutdown as Republicans in the House of Representatives rejected an emergency spending bill approved by the Senate and pushed instead for a one-year delay of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. In the latest round of high-stakes brinkmanship between Democrats and Republicans, Republican leaders said after a closed-door meeting, punctuated by loud cheering, that the House would vote later on Saturday on their latest plan to scuttle the healthcare law, known as "Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian government breaks up after Berlusconi pulls out ministers Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 01:22 PM PDT  By Catherine Hornby and Antonella Cinelli ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi pulled his ministers out of the cabinet on Saturday, effectively bringing down the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta and leaving the euro-zone's third-largest economy in chaos. Talks will now start to find a parliamentary majority to back a new cabinet and avoid going back to an election just seven months after the last one. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian Islamists kill 27 in northeast attacks: official Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 01:08 PM PDT MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen from Islamist group Boko Haram killed 27 villagers in two attacks in Nigeria's restive northeast this week, a government official said, as violence continued to flare in the face of an army crackdown on the militants. Boko Haram wants to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria and has become the biggest security threat in Africa's second largest economy and top oil exporter. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate will reject new House bill to fund government: Reid Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 01:00 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Saturday his Democratic-led chamber was certain to kill legislation moving through the House of Representatives to delay "Obamacare" for one year and repeal a medical device tax that would be attached to a government-funding bill. "After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one: Republicans must decide whether to pass the Senate's clean CR (continuing resolution to fund the government beyond September 30), or force a Republican government shutdown," Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's foreign minister says transitional government phase to end by spring Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 12:57 PM PDT  By Asma Alsharif UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy said on Saturday the transitional phase of government in Egypt should end "by next spring," replacing leaders appointed after the army ousted elected president Mohamed Mursi in July. The Egyptian army headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, on July 3 after mass protests against his one-year rule. An interim government was appointed and a roadmap for a transition to new elections was announced. "Work is under way, in line with the roadmap, on several tracks. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House passes bill to regulate drug compounding Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 12:25 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration more authority to regulate companies that compound sterile drugs and ship them across state lines. The bill, called the Drug Quality and Security Act, now goes to the Senate for a vote. House and Senate committees agreed on the legislation on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico floods will not affect proposed 2013, 2014 budget deficits -government Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 12:21 PM PDT  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's proposed budget deficit goals for this year and 2014 will not be affected by some of the worst storm damage in decades, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto had previously said Congress would revise its proposed 2014 budget in the wake of the storms this month, which killed at least 147 people and left large swaths of the country under water, buckling bridges and destroying highways. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Washington budget war, hype and hyperbole seize the floor Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 12:19 PM PDT By Fred Barbash WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To those not watching the Capitol Hill debate over funding the government and Obamacare: You don't know what you're missing. It's "high noon," cautioned Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, "as dangerous as the breakup of the Union before the Civil War." No, actually, it's not the Civil War, said Republican Representative Roger Williams. Williams likened the budget battle before Congress to the Revolutionary War. "It's truly our generation's Valley Forge." But wait, what about World War Two? That was the analogy of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. watchdog allows delay to smooth transition to swaps trading Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 12:18 PM PDT By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. derivatives regulator late on Friday gave a new and untested type of trading platform a bit more time to comply with some of its rules, to smooth the transition to regulated trading next week. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has been rushing through permits for the platforms - called Swap Execution Facilities - that must open their doors for customers on Wednesday. The agency wanted to be ahead of a possible U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian PM Letta accuses Berlusconi of 'huge lie' Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 11:40 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Enrico Letta accused center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi on Saturday of telling Italians a "huge lie" by claiming the cabinet's failure to pass measures to avert a rise in sales tax was the reason for pulling out of the government. The statement came after Berlusconi, battling moves to expel him from parliament following a tax fraud conviction, pulled ministers from his center-right party out of the cabinet, effectively bringing down Letta's fragile coalition of left and right. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian PM Letta to seek parliamentary backing: source Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 11:02 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will seek to verify the level of support he commands in parliament next week, following the resignation of centre-right ministers from his government, but he may not call a full confidence vote, a government source said on Saturday. President Giorgio Napolitano, who would have to decide whether to call new elections or try to oversee the formation of a new government, said in a statement he had been informed by Letta of the resignations and would decide the next steps together with the prime minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four killed in suicide bomb attack in Timbuktu: Mali army Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 10:55 AM PDT TIMBUKTU (Reuters) - At least four people were killed and several wounded in a suicide car-bomb attack in Timbuktu on Saturday, the first since Mali's presidential election aimed at ending months of chaos following a Tuareg uprising that led to a military coup. The attack also comes a few days after Tuareg separatists pulled out of a ceasefire agreement and peace process with the new Malian government. Witnesses said the suicide bombers detonated their vehicle near the Malian army camp in Timbuktu, killing both occupants of the vehicle and two passerby. ... Full Story | Top |
| German government dismisses report Schaeuble may raise top income tax to woo left Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government has dismissed a report that Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is considering raising the top rate of income tax to help Angela Merkel co-opt the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) in a possible "grand coalition". Weekly news magazine Spiegel reported that Schaeuble had asked experts days after the election to draw up plans on raising the top tax rate - currently at 45 percent on income over 250,000 euros - to between 46 and 48 percent. "Minister Schaeuble has frequently and clearly rejected tax increases. This position has not changed. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House to start votes on budget plan, with Obamacare delay Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 10:22 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will start a series of votes on Saturday to keep the government funded so it can keep running past an October 1 deadline. The Republican votes will include a measure to delay President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. The proposal puts the House on a collision course with the Democratic-led Senate, which passed its own funding measure on Friday stripping out Republican attempts to defund the law, known as Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya says 'at war' with al Shabaab, faces security questions Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya is "at war" with Islamist militants who attacked a Nairobi shopping mall, the government said on Saturday as it faced questions about whether it had received advance intelligence warnings of the deadly strike. A week after the raid on the Westgate shopping centre that killed 67 civilians and police and was claimed by the Somali militant group al Shabaab, the government has been trying to reassure Kenyans that it can protect them from further attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
| On eve of meeting, India raps Pakistan on cross-border attacks Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 09:53 AM PDT  By Paul Eckert UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the United Nations on Saturday that neighboring Pakistan is the "epicenter of terrorism in our region," setting the stage for a tense meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. Singh and Sharif are set to meet on Sunday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, amid heightened tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors over Kashmir sparked by series of fatal clashes on their de facto Himalayan border. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi's ministers resign from Italy government: deputy PM Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 09:45 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - All ministers from former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right party resigned from the coalition government on Saturday, said a spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano. Berlusconi had earlier told ministers from his People of Freedom (PDL) party to consider stepping down in protest at Prime Minister Enrico Letta's order to freeze all decisions ahead of a confidence vote in parliament. "The ultimatum sent by the prime minister and his Democratic Party at their government allies ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Aftershock kills 15 in quake-hit Pakistan province Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  By Gul Yousufzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed on Saturday when an aftershock hit a Pakistani province where hundreds were killed in an major earthquake earlier this week. Saturday's 6.8 magnitude aftershock destroyed most of the town of Nokjo in the western province of Baluchistan, police said. The town is home to at least 15,000 people. At least 515 people were killed in Tuesday's earthquake in the same province, officials said on Friday. The death toll from Saturday's aftershock may rise, said Khan Wasey, the spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps. ... Full Story | Top |
| Miss Philippines crowned Miss World 2013 after protests Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 09:21 AM PDT JAKARTA (Reuters) - Miss Philippines was crowned Miss World 2013 on Saturday at a tightly guarded ceremony in Bali, Indonesia, after the contest was plagued by protests from Muslim hardliners and fears that extremist groups could try to disrupt the event. U.S.-born Megan Young, a 23-year-old studying digital film, accepted the crown from last year's winner, Wenxia Yu of China, and promised to "be the best Miss World ever". ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebels seize military post on Syria's southern border Saturday, Sep 28, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebel fighters including foreign Islamists took control of a military post on Syria's southern border with Jordan on Saturday after four days of heavy fighting with President Bashar al-Assad's forces, activists said. The former customs post on the edge of the city of Deraa, where Syria's uprising against Assad erupted in 2011, was seized by several groups including the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and the Islamist Ahrar al-Sham, according to the reports. ... Full Story | Top |
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