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| Tennis-Djokovic says against Syria strike plans Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 09:12 PM PDT By Julian Linden NEW YORK, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Tennis players rarely talk about international conflicts, preferring to play it safe by limiting their comments to serves and volleys. But the possibility of air strikes against Syria has recalled some painful memories for Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic, who broke from their usual routine at the U.S. Open to talk about their personal experiences with war. Less than two weeks ago, Djokovic addressed the United Nations General Assembly as part of the declaration for an International Day of Sport for Development and Peace next year. ... Full Story | Top |
| China factory activity up for first time in sour months in August: survey Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 07:53 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory activity expanded for the first time in four months in August as domestic demand rebounded, a private survey showed on Monday, the latest sign that the world's second-largest economy may have avoided a sharp slowdown. The final Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed to 50.1 in August, up sharply from July's 47.7 and in line with last week's flash preliminary reading. The survey came a day after China's official manufacturing PMI showed factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in more than a year in August with a jump in new orders. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama and aides confront skeptical Congress on Syria strike Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 07:19 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and his top aides launched a full-scale political offensive on Sunday to persuade a skeptical Congress to approve a military strike against Syria, but faced a struggle to win over lawmakers from both parties and a war-weary American public. Obama made calls to members of the House of Representatives and Senate, with more scheduled for Monday, underscoring the task confronting the administration before it can go ahead with using force in response to a deadly chemical attack blamed on the Syrian government. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. swimmer Nyad more than halfway in Cuba-to-Florida swim Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 07:18 PM PDT  By Kevin Gray MIAMI (Reuters) - American long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad was more than halfway across the Florida Straits on Sunday, stroking through calm waters after going farther than any of her previous attempts to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. Nyad, 64, was "swimming strongly" more than 35 hours after she set off from the Cuban capital of Havana, according to blog updates on her website (www.diananyad.com). By 4 p.m. EDT, Nyad had swum more than 63 miles of the 103-mile distance in her bid to reach the Florida Keys. ... Full Story | Top |
| Naval Academy footballer accused of rape lied to officials: investigator Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 07:06 PM PDT By Lacey Johnson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. Naval Academy football player accused of raping a female midshipmen last year initially told an investigator the encounter never happened but reversed himself after being pressed about a sexually-charged Internet message he posted, the Navy investigator testified on Sunday. The female midshipman said she was sexually assaulted in April 2012 while she was blacked out after drinking at an off-campus "football house" party in Annapolis, Maryland, the site of the elite academy. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says its envoy took part in Israeli-Palestinian meeting Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 06:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Sunday for the first time that the U.S. envoy for Israeli-Palestinian peace had taken part in a meeting between the two parties since negotiations resumed in late July, but declined to say when or whether any progress was made. "Israeli and Palestinian delegations have been meeting continuously since final status negotiations resumed on July 29," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a brief written statement. "The negotiations have been serious, and U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK manufacturers' investment plans strongest in six years - poll Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 06:52 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturers are planning the fastest increase in capital investment in the year ahead since before the financial crisis, a survey showed, suggesting the economy could be heading for a more balanced recovery. Manufacturers' association EEF and accountants BDO LLP said on Monday a balance of 24 percent of companies intended to buy machinery and equipment, up from 7 percent in the May poll. That was the highest reading since 2007 and the second-highest since the quarterly survey began in the mid-1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Scornful Syria hails 'historic American retreat' as Obama hesitates Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 06:41 PM PDT  By Yara Bayoumy and Rachelle Younglai BEIRUT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Syria hailed a "historic American retreat" on Sunday, mockingly accusing President Barack Obama of hesitation and confusion after he delayed a military response to last month's chemical weapons attack near Damascus until after a congressional vote. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said tests had shown sarin nerve gas was fired on rebel-held areas on August 21, and expressed confidence that U.S. lawmakers would do "what is right" in response. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: USS Nimitz carrier group rerouted for possible help with Syria Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 06:02 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group are heading west toward the Red Sea to help support a limited U.S. strike on Syria, if needed, defense officials said on Sunday. The Nimitz carrier strike group, which includes four destroyers and a cruiser, has no specific orders to move to the eastern Mediterranean at this point, but is moving west in the Arabian Sea so it can do so if asked. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida college band marches for first time since hazing death Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 05:16 PM PDT MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida A&M University's marching band returned to the football field on Sunday, nearly two years after the beating death of a drum major in a hazing incident led to its suspension. "Bands to make you dance. It's time!" an announcer said as the band kicked off a seven-minute halftime show at the school's home opener against Mississippi Valley State. A moment of silence was held for Robert Champion before the game in Orlando, Florida. ... Full Story | Top |
| Azeri authorities clamp down on dissent ahead of October vote: group Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 05:03 PM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Azerbaijan has intensified a crackdown on activists and journalists to stifle criticism of long-term leader Ilham Aliyev before presidential elections in October, campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. Authorities in the oil-rich South Caucasus nation have arrested dozens on trumped-up charges, dispersed anti-government rallies and adopted laws curbing freedom of speech and assembly in the past 18 months, the organization said in a report. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bigger and healthier: European men grow 11cm in a century Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 04:21 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The average height of European men grew by a surprising 11 centimeters from the early 1870s to 1980, reflecting significant improvements in health across the region, according to new research published on Monday. Contrary to expectations, the study also found that average height accelerated in the period spanning the two World Wars and the Great Depression, when poverty, food rationing and hardship of war might have been expected to limit people's growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria vote complicates U.S. fiscal debate; stop-gap more likely Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A vote in Congress over whether to launch U.S. attacks against Syria is expected to wreak collateral damage - leaving too little time on Capitol Hill to deal with fast-approaching fall deadlines to fund government agencies and raise the debt limit. That increases the likelihood that U.S. lawmakers will agree to a short-term government funding measure to get them through the fall, postponing for another day any broader deal or big showdowns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Life expectancy gap growing between rich/poor world women: WHO Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 03:14 PM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Life expectancy for women at 50 has improved, but the gap between poor and rich countries is growing and could worsen without better detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancers, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. A WHO study, one of the first to analyze the causes of death of older women, found that in wealthier countries deaths from noncommunicable diseases has fallen dramatically in recent decades, especially from cancers of the stomach, colon, breast and cervix. ... Full Story | Top |
| German candidates clash on euro and taxes in tight TV duel Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:55 PM PDT  By Noah Barkin and Stephen Brown BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Social Democrat challenger in this month's German election clashed over the euro, tax policy and U.S. spying in a television debate on Sunday that produced no clear winner. The only TV duel of the campaign, watched by an estimated 15 million viewers, was one of SPD candidate Peer Steinbrueck's last chances to change the momentum in a race in which he has trailed the popular Merkel from the very start. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt sends Mursi to trial as new constitution advances Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:52 PM PDT  By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed authorities referred deposed President Mohamed Mursi to trial on Sunday on charges of inciting murder and violence, in an escalation of the crackdown on his Muslim Brotherhood. The new government also named a constituent assembly almost devoid of Islamists and gave it 60 days to review amendments that would erase Islamic articles brought in last year by the Brotherhood and more hardline Islamic parties. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. endurance swimmer making progress on Cuba-to-Florida swim Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:50 PM PDT MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad forged ahead in the Florida Straits on Sunday on the second day of her latest bid to become the first person to swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage. Nyad, 64, was "swimming strong" on Sunday afternoon and "getting a little favorable push from the current," according to blog updates on her website (www.diananyad.com). ... Full Story | Top |
| TV confessions in China an unsettling new trend for executives Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:22 PM PDT  By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - A series of confessions by foreign and local executives on China's state-controlled television has spurred anxiety among the business community about a trend that some lawyers say makes a mockery of due process. Confessions have long been part of China's legal landscape, with petty criminals routinely admitting their guilt on television. But rarely have senior business figures been put on television in orange prison jumpsuits to confess. ... Full Story | Top |
| Speedier clearances no magic wand for India's infrastructure logjam Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:20 PM PDT  By Matthias Williams and Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Scrambling for remedies as investors' faith in India sagged, the government said last week it fast-tracked approval for a slew of infrastructure projects worth $28 billion: but the stroke of a pen in New Delhi will not be enough. The government hopes that speeding up the launch of hundreds of new power plants, highways and oil exploration blocks will breathe new life into an economy that has fallen off its perch as an emerging market high-flier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: India's crisis within a crisis; finance minister fights on two fronts Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:17 PM PDT  By Sanjeev Miglani NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Late last month, with their doors shut to the mounting market panic outside as investors fled the country, India's cabinet ministers gathered to give final approval to a cheap food scheme for the poor. It was hardly a difficult decision for a government that needs to shore up its sagging popularity before elections due by next May. But officials familiar with the discussion say there was one dissenting voice over what is now destined to become one of the world's largest welfare programs. Finance Minister P. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan government abandons hands-off approach to Fukushima clean-up Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 02:12 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg and Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government is moving to take a more direct role in the clean-up of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, as concerns grow over the ability of embattled operator Tokyo Electric to handle the legacy of the worst atomic disaster in a quarter century. The concerns have also revived debate about the future of Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) itself, including early-stage proposals to put its toxic nuclear assets under government control and leave the rest of the company as a provider of power to the nation's biggest economic region. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's hardline ex-security chief: praised by party, reviled by activists Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:57 PM PDT  By Ben Blanchard and Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - Few figures are as divisive in China as former domestic security tsar Zhou Yongkang, reportedly under investigation by the ruling Communist Party for corruption. Even the once ambitious but now ousted politician Bo Xilai, whose trial on corruption ended last week, doesn't evoke the same depth of feeling that Zhou does. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab states urge action against Syrian government Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:53 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab states on Sunday urged the international community to take action against the Syrian government over a chemical gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians. The final resolution passed by an Arab League meeting in Cairo urged the United Nations and international community to "take the deterrent and necessary measures against the culprits of this crime that the Syrian regime bears responsibility for". The League foreign ministers also said those responsible for the attack should face trial, as other "war criminals" have. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ackermann feared suicide would thwart Zurich performance drive Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:50 PM PDT  By Edward Taylor and Philipp Halstrick FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Josef Ackermann resigned because he saw the suicide of Zurich Insurance Group's finance chief curbing his ability to drive through change to revive profits, a source close to the former chairman said on Sunday. Top managers at the Swiss insurer, now battling to reassure investors, told Reuters they were puzzled by Ackermann's abrupt departure after less than 18 months in the job and by his explanation that Pierre Wauthier's family blamed him for driving the Zurich CFO to kill himself - an allegation Ackermann denied. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iranian dissidents killed in Iraq camp, U.N. demands inquiry Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:47 PM PDT By Kareem Raheem and Sylvia Westall BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 47 people were reported killed at an Iranian dissident camp in Iraq on Sunday, the United Nations said, urging Baghdad to investigate the "tragic events" at a site north of the capital. The violence took place hours after a mortar bomb attack on the camp which the dissent group Mujahadin-e-Khalq (MEK) blamed on the Iraqi army. Two Iraqi security sources said that army and special forces had opened fire on residents who had stormed a post at the entrance to Camp Ashraf, a site that Iraq's government wants closed down. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands rally in Romania against gold mine Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:15 PM PDT  BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Thousands of Romanians across the country rallied late on Sunday to protest against the leftist government's support for a plan to open Europe's biggest open-cast gold mine in the small Carpathian town of Rosia Montana. The project, which aims to use cyanide to mine 314 tonnes of gold and 1,500 tonnes of silver, has drawn fierce opposition from civic rights groups and environmentalists, who say it would destroy ancient Roman gold mines and villages. ... Full Story | Top |
| Highlights: Merkel and challenger face off on TV before vote Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:13 PM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Following are highlights of the only live TV clash between Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and main challenger Peer Steinbrueck ahead of a federal election on September 22. Steinbrueck, chancellor candidate of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), is trailing badly in opinion polls but analysts say many voters will make up their decision based on the TV debate. GERMANY'S FINANCES Merkel: "What we have managed to achieve in these past four years is relatively sensational. We have gone from the worst economic crisis Germany has had in 2009... ... Full Story | Top |
| BRICS agree on bank's structure, progress difficult: Russia Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:07 PM PDT  By Lidia Kelly and Alonso Soto MOSCOW/BRASILIA (Reuters) - The BRICS bloc of large, emerging economies has agreed on the structure of a proposed development bank with $50 billion in capital, but ironing out "difficult" details may take months, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said. Officials from Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa agreed in early August that the bank's capital should come from three payment categories, including subscriptions, Storchak told journalists in remarks for publication on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| India's Gandhi expected in U.S. for medical check-up: media Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:03 PM PDT  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress party, is expected to fly to the United States for a scheduled medical check-up, a news agency report said, just days after she took ill during a marathon parliament debate. "Her going to the U.S. for a medical check-up is due," the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency quoted an unnamed senior party leader as saying. Gandhi, who underwent surgery in the United States for an undisclosed ailment in August 2011 flew there on September 2 last year for a check-up. She went again in February this year, the PTI report said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Limits put on how long U.S. Naval midshipman in rape case must testify Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 01:00 PM PDT By Lacey Johnson (Reuters) - The military officer presiding at a hearing on accusations by a U.S. Naval Academy midshipman that she was raped by three academy football players agreed on Sunday to limit the amount of testimony she must give, after her lawyers complained she was exhausted. The female midshipman said she was sexually assaulted in April 2012 while she was blacked out after drinking too much at an off-campus "football house" party in Annapolis, Maryland, site of the elite academy. Tra'ves Bush, 22; Eric Graham, 21; and Joshua Tate, 21, have been charged. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition says Assad deploying human shields for air strikes Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 12:51 PM PDT  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has moved military equipment and personnel to civilian areas and put prisoners in military sites as human shields against any Western air strikes, the opposition said on Sunday. The Istanbul-based opposition coalition said rockets, Scud missiles and launchers as well as soldiers had been moved to locations including schools, university dormitories and government buildings inside cities. ... Full Story | Top |
| A hawkish Kerry emerges as point man in Obama's push to punish Syria Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When the Senate takes up whether to back White House plans to attack Syria, there may be few more effective or passionate lobbyists for the administration than Secretary of State John Kerry, who was a member of that exclusive club for 28 years. In two appearances that many interpreted as foreshadowing an imminent strike, Kerry last week described Syria's use of chemical weapons as "a moral obscenity" and called Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "a thug and a murderer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sister says Liz Cheney's opposition to gay marriage 'dead wrong' Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 12:30 PM PDT  By Noreen O'Donnell (Reuters) - Mary Cheney, the younger daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney who married her long-time partner Heather Poe last year, chastised her older sister, a Republican who is running for the Senate, for her opposition to same-sex marriage in a posting on Facebook. Liz Cheney, who is seeking a Senate seat in Wyoming, said on Friday that she was "not pro-gay marriage." "For the record, I love my sister, but she is dead wrong on the issue of marriage," Mary Cheney wrote on Facebook, according to the New York Times. ... Full Story | Top |
| World's central banks face slog to sway markets Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 12:08 PM PDT  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Central bank bosses in Europe and the United States have had a tough time trying to budge market expectations for monetary policy back into line with their own plans, as this week will again show. Forward guidance - making plans for monetary policy in the months and years ahead explicit - was adopted in July by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England in August, following the U.S. Federal Reserve's example. But it has already caused a problem of communication for policymakers, just as major Western economies are showing more signs of life. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street Week Ahead: Payrolls could spur Fed action; Syria fears may dip Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:59 AM PDT  By Richard Leong NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street is bracing for a wave of economic reports this week, including the August jobs report, which might prove decisive in determining whether the economy is strong enough for the Federal Reserve to dial back its bond purchases in mid-September. Anxiety about the Fed's possibly reducing its $85 billion monthly stimulus, also known as QE3, has hurt the stock market, which recorded its steepest monthly fall since May 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senegal's Sall appoints anti-graft campaigner as prime minister Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:44 AM PDT  DAKAR (Reuters) - President Macky Sall of Senegal appointed rights activist and anti-corruption campaigner Aminata Toure as prime minister after sacking a previous government on Sunday. Toure was justice minister in the outgoing government and led the government's drive to stamp out corruption by pursuing high-level cases involving senior officials, including the son of former president Abdoulaye Wade. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan's Kiir to visit Sudan ahead of oil stoppage deadline Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir will visit Sudan on Tuesday for talks with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, officials said on Sunday, as the long-time foes seek to avert a halt of vital cross-border oil flows. Diplomats hope what is only Kiir's second visit to Khartoum since South Sudan's secession in 2011 will help build trust between the neighbors, who fought one of Africa's longest civil wars that ended in 2005. Both countries agreed in March to defuse tensions and resume oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through the north, its only route to market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudis back international intervention against Assad Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:39 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia told fellow Arab League states on Sunday that opposing international intervention against the Syrian government would only encourage Damascus to use weapons of mass destruction. The United States had seemed to be gearing up for a strike against President Bashar al-Assad's forces over an August 21 poison gas attack, but is now seeking Congressional approval first. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal told foreign ministers meeting in Cairo that condemnation of Syria over the poison gas attack, which U.S. officials say killed 1,429 people, was not enough. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Putin sees chance to turn tables on Obama at G20 Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW (Reuters) - Less than three months after Vladimir Putin was cast as a pariah over Syria at the last big meeting of world leaders, the Russian president has glimpsed a chance to turn the tables on Barack Obama. The U.S. president's dilemma over a military response to an alleged poison gas attack in Syria means Obama is the one who is under more pressure going into a G20 summit in St Petersburg on Thursday and Friday. Obama stepped back from the brink on Saturday, delaying any imminent strike to seek approval from the U.S. Congress. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt names key constitution panel with few Islamists Sunday, Sep 01, 2013 11:31 AM PDT By Tom Perry and Shaimaa Fayed CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed government unveiled a constituent assembly on Sunday almost devoid of Islamists, and gave it 60 days to review amendments that would erase Islamic articles brought in by the Muslim Brotherhood and more hardline Islamic parties. The constitutional review is part of a road map unveiled by the administration that took power after the army deposed President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. Egypt will hold parliamentary and presidential elections only once the constitution is approved in a referendum. ... Full Story | Top |
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