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| Obama, congressional leaders still deadlocked on shutdown Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 06:40 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday to try to break a budget deadlock that has shut wide swaths of the federal government, but there was no breakthrough and both sides blamed each other. After more than an hour of talks, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to hold the president hostage over Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| MF Global trustee plans to return more customer funds Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:08 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The trustee liquidating the brokerage unit of MF Global Holdings Ltd has asked a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to return remaining funds to U.S. customers who traded on domestic exchanges. Wednesday's request by court-appointed trustee James Giddens would reallocate money earmarked for general unsecured creditors to customers of the brokerage, who have a higher-priority payback status. The move could bring closure to customers who have waited nearly two years to fully recover their money, which became tied up when MF Global went bankrupt on October 31, 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP wins reprieve over Gulf spill payouts: U.S. appeals court Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:04 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - BP Plc won a legal reprieve in its effort to force the administrator of a settlement related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to tighten standards in assessing claims, potentially sparing the oil company billions of dollars of extra costs. A divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday directed U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who in March had approved administrator Patrick Juneau's evaluation methods, to take a fresh look at which claims are legitimate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican Speaker Boehner says Obama refused to negotiate in White House meeting Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:20 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner emerged from White House talks on Wednesday to say that President Barack Obama again refused to negotiate with them to end a government shutdown. After more than an hour of talks between Obama and congressional leaders, the top Republican in Washington told reporters it was a polite conversation, but essentially made no progress. (Reporting By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Stacey Joyce) Full Story | Top |
| Russian Embassy in Libya comes under fire, attack repelled Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Thomas Grove TRIPOLI/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli came under fire on Wednesday and a group of people tried to force their way into the compound, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Diplomatic sources in Libya said security guards fired shots to disperse a group of about 60 people that had approached the embassy. An attempt to enter the building was repelled and according to the Foreign Ministry no diplomats were wounded. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury clears promoter of liability in Michael Jackson's death Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  By Eric Kelsey and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles jury cleared concert promoter AEG Live of liability on Wednesday in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Jackson, in a trial that offered a glimpse into the private life and final days of the so-called King of Pop. The verdict, which concluded that the doctor the company hired to care for the singer was not unfit for his job, capped a sensational five-month trial that was expected to shake up the way entertainment companies treat their most risky talent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi U-turn secures Italian government survival Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 02:00 PM PDT  By Paolo Biondi ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta won a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday after Silvio Berlusconi, facing revolt in his own center-right party, backtracked on threats to bring down the government. As dozens of center-right senators prepared to defy their media magnate leader and salvage the left-right coalition led by Letta, Berlusconi staged an abrupt U-turn and said he too would back the center-left prime minister, just days after he sparked the crisis by pulling his ministers out of Letta's cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan unrest a warning to government to seek dialogue: Britain Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 01:53 PM PDT  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A week of deadly unrest in Sudan should serve as a warning to the government to solve conflicts through national dialogue, a senior British official said on Wednesday, in the strongest foreign criticism of Khartoum's crackdown on protests. Protests and riots erupted in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities last week against the lifting of fuel subsidies, triggering a clampdown by security forces. Sudanese human rights activists and some diplomats say that up to 150 people died after security forces opened fire on crowds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali president dissolves army reform committee Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:08 PM PDT  By Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, on Wednesday dissolved an army reform committee dominated by former members of a military junta after blasting disgruntled officers for staging an unruly protest at a military base earlier this week. Officers who participated in a military coup last year fired into the air on Monday in the southern garrison town of Kati, close to the capital, Bamako, in protest at not receiving promotions they said had been promised. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guinea's ruling party takes early lead in legislative polls Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  CONAKRY (Reuters) - The party of Guinean President Alpha Conde has taken an early lead, according to the first results from weekend legislative polls published by the elections commission late on Wednesday. The National Electoral Commission (CENI) initially said it would take days longer than expected to release a result but pledged earlier on Wednesday to announce tallies as they trickled in from 12,000 polling stations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank CEOs warn of consequences from U.S. shutdown, default Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 12:38 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives from major financial institutions met with President Barack Obama on Wednesday and warned of "adverse" consequences if government agencies remain closed and if lawmakers failed to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by mid-October. Congressional Republicans and the White House are in a stalemate over government funding, which has forced the first government shutdown in 17 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. expels three Venezuelan diplomats in tit-for-tat move Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 02:53 PM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Washington has expelled Venezuela's highest-ranking diplomat in the United States and two others from its embassy in retaliation for Venezuela's booting out three American diplomats accused of fomenting sabotage, both governments said on Wednesday. The flare-up appears to derail some tentative moves to improve relations between Caracas and Washington since President Nicolas Maduro took over this year from the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, whose 14-year rule was halted by cancer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, congressional leaders still deadlocked on shutdown Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock that has shut down wide swaths of the federal government, but there was no breakthrough. After more than an hour of talks, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to hold the president hostage over Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican Speaker Boehner says Obama refused to negotiate in White House meeting Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner emerged from White House talks on Wednesday to say that President Barack Obama again refused to negotiate with them to end a government shutdown. After more than an hour of talks between Obama and congressional leaders, the top Republican in Washington told reporters it was a polite conversation, but essentially made no progress. (Reporting By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Stacey Joyce) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. private sector jobs tepid, mortgage applications near flat Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:26 AM PDT  By Luciana Lopez NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. private employers added fewer jobs than expected in September and mortgage applications remained near flat in the latest week, underscoring expectations that growth in the world's biggest economy will stay steady but sluggish. U.S. private employers added 166,000 jobs last month, according to payroll processor ADP's National Employment Report. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected a gain of 180,000 jobs. August's private payrolls gains were revised to 159,000 from the previously reported 176,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| LA jury reaches verdict in Michael Jackson wrongful death lawsuit Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles jury reached a verdict on Wednesday in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of pop singer Michael Jackson against concert promoter AEG Live, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Superior Court said. The verdict, which will be read at 3:30 p.m. PT (2230 GMT), caps a five-month trial that opened a window into the singer's private life and final days. Jackson's mother, Katherine, and his three children sued AEG Live over the singer's 2009 death at age 50 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. opposes tech companies' request to reveal spying demands Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 09:13 AM PDT By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has told a secret surveillance court that it opposes a request from technology companies to reveal more about the demands they receive for user information, according to court papers released on Wednesday. Negotiations between the federal government and companies such as Google Inc have gone on for months, and while U.S. spy agencies said they plan to be more transparent, they have opposed company requests to disclose more detailed data. The court papers were filed under seal on Monday in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran parliament endorses Rouhani's diplomatic gambit Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 07:34 AM PDT  By Marcus George and Jon Hemming DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's parliament strongly endorsed President Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic bid to dispel mistrust at the United Nations last week during a visit which ended with an historic phone call with President Barack Obama, Iranian media said. The backing from the assembly, controlled by political factions deeply loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a further sign that Rouhani has the support of the Iranian establishment, though there are some rumblings from hardliners. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece's Golden Dawn lawmakers freed before trial Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:45 AM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and Yorgos Karahalis ATHENS (Reuters) - Three senior lawmakers from Greece's far-right Golden Dawn were freed on Wednesday pending trial on criminal charges, an unexpected setback to the government's efforts to clamp down on a party it has labeled a neo-Nazi criminal gang. The decision to free the men after an 18-hour court session raises questions about the solidity of the state's case against Golden Dawn after one of its sympathizers stabbed to death an anti-fascism rapper. ... Full Story | Top |
| For China, Turkey missile deal a victory even if it doesn't happen Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:11 AM PDT  By David Lague HONG KONG (Reuters) - Turkey's $4 billion order for a Chinese missile defense system is a breakthrough for China in its bid to become a supplier of advanced weapons, even though opposition from Washington and NATO threatens to derail the deal. The winning bid from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) to deliver its FD-2000 air defense missile system in a joint production agreement with Turkey is the first time a Chinese supplier has won a major order for state-of-the-art equipment from a NATO member. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| World powers on 'right track' on Syria chemical arms: Putin Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 02:06 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday global powers were "on the right track" with a plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons and could avert military intervention in the conflict if they worked together. Agreement on the plan to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons was reached after U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to approve air strikes to punish Syria's government over an August 21 gas attack the United States says killed more than 1,400 people. "There is every reason to believe we are on the right track," Putin told an investment conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan-U.S. security talks likely to highlight Tokyo's cyber-defense woes Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:27 AM PDT  By Ruairidh Villar TOKYO (Reuters) - Top U.S. security officials meet their Japanese counterparts on Thursday as concerns are growing that the hosts cannot protect themselves from malicious internet hackers. Cyber security is on the agenda when the military and diplomatic chiefs of the two countries hold their first joint meeting in Japan. But even Japanese officials acknowledge they cannot keep up with the proliferating threat of attacks on computer networks from private or state-sponsored hackers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple iPad Mini with sharper display faces delay Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 09:18 AM PDT  By Clare Jim and Reiji Murai TAIPEI/TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will be unable to widely roll out a new version of the iPad Mini with a high-resolution "retina" display this month, people who work in the company's supply chain said, leaving the gadget without the sharper screen found on rival tablets from Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK's Cameron puts economy center-stage in re-election bid Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron cast a national election in 2015 as a choice between his "pro-business" ruling Conservative party and what he called the anti-business opposition Labour party. In a speech to his party's annual conference in the northern English city of Manchester on Wednesday that was heavy on party political rhetoric, Cameron placed Britain's economic recovery at the heart of his bid for re-election. "Let us never forget the cast-iron law of British politics," Cameron told delegates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine police fire tear gas to disperse protest in Kiev Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:05 AM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian police fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse protesters trying to enter the city council building in the capital Kiev, police and opposition activists said. No casualties were reported in the incident, which occurred when demonstrators began dismantling metal crowd barriers and trying to grab officers' helmets outside the building on Kiev's broad main boulevard. Thousands of opposition protesters had gathered to rally against what they say is an illegitimate council session. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. mortgage applications dip slightly though rates fall: MBA Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:01 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home loans dipped slightly in the latest week, as a drop in demand for purchase loans outweighed an increase in refinancing demand, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 0.4 percent in the week ended September 27. That follows a gain of 5.5 percent in the week ended September 20. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea, U.S. sign new pact to deter North Korea nuclear threat Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 12:11 AM PDT  By David Alexander and Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea signed a new pact to deter North Korea's potential use of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction amid growing threats from Pyongyang, their defense chiefs said on Wednesday. The defense ministers also agreed to review the timing of the transfer of war-time command control of their combined forces on the Korean peninsula from the U.S. military to South Korea, a joint statement issued after their meeting said. ... Full Story | Top |
| International court charges Kenyan with bribing witnesses Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 09:15 AM PDT By Thomas Escritt and James Macharia AMSTERDAM/NAIROBI (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court said on Wednesday it had issued an arrest warrant for a Kenyan charged with trying to bribe witnesses to withdraw testimony against Deputy President William Ruto. Walter Barasa, a journalist in Ruto's political stronghold of Eldoret, northwest of Nairobi, told Reuters he denied the charges and said police had not tried to detain him. There was no immediate comment from Kenyan police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghans balk at U.S. push for operations after 2014: spokesman Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:08 AM PDT  By Dylan Welch and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - A U.S. bid to run unilateral counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan after 2014 is threatening to derail a security pact between the two countries, an Afghan spokesman said, underlining Afghanistan's tenuous ties with its main backer. Most foreign combat troops are due to leave by the end of 2014, and the United States has been putting pressure on Afghanistan to finalize a bilateral security agreement by the end of this month. The pact will set out the terms of a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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