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| Apple's results disappoint ahead of holiday quarter Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  By Bill Rigby (Reuters) - Apple Inc's profit and margins slid despite selling 33.8 million iPhones in its September quarter, and greater China revenue climbed just 6 percent even though two smartphone models hit store shelves in its second-largest market last month. The unremarkable quarterly numbers prompted some disappointed investors to cash in recent gains in the stock, which slid 5 percent at one stage after-hours on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate banking panel eyes November 14 for Yellen hearing: Senate aide Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:40 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee is considering holding a hearing on Janet Yellen's nomination to head the Federal Reserve on November 14, a Senate aide said on Monday. President Barack Obama nominated Yellen on October 9 to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the U.S. central bank when his term ends on January 31. The banking committee needs to vet the nomination before it can go to the full Senate for final consideration. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House sees need for 'constraints' on NSA spying Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:28 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House moved on Monday to reassure U.S. allies and Americans concerned about the sweeping nature of the National Security Agency's surveillance practices by acknowledging that more constraints are needed to ensure that privacy rights are protected. Amid a growing uproar in Europe and a protest by a key U.S. senator, officials said they would review intelligence collection programs with an eye to narrowing their scope. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. spy chiefs face Congress amid spying rift with Europe Monday, Oct 28, 2013 09:01 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When top U.S. intelligence officials testified at a congressional hearing weeks ago, the public uproar was over the National Security Agency collecting the phone and email records of Americans. But when the NSA director and other spy chiefs appear at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday it will be against a backdrop of angry European allies accusing the United States of spying on their leaders and citizens. The most prominent target appears to have been German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose mobile phone was allegedly tapped by the NSA. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge blocks part of Texas law restricting abortion Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:46 PM PDT  By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday blocked the provision of a sweeping new Texas abortion law that requires doctors performing the procedure to have an agreement with a local hospital to admit patients, handing a partial victory to supporters of the right to abortion. The Texas law was the most fiercely debated proposal to restrict such procedures in the United States this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Skelton, former military expert in U.S. Congress, dies at 81 Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:56 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. congressman Ike Skelton, a 17-term Democrat who capped his career as chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, died on Monday, according to U.S. lawmakers. He was 81. Skelton died at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, with his wife Patty and his sons at his side, said Skelton's longtime colleague and staff member, Russell Orban. Skelton had entered the hospital about a week ago with a cough, but grew weaker as other complications developed, said Orban, who was present when Skelton died. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yemen police halt fireworks causing rumors of U.S. embassy attack Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:50 PM PDT  SANAA (Reuters) - Yemeni police moved in to halt a firework display at a wedding party near the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa on Monday that triggered rumors of an attack on the mission, a security guard and a Yemeni diplomat in Washington said. They said security guards around the mission in Sanaa fired some shots in the air. "The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa was not attacked, nor was there any bombing in the vicinity of the Embassy," said Mohammed al-Basha, a spokesman for the Yemeni embassy in Washington in a twitter message. He said some people who had set off the fireworks were arrested. ... Full Story | Top |
| Red Sox on brink of championship after beating Cards Monday, Oct 28, 2013 09:08 PM PDT  By Larry Fine ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Boston broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of seventh-inning runs to support another brilliant outing by starter Jon Lester in a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday that put the Red Sox on the brink of winning the World Series. The victory gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven and a chance to clinch the Major League Baseball crown with a win at Boston's Fenway Park in Game Six on Wednesday. A ground-rule double by catcher David Ross plated one run and a single by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in another off St. ... Full Story | Top |
| German parliament to meet over U.S. spying scandal Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:31 PM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's parliament will hold a special session on reports the United States tapped Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone and left-wing parties demanded a public inquiry calling in witnesses including former U.S. intelligence operative Edward Snowden. Her conservative party, now in talks with the opposition Social Democrats on forming a new governing coalition after the September 22 election, said it would not stand in the way of any parliamentary committee investigating the espionage affair. Reports last week that the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Penn State to pay $59.7 million in Sandusky child sex abuse settlement Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  By Barbara Goldberg and Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - Penn State University agreed to pay $59.7 million to 26 victims of convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky, settling the bulk of claims in a major step to move beyond a scandal that upended one of U.S. college football's most lucrative teams. The university said in a statement it reached the settlements in the wake of Sandusky's conviction in June 2012 for sexually abusing boys while he was an assistant football coach and after he retired. "We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Storm death toll rises as wind, rain batters northern Europe Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:22 PM PDT By Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Anthony Deutsch LONDON/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Hurricane strength winds battered northern Europe on Monday, killing more than a dozen people, cutting power and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and train journeys. At least seven people died in Germany while there were four deaths in Britain and fatalities in the Netherlands, Denmark and France as the storm brought down trees, blew roofs off houses and turned over trucks, causing chaos across much of the region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fernandez's government downplays electoral setback in Argentina Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:26 PM PDT  By Anthony Esposito and Alejandro Lifschitz BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - President Cristina Fernandez's government sought on Monday to downplay a sobering defeat in Argentina's mid-term elections, asserting that its ability to govern has not been diminished even though voters shrank her majority in Congress and erased her chances of seeking a third term in 2015. The government's coalition took a beating in Sunday's elections, leaving her with only a slim majority in both legislative chambers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria envoy in Damascus, but prospects for peace talks dim Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:52 AM PDT  By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - International envoy Lakhdar Brahimi held talks in Damascus on Monday at the end of a Middle East tour to promote a Syrian peace conference, but regional tensions have cast a pall over his mission. Brahimi visited capitals across the Middle East to discuss plans for the "Geneva 2" meeting, tentatively set for November 23, to try to halt more than 2-1/2 years of bloodshed in Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Penn State to pay $59.7 million in Sandusky child sex abuse settlement Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Penn State has settled the bulk of claims by child sex abuse victims of Jerry Sandusky in a major step to move beyond a scandal that cost millions and upended a once legendary football program, the university said on Monday. The university has agreed to pay $59.7 million to 26 men in the wake of the Sandusky's conviction in June 2012 for abuse, Penn State said on its website. Claims from six other men who said the former assistant football coach abused them as children have been rejected or may result in possible settlements, the school said. ... Full Story | Top |
| HealthCare.gov up again after data system crash, may be slow: agency Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  By Caroline Humer and Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - The website at the center of the U.S. healthcare reform law was back up Monday after a data center outage prevented Americans from enrolling in subsidized health insurance, the latest technical problem to plague the online insurance exchanges. The outage, which started before dawn on Sunday, affected not only the federal government's online exchange, HealthCare.gov, but also those run by 14 states and the District of Columbia, the Department of Health and Human Services said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple's results disappoint ahead of holiday quarter Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:27 PM PDT By Bill Rigby (Reuters) - Apple Inc's profit and margins slid despite selling 33.8 million iPhones in its September quarter, prompting a brief but sharp selloff as disappointed investors cashed in some of the stock's recent strong gains. Wall Street had hoped for a stronger beat on quarterly sales after the company predicted in September that its revenue and margins would come in at the high end of its own forecasts. CEO Tim Cook predicted a "really great" holiday shopping season in a conference call with analysts, a crucial time for Apple as its new iPads go up against Amazon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt security forces fire teargas at pro-Mursi student protest Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:37 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Security forces fired teargas to disperse hundreds of students protesting against Egypt's military-installed government at Cairo's al-Azhar university on Monday, a week before ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi is due to face trial. Mursi, who has been detained since the army overthrew him on July 3, is expected to go on trial next Monday on charges of inciting murder. His supporters have called for mass protests on that day, raising the prospect of more violence as Egypt's political crisis continues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran says offers ideas to end rift with U.N. nuclear watchdog Monday, Oct 28, 2013 09:56 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran's deputy foreign minister said he had made proposals to the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief on Monday after pledging "a new approach" to easing international concerns about indications of illicit atomic bomb research by Tehran. The U.N. agency wants to resume an investigation, long stymied by Iranian non-cooperation, into what it calls the "possible military dimensions" of the Islamic Republic's atomic activities. Tehran says it is enriching uranium solely for electricity generation and medical treatments. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two die in northern Lebanon in spillover from Syria war Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:15 AM PDT  By Nazih Siddiq TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two people died in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Monday, in fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese army, as violence continues to spill over from the civil war next door. Tripoli, a city that, like much of Lebanon, is divided along sectarian lines, is only 30 miles from the Syrian border and its majority Sunni Muslims, who back the Syrian rebels, have often clashed with the minority from Assad's Alawite sect. ... Full Story | Top |
| British man charged with hacking U.S. military networks Monday, Oct 28, 2013 12:23 PM PDT By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A British man has been arrested in England and charged by the United States and Britain with hacking into U.S. government computer systems, including those run by the military, to steal confidential data and disrupt operations, authorities said. Lauri Love and three co-conspirators allegedly infiltrated thousands of systems including those of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. space agency NASA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to a U.S. grand jury indictment made public on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate intelligence panel chair pledges 'major review' of NSA surveillance Monday, Oct 28, 2013 02:31 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Intelligence Committee's chairwoman said on Monday she is "totally opposed" to the collection of intelligence on U.S. allies by the National Security Agency and that oversight of such surveillance must be strengthened. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Water, wealth and whites - South Africa's potent anti-fracking mix Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:03 AM PDT  By Ed Cropley NIEU-BETHESDA, South Africa (Reuters) - Stretching across the heart of South Africa, the Karoo has stirred emotions for centuries, a stunning semi-desert wilderness that draws artists, hunters and the toughest of farmers. It is now rousing less romantic passions. If energy companies and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) get their way, it will soon be home to scientists and geologists mapping out shale gas fields touted as game-changers for Africa's biggest economy, and working out whether fracking will work here. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain summons U.S. ambassador over spying Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:00 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday to discuss allegations of spying on Spanish citizens that it said could break the climate of trust between the two countries if proved true. Earlier, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo said the NSA had recently tracked over 60 million calls in Spain in the space of a month, citing a document which it said formed part of papers obtained from ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. "I had been in touch with (the U.S. ambassador) before this morning's meeting... ... Full Story | Top |
| White house says U.S. intelligence gathering may require 'additional constraints' Monday, Oct 28, 2013 10:51 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday there may need to be additional constraints placed on America's spy agencies after a series of embarrassing disclosures about the broad scope of U.S. intelligence gathering. President Barack Obama has full confidence in the director of the National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander, and other NSA officials, said White House spokesman Jay Carney. He added that there should be a balance between the need to gather intelligence and the need for privacy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police fire water cannon to break up protest Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:06 AM PDT By Umit Bektas ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish police fired water cannon and teargas on Monday to break up a protest by around 2,000 people outside an Ankara court over the handling of the trial of a policeman accused of killing a demonstrator earlier this year. A group of protesters wielding sticks descended on the court entrance after a ruling that the accused officer could take part in court hearings via video link, prompting police to intervene, a Reuters witness said. Several protesters were wounded and 18 detained, according to local media reports. ... Full Story | Top |
| High-profile British phone-hacking trial begins Monday, Oct 28, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's former British newspaper chief and Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media head went on trial for phone hacking on Monday at the start of one of Britain's most high profile court cases in years. Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, both former editors of Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, are accused of conspiring to illegally access voicemail messages on mobile phones belonging to politicians, the rich and famous, and victims of crime and ordinary people, to obtain exclusive news. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five killed as car ploughs into crowd in Beijing's Tiananmen Square Monday, Oct 28, 2013 08:13 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Five people were killed and dozens injured on Monday, the government said, when a car ploughed into pedestrians and caught fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the site of 1989 pro-democracy protests bloodily suppressed by the military. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked whether the government believed the incident was a terror attack, said she did not know the specifics of the case and declined further comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Special Report: As Egypt's Brotherhood retreats, risk of extremism rises Monday, Oct 28, 2013 04:16 AM PDT By Michael Georgy and Tom Perry ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - In Egypt's second city, medical student Ahmed Nabil lives in fear that the police may come and arrest him any day. As a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he is part of a movement facing an onslaught by the security forces which toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July. "These days we can be picked up at any time," said Nabil, whose parents are also members of the organization, Egypt's oldest Islamist movement and a supporter of Mursi. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh poll protest violence kills 15 in four days Monday, Oct 28, 2013 03:26 AM PDT DHAKA (Reuters) - At least 15 Bangladeshis have been killed and hundreds wounded in all-too familiar political violence, police said on Monday, the second day of a strike led by opposition supporters demanding elections be held under a non-partisan administration. Four people, including a youth, a truck driver and a ruling party activist, were killed on Monday, police said. The violence began on Friday. The stand-off between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her arch rival, former premier Begum Khaleda Zia, is nothing new. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel shoots down Gaza rocket, readies prisoner release Monday, Oct 28, 2013 05:31 AM PDT  By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets at a southern Israeli coastal city on Monday and Israel's Iron Dome interceptor shot down one while the other fell into the sea, a military spokeswoman said. Within hours, Israel's air force bombed what a military spokesman described as two concealed rocket launchers in northern Gaza. There were no casualties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rocker Lou Reed of Velvet Underground dies at 71 Monday, Oct 28, 2013 01:06 AM PDT  By Jonathan Allen and Daniel Trotta NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lou Reed, the pioneering musician who fronted influential rock band The Velvet Underground and won mainstream acclaim with solo songs "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Perfect Day", died on Sunday aged 71. Reed, whose band fused music and art in collaboration with its early benefactor, pop artist Andy Warhol, died at the Long Island home he shared with his wife, Laurie Anderson, following complications from a liver transplant earlier this year, his literary agent Andrew Wylie said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stray shell from Syria kills man in Turkey: sources Sunday, Oct 27, 2013 11:50 PM PDT DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A 35-year-old man was killed in the southeastern Turkish town of Ceylanpinar early on Monday when a stray mortar shell fired across the border from Syria struck a house near the frontier, security sources said. The shell was fired during clashes between Kurdish and Islamist fighters in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, the sources said. Five people have now been killed in Turkey in similar incidents since clashes began in the area in July. Authorities closed schools in the town and warned locals not to leave their houses after the shell landed. ... Full Story | Top |
| 'Bad Grandpa' tops 'Gravity' at North American box office Sunday, Oct 27, 2013 11:17 PM PDT  By Lisa Richwine and Chris Michaud LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prankster comedy "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" kicked Sandra Bullock's 3D space thriller "Gravity" from the top of weekend box office charts in the United States and Canada, starting off with $32 million in ticket sales over its first three days. After three weeks in first place, "Gravity" slipped to the No. 2 slot with $20.3 million in domestic ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi women say they will keep pushing for right to drive Sunday, Oct 27, 2013 11:11 PM PDT RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi women demanding the right to drive said on Sunday they would keep up their campaign a day after government warnings and a heavy police presence thwarted their call for many women to get behind the wheel. Activists are asking Saudi women to go on driving in public and posting online photographs or films of themselves doing so, after putting dozens of such videos on YouTube in recent weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Local tastes tempt China diners away from Golden Arches Sunday, Oct 27, 2013 11:15 PM PDT  By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Bearing rice burgers and lotus roots, an army of Chinese fast food firms is cooking up a challenge to McDonald's Corp and Yum Brands Inc, tempting cost-conscious diners with healthy, homegrown fare and causing a drag on growth for the U.S. chains in the country's $174 billion fast food market. McDonald's said last week it was thinking of slowing expansion in China as diners are tempted by local rivals. KFC-parent Yum warned this month economic weakness in China would drag on a recovery in sales dented by a food safety scare at the end of last year. ... Full Story | Top |
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