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| Japan Q3 capex rises, BOJ Kuroda warns of overseas risks Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 07:53 PM PST  By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara TOKYO/NAGOYA, Japan (Reuters) - Japanese companies raised spending on factories and equipment in the July-September quarter, but the slow pace of increase casts some doubt on the strength of capital spending that is needed to help sustain economic growth. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said capital expenditure will likely increase as a trend, though he warned that overseas uncertainties were among key risks in meeting the central bank's goal of accelerating inflation to 2 percent in roughly two years. "Of course, we are ready to adjust monetary policy without hesitation if upside or downside risks materialize," Kuroda told business leaders in Nagoya, central Japan, on Monday. "If overseas economies perform worse than expected, this may affect Japan's economy," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Thousands take to the streets in Honduras to protest election result Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 07:47 PM PST By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras' defeated leftist presidential candidate, the wife of ousted former leader Manuel Zelaya, led thousands of supporters onto the streets of Tegucigalpa on Sunday to protest an election result she has called fraudulent. The demonstration by a crowd estimated at several thousand people passed off peacefully, which analysts said offered some hope for political stability. The ruling National Party's Juan Hernandez, who is head of Congress, won last week's election with 36.8 percent of the votes, according to the country's election tribunal. Xiomara Castro ran as the candidate of the Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE) - a coalition of leftist politicians, unions and indigenous groups founded by her husband. Full Story | Top |
| Steady China factory growth in November underlines economic resilience Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 07:46 PM PST  China's factory growth stabilized in November aided by firm demand, a pair of surveys showed, a sign of resilience in the world's second-largest economy that augurs well for its plans for structural reforms. The upbeat results supported the Australian dollar -- a proxy for the Chinese growth engine -- in early Asian trade and heartened investors who worried that China's economic growth may slip in the fourth quarter. Qu Hongbin, an economist at HSBC, said the final HSBC PMI was revised up from its preliminary reading after firms reported more business, but said spots of weakness in the PMI poll should prevent China from tightening monetary policy. With the economy growing at a rate of over seven percent and house prices clinging stubbornly to record highs, China's leaders have signaled lately that policy may be tightened slightly to temper price pressures. Full Story | Top |
| Japan economics minister Amari hospitalized; govt says no policy impact Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 07:01 PM PST  By Sumio Ito and Takaya Yamaguchi TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari was hospitalized on Monday for tests, but his absence will likely not disrupt the crafting of an economic stimulus package, the government said. The Cabinet Office said the tests would last three or four days. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga declined to give further details on Amari's condition, citing privacy concerns. Amari's hospitalization could overlap with the government's expected announcement of a 5 trillion yen economic stimulus package on Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Japan: no change to airlines' notification policy when flying in East China Sea zone Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 06:53 PM PST Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Monday there was no change to Japan's policy of not notifying Chinese authorities when its commercial aircraft fly through China's new air defense identification zone. Asked if the government planned to alter its earlier request to domestic air carriers that they not notify China of their flight plans, Suga said, "Our stance won't be changed." Japan's top air carriers, Japan Airlines and ANA, earlier told Reuters they have made no change to their plans of not notifying China of their flight plans for aircraft flying through the zone. Full Story | Top |
| Florida Seminoles work to preserve isle where ancestors held Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 06:49 PM PST  By Saundra Amrhein EGMONT KEY, Florida (Reuters) - As a fog bank rolled in behind them on Sunday afternoon, several members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida disembarked from a double-decker catamaran onto a small island off the coast near St. Petersburg in west-central Florida. It was part of a journey commemorating the history of their ancestors' internment, forced relocation and - for a small handful - dramatic escape. "This is kind of like our holocaust," said Willie Johns, Seminole Tribe member and historian, after he and his travel companions made their way along a sandy pathway through the brush to speak at the foot of the island's historic lighthouse. Johns is a descendent on his father's side of the legendary Polly Parker, one of hundreds of Seminole Tribe members imprisoned at Egmont Key near the mouth of Tampa Bay by federal officials in the 1850s during the Third Seminole War. Full Story | Top |
| Chinese director Zhang Yimou apologizes for violating one-child policy Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 06:28 PM PST  Acclaimed film director Zhang Yimou said he and his wife have three children after authorities summoned his agent amid speculation he had violated China's one-child policy and fathered seven children. In a statement posted on the verified Weibo account of Zhang's office late on Sunday, the director of epics "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" apologized for his actions. He said he was cooperating with family planning authorities in the eastern city of Wuxi and would accept any punishment. "Zhang Yimou and his wife Cheng Ting confirm that they have two sons and a daughter," the Weibo post read."For the negative consequences of my actions, I would like to express to the public my heart-felt apologies." The official Xinhua news agency reported last week that Wuxi authorities would question Zhang's agent after the director went missing. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. ship Cape Ray readied for possible chemical arms destruction Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 05:55 PM PST By David Alexander and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has begun outfitting a ship in its reserve ready force with equipment to enable it to destroy some of Syria's chemical weapons at sea in the event Washington is asked to assist in the effort, a defense official said on Sunday. The Maritime Administration vessel MV Cape Ray is being equipped with the newly developed Field Deployable Hydrolysis System, which was designed by the Defense Department to neutralize components used in chemical weapons, a defense official said on condition of anonymity. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which supervising the disposal of Syria's chemical arms, said last week the United States had offered to destroy some of the components on a U.S. ship and was looking for a Mediterranean port where the work could be carried out. Full Story | Top |
| Bali talks to decide fate of WTO Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 05:52 PM PST By Tom Miles and Randy Fabi GENEVA/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Crisis is the natural state of world trade negotiations. Ministers meeting in the Indonesian resort of Bali from Tuesday until Friday will decide the fate of the World Trade Organization, with two possible outcomes: a global trade agreement, the first since the WTO was created in 1995, or a failure that kills off the Doha round of trade talks and casts the WTO into obsolescence. The 159 WTO members have pushed the crisis to the brink by failing to finalize the text of a deal in Geneva, leaving a Swiss cheese of a draft after marathon talks that WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo finally halted at 7 a.m. last Monday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. calls on North Korea to release war veteran Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 05:18 PM PST  By Lesley Wroughton and Jack Kim WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States called on North Korea on Saturday to release an elderly U.S. military veteran held in custody since last month and who Pyongyang has accused of killing civilians during the Korean War 60 years ago. Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year old former special forces officer, is in good health, his family said in a statement after getting an update on his condition from Swedish diplomats who had visited him in the North Korean capital over the weekend. Merrill reports that he is being well treated and that the food is good," the family said. Sweden's North Korean embassy gives consular help to the United States, which has no mission there. Full Story | Top |
| Japan corporate capex up in third-quarter but GDP seen little changed Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 05:11 PM PST  The 1.5 percent year-on-year rise in capital spending followed a flat reading in the prior quarter and marked the first gain in four quarters, Ministry of Finance data showed on Monday, but the result disappointed some economists who were expecting stronger gains. The reading suggests that Japan's gross domestic product growth for July-September is likely to be little changed, after preliminary data showed a 0.5 percent expansion from the previous quarter, or an annualized rate of 1.9 percent. The capital spending data will be used to calculate revised third-quarter GDP data, which is scheduled for release at 8:50 a.m. on December 9 (2350 GMT December 8). "There is not likely to be much change to GDP data," said Shuji Tonouchi, a senior fixed income strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Cameron flies to Beijing, pushing EU-China trade deal Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 05:02 PM PST  By Andrew Osborn BEIJING (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron flew into China saying he wanted to lay the ground for a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union, despite growing unease about his own country's membership of the bloc. On a three-day visit with a delegation of around 100 business people, the largest British mission of its kind ever, Cameron said he wanted his country to play an important role in China's expansion as the world's second biggest economy is talking about opening up its markets. "China's transformation is one of the defining facts of our lifetime," Cameron wrote in Caixin, a Chinese weekly news magazine, on the eve of the visit. They can choose to see China's rise as a threat or an opportunity. Full Story | Top |
| Kansas City policeman kills fireman in altercation Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 04:46 PM PST By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - A Kansas City police officer fatally shot an off-duty firefighter who assaulted him during an altercation early Sunday morning, Missouri officials said. Firefighter Anthony V. Bruno, died in the confrontation, said Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi. The incident began when the police officer responded to a report that a cab driver had been assaulted in downtown Kansas City at about 2:30 a.m., according to a statement by police spokesman Tye Grant. The officer was admitted to the hospital with serious injuries." Bruno, whom police said was in his mid-20s, was a "courageous and dedicated" third-generation firefighter in the department," Berardi said in a news release. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters seek to topple PM after clashes Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 04:42 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government protesters vowed to demonstrate again on Monday and forge ahead with a "people's coup" campaign to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, a day after battling riot police outside her fortified office compound. The protesters had set Sunday as "Victory Day" to oust the government but failed to achieve their goal of seizing the prime minister's office at Government House or occupying state buildings, despite intense clashes with riot police. It is the latest dramatic turn in a conflict pitting Bangkok's urban middle class and royalist elite against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist former prime minister ousted in a 2006 military coup. Protest leader Suthep Thaungsuban said he met with Yingluck on Sunday but insisted there were no negotiations to end the worst political crisis since bloody political unrest in 2010. Full Story | Top |
| China launches lunar probe carrying 'Jade Rabbit' buggy Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 04:41 PM PST  China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the small hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space program. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT). President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired pride in China's growing technological prowess. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth. Full Story | Top |
| 'Cyber-Hindus' - India's new breed of political activists Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 04:26 PM PST By Sruthi Gottipati and Mark Bergen NEW DELHI/BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Four men chatting in a Delhi bar are not, by their own admission, natural drinking buddies. The young professionals in their 20s and 30s come from vastly different regions of India and varied backgrounds. They first "met" on Twitter, spotting each other on the micro-blogging site where they voiced a common desire - to see Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi become the next prime minister. After online introductions, they met face-to-face on their own initiative, and, finding they had plenty in common, gather monthly in the nation's capital to talk about life, work, and, most importantly, how to make a difference in India's upcoming election. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: UK power price rises prompt questions of network owners, regulator Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 04:14 PM PST By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - In 2006, Britain's energy regulator reviewed how the gas and electricity market was functioning. Summarising its findings, it noted the possibility that its rules on pricing had been overly generous to the network owners. The report was one of many produced by regulator Ofgem, tasked by the government with overseeing an industry that was broken up and sold off by the state during the 1980s and 1990s. "The fact that network businesses .... have recently changed hands at a premium to the regulatory asset value (Ofgem's own valuation of the assets) suggests considerable appetite among the investment community and indicates, in hindsight, that past price control reviews could have been somewhat tighter than they were," Ofgem said in its 2006 report 'Financing Networks'. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt tweaks roadmap, may see presidential vote held first Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 03:34 PM PST  By Yasmine Saleh and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's political transition was pitched into uncertainty on Sunday when a draft constitution was amended to allow a presidential election to be held before parliamentary polls, indicating a potential change in the army's roadmap. The roadmap unveiled when the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July said a parliamentary election should take place before the presidential one. But the draft finalized on Sunday by the 50-member constituent assembly avoids saying which vote should happen first, leaving the decision up to President Adly Mansour, seen as a front for army rule since he was installed to head the interim administration. The draft also says the "election procedures" must start within six months of the constitution's ratification, meaning Egypt may not have an elected president and parliament until the second half of next year. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt assembly raises doubt over vote timetable Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:55 PM PST The assembly writing Egypt's new constitution voted on Sunday against an article that requires parliamentary elections to be held before presidential elections, raising uncertainty over the country's political transition timetable. Thirty-three members of the 50-member assembly named by interim President Adly Mansour voted against the article, meaning they will have to redraft it. Some members of the assembly had been calling for presidential elections to be held before parliamentary elections, citing the weak state of Egypt's secular political parties. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt draft constitution opens way to presidential poll first Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:55 PM PST A draft Egyptian constitution completed on Sunday opens the way for a presidential election to be held before parliamentary polls, potentially changing the transition plan outlined by the army when it ousted President Mohamed Mursi. The original plan said a parliamentary election should take place before the presidential one. But the draft constitution avoids stipulating which vote should happen first. The draft constitution says the "election procedures" must start within six months from the date of the constitution's ratification, meaning Egypt may not have an elected president or parliament until the second half of next year. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt police fire teargas to scatter Tahrir Square protesters Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:55 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces fired teargas to disperse protesters demonstrating against the army-backed government in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday, witnesses said. Several hundred people had chanted "down down with military rule" and one protester had hung a picture of ousted President Mohamed Mursi from a lamppost before the teargas volleys began. (Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Full Story | Top |
| Cameron 'turns page' on Dalai Lama row with China visit Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:50 PM PST  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has put a diplomatic rift with China over the Dalai Lama behind it and Prime Minister David Cameron has no plans to meet Tibet's spiritual leader again, a senior source in his office said ahead of a visit by the British leader to Beijing. Instead, Cameron will use a three-day visit to China next week, his first since the Dalai Lama rift, to focus on deepening trade ties with the world's second largest economy, taking with him a delegation of around 100 business people. We have turned a page on that issue," said the source when asked whether Cameron would raise the issue of Tibet during his trip. Cameron, who is likely to visit Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, had been expected to travel to China last autumn. Full Story | Top |
| Ukrainians stage mass rally against Yanukovich's U-turn on Europe Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:45 PM PST By Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian opposition leaders called on Sunday for President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign at a huge pro-Europe rally of about 350,000 people, marred by violent clashes between protesters and riot police. In the biggest protest in the capital Kiev since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago, opposition leaders denounced Yanukovich for walking away from a pact offered by the European Union and swinging trade policy back toward Russia. "They stole the dream," heavyweight boxer-turned-opposition politician Vitaly Klitschko told crowds on Independence Square. Full Story | Top |
| Cameron hits back at opposition with energy bill promise Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:40 PM PST  By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron promised on Sunday to cut rising energy costs, seeking to regain the initiative from the Labour Party that has pledged to freeze bills if it wins the next election in 2015. Cameron said his government would set out measures to cut bills by an average of 50 pounds ($81.90) a year in an economic update on Thursday which the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he would use to carry on reducing Britain's budget deficit, even as the economy recovers. The soaring cost of household energy has dominated political debate in Britain since Labour leader Ed Miliband said in September that his party would freeze bills for 20 months if it wins power. "Instead of a fake giveaway, we have found another way to support Britain's hard-pressed families," Cameron wrote in a joint article with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the Sun on Sunday newspaper. Full Story | Top |
| At least seven dead in Italian textile factory fire Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:34 PM PST By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - At least seven people died and three were injured when a Chinese-owned clothing factory in an industrial zone in the Italian town of Prato burned down on Sunday, killing workers trapped in an improvised dormitory built onsite. "This is a disgrace for all of us, because we have to recognize this reality for what it is: the biggest concentration of illegal employment in northern and central Italy," said Enrico Rossi, president of the region of Tuscany. "No one can say they are surprised at this because everyone has known for years that, in the area between Florence and Prato, hundreds if not thousands of people are living and working in conditions of near-slavery," Roberto Pistonina, secretary general of the Florence and Prato section of the CISL trade union, said on his Facebook page. Prato, a town with one of the highest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in Italy, has at least 15,000 legally registered in a total population of under 200,000, with more than 4,000 Chinese-owned businesses, according to official data. Full Story | Top |
| Biden on delicate mission to defuse tensions in East Asia Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:29 PM PST  By David Brunnstrom and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will try to strike a delicate balance of calming military tensions with China while supporting ally Japan against Beijing on a trip to Asia this week that is being overshadowed by a territorial dispute in the East China Sea. Aiming to counter criticism that the United States is neglecting Asia because it is distracted by domestic politics and the Middle East, the White House has long been planning a visit by Biden to Japan, China and South Korea. Full Story | Top |
| Libya sends back 360 Egyptians arriving with forged visas: state media Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 02:25 PM PST TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya has deported 360 Egyptians who arrived on two flights with forged visas, state news agency Lana said on Sunday. The Egyptians landed at Misrata airport in central Libya and were sent back to Egypt on the same planes, the agency added, without giving any more details. Libya, facing turmoil two years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, has been trying to clamp down on a trade in forged visas for workers from Egypt or other neighboring countries looking to come to the country. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by David Evans) Full Story | Top |
| Croats set constitutional bar to same-sex marriage Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 01:39 PM PST  By Zoran Radosavljevic ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croats voted overwhelmingly in favor of defining marriage in the constitution as a "union of man and woman" on Sunday, a move initiated by Roman Catholic groups but criticized by opponents as discrimination against homosexuals. The Church wholeheartedly backed the initiative, which sought to define marriage in the constitution rather than law so that its status can only be changed by a two-thirds majority in parliament. "I am happy because, from now on, no future government will be able to legalize gay marriages," said Zeljka Markic, leader of "In the Name of the Family". Ballet dancer Sanja Grgic said: "I have nothing against gay people, I have many gay friends, but I voted in favor because I think children should grow up in a family that has a mother and a father." Opponents noted that Croatia now shares its constitutional definition of marriage with Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Serbia, where intolerance of same-sex unions is widespread. Full Story | Top |
| Lack of cash and monitors add to Afghan election troubles Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 01:28 PM PST  By Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Organizers of Afghanistan's make-or-break presidential election next year say poor security, a shortage of monitors and funding holes are undermining their ability to safeguard the process from the widespread fraud that marred the last poll in 2009. "The foundation of the election due to technical issues was not done in the proper way," said Noor Mohammad Noor, spokesman for the Independent Election Commission (IEC). "We need measures to secure the process through observers." Western nations, who have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on a conflict that has failed to end the Taliban insurgency, have pledged about a third less cash to the United Nations (U.N.) fund that will cover most of the election's costs compared with 2009, official U.N. figures shows. The reduced budget is partly because some land and equipment that had to be bought last time is being reused and fewer foreign advisers are needed, say the U.N. and IEC chief Yousof Nooristani. Full Story | Top |
| White House meets goals for HealthCare.gov, but more work ahead Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 01:25 PM PST  Two months after the disastrous launch of a website that is a key component of President Barack Obama's healthcare law, administration officials said on Sunday they had met their goal of getting the HealthCare.gov site running smoothly but warned that it needs more fixes. Obama adviser Jeffrey Zients said a five-week emergency "tech surge" had doubled the capacity of the online health insurance portal that is crucial to helping millions of people shop for insurance plans, while making it more responsive and less prone to errors. The administration said the effort's key improvement was to increase HealthCare.gov's capacity to 50,000 simultaneous users, which would allow the site to handle at least 800,000 users per day. Full Story | Top |
| Karzai accuses U.S. of cutting Afghan military supplies Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 12:14 PM PST  By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused his U.S. ally on Sunday of withholding military supplies to press him to sign a bilateral security deal that will shape the U.S. military presence after most foreign troops leave in 2014. "The cutting of fuel supplies and support services to the Afghan army and police is being used as a means of pressure to ensure Afghanistan ... signs the Bilateral Security Agreement," a statement from Karzai's palace said. Karzai said last week he might refuse to sign the deal until after Afghanistan's presidential election in April 2014. "There has been no stoppage in the delivery of requested fuel and we continue to process all orders as soon as they are received," the NATO-led force in Afghanistan said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| France looks into relaxing rules on Sunday shopping Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 11:52 AM PST  France's labor minister called for local authorities to have more say on a proposed reform of restrictions on Sunday opening for shops, just hours before a government-commissioned report on the issue was to due to be released. The report, expected to clarify which sectors will be allowed to do business on Sunday and under what conditions, will be presented to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Monday. In an interview with BFM TV, Labor Minister Michel Sapin called for a "controlled relaxation" of the ban on Sunday work, saying it should be organized on a "regional basis". He said local authorities were best-placed to gauge residents' shopping needs and habits. Full Story | Top |
| China launches lunar probe carrying 'Jade Rabbit' moon buggy Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 11:39 AM PST  China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the small hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space program. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 a.m. (1730 GMT). President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired widespread pride in China's growing technological prowess. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth. Full Story | Top |
| India's Mars mission enters second stage; outpaces space rival China Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 11:25 AM PST  By Shyamantha Asokan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's first mission to Mars left Earth's orbit early on Sunday, clearing a critical hurdle in its journey to the red planet and overtaking the efforts in space of rival Asian giant China. The success of the spacecraft, scheduled to orbit Mars by next September, would carry India into a small club, which includes the United States, Europe and Russia, whose probes have orbited or landed on Mars. India's venture, called Mangalyaan, faces more hurdles on its journey to Mars. "While Mangalyaan takes 1.2 billion dreams to Mars, we wish you sweet dreams!" India's space agency said in a tweet soon after the event, referring to the citizens of the world's second-most populous country. Full Story | Top |
| Music, art help heal families torn by Newtown school massacre Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 11:22 AM PST  By Barbara Goldberg and Ellen Wulfhorst NEWTOWN, Conn./NEW YORK (Reuters) - When 6-year-old Ana Marquez-Greene was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre almost a year ago, her father, a professional jazz musician, stopped playing his saxophone. When he could bring himself to pick it up again a month later, Jimmy Greene felt his emotional wounds start to heal and, within months, he recorded an album celebrating his daughter's life. It is one of several works of art that have risen from the depths of loss and grief at Newtown. Creative expression helps express the unspeakable - shock, loss, sorrow - when other means fail, experts say. Full Story | Top |
| Qaeda offshoot claims West Bank foothold after killings Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 11:19 AM PST An Islamist group linked to al Qaeda has claimed three militants killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces last week as its members, and said this shows it has taken root in the occupied Palestinian territory. Al Qaeda has struggled to build up significant support in the West Bank, analysts say, and the Palestinian Authority, which administers the area, last week denied an Israeli report that the three men were linked to the organization. "By the will of God Almighty, the global jihadi doctrine has reached the bank of pride, the West Bank, planting its foothold after all attempts to thwart its presence," said Majles Shura al-Mujahideen, or Holy Warriors' Assembly, in a statement posted on an Islamist web forum. Such groups have some grassroots support in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist faction Hamas. Full Story | Top |
| Canadian police arrest Toronto man on suspicion of spying for China Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 10:26 AM PST By Janet Guttsman TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian police have arrested a Toronto man suspected of seeking to give China classified information about Canadian shipbuilding procurement policies, security officials said on Sunday. Jennifer Strachan, a chief superintendent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, told a news conference that Canadian citizen Qing Quentin Huang, 53, faced two charges of attempting to communicate with a foreign entity. "On Thursday the RCMP was informed that the accused was taking steps to pass on information of a classified nature to China," she told a rare weekend news conference. "In these types of cases, sharing of information may give a foreign entity a tactical, military or competitive advantage by knowing the specifications of vessels responsible for defending Canadian waters and Canadian sovereignty." Strachan said Huang, who was arrested on Saturday, had worked for a subcontractor involved in ship design. Full Story | Top |
| Data and ECB may help set tone for investors looking ahead to 2014 Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 10:06 AM PST  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - A rush of key economic releases this week and the European Central Bank's last meeting of the year may help set the tone for investors and traders looking ahead to 2014. Like the two years preceding it, 2013 has been a damp squib for the global economy, beset by political wrangling in the United States, recession in Europe and disappointing growth in China. "The U.S. is looking in the strongest position," said Andrew Kenningham, senior global economist at Capital Economics, on the prospects for next year. Full Story | Top |
| Syria-fueled violence kills four in Lebanon's Tripoli Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 09:11 AM PST  By Nazih Siddiq TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Four people were killed by sniper fire the north Lebanese city of Tripoli on Sunday, security sources said, raising to 10 the death toll in two days of violence fuelled by sectarian tensions over Syria's civil war. The clashes between Tripoli's Alawite minority, which supports Syria's Alawite President Bashar al-Assad, and majority Sunni Muslims who back the Syrian rebels, are the latest round of violence which has killed more than 100 people in the Mediterranean city this year. Gun battles have broken out five times since March, killing dozens of people, and twin car bombs at Sunni Muslim mosques in Tripoli killed 42 people in August. Tripoli residents said the sounds of heavy gunfire and rocket explosions echoed across Lebanon's second city from midnight to 6 am. The city was quieter during the day, they said, with soldiers patrolling otherwise empty streets of the rival neighborhoods, but occasional bursts of gunfire continued. Full Story | Top |
| North Yemen fighting kills more than 120 Sunday, Dec 01, 2013 08:56 AM PST Fighting between Shi'ite Houthi rebels and Sunni Salafis in northern Yemen has killed more than 120 and a government official in charge of enforcing a ceasefire accused the Houthis of breaking the truce, a newspaper said on Sunday. The latest round of fighting between the Houthis and Salafis has added to the challenges facing U.S. allied Yemen, already grappling with a southern separatist movement and an insurgency by Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda. Amin al-Hemyari, head of government observers monitoring a ceasefire reached last month, said the death toll among Salafis in the town of Damaj had risen to more than 120, with dozens wounded, the government-run al-Thawra newspaper said. Clashes started after Houthi rebels, who control most of Saada province, accused the Salafis of massing thousands of fighters, including foreigners, in a religious school in Damaj with the aim of attacking them. Full Story | Top |
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