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| Accuser of NY Yankees' Rodriguez speaks publicly about doping case Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 06:58 PM PST  By Julian Linden NEW YORK (Reuters) - The owner of a now-closed Florida clinic accused of supplying banned performance enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball players, including the game's highest paid player, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, said in a TV interview that Rodriguez was a long-time drug user. Anthony Bosch, the main witness whom MLB relied upon to suspend Rodriguez, had previously denied any involvement in selling drugs to players. Rodriguez, 38, who on Saturday was suspended for the entire 2014 season by baseball's chief arbitrator, has never failed a dope test and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Rodriguez turned down a request to appear on "60 Minutes," according to CBS News. Full Story | Top |
| Baseball-Accuser of NY Yankees' Rodriguez speaks publicly about doping case Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 06:52 PM PST By Julian Linden NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - The owner of a now-closed Florida clinic accused of supplying banned performance enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball players, including the game's highest paid player, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, said in a TV interview that Rodriguez was a long-time drug user. Anthony Bosch, the main witness whom MLB relied upon to suspend Rodriguez, had previously denied any involvement in selling drugs to players. Rodriguez, 38, who on Saturday was suspended for the entire 2014 season by baseball's chief arbitrator, has never failed a dope test and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Rodriguez turned down a request to appear on "60 Minutes," according to CBS News. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares mostly firmer, gold hits one-month high Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 06:15 PM PST  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares and currencies were mostly firmer on Monday in the wake of surprisingly weak U.S. jobs numbers that revived speculation the Federal Reserve could keep policy loose for longer. Friday's soft report pulled down bond yields and the dollar, while lifting prices for gold and many commodities. Activity in Asia on Monday was curbed by a holiday in Japan. Full Story | Top |
| Israel boosts security for Sharon funeral near Gaza border Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 06:02 PM PST Israel beefed up security for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's funeral near the Gaza border on Monday and warned the enclave's Palestinian rulers not to allow rocket fire during the ceremony, which U.S. Vice President Joe Biden planned to attend. Sharon died at the age of 85 on Saturday after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke. A memorial service will be held on Monday in parliament in Jerusalem, before an afternoon funeral at the Sharon family farm about 10 km (6 miles) from Gaza. An Israeli security source said Israel had "passed the message" to Gaza authorities to prevent any rocket fire during the funeral. Full Story | Top |
| UK to make debt pledge ahead of Scotland referendum: source Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 05:58 PM PST  (Reuters) - The British government will announce on Monday that it will take responsibility for all British government debt should Scotland vote to leave the United Kingdom this year, a person familiar with the situation said on Sunday. The UK government would seek a bilateral arrangement with the Scottish government about its share of the UK debt in the event of a vote for independence in September's referendum, the person said. The person declined to be named ahead of publication of the notice by the Treasury on Monday. Scotland will vote in September on whether to keep the 306-year union intact. Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda Syria unit executes dozens of rivals in Raqqa: activists Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 05:17 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - The al Qaeda-linked Islamist State of Iraq and the Levant executed dozens of rival Islamists over the last two days as the group recaptured most territory it had lost in the northeastern Syrian province of Raqqa, activists said on Sunday. One of the activists, who spoke from the province on condition of anonymity, said up to 100 fighters from the Nusra Front, another al Qaeda affiliate, and the Ahrar al-Sham brigade, captured by ISIL in the town of Tel Abyad on the border with Turkey, the nearby area of Qantari and the provincial capital city of Raqqa, were shot dead. "About 70 bodies, most shot in the head, were collected and sent to the Raqqa National hospital," the activist said. The fact that Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham are ideologically similar to the ISIL did not matter," he added. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters move to shut down Bangkok to force out PM Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 04:29 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand braced for a "shutdown" of its capital on Monday by protesters who want to topple Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and install an unelected government, as fears grew that the southeast Asian country could be heading for civil war. Protesters led by former opposition politician Suthep Thaugsuban started blocking major intersections late on Sunday, aiming to create traffic chaos in a city of an estimated 12 million people where roads are clogged at the best of times. The upheaval is the latest chapter in an eight-year conflict pitting Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly poorer, rural supporters of Yingluck and her self-exiled brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin was ousted by the military in 2006 and sentenced to jail in absentia for abuse of power in 2008, but he still looms large over Thai politics and is the dominant force behind his sister's administration from his home in Dubai. Full Story | Top |
| Israelis pay last respects to warrior-statesman Sharon Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 04:26 PM PST  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Thousands of Israelis bade farewell on Sunday to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the maverick warrior-statesman who helped reshape the Middle East, as his body lay in state outside parliament in Jerusalem. Sharon died at the age of 85 on Saturday after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke he suffered at the pinnacle of his political power. He will be buried on Monday in a military funeral on his farm in southern Israel. Arik Sharon faded away eight years ago, and now we truly say goodbye to him," Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, using Sharon's nickname, wrote in a tribute on Sunday. Full Story | Top |
| UK offers local councils incentive to accept shale gas drilling Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 04:14 PM PST British local councils that allow shale gas developments will keep 100 percent of a levy they collect from the sites under a government move to persuade communities to accept the fracking process used to extract the gas. The local tax, known as business rates, is levied by councils on commercial properties in England and Wales. Councils use business rates to pay for local services. Britain's shale gas industry is still at the stage of exploration, not commercial production, but energy companies see it as one of Europe's strongest prospects. Full Story | Top |
| Iran nuclear deal to take effect on January 20 Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 03:58 PM PST  By Parisa Hafezi and Justyna Pawlak ANKARA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A deal between Iran and six major powers intended to pave the way to a solution to a long standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions will come into force on January 20, the Iranian Foreign Ministry and the European Union said on Sunday. Shortly after the interim accord takes effect, an Iranian official added, Tehran and world powers will start negotiating a final settlement of their differences about activity the West suspects is aimed at obtaining a nuclear weapons capability. Iran says its atomic energy program is aimed purely at electricity generation and other civilian purposes, although past Iranian attempts to hide sensitive nuclear activity from U.N. non-proliferation inspectors raised concerns. The November 24 agreement appeared to halt a slide towards another, wider Middle East war over Iran's nuclear aspirations, but diplomats warn it will not be easy to carry out because of long-standing mutual mistrust. Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda Syria unit executes dozens of rival Islamists: activists Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 03:40 PM PST The al Qaeda-linked Islamist state of Iraq and the Levant executed dozens of rival Islamists over the last two days as the group recaptured most territory it had lost in the northeastern Syrian province of Raqqa, activists said on Sunday. One of the activists, who spoke from the province on condition of anonymity, said up to 100 fighters from the Nusra Front, another al Qaeda affiliate, and the Ahrar al-Sham brigade, captured by ISIL in the town of Tel Abiad on the border with Turkey, the nearby area of Qantari and the provincial capital city of Raqqa, were shot dead. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares off to slow start, gold hits month high Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 03:28 PM PST  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian share and bond markets were in a cautious mood on Monday in the wake of surprisingly weak U.S. jobs numbers that revived speculation the Federal Reserve could keep policy loose for longer. Friday's soft report pulled down bond yields and the dollar, while lifting prices for gold and many commodities. Activity in Asia early on Monday was stunted by a holiday in Japan and Australian stocks were little changed . The jobless rate fell sharply to 6.7 percent though largely because of a fall in the participation rate as people dropped out of the labor force. Full Story | Top |
| Obama hails Iran deal, argues against new sanctions Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 03:04 PM PST  By Arshad Mohammed and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama hailed an agreement struck on Sunday to curb Iran's nuclear program over six months and argued that imposing additional U.S. sanctions could scupper the deal. "Now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed," Obama said in a written statement after the European Union said that Iran and six major powers had reached an accord to implement a November 24 nuclear agreement with Iran. That agreement is designed to curtail Iran's nuclear activities for a six-month period beginning on January 20 in exchange for sanctions relief from the six major powers: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Obama also urged the U.S. Congress not to impose additional sanctions on Iran, saying that doing so risked undermining the November 24 agreement, known as the Joint Plan of Action (JPA), which aims to give the two sides six months to reach a comprehensive deal to address all questions about whether Iran seeks nuclear arms. Full Story | Top |
| Biden to meet Israel's Netanyahu during visit for Sharon funeral Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 02:24 PM PST By Matt Spetalnick SHANNON, Ireland (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden will hold talks with Israeli leaders during a visit to the Jewish state as head of a U.S. delegation to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's funeral on Monday, Biden's office said. Biden's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be a chance for the vice president to try to further Middle East peace efforts and ease Israeli concerns about nuclear talks with Iran, according to leading U.S. lawmakers flying with him to Tel Aviv on Sunday. Sharon died at age 85 on Saturday after eight years in a coma caused by a stroke he suffered at the pinnacle of his power. He was one of Israel's finest military strategists and top political figures, spearheading military invasion, Jewish settlement-building on land the Palestinians want for a state, and making the decision to withdraw from one of those territories, the Gaza Strip. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Iran to get first $550 million of blocked $4.2 billion on February 1 Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 02:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran would receive the first $550 million installment of a total of $4.2 billion in previously blocked overseas funds on or about February 1, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday. Under a November 24 nuclear agreement, six major powers agreed to give Iran access to $4.2 billion in revenues blocked overseas if it carries out the deal, which offers sanctions relief in exchange for steps to curb the Iranian nuclear program. Some payments are contingent on Iran diluting its stockpile of 20 percent enriched uranium to no more than 5 percent enriched uranium. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptians set to vote on army-backed post-Mursi constitution Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 02:02 PM PST  By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptians vote this week for the first time since Mohamed Mursi's downfall in a constitutional referendum that will likely give a final push to a presidential bid by the man who deposed him, army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Approval of the rewritten constitution appears a foregone conclusion: Mursi's now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood is urging a boycott rather than a 'no' vote, while many Egyptians who backed his overthrow are expected to vote 'yes' in a show of support for the army-backed order that has replaced Islamist rule. Analysts say it hopes that the turnout and the 'yes' vote will outstrip ballots won by the Muslim Brotherhood to give the new order an electoral seal of legitimacy. "Egypt is on the threshold of a decisive stage in its history, the results of which are awaited by the world," Sisi said on Saturday in public remarks that included the clearest indication to date that he will stand for election. Full Story | Top |
| Restaurants reopen with bottled water after West Virginia spill Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 01:32 PM PST By Ann Moore CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) - Restaurants and shops were reopening on Sunday in parts of West Virginia where the water supply was poisoned by a chemical spill, although up to 300,000 people spent a fourth day unable to use tap water for anything besides flushing toilets. State government officials, the utility company West Virginia American Water and the National Guard were continuing to test the water supply on Sunday after as much as 7,500 gallons (28,000 liters) of an industrial chemical leaked into the Elk River on Thursday. It could still be several days before people in nine counties and Charleston, the state capital and largest city, can once again use the water from their faucets for drinking, cooking and bathing. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: More well-known U.S. retailers victims of cyber attacks - sources Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 01:11 PM PST  By Jim Finkle and Mark Hosenball BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Target Corp and Neiman Marcus are not the only U.S. retailers whose networks were breached over the holiday shopping season last year, according to sources familiar with attacks on other merchants that have yet to be publicly disclosed. Smaller breaches on at least three other well-known U.S. retailers took place and were conducted using similar techniques as the one on Target, according to the people familiar with the attacks. Only one well-known retailer, Neiman Marcus, has said that they too have been victim of a cyber attack since Target's December 19 disclosure that some 40 million payment card numbers had been stolen in a cyber attack. On Friday, Target said the data breach was worse than initially thought. Full Story | Top |
| Court sentences leader of 2004 Saudi attack to death Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 01:04 PM PST A Saudi court on Sunday sentenced the leader of a militant cell involved in a suicide attack on the offices of a foreign company in the Red Sea city of Yanbu nearly 10 years ago in which five Westerners were killed, Saudi media reported. The May, 2004 attack was part of a campaign launched by al Qaeda in 2003 intended to destabilize the U.S.-allied kingdom. Gunmen killed two Americans, two Britons and an Australian at the firm's offices in the Saudi oil and petrochemical hub. "Suspect number one was convicted of participating with the terrorist cell that carried out the suicide operation at one of the companies in Yanbu," SPA said, without elaborating on his position in the cell. Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey teen arrested in deadly Christmas morning strip club shooting Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 01:03 PM PST By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A man sought for allegedly killing three people and injuring two others in a Christmas Day shooting at a strip club in New Jersey was arrested on Sunday at his mother's home in Florida, authorities said. Anthony Fields, 19, of Newark, New Jersey, was being held on $2 million bail after being arrested without incident by the FBI at his mother's home in Orlando, Florida, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for Acting Essex County prosecutor Carolyn Murray. Proceedings to extradite him to New Jersey will begin on Monday, Carter said. Fields is accused of opening fire at Slick's Go-Go Bar in Irvington, New Jersey, after a bouncer at the club refused to let him enter the premises. Full Story | Top |
| Friends of Syria group urges opposition to attend Geneva talks Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 12:13 PM PST  By John Irish and Warren Strobel PARIS (Reuters) - The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urged opposition groups on Sunday to attend this month's peace talks, saying there was no other route to a political solution. With 10 days to go until the first direct talks between the opposition and President Bashar al-Assad's government - set for January 22 in Switzerland and dubbed "Geneva 2" - Western backers have struggled to unify rebel groups. The main political opposition body in exile, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), has been plagued by internal bickering. In a final statement, the 11 core Friends of Syria nations urged the SNC to attend the talks on the shores of Lake Geneva. Full Story | Top |
| Three more Greek far-right party MPs ordered held awaiting trial Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 12:07 PM PST Three more far-right Golden Dawn lawmakers have been ordered detained pending trial in Greece on charges of belonging to a criminal group, as part of a crackdown on the party following the killing of an anti-fascist rapper by one of its supporters last year. The stabbing of Pavlos Fissas in September, to which a Golden Dawn sympathizer has confessed, provoked protests across the country, a shakeup of the police and a broad investigation into the party. Party leader Nikos Mihaloliakos and dozens more senior party officials were arrested last September, riveting a country which has not witnessed a mass round-up of elected politicians since a military coup nearly five decades ago. Golden Dawn members have been charged on evidence linking the party with a string of attacks, including Fissas's stabbing and the killing of an immigrant last year. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. details Iran sanctions relief under nuclear deal Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:53 AM PST Iran will get some sanctions relief at the start of the implementation of the November 24 nuclear deal but will not get all of it until the six-month implementation period ends, a senior U.S. official said on Sunday. The official was one of several who briefed reporters about an agreement to implement the November nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers under which Tehran will receive limited sanctions relief in exchange for curbing its nuclear activities. Assuming the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, confirms Iran is carrying out the deal, the major powers would immediately suspend sanctions on Iran's petrochemical exports, on imports for its auto manufacturing sector and on its trade in gold and other precious metals. According to U.S. estimates, the overall sanctions relief provided to Iran under the deal is worth about $7 billion. Full Story | Top |
| France's Hollande has tight window to step up reform pace Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:40 AM PST  By Mark John and Jean-Baptiste Vey PARIS (Reuters) - The coming weeks will tell whether Francois Hollande can pick up the pieces of his accident-prone presidency and start to pull the euro zone's second-largest economy out of decline. Photos in a celebrity magazine published on Friday purporting to show a nocturnal visit by Hollande to a mistress risk stealing the show on Tuesday when he faces media for up to two hours in the traditional start-of-year news conference. The saga took a new turn on Sunday when it emerged his official partner, 48-year-old ex-journalist Valerie Trierweiler, had been hospitalized hours after the magazine hit newsstands. Yet with polls showing most French are blase about his private life, the real question is whether he will use the media event to show he is ready to tackle the double burden on the French economy: rising taxes and public spending. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine pro-Europe protesters hold first big rally of 2014 Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:38 AM PST  By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - At least 50,000 opponents of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich rallied in a central Kiev square on Sunday, reviving an anti-government protest movement after a Christmas and New Year lull. The mass rally in Independence Square was a continuation of street protests that erupted in November after Yanukovich decided to abandon a free trade agreement with the European Union in favor of closer cooperation with Russia. The demonstration came a day after baton-wielding riot police tried to disperse protesters outside a Kiev courthouse, sparking clashes in which at least 10 people were injured. We will fight, ... protest peacefully," Vitaly Klitschko, an opposition leader and former world heavyweight boxing champion, told a crowd waving the blue-and-yellow national flags of Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Group linked to al Qaeda regains ground in northeast Syria Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:17 AM PST By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - A group linked to al Qaeda recaptured much of its stronghold in the northeast Syrian city of Raqqa on Sunday, activists said, dealing a blow to rival rebel groups backed by Gulf Arab and Western states. Fighting between the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and rival Islamists and more moderate rebels have killed hundreds of people over the last 10 days and shaken the hardline militant group led by foreign jihadists. In Raqqa, the only provincial capital under rebel control, activists said ISIL fighters battled remnants of rival Islamist units including the Nusra Front, another al Qaeda affiliate, in several neighborhoods. ISIL's growth has alarmed Western nations, who are pushing the opposition to attend peace talks in Switzerland in 10 days' time, and has helped President Bashar al-Assad to portray himself as the only secular alternative to Islamist extremism. Full Story | Top |
| French first lady in hospital after reports of Hollande affair Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:07 AM PST  By Geert De Clercq and Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - French first lady Valerie Trierweiler has been admitted to hospital following reports of an affair between President Francois Hollande and an actress, but will be discharged on Monday, sources said on Sunday. Daily newspaper Le Parisien said on its website earlier that Trierweiler, 48, had been taken to hospital after being shaken by a celebrity magazine's reports of a liaison between her partner Hollande and French actress Julie Gayet. She will leave tomorrow," her spokesman Patrice Biancone told Reuters. Asked about the future of Trierweiler's relationship with the president, Biancone said: "She needs rest. Full Story | Top |
| Regulators ease new bank rule on leverage to aid economy Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 11:04 AM PST The relief to lenders may, however, be temporary as the regulators signaled there is still no agreement on the final level of the new leverage ratio, which measures how much capital a bank must hold against its loans and other assets. The rules have been drafted by the Basel Committee and on Sunday its oversight body, the Group of Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS), chaired by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, backed key changes to the leverage ratio. "The final calibration, and any further adjustments to the definition, will be completed by 2017," the GHOS said in a statement after its meeting in Basel, Switzerland. The GHOS has endorsed new criteria which all banks must meet if they are to net derivatives and repurchase agreements for leverage ratio calculations, irrespective of what accounting standards they follow. Full Story | Top |
| Bomb attacks kill at least 18 in Iraq Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 10:39 AM PST Bombs killed at least 18 people in Iraq on Sunday, police and medics said, as the Shi'ite-led government sought to evict al Qaeda-linked militants from Falluja without a fight. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings, but Sunni Islamist insurgents have stepped up a violent campaign in the past year, engulfing Iraq in its worst bloodshed for five years. Sunday's deadliest blast was caused by a car bomb that killed nine people outside a bus terminal in the Allawi district of Baghdad, near the site of a suicide bombing four days ago at an airfield where 23 army recruits were slain. Another car bomb in Baghdad killed five people, while two bombs planted near a supermarket in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, about 175 km (110 miles) north of the capital, killed at least four people and wounded 28, police said. Full Story | Top |
| 'Lone Survivor' outmuscles 'Hercules' to win U.S. box office Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 10:17 AM PST  By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Lone Survivor," the true story of a failed U.S. Navy SEALS mission to capture or kill a Taliban leader in Afghanistan, collected $38.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, topping movie "Frozen" to win the weekend box office race. The film stars Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell, the only one of four SEALS to return from the mission and who wrote the 2007 book on which the movie is based. "Frozen," a Walt Disney Co animated film and last week's box office winner, was second with ticket sales of $15.1 million from Friday through Sunday, according to estimates from Rentrak. "The Wolf of Wall Street," a tale of greed starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was third with $9 million, while this week's other new major release, "The Legend of Hercules," starring fashion model and actor Kellan Lutz, was just behind, selling $8.6 million in tickets. Full Story | Top |
| Iraq's Maliki says army won't attack Falluja, militants must go Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:51 AM PST By Suadad al-Salhy and Alistair Lyon BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday ruled out a military assault on Falluja, saying he wanted to spare the city more carnage and give Sunni Muslim tribesmen time to expel al Qaeda-linked fighters. "We want to end the presence of those militants without any bloodshed because the people of Falluja have suffered a lot," he told Reuters in an interview in Baghdad, referring to the devastating assaults by U.S. forces to evict insurgents in 2004. Fighters of the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and their tribal allies took over Falluja and parts of the nearby city of Ramadi nearly two weeks ago at a time of Sunni anger with the Shi'ite-led government, stirred by a bloody raid to arrest a Sunni politician in Ramadi. Maliki said he had reassured fearful residents of Falluja that the army would not attack, but told them that they must take the city back from the militants who overran it on January 1. Full Story | Top |
| Supreme Court case highlights U.S. labor agency political divide Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:38 AM PST  By Amanda Becker and Carlyn Kolker WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on Monday in a case involving soda bottler Noel Canning Corp., presidential appointment power will be the main dispute, but the case will also put on display one of Washington's most politically polarizing agencies - the National Labor Relations Board. Created nearly 80 years ago to supervise union elections and protect workers' rights to organize, the NLRB is a battleground for pro-labor Democrats and pro-management Republicans. Deep disagreement between the two sides over the NLRB's role - and over organized labor itself - makes disputes involving the board uncommonly bitter and subjects its agenda to constant reshaping, depending on which party controls the White House. "It's no accident ... that this major constitutional showdown is occurring over appointments to the board," said AFL-CIO General Counsel Craig Becker, a former board member. Full Story | Top |
| Pope's choice of new cardinals puts emphasis on poor Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:30 AM PST  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis put his first stamp on the group at the top of the Roman Catholic hierarchy on Sunday, naming 19 new cardinals from around the world and emphasizing his concern for poor countries. Sixteen of them are "cardinal electors" under 80 and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect a pope. They come from Italy, Germany, Britain, Nicaragua, Canada, Ivory Coast, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Chile, Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Haiti. Full Story | Top |
| EU says nuclear deal with Iran to come into force on January 20 Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:14 AM PST  Six world powers and Iran have agreed to start implementing an interim nuclear deal on January 20, the EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement on Sunday. Ashton represents the six nations - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - in diplomatic contacts with Iran related to the nuclear standoff. She said the sides would now ask the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to verify the deal's implementation. Under the November 24 agreement, Iran has promised to curb its most sensitive nuclear activities in return for some relief from Western economic sanctions. Full Story | Top |
| In Japan, Detroit demands broad access but targets narrow niche Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:13 AM PST By Yoko Kubota TOKYO (Reuters) - American "muscle car" enthusiast Satoshi Kimiwada says his business selling used Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs other U.S. cars in Yokohama is on the verge of extinction. But he does not blame the "non-trade barriers" that U.S. automakers say block their access to Japan's car market, or the trade negotiators in Washington and Tokyo whose talks to resolve them have been bogged down in months of wrangling. Instead points to the brash image of the U.S. brands he has been selling in Japan for 20 years, which clashes awkwardly with mainstream consumer tastes in the world's no.3 car market. "People gawk at American cars when they drive by here, where green cars are the norm," said Kimiwada, 39, whose small garage is decorated with old Californian number plates and neon signs from U.S. drive-ins. Full Story | Top |
| Global auto sales forecast rosy, with reservations, for 2014 Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 09:08 AM PST  Europe is expected to begin bouncing back from its 20-year lows and China, the world's largest auto market, will likely continue to post double-digit gains, helped by an array of stimulus measures and robust demand in smaller inland cities. But slowing demand in the second-largest auto market, the United States, has some analysts worried incentives could rise and bit into profit margins. "You could see some pressure on the quality of profits," Hans-Werner Kaas, senior partner at McKinsey's automotive practice, said of the U.S. market. Full Story | Top |
| Iran says nuclear deal takes effect on January 20: agency Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 08:53 AM PST  ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran's interim nuclear deal with major powers will come into force on January 20, a spokeswoman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. "Capitals have confirmed the result of the talks in Geneva ... the Geneva deal will be implemented from January 20," the spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham, told reporters in Tehran, the semi-official Mehr news agency said. (Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William Maclean and Kevin Liffey) Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi ratchets up pressure on PM Letta over reforms Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 08:39 AM PST  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-left leader Matteo Renzi said the next two weeks will be "decisive" for Prime Minister Enrico Letta's government, which has so far struggled to make incisive reforms. The government is supported by a broad left-right coalition. But since the 39-year-old Renzi was elected last month to lead the Democratic Party (PD) - Letta's own party - he has frequently criticized the government's choices and called for it to accelerate institutional and economic reforms. Italy, one of the world's biggest government debtors, has narrowly avoided being dragged into the euro zone debt crisis. Full Story | Top |
| Italy rescues more than 400 migrants in 24 hours Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 08:38 AM PST The Italian navy rescued more than 400 migrants from two boats south of Sicily on Saturday and Sunday as the immigration crisis that killed hundreds in shipwrecks last year continued. On Saturday afternoon, 236 men, women and children, mostly from Africa, were rescued and were being taken to a port near Syracuse in Sicily, the navy said in a statement. Italy is a major gateway into Europe for many migrants seeking a better life, and sea arrivals to the country from Northern Africa more than tripled in 2013, fuelled by Syria's civil war and strife in the Horn of Africa. More than 200, mostly Syrians, probably died in another shipwreck a week later. Full Story | Top |
| Iraq's Maliki threatens to cut funds if Kurds pipe oil to Turkey Sunday, Jan 12, 2014 08:30 AM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy and Alistair Lyon BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened on Sunday to cut Kurdistan's share of the federal budget if the autonomous region exports oil to Turkey via a new pipeline without central government consent. The Kurdistan Regional Government said last week that crude had begun to flow to Turkey and exports were expected to start at the end of this month and then rise in February and March. "This is a constitutional violation which we will never allow, not for the (Kurdistan) region nor for the Turkish government," Maliki told Reuters in an interview. He reiterated Baghdad's insistence that only the central government has the authority to manage Iraq's energy resources. Full Story | Top |
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