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| U.S. Marines will retry sergeant accused of killing Iraqi civilian Monday, Jan 27, 2014 07:47 PM PST By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine sergeant who was found guilty of murder in the 2006 death of an Iraqi civilian, only to have his conviction overturned, will face a retrial on the same charges, a Marine spokesman said on Monday. Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins III will be arraigned at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kloppel said. Hutchins was the leader of a squad of Marines that went on a mission aimed at stopping militants' use of improvised explosive devices in the village of Hamdania, Iraq, in the early morning hours of April 26, 2006. Witnesses said Hutchins and another Marine shot 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a father of 11 and grandfather of four, and placed an AK-47 and a shovel next to the corpse to suggest he had been planting a bomb. Full Story | Top |
| China says New York Times reporter broke visa rules, will leave Monday, Jan 27, 2014 07:23 PM PST  China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a China-based reporter for the New York Times broke rules on residence visas and would be leaving the country before the end of the week, in a case which could sour Beijing's relations with Washington. The issue of media freedom for foreign reporters in China has attracted high-level concern in the United States, especially over worries that the government is denying visas for organizations that carry negative stories about China. Last month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden expressed concern, while on a visit to Beijing, over China's efforts to restrict the activities of foreign news organizations. Neither the New York Times Co nor Bloomberg News has been given new journalist visas for more than a year after they published stories about the wealth of family members of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and current President Xi Jinping, respectively. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares pinned at five-month lows, Turkey in spotlight Monday, Jan 27, 2014 07:14 PM PST  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were pinned near five-month lows on Tuesday as concerns that slower growth in China and reduced U.S. monetary stimulus could hurt some emerging economies dependent on exports and foreign capital. Japan's Nikkei hit 2 1/2-month intraday low before recouping the losses to trade 0.2 percent above its previous close. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan also briefly dipped to a five-month low, extending a 3.8 percent loss in the past three days and last stood almost flat. Investors drew some comfort from the news that a Chinese trust firm had reached an agreement to resolve a troubled high-yield investment product, just days away from what could have been a precedent-setting default in China's shadow banking system. Full Story | Top |
| California students challenge teacher tenure rules in lawsuit Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:57 PM PST A group of nine California students challenged employment rules in court on Monday that they complain force public schools in the most populous U.S. state to retain low-performing teachers, mainly in poor and minority schools. At the start of a trial challenging state education employment policy, attorneys argued that California guidelines for permanent hiring, firing and layoff practices for K-12 public school teachers violate the constitutional rights of students by denying them effective teachers. "School districts, like any other organization, need to be able to manage their workforce in a rational way with a primary focus on putting the highest quality teachers in front of students," attorney Theodore Boutrous of the education advocacy group Students Matter said during opening statements. The group says the layoff policy disproportionately affects minority and low-income students, who are more likely to have entry-level teachers and poor quality senior teachers assigned to their district. Full Story | Top |
| Congressional negotiators reach deal on U.S. farm bill Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:49 PM PST  By Eric Beech WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House and Senate negotiators on Monday reached a bipartisan agreement on the long-overdue U.S. farm bill that ends a pricy direct subsidy to farmers while expanding government-backed crop insurance programs, and trims spending on food stamps for poor Americans by about one percent. "We've got a bill that makes sense, works for farmers and ranchers and consumers and families that need help, and protects our land and water and our wildlife," Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Reuters. The agreement on a new five-year bill came after lawmakers spent weeks ironing out differences over food stamps, dairy price supports and other issues contained in earlier House and Senate legislation. "I cannot march backwards and deliver more spending, more regulations and more waste." The 949-page conference agreement will be brought up for a vote in the House of Representatives "as early as this week," according to a statement from Stabenow. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate subcommittee sets hearing on consumer data security Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:44 PM PST The U.S. Senate banking panel has scheduled a subcommittee hearing for next week on safeguarding consumers' financial information following the theft of data at retailers such as Target Corp and Neiman Marcus, the committee said on Monday. Witnesses at the subcommittee on national security and international trade and finance hearing next Monday will include officials from the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the American Bankers Association and National Retail Federation, the committee said in a statement. A data breach over the holiday shopping season at Target, the third-largest U.S. retailer, resulted in the theft of about 40 million credit and debit card records and 70 million other records with customer information such as addresses and telephone numbers. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich, opposition agree to scrap some anti-protest laws Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:41 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich agreed in talks with opposition leaders to the repeal of some anti-protest laws and to discuss the fate of the current government at a crunch session of parliament on Tuesday, called to end two months of unrest against his rule. But former Economy Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, now a leader of the opposition, refused his offer of the prime minister's job, setting the scene for a tough political battle in parliament over opposition demands for concessions, including an amnesty for detained protesters. There was no mention of any declaration of a state of emergency - something that Yanukovich's Cabinet ministers threatened to call for on Monday to re-establish control over the security situation in the country, where protesters are seizing public buildings. Talk of a state of emergency being declared in the former Soviet republic of 46 million made the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, hastily move up a visit to Kiev on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Quentin Tarantino sues Gawker over links to leaked movie script Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:34 PM PST  Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino filed a lawsuit against media outlet Gawker for copyright infringement in a U.S. district court in Los Angeles on Monday, after the website published links to download the script for his latest movie, entitled "The Hateful Eight." Gawker editor John Cook denied the publication had infringed on copyright in a post published on Gawker.com on Monday. He said Gawker did not leak Tarantino's 146-page Western movie script and only published a link to a website where the script could be downloaded. In court documents, writer-director Tarantino claimed Gawker Media promoted and disseminated unauthorized, downloadable copies of the leaked screenplay. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico says catches senior Knights Templar drug gang boss Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:28 PM PST  By Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico said on Monday it had captured a leader of the Knights Templar, a violent drug cartel that has created a major security problem for President Enrique Pena Nieto. The attorney general's office said security forces arrested Dionisio Loya Plancarte, known as "El Tio" ('The Uncle'), a top member of the Knights Templar, which has clashed with vigilante groups in the western state of Michoacan this year. The Knights emerged from a split in another cartel in Michoacan known as La Familia and have controlled large swaths of the restive mountainous state in recent years, extorting farmers and local businesses and diversifying away from drug trafficking to activities such as mining. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-strategist must arbitrate whistleblower claim against UBS: U.S. judge Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:57 PM PST  A former UBS AG employee must arbitrate a claim that he was terminated for disclosing to superiors that he was pressured to publish misleading research reports. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan found that Trevor Murray, who was fired in February 2012, could not cite the prohibitive provisions in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to avoid arbitrating a retaliation claim arising under the Dodd Frank Act. Sarbanes-Oxley is a 2002 law that created enhanced accounting standards for publicly traded U.S. companies after a series of accounting scandals. "Plaintiff cannot recast his claim to arise under Sarbanes-Oxley in order to benefit from the prohibition of predispute arbitration agreements afforded under that statute," Judge Polk Failla wrote of Murray's case. Full Story | Top |
| Bid to provide condoms to California prison inmates clears hurdle Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:49 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Condoms could eventually be distributed to California prison inmates under a bill passed in the Democratic-controlled state Assembly on Monday, setting the stage for potential pushback from Governor Jerry Brown, who vetoed a similar measure last fall. The bill, which must still be passed by the state Senate, directs California to develop a five-year plan to hand out condoms in the state prison system, where existing law already criminalizes sex acts between inmates, regardless of consent. Opponents of the plan have predicted prisoners in the overcrowded system could use condoms to store contraband rather than for safe sex, while backers say it could help cut down on high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among inmates. "Sexually transmitted disease is a tragic reality of life in prison," said Oakland Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who introduced the bill. Full Story | Top |
| Ice skater Michelle Kwan's husband to run for Rhode Island governor Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:22 PM PST (Reuters) - Clay Pell, the grandson of a former U.S. senator and husband of retired U.S. Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, indicated on Monday he intends to run as a Democrat for governor of Rhode Island. The personal website of the Providence, Rhode Island-based attorney features a picture of Pell and Kwan and reads "Clay Pell For Governor." Pell, 32, is expected to officially announce his candidacy on Tuesday. In a YouTube video posted on www.ClayPell.com on Monday, Pell confirms his plan to run for office, saying he "decided to run for governor because I believe I can help restore hope and economic growth in our state." His grandfather, former Senator Claiborne Pell, served six terms and was best known in the early 1970s for his championing of federal financial aid grants for college students, a U.S. government scholarship program which in 1980 was renamed the Pell Grant. Clay Pell will face off against two other Democrats in a primary election in September - Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon notifies Congress of possible F-16 upgrades for UAE Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:01 PM PST  The Pentagon has notified Congress of a possible sale of weapons and other equipment valued at $270 million that would be part of a larger, multibillion-dollar deal for 30 more F-16s that is still under discussion by Lockheed Martin Corp and the United Arab Emirates. Lockheed is continuing to negotiate with UAE about a direct commercial sale of the F-16s, but congressional approval is needed for some of the equipment that would go on the jets. Lockheed declined comment on the timing of a possible sale of additional F-16s to UAE, which acquired its current Block 60 F-16s in the early 2000s. "We continue to work with the UAE to ensure their fleet is well maintained and up to date. Full Story | Top |
| Ride service Uber faces new lawsuit after fatal San Francisco crash Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:56 PM PST By Dan Levine and Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The family of a young girl killed by a driver affiliated with fast-growing private transportation service Uber sued the company on Monday, adding to Uber's growing list of legal problems. On New Year's Eve Sofia Liu, 6, died after she, her younger brother and their mother were hit by a car in a San Francisco cross-walk, according to the lawsuit. At the time of the crash, driver Syed Muzzafar was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was available to provide rides, the lawsuit said. In a statement immediately after the San Francisco crash, Uber said the tragedy did not involve a vehicle "doing a trip on the Uber system," and that Uber "deactivated" the driver's account. Full Story | Top |
| Mental health patient shot dead by South Carolina probation agent Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:46 PM PST By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A patient brought to a mental health facility in South Carolina by a state agent on Monday morning was shot dead after the patient became loud and argumentative, the state mental health department said in a statement. While the patient was being seen by a psychiatrist at the mental health center in the town of Chesterfield, the agent with the state's Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services was seated outside the office door, the department said. The clinic, Tri-County Community Mental Health Center, is operated by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health and treats adults and children in three South Carolina upstate counties. The psychiatrist reported that he was physically assaulted by the patient but was not seriously injured, LaPointe said. Full Story | Top |
| Judge postpones trial of accused Los Angeles airport gunman Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:44 PM PST  By Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The upcoming trial of a man accused of killing a U.S. security screener and wounding three people at Los Angeles International Airport was postponed on Monday by a federal judge, giving prosecutors more time to decide whether to seek the death penalty. Paul Anthony Ciancia, who is accused of walking into an airport terminal in November and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle, had been tentatively set for trial next week on murder and attempted murder charges. But U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez vacated that trial date at the request of prosecutors, who said during a brief pre-trial hearing in federal court in Los Angeles that they were going through a "multi-step process" of determining whether to seek the death penalty against Ciancia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said U.S. Attorney Eric Holder would make the final decision in the coming weeks. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Florida Democrats may get buzz from medical marijuana Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:34 PM PST  By David Adams and Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - A November ballot measure to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in Florida could have a decidedly political side effect. The ballot proposal, which was approved by Florida's Supreme Court on Monday, is so popular it could help Democrats unseat the state's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, who is up for re-election in November. Democrats believe it could energize their base in a midterm electoral season that generally results in low turn out, while polls show even a majority of Florida Republicans support medical marijuana use. Scott opposes the ballot initiative and is trailing in polls to his main challenger, former governor Charlie Crist, who favors legalization. Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Argentine ref retires yellow, sees red, only red Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:24 PM PST Referee Carlos Maglio realised that even after dishing out eight bookings in a friendly between bitter Argentine rivals Estudiantes and Gimnasia the players were not getting the message, so he relinquished his yellow card to send a clear warning: the next one's red. Maglio handed over his yellow card to one of his assistants during the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata in a friendly played during the season's summer break. Sooner afterwards, Maglio sent off Estudiantes midfielder Israel Damonte for violent play. "Even if I'd had the yellow card he would still have gone off," said the ref of Damonte. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. moves forward with attack helicopter sale to Iraq Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:19 PM PST  By Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration notified Congress on Monday of plans to sell 24 Apache attack helicopters to Iraq, part of an effort to bolster the military against al Qaeda-linked militants, after addressing lawmakers' concerns that held up the sale for months. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on its website it had informed Congress of the possible sale of the Boeing Co-built helicopters to the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is in a standoff with Islamist militants in the western province of Anbar two years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The administration also notified Congress of plans to lease Iraq up to six Apaches, which a U.S. defense official said would be used for training purposes until the purchased Apaches were delivered. Full Story | Top |
| Royal Household assailed over budget, 'crumbling' palace Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:09 PM PST  By Julia Fioretti LONDON (Reuters) - British members of parliament criticised Queen Elizabeth's Royal Household on Tuesday for blowing its annual budget while neglecting repairs at Buckingham Palace, which two lawmakers suggested was falling apart. The palace, which is over 300 years old, has not had its electrical wiring renewed since 1949, needs asbestos removing and has 60-year old boilers, parliament's Public Accounts Committee said in a report. The report included a transcript of exchanges between MPs and a royal household official over the upkeep of the palace, which is the monarch's London home. "So work is being carried on while they are living in crumbling surroundings?" opposition Labour MP Austin Mitchell asked Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the privy purse and treasurer to the queen. Full Story | Top |
| North Carolina police officer indicted in shooting of unarmed man Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:07 PM PST By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - A North Carolina police officer accused of shooting and killing an unarmed man was indicted on Monday on a voluntary manslaughter charge, one week after a separate grand jury decided against indicting him. The officer, Randall Kerrick, who is accused of hitting the man, Jonathan Ferrell, 10 times in the shooting last September 14, is the first police officer in the city of Charlotte to be arrested for an on-duty shooting in at least 30 years, the Charlotte Observer said. Kerrick responded to a 911 call about a suspected burglar. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose office is handling the case, choose to present it a second time to a grand jury after a panel that was short some members last week asked to consider a lesser charge instead. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. frees tech companies to give more spying data Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:59 PM PST  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. technology companies may give the public and their customers more detail about the court orders they receive related to surveillance under an agreement they reached on Monday with the Obama administration. Companies such as Google Inc and Microsoft Corp have been prohibited from disclosing even an approximate number of orders they received from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. They could give only an aggregate number of U.S. demands that combined surveillance court orders, letters from the FBI, subpoenas in run-of-the-mill criminal cases and other requests. The deal frees the companies to say, for example, approximately how many orders they received in a six-month period from the surveillance court. Full Story | Top |
| Foundry owner admits to ripping off Jasper Johns sculpture Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:49 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A metal shop owner on Monday admitted he tried to pass off a sculpture he made as a Jasper Johns creation, bringing his criminal trial to an abrupt end just days after the renowned modern American painter himself testified as a witness. Brian Ramnarine, 59, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to attempting to sell a bronze sculpture made from a mold of Johns' iconic 1960 work, "Flag," for $11 million. "I think Mr. Ramnarine recognized the government had an overwhelming amount of evidence," said Ramnarine's lawyer, Troy Smith. "He balanced that against his right to fight the case and go to trial, and he recognized that this was his best option." Ramnarine pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud stemming from his attempt to sell the Johns work as well as efforts to sell artwork he falsely claimed had been created by Brazilian-born sculptor and painter Saint Clair Cemin and American pop art sculptor Robert Indiana, most famous for his sculpture "Love." Under the terms of the deal, Ramnarine's lawyers and prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence between approximately eight to 10 years, in prison. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's generals give Sisi green light to run for president Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:42 PM PST  By Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's top military council gave the army chief, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a green light on Monday to seek election as president, a vote he is almost sure to win with Egyptians weary of turmoil unleashed by a pro-democracy uprising in 2011. Sisi deposed elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July after mass unrest over his increasingly arbitrary and erratic rule, kindling political chaos and security crackdowns on dissent in the Arab world's most populous nation. He has since taken on almost cult-like popularity in Egypt, with many seeing him as a decisive figure able to stabilize a country that has lurched from one economically ruinous crisis to another since the 2011 overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. "(The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) is looking forward with respect and reverence to the desire of the huge masses of the great Egyptian people in the nomination of ... Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the presidency of the republic, which it considers a mandate and an obligation," the military high command said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Florida's top court puts medical marijuana initiative on November ballot Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:41 PM PST  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida voters will decide in November whether to legalize medical marijuana after the state Supreme Court on Monday approved an initiative to put the measure on the ballot. Florida's Republican Party leadership had opposed the wording of the ballot measure, saying it was too vague and misleading and that it would allow almost anyone to obtain marijuana for the slightest medical complaint. A bitterly divided state Supreme Court voted 4-3 on Monday to allow the medical marijuana initiative to go on the November ballot, saying it met all legal requirements. If the petition is backed by 60 percent of voters in November, Florida would become the first Southern U.S. state to approve marijuana for medical use, joining 20 other states. Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Bitcoin entrepreneur charged with money laundering Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:39 PM PST By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - The vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group promoting the adoption of the digital currency, has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with conspiring to commit money laundering by helping to funnel cash to illicit online drugs bazaar Silk Road. Charlie Shrem, who had financial backing from the Winklevoss twins and is well known as one of the bitcoin's biggest global promoters, was arrested on Sunday at John. F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said on Monday. Shrem, who was also charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, appeared in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday and was released on $1 million bond. Full Story | Top |
| Bipartisan flood Insurance bill clears Senate hurdle Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:38 PM PST By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan bill to delay dramatic increases in federal flood insurance premiums for millions of American homeowners and small businesses cleared a Republican procedural roadblock in the U.S. Senate on Monday. On a vote of 86-13, the Senate agreed to advance the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would postpone for four years rate hikes of up to 10 fold and more. A vote on Senate passage of the bill could come later this week after consideration of a number of possible amendments offered by members on both sides of the political aisle. Conservative opponents of the measure argue that a delay in the premium hikes would force taxpayers to continue help cover the cost of insurance in high-risk flood areas. Full Story | Top |
| Quentin Tarantino sues Gawker over leak of movie script Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:30 PM PST  Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino is suing media outlet Gawker for copyright infringement in a U.S. district court in Los Angeles, after the website published links to download the script for his latest movie, entitled "The Hateful Eight." In court documents filed on Monday, writer-director Tarantino claimed Gawker Media promoted and disseminated "unauthorized downloadable copies of the leaked unreleased complete screenplay." The filmmaker is seeking more than $1 million in damages. The lawsuit also names website AnonFiles.com, which the Gawker article linked to, and which contains downloads of Tarantino's 146-page script. The website allows users to upload and download files anonymously, and in its terms and conditions it says users can be held responsible for "illegal and/or copyright infringement material." It adds "do not upload anything that violates local law. Full Story | Top |
| Burger King 'sandwich deal' yields U.S. criminal insider charges Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:29 PM PST  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have criminally charged a former Wells Fargo & Co broker and a banker with insider trading in Burger King securities ahead of a 2010 buyout of the fast-food chain. Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto, who worked for Wells Fargo Advisors, alleged learned from a client that private equity firm 3G Capital Partners planned to buy Burger King, and passed the news to Igor Cornelsen, a banker and fellow Brazilian who had been prodding him for tips. They said this included an August 18, 2010 email exchange in which Cornelsen asked "is the sandwich deal going to happen," prompting Prado to reply "it's going to happen." The roughly $3.26 billion buyout was announced two weeks later and valued Burger King at $24 per share, 46 percent above where it traded before buyout rumors surfaced. Prosecutors said Cornelsen and Prado both traded illegally in Burger King, making a respective $1.68 million and $175,000 of profit. Full Story | Top |
| Talks on Iran nuclear deal expected in NY in February: U.S. Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:18 PM PST  By Louis Charbonneau and Justyna Pawlak UNITED NATIONS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - - The opening round of talks between Iran and six world powers on a long-term deal for Tehran to curb parts of its nuclear program in exchange for a gradual end to sanctions is expected to take place next month in New York, a U.S. official said on Monday. "It is our understanding that the first round of comprehensive negotiations will be in New York in mid-February with dates still being confirmed," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in an email. "New York - agreed to by EU High Representative (Catherine) Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif - has a similar support infrastructure to Geneva," Harf said. "We believe that United Nations and international support is important for work on a comprehensive agreement." A senior Western diplomat told Reuters that the six powers were looking at the early part of the week of February 16, though the talks were unlikely to begin before February 18 due to a U.S. holiday. Full Story | Top |
| Teenage polar explorer on quest to raise climate change awareness Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:40 PM PST By Marina Lopes NEW YORK (Reuters) - Parker Liautaud, the teenage polar explorer who set the record last year as the fastest unsupported person to trek to the South Pole, said he set off on the 314-mile trip from the coast of Antarctica to draw attention to climate change. The 19-year-old California native broke the previous record held by Norwegian explorers Ottar Haldorsen and Jacob Meland by almost four days when he reached the South Pole on Christmas Eve after 18 days, four hours and 43 minutes. On the return trip Liautaud bored into the hostile terrain and took 6.5-foot-deep (2 meter) samples that he hopes will help scientists answer questions about global warming. Researchers at GNS Science, a New Zealand research institute, are analyzing the samples for changes in composition that could shed light on the pace of climate change in the region. Full Story | Top |
| Quebec may toughen sprinkler laws after deadly seniors' home fire Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:39 PM PST  By Randall Palmer L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (Reuters) - Quebec might speed up introduction of tougher laws on installing sprinklers at seniors' residences after a fire that is believed to have killed 32 people, the Canadian province's health minister said on Monday. The three-story wooden home in L'Isle-Verte, a picturesque town about 230 km (143 miles) northeast of Quebec City, was only partially equipped with sprinklers, which are not obligatory at privately run Quebec residences in which some residents are mobile. A special committee of police, fire-prevention and building experts in Quebec started looking last year into how to tighten regulations on sprinklers in privately run seniors' homes. If it had been simple it would have been done (already)," Quebec Health Minister Rejean Hebert said at a news conference in the town after meeting survivors. Full Story | Top |
| Congress secretly approves U.S. weapons flow to 'moderate' Syrian rebels Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:35 PM PST  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Light arms supplied by the United States are flowing to "moderate" Syrian rebel factions in the south of the country and U.S. funding for months of further deliveries has been approved by Congress, according U.S. and European security officials. The weapons, most of which are moving to non-Islamist Syrian rebels via Jordan, include a variety of small arms, as well as some more powerful weapons, such as anti-tank rockets. The deliveries do not include weapons such as shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles, known as MANPADs, which could shoot down military or civilian aircraft, the officials said. The weapons deliveries have been funded by the U.S. Congress, in votes behind closed doors, through the end of government fiscal year 2014, which ends on September 30, two officials said. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council urges end to ransom payments to extremists Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:21 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council urged countries on Monday to stop the payment of kidnap ransoms to extremist groups like al Qaeda, which have earned hundreds of millions of dollars from such crimes. "We estimate that in the last three and a half years, al Qaeda-affiliated and other Islamist extremist groups have collected at least $105 million," British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told reporters. "We need to break that cycle." The United States has estimated militant groups have received $120 million over the past decade, including ransoms paid to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The United States and Britain do not pay ransoms, but some European governments do. Full Story | Top |
| Maryland mall reopens after fatal weekend shooting Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:11 PM PST By Alice Popovici COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A Maryland mall where a 19-year-old gunman killed two store employees before apparently taking his own life reopened on Monday to mourners bearing flowers and questions about why the shooting happened. The popular retail complex about 20 miles west of Baltimore had been closed since Darion Marcus Aguilar fired six to eight shots from a 12-gauge shotgun on Saturday as the mall bustled with weekend shoppers. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman told a few hundred people, many of them first responders, outside the mall before it reopened that the community had shown its resiliency and strength. "In these tough times I've seen some things that I am incredibly proud of," Ulman said while flanked by U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat. Full Story | Top |
| Tighter regulation of money market funds needed: SEC member Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:09 PM PST  By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Money market funds still remain vulnerable to runs by investors, and should be subject to further regulation to reduce such risks, one of the newest members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. "More should be done to mitigate the first mover-advantage enjoyed by investors who run during times of heavy redemptions," said SEC Republican Commissioner Michael Piwowar, making his first public comments on money fund reforms since joining the agency in August. The SEC's five commissioners are weighing a proposal to reduce the risk of runs on money market funds, like the one seen in 2008 when the Reserve Primary Fund's net asset value fell below $1 per share as panicked investors withdrew money to avoid exposure to Lehman Brothers. The Chamber has been among the most vocal business trade groups to lobby against overly strict new rules for money market funds, saying any regulations that fundamentally alter the structure of the product could cut off a major supply of short-term funding for corporations. Full Story | Top |
| Syria peace talks hit more trouble as rebel city 'starves' Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:08 PM PST By Stephanie Nebehay and Mariam Karouny GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States on Monday demanded that Syria allow aid into the "starving" city of Homs, as talks aimed at ending three years of civil war hit more trouble over the future of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government said women and children could leave the besieged city and that rebels should hand over the names of the men who would remain. "We firmly believe that the Syrian regime must approve the convoys to deliver badly needed humanitarian assistance into the Old City of Homs now," said spokesman Edgar Vasquez. "The situation is desperate and the people are starving." He said the people of Homs must not be forced to leave their homes and split up their families before receiving aid. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. warns Afghanistan over release of prisoners Monday, Jan 27, 2014 02:03 PM PST The United States warned the Afghan government on Monday against releasing prisoners that Washington says should be tried as dangerous militants, the latest dispute to inflame U.S.-Afghan relations. Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Afghan government had directed the Afghan Review Board, a government body, to release 37 detainees, but Warren said some were linked to production of or attacks using improvised bombs, while others were believed to have been involved in attacks on Afghan or foreign soldiers. The prisoners' fate is the latest issue to trouble relations between Washington and Kabul as the Obama administration presses Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign a security pact that would authorize U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan after 2014. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich meets opposition ahead of crunch parliament session Monday, Jan 27, 2014 01:56 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's Viktor Yanukovich held fresh talks with opposition leaders on Monday to prepare for a crunch session of parliament at which the president and his allies will be under pressure to make major concessions amid mass unrest. A tough battle lay ahead at Tuesday's session with the opposition calling for concessions including the repeal of sweeping anti-protest laws, the dismissal of the government and an amnesty for all protesters detained in two months of unrest. Ukraine's justice minister raised tensions by warning she would press for a state of emergency if protesters did not vacate a ministry building they had occupied overnight. As the opposition leaders - boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and nationalist Oleh Tyahnibok - met Yanukovich, the President's party set the scene for a rowdy session of parliament, saying they did not intend to yield any ground. Full Story | Top |
| Anti-graft party to field dozens of candidates in India general election Monday, Jan 27, 2014 01:36 PM PST  By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The young anti-graft party that stormed to power in India's capital Delhi last month plans to field at least 73 candidates in national elections due by May to stand against politicians accused of crimes, its founder said on Monday. Following its strong performance in Delhi, interest in the year-old Aam Aadmi - Common Man - Party has surged. Until now the party had not said how many of the 540 lower house parliamentary seats it might contest in an election pitting the centre-left governing coalition against front runner opposition candidate Narendra Modi. While polls suggest the debutant party is unlikely to win more than a dozen or so seats, its success in Delhi has shaken up the national race, with Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Congress party both aping Aam Aadmi's anti-elite, anti-corruption language. Full Story | Top |
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