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| Pearl Jam's former manager sentenced to prison for theft, paper reports Friday, Feb 28, 2014 07:10 PM PST (Reuters) - Pearl Jam's former financial manager, who used his position with the rock band to steal $380,000, was sentenced on Friday to 14 months in prison at a court hearing in Washington state, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported. Rickey Charles Goodrich, 55, had initially faced 33 theft charges but in December he pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree theft, the paper reported on its website. Goodrich was chief financial officer at Pearl Jam's Seattle-based management company, Curtis Management, before he was fired in September 2010. Full Story | Top |
| Bangkok boating lake park becomes focus of protests Friday, Feb 28, 2014 07:10 PM PST  By Nick Macfie BANGKOK (Reuters) - A green park in downtown Bangkok was slowly beginning to resemble a tent city on Saturday, a day after anti-government protesters said they would clear camps blocking key intersections and congregate in the park instead. The protesters have blocked some streets since mid-January in their bid to push out Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and eradicate the influence of her brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, seen as the real power in Thailand. "We will stop closing Bangkok and give every intersection back to Bangkokians. We will stop closing Bangkok from Monday," protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban told supporters on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| Obama warns Russia of 'costs' for intervention in Ukraine Friday, Feb 28, 2014 07:05 PM PST  By Steve Holland and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned Russia on Friday that military intervention in Ukraine would lead to "costs," as tension with old foe President Vladimir Putin rose in a Cold War-style crisis. "We are now deeply concerned by reports of military movements taken by the Russian Federation inside of Ukraine," he told reporters. Obama and European leaders would consider skipping a G8 summit this summer in the Russian city of Sochi if Moscow intervenes militarily in Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit creditors want more time to vet city's bankruptcy plan Friday, Feb 28, 2014 06:21 PM PST  Detroit faces a long legal fight over its valuable art collection and other key matters in its historic bankruptcy case that make it imperative to push back the start of a trial on the city's debt adjustment plan, a bond insurer argued on Friday. In a filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Syncora Guarantee Inc warned that lawsuits will be filed over the Detroit Institute of Arts' collection, which the city is not selling at this point to help pay its $18 billion in debt. Syncora, which guaranteed payments on some of Detroit's bonds, and other creditors have pushed for the sale of art works to raise more cash for the city to spread among its thousands of creditors, who face steep losses in the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. But critics of Christie's work suggested that the appraisal of only a small slice of Detroit's collection undervalued the art collection as a potential asset in helping to resolve Detroit's bankruptcy. Full Story | Top |
| No charges in shooting of Georgia Alzheimer's patient, prosecutor says Friday, Feb 28, 2014 06:17 PM PST In the latest case to raise questions about the legality of asserting self-defense in a fatal shooting, Catoosa County District Attorney Herbert Franklin said he was declining to file charges against Joe Hendrix "Hendrix was concerned that if the man got by him, his girlfriend in the house would be defenseless," Franklin said in a statement. Authorities say Ronald Westbrook, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, walked up to Hendrix's front door in Chickamauga, Georgia, carrying a flashlight and some mail, and began ringing the doorbell. Westbrook, who lived about 3 miles away, then walked to the side and rear of the house, the prosecutor said. Hendrix, took a gun and confronted Westbrook, ordering him to stop, but Westbrook kept advancing, Franklin said. Full Story | Top |
| Google loses bid to keep anti-Islamic video online during appeal Friday, Feb 28, 2014 05:43 PM PST  By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc on Friday lost its bid to keep an anti-Islamic film on its YouTube video sharing website while it appealed a federal appeals court order that the company said would have "devastating effects" if allowed to stand. Earlier this week, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject Google's assertion that the removal of the film "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked protests across the Muslim world, amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the U.S. Constitution. In a court filing on Thursday, Google argued that the video should remain accessible to the public while it asks that a larger, 11-judge 9th Circuit panel review the issue. Google called this week's opinion "unprecedented" and "sweeping." However, the 9th Circuit on Friday rejected Google's request in a brief order. Full Story | Top |
| Obama preaches unity to Democrats at winter meeting Friday, Feb 28, 2014 05:02 PM PST  By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fiery President Barack Obama on Friday attempted to rally Democratic activists to overcome stiff headwinds and work hard for the party's congressional candidates this year in an election-year speech that was sharply critical of Republicans. The president addressed the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee in Washington with the aim of maintaining a spirit of unity among party activists. Democrats are trying to face down emboldened Republicans who see a chance of capturing the Senate and building on their majority in the House of Representatives. Invoking Democratic heroes such as John Kennedy and Bill Clinton, Obama told party faithful that Democrats can win "if we stay focused on what we believe in." All 435 members of the House and a third of the 100-member Senate are up for grabs in November elections. Full Story | Top |
| Generic drugmakers ramp up campaign against FDA label proposal Friday, Feb 28, 2014 04:34 PM PST By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Generic drugmakers are furiously campaigning against a proposed U.S. rule that would require them to change the prescribing information on their products if they receive new safety information, which they say would open them to product liability lawsuits. The rule would overturn regulations that have been in place for three decades that prohibit generic drugmakers from updating safety data on their labels without such changes first being made by the company that developed the drug. The Food and Drug Administration, which issued its proposal in November, said the change is designed to "create parity" between branded and generic drug makers with respect to labeling changes, and remove an unnecessary impediment to the prompt communication of safety data. Generic drugmakers say the proposed rule would raise the cost of drugs and lead to confusion among consumers. Full Story | Top |
| Documents show 1990s effort to 'humanize' Hillary Clinton Friday, Feb 28, 2014 04:29 PM PST  By John Whitesides and Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aides in former President Bill Clinton's White House crafted a strategy to "humanize" then-first lady Hillary Clinton and work around her "aversion" to the national media, according to documents released on Friday. The documents also detailed the first lady's struggles in the early 1990s with her healthcare task force, including worries about resistance on Capitol Hill and an aide's warning the plan could not meet a pledge to allow patients to pick their doctors, a promise that also came back to haunt President Barack Obama. The release of nearly 4,000 pages of previously sealed documents by the Clinton Presidential Library served to revisit Hillary Clinton's record and early struggles with her image as she gears up for a potential 2016 run for the presidency. An August 31, 1995, memo by Clinton's press secretary Lisa Caputo suggested she do interviews with "regional media." "Hillary is comfortable with the local reporters and enjoys speaking with them," the memo states. Full Story | Top |
| Extra funds help float Noah's Ark replica in Kentucky Friday, Feb 28, 2014 04:09 PM PST A Christian ministry that plans to build a Noah's Ark replica in Kentucky has raised enough money to go ahead with the $150 million project - and is thanking an adversary for boosting its support. Creation Museum founder Ken Ham announced this week that a municipal bond offering has brought in enough money to begin the long-delayed "Ark Encounter," a theme park featuring a 510-foot-long model of Noah's Ark near the Kentucky-Ohio border. Ham credited the funding bump to Bill Nye "the Science Guy," a popular commentator on science issues who faced off against him in a widely publicized February 4 debate over evolution. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. regulator seeks to block Alaskan mine to protect salmon Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:52 PM PST By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators moved on Friday to block development of the Pebble mine in Alaska, which could be one of the largest copper projects in the world, citing potential "irreversible harm" to the state's salmon fishery. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it has initiated a rarely used process under the Clean Water Act to "identify appropriate options to protect" the Bristol Bay fishery from the impact of the proposed mine. The decision follows a report in January that found large-scale mining would pose serious risks to salmon and native cultures in the pristine corner of southwest Alaska. "Extensive scientific study has given us ample reason to believe that the Pebble mine would likely have significant and irreversible negative impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed and its abundant salmon fisheries," EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Polish official in 'Heil Hitler' outburst quits party roles Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:51 PM PST A senior politician with Poland's ruling party accused of drunkenly shouting "Heil Hitler!" at a German customs officer apologized on Friday and stepped down as head of his party's group in the European parliament. Jacek Protasiewicz, by his own account, drank two bottles of wine on a flight from Warsaw to Frankfurt, and then got into an argument with the customs officer as he tried to leave the airport terminal. The incident heaped embarrassment on Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who has tried to build a new partnership with Berlin by putting to one side animosities that still linger after Germany's occupation of Poland in World War Two. A statement from Tusk's Civic Platform party said Protasiewicz had informed the prime minister of his resignation from his roles as head of the party campaign for the European parliament election in May, and as leader of the Civic Platform faction in the European parliament. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sees Russian troop movements into Crimea, officials say Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has seen indications of Russian troop movements from and into Ukraine's Crimea region on Friday but their numbers are unclear, as are the intentions of those movements, U.S. officials told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. One U.S. official said some of the movements could be designed to bolster protection of Russian forces there. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Cyprus FA suspends fixtures after referree targeted Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:32 PM PST (Adds Soccer tag, no change to text) NICOSIA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Cyprus FA suspended all weekend fixures on Friday after the home of an international referee was targeted in a bomb explosion. Earlier, the Cyprus Referees Association said its members would not attend any weekend fixtures after the home of its chairman, referree Leonidas Trattos, was attacked on Thursday. "Such incidents are beyond any boundary of logic," read a statement from the Cyprus FA. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate Democrats do not plan to pass budget this year: Murray Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:29 PM PST  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Senate won't bother passing their own budget this year, arguing that a deal in December has already set spending levels for the 2015 fiscal year and "relitigating" it would create economic uncertainty. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray said in a statement on Friday she would prefer to focus on promoting longer-term budget priorities for the Democratic Party, including measures to boost economic growth. The move will keep Democrats' election-year fiscal message focused on President Barack Obama's own 2015 budget request, due out on Tuesday, which will lay out his plans to shift spending to education, roads and expanding a tax credit for the working poor. "While this budget year is settled and it wouldn't be productive to relitigate it so soon after our two-year deal, I plan to work with my colleagues on the Budget Committee to lay out our long-term vision for creating jobs, boosting the economy, and tackling our deficits fairly and responsibly," Murray said. Full Story | Top |
| Sisters' jail visits to accused Boston bomber not confidential: prosecutors Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:11 PM PST  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Joint prison visits to accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev by his sisters and attorneys should not be treated as confidential lawyer-client meetings, U.S. prosecutors argued in court papers filed Friday. Responding to an October request by defense attorneys to loosen restrictions on their communication with the 20-year-old Tsarnaev, prosecutors argued they have the right for an FBI agent to be present at meetings between the defendant and social visitors - to insure that neither party was "soliciting or encouraging acts of violence or other crimes." Tsarnaev is accused of placing, along with his older brother, two homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the April 15 Boston Marathon last year. Visits from Tsarnaev's sisters to the prison west of Boston, where he is being held awaiting trial, are not entitled to the same guarantees of confidentiality as those from his attorneys, even if his attorneys are present, prosecutors argued in the filing in U.S. District Court in Boston. Full Story | Top |
| FTC says considering lawmaker's concerns about Herbalife Friday, Feb 28, 2014 03:09 PM PST  By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission on Friday refused to tip its hand on how it may be react to allegations that Herbalife is a fraud, but said it is taking a lawmaker's concerns about the company seriously and underscored its record of shutting down pyramid schemes. Billionaire investor William Ackman put a spotlight on the company when he made a $1 billion bet more than a year ago that the nutrition and weight loss firm is running a pyramid scheme and will go bust under regulatory scrutiny. So far, the bet has cost him hundreds of millions of dollars in paper losses as Herbalife's share price has climbed and no regulator has publicly disclosed its intention. In a letter sent to U.S. Senator Edward Markey, Edith Ramirez, the regulator's chairwoman, said various factors, including how consumers are affected, help determine whether the Commission acts. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's defense ministry warns of action by 'radical' forces in Crimea Friday, Feb 28, 2014 02:45 PM PST Ukraine's defense ministry said it had information that unknown "radical forces" were planning to try to disarm its military units in Crimea early Saturday morning and warned against such action. "In the case of such unknown actions, the Ukrainian armed forces will act in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and the regulations of the Ukrainian armed forces," the ministry said in a statement on its Website. Full Story | Top |
| Federal program aims to make pet food, livestock feed safer Friday, Feb 28, 2014 02:44 PM PST A new federal program aims to standardize inspection procedures for pet food and farm animal feed produced in the United States, making them safer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards comprise a series of new voluntary standards for inspections by state and other regulatory programs that oversee the production of pet food and feed for farm animals such as cattle, chickens and pigs. Concern over the safety of pet food and farm animal feed has mounted in recent years, as discoveries of salmonella-contaminated dog food and livestock feed contaminated with a corn-based toxin led to waves of product recalls and worries about the safety of the U.S. food production system. Full Story | Top |
| SEC investigating Goldman, Citi on bonds: WSJ Friday, Feb 28, 2014 02:35 PM PST  The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a probe into how Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Citigroup Inc, allocate and trade corporate bonds, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The SEC is examining whether banks favor big investors, leaving smaller ones at a disadvantage, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The regulator has made requests about several deals, including Verizon Communications Inc's $49 billion bond offering last year, the Journal said. SEC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. utilities need industry group focused on cyber defense: report Friday, Feb 28, 2014 02:09 PM PST By Ayesha Rascoe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. utilities would benefit from an independent group to set industry-wide guidelines on combating cyber threats, according to a think-tank report released on Friday that was co-authored by a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The report, from the Bipartisan Policy Center, said a new independent organization could bring together the disparate interests in the sector to help manage cybersecurity for the nation's electric grid, and help to deal with threats such as new malware that could be targeted at plants' information technology systems. "We don't have one group looking at this holistically to see what the answers are," said Curt Hebert, a co-author of the report who is a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency which oversees aspects of the nation's elecric grid. The other authors of the report were Michael Hayden, director of the CIA under President George W. Bush, and Susan Tierney, former assistant secretary at the Energy Department under President Bill Clinton. Full Story | Top |
| Jailed Venezuela protest leader mocks Maduro's talks Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:58 PM PST  By Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Jailed Venezuelan protest leader Leopoldo Lopez scoffed on Friday at President Nicolas Maduro's efforts to open talks with opponents and businessman after a month of demonstrations and violence that have killed at least 17 people. Maduro, 51, seems to have weathered the worst of an explosion of protests against his socialist government that exposed deep discontent with economic problems and brought the nation's worst unrest in a decade. Some students are still setting up roadblocks and clashing with police in Caracas and the western state of Tachira. But the number of protesters has dropped, and many Venezuelans have begun heading for the beach to enjoy a long weekend for Carnival celebrations. Full Story | Top |
| S&P ends at record but off day's high on Ukraine worries Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:57 PM PST  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended at another record close on Friday but well off the day's highs as worries about tensions in Ukraine caused investors to take profits ahead of the weekend. The Dow scored its best monthly percentage gain since January 2013, while the S&P 500 had its best month since October. Early in the session, the S&P 500 hit an intraday record for a second time this week as consumer confidence and other data bucked the recent trend of weaker economic reports. But indexes turned negative after Ukraine's acting president accused Russia of open aggression and said Moscow was following a similar scenario to the one before it went to war with Georgia in 2008. Full Story | Top |
| France striving to stop Central African Republic split, Hollande says Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:52 PM PST  By Serge Leger Kokpakpa BANGUI (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande told the Central African Republic on Friday that his troops would work to stop the country splitting in two and endeavor to disarm rival fighters engaged in months of inter-religious killing. Arriving in the capital Bangui from Nigeria, where he attended unification celebrations, Hollande met the interim president, religious leaders and addressed French troops. "We need to stop score-settling, establish the authority of government, allow it to engage in dialogue and avoid any temptation to partition the east of the Central African Republic," Hollande told French soldiers in a helicopter hangar at the airport in Bangui. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. GDP revised down, but hints of economic thaw emerge Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:52 PM PST  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government slashed its estimate for fourth-quarter economic growth on Friday in the latest sign of a loss of momentum, but some tentative signs emerged that suggested the worst of the slowdown may be over. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said, down sharply from the 3.2 percent pace it reported last month and the 4.1 percent logged in the third quarter. "I don't think the fundamentals have changed appreciably," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "That suggests some stabilization in economic activity," said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities in New York. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. names Larry Silverman as temporary point man on Syria Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:43 PM PST U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Larry Silverman will temporarily become the United States' point man on Syria with the departure of Robert Ford on Friday, a State Department spokeswoman said. Ford, who became U.S. ambassador to Syria in 2011 and is retiring, was instrumental in persuading the Syrian opposition groups to join talks with the government aimed at ending Syria's nearly three-year-old civil war. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Silverman would stand in until a permanent successor to Ford is named. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry voices U.S. dismay at anti-gay law to Uganda's Museveni Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:21 PM PST  Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni this week to convey U.S. unhappiness at an anti-gay law in Uganda and tell him it will complicate ties between the two countries, the State Department said on Friday. "Secretary Kerry expressed the United States' deep disappointment in the Ugandan government's decision to enact the anti-homosexuality bill," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said of the call, which took place on Thursday. "The secretary noted that the decision complicates the U.S. relationship with Uganda," the spokeswoman added in her written statement, although she said that Kerry did not threaten any specific sanction by the United States in response. Homosexuality is a taboo in most African nations and illegal in 37, including Uganda, where it has been a crime since British colonial rule. Full Story | Top |
| Google seeks to repost anti-Islamic film during appeal Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:20 PM PST By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc, saying a federal appeals court order directing it to remove an anti-Islamic film from its YouTube video sharing website would have "devastating effects" if allowed to stand, asked the court to put it on hold. Earlier this week, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject Google's assertion that the removal of the film "Innocence of Muslims," which sparked protests across the Muslim world, amounted to a prior restraint of speech that violated the U.S. Constitution. In a court filing on Thursday, Google argued that the video should remain accessible to the public while it asks that a larger, 11-judge 9th Circuit panel review the issue. Google called this week's order "unprecedented" and "sweeping." The plaintiff, Cindy Lee Garcia, had objected to the film after learning that it incorporated a clip she had made for a different movie, which had been partially dubbed and in which she appeared to be asking: "Is your Mohammed a child molester?" Garcia's attorney, Cris Armenta, opposes Google's request to repost the video while the appeal proceeds. Full Story | Top |
| Armed men seize two airports in Ukraine's Crimea, Russia denies involvement Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:06 PM PST  By Alissa de Carbonnel and Alessandra Prentice SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Armed men took control of two airports in the Crimea region on Friday in what Ukraine's government described as an invasion and occupation by Russian forces, stoking tension between Moscow and the West. More than 10 Russian military helicopters also flew into Ukrainian airspace over the region on Friday, Kiev's border guard service said, accusing Russian servicemen of blockading one of its units in the port city of Sevastopol, where part of Moscow's Black Sea fleet is based. Tensions have been rising on the Black Sea peninsula, the only Ukrainian region that has an ethnic Russian majority and the last major bastion of resistance to the overthrow of Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich as president almost a week ago. Moscow has promised to defend the interests of its citizens in Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela unrest chokes transport, worsens economic woes Friday, Feb 28, 2014 01:04 PM PST By Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Anti-government protests in Venezuela have left some 1,500 trucks that distribute about half the country's vegetables sitting idle in the western city of La Grita, waiting for roads blocked by demonstrators to be re-opened. At least 17 people have been killed in unrest that has posed the most serious challenge yet to socialist President Nicolas Maduro's 10-month-old administration. Some transport companies have idled trucks due to the threat of violence as protesters face off against security forces at barricades, especially in the western state of Tachira. "It's not just that we could lose our trucks, or their contents, we could lose our lives too," said Freddy Rosales, spokesman for a group of vegetable producers in La Grita. Full Story | Top |
| Anti-rape rules aim to protect immigrants in U.S. detention: DHS Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:57 PM PST  Immigrants held in U.S. detention centers will get extra protection against sexual abuse under regulations finalized on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said. The new rules will apply to people in immigration detention centers and holding facilities run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. "This rule will strengthen standards in DHS confinement facilities and ensure robust oversight." A 2003 law that was designed to eliminate rape in U.S. prisons did not apply to immigration detention centers. The Obama administration in May 2012 ordered all federal agencies with detention centers to create rules to prevent, detect and respond to sexual abuse and to comply with a 2013 law on violence against women, DHS said. Full Story | Top |
| Jailed TV pitchman Trudeau's California estate for sale Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:57 PM PST By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The ostentatious contents of the California home of former TV pitchman and convicted fraudster Kevin Trudeau go on sale on Friday to pay a $38 million judgment over false promises he made in a weight-loss book, according to an estate sale listing. Trudeau has battled federal regulators for years over his marketing of various products to combat cancer, hair loss, memory loss and obesity in infomercials that were ubiquitous on late-night television in the United States. A federal jury in Chicago convicted Trudeau, 51, in November of criminal contempt for violating a 2004 federal court settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that barred him from misrepresenting the contents of his books in advertisements. Trudeau's Los Angeles-area home will be emptied of a number of curiosities, including a menagerie of Swarovski crystals, a 72-candle chandelier, a grand piano, dishes, trinkets and art, said Will Munyon of Munyon and Sons, an estate sale firm that is running the sale of the home's contents. Full Story | Top |
| Fed may need to let inflation run hot to meet goals: Evans Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:42 PM PST By Jason Lange NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve should be willing to let inflation temporarily run above its target level so as to more quickly bring the economy back to health, a top Fed official said on Friday, even as a second policymaker signaled the very idea left him cold. The debate, between Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser, underscored a fundamental disagreement over the central bank's optimal approach to policy under new Fed Chair Janet Yellen. To Evans, one of the Fed's most dovish policymakers, allowing inflation to run above the Fed's 2-percent target would be a small price to pay for bringing the U.S. economy back to full employment quickly, and could even signal the Fed's commitment to making good on its goals. To Plosser, an ardent policy hawk, letting inflation rise above the target would call into question the Fed's commitment to its goals, undermining its policy effectiveness. Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian Prime Minister replaces Islamist governors ahead of election Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:41 PM PST  Tunisia's prime minister replaced most state governors on Friday, bowing to a demand from secular parties to purge Islamists From key jobs before elections this year. After a political crisis brought on by the killing of two opposition leaders last year, the ruling Islamist party stepped down to allow a caretaker government to take over until elections later this year under a new constitution. The secular opposition accused the Ennahda Islamist party of placing party officials in senior state jobs just before it quit power, and had asked that the appointments be reviewed. "Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa decided to change 18 out of 24 governors to overhaul the administration," Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou said on the outcome of that review. Full Story | Top |
| Colombian rebels want U.S. to participate in peace talks Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:37 PM PST  By Rosa Tania Valdés HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC rebels asked for the United States to join its peace talks with the Colombian government, saying on Friday it would speed up the process because Washington was making all the important decisions anyway. The U.S. State Department said it disagreed with FARC's assessment and was unaware of any effort to join the talks. Colombia did not respond to the request, which it would likely reject on grounds of national sovereignty. "We are discussing a matter of interest for the United States," Ivan Marquez, head of the FARC's negotiating team in Havana, told reporters before entering the latest round of talks. Full Story | Top |
| Russian cooperation crucial for resolving Ukraine's crisis: EU official Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:22 PM PST By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Any peaceful resolution of Ukraine's political turmoil must have Russia in the mix out of concern the two nations could descend into open warfare, European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani said on Friday. "Of course it is important to back democracy, but at the same time it is important to work with Russia. Because without strong cooperation with Russia it is impossible to have a good solution. Tajani was alluding to the 2008 war involving Russia and another former Soviet republic, Georgia, over two Moscow-backed breakaway regions, Abhkazia and South Ossetia. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge rejects Bin Laden son-in-law's claim of mistaken identity Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:21 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday rejected a last-ditch request from one of Osama bin Laden's sons-in-law to delay his trial after his lawyers said the government may have mixed him up with a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with a similar name. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan said the trial of Suleiman Abu Ghaith will go forward on Monday. In addition, he denied the defense's bid to compel the government to turn over additional details about the Guantanamo detainee, identified as Abdul Rahman Abdul Abu Ghityh Sulayman in defense court filings. Kaplan also said that Abu Ghaith will not be able to introduce testimony from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center - at least for now. Full Story | Top |
| Chilean indigenous leader jailed in high-profile murder case Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:16 PM PST A court on Friday sentenced a Mapuche indigenous leader to 18 years in prison for his participation in the killing of a couple during an arson attack last year in a high-profile case that rekindled divisions over land rights in Chile. A Temuco criminal tribunal found Celestino Cordova, a 27-year-old traditional healer, guilty of taking part in the deadly attack on the elderly Luchsinger landowners on their estate in the southern Araucania region. Many Mapuche, famous for their fierce resistance to the Spanish conquest, say they were robbed by the Chilean government's often brutal colonization policy in the 19th century. That has bred deep-seated Mapuche resentment against the descendants of immigrants such as the Luchsingers, whose ancestors reportedly arrived in Southern Chile in 1883. Full Story | Top |
| IMF's Lagarde says no need to panic on Ukraine aid request Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:14 PM PST By Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday that there was no need to "panic" in terms of delivering economic aid to Ukraine, as she cast doubt the nation would need as much immediate help as its new leaders claim. "We do not see anything that is critical, that is worthy of panic at the moment," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde told reporters. "We would certainly hope that the (Ukrainian) authorities refrain from throwing lots of numbers which are really meaningless until they've been assessed properly." Ukraine's government coffers have been depleted by huge debt repayments, efforts to protect its currency and high energy costs. The country's new leaders, appointed after President Viktor Yanukovich was ousted last weekend, say they need $35 billion over two years to avoid default, and may need $4 billion immediately. Full Story | Top |
| Panama Canal says deal with consortium to be signed next week Friday, Feb 28, 2014 12:06 PM PST  By Lomi Kriel PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - The Panama Canal Authority said on Friday it expects to sign a financing deal next week to finish work on expanding the waterway and end a dispute over cost overruns that has held up the multibillion-dollar project. Following bitter wrangling with the Spanish-led building consortium since the start of the year, the authority announced a preliminary deal Thursday night. Canal Administrator Jorge Quijano said he expected the agreement to be signed on Thursday. The deal with the construction group led by Spanish builder Sacyr and Italy's Salini Impregilo foresees work finishing by December 2015 and would require the canal and the consortium to immediately each inject $100 million. Full Story | Top |
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