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| Obama warns Putin that U.S. ready to impose sanctions on Russia Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 05:02 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday the United States rejected the results of a secession referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region and warned that Washington was ready to impose sanctions on Moscow over the crisis. With Washington and its European allies expected to slap "targeted" punitive measures on Russian officials as early as Monday, the White House said Obama made clear to Putin that the dispute could still be resolved diplomatically but that Russia first must halt military incursions into Ukrainian territory. Full Story | Top |
| New maps show smallest planet Mercury is even smaller Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 04:18 PM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Detailed maps of Mercury's cliffs and ditches show the solar system's innermost and smallest planet Mercury has lost much more real estate due to cooling over four billion years than scientists thought, according to a report published on Sunday. Cooling of Mercury's massive iron core has pared about nine miles from the planet's diameter, more than twice as much as previous estimates. But it doesn't need to change very much to have some effect," said planetary scientist Paul Byrne, with the Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine says forces control and secure gas network Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 04:02 PM PDT The Ukrainian interior ministry said on Sunday its forces had taken full control of the country's gas transport and distribution system and put it under special guard. Ukraine is in turmoil following last month's overthrow of the Moscow-backed president and the Russian takeover of the Crimea peninsula. With the Kremlin warning that it might send forces to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainian nationalists, Ukrainian media have quoted one prominent far-right group saying it could punish a Russian invasion by attacking pipelines that carry Russia's gas exports through Ukraine to Western Europe. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to Putin: U.S. ready to 'impose additional costs' for Ukraine Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 03:54 PM PDT President Barack Obama told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Sunday that the United States rejected the results of a referendum in Ukraine's Crimea region and warned that Washington was ready to impose sanctions on Moscow over the crisis. "He (Obama) emphasized that Russia's actions were in violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that, in coordination with our European partners, we are prepared to impose additional costs on Russia for its actions," the White House said in a statement. Obama told Putin the crisis could still be resolved diplomatically, but said the Russian military would need to first stop its "incursions" into Ukraine, the White House said. Full Story | Top |
| Crimeans vote over 90 percent to quit Ukraine for Russia Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 02:25 PM PDT  By Mike Collett-White and Ronald Popeski SIMFEROPOL/KIEV (Reuters) - Russian state media said Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to break with Ukraine and join Russia on Sunday, as Kiev accused Moscow of pouring forces into the peninsula and warned separatist leaders "the ground will burn under their feet". With over half the votes counted, 95.5 percent had chosen the option of annexation by Moscow, the head of the referendum commission, Mikhail Malyshev, said two hours after polls closed. Western powers and leaders in Kiev denounced it as a sham. Underlining how Moscow's military takeover of the peninsula two weeks ago has driven Russia and the West into a crisis with echoes of the Cold War, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama spoke by telephone and, according to the Kremlin, the Russian and U.S. presidents agreed on a need to cooperate to stabilize Ukraine. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. rejects Crimea referendum, warns Russia of imminent sanctions Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 01:43 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned Russia on Sunday that Western sanctions were imminent and Moscow would pay an increasing price for its military intervention in Ukraine as the White House rejected a referendum in the Crimea region that it was powerless to stop. With Washington and its European allies expected to unveil coordinated punitive measures against Moscow as early as Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Russia must pull its forces in Crimea back to their bases. Full Story | Top |
| Intercept says liver disease drug effective in trial Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 01:07 PM PDT Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Sunday its experimental liver disease drug was effective in a third late-stage clinical trial and that the results set the stage for the company to file for marketing approval. The drug, obeticholic acid (OCA), is designed to treat primary biliary cirrhosis, a disease in which bile ducts in the liver become damaged, allowing harmful substances to build up and scar liver tissue. The findings come roughly two months after a clinical trial of the drug in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a disease characterized by a buildup of fat in the liver, was halted early because the drug was working better than expected. The latest trial, known as POISE, indicates "that OCA clearly produced clinically meaningful improvements," said Professor Frederik Nevens, chairman of the department of hepatology at the University of Leuven in Belgium and the lead investigator on the trial. Full Story | Top |
| Crews focus on gas lines in New York building explosion Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 01:07 PM PDT  By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - Emergency crews clearing debris from the site of two New York City apartment buildings leveled in a gas explosion four days ago said they expected to reach an underground area on Sunday where natural gas lines could reveal what caused the deadly blast. Firefighters and other emergency workers have been working around the clock to clear debris from the site, the New York City Fire Department said on Sunday. Investigators want to reach the front of the basements where gas pipes and meters are located to determine whether a natural gas leak led to the explosion and, if so, what caused the breach. "We'll have it all cleared so we can get to the basement to start our investigation," Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| Tanker that loaded oil in Libyan rebel port still in Mediterranean Sea: minister Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 01:07 PM PDT A tanker that loaded oil at a Libyan port held by rebels is still sailing in the Mediterranean Sea, a government minister said on Sunday, contradicting claims by the rebels that it had reached its destination. The rebels, in the east of the country, who are calling for a greater share of oil wealth and autonomy, managed last week to load crude onto a 37,000 metric ton-tanker, which escaped the Libyan navy, embarrassing the weak central government and prompting parliament to vote the prime minister out of office. "The tanker is still in the Mediterranean Sea." He gave no more details, saying only that the tanker's movements were "being monitored internationally." On Saturday, the rebels said the tanker had reached its final port, without saying where. The Libyan navy lost contact with the tanker after firing on it on Monday or Tuesday, officials have said. Full Story | Top |
| China plans investment and reform to ease urbanization drive Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 10:07 AM PDT  China is planning a major expansion of its transport networks and urban infrastructure as it seeks to increase migration from rural to urban areas, lifting incomes and demand to drive continued economic growth. The 2014-20 urbanization plan released on Sunday aims to boost domestic consumption by increasing the proportion of urban residents among China's population of almost 1.4 billion to 60 percent by 2020, up from 53.7 percent now. Among the biggest obstacles to the planned relocation of several hundred million rural residents is the huge infrastructure development needed to accommodate the new wave of city dwellers as well as reform of the country's "hukou" registration system. China's leaders, however, will make it easier for rural migrants to obtain residency status in smaller cities, with the intention of helping to unlock the nation's huge potential domestic demand. Full Story | Top |
| Heart maker Carmat to wait before next transplant: founder Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 08:40 AM PDT By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - French artificial heart maker Carmat will not carry out any more human transplants until it has determined the cause of the death of the first patient fitted with its device, one of the company's co-founders said on Sunday. Carmat's first patient, a 76-year-old man, died on March 2 in Paris, two and a half months after his operation. Before he was fitted with the device, the man was suffering from terminal heart failure, when the sick heart can no longer pump enough blood to sustain the body, and was said to have only a few weeks, or even days, to live. "Patients are still being chosen, but of course we will wait to hear a little more on the causes of the death of the first patient before transplanting another artificial heart," Philippe Pouletty, director general of Truffle Capital, one of the main shareholders in Carmat told i Tele television. Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Zarif expects 'tougher' round of nuclear talks with world powers Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 08:25 AM PDT  Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday he expects a more difficult round of nuclear talks with six world powers as the two sides try to iron out details such as Iran's Arak heavy water reactor and levels of uranium enrichment. The two sides are to meet again in Vienna on Tuesday to try to build on an interim agreement reached late last year in Geneva by reaching a final settlement of the decade-old dispute over the Islamic Republic's atomic activities by late July. "This round of negotiations compared to the previous ones will be more serious and tougher," Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif told a news conference broadcast on state TV. Full Story | Top |
| Total expects legal action over 2012 North Sea gas leak Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 08:04 AM PDT  French energy group Total said on Sunday it expected British authorities to launch legal proceedings against it over a major gas leak at a North Sea oil rig in 2012. Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the energy ministry submitted a series of reports on the incident to Scottish public prosecutors on Friday. The HSE said the documents would not be made public until the prosecutor had made a decision on any action that might be taken. "The report recommends proceedings are taken against the company for breaches of the Health & Safety at Work Act and the Offshore Installations and Wells Regulations," a spokesman for Total UK said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| A plunge in U.S. preschool obesity? Not so fast, experts say Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 05:20 AM PDT By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the news last month that the prevalence of obesity among American preschoolers had plunged 43 percent in a decade sounded too good to be true, that's because it probably was, researchers say. First Lady Michelle Obama and others seized on the finding as a sign that efforts to combat the national obesity epidemic were paying off. But as obesity specialists take a closer look at the data, some are questioning the 43 percent claim, suggesting that it may be a statistical fluke and pointing out that similar studies find no such decrease in obesity among preschoolers. In fact, based on the researchers' own data, the obesity rate may have even risen rather than declined. Full Story | Top |
| Coal, gas or nuclear? Power-hungry S.Africa must decide now Sunday, Mar 16, 2014 01:50 AM PDT  By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - On paper, South Africa's long-term energy plans look solid, with coal, nuclear, gas and renewables all viable options. But none are likely to prevent potentially crippling future power crunches in Africa's biggest economy unless a decision is made soon on when and how to add capacity to the grid. South Africa's failure to invest in new power plants nearly two decades ago meant it paid dearly in 2008 when the grid nearly collapsed, leading to power cuts that cost the economy billions of rand in lost output and dented investor confidence. State-owned power utility Eskom is scrambling to finish new power plants, including Medupi and Kusile, massive coal-fired outfits with a combined capacity of about 9,500 megawatts (MW). Full Story | Top |
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