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| U.S. warns China not to attempt Crimea-style action in Asia Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:58 PM PDT  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday. Daniel Russel, President Barack Obama's diplomatic point man for East Asia, said it was difficult to determine what China's intentions might be, but Russia's annexation of Crimea had heightened concerns among U.S. allies in the region about the possibility of China using force to pursue its claims. Full Story | Top |
| Geologist raised idea of removing homes from U.S. landslide area Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 08:40 PM PDT  By Jonathan Kaminsky DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - A contractor who studied the risks to a rural neighborhood in Washington state wiped out by a mudslide last month made recommendations more than a decade ago that included possible relocation of homes elsewhere. News of the recommendations, made in a report for a Native American tribe with traditional fishing rights in the area, emerged as searchers scoured a pile of mud and debris for victims of the March 22 slide that left dozens dead or missing. About 30 people have been confirmed dead from the slide, which roared over the north fork of the Stillaguamish River and state Highway 530, engulfing about three dozen homes on the outskirts of the rural town of Oso in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Jim Miller, a geological engineer with GeoEngineers, said his company prepared a 2001 report for the Stillaguamish tribe that warned of a "significant risk to human lives and private property" at the slide site. Full Story | Top |
| Funnel clouds, large hail and heavy rain pound U.S. Midwest Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 07:07 PM PDT A storm front packing funnel clouds, large hail and heavy rains rolled through the Midwest and southern United States on Thursday, leaving in its path downed trees and damaged homes, according to local media reports and police. Officials in Denton, Texas were assessing the damage after an early evening storm uprooted trees and dropped golf ball to softball size hail, according to Ryan Grelle, spokesman for the city's police department. In an area from the center of Texas to the northeast corner of Missouri, the National Weather Service noted 34 reports of strong winds that peeled off roofs and downed power lines, and 115 reports of hail. Full Story | Top |
| Cargo ship sinks off South Korea, 11 North Korean crew missing Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 06:47 PM PDT  A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship has sunk off the southern coast of South Korea, with most of the 16 North Korean crew members on board missing, South Korean coast guard officials said on Friday. The Grand Fortune 1 was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, said one official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The vessel sails regularly between North Korea and China, according to Reuters' ship tracking system. The rescued crew members were taken to a South Korean hospital for treatment, according to the coast guard. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. panel to weigh dangers of oil-by-rail cargo Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 05:47 PM PDT By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.N. panel will examine the rules for handling the kind of oil-by-rail shipments involved in several recent fiery derailments in a move that could rattle the fast-growing sector. The U.N. panel for shipping hazardous materials said this week it accepted a request from U.S. and Canadian experts to revisit rules that govern shipping the kinds of fuel produced in energy areas such as North Dakota's Bakken. Specifically, the panel will examine whether rules for shipping crude oil properly account for dangerous pressure and volatile gases. "Unprocessed crude oil may present unique hazards based on the specific gas content, posing different hazards in transport," the U.N. panel on transporting dangerous goods said in a statement seen by Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Scientists dismiss claims that Yellowstone volcano about to erupt Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 04:57 PM PDT  Yellowstone National Park assured guests and the public on Thursday that a super-volcano under the park was not expected to erupt anytime soon, despite an alarmist video that claimed bison had been seen fleeing to avoid such a calamity. Yellowstone officials, who fielded dozens of calls and emails since the video went viral this week following an earthquake in the park, said the video actually shows bison galloping down a paved road that leads deeper into the park. Contrary to online reports, it's a natural occurrence and not the end of the world," park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said. Assurances by Yellowstone officials and government geologists that the ancient super-volcano beneath the park is not due to explode for eons have apparently done little to quell fears among the thousands who have viewed recent video postings of the thundering herd. Full Story | Top |
| Anadarko Petroleum settles U.S.-wide clean-up case for $5.15 billion Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 04:57 PM PDT  Energy company Anadarko Petroleum Corp agreed on Thursday to pay more than $5 billion to clean up areas across the United States polluted by nuclear fuel, wood creosote and rocket fuel waste that caused cancer and other health problems. The agreement resolves a long-running lawsuit against the Kerr-McGee energy and chemical company, which Anadarko bought in 2006. It was also seeking payment for claims from more than 8,000 people who said their exposure to Kerr-McGee's wood treatment plants in Avoca, Pennsylvania and Manville, New Jersey caused cancer, which in some cases led to death. "If you are responsible for 85 years of poisoning the earth, you are responsible for cleaning it up," the U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, Preet Bharara, said at a news conference announcing the settlement. Full Story | Top |
| Mongolian-flagged cargo ship with North Korean crew sinks off South Korea Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 04:24 PM PDT A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship with 16 North Korean crew members has sunk off the southern coast of South Korea, a South Korean coast guard official said on Friday. The ship was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast and was headed for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, the official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Army names Fort Hood shooter, says had mental illness Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 03:53 PM PDT By Lisa Maria Garza FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - The soldier suspected of shooting dead three people before killing himself at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas was identified as Ivan Lopez, a man battling mental illness when he went on a rampage, the base commander said on Thursday. No motive was given for the shooting spree on Wednesday, which also left 16 wounded in what was the second mass killing in five years at one of the largest military bases in the United States, raising questions about security at such installations. "We have very strong evidence that he had a medical history that indicates unstable psychiatric or psychological conditions," Lieutenant General Mark Milley told reporters. Lopez, 34, originally from Puerto Rico, had been treated for depression and anxiety. Full Story | Top |
| Death toll in Washington state mudslide rises to 30 Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 03:48 PM PDT  DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - The death toll in a Washington state mudslide that wiped out a rural community last month rose to 30 on Thursday as one more body was extricated from a pile of muck and debris, the Snohomish County medical examiner's office said. A rain-soaked hillside collapsed without warning above the north fork of Stillaguamish River on March 22, unleashing a torrent of mud that roared over the river banks and across state Highway 530, engulfing some three dozen homes on the outskirts of the tiny town of Oso. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anti-Assad allies rebuff Syrian presidential election plan Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 03:44 PM PDT  International powers who support the Syrian opposition have firmly rebuffed any idea of a presidential election organized by the Syrian government in the midst of a civil war, describing the plans as a "parody of democracy" that would kill peace talks. The Friends of Syria, an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries, issued a statement on Thursday in light of recent developments in Syria, where there appears to be no end in sight after more than three years of conflict sparked by protests against President Bashar al-Assad's rule. Emboldened by failed peace talks in Geneva, and with the support of his allies Iran and Russia, Assad is looking increasingly likely to stand for a third term in July. "Elections organized by the Assad regime would be a parody of democracy, would reveal the regime's rejection of the basis of the Geneva talks, and would deepen the division of Syria," said the 11-strong group, which includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Full Story | Top |
| Bullish Anadarko options bets soar on settlement news Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 03:39 PM PDT By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors who loaded up on bullish options bets in Anadarko Petroleum earlier in the week made some hefty potential profits on Thursday when the global energy company announced a settlement that would end years of litigation over health problems across the United States. Anadarko Petroleum Corp shares hit an all-time high of $100 on Thursday before ending up 14.5 percent at $99.02. The jump in share prices sharply boosted the value of call options that had been trading actively in the last several days ahead of the announcement. "Since the options on Anadarko were not expensive in pure dollar value, for people who have been following the stock and expected some sort of a settlement, the potential reward was worth the potential risk they were putting in," said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist with TD Ameritrade in Chicago. Full Story | Top |
| Costa Rica leftist seen clinching presidency in one-horse race Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 03:23 PM PDT  By Zach Dyer SAN JOSE (Reuters) - Costa Rica's center-left presidential candidate Luis Guillermo Solis is expected to cruise to victory in Sunday's run-off election after his ruling party rival quit campaigning in a bizarre twist last month. Solis surprised pollsters by coming in ahead of Johnny Araya of the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) and the other candidates in the first round of voting in February. "From 1949 to the present, nothing like this has ever happened," said Jose Carlos Chinchilla, a political analyst and a director at the University of Costa Rica, predicting a resounding win for Solis. "The desire for change is absolute." The constitution requires that Araya remain on the ballot and his party continues to campaign so theoretically he could win, but many voters are eager to toss out President Laura Chinchilla's scandal-ridden ruling party and Araya's withdrawal from public events further boosted Solis' chances. Full Story | Top |
| Exxon Mobil agrees to share more data on fracking risks Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 02:54 PM PDT Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, has agreed to disclose more information about the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing, the process known as fracking. In an agreement with New York City's pension funds, which control Exxon shares worth roughly $1.02 billion, the company would report on risks surrounding disposal of fracking waste water, air pollution, methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells, and other issues. Exxon plans to compile the information and publish it as a report on its website by September. The New York City Comptroller's office, which controls the city's pension funds, agreed as part of the deal to withdraw a shareholder proposal that would have put the disclosure issue up for a vote at the company's next annual meeting. Full Story | Top |
| Algeria's Bouteflika meets with Kerry, talks security Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 02:29 PM PDT  By Patrick Markey ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, discussing better security cooperation in the Maghreb region in one of his longest appearances since a stroke a year ago. The images broadcast by state television showed Bouteflika standing to greet Kerry and discussing through an interpreter how to improve cooperation between the two countries who are allies in the fight against Islamist militancy. In the clip, only a part of the meeting, Bouteflika exchanged greetings and joked in French with Kerry about the U.S. official winning a Nobel prize. He also asked about getting more electronic intelligence sharing from Washington. Full Story | Top |
| Weary Chileans head for hills as earthquake aftershocks continue Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 02:13 PM PDT  By Ivan Alvarado IQUIQUE, Chile (Reuters) - As the aftershocks from a massive 8.2 magnitude quake that rattled northern Chile entered a third day on Thursday, basic services were still out in the port city nearest the epicenter and residents fearful of tsunamis were fleeing into the hills. The quake on Tuesday was blamed for six deaths and residents have been hit by dozens of aftershocks, including a powerful 7.6 magnitude quake on Wednesday night. Chile's arid, mineral-rich north is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in the coastal cities of Iquique and Arica, near the Peruvian border and closest to the epicenters of this week's quakes. Iquique is a major copper exporting port and usually bustling commercial town with a duty free zone that attracts goods and merchants from around the world. Full Story | Top |
| Libya sees 'good intentions' in oil port talks; rebel split seen Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 01:49 PM PDT By Ayman al-Warfalli and Feras Bosalum BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya has seen evidence of "good intentions" at indirect talks with eastern rebels which could lead to the lifting of their blockage of major oil ports within days, a government minister said on Thursday. But in an example of the chaos and shifting alliances typical of the OPEC producer, divisions in the rebel camp became apparent on Thursday when a senior member told Reuters he and seven others had quit the rebels' leadership team in a conflict with top leader Ibrahim Jathran. Any deal will help stabilize the North African country, whose weak government seems unable to control militias who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their guns and made political demands on the state. "There are good intentions," acting Oil Minister Omar Shakmak told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi, making clear that the contacts were taking place through tribal leaders who were negotiating with the port rebels. Full Story | Top |
| Russia protests over German minister's Nazi-Crimea comparison Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 01:21 PM PDT Russia protested to Germany on Thursday over remarks by Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble likening Russia's annexation of Crimea to Nazi Germany's expansion under Adolf Hitler. "We consider such pseudo-historical references by the German minister provocative," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. "The comparisons by him are a gross manipulation of historic facts." The strongly worded retort showed how far the Crimean crisis has strained relations between Russia and Germany, the leading European Union power and the one with the closest ties to Moscow. While Chancellor Angela Merkel has distanced herself from Schaeuble's comments, she has pushed for a robust EU response to the seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine last month. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition accuses Assad of new poison attack Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 01:08 PM PDT Opposition activists again accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of using poison gas in Syria's civil war on Thursday, showing footage of an apparently unconscious man lying on a bed and being treated by medics. The alleged attack on the neighborhood of Jobar in the capital Damascus comes a week after the Syrian government sent a letter to the United Nations claiming it had evidence that rebel groups were planning a toxic gas attack in the same area. A voice off-screen said Thursday's date and that there was "a poison attack in Jobar." Another opposition group, the Syrian Revolutionary Coordinators Union, said that all those affected by the gas were "in a good condition". In a letter dated March 25 and circulated by the United Nations this week, Syria's U.N. envoy, Bashar Ja'afari, said his government had intercepted communications between "terrorists" that showed a man named Abu Nadir was secretly distributing gas masks in the rebel-held Jobar area. Full Story | Top |
| Israel scraps Palestinian prisoner release, seeks review of talks Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 01:04 PM PDT  By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has called off a planned release of Palestinian prisoners meant to advance the U.S.-sponsored peace process and called for a review of how the troubled negotiations can make progress, an official briefed on the talks said on Thursday. The official, who declined to be identified, said Israeli negotiators had informed their Palestinian counterparts of the decision in a Wednesday night meeting held at Washington's behest in an effort to avert a collapse of the talks. The crisis surfaced at the weekend when Israel refused to release a group of Palestinian prisoners under the terms of a previous accord unless it received assurances the Palestinian leadership would continue with negotiations beyond an initial end-April deadline set by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry flew to Jerusalem on Monday and was trying to put the talks back on track. Full Story | Top |
| About half Syria's chemicals packed for removal, violence halts convoys: U.N. Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 01:03 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria has packed 40 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal into containers to be taken outside the country and destroyed, and convoy security has been deployed to deal with violence around the port city of Latakia, the head of the mission overseeing the operation said on Thursday. Syria's U.N. envoy warned that the government may be forced to delay its transports due to the security situation and might miss another deadline for moving the ingredients of its poison gas program out of the country. Sigrid Kaag, head of the joint mission of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told the U.N. Security Council the toxins had been loaded into 72 containers at three different sites, said council diplomats who attended the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity. Once those 72 containers are shipped out of war-torn Syria, some 90 percent of the country's declared chemical weapons stockpile will have been removed for destruction, Kaag told a closed-door council briefing via video link from Damascus. Full Story | Top |
| Senior members of Libyan port rebels quit leadership team: member Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:59 PM PDT TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Eight senior members of the Libyan rebel militia controlling key oil ports have quit in a conflict with top leader Ibrahim Jathran, one of those who left said on Thursday. "Jathran is not consulting his politburo (leadership team)," Essam al-Jahani told Reuters, explaining why they had decided to resign. Jathran and the Tripoli government said on Wednesday they were close to a deal to end a port blockage that has hit oil exports and fuelled tensions in the North African country. (Reporting by Feras Bosalum; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sending 175 Marines to Romania as part of Africa crisis team Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:47 PM PDT (Pentagon says 800 Marines in Moron, Spain, not 500, paragraph 14.) By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Wednesday it was bolstering the size of its Europe-based Africa crisis response force to 975 Marines, sending 175 new troops to a Romanian base near the Black Sea at a time of tensions over Russia's annexation of part of Ukraine. The Marines will be part of a team headquartered in Moron, Spain, and primarily meant for operations in Africa, although they can be sent anywhere, a Pentagon spokesman said. The decision to base the additional Marines in Romania was made last year before the current crisis, he said. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, confirmed the department was looking at sending a ship to the Black Sea. Full Story | Top |
| Anadarko payment will cover environmental costs: U.S. official Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:41 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Anadarko Petroleum Corp's $5.15 billion settlement with the U.S. government will more than cover the past environmental damage caused by its Kerr-McGee unit, U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said on Thursday. At a news conference, Cole, the No. 2 Justice Department official, said that the amount of the settlement was in line with a bankruptcy court ruling about liability. "It provides us with recovery now, as opposed to years and years down the road," Cole said. (Reporting by David Ingram) Full Story | Top |
| U.S., Japan, South Korea to discuss North Korea nuclear weapons program Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:38 PM PDT  The United States, Japan and South Korea will meet next week to seek ways to persuade North Korea to give up its atomic weapons program, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, just days after Pyongyang warned of a "new form" of nuclear test. The talks next Monday in Washington will follow on from a trilateral summit involving the United States and its two main Asian allies hosted by President Barack Obama in The Hague on March 25. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Midwest bracing for tornadoes, flooding Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:23 PM PDT The central United States braced for strong thunderstorms, heavy rain and possible tornadoes on Thursday from an unstable weather system that has already produced a twister and flooding in Missouri. "There is certainly the potential for some violent storms," said Jayson Gosselin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in St. Louis. Some homes were damaged and large trees uprooted in the St. Louis suburb of University City when an EF-1 tornado, packing winds of about 100 miles per hour, struck shortly before 6 a.m., Gosselin said. The storm also produced heavy rain, causing streams to overflow, flooding some streets, Gosselin said. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council demands better Darfur peacekeeping force Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:21 PM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday demanded improvements in the international peacekeeping force in Sudan's western Darfur region and called on Khartoum to improve cooperation with the mission in the remote, conflict-torn territory. The 15-nation council's appeal came after U.N. and African Union officials sounded an alarm last week over the worsening violence in Darfur, which has led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people this year. In a unanimously approved resolution, the council urged the U.N.-African Union mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, "to move to a more preventive and pre-emptive posture in pursuit of its priorities and in active defense of its mandate." U.N. diplomats said that meant being more aggressive in countering threats to Darfuri civilians. But the resolution voiced concern about "the strategic gap in mobility for the mission, and the continuing critical need for aviation capacity and other mobility assets, including military utility helicopters for UNAMID." The resolution urged U.N. member states "to redouble their efforts to provide aviation units to the mission, and on the Government of Sudan to facilitate the deployment of those assets already pledged." Diplomats and U.N. officials say Khartoum has rejected some countries' offers of military assets for UNAMID. Full Story | Top |
| Risks of violence and fraud haunt landmark Afghan election Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:19 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina and John Chalmers KABUL (Reuters) - Even if the Taliban fail to hobble the Afghan presidential election on Saturday, it could take months for a winner to be declared at a time when the country desperately needs a leader to stem rising violence as foreign troops prepare to leave. Most people expect the election will be better run than the chaotic 2009 vote that handed President Hamid Karzai a second term amid massive fraud and ballot stuffing. And, despite a crescendo of attacks by the Islamist militant Taliban group in recent weeks, millions of Afghans are eager for a say in their country's future. Any delay would leave little time to complete a pact between Kabul and Washington to keep up to 10,000 U.S. troops in the country beyond 2014, after the bulk of the American force, which currently stands at around 23,500, has pulled out. Full Story | Top |
| Greek aide shields PM in furor over investigation of far-right Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:06 PM PDT  The official, Takis Baltakos, resigned on Wednesday over the furor caused by a video, leaked online, in which he talks to a senior member of the far-right Golden Dawn party and discusses a criminal investigation of its members. Speaking about the affair on Thursday, Baltakos did not deny that in the video he implied the government had tried to exert pressure on judges to jail Golden Dawn politicians. But he said he made the comments for tactical reasons, and Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was not aware of his contacts with the party. The video, which appears to have been secretly recorded, shows Baltakos talking to a person off screen, later identified as Golden Dawn's spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris. Full Story | Top |
| Trade ministry spat mars first day for new French cabinet Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 12:01 PM PDT  By John Irish and Gregory Blachier PARIS (Reuters) - France's new government faced a first test of unity on Thursday as a power struggle broke out between Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and new Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg over control of trade policy. This week's announcement of a smaller 16-minister team under new Prime Minister Manuel Valls, France's tough-talking former interior minister, was billed as a break with the chaotic past 22 months of President Francois Hollande's first government. Diplomatic and government sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Hollande had promised to give Fabius an expanded foreign ministry portfolio tasked with cutting the trade deficit and developing external business as part of wider role to boost growth opportunities overseas. But when asked whether the Trade Ministry would move to a larger Foreign Affairs and International Development Ministry, a visibly irritated Arnaud Montebourg said this was not decided. Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Renzi cuts local government in first step of ambitious agenda Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:54 AM PDT  By Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italy passed legislation on Thursday to eliminated wasteful layers of government at the provincial level in the initial step of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's ambitious reform agenda. Renzi has said his bill would cut the number of elected politicians by 3,000 and save around 800 million euros annually, calling it "a way of restoring hope and trust among our citizens". Italy's third premier in a year and head of the 65th government since World War Two, Renzi is also pursuing an overhaul to the electoral system to end instability that has contributed to economic stagnation and corruption in politics. The lower house of parliament voted 260-158 on Thursday to eliminate the direct election of provincial governments in favor of handing over their management to officials selected by city councilors and mayors. Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain police, protesters clash after Shi'ite funeral: witnesses Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:50 AM PDT Anti-government demonstrators throwing petrol bombs clashed with police who fired tear gas and birdshot in Bahrain on Thursday following a funeral procession in a Shi'ite Muslim village south of the capital Manama, witnesses said. Thursday's violence in the village of al-Eker outside the capital Manama came ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix, an annual event that draws international attention to Bahrain. Witnesses said that more than 100 young men, some throwing petrol bombs, skirmished with the police after the funeral of Hussein Sharaf, a Bahraini who died on Tuesday in a fire at his home. Full Story | Top |
| Canada high court to hear Chevron in $9.1 billion Ecuador lawsuit Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:40 AM PDT  The Supreme Court of Canada agreed on Thursday to hear an appeal by Chevron Corp of a lower-court decision that said Ecuadorean villagers could pursue in Ontario their $9.51 billion lawsuit for pollution in the Amazon jungle. The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in December that Ontario was a proper jurisdiction for the Ecuadorean plaintiffs to press Chevron to pay up, and Chevron wants the Supreme Court of Canada to say the Ontario courts have no jurisdiction. It was the latest twist in a two-decade conflict between Chevron and residents of Ecuador's Lago Agrio region in the Amazon jungle, which want the Ontario courts to force Chevron to pay up the judgment awarded to them in an Ecuadorean court in 2011. Full Story | Top |
| Russia detains 25 Ukrainians suspected of attacks: statement Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:36 AM PDT Russia has detained 25 Ukrainians it suspected of preparing attacks in the southern and central part of the country, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Thursday. The detained, who were reported as being members of ultra-nationalist movements, were planning attacks between March 14 and 17, it said, in Russia's Rostov, Volgograd, Tver, Orel, Belgorod, Kalmykia and Tatarstan regions. The press service of the Ukrainian state security service (SBU) dismissed the report as "nonsense". The announcement came hours after the SBU said that Russian security staff had been present at the SBU headquarters aiding previous authorities during anti-government protests in Kiev in which more than 100 people were killed. Full Story | Top |
| Fearing cyberattack, Israel curbs government websites' foreign traffic Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:31 AM PDT  Israel will temporarily suspend some of its government websites' international traffic to fend off a potential mass-cyber attack by pro-Palestinian hackers, an Israeli security source said on Thursday, without elaborating on the threat. The precautionary measure would be in place from Friday through Monday, the source said, and include refusal of electronic payment from abroad for government services. Full Story | Top |
| Erdogan takes battle with enemies beyond Turkish frontiers Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:21 AM PDT  By Ralph Boulton and Orhan Coskun ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's battle to root out the "terrorists" he says are embedded in the Turkish state is extending beyond its frontiers to Africa and Asia, further complicating foreign policy already hit by tensions with the Arab world and Western allies. Last month, parents of the Yavuz Selim school in Kanifing, Gambia, received a letter announcing its immediate closure. A source at the school, run by the Hizmet organization of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, said the decision had been conveyed to the principal in a one sentence missive. Ahmet Beyaz, Chief executive of the bank, which has among its shareholders Kaynak Holding, which is close to Hizmet, told Reuters the bank was not in any danger. Full Story | Top |
| Iran, six powers start expert-level nuclear talks in Vienna Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:17 AM PDT  Iran and six world powers began an expert-level meeting about Tehran's nuclear program on Thursday, part of efforts to reach an agreement by late July on how to resolve a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a Middle East war. The meeting in Vienna of nuclear and other experts from Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain was to prepare for a new round of higher-level negotiations next week, also in the Austrian capital. A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - whose office is coordinating contacts with Iran on behalf of the big powers - confirmed that the meeting had started but gave no details. The aim is to hammer out a long-term deal by July 20 that would define the permissible scope of Iran's nuclear program in return for a lifting of sanctions that are severely battering its oil-dependent economy. Full Story | Top |
| More Brazilian police sentenced to jail for 1992 prison massacre Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:15 AM PDT By Caroline Stauffer SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A Brazilian court has sentenced 15 police officers to 48 years in prison each for their roles in the deaths of four inmates in the bloody crackdown of a 1992 prison riot that left 111 people dead. Known as the Carandiru massacre after the now-closed prison where it unfolded, the incident is one of the darkest chapters in Brazil's struggle to improve conditions in overcrowded penitentiaries and to ensure police obey the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lithuania says rising number of Russian jets flying too close for comfort Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:12 AM PDT The number of Russian jets flying close enough to Baltic airspace this year to prompt NATO jets being scrambled has increased to around once a week, Lithuania said on Thursday, a concern for countries worried about an increasing assertiveness by Moscow. "The number of incidents of NATO jets being scrambled to identify Russian Federation aircraft has increased in January and February this year," minister of defense spokesman Vaidotas Linkus told Reuters by email. NATO jets were scrambled about 40 times in both 2012 and 2013. Denmark is sending six F16 fighter jets to the Baltic as part of an expanded NATO air policing mission to reassure eastern members of the alliance following Moscow's annexation of Crimea. Full Story | Top |
| Russia raises gas prices for Ukraine by 80 percent Thursday, Apr 03, 2014 11:05 AM PDT By Svetlana Burmistrova and Natalia Zinets MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russia raised the gas price for Ukraine on Thursday for the second time this week, almost doubling it in three days and piling pressure on a neighbor on the brink of bankruptcy in the crisis over Crimea. The increase, announced in Moscow by Russian natural gas producer Gazprom, means Ukraine will pay 80 percent more for its gas than before the initial increase on Monday. Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk said the latest move, two weeks after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, was unacceptable and warned that he expected Russia to increase pressure on Kiev by limiting supply to his country. Full Story | Top |
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