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Uganda central bank sells dollars in FX market
Sun,4 Mar 2012 10:53 PM PST
Reuters - KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Uganda central bank said on Monday it had stepped into the foreign exchange market to sell dollars, extending its intervention to a second straight session after the shilling fell against the dollar. The amount of dollars the Bank of Uganda had offloaded to prop up the currency was not immediately clear. Full Story | Top |
Analysis: Out of intensive care, Europe risks chronic illness
Sun,4 Mar 2012 10:52 PM PST
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The euro zone is out of the emergency ward, but it may face a chronic debilitating illness rather than a rapid convalescence. The challenges confronting Europe now are to avoid complacency, rekindle economic growth while cutting debt and prevent national politics pulling the currency area apart. Last week's European Union summit was the first in two years that was not totally dominated by fire-fighting in the currency bloc's sovereign debt crisis. The relief was audible. ... Full Story | Top |
Gunmen kill 18 Iraqi troops in checkpoint attacks
Sun,4 Mar 2012 10:16 PM PST
Reuters - FALLUJAH, Iraq (Reuters) - Gunmen killed up to 18 members of Iraq's security forces in an attack on checkpoints in the town of Haditha in western Iraq on Monday, Iraqi officials said. Mohammed Fathi, spokesman for the governor of Anbar province in the west of the country, said 18 soldiers were killed when gunmen sped up to a checkpoint and opened fire. A police source in the province said the victims were police, not soldiers, and that 17 had died. The gunmen rode in Interior Ministry vehicles and attacked several checkpoints before dawn, the source said. ... Full Story | Top |
Russia's Putin faces protests after poll triumph
Sun,4 Mar 2012 10:14 PM PST
Reuters -  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin faces new protests on Monday to challenge his victory in a presidential election he said had prevented Russia from falling into the hands of enemies trying to usurp power. Putin's opponents, complaining of widespread fraud in Sunday's election, said they did not recognize the results and would rally near the Kremlin at 7 p.m. (1500 GMT). But the former KGB spy, who after four years as prime minister will be returning to the post he held from 2000 until 2008, said with tears rolling down his cheeks that he had won a "clean" victory. "I promised you we would ...
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Two British journalists accused of spying in Libya
Sun,4 Mar 2012 10:04 PM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two British journalists working for Iran's Press TV who were detained late last month in Libya are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said on Sunday. Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said his men had found among the journalists' possessions official Libyan documents, equipment used by the Israeli military and footage of them firing weapons. "We believe they are spies," Swehli said in Tripoli. He said it was too early to say what country they were spying for, but that this would be established by their investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
Egypt forex reserves drop slows to $636 mln in Feb
Sun,4 Mar 2012 09:57 PM PST
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - A decline in Egypt's net foreign reserves slowed dramatically in February, reducing pressure on the central bank to allow a rapid devaluation of the country's currency. Foreign reserves fell by only $636 million after having tumbled by close to $2 billion in each of the previous four months. They now stand at $15.72 billion, well under half what they were before the popular uprising last year. The central bank has been drawing down its reserves as it defends the Egyptian pound, which has lost only around 3. ...
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Somali residents welcome Ethiopian troops after rebel rout
Sun,4 Mar 2012 09:55 PM PST
Reuters -  BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - After three years of killings and violence under the rule of al Shabaab rebels, residents of the Somali city of Baidoa said they were happy to see the arrival of Ethiopian soldiers, whose presence they once resented. Under al Shabaab's control, Baidoa's leaders say the city's people became poorer, conditions worsened and many were forced to flee. The return of Ethiopian troops, once seen as Christian invaders in a Muslim country, was a welcome relief. ...
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Libyan stock exchange says to re-open on March 15
Sun,4 Mar 2012 09:53 PM PST
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's stock exchange is to re-open on March 15, just over a year after the country's conflict forced it to close down, the head of the bourse said on Sunday. The exchange had previously said it would open at the end of February, but General Manager Ahmed Karoud said that was pushed back because of electricity outages at the bourse and delays in receiving regulatory filings from the listed companies. The re-launch of the exchange will be a symbol that Libya is open for business again after the conflict that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. ...
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Blast at Brazzaville arms depot kills hundreds
Sun,4 Mar 2012 09:45 PM PST
Reuters -  BRAZZAVILLE/KINSHASA (Reuters) - Up to 200 people were killed on Sunday when an arms dump exploded in Brazzaville, ripping apart a nearby neighbourhood in the Congo Republic's capital, medical and local authorities said. Hundreds of others were injured by the blasts which rocked the riverside capital around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), flattening houses near the scene and sending a plume of smoke high above the city. A government spokesman said that a short circuit was to blame for the fire that sparked the explosions and promised to move military barracks out of town as a result. ...
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U.S. to offer legal backing for "targeted killing": source
Sun,4 Mar 2012 08:08 PM PST
Reuters -  The Obama administration on Monday plans to outline how U.S. laws empower the government to kill Americans overseas who engage in terrorism against their home country, a source familiar with the matter said, months after a drone strike killed a U.S.-born cleric who plotted attacks from Yemen. Civil liberties groups have been pressuring the administration to offer justification for what has been described as a top-secret "targeted kill" program in which Americans who have joined al Qaeda or other militants are deemed legitimate targets to be killed overseas. U.S. ...
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China domestic security spending rises to $111 billion
Sun,4 Mar 2012 06:36 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China will increase spending on police, militia and other domestic security arms by 11.5 percent to $111 billion this year, figures released on Monday showed, ahead of a leadership succession that has kindled fear of instability. The numbers show how vigilant China's ruling Communist Party is against unrest, despite robust economic growth and years of budget rises for law-and-order agencies, which in 2010 pushed outlays on them past military spending for the first time. ... Full Story | Top |
Romney gains strength ahead of Super Tuesday
Sun,4 Mar 2012 06:23 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney closed in on Rick Santorum in Ohio and picked up a crucial endorsement in Virginia on Sunday as he grows in strength ahead of "Super Tuesday," the biggest day yet in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is tied with Santorum at 32 percent support from likely voters in the Ohio Republican primary, the most important of the 10 state nominating contests on Tuesday. ...
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Obama, Netanyahu face struggle over Iran "red lines"
Sun,4 Mar 2012 06:19 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are deeply at odds over how fast the clock is ticking toward possible military action against Iran's nuclear program, and their talks on Monday are unlikely to change that. Even though Obama has offered assurances of stiffened U.S. resolve against Iran before the White House meeting, the two allies are still far apart on explicit nuclear "red lines" that Tehran must not be allowed to cross, and they have yet to agree on a time frame for when military action may be necessary. ...
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Blast at Brazzaville arms depot kills hundreds
Sun,4 Mar 2012 05:10 PM PST
Reuters -  BRAZZAVILLE/KINSHASA (Reuters) - Up to 200 people were killed on Sunday when an arms dump exploded in Brazzaville, ripping apart a nearby neighborhood in the Congo Republic's capital, medical and local authorities said. Hundreds of others were injured by the blasts which rocked the riverside capital around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT), flattening houses near the scene and sending a plume of smoke high above the city. A government spokesman said that a short circuit was to blame for the fire that sparked the explosions and promised to move military barracks out of town as a result. ...
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Rush Limbaugh loses another sponsor over Sandra Fluke remarks
Sun,4 Mar 2012 05:01 PM PST
Reuters - LOS ANGELES, March 4 (TheWrap.com) - Online florist ProFlowers said Sunday it had suspended advertising on Rush Limbaugh's radio program because his comments about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke "went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company." ProFlowers posted the comment Sunday on its Facebook page. That's the seventh advertiser to pull its ads from the conservative talk show host's program in the wake of comments he made about law student Fluke, who testified about birth control policy. ... Full Story | Top |
Ron Paul sets Los Angeles fund-raiser
Sun,4 Mar 2012 05:01 PM PST
Reuters - LOS ANGELES, March 4 (TheWrap.com) - Presidential candidate Ron Paul will make a fund-raising pitch to Republicans and backers on Tuesday, March 20, in Los Angeles, TheWrap has learned. The $2,500-per plate dinner will take place at the Los Angeles home of Mark Spitznagel, the co-founder and chief investment officer of hedge fund Universa Investments. Leading Republican candidate Mitt Romney will follow with his own L.A. fund-raiser on March 27. Romney took in an estimated $1 million at a Beverly Hills fund-raiser in December. ... Full Story | Top |
China sets 2012 growth target at 7.5 percent, stability key
Sun,4 Mar 2012 04:51 PM PST
Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China aims to grow its economy by 7.5 percent in 2012 by following procative fiscal and prudent monetary policies to combat downward pressure on growth and still high inflation, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday. The growth estimate, revealed at the start of China's annual parliamentary meeting, was in line with analyst expectations and lower than the longstanding annual goal of 8 percent, reflecting the government's focus on delivering economic stability ahead of a leadership transitition later in the year. ... Full Story | Top |
Heavy clashes erupt in south Syria near Jordan border
Sun,4 Mar 2012 04:50 PM PST
Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Heavy fighting broke out overnight between armored forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and rebels who launched coordinated attacks on army roadblocks across the southern city of Deraa on the border with Jordan, opposition activists said Monday. The reports of the fighting in Deraa, where the uprising against Assad's rule began last March, could not be independently verified. ... Full Story | Top |
Tesco fights back with plans for store openings, 20,000 new jobs
Sun,4 Mar 2012 04:04 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Tesco Plc, Britain's biggest retailer, plans to open new stores and create 20,000 new jobs in the UK over the next two years as it battles back from a profit warning earlier this year and seeks to tackle a drop in UK market share. Britain's biggest private sector employer said as part of the plan it would update existing stores, open new outlets and would look to make a "significant investment" in customer service. It also said it would look to take on unemployed young people and expand its apprenticeship program to provide 10,000 apprenticeships. ...
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Romney gains strength ahead of Super Tuesday
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:54 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney closed in on Rick Santorum in Ohio and picked up a crucial endorsement in Virginia on Sunday as he grows in strength ahead of "Super Tuesday," the biggest day yet in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is tied with Santorum at 32 percent support from likely voters in the Ohio Republican primary, the most important of the 10 state nominating contests on Tuesday. ...
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Voting fraud allegations mar Putin's presidential win
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:49 PM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - A few days before Russia's presidential election, Sergei Smirnov received a phone call from a man who called himself Mikhail and told him the terms of the deal: you will vote for Vladimir Putin four times and receive 2,000 roubles ($70) in return. The sum was promised to dozens of other young men and women who met on Sunday outside a popular fast food joint on the southwest fringe of Moscow, waiting to be taken to various polling stations in the province that rings the capital. Smirnov, a journalist, said he found the group a few weeks prior to the election through a friend. ... Full Story | Top |
Tearful Putin wins back Russian presidency
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:49 PM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin triumphed in Russia's presidential election on Sunday and, tears rolling down his cheeks, called his victory a turning point that had prevented the country falling into the hands of enemies. Putin's opponents complained of widespread fraud, refused to recognize the results and said they would press ahead on Monday with the biggest protests since he rose to power 12 years ago. ...
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Senator Schumer asks FTC to probe Apple, Android
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:42 PM PST
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. senator has urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports that applications on the Apple Inc and Google Inc mobile systems steal private photos and contacts and post them online without consent. Democrat Charles Schumer's request comes after iPhone maker Apple tweaked its privacy policies last month after prodding from other lawmakers. The distribution of third-party applications on iPhones and phones running on Google's Android system has helped create a surge in the popularity of those devices in recent years. ...
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Obama warns against "loose talk" of war on Iran
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:19 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned on Sunday against "loose talk" of a war with Iran ahead of a crucial meeting in which he will urge Israel's prime minister to avoid a premature strike on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities. On the eve of his talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, Obama used a speech to the pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group AIPAC to pledge his staunch support for the Jewish state and to argue that international sanctions on Iran must be given more time to work. But there was no sign he and Netanyahu were moving any closer to agreeing on their approach to Iran. ...
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German ruling coalition puts on show of unity
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:15 PM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's center-right coalition, shaken by a row last month in choosing a candidate for the German Presidency, put on a show of unity Sunday as party leaders held their first formal talks of 2012 and side-stepped the more divisive issues. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government has come under intense strain in recent months due to parties' squabbles over eurozone policy and taxation, and almost ruptured a fortnight ago when the junior partners, the Free Democrats (FDP), defiantly backed the opposition's presidential candidate. ... Full Story | Top |
Rush Limbaugh loses another sponsor over Sandra Fluke remarks
Sun,4 Mar 2012 03:13 PM PST
Reuters - LOS ANGELES, March 4 (TheWrap.com) - Online florist ProFlowers said Sunday it had suspended advertising on Rush Limbaugh's radio program because his comments about Georgetown University student Sandra Fluke "went beyond political discourse to a personal attack and do not reflect our values as a company." ProFlowers posted the comment Sunday on its Facebook page. That's the seventh advertiser to pull its ads from the conservative talk show host's program in the wake of comments he made about law student Fluke, who testified about birth control policy. ... Full Story | Top |
Greek town withers as boom turns to bust
Sun,4 Mar 2012 02:30 PM PST
Reuters -  KOMOTINI, Greece (Reuters) - Decades ago, Antonis Seitanidis' family fled Asia Minor to settle in the northern Greek town of Komotini in search of a better life. Today, he is urging his grandchildren to abandon the town - a place that once gave him hope but is now ravaged by factory closures, a lack of jobs and rising anger. "This is the worst crisis I can remember in at least 50 years," the 84-year-old said. "I have five grandchildren and three of them are unemployed. I tell them to leave the country - to go to Germany or Australia. People will help them there. ...
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Libyan stock exchange says to re-open on March 15
Sun,4 Mar 2012 02:19 PM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's stock exchange is to re-open on March 15, just over a year after the country's conflict forced it to close down, the head of the bourse said on Sunday. The exchange had previously said it would open at the end of February, but General Manager Ahmed Karoud said that was pushed back because of electricity outages at the bourse and delays in receiving regulatory filings from the listed companies. The re-launch of the exchange will be a symbol that Libya is open for business again after the conflict that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story | Top |
Belarus's Lukashenko: "Better a dictator than gay"
Sun,4 Mar 2012 02:18 PM PST
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Belarussia's Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday criticized EU politicians who have threatened him with further sanctions and in an apparent riposte to the German Foreign Minister's branding him "Europe's last dictator," said: "Better to be a dictator than gay." Guido Westerwelle is Germany's first openly gay minister. European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels on Friday called for new measures to pressure the Belarus President, in power since 1994, over alleged human rights abuses. ... Full Story | Top |
Two British journalists accused of spying in Libya
Sun,4 Mar 2012 01:56 PM PST
Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Two British journalists working for Iran's Press TV who were detained late last month in Libya are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said on Sunday. Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said his men had found among the journalists' possessions official Libyan documents, equipment used by the Israeli military and footage of them firing weapons. "We believe they are spies," Swehli said in Tripoli. He said it was too early to say what country they were spying for, but that this would be established by their investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
EADS mulls foregoing German government loan: paper
Sun,4 Mar 2012 01:49 PM PST
Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European aerospace group EADS was considering doing without part of a development loan for its Airbus unit worth 500 million euros ($660.3 million) from the German government as a dispute escalates regarding the group moving operations from Germany, a paper reported. EADS and Airbus therefore hope to prevent the German government from influencing its production locations, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said, citing company sources, in an advance copy of a story to be published in its Monday edition. ... Full Story | Top |
Cable heads to Geneva to avert GM plant closure - report
Sun,4 Mar 2012 01:18 PM PST
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Business secretary Vince Cable will meet General Motors Co bosses at the Geneva motor show later this week to urge the group not to axe its plant in Ellesmere Port, northwest England, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. The plant, which employs 2,100 staff and produces around 190,000 vehicles a year, has been under threat since GM revealed last month that its European Opel-Vauxhall unit lost 355 million pounds in 2011. ...
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China boosts defense budget 11 percent after U.S. "pivot"
Sun,4 Mar 2012 12:36 PM PST
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - China will boost military spending by 11.2 percent this year, the government said on Sunday, unveiling Beijing's first defense budget since President Barack Obama launched a policy "pivot" to reinforce U.S. influence across the Asia-Pacific. The increase announced by parliament spokesman Li Zhaoxing will bring official outlays on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to 670.3 billion yuan ($110 billion) for 2012, after a 12.7 percent increase last year and a near-unbroken string of double-digit rises across two decades. ...
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Ron Paul unimpressed with Limbaugh apology
Sun,4 Mar 2012 12:30 PM PST
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul expressed doubt on Sunday that conservative radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh truly meant it when he apologized for calling a law student a "slut" over her support for President Barack Obama's new policy on insurance coverage of contraceptives. "I don't think he's very apologetic. He's doing it because some people were taking their advertisements off his program. It was his bottom line that he was concerned about," Paul told the CBS program "Face the Nation." "Yes, I think he should have apologized. ...
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Greece may need more help: Austrian chancellor
Sun,4 Mar 2012 12:20 PM PST
Reuters -  FRANKFURT/VIENNA (Reuters) - Greece's second bailout may prove insufficient and a topping up of the euro zone's permanent bailout fund cannot be ruled out, the Austrian Chancellor was quoted as saying in a newspaper on Sunday. "I would not trust anyone who says that (the help) for Greece is enough," Werner Faymann said in an interview with Austrian paper Oesterreich. "For Greece it depends on whether they can stick to these measures over several elections." He also did not rule out extending the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), saying it "may be necessary. ...
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Haiti's Martelly wants camps of ex-soldiers cleared
Sun,4 Mar 2012 12:04 PM PST
Reuters - PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haitian President Michel Martelly has asked government officials to find ways to clear several sites around the country being occupied by ex-members of Haiti's armed forces. Last week, Reuters reported irregular military training camps have sprung up in different parts of Haiti, including one at an old military camp in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where an armed band of former soldiers brandished assault rifles and handguns. ... Full Story | Top |
Israel trims detention of Palestinian hunger-striker
Sun,4 Mar 2012 11:49 AM PST
Reuters - (Reuters) - Israel Sunday reduced by a third the detention period of a Palestinian woman on hunger strike since her arrest last month, but her lawyer said it was not yet clear whether she would break her fast. Hana Shalabi, a member of the Islamic Jihad militant group, stopped taking food after Israeli troops seized her in the occupied West Bank on February 16, becoming the second Palestinian detainee in quick succession to resort to a hunger strike. An Israeli military court reduced Shalabi's original detention of 6 months to 4 months, a spokesman said. ... Full Story | Top |
Red Cross provides food, medical care near Homs
Sun,4 Mar 2012 11:48 AM PST
Reuters - GENEVA (Reuters) - Teams from the Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent distributed food and medical aid on Sunday in a village near Homs but were shut out for a third day from the battered district of Baba Amro. The aid workers spent the day providing emergency assistance in the village of Abel, 3 km (2 miles) from Homs city, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said, describing it as a "positive step." The teams, including a doctor, deployed a mobile clinic as well as Red Crescent volunteers and vehicles, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said. ... Full Story | Top |
Putin claims victory in Russian election
Sun,4 Mar 2012 11:32 AM PST
Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin claimed victory in Russia's presidential election on Sunday, with tears rolling down his cheeks at a victory rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters in central Moscow. "I promised you we would win. We have won. Glory to Russia," Putin told the rally close to the walls of the Kremlin. "We won in an open and fair struggle." Putin said the Russian people had clearly rejected the attempts of unidentified enemies to "destroy Russia's statehood and usurp power. ... Full Story | Top |
Chavez faces more cancer treatment before Venezuela vote
Sun,4 Mar 2012 11:32 AM PST
Reuters -  CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez said he will need radiation treatment for cancer in the run-up to Venezuela's October presidential poll, though he insisted there was no metastasis after the removal of another tumor. "I will live! I will overcome!" the 57-year-old socialist leader said in a televised meeting with some cabinet colleagues from Cuba, where he underwent an operation six days ago for a recurrence of the cancer that first struck him last year. ...
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