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Wednesday, March 28, 2012 12:02 AM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Cancer killing younger people in India, tobacco main cause China allows detained rights lawyer first visit in two years Pope pushes for change in Cuba, government rebuffs Democratic lawmakers blast police in teen killing Fiji takes control of national carrier Air Pacific from Qantas Jail may await Afghan women fleeing abuse, rape: HRW Briton held in Somalia on suspected links to rebels East Libyans threaten to stop oil to press govt World Bank approves loan for Cameroon dam project UN Council 'deeply alarmed' by Sudan, S.Sudan clashes Mali neighbours threaten force to reverse coup Analysis: French shooting case shows counterterrorism limits Santorum loses lead at home to Romney: poll California campaign treasurer charged in $7 million fraud Volcker rule could raise energy prices, study says Supreme Court weighs all-or-nothing on healthcare law Romney would squeeze China on currency manipulation-adviser Panetta says focus on strategy, not polls in Afghanistan MF Global executive details scramble for funds Australia open to U.S. spy flights from Indian Ocean island Senate panel may vote on Russian rights bill Phone tapping scandal envelops Mexican ruling party candidate North American defense ministers launch joint security forum Joking Romney has job for Santorum: press secretary U.S. presses Syrian opposition to unite, shun abuses Bill to ramp up Iran sanctions fails in U.S. Senate Afghan soldiers arrested over Defence Ministry plot: NYT Australian govt says News Corp claims are serious Mali neighbors threaten force to reverse coup FBI said to have gathered intelligence on California Muslims U.S. judge dismisses most charges against militia members Ontario to favor home bond market, wary of Europe Syrian opposition reunites, but Kurds walk out Miami Police detective says racism "alive and well" JetBlue flight diverted, passengers say captain restrained Tweaks to Wall Street overhaul law starting to move Skeptical justices question Obama healthcare law Phone tapping row envelops Mexican ruling party candidate Schools, jobs seen key to prevent repeat of English riots Struggling Santorum vows to make a stand in Wisconsin Cancer killing younger people in India, tobacco main cause Tue,27 Mar 2012 11:47 PM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG (Reuters) - Cancer is killing younger people in India and affecting far more poor and less-educated villagers than wealthier, better-educated urban people, researchers reported on Wednesday. "Cancer appears earlier (in India) than say in China or the U.S., so it's a disease of the young," said the lead author of the paper, Professor Prahbat Jha at the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto in Canada. ... Full Story Top China allows detained rights lawyer first visit in two years Tue,27 Mar 2012 11:35 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's best known rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, whose case is a sore point in Sino-U.S. relations, was allowed a visit from his family last weekend, the first time he has been seen for nearly two years, his wife said on Wednesday. The treatment of Gao, whose secretive detention has also drawn criticism from the U.N. human rights body, is one of the thorniest human rights disputes between China and the United States. Senior Obama administration officials have raised it with Beijing, and the U.S. ... Full Story Top Pope pushes for change in Cuba, government rebuffs Tue,27 Mar 2012 11:30 PM PDT Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict stepped up his calls for change and a greater role for the Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba on Tuesday but was quickly rebuffed by a senior government official who ruled out political reforms in the one-party state. As the pope's trip drew to a close and Benedict met with President Raul Castro, the Vatican also disclosed it had made a "humanitarian request" to Havana, raising speculation that it might be seeking the release of political prisoners or jailed American Alan Gross. ... Full Story Top Democratic lawmakers blast police in teen killing Tue,27 Mar 2012 11:12 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday blasted police handling of a racially charged case in which a neighborhood watch volunteer shot dead an unarmed black teenager in Florida, accusing local law enforcement officials of botching the investigation. The lawmakers, speaking at a congressional forum attended by the parents of the slain teenager, called for the immediate arrest of 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the white Hispanic who shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin on February 26 in what Zimmerman said was self-defense. ... Full Story Top Fiji takes control of national carrier Air Pacific from Qantas Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:59 PM PDT Reuters - SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fiji's military government on Wednesday said it would take control of national carrier Air Pacific from Australia's Qantas Airways using a decree that states "substantial ownership and effective control" of all Fijian airlines should be local. While Qantas is a significant minority shareholder in Air Pacific, it exercises control through supermajority and veto rights, the government said in a statement. ... Full Story Top Jail may await Afghan women fleeing abuse, rape: HRW Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:38 PM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - For Afghan women, the act of fleeing domestic abuse, forced prostitution or even being stabbed repeatedly with a screwdriver by an abusive husband, may land them in jail while their abusers walk free, Human Rights Watch said. Running away is considered a "moral crime" for women in Afghanistan while some rape victims are also imprisoned, because sex outside marriage - even when the woman is forced - is considered adultery, another "moral crime". ... Full Story Top Briton held in Somalia on suspected links to rebels Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:26 PM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A British man was arrested in the Somali capital on Tuesday for suspected links to the Islamist rebel group al Shabaab, the African Union's force and police said. The suspect was apprehended at the Mogadishu airport before heading to Kismayu, a southern port city held by al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-aligned group battling Somalia's transitional federal government and the AU's troops. "A British man linked to al Shabaab is in our hands," police spokesman Abdullahi Barise said. "He is under investigation. ... Full Story Top East Libyans threaten to stop oil to press govt Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:24 PM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A Libyan politician campaigning for greater autonomy for the country's east said his movement could resort to blocking oil supplies if the central government failed to meet its demands for more seats in the national assembly. Civic leaders from the east of Libya, known as Cyrenaica, launched a push to create a several federal states in Libya earlier this month, posing a challenge to the country's fragile cohesion after last year's overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed rebellion. ... Full Story Top World Bank approves loan for Cameroon dam project Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:20 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Tuesday approved a $132 million zero-interest loan to help Cameroon build a dam to generate more electricity for homes and businesses across the west Central African nation. The World Bank joins several other organizations in helping finance the Lom Pangar Hydropower Project that is expected to increase hydroelectric generating capacity on Cameroon's Sanaga River by about 40 percent. ... Full Story Top UN Council 'deeply alarmed' by Sudan, S.Sudan clashes Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:19 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council expressed alarm on Tuesday at recent clashes between Sudan and South Sudan along their disputed border and urged both sides to halt military operations, warning the fighting could escalate into a new war. Sudan and South Sudan blamed each other for the fighting. South Sudan said its neighbor Sudan launched air strikes on major oilfields in its Unity state on Tuesday, in one of the most serious reported confrontations since the South declared independence from Sudan in July. ... Full Story Top Mali neighbours threaten force to reverse coup Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:17 PM PDT Reuters - ABIDJAN/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's neighbours threatened on Tuesday to use sanctions and a readiness to use military force to dislodge the army leaders behind last week's coup, urging them to quickly hand back power to civilian rulers. A summit of the West African ECOWAS bloc agreed to send a team of heads of state to confront the putschists in the next 48 hours, a sign of the region's growing resolve to end the instability that has dogged it for decades. ... Full Story Top Analysis: French shooting case shows counterterrorism limits Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:08 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mohamed Merah, the French gunman who killed Jewish children and French soldiers and then died in a firefight with police this month, was hardly an unknown quantity to intelligence and law enforcement officials on both sides of the Atlantic. Merah made two trips to Afghanistan between 2010 and 2012, and was detained by U.S. forces during the first. He had a record of moderately serious criminal activities in France. ... Full Story Top Santorum loses lead at home to Romney: poll Tue,27 Mar 2012 10:05 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has erased rival Rick Santorum's lead among voters in Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania which holds a crucial primary next month, a poll on Wednesday showed. Santorum, who represented the state in Congress for 16 years until he was defeated in a Senate election in 2006, saw his lead over Romney evaporate from 29 points to 2 points in the past month, according to the Franklin and Marshall College poll conducted from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ... Full Story Top California campaign treasurer charged in $7 million fraud Tue,27 Mar 2012 09:21 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged a top California Democratic campaign treasurer with five counts of mail fraud that caused a loss of over $7 million dollars to her clients, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, court documents show. Kinde Durkee, who controlled the funds of roughly 400 political candidates and groups, was arrested in September 2011 by federal agents and charged with criminal mail fraud. There were at least 50 victims of Durkee's fraudulent accounting, according to the additional charging documents filed with the U.S. ... Full Story Top Volcker rule could raise energy prices, study says Tue,27 Mar 2012 09:05 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The proposed Volcker rule crackdown on trading and investing by banks could cause gasoline, electricity and natural gas prices to rise, according to a new report. The report, released on Wednesday by business information provider IHS Inc , seeks to gauge the rule's impact on energy companies and markets, including oil refineries, natural gas producers and electricity providers. ... Full Story Top Supreme Court weighs all-or-nothing on healthcare law Tue,27 Mar 2012 09:01 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fate of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul will be on the line on Wednesday when the Supreme Court considers whether the entire law must fall without its centerpiece insurance mandate. Completing three days of historic arguments, the nine justices will hear arguments on whether the rest of the law, Obama's signature domestic accomplishment, can survive should the court decide Congress exceeded its powers by requiring all Americans buy insurance by 2014. ... Full Story Top Romney would squeeze China on currency manipulation-adviser Tue,27 Mar 2012 07:57 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is looking at ways to increase pressure on China over what he sees as currency manipulation and unfair subsidy practices, a Romney campaign adviser said on Tuesday. "I think he wants to maximize the pressure," Grant Aldonas, a former undersecretary of commerce for international trade, said at a symposium on the future of U.S. manufacturing. Aldonas served at the Commerce Department under Republican President George W. Bush. ... Full Story Top Panetta says focus on strategy, not polls in Afghanistan Tue,27 Mar 2012 07:20 PM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday it was important for NATO-led forces to continue implementing their strategy to end the conflict in Afghanistan despite growing signs of public fatigue after 10 years of war. "We cannot fight wars by polls. If we do that we're in deep trouble," Panetta told a news conference in Canada. "We have to operate based on what we believe is the best strategy to achieve the mission that we are embarked on," he said. ... Full Story Top MF Global executive details scramble for funds Tue,27 Mar 2012 07:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - MF Global's North America chief financial officer plans to tell lawmakers on Wednesday that she desperately sought fund transfers to cover the customer account shortfall in the final hours before the firm's collapse, but that some banks would not execute them. In prepared testimony, Christine Serwinski also said she was convinced at first that the roughly $1 billion deficit in customer funds had to be an accounting error and only learned on the morning of the bankruptcy that the shortfall was real. ... Full Story Top Australia open to U.S. spy flights from Indian Ocean island Tue,27 Mar 2012 07:09 PM PDT Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia could one day allow U.S. spy flights to operate from a remote Indian Ocean island, Defense Minister Stephen Smith confirmed on Wednesday, supporting the U.S. pivot to Asia but likely upsetting Australia's biggest trading partner, China. Smith said the possible use of Australia's remote Cocos Islands territory had been raised with the United States, but the proposal was not under active consideration and was not among current plans for Canberra to strengthen military ties with Washington. "We view Cocos as being potentially a long term strategic location. ... Full Story Top Senate panel may vote on Russian rights bill Tue,27 Mar 2012 06:55 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human rights legislation named after an anti-graft lawyer who died in a Russian jail is likely to be considered by a Senate committee this spring, the panel's chairman Senator John Kerry said on Tuesday. The Sergei Magnitsky bill would require the United States to deny visas and freeze the assets of Russians or others with links to his detention and death, as well as those who commit human rights violations against other whistle-blowers like him. ... Full Story Top Phone tapping scandal envelops Mexican ruling party candidate Tue,27 Mar 2012 06:43 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party presidential candidate has been forced on the defensive after a leaked recording emerged in which she appeared to accuse the government of spying on her phone calls. In what seems to be a conversation between Josefina Vazquez Mota and a campaign official, she blames members of President Felipe Calderon's cabinet for taping her calls, fueling talk of divisions in her party's faltering bid to retain the presidency. ... Full Story Top North American defense ministers launch joint security forum Tue,27 Mar 2012 06:26 PM PDT Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - North America's three defense ministers declared their first-ever dialogue on common security threats on Tuesday an "historic occasion," even though their main accomplishment was to agree to continue regular discussions. Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, who hosted the gathering in Ottawa, said he and his counterparts from Mexico and the United States decided to develop a common assessment of threats facing the continent and to cooperate to address them. ... Full Story Top Joking Romney has job for Santorum: press secretary Tue,27 Mar 2012 06:22 PM PDT Reuters - BURBANK, California (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney had this assignment for Rick Santorum on Tuesday to make light of his chief rival's frequent tussles with the news media: "Press secretary." Romney, who sometimes struggles to connect with everyday voters, appeared on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" for an interview that was at times serious and at times humorous. ... Full Story Top U.S. presses Syrian opposition to unite, shun abuses Tue,27 Mar 2012 06:01 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday urged the Syrian opposition to unite and pledge to respect minority rights in a future Syria should President Bashar al-Assad be driven from power, and warned armed rebels and government forces against committing human rights abuses. Disunity among the Syrian opposition to Assad has fed fears that Syria could slide into sectarian and ethnic conflict, much as Iraq did after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. ... Full Story Top Bill to ramp up Iran sanctions fails in U.S. Senate Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:57 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Republican lawmaker on Tuesday blocked Democrats from passing legislation designed to further punish Iran for developing its nuclear program, and each side blamed the other for its failure in a presidential election year that will put extra scrutiny on President Barack Obama to be tough on Tehran. The legislation, which had the backing of many Democratic and Republican Senators, focused on foreign banks that handle transactions for Iran's national oil and tanker companies, and included a host of measures aimed to close loopholes in existing sanctions. ... Full Story Top Afghan soldiers arrested over Defence Ministry plot: NYT Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:50 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - More than a dozen Afghan soldiers suspected of plotting to attack the Defence Ministry in Kabul were arrested after 10 suicide vests were found inside the ministry, the New York Times reported, citing Afghan and Western officials. Security across Afghanistan has worsened after a string of incidents that have enraged Afghans in recent weeks, including the shooting deaths of 17 civilians in the volatile south more than two weeks ago blamed on a U.S. sergeant. ... Full Story Top Australian govt says News Corp claims are serious Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:48 PM PDT Reuters - CANBERRA (Reuters) - Media reports that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp promoted the pirating of its international pay-TV rivals were serious, and allegations of any criminality should be investigated by police, the Australian government said on Wednesday. "These are serious allegations, and any allegations of criminal activity should be referred to the AFP (Australian Federal police) for investigation," a spokeswoman for Communications Minister Stephen Conroy told Reuters. ... Full Story Top Mali neighbors threaten force to reverse coup Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:30 PM PDT Reuters - ABIDJAN/BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's neighbors threatened on Tuesday to use sanctions and a readiness to use military force to dislodge the army leaders behind last week's coup, urging them to quickly hand back power to civilian rulers. A summit of the West African ECOWAS bloc agreed to send a team of heads of state to confront the putschists in the next 48 hours, a sign of the region's growing resolve to end the instability that has dogged it for decades. ... Full Story Top FBI said to have gathered intelligence on California Muslims Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:22 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. civil liberties advocates said on Tuesday the FBI had engaged in secretly collecting intelligence about Muslims in the San Francisco Bay area in recent years, including details about a sermon delivered at a mosque. The American Civil Liberties Union called for an inquiry into the FBI's data collection, citing investigative practices from between 2004 and 2008 that it said raised the possibility of privacy violations. ... Full Story Top U.S. judge dismisses most charges against militia members Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:19 PM PDT Reuters - DETROIT (Reuters) - A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed conspiracy charges against seven members of a U.S. militia group known as the Hutaree, saying prosecutors failed to prove that they were doing more than talking about their hatred of the government. The seven were accused of plotting to kill law enforcement officers as a way to incite a wider rebellion against the U.S. government. Defense attorneys had argued that what the seven had done was protected by their free speech rights. ... Full Story Top Ontario to favor home bond market, wary of Europe Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:07 PM PDT Reuters - TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario will look to the local Canadian-dollar bond market to meet most of next year's funding needs, but expects to borrow less at home than the 81 percent it did this year, the chief executive of the Ontario Financing Authority said. Gadi Mayman, speaking ahead of the release of the provincial budget on Tuesday, said Ontario was able to easily tap the local market to fund 81 percent of the 2011-12 borrowing requirement due to a strong international appetite for Canada's high-flying currency, the country's sound fiscal reputation and higher yields than federal debt. ... Full Story Top Syrian opposition reunites, but Kurds walk out Tue,27 Mar 2012 05:01 PM PDT Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's splintered opposition leaders reunited under an opposition umbrella group on Tuesday in a bid to show the world they can form a real alternative to President Bashar al-Assad. At the same time, Assad's opponents grouped around the Syrian National Council (SNC) remained skeptical of a peace and ceasefire plan drawn up by U.N. and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan if that plan did not lead to Assad's removal. The Syrian government said on Tuesday it had accepted Annan's plan [ID:nL6E8ER9C0], but some SNC members dismissed Assad's word. "He is buying time. ... Full Story Top Miami Police detective says racism "alive and well" Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:51 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - A black veteran Miami police officer said on Tuesday that "racism is alive and well" in the United States and is evident in the case of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed African American teenager gunned down by a neighborhood watch volunteer in central Florida last month. George Zimmerman, the white Hispanic crime watch volunteer, has managed to avoid arrest under Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law because he said he shot and killed Martin in self-defense. ... Full Story Top JetBlue flight diverted, passengers say captain restrained Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:50 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - A JetBlue flight bound for Las Vegas was diverted to Texas on Tuesday following what federal authorities described as erratic behavior by the captain, who passengers said had to be restrained after he pounded on the locked cockpit door. The FBI is investigating the incident on Flight 191 from New York, which had 135 passengers on board when the pilot-in-command decided to redirect the plane to Amarillo, Texas. JetBlue said in a statement the flight was diverted due to a "medical situation" involving the captain but made no mention of any commotion on board. ... Full Story Top Tweaks to Wall Street overhaul law starting to move Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:33 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Support is growing in Congress for tweaks to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, a possibility that until recently seemed remote given partisan acrimony over the law, as well as between Republicans and Democrats. None of the proposed bills would make major changes to the law and they could still become bogged down in the Senate, where even bipartisan legislation can face a gauntlet of challenges. ... Full Story Top Skeptical justices question Obama healthcare law Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:29 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration faced skeptical questioning from a U.S. Supreme Court dominated by conservatives on Tuesday during a tense two-hour showdown over a sweeping healthcare law that has divided Americans. A ruling on the law's key requirement that most people obtain health insurance or face a penalty appeared likely to come down to Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy, two conservatives who pummeled the administration's lawyer with questions. ... Full Story Top Phone tapping row envelops Mexican ruling party candidate Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:26 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party presidential candidate has been forced on the defensive after a leaked recording emerged in which she appeared to accuse the government of spying on her phone calls. In what seems to be a conversation between Josefina Vazquez Mota and a campaign official, she blames members of President Felipe Calderon's cabinet for taping her calls, fueling talk of divisions in her party's faltering bid to retain the presidency. ... Full Story Top Schools, jobs seen key to prevent repeat of English riots Tue,27 Mar 2012 04:07 PM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Schools that fail to teach children to read and write should face fines to improve an inadequate education system, a panel set up to draw lessons from riots that swept England's cities last year said on Wednesday. The panel's report, presented to Prime Minister David Cameron, said there were half a million "forgotten families" who "bump along the bottom" of society and urged the government to develop a strategy to help them turn their lives around. ... Full Story Top Struggling Santorum vows to make a stand in Wisconsin Tue,27 Mar 2012 03:58 PM PDT Reuters - BEAVER DAM, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Under pressure to pull off a big primary victory, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum vowed on Tuesday to make a stand in Wisconsin next week despite a poor record in large Midwestern states. Santorum is trailing front-runner Mitt Romney in delegates for the Republican nomination and doubts have begun to surface about the social conservative's ability to win populous states that do not have large evangelical voter bases. Battered by negative ads put out by Romney's well-financed backers, Santorum lost Ohio, Illinois and Michigan in recent weeks. ... Full Story Top

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