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Avalanche traps about 150 Pakistani soldiers: media
Fri,6 Apr 2012 10:44 PM PDT
Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An avalanche buried about 150 Pakistani soldiers near the Siachen glacier on the border with India, several Pakistani television channels reported on Saturday. The fate of the soldiers was unclear. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Mahawish Rezvi; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Nick Macfie) Full Story | Top |
Britons' trust in leaders' economic policy hits low
Fri,6 Apr 2012 10:38 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Britons' trust in their leaders' ability to steer the country through current economic troubles has fallen to its lowest point since the government announced its spending review in October 2010, according to an opinion poll released on Friday. Only 31 percent of those questioned expressed trust in Prime Minister David Cameron's management of the economy, and only 21 percent trusted that of Chancellor George Osborne - both record lows, the ComRes survey for ITV News showed. Trust in Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems, the coalition partner, also hit a new low, of 15 percent. ...
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Isn't it "marvelous"? Obama seeks to define Romney for voters
Fri,6 Apr 2012 10:20 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When President Barack Obama criticized Mitt Romney by name this week for embracing a controversial Republican budget proposal, he worded his attack carefully and with bite. "(Romney) said that he's 'very supportive' of this new budget, and he even called it 'marvelous' -- which is a word you don't often hear when it comes to describing a budget," Obama said during a speech on Tuesday, before adding: "It's a word you don't often hear generally. ...
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Japan's Azumi to hold talks with China on IMF contributions
Fri,6 Apr 2012 09:13 PM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Saturday Japan would hold high-level talks with China over contributions to the International Monetary Fund to help ease the euro zone debt crisis ahead of a G20 finance leaders' meeting in Washington. The two nations have not yet decided whether to increase contributions to the IMF after the euro zone expanded its bailout capacity last month, Azumi told reporters after meeting his Chinese counterpart, Xie Xuren. "Europe's problem has eased from a critical situation seen last year but it is not a situation where we can be ...
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Syrian violence claims 27 dead in run-up to truce
Fri,6 Apr 2012 08:56 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 27 Syrian soldiers, rebels and civilians were killed in violence on Friday, opposition activists said, four days before a troop pullback agreed by President Bashar al-Assad as part of a U.N.-backed peace plan. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) said it had met a delegation from peace envoy Kofi Annan this week and confirmed its fighters would stop shooting if Assad withdraws his tanks and troops to barracks before a ceasefire deadline next Thursday. ...
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U.N.'s Ban condemns Syria for new assault on civilians
Fri,6 Apr 2012 08:43 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sharply criticized the Syrian government on Friday for its latest deadly attacks on civilians and demanded that it keep its pledge to halt all military operations, Ban's press office said in a statement. He suggested the killings were tantamount to a violation of Security Council demands that Damascus move toward a ceasefire. "(Ban) strongly condemns the latest escalation of violence," the statement said. ... Full Story | Top |
Pressure builds for Augusta golf club to bend ban on women
Fri,6 Apr 2012 08:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  AUGUSTA, Ga (Reuters) - Political pressure mounted on Friday for Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters tournament, to bend its ban on women members to allow the female chief executive of tournament sponsor IBM to join the exclusive club. President Barack Obama and his likely Republican challenger in the race for the White House, Mitt Romney, both said on Thursday the conservative, all-male club should admit women. ...
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Navy jet crashes into Virginia apartments, 3 unaccounted for
Fri,6 Apr 2012 07:49 PM PDT
Reuters -  VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy F/A-18D fighter crashed into an apartment complex in Virginia soon after takeoff on Friday, sending fireballs into the sky, damaging six buildings and injuring at least seven people. No deaths have been reported, but three residents of the Mayfair Mews complex for the elderly were unaccounted for, authorities said. "We have physically been in every structure, and we have 95 percent completed the search and rescue," Virginia Beach Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Riley said. ...
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U.S. backs Argentine stance on defaulted debt ruling
Fri,6 Apr 2012 07:07 PM PDT
Reuters - BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The U.S. government has backed Argentina in the latest legal battle over a 2002 default, arguing the nation should not have to pay "holdout" creditors when servicing debt held by investors who accepted a harsh restructuring, court documents show. Argentina declared a world-record sovereign default during an economic meltdown a decade ago. It faces numerous lawsuits in U.S. courts by creditors who spurned past government swap offers and have sued to recover the full value of the defaulted bonds. ... Full Story | Top |
Marine who criticized Obama on Facebook should be dismissed: panel
Fri,6 Apr 2012 06:37 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A Marine who posted on Facebook that he would not follow orders from President Barack Obama should be dismissed from the military with a less-than-honorable discharge, a Marine Corps review board ruled. Gary Stein, 26, did not comment on the ruling issued late Thursday, one day after his lawyers unsuccessfully sought to delay the review board by seeking an injunction in federal court in San Diego. The Marines' recommendation to administratively discharge Stein came after a 13-hour hearing and an hour of deliberation by the panel. ...
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Jet Blue meltdown pilot has detention hearing waived
Fri,6 Apr 2012 06:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - A JetBlue pilot who apparently suffered a midair mental meltdown last month and was charged with interfering with a commercial flight will not have to face a court hearing on Monday, a magistrate judge ruled on Friday. Clayton Osbon, 49, has been in custody since March 27 when he was subdued by passengers after screaming and pounding on the cockpit door during a flight from New York to Las Vegas. The co-pilot of Flight 191 was forced to make an emergency landing in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle. ...
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U.S. again releases satellite images of Syria
Fri,6 Apr 2012 06:16 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States released satellite images on Friday that it said showed Syria has artillery poised to hit residential areas and has moved some forces from one town to another despite calls for a withdrawal. Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, posted the commericial satellite images on Facebook in what seemed an effort to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to pull back forces as called for in a peace plan devised by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. ... Full Story | Top |
Connecticut lawmakers seek review after NCAA bans UConn
Fri,6 Apr 2012 05:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Two members of Congress said Friday they would seek a review of the National Collegiate Athletic Association after its decision to ban the University of Connecticut from the 2013 "March Madness" post-season basketball tournament due to low academic grades by players. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative John Larson, both Connecticut Democrats, called the NCAA's enforcement of its academic standards - against UConn as well as some other schools in recent years - as being "arbitrary and unfair. ...
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U.N.'s Ban condemns Syria for new assault on civilians
Fri,6 Apr 2012 05:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sharply criticized the Syrian government on Friday for its latest attacks on civilians and demanded that it keep its pledge to halt all military operations, Ban's press office said in a statement. "(Ban) strongly condemns the latest escalation of violence," the statement said. "He deplores the assault by the Syrian authorities against innocent civilians, including women and children, despite the commitments by the Government of Syria to cease all use of heavy weapons in population centers. ...
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Florida college may sideline band over hazing death
Fri,6 Apr 2012 05:11 PM PDT
Reuters - ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida college rocked by the hazing death of a student who served in the ranks of its famed but scandal-plagued marching band may force the band to sit out next fall's football season, a school official said on Friday. "We're going to make sure we stay in tune with what the university's doing, but also have plan A, B and C just in case we have to use those options," Derek Horne, athletic director for Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
Housing secretary pushes mortgage write-downs
Fri,6 Apr 2012 04:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration wants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which finance the bulk of U.S. mortgages, to start reducing loan balances for troubled borrowers, but with safeguards to prevent them from purposely defaulting to obtain relief. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan laid out the case for a program with such checks and balances to convince the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the companies, to provide more mortgage aid. ...
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Mali's neighbors back junta exit plan
Fri,6 Apr 2012 04:50 PM PDT
Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's two-week-old junta agreed on Friday to hand over rule to civilians in return for the end of sanctions by worried neighbors who had threatened to strangle the economy of the West African country. The accord between leaders of a March 22 coup and regional mediators came the day Tuareg rebels declared the independence of the northern half of Mali they seized in a lightning advance earlier this week - a secession bid shunned by the world. ... Full Story | Top |
Sudan, South Sudan to hold postponed summit: AU
Fri,6 Apr 2012 04:47 PM PDT
Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will meet his South Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir, to defuse tensions between the neighbors after an initial summit was postponed, an African Union mediator said on Friday. South Sudan became independent in July under a 2005 peace agreement that ended decades of civil war with Khartoum but both sides are at loggerheads over oil payments and a long list of other issues. ... Full Story | Top |
California city asks FBI to review black student's shooting
Fri,6 Apr 2012 04:36 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The Justice Department will probe the Pasadena Police Department for possible civil rights violations related to a March 24 police shooting that killed Kendrec McDade, federal officials said Friday. McDade, 19, was fatally shot on March 24 after police received a 911 call about an armed robbery. Officers responded and discovered McDade and a second teenager at the scene. When the teens split up, they chased McDade and shot him when they thought he was reaching for a gun. ... Full Story | Top |
After half century, Cubans again celebrate Good Friday
Fri,6 Apr 2012 04:31 PM PDT
Reuters -  HAVANA (Reuters) - Bells rang from Roman Catholic churches throughout Havana on Friday to remember the death of Jesus Christ as Cubans celebrated a holiday on Good Friday for the first time in more than half a century. The day off, granted at the request of Pope Benedict on his recent visit to the communist island, translated into quieter streets than usual, but only sparse attendance at a Mass in the city's main cathedral presided over by Cardinal Jaime Ortega. ...
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Hundreds rally in Benghazi against Libyan militias
Fri,6 Apr 2012 03:47 PM PDT
Reuters - BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Hundreds of people, including police and soldiers, protested in Libya's second biggest city on Friday, calling on militias to lay down their weapons as the government tries to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups months after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi. Chanting "Army and police, we want nothing else" and "No militias, no brigades, one army, one flag", about 300 people took to the streets of Benghazi, including soldiers driving a convoy of about 50 military and police vehicles. ... Full Story | Top |
Navy jet crashes into Virginia apartments, at least 9 hurt
Fri,6 Apr 2012 03:34 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy F/A-18D fighter crashed soon after take-off into an apartment complex in Virginia on Friday, sending fireballs into the sky, heavily damaging half-a-dozen buildings and injuring nine people. All the injuries, including those to the F/A-18 crew, were minor, officials said, but the search of the Mayfair Mews apartment complex was not complete. Both crew members ejected from the aircraft before it crashed into the buildings in Virginia Beach, and one pilot was rescued while still strapped into his ejection seat. ...
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Mali junta agrees power handover deal with neighbors
Fri,6 Apr 2012 03:32 PM PDT
Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - The leaders of Mali's coup and neighboring countries have agreed a plan under which the two-week-old junta will hand over power in return for the end of trade and diplomatic sanctions, the junta and regional mediators announced on Friday. Under the plan, signed by mediators and junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo, the military government will hand over power to parliament speaker Diouncounda Traore who will be sworn in as interim president with a mission to organize elections. ... Full Story | Top |
Yemen sacks Saleh half-brother in shake-up, son remains
Fri,6 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters - SANAA/ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen's president removed a half brother of former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday as head of the air force, replacing nearly 20 top officers but leaving Saleh's son, nephew and other allies in place as heads of important military units. The reshuffle came as al Qaeda militants, who have exploited instability during a year of protests against Saleh to boost their activities, launched two attacks against government sites. ... Full Story | Top |
Accused Afghan shooter's lawyer wants military counsel fired
Fri,6 Apr 2012 02:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The civilian attorney representing the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan villagers wants to replace the military lawyer assigned to the case after disagreements over how to handle his defense. "You are fired, sorry, but we have much more experience than you," Seattle-based John Henry Browne, the outspoken lawyer who has been the public face of the defense of Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said in an email to military lawyer Major Thomas Hurley. ...
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Exclusive: Pakistani with U.S. bounty said helping de-radicalize militants
Fri,6 Apr 2012 02:03 PM PDT
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An Islamist leader who had a $10 million American bounty placed on his head this week has been helping Pakistan de-radicalize militants under efforts to stabilize the strategic U.S. ally, a top Pakistani counter-terrorism official said on Friday. Hafiz Saeed, suspected of masterminding an attack by Pakistan-based gunmen on India's financial capital Mumbai in 2008 that killed 166 people, including six Americans, met government officials from the Punjab province and pledged his support for the drive, the official said. ...
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Britons' trust in leaders' economic policy hits low
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:49 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Britons' trust in their leaders' ability to steer the country through current economic troubles has fallen to its lowest point since the government announced its spending review in October 2010, according to an opinion poll released on Friday. Only 31 percent of those questioned expressed trust in Prime Minister David Cameron's management of the economy, and only 21 percent trusted that of finance minister George Osborne - both record lows, the ComRes survey for ITV News showed. ... Full Story | Top |
Pope urges families to persevere in economic crisis
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:43 PM PDT
Reuters -  ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called for perseverance in the face of an economic crisis that has led to hardship and rising unemployment across Europe as he presided over a procession around Rome's Colosseum to mark Jesus Christ's crucifixion and death on Good Friday. The German pontiff, who turns 85 this month, stood before thousands of people holding candles at the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) march and listened to reflections on family unity that lamented divorce, abortion and infidelity. ...
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Political spending on TV ads may be posted online
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:34 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday proposed a rule that would move television broadcasters' public files to the Internet, making it easier to access information about political spending on TV advertising. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it would host the files on its website, allowing people to easily track information about their local TV stations. Spending on TV ads is forecast to reach historic levels in 2012 ahead of the U.S. presidential election, as candidates blanket airwaves with commercials promoting their virtues or bashing their opponents. ...
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Motor racing-F1 governing body monitoring events in Bahrain
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:31 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Formula One's governing bodykept a close eye on the situationin Bahrain on Friday as calls for this month's grand prix to bepostponed gathered pace due to continuing violence. On a day when protestors clashed with police while more than5,000 people demonstrated in the north of the capital Manama todemand the release of a jailed activist on hungerstrike, the International Automobile Federation(FIA) made clear that it was aware of the latest events. ... Full Story | Top |
Snap Analysis: Even the drop in March's jobless rate is bad news
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:25 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American employers hit the brakes on hiring last month, and even a drop in the unemployment rate looked concerning because of a sharp drop in the size of the workforce. U.S. employers added just 120,000 people to payrolls last month and the unemployment rate eased lower to 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said on Friday. The slowdown in payroll additions was lower than even the most pessimistic forecast in a Reuters poll. Following are some key details from the report: * The fall in the unemployment rate was actually a bad sign for the economy. ... Full Story | Top |
Rick Santorum's 3-year-old daughter hospitalized again
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:22 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum's 3-year-old daughter, Isabella, who was born with a rare genetic disorder, has been hospitalized again, his campaign said on Friday. "Rick and his wife Karen have taken their daughter Bella to the hospital. The family requests prayers and privacy as Bella works her way to recovery," campaign communications director Hogan Gidley said in a statement. Bella suffers from the genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18, which often results in the death of a child. She had been hospitalized briefly in January with pneumonia. ...
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Six injured in Navy jet crash: hospital
Fri,6 Apr 2012 01:19 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Six people have been taken to a hospital with injuries after a Navy F-18 fighter crashed into a Virginia Beach, Virginia, apartment complex on Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Both crew members ejected. One of them was in good condition and the other was in fair condition, said Emma Inman, a spokeswoman for the Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital. Among other people hurt was a firefighter. Injuries included smoke inhalation, she said. (Reporting By Ian Simpson; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
Bomb found by Dublin-Belfast road
Fri,6 Apr 2012 12:55 PM PDT
Reuters - BELFAST (Reuters) - Police said a "significant" bomb was found near the main Dublin-to-Belfast motorway on Friday, the anniversary of a peace deal that in 1998 largely ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. The A1 between Newry and Dublin was closed briefly to allow a bomb disposal team to clear a "viable device" that had the potential to cause fatalities, a spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. ... Full Story | Top |
France to free suspected Islamist militants
Fri,6 Apr 2012 12:46 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French police were expected to release without charge on Friday the last six of 10 suspected Islamic militants arrested in dawn raids two days earlier, legal sources said. Four were freed on Thursday after prosecutors found there was insufficient evidence to hold them. The sources would not confirm the exact timing of the release of the remaining six on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
More Americans win mortgage loan modifications
Fri,6 Apr 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury Department said on Friday that the number of active permanent mortgage loan modifications agreed to by banks rose 13,836 during February to 782,609 by the end of the month. The modifications, which aim to lower monthly payments so that distressed homeowners can avoid foreclosure, were made under the Home Affordable Mortgage Program, or HARP. ... Full Story | Top |
Consumer credit growth slows in February
Fri,6 Apr 2012 12:17 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer credit expanded more slowly than expected in February though people still were borrowing money to buy cars and go to school, Federal Reserve figures issued on Friday showed. Total consumer installment credit expanded by $8.73 billion, less than half the revised $18.60 billion increase posted in January and below estimates by Wall Street economists for a $12 billion rise. Revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, shrank for a second straight month. It was down $2.21 billion in February after a $2.95 billion decrease in January. ... Full Story | Top |
Mubarak's ex-spy chief enters Egypt presidential race
Fri,6 Apr 2012 12:10 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman said on Friday he would run for president if supporters complete his paperwork within a day, putting one of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's closest allies back in the race days after he ruled himself out. Nominations close on Sunday for Egypt's first free presidential race, which is set to pit Islamists against those who served under the ousted president. Suleiman, 74, served for years as Mubarak's head of military intelligence and General Intelligence Service. ...
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Obama tailors election-year message to working women
Fri,6 Apr 2012 11:56 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, leading in the polls among women voters, said on Friday he wants to help working women fight discrimination and juggle the demands of motherhood but stopped short of making promises on gender equality if he wins re-election. At a White House event on women and the economy, Obama noted "there has been a lot of talk about women and women's issues lately," a nod to the emergence of contraceptive rights, working women and all-male establishments as heated issues in his race for re-election in November. ...
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No injuries on ground from F-18 crash so far: fire department
Fri,6 Apr 2012 11:23 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two crew members from a Navy F-18 fighter that crashed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, a fire department spokesman said. Battalion Chief Tim Riley told CNN that the F-18 had crashed into an apartment complex but no injuries had been reported on the ground so far. "We have not had any reported missing people," he said. (Reporting By Ian Simpson; Editing by Greg McCune) Full Story | Top |
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