Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
|
|
Romney gaining on Obama: Reuters/Ipsos poll
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's lead over Mitt Romney has narrowed to 4 percentage points from 11 points a month ago, now that Romney has established himself as the probable Republican presidential nominee, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday. Obama was backed by 47 percent of registered voters in the telephone poll conducted from April 12-15, compared with 43 percent who supported Romney. In the same poll conducted March 8-11, Obama led Romney by 52 percent to 41 percent. ...
Full Story | Top |
Strong quake shakes Chile, no damage reported
Mon,16 Apr 2012 11:26 PM PDT
Reuters - SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Chile's eastern port of Valparaiso early on Tuesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, but there were no reports of significant damage and the country's main copper mines were unaffected. One elderly man died as a result of a heart attack brought on by the quake, which struck 26 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, and 69 miles northwest of the capital Santiago, but there were no other reports of injuries. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico raises alert for Popocatepetl volcano
Mon,16 Apr 2012 09:52 PM PDT
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican authorities raised the alert level for the Popocatepetl volcano near to Mexico City on Monday after it started spewing red-hot fragments of rock. The lava dome of Popocatepetl, some 50 miles to the southeast of the capital, started to expand on Friday, Mexico's National Center for Disaster Prevention said. This change in activity in the 5,450 meter (17,900 foot) volcano could provoke big explosions capable of sending incandescent fragments out over considerable distances, as well as ash showers, the center said in a statement. ...
Full Story | Top |
Karzai says NATO failed as 18-hour Kabul attack ends
Mon,16 Apr 2012 10:17 PM PDT
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday that a coordinated Taliban attack on Kabul showed a "failure" by Afghan intelligence and especially by NATO, while Washington signaled the Haqqani group of militants was responsible. The Afghan leader's comments underscored abiding divisions between the Afghan government and Washington, but if the role of the Haqqanis is confirmed, it could lead to fresh tensions in ties between the United States and Pakistan. ...
Full Story | Top |
Despite Obama charm, Americas summit boosts U.S. isolation
Mon,16 Apr 2012 05:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sat patiently through diatribes, interruptions and even the occasional eye-ball roll at the weekend Summit of the Americas in an effort to win over Latin American leaders fed up with U.S. policies. He failed. The United States instead emerged from the summit in Colombia increasingly isolated as nearly 30 regional heads of state refused to sign a joint declaration in protest against the continued exclusion of communist-led Cuba from the event. ...
Full Story | Top |
Lagarde eyes $400 billion rise in IMF funds this week
Mon,16 Apr 2012 11:36 PM PDT
Reuters -  MILAN (Reuters) - IMF chief Christine Lagarde hopes to gain broad consensus on a more than $400 billion rise in the fund's firepower this week, an Italian newspaper on Tuesday quoted her as saying, though it may take some time to gain final commitments. "I really hope this week we'll reach the critical mass of more than $400 billion. We are determined to do all we can," Christine Lagarde told financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore. "I am ready to leave the matter open for a few weeks: some countries need a little bit more time for parliamentary approval," she added. ...
Full Story | Top |
Oracle says Google's own emails show its guilt
Mon,16 Apr 2012 11:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An Oracle attorney cited emails between top executives at Google as prime evidence that Google took its intellectual property to gain an edge in the lucrative smartphone market, at the start of a high stakes trial between the two tech giants. Opening statements between Oracle Corp and Google Inc began on Monday in a San Francisco federal court. Oracle sued Google in August 2010 over patent and copyright claims for the Java programming language. ...
Full Story | Top |
World Bank picks health expert Kim as president
Mon,16 Apr 2012 04:35 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Monday chose Korean-born American health expert Jim Yong Kim as its new president, maintaining Washington's grip on the job and leaving developing countries frustrated with the selection process. Kim, a physician and anthropologist who makes for a somewhat unorthodox choice to head the global anti-poverty lender, won the job over Nigeria's widely respected finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, with the support of Washington's allies in Western Europe, Japan and Canada - as well as some emerging economies. ...
Full Story | Top |
Strong retail sales ease growth worries
Mon,16 Apr 2012 09:49 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices in March and spent more strongly than expected, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared. Retail sales increased 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, after rising 1.0 percent in February. Last month's gains handily beat economists' expectations for only a 0.3 percent rise and indicated sturdy consumer spending in the first three months of 2012. Consumer spending accounts for more than two third of U.S. economic activity. ...
Full Story | Top |
Shelling, shaky truce challenge U.N. few in Syria
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A handful of soldiers in blue caps put a tentative United Nations presence at the heart of the Syrian crisis on Monday, predicting success for their mission to stabilize a shaky four-day-old ceasefire even as shells were still falling. Charged with overseeing an end to 13 months of violence, the unarmed multinational squad of six professed their optimism. ...
Full Story | Top |
Retail sales strength eases growth worries
Mon,16 Apr 2012 07:38 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retail sales showed unexpected vigor in March as Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices and bought a range of goods, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared. Retail sales increased 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, after rising 1.0 percent in February. Last month's gains, which surpassed economists' expectations for only a 0.3 percent rise, could prompt analysts to raise their forecasts for first-quarter consumer spending, the main driver of the economy. The economy grew at an annual rate of 3. ...
Full Story | Top |
Man plotted suicide bomb on NYC subway: co-defendant
Mon,16 Apr 2012 04:46 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The lone suspect on trial in what U.S. prosecutors call an al Qaeda-inspired plot to attack the New York City subway system fully intended to put his jihadist training to work by carrying out a suicide bombing, a jury was told on Monday. Adis Medunjanin, 28, a U.S. citizen born in Bosnia, is on trial in Brooklyn federal court for what prosecutors say was a conspiracy between him and two close friends from high school in the New York City borough of Queens to conduct attacks in 2009 at the behest of al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. ...
Full Story | Top |
SEC looks to economists for legal cover
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is taking extra steps to bulletproof its rulemaking, after U.S. appeals court judges, Republican lawmakers and government watchdogs have criticized how the agency measures the economic impact of its rules. The SEC has internally circulated a memo guiding staff to rely more heavily on agency economists and to provide stronger economic justifications as they craft rules, according to a copy of the March 16 memo reviewed by Reuters. SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro is scheduled to appear on Tuesday before a U.S. ...
Full Story | Top |
Strong retail sales ease growth worries
Mon,16 Apr 2012 02:03 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans shrugged off high gasoline prices in March and spent more strongly than expected, suggesting economic growth in the first quarter was probably not as weak as many had feared. Retail sales increased 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday, after rising 1.0 percent in February. Last month's gains handily beat economists' expectations for only a 0.3 percent rise and indicated sturdy consumer spending in the first three months of 2012. Consumer spending accounts for more than two third of U.S. economic activity. ... Full Story | Top |
Insight: "Made in Japan" engineers find second life in China
Mon,16 Apr 2012 01:39 PM PDT
Reuters -  DONGGUAN, China (Reuters) - Their technical skills helped Japan's corporate giants sweep all before them in the 1980s, and now thousands of aging Japanese engineers are finding a new lease on life in booming China. "My profession is going out of business in Japan," said 59-year-old Masayuki Aida, who made molds for a Tokyo-based firm for 30 years but has spent most of his 50s in Dongguan, a gritty manufacturing hub in southern China's Pearl River Delta. ...
Full Story | Top |
Obama, Democrats raise more than $53 million in March
Mon,16 Apr 2012 06:58 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and Democratic groups affiliated with it raised more than $53 million in March, showing a jump in fundraising over the previous month as the general election gets under way. More than 567,000 donors gave money to Obama's cause and 97 percent of the donations were $250 or less, the campaign said in a video released to supporters. Fundraising by Obama groups has picked up gradually over the last three months. The campaign and its Democratic allies raised more than $45 million in February and a combined $29. ...
Full Story | Top |
Despite Obama charm, Americas summit boosts U.S. isolation
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:24 PM PDT
Reuters - CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sat patiently through diatribes, interruptions and even the occasional eye-ball roll at the weekend Summit of the Americas in an effort to win over Latin American leaders fed up with U.S. policies. He failed. The United States instead emerged from the summit in Colombia increasingly isolated as nearly 30 regional heads of state refused to sign a joint declaration in protest against the continued exclusion of communist-led Cuba from the event. ...
Full Story | Top |
Citi profit tops expectations, bond trading helps
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter results as bond trading and underwriting revenue jumped compared with the 2011 fourth quarter. While the results were better than the company's report three months ago, profit fell 2 percent from a year earlier, reflecting the bank's difficulties as it works to boost its earnings in a sluggish global economy. Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the bank might not seek regulatory approval to return capital to shareholders this year after all. ...
Full Story | Top |
Kris Kobach: Immigration isn't just a federal matter
Mon,16 Apr 2012 11:01 AM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The battle over illegal immigration heads to the U.S. Supreme Court next week, when the court will hear arguments for and against new Arizona laws requiring police, employers and landlords to expose undocumented immigrants. Arizona of course is not alone in its crackdown on illegal immigrants, with states including Alabama, Georgia, Utah, as well as a number of cities, passing similar measures. The movement's chief legal architect is 45-year old Kris Kobach, a former constitutional law professor, current secretary of state of Kansas and adviser to Mitt Romney on immigration issues. ... Full Story | Top |
Pope turns 85, says is in "last stretch" of his life
Mon,16 Apr 2012 10:47 AM PDT
Reuters -  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict marked his 85th birthday on Monday saying he is now in the "last stretch" of his life but sure that God would help him continue his mission. Benedict, who has looked tired and drawn recently, is one of history's oldest reigning pontiffs - and already older than his predecessor John Paul II was when he died in 2005. The pope said a Mass of thanksgiving with German bishops and close aides. Afterwards, children in traditional garb from his native Bavaria danced for him under the frescoes of the Vatican's Clementine Hall. ...
Full Story | Top |
Supreme Court hears Glaxo overtime pay case
Mon,16 Apr 2012 10:56 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday on whether pharmaceutical companies must pay sales representatives overtime, a dispute that threatens the industry with billions of dollars in potential liability. The justices considered an appeal by two former sales representatives for a unit of Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc of a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California that they were "outside sales" personnel exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. That decision conflicted with an earlier ruling by the 2nd U.S. ...
Full Story | Top |
Oracle says Google's own emails show its guilt
Mon,16 Apr 2012 04:51 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An Oracle attorney cited emails between top executives at Google as prime evidence that Google took its intellectual property to gain an edge in the lucrative smartphone market, at the start of a high stakes trial between the two tech giants. Opening statements between Oracle Corp and Google Inc began on Monday in a San Francisco federal court. Oracle sued Google in August 2010 over patent and copyright claims for the Java programming language. ...
Full Story | Top |
European court rules against Russia on 1940 Katyn massacre
Mon,16 Apr 2012 09:45 AM PDT
Reuters -  STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Monday that Russia had violated the rights of relatives of Poles who were killed by the Soviet secret police in 1940, and described the Katyn massacre as a "war crime". The ruling followed a complaint by 15 descendants of 12 victims over the adequacy of Russia's enquiry into the massacre, in which some 22,000 Polish officers and intellectuals were murdered without trial, often by shooting them from behind. ...
Full Story | Top |
Smirking Norway killer Breivik pleads not guilty
Mon,16 Apr 2012 06:53 AM PDT
Reuters -  OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian far-right gunman who massacred 77 people last summer gave a clenched-fist salute, smirked at the court and pleaded not guilty on the first day of a trial that threatens to turn into a "circus" showcasing his anti-Islamic views. Anders Behring Breivik, 33, has said he acted in defense of his country by setting off a car bomb that killed eight people at government headquarters in Oslo last July, then killing another 69 people in a shooting spree at a youth summer camp organized by the ruling Labour Party. ...
Full Story | Top |
Exclusive: Briton killed after threat to expose Chinese leader's wife: sources
Mon,16 Apr 2012 03:53 AM PDT
Reuters -  CHONGQING, China (Reuters) - The British businessman whose murder has sparked political upheaval in China was poisoned after he threatened to expose a plan by a Chinese leader's wife to move money abroad, two sources with knowledge of the police investigation said. It was the first time a specific motive has been revealed for Neil Heywood's murder last November, a death which ended Chinese leader Bo Xilai's hopes of emerging as a top central leader and threw off balance the Communist Party's looming leadership succession. ...
Full Story | Top |
Spain may impose spending curbs on regions; bond yields soar
Mon,16 Apr 2012 07:52 AM PDT
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's central government may impose budget curbs on regional authorities as soon as next month in return for extending them credit lines, a government source said on Monday, an effort to placate markets as the cost of borrowing hits dangerous levels. Spanish 10-year government bond yields broke through the 6 percent mark on Monday for the first time since the beginning of December. Spain has acknowledged that it has probably tipped into its second recession since 2009. The conservative government says it is committed to making major budget cuts. ...
Full Story | Top |
Latin America rebels against Obama over Cuba
Sun,15 Apr 2012 04:34 PM PDT
Reuters -  CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Unprecedented Latin American opposition to U.S. sanctions on Cuba left President Barack Obama isolated at a summit on Sunday and illustrated Washington's declining influence in a region being aggressively courted by China. Unlike the rock-star status he enjoyed at the 2009 Summit of the Americas after taking office, Obama has had a bruising time at the two-day meeting in Colombia of some 30 heads of state. Sixteen U.S. security personnel were caught in an embarrassing prostitution scandal before Obama arrived, Brazil and others have bashed Obama over U.S. ...
Full Story | Top |
Analysis: No simple answer to EU growth vs austerity conundrum
Mon,16 Apr 2012 04:07 AM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - Fierce debate is growing in Europe over whether austerity or growth offers the best strategy to overcome the continent's sovereign debt crisis. As if it were that simple. As the euro zone hovers on the brink of its second recession in three years, the battle launched in academic journals, blogs and the financial press has spread to the hustings in France, Greece and soon in EU economic powerhouse Germany too. ...
Full Story | Top |
U.S. Secret Service under spotlight after prostitution flap
Sun,15 Apr 2012 07:14 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - They are known for their shiny sunglasses, dark suits, and stern gazes. Secret Service agents, the men and women who protect U.S. leaders, are as much a part of the American political tableau as the presidents, cabinet officials, and candidates they shadow and protect. But, unlike their high-profile charges, they are not supposed to make news. The suspension of 11 agents this weekend after alleged misconduct involving prostitutes in Colombia brought unwelcome headlines and attention to the agency's culture. ...
Full Story | Top |
Karzai says NATO failed as 18-hour Kabul attack ends
Mon,16 Apr 2012 01:08 PM PDT
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday that a coordinated Taliban attack showed a "failure" by Afghan intelligence and especially by NATO, as heavy street fighting between insurgents and security forces came to an end after 18 hours. Battles which broke out at midday on Sunday gripped the city's central districts through the night, with large explosions and gunfire lighting up alleys and streets. ...
Full Story | Top |
U.S. political rhetoric to stay as China widens yuan band
Sun,15 Apr 2012 02:10 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's widening of the yuan's trading band will do little to blunt criticism of its currency policy by the United States and the Treasury Department said on Sunday more progress was needed to correct a "misalignment" of the exchange rate. Not much shift in the political rhetoric from Washington was expected in the wake of China's milestone move on Saturday to allow the yuan to rise or fall 1 percent from a mid-point every day, effective Monday, from its previous 0.5 percent limit. ...
Full Story | Top |
Iran, big powers agree - to keep talking
Sun,15 Apr 2012 03:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - After a year of sanctions and sabre-rattling over Iran's nuclear programme, negotiators from Tehran and six world powers finally resumed talks and found at least enough common ground to agree to meet again next month. With threats of war hanging over an already unsettled Middle East, U.S. and other Western diplomats welcomed an Iranian willingness in Istanbul on Saturday to discuss their nuclear activities - something they had refused since early last year. But though they will meet again, in Baghdad on May 23, they remained poles apart. ...
Full Story | Top |
Algeria offers own brand of "Arab Spring" for vote
Sun,15 Apr 2012 02:32 PM PDT
Reuters -  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria on Sunday launched the campaign for a parliamentary election that the ruling elite, in power for 50 years, hopes will soak up the pressure for change that has been building since the "Arab Spring" revolts in neighboring countries. Oil and gas exporter Algeria is the only country in north Africa whose political system has remained essentially unchanged after the turmoil of last year when long-standing rulers were unseated in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. ...
Full Story | Top |
U.N. peace monitors in Syria set to begin mission
Sun,15 Apr 2012 03:53 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. peace monitors are due to start their mission in Syria on Monday to oversee a shaky ceasefire undermined by persistent violence and the shelling of the opposition stronghold of Homs by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The ceasefire is part of a broader peace plan brokered by international mediator Kofi Annan, but it looked increasingly under threat throughout the weekend as the government vowed a crackdown on a wave of "terrorist attacks" in Syria. ...
Full Story | Top |
Secure despite rocket fiasco, N.Korea's Kim lauds military
Sun,15 Apr 2012 01:54 AM PDT
Reuters -  PYONGYANG (Reuters) - North Korea's new leader delivered his first major public speech on Sunday as the impoverished state celebrated the centenary of its founder's birth, calling for a push to "final victory" despite a failed rocket launch two days earlier. A jowly Kim Jong-un, clad in black and the third of his line to rule North Korea, read monotonously from a script in Pyongyang's central square after goose-stepping soldiers and sailors showcased the North's military power in a parade in spring sunshine. ...
Full Story | Top |
Norway mass killer salutes as appears in court
Mon,16 Apr 2012 12:53 AM PDT
Reuters -  OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian anti-Islam militant Anders Behring Breivik who massacred 77 people in July arrived under heavy armed guard at an Oslo courthouse on Monday, lifting his arm in what he has called a rightist salute as his trial began. "I do not recognize the Norwegian courts. You have received your mandate from political parties which support multiculturalism", Breivik told the court. "I do not acknowledge the authority of the court. ...
Full Story | Top |
Three girls among Oklahoma tornado dead; clean-up underway
Sun,15 Apr 2012 04:54 PM PDT
Reuters -  OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Clean-up efforts were underway across the Midwest on Sunday after dozens of tornadoes ripped across the region, killing five people in one Oklahoma town, three of them young girls, after storm sirens failed to sound and houses were reduced to rubble. Storms skipped through what is often called "Tornado Alley" in the U.S. Central and Southern Plains on Saturday and into Sunday, but the high winds and dozens of tornadoes mostly struck rural areas, sparing the region from worse damage. ...
Full Story | Top |
Iraq dinar hit by fallout from sanctions next door
Sun,15 Apr 2012 08:31 AM PDT
Reuters -  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At Alaa Radhi's currency exchange shop in central Baghdad, a board showing the rate of Iraqi dinars to the dollar has three question marks next to the price. For weeks now, Iraqi businesses say they have been struggling as the dinar has become increasingly volatile due to fallout from sanctions imposed on neighbouring Iran and Syria and to Iraq's own political turmoil. "The price keeps changing so quickly," Radhi says, counting a wad of dinars at the counter of his exchange. "That's why I can't write a fixed price. ...
Full Story | Top |
Obama calls on Romney to release tax returns: Univision
Sat,14 Apr 2012 05:24 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called on likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to release more of his tax returns, in an interview with Univision released on Saturday. Obama's campaign has been pushing Romney, a multi-millionaire former private equity executive, to release several years of his prior tax returns to shed light on how he amassed his wealth. In an interview conducted on Friday and released on Saturday, an anchor for the Spanish-language network noted Obama had released his tax returns for 12 years and asked him if Romney should do the same. ...
Full Story | Top |
Taliban attack Afghanistan in "spring offensive"
Sun,15 Apr 2012 01:27 PM PDT
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - Heavy explosions, rockets and gunfire rattled Kabul on Sunday as Afghanistan's Taliban launched a "spring offensive" with multiple attacks targeting Western embassies, the NATO force's headquarters and the parliament building. The assault, one of the most serious on the capital since U.S.-backed Afghan forces removed the Taliban from power in 2001, highlighted the ability of militants to strike the heavily guarded diplomatic zone even after more than 10 years of war. It was also another election-year setback in Afghanistan for U.S. ...
Full Story | Top |
| |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment