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As Syria writhes, divided powers meet in Geneva
Fri,29 Jun 2012 08:48 PM PDT
Reuters -  GENEVA (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of world powers gather in Geneva on Saturday to try and forge a common strategy to end the bloodshed in Syria, but differences between Russia and the West may thwart them. Kofi Annan, the former U.N. chief who is special international envoy on Syria, has been hoping for consensus on a plan for a unity government that, by excluding from the leadership figures deemed too divisive, would effectively mean President Bashar al-Assad stepping down. ...
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U.S. downplays Turkish troop moves near Syrian border
Fri,29 Jun 2012 08:48 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. defense chiefs on Friday downplayed Turkey's deployment of troops and military vehicles toward its border with Syria, saying the movements didn't appear aimed at escalating tensions with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A Turkish official on Thursday described the movement as a precaution after Syrian air defenses shot down a Turkish warplane a week ago. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta noted that Turkey has maintained troops along the border. "And I wouldn't read too much into the movements that have been in the press," Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. publishes report on Iran arms trade with Syria
Fri,29 Jun 2012 08:48 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee has published a report on Iranian sanctions violations, including shipments of weapons to Syria in breach of a U.N. ban on weapons exports by the Islamic Republic. The Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which the United States, European Union and their allies suspect is at the heart of a weapons program. Iran rejects the allegation and refuses to halt what it says is a peaceful energy program. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico extradites suspect in U.S. consulate killing
Fri,29 Jun 2012 08:08 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has extradited a drug gang leader to face charges that he played a key part in the daylight execution of a U.S. consulate employee two years ago, officials said on Friday. Arturo Gallegos is suspected of ordering the killing of a U.S. consulate worker on the streets of Ciudad Juarez in an ongoing effort by the Barrio Azteca drug gang to control a smuggling route, officials said. He was handed over to U.S. law enforcement officials earlier this week, according to a statement from the Mexican attorney general's office. ... Full Story | Top |
U.N. publishes report on North Korea sanctions violations
Fri,29 Jun 2012 08:06 PM PDT
Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - After more than a month's delay due to Chinese objections, the United Nations on Friday published a report on North Korea that says a panel of independent experts is investigating reports of possible North Korean arms deals with Syria and Myanmar. The 74-page report, which was seen by Reuters last month, says North Korea "continues actively to defy the measures in the (U.N. sanctions) resolutions." The so-called Panel of Experts submitted the report to the U.N. Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee last month. U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
San Francisco mayor and sheriff face off in ethics hearing
Fri,29 Jun 2012 07:27 PM PDT
Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The San Francisco sheriff fighting to keep his job after being convicted in a spousal-abuse case and the mayor who is striving to have him dismissed faced off on Friday in testimony before a city ethics commission. The back-to-back appearance of the two men shed little if any new light on the dispute that has rocked San Francisco's close-knit political establishment. ... Full Story | Top |
China to lead talks on nuclear definitions
Fri,29 Jun 2012 06:31 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China will lead talks among the five original nuclear-armed states to define arms control terms, the group said on Friday, a first for Beijing and a step that might ultimately bring greater clarity about its nuclear arsenal and strategy. A working group of the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China is expected to launch talks this summer on a glossary of nuclear terms, an arcane but necessary step for wider talks on disarmament. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. drops charges against Kuwaiti held at Guantanamo
Fri,29 Jun 2012 06:31 PM PDT
Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - The Pentagon dropped war crimes charges against a Kuwaiti prisoner at Guantanamo on Friday and a U.S. official said the United States and Kuwait were in talks about the possibility of repatriating the last two Kuwaitis held there. Kuwait is a U.S. ally and the Gulf state's parliament has condemned the continued detention of its citizens, Faiz al Kandari and Fawazi al Odah, at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military base in Cuba, where both have been held for more than a decade. Kuwait's state news agency KUNA reported on Friday that a Kuwaiti delegation had held talks with U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Mercosur welcomes Venezuela, suspends Paraguay
Fri,29 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT
Reuters - MENDOZA, Argentina (Reuters) - The Mercosur trade bloc - which includes regional heavyweights Brazil and Argentina - will make Venezuela a full member next month, uniting South America's biggest grains and energy exporters. At a presidential summit on Friday, Mercosur's leftist leaders also decided to extend Paraguay's suspension over the ouster of President Fernando Lugo until democracy is restored via new elections, scheduled for April 2013. No economic sanctions were adopted against Paraguay but its officials will be banned from participating in Mercosur meetings. ... Full Story | Top |
Ex-U.S. agent who helped cartels gets 30 months in prison
Fri,29 Jun 2012 05:56 PM PDT
Reuters - TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - A former U.S. federal immigration agent was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Friday for accessing police databases and passing on sensitive information to family members with ties to Mexican drug cartels. Jovana Deas was accused of illegally obtaining and disseminating classified government documents while working as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agent in Nogales, Ariz., a city on the border with Mexico. She also was charged with obstruction and lying to investigators. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. trade panel remands Motorola Mobility case
Fri,29 Jun 2012 05:46 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. trade panel has decided to defer a final ruling on a complaint filed by Google unit Motorola Mobility accusing Microsoft of infringing its patents to make its popular Xbox. A judge at the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in April that Microsoft infringed four patents owned by Motorola Mobility, now a Google unit, but did not infringe on a fifth named in the complaint. The full commission said on Friday that it would send the case back to the judge for reconsideration. That reconsideration will likely take months. ... Full Story | Top |
After health ruling, will U.S. be ready for the law?
Fri,29 Jun 2012 05:43 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Now that the Supreme Court has removed the main legal challenge to President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, policy experts question whether enough U.S. states will be ready to implement the law when it takes full effect in 2014. Up to now, most states have avoided decisive action to build the private insurance exchanges that would extend health coverage to an additional 16 million Americans. Governors in largely Republican states who oppose the entire law may still refuse to act on the exchanges, requiring the federal government to step in to operate them. ... Full Story | Top |
Airbus poised to invest $600 million in new U.S. plant
Fri,29 Jun 2012 05:41 PM PDT
Reuters -  ATLANTA (Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus is poised to invest $600 million in a new U.S. production facility in Mobile, Alabama, for its A320 passenger jet that is expected to produce four planes a month by 2017, according to two people familiar with the company's plans. U.S. rival Boeing Co on Friday argued that a U.S.-based plant would not dilute Washington's case against European aircraft loans that the World Trade Organization has found illegal. The same body has also faulted some U.S. aid to Boeing. ...
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White House: encouraged by "progress" made by Europe
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters - ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Friday offered a cautious welcome to the promise of fresh action by euro zone leaders during overnight talks to tackle their simmering debt crisis, but emphasized that the region will require ongoing steps to resolve its problems. "We welcome the indications that euro area leaders made progress last night as they grapple with these challenges. We also ... note that these difficulties will not be resolved overnight and details remain to be worked out," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. The European crisis has threatened the tepid U. ... Full Story | Top |
How all-night Brussels showdown pulled euro back from brink
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - They were bleary-eyed in their crumpled suits early on Friday morning, but euro zone negotiators were smiling after a hard-fought night of talks that struck a surprisingly far-reaching deal to prop up the euro. An agreement to let the euro zone's rescue funds directly recapitalize banks - something Spain has long held out for - went substantially beyond what almost all diplomats and finance officials expected going into the two-day summit. ... Full Story | Top |
Merkel says ECB supervisory plans ready by year-end
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel told German lawmakers on Friday proposals to give the European Central Bank (ECB) new supervisory powers for banks in the euro zone would be ready by the end of the year. "It's not going to happen in a single day and not in two weeks either. It's a longer process, a proposal for that should be ready by the end of the year," Merkel told the lower house Bundestag. She was speaking after attending a two-day EU summit in Brussels which agreed the bigger role for the ECB along with other measures aimed at overcoming the euro zone debt crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
EU summit success to help Hollande pass fiscal pact
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande's role in goading Germany towards more flexibility in aiding debt-laden euro zone states positions him well to win parliamentary support for stiffer budget discipline rules he once swore to rewrite. The Socialist leader led a revolt against Berlin's austerity focus that resulted in a hard-fought deal on Friday offering more help to struggling Spain and Italy in return for joint European banking supervision, and deeper fiscal union down the road. ... Full Story | Top |
IMF welcomes steps to deepen EU financial integration
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:59 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday welcomed decisions by European leaders to deepen financial sector integration in the euro zone, saying it they would "help break the feedback loop between banks and sovereigns." "These are the right steps toward completing monetary union which will also benefit from further action for deeper fiscal integration," an IMF spokeswoman said in a statement. (Reporting By Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Full Story | Top |
Wall Street Week Ahead: Can EU deal lift stocks for more than a day?
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:47 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished the first half of the year with a bang as investors welcomed news that the euro zone is a step closer to solving its 30-month-long debt crisis. Now for the question: Is this rally strong enough to last for more than a day? The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq posted their best daily percentage gains since December on Friday after an agreement by European leaders to stabilize the region's troubled banks, a pact that helped remove some of the uncertainty that has plagued markets. "That is the major question. ...
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Egypt's first Islamist president to be sworn in
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:41 PM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President-elect Mohamed Mursi takes his oath on Saturday, a day after the Islamist leader pre-empted the formal ceremony by swearing himself in before ecstatic crowds in Tahrir Square and warning off generals trying to curb his powers. They have already clipped the prerogatives of the bearded leader now in the palace once occupied by Hosni Mubarak, who is serving a life sentence 16 months after Egyptians toppled him. ...
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Factbox: Mexico's presidential candidates on the issues
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico will elect a new president on Sunday, with Enrique Pena Nieto of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) the clear favorite to win. Following are some of the policies of the three main candidates. ENRIQUE PENA NIETO, PRI (CENTRIST) * Open up state oil giant Pemex to more private investment, looking to Brazil's Petrobras as a model. He says he would consider a constitutional change to help lure more foreign investment into Mexico's energy industry. * Simplify the tax system to reduce the size of the informal economy and boost revenues. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexican election watchdog under pressure in Sunday's vote
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico, a country long synonymous with vote-rigging, is better equipped than ever to prevent fraud in Sunday's national elections, according to experts, but voters still have grave doubts. The Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) will oversee the presidential vote that polls suggest will be won by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), whose frequently tainted elections helped it maintain power from 1929 to 2000. ... Full Story | Top |
New Jersey budget signed after some vetoes
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:38 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a $31.7 billion state budget on Friday for fiscal year 2013 after stripping out spending items that the Democrat-controlled legislature had passed. While his budget is the same size as the one lawmakers sent to him this week, he vetoed $361 million of their spending proposals. Christie said his budget calls for a $1 billion payment to the state's pension system and will maintain a surplus in state coffers of more than $600 million. ... Full Story | Top |
Judge gives a win to Wall Street in Alabama bankruptcy
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:17 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The judge in the landmark bankruptcy of Alabama's Jefferson County sided with Wall Street creditors on Friday and sharply limited how the cash-strapped local government can use funds generated by its sewer system. The ruling, in a months-long court dispute, aggravates a cash crunch for the county that may exhaust its general fund within three months. In the dispute over the size of payments to owners of $3.2 billion of sewer-system debt, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
NY state sues former head of abortion group over lavish spending
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:15 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York state Attorney General's office is suing the former head of the New York chapter of the nation's largest abortion-rights advocacy group, accusing her of using more than $250,000 in charitable funds to finance a lavish lifestyle. The lawsuit, filed in New York state Supreme Court on Thursday, came a year after Kelli Conlin pleaded guilty to criminal charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney. She resigned as president of NARAL Pro-Choice New York in January 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
Justice Department will not prosecute Holder over gun scandal
Fri,29 Jun 2012 04:06 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it would not prosecute Attorney General Eric Holder for refusing to turn over to Congress documents about a gun-running scandal to Mexico. Holder, who heads the Justice Department, was cited on Thursday for contempt of Congress by the Republican-led House of Representatives. The mostly partisan vote of 255-67 marked the first time a sitting attorney general and presidential cabinet member was cited for contempt by the full House. More than 100 Democrats walked out in protest and refused to vote. ...
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Iran's U.N. envoy criticizes U.S., EU over nuclear talks
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:54 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Western powers negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program have not been "serious enough" in their attempts to resolve an escalating stand-off with the Islamic Republic, Tehran's U.N. envoy said on Friday. Iran held what officials said were intense talks in Moscow earlier this month with the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany - the so-called P5+1 - about its nuclear program, but a breakthrough once again failed to materialize. "It is clear for us that some members of the P5+1 for whatever reasons ... ... Full Story | Top |
Lagarde assures Mursi IMF ready to help Egypt
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:51 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde called Egyptian President-elect Mohamed Mursi to discuss the economic challenges facing Egypt and how the international lender can best help, a spokesperson for the IMF said on Friday. "The MD reiterated that the IMF stands ready to support Egypt and looks forward to working closely with the authorities," the spokesperson said. She also congratulated Mursi on his election as president, "which represents an important step forward in Egypt's transition," the spokesperson said. ... Full Story | Top |
Pentagon chief urges Congress to block new defense cuts
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:43 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Congress on Friday to act soon to stop a new round of defense budget reductions next year, saying the threat of $500 billion more in cuts leaves military families and defense workers under a cloud of uncertainty. "Congress can't keep kicking the can down the road or avoiding dealing with the debt and deficit problems that we face," Panetta told a news conference. "The men and women of this department and their families need to know with certainty that we will meet our commitments to them and to their families. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. investigating Google unit over patent licensing
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:41 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. antitrust regulators are investigating whether Google unit Motorola Mobility is living up to licensing commitments made when its patents were adopted as industry standards, two people familiar with the probe said on Friday. The Federal Trade Commission sent civil investigative demands, essentially civil subpoenas, to companies this week asking them about Motorola Mobility's licensing practices, one person said. The industry standards affected have to do with Wi-Fi and video standards, one of the people said. ...
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Congress eases way for BP oil spill settlement
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:39 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress on Friday removed an obstacle to settling legal claims emerging from the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, when it approved a spending plan for the billions of dollars it expects the government to collect. The plan, which President Barack Obama is expected to sign, directs 80 percent of Clean Water Act penalties related to the spill to a new trust fund for restoration efforts in five states along the Gulf coast. An explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in April 2010 killed 11 workers and led to the biggest oil spill in U.S. ...
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U.S. charges Vietnamese man with helping Yemeni militants
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:28 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Friday announced terrorism-related charges against a Vietnamese man suspected of helping militants in Yemen affiliated with al Qaeda. Minh Quang Pham, 29, was charged with traveling from Britain to Yemen in December 2010, where federal prosecutors said he pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The United States considers the Yemen-based group as a terrorist organization. Pham spent a year in Yemen before returning to Britain, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday in Manhattan federal court. ... Full Story | Top |
IMF approves disbursement after first review of Afghan program
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved an $18.2 million disbursement to Afghanistan following the first performance review of the country's new loan program. The IMF suspended the Afghan program in 2010 after reports of corruption, bad loans and mismanagement at Kabulbank, forcing the central bank to rake over the major lender. A new loan program was renegotiated in November 2011. The IMF has demanded that some of the assets of Kabulbank be recovered from shareholders, which include Afghanistan's elite including sitting ministers and an ex-warlord. ... Full Story | Top |
Accused Fort Hood gunman denied delay in trial
Fri,29 Jun 2012 03:02 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A military judge on Friday rejected a request by accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan to delay his court martial a third time and ordered him to stand trial August 20 for the 2009 shooting that left 13 people dead and 31 wounded. Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted. The Army psychiatrist is accused of opening fire on a group of soldiers at the Central Texas Army post who were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. He was shot four times by Fort Hood civilian guards and now uses a wheelchair. His defense attorney, Lt. Col. ...
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Lawmakers press DOE to speed LNG export review
Fri,29 Jun 2012 02:42 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers representing states rich in shale gas called for the Obama administration to expedite approval of liquefied natural gas exports on Friday, mounting the first real push in support of gas exports on Capitol Hill. A bipartisan coalition of 21 lawmakers in the House of Representatives said the Obama administration needs to move forward with its review of companies looking to export LNG. "We urge you to bring a renewed sense of urgency to the approval process," the group said in a letter to Energy Secretary Steven Chu. ... Full Story | Top |
Quebec government lends C$58 million to asbestos mine
Fri,29 Jun 2012 02:41 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - The Canadian province of Quebec said on Friday it will lend investors C$58 million ($56.89 million) to extend the life of one of Canada's last remaining asbestos mines, boosting production in an industry that has drawn heavy criticism. The cash infusion will allow the investor group, led by Quebec company Balcorp Ltd, to reopen the Jeffrey mine in the town of Asbestos in Quebec's Eastern Townships and complete a long-planned expansion. The expansion could extend the mine's life by more than 20 years, the Quebec government said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S., Israeli military drill set for October-November
Fri,29 Jun 2012 02:41 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Israel are expected to hold a delayed, joint military exercise sometime around October or November, after postponing it earlier this year, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he wasn't sure what the final decision was on timing after high-level talks in Israel this week. "We rescheduled it for October-November time frame," Dempsey said. "I really don't know what the final decision was, but it is our expectation that that's when the event will occur. ... Full Story | Top |
Romania PM plagiarized thesis, panel says
Fri,29 Jun 2012 02:18 PM PDT
Reuters - BUCHAREST (Reuters) - A panel of Romanian academics concluded on Friday that Prime Minister Victor Ponta plagiarized a large part of his doctoral thesis, but Ponta said the finding was politically motivated and he would not resign. Plagiarism charges have forced several European politicians to quit: Hungary's president, a German defense minister who was tipped as a possible successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the man Ponta nominated as education minister. ... Full Story | Top |
Trans Mountain seeks tolls approval, names backers
Fri,29 Jun 2012 01:43 PM PDT
Reuters - CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP filed an application on Friday for tolls and contract terms for the proposed $4.1 billion expansion of its Trans Mountain oil pipeline to Canada's West Coast from Alberta and also named nine energy companies that support the project. Kinder Morgan stressed that its application to the National Energy Board does not seek approval for the routing and construction of the project, but is designed to provide regulatory and market certainty for the customers that have signed up for 20-year terms. ... Full Story | Top |
Senate confirms top nuclear power regulator
Fri,29 Jun 2012 01:38 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed geologist Allison Macfarlane, an expert on how to store radioactive waste from power plants, to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Macfarlane will serve out the year left in the term of Gregory Jaczko, who announced his resignation last month after being publicly criticized by fellow commissioners as being abrasive. At a hearing in mid-June, Macfarlane pledged to treat her colleagues with respect and ensure the five-member commission operates smoothly. ... Full Story | Top |
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