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Monday, July 2, 2012 12:01 AM PDT

Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Four foreign aid workers rescued in Somalia: army Instant View: Mexico poised for change of government Revolt in Japan ruling party, but government keeps majority Mexico's Pena Nieto has irreversible lead: election official Arms trade treaty negotiations begin, Syria casts shadow Venezuela's Chavez, Capriles launch presidential race Mexican leftist says will wait for final vote results Mexico's Pena Nieto winning vote: Mitofsky quick count Mexico ruling party candidate says vote trend against her Exclusive: U.N. drops Saudi dissident from al Qaeda blacklist France lowers 2012 growth forecast ahead of budget revision Mexico's Pena Nieto has won presidency: campaign manager Senegal's Sall seen winning parliament vote In Mexico vote, comeback beckons for old rulers ICC says expects Libya to release detained staff As crops rot, millions go hungry in India Protesters storm Libya election office in Benghazi Crowds protest in Hong Kong as Hu anoints leader Attacks on Kenyan churches kill 17 Two killed in Yemen as army pursues militants Iran threatens Israel; new EU sanctions take force Sudan breaks up protest, blames Zionist plot U.S. tells Rwanda to halt support for Congo rebels Spanish forest fires rage out of control near Valencia Mali Islamists destroy more holy Timbuktu sites Russians bemused as parking fines shoot up Gunman kills two outside French nightclub Egypt's new president faces burden of expectation Italy's League seeks clean slate with new leader U.S. praises EU embargo of Iranian oil, presses Tehran Assad's forces on offensive; Moscow defends him again Omanis protest in sign of renewed discontent Iraq June monthly toll one of highest since U.S. exit Factbox: Mexico's presidential candidates on the issues Soyuz spacecraft ends mission with smooth landing Coup ousted Tunisia's Ben Ali, says ex-leader's wife Rising star helps SPD gain on Merkel in German poll Japan restarts first reactor since Fukushima crisis Deadline extended for Israel settler homes removal Israel cabinet OKs rise in 2013 budget deficit target Four foreign aid workers rescued in Somalia: army Sun,1 Jul 2012 11:29 PM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali government troops have rescued four foreign aid workers held hostage inside Somalia, three days after they were kidnapped from a refugee camp in neighboring Kenya, a Somali military commander said on Monday. "Our forces have rescued the four aid workers kidnapped from Kenya in an overnight rescue operation," Colonel Abdullahi Moalim told Reuters. "They are healthy and unhurt," he said. The four were staff of the Norweigan Refugee Council (NRC). The NRC declined to comment but said it would be holding a news conference within an hour. ... Full Story Top Instant View: Mexico poised for change of government Sun,1 Jul 2012 11:13 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's old rulers claimed victory in a presidential election on Sunday after an official quick count showed their candidate Enrique Pena Nieto was primed to restore to power a party that dominated the country for most of the 20th Century. Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), had about 38 percent support and a lead of least 6 percentage points over his nearest rival, leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, according to the electoral commission. Following are reactions of analysts to the news. ... Full Story Top Revolt in Japan ruling party, but government keeps majority Sun,1 Jul 2012 11:09 PM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, one of the key figures behind the ruling party's rise to power, led dozens of lawmakers out of the party on Monday, but the government will retain its majority in the powerful lower house of parliament. Indeed, the departure of Ozawa, 70, and his followers could put Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in a better position to consolidate control on his fractious party and cut deals with the opposition, whose help he needs to pass laws since they control the upper house, which can block bills. "I'm sure Noda has the champagne on ice. ... Full Story Top Mexico's Pena Nieto has irreversible lead: election official Sun,1 Jul 2012 10:22 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto has an irreversible lead after Sunday's vote, an election authority official said, citing an official quick count. Pena Nieto, of the once long-dominant opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), had between 37.9 and 38.55 percent of the vote, ahead of second-placed leftist challenger Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had between 30.9 and 31.86 percent of the vote, the quick count showed. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz) Full Story Top Arms trade treaty negotiations begin, Syria casts shadow Sun,1 Jul 2012 10:05 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Delegates from around the world gather in New York on Monday for the start of month-long U.N.-hosted negotiations to hammer out the first-ever binding treaty to regulate the global weapons market, valued at more than $60 billion a year. Arms control campaigners say one person every minute dies as a result of armed violence around the world and that a convention is needed to prevent illicitly traded guns from pouring into conflict zones and fueling wars and atrocities. Most U.N. member states favor a strong treaty. ... Full Story Top Venezuela's Chavez, Capriles launch presidential race Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:45 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO DE YURUANI/MARACAY, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez shook off his health problems to lead a massive rally on Sunday while opposition rival Henrique Capriles took to remote regions for the formal launch of Venezuela's presidential race. Unable to repeat the frenetic campaigning of past elections due to his struggle with cancer, a fist-pumping Chavez nevertheless made a rare appearance at a rally in central Venezuela to underline he is fit enough for the October 7 vote. ... Full Story Top Mexican leftist says will wait for final vote results Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:40 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday he would wait until final results were in from Sunday's election to take a position on the outcome. "The last word hasn't been spoken yet," Lopez Obrador told supporters after a quick count by Mexico's electoral authorities pointed to a win for Enrique Pena Nieto, candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). (Reporting by Ioan Grillo) Full Story Top Mexico's Pena Nieto winning vote: Mitofsky quick count Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:05 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential election favorite Enrique Pena Nieto is poised to win Sunday's race, a quick count by pollster Consulta Mitofsky showed, putting him on track to return to power the party that dominated for much of the 20th Century. The count showed Pena Nieto of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) winning 40.3 percent of the vote, well ahead of second-placed leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on 31.8 percent. Pena Nieto's campaign claimed a resounding victory on Sunday after exit polls showed him leading the field. ... Full Story Top Mexico ruling party candidate says vote trend against her Sun,1 Jul 2012 06:55 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party presidential candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota said she recognized that voting trends in Sunday's election did not favor her, but stopped short of conceding defeat. Vazquez Mota belongs to the conservative National Action Party (PAN), and television exit polls showed her lagging in a distant third place. Election favorite Enrique Pena Nieto's campaign claimed a "resounding triumph" on Sunday evening after the exit polls showed him winning the presidency by a wide margin. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story Top Exclusive: U.N. drops Saudi dissident from al Qaeda blacklist Sun,1 Jul 2012 06:42 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee is removing Saudi dissident Saad al-Faqih from the United Nations' al Qaeda sanctions list, despite strong objections from Saudi Arabia, a U.N. diplomat said on Sunday. The London-based Faqih was added to the list in December 2004, days after the U.S. Treasury Department hit him with sanctions for suspected links to the late Osama bin Laden's militant network, which was responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. ... Full Story Top France lowers 2012 growth forecast ahead of budget revision Sun,1 Jul 2012 06:35 PM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France will lower its economic growth forecasts for this year as part of a revised budget the government will present later this week to meet its public deficit targets, Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Sunday. The country's national audit office is expected to reveal a shortfall of about 8 billion euros ($10.15 billion) on Monday when it publishes the results of an official review of public finances that new President Francois Hollande ordered, the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) newspaper earlier said. ... Full Story Top Mexico's Pena Nieto has won presidency: campaign manager Sun,1 Jul 2012 06:27 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential election favorite Enrique Pena Nieto has won a resounding victory in Sunday's election, his campaign chief said as exit polls showed him leading by a wide margin. Luis Videgaray told Mexican television Pena Nieto had won, and added his campaign were still checking results. (Reporting by Mexico City Newsroom; Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story Top Senegal's Sall seen winning parliament vote Sun,1 Jul 2012 04:46 PM PDT Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - A coalition backing new Senegalese President Macky Sall was poised to win majority seats in parliament, according to provisional results reported by local media on Sunday after legislative elections in the west African country. Early counts reported by Senegal's APS news agency showed that Sall's Alliance for the Republic party (APR) and the Benno Bokk Yakaar coalition were leading in several constituencies across the country. Results on APS's website showed that the leading coalition had won the vote in several major districts including Thies, Kaolack, St. ... Full Story Top In Mexico vote, comeback beckons for old rulers Sun,1 Jul 2012 04:45 PM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's old rulers were on track for a comeback as voters chose a new president on Sunday, after a grisly war with drug cartels and a sluggish economy wore down the ruling conservatives. Twelve years after the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) lost power, opinion polls showed its candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto, heading into the vote with a double-digit lead over his opponents. Voters ousted the PRI in 2000 after 71 years of virtual single-party rule that was tainted by corruption, electoral fraud and authoritarianism. ... Full Story Top ICC says expects Libya to release detained staff Sun,1 Jul 2012 03:15 PM PDT Reuters - AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Four International Criminal Court staff detained in Libya since early June are expected to be released on Monday, the court said on Sunday. The four were detained in the western mountain city of Zintan after local officials leveled accusations of spying at one of them, Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, who was sent by the ICC to represent the son of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The ICC also said Sang-Hyun Song, the court's president, would go to Libya on Monday. ... Full Story Top As crops rot, millions go hungry in India Sun,1 Jul 2012 03:03 PM PDT Reuters - NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Every day some 3,000 Indian children die from illnesses related to malnutrition, and yet countless heaps of rodent-infested wheat and rice are rotting in fields across the north of their own country. It is an extraordinary paradox created by a rigid regime of subsidies for grain farmers, a woeful lack of storage facilities and an inefficient, corruption-plagued public distribution system that fails millions of impoverished people. ... Full Story Top Protesters storm Libya election office in Benghazi Sun,1 Jul 2012 02:15 PM PDT Reuters - BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Armed protesters calling for more autonomy for Libya's east stormed the national election commission in Benghazi on Sunday, burning materials and breaking computer equipment outside, less than a week before the North African country holds an election. About 300 men carried computers and ballot boxes from the building in Libya's second city and began crushing them while chanting pro-federalism slogans, a Reuters correspondent at the scene said. ... Full Story Top Crowds protest in Hong Kong as Hu anoints leader Sun,1 Jul 2012 01:59 PM PDT Reuters - HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong hours after Chinese President Hu Jintao swore in the city's new leader and urged him to resolve what he called "deep disagreements" among the islanders. The by-now annual July 1 demonstration - marking the end of British colonial rule in 1997 - was the biggest in years as people took advantage of Hong Kong's laws that make it the only place in China where public protests are permitted. ... Full Story Top Attacks on Kenyan churches kill 17 Sun,1 Jul 2012 01:46 PM PDT Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - Masked assailants launched simultaneous gun and grenade raids on two churches in a Kenyan town on Sunday, killing at least 17 people in the worst attack in the country since Kenya sent troops into Somalia to crush al Shabaab militants. More than 60 people were wounded in the attacks in Garissa, the north Kenya town which has been used as a base for operations against al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Somalia. "This is the worst single attack since October, when our troops went into Somalia," national police spokesman Eric Kiraithe told Reuters. ... Full Story Top Two killed in Yemen as army pursues militants Sun,1 Jul 2012 12:15 PM PDT Reuters - ADEN (Reuters) - At least two al Qaeda-linked militants were killed as U.S.-backed Yemeni forces pursued fighters driven from their southern strongholds last month, a local official said on Sunday. Hundreds of militants from Ansar al-Sharia have been on the run since they were pushed from towns and cities they had seized during an uprising that forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. Ansar al-Sharia - meaning Partisans of Islamic Law - swears allegiance to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which U.S. officials have called the most dangerous offshoot of the global militant network. ... Full Story Top Iran threatens Israel; new EU sanctions take force Sun,1 Jul 2012 11:50 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran announced missile tests on Sunday and threatened to wipe Israel "off the face of the earth" if the Jewish state attacked it, brandishing some of its starkest threats on the day Europe began enforcing an oil embargo and harsh new sanctions. The European sanctions - including a ban on imports of Iranian oil by EU states and measures that make it difficult for other countries to trade with Iran - were enacted earlier this year but mainly came into effect on July 1. ... Full Story Top Sudan breaks up protest, blames Zionist plot Sun,1 Jul 2012 11:05 AM PDT Reuters - KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese police fired teargas at protesters angered by rising prices on Sunday, witnesses said, after a senior official accused "Zionist institutions" of fanning anti-government demonstrations which echo Arab Spring unrest elsewhere. For two weeks, anti-austerity protesters have been calling for the resignation of the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. ... Full Story Top U.S. tells Rwanda to halt support for Congo rebels Sun,1 Jul 2012 10:36 AM PDT Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - The United States has called on Rwanda to stop supporting armed rebel groups in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo after a U.N. investigation implicated senior Kigali officials. Fighting in Congo continued over the weekend in hills near the Rwandan border between forces loyal to Kinshasa and fighters from the so-called M23 mutiny. The statement from the United States was the first time the long-standing ally of Rwandan President Paul Kagame has directly addressed the issue of the country's alleged involvement in the Congo mutiny. ... Full Story Top Spanish forest fires rage out of control near Valencia Sun,1 Jul 2012 10:27 AM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - At least two thousand people have been evacuated from Spain's popular tourist region of Valencia as the worst forest fires in more than a decade raged out of control, causing a huge cloud of ash to pour into the country's third-largest city. Media reports on Sunday said between 20,000 and 45,000 hectares (49,400 to 111,200 acres) of land had been destroyed in two forest fires around 30 kilometers (18 miles) to the west of Valencia on Spain's eastern coast. ... Full Story Top Mali Islamists destroy more holy Timbuktu sites Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:58 AM PDT Reuters - BAMAKO (Reuters) - Militants from the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine group destroyed mausoleums of Sufi saints with guns and pick-axes in the famed Mali city of Timbuktu for a second day, said witnesses on Sunday, ignoring international calls to halt the attacks. The salafist Ansar Dine backs strict sharia, Islamic law, and considers the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam in Timbuktu to be idolatrous. Sufi shrines have been attacked by hard-line Salafists in Egypt and Libya in the past year. ... Full Story Top Russians bemused as parking fines shoot up Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:37 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow city authorities increased parking fines by tenfold on Sunday to try to unclog the Russian capital's roads and pavements, to the bemusement and anger of many residents. Anarchy has ruled for years in the city centre, with double-parking increasing traffic congestion and pedestrians hardly able to use some pavements because so many cars are parked on them. But under new legislation, fines for many offences that have until now been rarely enforced rose from 300 roubles ($9. ... Full Story Top Gunman kills two outside French nightclub Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:27 AM PDT Reuters - LILLE, France (Reuters) - A man who was turned away from a nightclub in the French city of Lille returned with a gun and opened fire indiscriminately outside the building on Sunday, killing two people and wounding six others, police said. The shooting will likely lead to renewed debate about France's gun laws, which were brought into public focus by the killing of seven people in March by an Islamist gunman in Toulouse and a spate of gang murders. The Lille gunman killed a nightclub employee and a customer, both in their mid-20s, at about 3 a.m. ... Full Story Top Egypt's new president faces burden of expectation Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:26 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - If Egypt's new president, Mohamed Mursi, needs any reminder of the weight of expectations bearing down as he begins work, he can glance from a window of the presidential palace. Citizens seeking jobs, compensation from the state or clemency for jailed relatives crowded at the palace gates on Sunday, showing how Mursi's unprecedented popular mandate has raised hopes for a more responsive kind of government. "My name is Alaa Ahmed Bayoumy and I am here to ask for a higher pension," said one 52-year-old among the group mingling with palace security officials. ... Full Story Top Italy's League seeks clean slate with new leader Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:22 AM PDT Reuters - ASSAGO, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's scandal-plagued Northern League, the biggest opposition party against Prime Minister Mario Monti's technocrat government, appointed former Interior Minister Roberto Maroni as leader on Sunday to take it into elections early next year. Maroni, who steered anti-immigration measures into law as a member of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right cabinet, must now restore the image of the party hit by a corruption probe that forced founder Umberto Bossi to step down three months ago. ... Full Story Top U.S. praises EU embargo of Iranian oil, presses Tehran Sun,1 Jul 2012 09:12 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House praised the European Union for prohibiting Iranian crude oil imports into the 27-nation-bloc on Sunday and said Tehran had an opportunity in talks this week to make progress on international concerns about its nuclear program. "The United States welcomes the European Union's prohibition of all Iranian crude oil imports and other sanctions on Iran's oil industry, which go into full effect today," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement. ... Full Story Top Assad's forces on offensive; Moscow defends him again Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:52 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces swept through the corpse-strewn streets of nearly-deserted opposition districts on the outskirts of the capital on Sunday, as the conflict enters a new phase of heavier fighting near Bashar al-Assad's seat of power. Government troops also bombed and shelled other towns across the country, a day after Russian diplomats rode again to Assad's rescue, blocking language at a meeting of world powers that would have called on the president to leave power. ... Full Story Top Omanis protest in sign of renewed discontent Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:28 AM PDT Reuters - MUSCAT (Reuters) - Dozens of Omanis demanding jobs have staged peaceful protests in the industrial town of Sohar, witnesses said, in a sign of renewed discontent more than a year after waves of demonstrations died down. Western ally Oman, a small oil exporter that flanks a major crude shipping route in the Gulf, was rocked by months of protests which started in Sohar in February last year, inspired by pro-democracy revolts that toppled long-serving rulers elsewhere in the Arab world. ... Full Story Top Iraq June monthly toll one of highest since U.S. exit Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:18 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - June was one of the bloodiest months in Iraq since U.S. troops withdrew at the end of last year, with at least 237 people killed and 603 wounded mainly in bomb attacks, a tally by Reuters showed on Sunday. Official government figures put last month's toll at 131 killed and 269 wounded, although Reuters and Health Ministry casualty estimates often vary. Reuters compiled its figures based on reports from police, health and security sources. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Mexico's presidential candidates on the issues Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:11 AM PDT Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico elects 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 sector. * Simplify the tax system to reduce the size of the informal economy. ... Full Story Top Soyuz spacecraft ends mission with smooth landing Sun,1 Jul 2012 08:05 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule landed on the Kazakh steppes on Sunday, safely delivering a trio of astronauts who helped to dock the first privately owned spacecraft during a six-month stint on the International Space Station. The descent capsule, carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers, touched down with its parachute in a cloud of dust at 0814 GMT. The crew left the space station early on Sunday after serving 183 days in orbit, often sharing their experiences with the public via blogs and Twitter. ... Full Story Top Coup ousted Tunisia's Ben Ali, says ex-leader's wife Sun,1 Jul 2012 07:59 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted by an "orchestrated" coup but would be ready to face a "fair" trial in his homeland, the former president's wife said in an interview with French daily Le Parisien published on Sunday. Ben Ali, who fled with his wife to Saudi Arabia as protests swept Tunisia on January 14, 2011, has already been sentenced in his absence to decades in jail for the killing of hundreds of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began. ... Full Story Top Rising star helps SPD gain on Merkel in German poll Sun,1 Jul 2012 07:47 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's opposition Social Democrats climbed to 32 percent in an opinion poll published on Sunday, helped by a surge in popularity for a new leader, a woman who could challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in elections in 15 months' time. Hannelore Kraft, re-elected state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia in May, soared from nowhere to place third on Der Spiegel's list of 20 most popular politicians, just behind Merkel who is second only to President Joachim Gauck. ... Full Story Top Japan restarts first reactor since Fukushima crisis Sun,1 Jul 2012 07:31 AM PDT Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Kansai Electric Power Co on Sunday restarted the 1,180-megawatt No. 3 unit at its Ohi atomic plant, the utility said, Japan's first nuclear reactor to come back online since the Fukushima crisis, despite public safety concerns. The government on June 16 approved the restart of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Ohi plant to avert a potential summer power crunch, sparking street protests in cities around Japan. The No.4 unit will resume operations later this month. ... Full Story Top Deadline extended for Israel settler homes removal Sun,1 Jul 2012 07:16 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday granted the state a four-month extension to remove five apartment blocks built illegally on Palestinian-owned land in a Jewish settlement on the occupied West Bank. The court had ruled the homes, in the Ulpana neighborhood of the Beit El settlement, must be torn down by July 1. The 30 families who lived in the buildings moved out last week to nearby temporary accommodation under a deal with the government to go quietly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to construct 851 new settler homes in the West Bank. ... Full Story Top Israel cabinet OKs rise in 2013 budget deficit target Sun,1 Jul 2012 07:06 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's cabinet on Sunday approved Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz's plan to double the 2013 budget deficit target, defying a warning by the central bank that doing so could lead to eventual interest rate increases. The budget deficit target next year will be 3 percent of gross domestic product, or close to 30 billion shekels ($7.7 billion) instead of an initially proposed 1.5 percent and a ceiling of 2.5 percent the Bank of Israel had sought. The deficit target for 2012 is 2 percent but the Finance Ministry expects it to come in closer to 3.5-4 percent of GDP. ... Full Story Top

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