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Saturday, September 29, 2012 4:03 AM PDT

Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail China seeks to discredit Bo, supporters cry foul CVR Wynnewood, Oklahoma refinery boiler blast kills worker U.S. immigration to treat same-sex partners as relatives Cuban Jewish leader says Alan Gross fit, in good spirits Republicans dump voter registration firm after fraud reports U.S. jury convicts Mexico's Gulf Cartel manager in drug case Trial of Pope Benedict's former butler to start on Saturday U.S. intelligence now says Benghazi attack "deliberate and organized" China takes islands dispute with Japan to pages of U.S. newspapers China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress Obama blocks Chinese wind farms in Oregon over security Republicans dump voter registration firm after fraud reports China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress Fed's Fisher says U.S. "drowning in unemployment" Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive Romney campaigns in Pennsylvania despite state slipping away Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences BofA pays $2.4 billion to settle claims over Merrill Pricey gasoline hits U.S. consumers, weighs on growth Samsung wins reconsideration of Galaxy Tab sales ban Syria rebels say launch "decisive battle" in Aleppo France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence Protesters, police clash in Bahrain Spain bank audit paves way for state bailout Netanyahu's Iran cartoon bomb timed to make big impact Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city Israelis see no Iran war this year after Netanyahu's speech Ex-IRS examiner charged with naming whistleblower Russian Orthodox leader defends ties with Kremlin Minneapolis workplace shooter lost job hours before rampage California man behind anti-Muslim film jailed over probation High gasoline prices lift consumer spending in August U.S. call for "cool heads" in China-Japan island dispute goes unheeded Netanyahu draws "red line" on Iran's nuclear program France's 2013 budget hikes taxes on companies, rich Obama leads Romney 49-42 percent in latest Reuters/Ipsos survey Spain's crisis budget aims at spending cuts not tax rises Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Fri,28 Sep 2012 08:42 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a show of unity on Friday on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, seeking to tone down the acrimony between the two leaders that has become an issue in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face to face with him during his U.S. visit, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli prime minister amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words over how to confront Tehran. Netanyahu used his U.N. ... Full Story Top Anti-Islam filmmaker held at Los Angeles federal jail Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:35 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California man behind an anti-Islam film that stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was being held at a federal high-rise jail in downtown Los Angeles on Friday over possible probation violations, a prison official said. Federal officials, citing safety concerns, were tight-lipped about the conditions of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula's confinement, including whether he was being held with the general population or was isolated from other inmates. ... Full Story Top China seeks to discredit Bo, supporters cry foul Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:13 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government pressed ahead on Saturday with an effort to discredit fallen politician Bo Xilai, drawing an outcry from leftist supporters of the former leadership contender in a sign of the rifts that his prosecution could inflame. ... Full Story Top CVR Wynnewood, Oklahoma refinery boiler blast kills worker Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:03 PM PDT Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - One worker was killed in a boiler explosion on Friday at CVR Energy Inc.'s 70,000 barrel per day (bpd) Wynnewood, Oklahoma, refinery, a company spokeswoman said in a statement. Another refinery employee was taken to an Oklahoma City hospital, according to Garvin County Sheriff Larry Rhodes. There was no fire following the blast, which occurred at about 6:20 p.m. local time (1120 GMT) because the refinery was shut down for a 40-day overhaul, Rhodes said. "There was no threat to Wynnewood or the surrounding communities," Rhodes said. ... Full Story Top U.S. immigration to treat same-sex partners as relatives Fri,28 Sep 2012 08:43 PM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Obama administration has directed immigration officials to recognize same-sex partners as family members in deportation cases, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Friday. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told Pelosi in a letter that she had ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to notify its field offices "that the interpretation of the phrase 'family relationships' includes long-term, same-sex partners." Pelosi welcomed the federal recognition of gay and lesbian couples. ... Full Story Top Cuban Jewish leader says Alan Gross fit, in good spirits Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:20 PM PDT Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - A Cuban Jewish leader said U.S. contractor Alan Gross looked fit and in good spirits when she visited him at the military hospital where he is serving a 15-year prison sentence for crimes against the state. Adela Dworin, president of the Hebrew Community of Cuba, told Reuters that Gross, 63, was "very depressed" when she last saw him in May, but this time was smiling and more hopeful about the future. Her description of Gross conflicted with that given by his wife, Judy Gross, who said after a recent visit she was "devastated" by his appearance. ... Full Story Top Republicans dump voter registration firm after fraud reports Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:28 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Election officials in Florida were scouring their records for fraudulent voter registration forms on Friday after the Republican Party said it had fired a company hired to gather new voters because of reports its employees may have submitted bogus forms. The Palm Beach County elections office first reported finding 106 potentially fraudulent registration forms earlier this week that had been submitted by Strategic Allied Consulting (SAC), a Virginia firm hired by Florida's Republican Party. ... Full Story Top U.S. jury convicts Mexico's Gulf Cartel manager in drug case Fri,28 Sep 2012 08:12 PM PDT Reuters - McAllen, Texas (Reuters) - A U.S. federal jury on Friday convicted a high-ranking member of Mexico's Gulf Cartel of conspiring to possess and import marijuana and cocaine to the United States, the latest blow to Mexican drug bosses in recent weeks. Juan Roberto Rincon-Rincon, a so-called plaza boss for the cartel, was convicted on all counts in the drug trafficking conspiracy case following a week-long trial in Brownsville, Texas, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said. ... Full Story Top Trial of Pope Benedict's former butler to start on Saturday Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:01 PM PDT Reuters - VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, goes on trial on Saturday in one of the most embarrassing episodes in recent Vatican history. The trial of the 46-year-old man who served the pope his meals and helped him dress is due to start at 9:30 a.m. (4.30 p.m. EDT) in the Vatican's little-used tribunal, a small room with rich paneled wood and a papal emblem on its ceiling. ... Full Story Top U.S. intelligence now says Benghazi attack "deliberate and organized" Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:25 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. intelligence authority issued an unusual public statement on Friday declaring it now believed the September 11 attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, was a "deliberate and organized terrorist attack." The statement by the office of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged that it represented a change in the U.S. intelligence assessment of how and why the attack happened. During the attack on two U.S. government compounds in the eastern Libyan city, four U.S. ... Full Story Top China takes islands dispute with Japan to pages of U.S. newspapers Fri,28 Sep 2012 05:45 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - With world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, China has taken its dispute with Japan over the ownership of a chain of islands to the ad pages of major American newspapers. China Daily, an organ of the Communist Party and the country's official English-language daily newspaper, took out full-page-spread advertisements on Friday in the New York Times and the Washington Post. The ad's headline asserts "Diaoyu Islands Belong to China" over a color picture of the string of islands in the East China Sea. ... Full Story Top China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:11 PM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party accused disgraced politician Bo Xilai of abusing power, taking huge bribes and other crimes on Friday, sealing the fate of a controversial leader whose fall shook a leadership handover due at a congress from November 8. The once high-flying Bo now faces a criminal investigation that stemmed from a murder scandal, and will almost certainly be jailed. With the Communist Party congress about six weeks away, further steps in the case could come before then, helping pave the way for a transition of power, experts said. ... Full Story Top Obama blocks Chinese wind farms in Oregon over security Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:15 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama blocked on Friday a privately owned Chinese company from building wind turbines close to a Navy military site in Oregon due to national security concerns, and the company said it would challenge the action in court. The rare presidential order to divest interests in the wind farms comes as Obama campaigns for a second term against Republican Mitt Romney, who has accused him of being soft on China. ... Full Story Top Republicans dump voter registration firm after fraud reports Fri,28 Sep 2012 02:30 PM PDT Reuters - MIAMI (Reuters) - Election officials in Florida were scouring their records for fraudulent voter registration forms on Friday after the Republican party said it had fired a company hired to gather new voters because of reports its employees may have submitted bogus forms. The Palm Beach County elections office first reported finding 106 potentially fraudulent registration forms earlier this week that had been submitted by Strategic Allied Consulting (SAC), a Virginia firm hired by Florida's Republican party. ... Full Story Top China seals Bo's fate ahead of November 8 leadership congress Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:45 AM PDT Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party accused disgraced politician Bo Xilai of abusing power, taking huge bribes and other crimes on Friday, sealing the fate of a controversial leader whose fall shook a leadership handover due at a congress from November 8. The once high-flying Bo now faces a criminal investigation that stemmed from a murder scandal, and will almost certainly be jailed. With the Communist Party congress about six weeks away, further steps in the case could come before then, helping pave the way for a transition of power, experts said. ... Full Story Top Fed's Fisher says U.S. "drowning in unemployment" Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT Reuters - RICHARDSON, Texas (Reuters) - The United States is "drowning in unemployment," its economy is running at stall speed and inflation is "not a problem," but easier monetary policy is not the answer, one of the Federal Reserve's most hawkish policymakers said on Friday. "We've had a recovery that is quite disappointing," Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher told a group at the University of Texas at Dallas. But without more certainty on tax policy and regulation, he said, "all the monetary accommodation in the world" will not get businesses hiring again. ... Full Story Top Syria rebels struggle to advance in Aleppo offensive Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:53 PM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they were struggling to make headway against a barrage of government jet and artillery attacks in their latest attempt to take control of the country's largest city Aleppo after weeks of deadlock. On the second day of an offensive they had billed as a "decisive battle", rebels also threatened to start fighting local Kurdish militants - a move which would further complicate a war that has already spilled over Syria's borders. ... Full Story Top Romney campaigns in Pennsylvania despite state slipping away Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:16 AM PDT Reuters - PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Republican candidate Mitt Romney raised money and slammed President Barack Obama's Middle East policy on Friday in a rare campaign appearance in Pennsylvania, a former swing state that he admitted was now difficult for him to win on November 6. Once highly competitive, Pennsylvania has been tilting toward Obama for months and he leads polls by around eight percentage points. Romney's campaign is now fighting to make sure battleground states like Ohio and Virginia do not go the way of Pennsylvania, as Obama opens a lead in national and some state polls. ... Full Story Top Obama, Netanyahu seek to get past Iran differences Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a show of unity on Friday on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, seeking to tone down the acrimony between the two leaders that has become an issue in the final stretch of the U.S. presidential race. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face to face with him during his U.S. visit, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli prime minister amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words over how to confront Tehran. Netanyahu used his U.N. ... Full Story Top BofA pays $2.4 billion to settle claims over Merrill Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:04 PM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp agreed on Friday to pay $2.43 billion to settle claims it hid crucial information from shareholders when it bought investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co at the height of the financial crisis. The settlement, among the biggest of its kind to stem from the 2008 meltdown, underscores how Bank of America is still suffering from decisions it made during the crisis, even as competitors are moving on. The second largest U.S. ... Full Story Top Pricey gasoline hits U.S. consumers, weighs on growth Fri,28 Sep 2012 01:31 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. households stretched to pay for costlier gasoline on meager income growth in August, undercutting spending on other items and pointing to lackluster economic growth. Other data on Friday showed factory activity in the Midwest contracted this month for the first time in three years. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.5 percent last month after gaining 0.4 percent in July. The increase was the largest in six months, but it reflected a rise in gasoline costs that pushed inflation up by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years. ... Full Story Top Samsung wins reconsideration of Galaxy Tab sales ban Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:57 AM PDT Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court ruled on Friday that a lower court should reconsider a sales ban against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 won by Apple in a patent dispute with the South Korean electronics maker. The injunction was put in place ahead of a month-long trial that pitted iPhone maker Apple Inc against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in a closely watched legal battle that ended with a resounding victory for Apple last month on many of its patent violation claims. ... Full Story Top Syria rebels say launch "decisive battle" in Aleppo Fri,28 Sep 2012 02:18 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels said they had launched a major attack in Aleppo on Thursday at the start of a "decisive battle" to push President Bashar al-Assad's forces out of the country's biggest city. Heavy fighting was reported in around 14 districts by opposition activists and several rebel brigades, though the scale of the fighting could not be confirmed independently. A video posted on YouTube by rebels showed Abdulqadir al-Saleh, the head of the biggest rebel force in Aleppo, the Tawheed Brigade, carrying a walkie talkie and announcing the start of the assault. ... Full Story Top France unveils tough budget, Spain's Rajoy wins time Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:37 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) - France unveiled an austerity budget that would tax business and the super rich, but a report showing Spain's banks needed a manageable 59 billion euros in new funds bought time for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he seeks to avoid a bailout. Socialist President Francois Hollande's 2013 budget amounts to France's toughest belt-tightening for 30 years as the debt crisis takes its toll on the euro zone. The package aims to narrow France's deficit to 3.0 percent of national output next year from 4. ... Full Story Top Mosques discourage Libya demos to avert violence Fri,28 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Mosque preachers told Libyans on Friday to call off planned demonstrations against militia groups for fear marches could lead to renewed bloodshed. Despite the discouragement, some 400 anti-militia protesters nonetheless gathered in Tripoli's Algeria Square and marched across to the main Martyr's Square, chanting and clapping. The mufti of Libya, Sadeq al-Gharyani, had said in a statement published by LANA news agency that protests called for Friday should be halted. "I call on the people not to participate in this march so that no blood is spilled," he said. ... Full Story Top Protesters, police clash in Bahrain Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:30 AM PDT Reuters - ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Around one hundred anti-government protesters threw stones and petrol bombs as riot police tried to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades in Bahrain on Friday, witnesses said, after an earlier demonstration attended by thousands passed peacefully. At least two protesters were injured in the clashes, the witnesses said, which took place after a march near the capital Manama, which had been called for by main opposition bloc al-Wefaq and was authorized by the Bahraini authorities. Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. ... Full Story Top Spain bank audit paves way for state bailout Fri,28 Sep 2012 12:27 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish banks will need a total of 59.3 billion euros ($76.3 billion) in extra capital to ride out a serious economic downturn, an independent report said on Friday, removing a major obstacle in the way of an international bailout for Madrid. Spain said around 40 billion euros of the total will come as European aid while the rest could be raised by the banks themselves. ... Full Story Top Netanyahu's Iran cartoon bomb timed to make big impact Fri,28 Sep 2012 09:38 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - The "Bibi bomb" was born of days of discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a brains trust of close advisers on how to make a powerful impact in yet another speech on Iran's nuclear program. "The diagram made his address special," a senior official in Netanyahu's entourage said on Friday about the cartoonish drawing of a bomb the Israeli leader, who is nicknamed "Bibi," used at the U.N. General Assembly as a prop to illustrate what he sees as Iran's drive for an atomic weapon. ... Full Story Top Kenya troops fight on beaches in assault on Somali rebel city Fri,28 Sep 2012 10:16 AM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Kenyan troops attacked the Somali port city of Kismayu on Friday, seeking to drive al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militants from their last major stronghold and end a five-year rebellion. The loss of the southern port would deal a huge blow to al Shabaab as it is a lucrative source of revenue and a centre for operations over areas it has controlled in Somalia since 2007, but by nightfall, it was not clear who was in control. Residents said shelling had subsided after earlier fighting near a beach just outside Kismayu. ... Full Story Top Israelis see no Iran war this year after Netanyahu's speech Fri,28 Sep 2012 08:12 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's U.N. speech about Iranian nuclear advances has dampened speculation in Israel that he could order a war this year. Analyzing Thursday's address in which Netanyahu literally drew a "red line" on a cartoon bomb to show how close Iran was to building nuclear weaponry, commentators saw his deadline for any military action falling in early or mid-2013, well after U.S. elections in November and a possible snap Israeli poll. "The 'decisive year' of 2012 will pass without decisiveness," wrote Ofer Shelah of Maariv newspaper on Friday. ... Full Story Top Ex-IRS examiner charged with naming whistleblower Fri,28 Sep 2012 07:20 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. Internal Revenue Service examiner was arrested on Thursday and charged with exposing an IRS whistleblower and interfering with the audit of an international bank, said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Dennis Lerner, 59, was arrested at his home in Edgewater, New Jersey, and appeared before a judge in Manhattan, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Lerner was charged with violating federal conflict of interest laws and improperly disclosing confidential IRS information. He could face up to 20 years in prison. ... Full Story Top Russian Orthodox leader defends ties with Kremlin Fri,28 Sep 2012 04:58 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church on Friday rejected criticism of his increasingly strong relationship with President Vladimir Putin, saying that close ties between the church and state were good for society. Opposition groups, and some Russian Orthodox believers, have voiced concern about the Church's closeness to the state in a debate fuelled by the two-year jail terms given last month to three members of the Pussy Riot punk band who protested in a Moscow cathedral. ... Full Story Top Minneapolis workplace shooter lost job hours before rampage Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:49 PM PDT Reuters - MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Police identified on Friday the disgruntled former employee who killed five people and took his own life in a shooting rampage at a Minneapolis sign company from which he had been fired. Hours after losing his job on Thursday, the 36-year-old gunman, Andrew Engeldinger, entered Accent Signage Systems Inc. through a loading dock door with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and began firing, police said. Some of his victims were likely targeted. ... Full Story Top California man behind anti-Muslim film jailed over probation Thu,27 Sep 2012 09:44 PM PDT Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An Egyptian-American man behind an anti-Islam film that has stoked violent protests across the Muslim world was arrested on Thursday in California for allegedly violating his probation, and a federal judge ordered him jailed without bond. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, was taken into custody at an undisclosed location by U.S. marshals and brought to court in Los Angeles still wearing his street clothes but handcuffed and shackled at the waist. ... Full Story Top High gasoline prices lift consumer spending in August Fri,28 Sep 2012 06:04 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending rose in August by the most in six months as households stretched to pay for higher gasoline prices, according to a government report on Friday that pointed to lackluster economic growth in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said consumer spending increased 0.5 percent after an unrevised 0.4 percent gain in July. Last month's rise was in line with economists' expectations. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and the second straight month of increase mostly reflected higher gasoline prices, which rose 28. ... Full Story Top U.S. call for "cool heads" in China-Japan island dispute goes unheeded Fri,28 Sep 2012 12:54 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged China and Japan on Thursday to let "cool heads" prevail in a festering dispute over a cluster of East China Sea islands, but hours later Chinese and Japanese diplomats traded barbs at the United Nations. Clinton met Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of this week's U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York and said it was important to ratchet down the quarrel over the islands that has soured ties between Asia's two largest economies, a senior State Department official said. ... Full Story Top Netanyahu draws "red line" on Iran's nuclear program Thu,27 Sep 2012 08:31 PM PDT Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew a "red line" for Iran's nuclear program on Thursday despite a U.S. refusal to set an ultimatum, saying Tehran will be on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon in less than a year. By citing a time frame in an address to the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu - who has clashed with President Barack Obama over the urgency of military action against Iran - appeared to suggest no Israeli attack was imminent before the November 6 U.S. presidential election. ... Full Story Top France's 2013 budget hikes taxes on companies, rich Fri,28 Sep 2012 03:35 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - France's draft 2013 budget imposed a total of roughly 20 billion euros in new taxes on large companies and wealthy households, including hikes in taxation on dividend income and reductions in the tax deductibility of interest payments. The budget, approved by France's cabinet on Friday, said that the creation of a new 75 percent tax on millionaires and higher marginal tax rates on high earners would raise some 530 million euros next year. The lowering of the threshold for wealth tax on individuals would raise a further 1 billion euros. ... Full Story Top Obama leads Romney 49-42 percent in latest Reuters/Ipsos survey Thu,27 Sep 2012 12:02 PM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama maintains a lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney with 40 days left until the November 6 election, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll said on Thursday. The daily tracking poll said Obama had 49 percent support to 42 percent for Romney among likely voters. Ipsos interviewed 1,194 registered voters online for the survey. The result showed the race basically holding where it has been for days with Obama enjoying an advantage over the former Massachusetts governor. ... Full Story Top Spain's crisis budget aims at spending cuts not tax rises Thu,27 Sep 2012 03:08 PM PDT Reuters - MADRID (Reuters) - Spain announced a crisis budget for 2013 based mostly on spending cuts on Thursday in what many see as an effort to pre-empt the likely conditions of an international bailout. Ministry budgets were slashed by 8.9 percent for next year and public sector wages frozen for a third year as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy battles to trim one of the euro zone's biggest deficits. "This is a crisis budget aimed at emerging from the crisis ... ... Full Story Top

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