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| Basel III delinquents may face sanctions: G20 official Sunday, Nov 04, 2012 12:31 AM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Countries may face sanctions if they fail to implement new rules aimed at safeguarding the global banking system from another financial crisis, a senior Mexican finance official said. New rules forcing banks to roughly triple the size of capital buffers they hold are set to be phased in over six years starting in January, after each country has finalized its own version. But the United States and Europe, home to most of the world's largest banks, are still at the drafting stage, prompting speculation that the Basel III timetable may be postponed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: For most voters, presidential campaign is distant Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:23 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - This year's presidential election could be among the closest in U.S. history, as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are locked in a virtual dead heat. For a growing number of voters, however, it will not be much of a contest at all. Roughly 22 percent of the U.S. population lives in the nine politically divided states that are likely to determine the outcome of Tuesday's election - and that have been the focus of the candidates' campaign stops and advertising. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cold hits storm victims ahead of election Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:12 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Victims of superstorm Sandy on the East Coast struggled against the cold on Sunday amid fuel shortages and power outages, two days ahead of an election that polls suggest is a dead heat between President Barack Obama and his Republican rival. Fuel supplies were rumbling toward disaster zones and a million customers regained electricity as near-freezing temperatures descended on the U.S. Northeast overnight. But New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned the city that it would be days before power was fully restored and fuel shortages ended. ... Full Story | Top |
| Explosion at Benghazi police station injures three Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 09:25 PM PDT BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded on Sunday in front of a police station in Benghazi, injuring three police officers in the latest in a series of attacks on security officials in Libya's largest city. The front of the central Hadayeq police station was charred and blackened with smoke. The entrance to the station was completely damaged, with glass strewn on the street and firefighters putting out a damaged police car that was on fire. A Reuters photographer saw three policemen receive first aid for small injuries in front of the station. ... Full Story | Top |
| Romney, Obama converge on Iowa in late scramble for votes Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 08:37 PM PDT  DUBUQUE, Iowa (Reuters) - The presidential race, which has hinged for months on a handful of states, converged on one city in Iowa on Saturday as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney each made a last-minute appeal for support before Tuesday's election. With the race in a dead heat nationally, both candidates touched down briefly in Dubuque, a Mississippi River city of 58,000 people, as they sprinted across the country in a bid to secure any possible advantage before Election Day. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy skipper fired over drunken misconduct in Russia Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 06:52 PM PDT (Reuters) - The skipper of a U.S. Navy frigate and three officers were fired on Saturday after an investigation found they had engaged in drunken behavior and misconduct during a recent port visit in Russia, the Navy said. Commander Joseph R. Darlak was relieved of command of the USS Vandegrift in Guam after an investigation determined that several of the ship's officers had been drunk and disorderly during a visit to the Russian port of Vladivostok in September, a spokeswoman said. ... Full Story | Top |
| By email or in a tent: a scramble to get Sandy victims to vote Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 06:28 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Jersey is allowing voters displaced by superstorm Sandy to vote by email, while some voters in New York could be casting their ballots in tents in an 11th-hour scramble to ensure voting in Tuesday's elections. With power still out for more than a million homes and businesses and scores of polling stations rendered useless by a record surge of seawater in New York and New Jersey, authorities face unprecedented challenges in pulling off Election Day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico finance minister urges fiscal stimulus from able G20 nations Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 06:23 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - G20 countries that are able to provide fiscal stimulus should do so to support growth, Mexican Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade said on Saturday. Other countries need to focus on grappling with their deficits, and all G20 nations should coordinate their fiscal policies, Meade told reporters. "Each country has to find the best policy based on its own limitations, its own reality," Meade said. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sign of Basel III timing change request: Mexico official Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 06:15 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - There has been no discussion about putting back the start date for new rules of bank capital buffers in the lead-up to this weekend's G20 meeting, a senior Mexican Finance Ministry official told Reuters on Saturday. U.S. and European financial officials are likely to come under pressure from peers when they meet in Mexico City for dragging their feet on implementing the so-called Basel III accords, the world's response to the 2007-09 financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| No power and soaked with oil, Bayonne's Avenue F residents cope Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 05:40 PM PDT BAYONNE, New Jersey (Reuters) - In the shadow of the huge tanks where oil companies have stored their gasoline for decades, residents of gritty Bayonne, New Jersey, watched in horror as Sandy's winds and rain brought more than water into their homes. "I've been living here for 30 years and we have had water, but never oil," said Rose Trombetto, who has survived many other storm surges. "I'm heartbroken." First the power went out Monday night, she said. ... Full Story | Top |
| On Staten Island, the slow, cold, pace of recovery Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 05:01 PM PDT  STATEN ISLAND, New York (Reuters) - Six days after Sandy battered Staten Island's coast, some people are realizing that the massive storm's 20-foot (6-metre) waves and 14-foot (4.2-metre) surge changed the landscape of their lives for good. For many residents of this hard-hit area, Saturday was the new normal: another day consumed by the arduous task of cleaning up the damage left behind, and planning for a way to stay warm come nightfall. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. disaster relief in a race against freezing cold Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 04:33 PM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fuel supplies headed toward disaster zones in the U.S. Northeast on Saturday and a million customers regained electricity as near freezing temperatures threatened to add to the misery of coastal communities devastated by superstorm Sandy. The power restorations relit the skyline in Lower Manhattan for the first time in nearly a week and allowed 80 percent of the New York City subway service to resume, but more than a million homes and businesses still lacked power, down from 3.5 million on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrats need stronger Illinois showing to retake U.S. House Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 04:12 PM PDT ROMEOVILLE, Illinois (Reuters) - Democrats appear unlikely to regain a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday despite a nationwide push, and a major reason could be disappointment in President Barack Obama's home state. In Illinois, Democrats began this election year determined to reverse a Republican gain of four U.S. House seats in 2010 that gave them a majority of the Illinois delegation in a state considered solidly Democratic. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fight over campaign donation audit goes to California top court Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 03:57 PM PDT (Reuters) - California's top court will decide whether a state campaign finance regulatory agency can audit a last-minute $11 million out-of-state donation to a political action committee by a group of mystery donors from Arizona, the agency said on Saturday. The California Fair Political Practices Commission said California's Supreme Court was expected to rule by Monday on whether the commission can audit the donation by Arizona-based Americans for Responsible Leadership to two California ballot proposition campaigns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Women voters helped make Obama; could they break him? Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 03:11 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women helped propel Barack Obama to the White House in 2008, but their flagging enthusiasm for him reflected in recent polls has created uncertainty about who will capture the female vote in Tuesday's election. Four years ago, women voters supported Obama over Republican John McCain by 56 percent to 43 percent. Among men, the Democrat led McCain by just 49 percent to 48 percent. But women's enthusiasm for Obama as president has slipped this year, making his road to re-election more difficult. ... Full Story | Top |
| Freed Niger hostages say were not mistreated Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 03:05 PM PDT NIAMEY (Reuters) - Five African aid workers freed on Saturday after nearly three weeks as hostages in the Sahara desert said they were relieved to be back with their families in Niger and that their captors did not mistreat them. A sixth aid worker - who was also kidnapped - was shot during the abduction in central Niger on October 14 and later died of his wounds, they said. ... Full Story | Top |
| California state Democrats eye veto-proof supermajority Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 02:46 PM PDT SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - California Democrats are hoping to leverage new state electoral rules to garner a veto-proof supermajority in the state legislature come Election Day, a possibility that their Republican opponents worry could lead to tax abuses. Tuesday's general election will test the impact of a new election landscape in California thanks to redrawn political maps and an open primary system in which all candidates for each office competed on a single ballot, with the top two vote-getters going on to the election, regardless of party. ... Full Story | Top |
| NYC's Bloomberg criticizes LIPA power-restoration effort Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 02:18 PM PDT (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg lashed out on Saturday at the Long Island-based power company that serves some of New York City's outer neighborhoods for making inadequate progress restoring power to thousands of residents in the dark since superstorm Sandy struck on Monday night. At a press briefing, Bloomberg said the Long Island Power Authority, LIPA, "has not acted aggressively enough" in its power restoration efforts, particularly in bringing electricity back to the Rockaways, a series of beachfront neighborhoods devastated by the storm. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels attack air base to secure north-south corridor Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 02:11 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels attacked a military airport in the country's north on Saturday in a push to cut off Syria's biggest city Aleppo from the capital Damascus, and secure a strategic north-south corridor. President Bashar al-Assad's forces appear over-stretched with fewer fighters on the ground and have sought to limit rebel advances with far superior firepower, increasingly from the air and especially in the Aleppo and Damascus areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama and Romney tied three days before election Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 01:56 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney remain essentially tied in the race for the White House with razor thin margins in four key swing states, according to a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Saturday. Three days before the November 6 election, both men are neck and neck in Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Colorado, the poll showed. Nationally, the electorate is divided. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kuwait warns against unlicensed protest planned for Sunday Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 01:43 PM PDT KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait said on Saturday it had not issued a permit to allow a planned protest against new voting rules and the prime minister warned police would use force if the nation was under threat. Kuwait outlawed unauthorized gatherings of more than 20 people last month after an opposition-led demonstration by thousands ended in clashes between protesters and police in which at least 30 people were taken to hospital. Although OPEC member and U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel: Three Syria tanks enter Golan demilitarized zone Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 01:40 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria on Saturday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. "The Israeli Defense Forces have filed a complaint with the U.N. (peacekeeping) force in the area," the spokeswoman said. She had no further information on what the tanks were doing. Israeli media said the tanks were involved in fighting in the Syrian village of Beer Ajam against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| N.J.'s Christie opens offices for early voting; paper ballots ready Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 01:13 PM PDT  (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Saturday said he has ordered county clerks to open their offices on Saturday and Sunday to allow early voting for residents affected by superstorm Sandy. The storm devastated the eastern part of the state, leaving at least 22 dead and more than 1 million customers still without power just three days before the presidential election on Nov 6. Christie said New Jersey residents could get their early voting done over the weekend at the county clerk's office because he ordered the offices to stay open in every county in the state over the weekend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Activists rally to end prison torture in Egypt Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 12:39 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - About 1,000 activists rallied in Cairo on Saturday demanding an end to brutality in Egyptian prisons and calling for a ban on torture in the new constitution. Islamist president Mohamed Mursi was elected in June following 16 months of rule by the army council that took over after Hosni Mubarak's overthrow last year. During the council's rule, some 12,000 civilians were tried by army courts and many of them were tortured in prisons, according to rights groups. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel's Peres welcomes "courageous" words from Abbas Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 12:26 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres hailed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a courageous partner for peace on Saturday after the Palestinian leader made clear his support for a two-state solution to the decades old conflict with Israel. In an interview with Israeli television broadcast this week, the Western-backed Abbas also hinted that Palestinians who, prior to the 1948 establishment of the Jewish state lived on lands that are now in Israel, do not have a right to return there, comments that sparked an outcry from his Islamist rivals. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, in Ohio, launches final hectic weekend of campaigning Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 12:24 PM PDT  MENTOR, Ohio (Reuters) - President Barack Obama touted his administration's auto industry bailout in the U.S. industrial heartland on Saturday as he launched a final hectic weekend of campaigning in states critical to winning next week's closely fought election. With just three days left before voters go to the polls, Obama used yet another stop in Ohio, a state that relies heavily on the auto industry, to hammer at Republican challenger Mitt Romney's earlier opposition to the government-orchestrated rescue. ... Full Story | Top |
| As campaign roars to close, Romney and Obama talk "revenge" Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 12:23 PM PDT DUBUQUE, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney on Saturday scolded U.S. President Barack Obama for encouraging his supporters to get "revenge" at polling stations, as both men fought for an edge in the razor-thin election. Three days before Tuesday's Election Day, Romney added a line to his stump speech criticizing the Democratic incumbent for using the word in an unscripted remark during a speech on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Somalia wants Ugandan troops to remain Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 11:23 AM PDT KAMPALA/MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's prime minister said on Saturday that it could be a challenge for his country if Uganda followed through on a threat to withdraw troops fighting Islamist rebels in southern Somalia. Uganda's foreign affairs ministry said earlier that it would withdraw from peace keeping initiatives in Africa unless the United Nations amended a report accusing it of supporting rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Paul Ryan, Republican vice presidential candidate Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - Representative Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate in the 2012 election, is a "young gun" out of the Republican Party's more conservative wing. Here are key facts about Ryan. - Ryan, 42, a rising star among the fiscal conservatives who dominate the Republican Party, has served seven terms in the House of Representatives since first being elected in 1998 on a platform opposing tax hikes and espousing gun rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is pursuing the White House for the second time. Here are key facts about him. - Romney, 65, espouses traditional Republican positions to cut taxes, reduce federal regulations, shrink government spending and bolster the U.S. military. He vows to create 12 million new jobs in his first term with a plan focused on domestic energy development, expanded free trade, improving education, reducing the deficit and championing small business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: How the Electoral College works Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - The Electoral College was established in the Constitution as a compromise between electing a president by a vote in Congress and by popular vote of citizens. Here are some facts about the Electoral College: * The Electoral College, which is not a place but a process, consists of 538 electors. To win the presidency, a candidate must win at least 270 electors. * The number of electors equals the number of lawmakers in Congress - 435 in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate, plus three for the District of Columbia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Obama, Romney solutions to stimulating the economy Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - The health of the U.S. economy has been central to the campaign for the White House, with both President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney seeking to convince voters they have a plan to usher in faster growth and job creation. The economy has struggled to break above a 2 percent annual growth pace since the 2007-09 recession and unemployment remains uncomfortably high at 7.9 percent. About 23 million Americans are either unemployed, working only part-time although wanting full-time work, or want a job but have given up the search. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Vice President Joe Biden Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:28 AM PDT (Reuters) - Joe Biden spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate, served four years as Barack Obama's vice president and twice ran unsuccessfully for president. His chatty, off-the-cuff nature led to some memorable gaffes. Here are some key facts about Biden. - Biden, 69, grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, in a middle-class family. Occasional financial hardships while he was young gave him a good ear for the concerns of blue-collar workers. ... Full Story | Top |
| French Church says gay marriage law just for the few Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 10:05 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's leading Roman Catholic prelate said on Saturday a government plan to legalize same-sex marriage would profoundly affect the equilibrium of French society, calling it a reform for a few but not all citizens. Speaking in the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois urged Catholics to show their opposition to a planned marriage reform by writing and speaking to their elected officials or taking part in protest marches. ... Full Story | Top |
| In the Badger State, divided over and baffled by Obamacare Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 09:47 AM PDT  BELOIT, Wisconsin (Reuters) - To Tim Givhan, Obamacare shouldn't be an excuse for election-year polemics: "It's a lifeline." A former IT specialist, Givhan tripped on a machine at work and landed on his head, suffering neurological damage. His employer's insurance company wouldn't pay for an operation, saying the outcome was iffy. Plagued by debilitating migraines and tremors, he quit work. His wife, an attorney, divorced him. Givhan, 49, has moved back to his mother's home in Beloit, Wisconsin. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe urges end to Myanmar killings, pledges aid Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 09:19 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on Saturday for an end to sectarian killings in Myanmar, following talks with the president of the nation which is emerging from decades of brutal military rule. In western Myanmar, 89 people have been killed in clashes between Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas, according to the latest official toll covering the last 10 days of October. Many thousands more have been displaced by the violence. "We are deeply concerned by these events and by the consequences for the reforms and democratization of the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vale partner says Guinea seeks to seize iron ore rights Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 09:15 AM PDT DAKAR/LONDON (Reuters) - The mining arm of Israeli billionaire Beny Steinmetz's business empire has accused the government of Guinea of seeking to "illegally seize" its assets through a probe into how it won rights to mine part of a major iron ore deposit. Privately owned BSG Resources, which has been working in the West African country with Brazilian mining major Vale , confirmed it had received a letter from a government commission alleging improper behavior and graft in its winning of rights to develop blocks in the Simandou region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Harper says could block other foreign investments Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 08:48 AM PDT  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in some of his toughest remarks on foreign investment yet, signaled a willingness to block foreign purchases of Canadian companies if other countries are not open to Canadian investment. Speaking on the eve of a trip to India and other parts of Asia, Harper said in an interview published in Saturday's Postmedia newspapers that Canada as a general rule welcomes foreign investment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Storm Sandy blamed for at least 110 deaths in U.S., Canada Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 08:45 AM PDT (Reuters) - Deaths in the United States and Canada blamed on Sandy, the ferocious storm that tore across the U.S. East Coast this week, rose to at least 110 on Saturday. In New York City, police said the storm took 40 lives, a reduction of one from previous reports because of what the police department called the reclassification of some deaths that occurred during and after the storm. About half the victims were on Staten Island, the borough that lies across New York Harbor from lower Manhattan. Twenty-two deaths were reported by authorities in hard-hit New Jersey, and 13 in Pennsylvania. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three Syrian tanks enter demilitarized zone in Golan: Israel Saturday, Nov 03, 2012 08:28 AM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria on Saturday, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. "The Israeli Defense Forces have filed a complaint with the U.N. (peacekeeping) force in the area," the spokeswoman said. She had no further information on what the tanks were doing. Israeli media said the tanks were involved in fighting rebels trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Israel captured the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, from Syria during a 1967 Middle East war. ... Full Story | Top |
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