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| In communist Cuba, the tax man cometh Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 11:06 PM PST HAVANA (Reuters) - Most Cubans have not paid taxes for half a century, but that will change under a new code starting January 1. The landmark regulations will change the relations of Cubans with their government and are a signal that market-oriented reforms, launched since President Raul Castro succeeded his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008, are here to stay. The recently published code constitutes the first comprehensive taxation in Cuba since the 1959 revolution abolished just about all taxes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Explosions in Syrian capital Damascus, casualties reported Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 11:01 PM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two explosions struck the eastern Damascus district of Jaramana on Wednesday and casualties were reported, activists and Syrian media said. Addounia television broadcast footage of firemen hosing down the blackened and charred hulks of two vehicles after what it described as "terrorist explosions". It said there had been deaths and injuries, without giving numbers. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition group which has monitored the violence since Syria's uprising erupted 20 months ago, said the blasts were caused by two car bombs. (Editing by Pravin Char) Full Story | Top |
| Syria launches air strikes as combat rages in Damascus Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:59 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian war planes attacked towns in the country's north and east and killed at least five civilians in a strike on an olive oil press as fighting raged in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, opposition activists said. The latest fighting follows recent battlefield gains by the rebels in their struggle to topple President Bashar al-Assad, but it is far from clear if a strategic breakthrough is likely. More than 90 people were killed on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Confusing hard and soft power in emerging markets Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:54 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Deserting debt-laden, recession-racked North Atlantic and Japan for the fast-growing emerging market world may have been irresistible for some investors but many others still remain timid. Why? It may be a case of "hard power" versus "soft power". If investment decisions hinged solely on the former - measured by raw data such as economic output, population size and military spending - then convergence between rich and developing nation blocs is nigh on complete. ... Full Story | Top |
| China considers easing family planning rules Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:34 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - China is mulling changes to its one-child policy, a former family planning official said, with government advisory bodies drafting proposals in the face of a rapidly ageing society in the world's most populous nation. Proposed changes would allow for urban couples to have a second child, even if one of the parents is themselves not an only child, the China Daily cited Zhang Weiqing, the former head of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, as saying on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Nowotny says Greek debt deal best option Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:24 PM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - A debt compromise agreed to unlock aid for Greece was a good one, removing the danger that lenders would have to take a haircut, European Central Bank policymaker Ewald Nowotny said. "I believe in such a difficult situation as we see in Greece there are no ideal solutions but it is probably a solution that is better than all alternatives," Nowotny told Austrian ORF radio in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. "The debt haircut is off the table. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB ready for bond purchases if conditions met: Coeure Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:15 PM PST HONG KONG (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is ready to buy sovereign bonds of euro zone countries that require assistance and agree to fiscal adjustment programs, European Central Bank Executive Board member Benoit Coeure said on Wednesday. The launch of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) bond-buying program has helped calm financial markets and bring down sovereign bond spreads for troubled countries, including Spain -- which the markets expects will seek a bailout. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece, markets satisfied by EU-IMF Greek debt deal Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 10:15 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans. The deal, clinched at the third attempt after weeks of wrangling, removes the biggest risk of a sovereign default in the euro zone for now, ensuring the near-bankrupt country will stay afloat at least until after a 2013 German general election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill 10 at bar in Nigeria village Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:18 PM PST JOS (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire on an outdoor bar in a village in Nigeria's volatile Plateau state, killing 10 people and wounding several others, the military and witnesses said on Tuesday. The attack happened in the remote village of Heipang late on Monday, a military spokesman for Plateau state Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha said. "The gunmen opened fire indiscriminately on customers and killing eight on the spot while two others died later as a result of the gunshot wounds they sustained," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigerian privatisation chief sacked amid power sell-off Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:15 PM PST  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked the head of the privatisation agency, the vice president's office said on Tuesday, a week after a mix-up over a major contract in a power sector sell-off. No reason was given for the dismissal of the head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Bolanle Onogoruwa, in the statement from the office of Vice President Namadi Sambo, who is also the head of BPE's governing body. Nigeria is in the middle of privatising the bulk of its electricity sector, but the huge sums of money involved have fuelled months of political infighting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan says to resume security talks with South Sudan next week Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:12 PM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan will resume talks with South Sudan next week to discuss how to set up a demilitarised border zone, a condition for resuming southern oil exports through the north, state news agency SUNA said on Tuesday. In September, the neighbours agreed to end hostilities and revive oil exports after coming close to war in April, the worst violence since South Sudan seceded last year. Juba had shut down in January its oil production of 350,000 barrels a day after tensions over pipeline fees escalated. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Libyan foreign minister wins integrity appeal Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:11 PM PST  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's proposed foreign minister was cleared to take office by an Integrity Commission on Tuesday after some members od parliament questioned how close the former ambassador to the United States had been to ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. Ali Aujali was among eight of the 27 ministers nominated by Prime Minister Ali Zeidan who were referred to the commission, which studies the backgrounds of public officials, after protests outside congress over the make up of the cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| World Bank approves $500 million loan for Tunisia Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank on Tuesday approved a $500 million loan to Tunisia to help it recover from the Arab Spring uprising that toppled the former regime, with another $700 million loan coming from other donors. The loan, the World Bank's second since the revolution, aims to support Tunisia's economic recovery by providing funds to improve the business and financial sectors and reform social services, which are vital for reducing inequality. The World Bank said the European Union and the African Development Bank are giving a further $700 million to support Tunisia's transition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Seven killed as Nigeria gunmen rob banks and attack police Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:06 PM PST ONITSHA, Nigeria (Reuters) - - Bank robbers armed with assault rifles and high explosives attacked four banks and two police stations in southern Nigeria, in a coordinated strike that left seven people dead, police said on Tuesday. It was the latest in a spate of security lapses in Nigeria in the past two days, after a suicide bombing by suspected Islamists inside a military barracks on Sunday and a jail break in the capital Abuja in the early hours of Monday. The attack took place late on Monday night in the remote town of Auchi, in Edo state. ... Full Story | Top |
| S.Africa's Shanduka takes $335 mln stake in MTN Nigeria Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:04 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Shanduka Group, the investment firm run by South African politician and millionaire Cyril Ramaphosa, has paid $335 million for a stake in MTN's Nigerian business, its biggest investment outside its home market. Shanduka, which is 25 percent owned by China's sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement it had acquired a minority stake in MTN Nigeria from three private investors. It did not give further details about the deal. MTN Nigeria is the largest subsidiary of MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile operator. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptians challenge Mursi in nationwide protests Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:02 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians rallied on Tuesday against President Mohamed Mursi in one of the biggest outpourings of protest since Hosni Mubarak's overthrow, accusing the Islamist leader of seeking to impose a new era of autocracy. Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths in streets near the main protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square, heart of the uprising that toppled Mubarak last year. Clashes between Mursi's opponents and supporters erupted in a city north of Cairo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mauritania gets next tranche under IMF aid program Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 09:00 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mauritania received its next chunk of aid from the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday, part of a three-year program meant to support the African economy after years of political instability, food price shocks and the global recession. The IMF's disbursement, totaling $16.9 million, signals Mauritania is on track with the conditions of its loan, including phasing-out subsidies and reforming the labor market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels say will withdraw from Goma Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 08:58 PM PST  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday they would pull out of the eastern city of Goma in an apparent stalling of their drive to "liberate" the whole country. The situation on the ground remained far from clear after the rebels' political and military leaders gave conflicting statements over their intentions, though U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said in New York "there were indications tonight that possibly the M23 elements were starting to withdraw. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona Representative Ron Barber says recovering after minor cancer surgery Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 08:07 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - Democratic Representative Ron Barber, a former aide to Gabrielle Giffords who was wounded alongside her in a deadly 2011 shooting, said on Tuesday he is recovering after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his tongue. Barber, 67, beat Republican rival Martha McSally by a slender margin in the November 6 election to represent southeast Arizona in the state's redrawn 2nd Congressional District. Barber's office said he learned of the tumor on November 13. He underwent surgery on Monday to remove the growth, and is expected to return to work in Washington next week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Evans wants more easing, Fisher wants limits Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:50 PM PST  TORONTO/BERLIN (Reuters) - Deep divisions at the Federal Reserve were on display on Tuesday, just two weeks before the U.S. central bank's next policy-setting meeting, with one top Fed official pushing for more easing, and another advocating limits. The divide underscores the hurdles Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke faces as he tries to win consensus among his fellow policymakers on the central bank's sometimes controversial efforts to bring down the nation's lofty unemployment rate, which registered 7.9 percent last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC's Walter may take similar path to ally Schapiro Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the past four years, Elisse Walter stood out at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for her deep loyalty to SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro. Now the veteran regulator and SEC commissioner - one of two Democrats on the SEC - is moving to the fore at the powerful agency, taking over the chairmanship after Schapiro steps down next month. The promotion is prompting regulatory watchers to talk about whether Walter will blaze her own path. ... Full Story | Top |
| Majority of Britons want press watchdog backed by law: poll Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:47 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - More than two-thirds of Britons are in favor of an independent press regulator established by law, according to an opinion poll published in the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, a day before a judge is expected to issue a report on problems in the industry. The poll found that 79 percent of Britons surveyed want the government to introduce legislation to create an independent press regulator. Only 9 percent oppose tough measures regulating the press. ... Full Story | Top |
| Infected and unaware: HIV hitting America's youth Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:43 PM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - More than half of young people in the United States who are infected with HIV are not aware of it, according to a report by government health officials that zeroes in on one of the remaining hot spots of HIV infection in America. Young people ages 13 to 24 account for 26 percent of all new HIV infections, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was released on Tuesday in advance of World AIDS Day on December 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama promotes tax agenda, Congress in stand-off Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 06:25 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday launched a public relations push for his bid to raise taxes on wealthy Americans, but U.S. lawmakers remained deadlocked over dramatic, year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff." At the White House, small business leaders emerged from a one-hour meeting with Obama to voice support for his goal of extending low tax rates for the middle class beyond the end of the year, while letting rates rise for wealthier taxpayers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Report challenges key Pentagon spending assumption Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:58 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. military grappled with budget cuts over the past year, one thing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made clear was the Pentagon must avoid reductions in training and maintenance that would lower the force's readiness to fight. But a report released by a Washington think tank on Tuesday challenged that assumption, concluding that a short-term cut in readiness funding could free up cash to develop weapons and equipment needed to be ready in the future. ... Full Story | Top |
| CNOOC, Nexen reapply for U.S. deal approval Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:52 PM PST CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd and its Canadian takeover target Nexen Inc have withdrawn and resubmitted an application for U.S. approval of their $15.1 billion deal, as Canada gets close to its decision on whether to approve the transaction. The energy companies said on Tuesday that discussions with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) were still in progress, "with a view to completing the CFIUS review process as expeditiously as possible." In a brief statement, they did not provide a reason for, or the timing of, the unexpected move. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge orders tobacco companies to admit deception Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:26 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major tobacco companies that spent decades denying they lied to the U.S. public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The ruling sets out what might be the harshest sanction to come out of a historic case that the Justice Department brought in 1999 accusing the tobacco companies of racketeering. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler wrote that the new advertising campaign would be an appropriate counterweight to the companies' "past deception" dating to at least ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to meet with CEOs from Goldman, Deloitte on Wednesday Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:21 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chief executives from top U.S. corporations, including Goldman Sachs , Deloitte LLP, and Caterpillar Inc , will meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss U.S. fiscal problems, the White House said. Obama's meeting with influential leaders from the corporate world is part of his push for Congress to extend tax cuts for middle income Americans, one flashpoint in a standoff with Congress over the "fiscal cliff" - a series of tax hikes and spending cuts that will go into effect next year if lawmakers and the president cannot come up with a deal to stop them. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House expected to seek billions in Sandy disaster aid Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is expected in the coming days to send Congress a multi-billion dollar request to fund recovery from Superstorm Sandy, which caused an estimated $71 billion in damages in New York and New Jersey. Congressional aides said there was no clear indication of the request's size, but some said it would likely be at least $11 billion. The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund had access to about $7.8 billion as Sandy slammed the U.S. East Coast on October 29, causing widespread destruction in coastal New York and New Jersey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rice meeting with senators fails to dampen criticism Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 05:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice on Tuesday conceded that an early account she gave about the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, was partly inaccurate, but her admission failed to win over Republican senators who accused her of misleading the public. Rice met for about an hour behind closed doors at the U.S. Capitol with Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte, who have threatened to block her nomination if President Barack Obama chooses her for secretary of state or another top post in his second-term Cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| FTC patent ruling might hint at how it will treat Google case Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:33 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal regulators investigating Google for a range of accusations of antitrust violations took a stand this week on how to handle a type of patent similar to ones in the Google case, but also exposed a rift between regulators on how to proceed. The disagreement focuses on whether the Federal Trade Commission can use its power to enforce rules against unfair competition in pursuing companies which ask for sales injunctions against rivals because of allegations that their so-called standard essential patents (SEP) have been infringed. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. declines to name China currency manipulator Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:31 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Tuesday that China's currency remained "significantly undervalued," but stopped short of labeling the world's second-biggest economy a currency manipulator. Although Beijing controls the pace at which the yuan can rise, the U.S. Treasury said in a congressionally mandated semi-annual report that China did not meet the legal requirements to be deemed a currency manipulator. The label is largely symbolic, but would require Washington to open discussions with Beijing on adjusting the yuan's value. It has been 18 years since the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boris Johnson mocks French government over Mittal Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:28 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The Mayor of London Boris Johnson on Tuesday described France's Socialist government as left-wing revolutionaries that were driving investors away in a dispute with steelmaker ArcelorMittal. The Conservative mayor mocked the French government as 'sans-culottes,' a radical left-wing class during the French Revolution of 1789, while adding that British capital would welcome business fleeing from France. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI probes possible links among rash of U.S. bomb threats Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:15 PM PST NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - The FBI said it was trying to determine if there is a connection among telephone bomb threats to facilities in 30 counties of Tennessee on Tuesday and similar recent incidents in other U.S. states. Courthouses and public facilities in 30 Tennessee counties were temporarily evacuated on Tuesday following a rash of such calls. Similar threats closed more than a dozen courthouses in Oregon last week and bomb threats were also made in Washington state and Nebraska. All affected facilities in Tennessee had been searched by late on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Chavez heads to Cuba for medical treatment Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:13 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will travel to Cuba on Tuesday for medical treatment, following a nearly two-week absence from the public eye, months after undergoing cancer surgery on the communist-run island. Chavez, 58, underwent what appeared to be a remarkable comeback from an undisclosed type of cancer diagnosed in June 2011. In October, he won re-election despite running a campaign that was much more subdued than his previous bids. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK workplace pension pot charges should be revealed - new code Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:03 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - Pension firms and insurers are calling for the costs taken automatically by people running UK pension schemes to be divulged to employers when they set up auto-enrolment schemes between 2012 and 2017. Pension charges have dramatically reduced in recent years, and now stand at 0.52 percent of the value of an individual scheme, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI). But the little-known fees and levies can wipe tens of thousands of pounds off the value of a worker's workplace pension. ... Full Story | Top |
| Deutsche Bank faces Libor questions from German lawmakers Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 04:02 PM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's compliance chief Stephan Leithner and former board member Hugo Baenziger face skeptical German lawmakers on Wednesday as parliamentarians seek answers about how banks manipulated global benchmark interest rates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama shields U.S. airlines from EU carbon fees Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:56 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama signed a bill on Tuesday shielding U.S. airlines from paying for each ton of carbon their planes emit flying into and out of Europe, despite a recent move by Europe to suspend its proposed measure for one year. The carbon fee bill was the first piece of legislation debated on the House floor after Congress returned from recess on November 13, and had been cleared by the Senate in September in a rare unanimous vote. It directs the U.S. transportation secretary to shield U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former presidential nominee Dole in hospital: media reports Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:55 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole has been admitted to Washington's Walter Reed Army medical center for what an aide called a "routine procedure," media reports said on Tuesday. Dole, 89, "self-checked into the hospital for a routine procedure and will be discharged tomorrow," an aide told NBC News. "He's doing very well." According to Politico, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said on the Senate floor on Tuesday that Dole was hospitalized "because he is infirm. He is sick." Reid's comments came during debate on the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladeshi man pleads not guilty to New Y ork Federal Reserve bomb plot Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012 03:46 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Bangladeshi man arrested in a sting operation denied on Tuesday charges that he attempted to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank in New York last month with what authorities say he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb. During a brief hearing in Brooklyn federal court, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, al Qaeda. He faces life in prison if convicted. ... Full Story | Top |
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