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| Attack on Libyan church building kills two Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:13 PM PST TRIPOLI (Reuters) - An explosion on Sunday at a building belonging to a Coptic church in western Libya killed two Egyptian men and wounded two others, a military spokesman said. Attackers threw a homemade bomb at an administration building belonging to the Egyptian Coptic church in Dafniya, close to the western city of Misrata, said Ibrahim Rajab of Misrata military council. The Egyptian consul in the city, Tareq Dahrouj, said he had visited the church and the building where the two church workers were killed early on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudanese police block protest at human rights commission Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:13 PM PST KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese security forces on Sunday blocked activists trying to deliver a petition criticising the government to the country's human rights commission, drawing a rare rebuke from the state-appointed body. Sudan has avoided mass "Arab Spring" protests that unseated rulers in Egypt and Tunisia, but President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who seized power in 1989, has faced dissent over a severe economic crisis and corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court to rule on legality of Egyptian parliament Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:12 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's highest court is to examine the legitimacy of the upper house of parliament, a case likely to increase the legal uncertainty of the country's political transition and leave it without a legislature. The Supreme Constitutional Court has already forced the lower house to dissolve under a June ruling that said an electoral law used to elect both chambers - and which resulted in an Islamist dominated parliament - was unfair. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Qaeda in Yemen offers bounty for U.S. ambassador Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:10 PM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - The Yemen-based branch of al Qaeda has offered a bounty for anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador to Yemen or an American soldier in the impoverished Arab state, a group that monitors Islamist websites said. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said it was offering three kilograms of gold for the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein, the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group said, citing an audio released by militants. AQAP will also pay 5 million rials ($23,350) to whoever kills any American soldier in Yemen, it said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hours from "fiscal cliff," Washington still awaits deal Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:01 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress comes back on Monday without a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff" and only a few hours of actual legislative time scheduled in which to act if an agreement materializes. Negotiations involving Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to offer the last hope for avoiding the across-the-board tax increases and draconian cuts in the federal budget that will be triggered at the start of the New Year because of a deficit-reduction law enacted in August, 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| China academics warn of "violent revolution" if no political reform Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:14 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - A prominent group of Chinese academics has warned in a bold open letter that the country risks "violent revolution" if the government does not respond to public pressure and allow long-stalled political reforms. The 73 scholars, including well-known current and retired legal experts at top universities and lawyers, said political reform had not matched the quick pace of economic expansion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Secretary of State Clinton hospitalized with blood clot Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was admitted to a New York hospital on Sunday with a blood clot linked to a concussion she suffered earlier this month, the State Department said in an announcement that looked sure to fuel speculation over the health of one of America's best-known political figures. Clinton, 65, has been out of the public spotlight since mid-December, when officials said she suffered a concussion after fainting due to a stomach virus contracted during a trip to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea parliament expected to approve budget on Monday Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 07:58 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's parliament was expected to pass next year's government budget on Monday after slightly expanding welfare spending programs in line with President-elect Park Geun-hye's campaign pledges. Media cited officials at the ruling and main opposition parties as saying they now aimed to put their agreed version up for vote later in the day after winding up debate on minor issues at sub-committee meetings. The value of the 2013 budget bill is expected to rise to about 342.7 trillion won ($320.11 billion) from 342. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate, House agriculture committees in deal to avert milk price spike Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 07:19 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Farm-state lawmakers have agreed to a one-year extension of the expiring U.S. farm law that, if enacted, would head off a possible doubling of retail milk prices to $7 or more a gallon in early 2013. The extension would end a 32-month attempt to update farm subsidies dating from the Depression era, when farmers were crushed by low prices and huge crop surpluses, to meet today's high-wire challenges of tight food supplies, high operating costs and volatile markets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chavez suffers new post-surgery complications Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 07:03 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is suffering more complications linked to a respiratory infection that hit him after his fourth cancer operation in Cuba, his vice president said in a somber broadcast on Sunday. Vice President Nicolas Maduro flew to Cuba to visit Chavez in the hospital as supporters' fears grew for the ailing 58-year-old socialist leader, who has not been seen in public nor heard from in three weeks. Chavez had already suffered unexpected bleeding caused by the six-hour operation on December 11 for an undisclosed form of cancer in his pelvic area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves Baer to head Justice Department's antitrust team Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 06:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Sunday approved prominent antitrust attorney William Baer to head the Justice Department's Antitrust Division 10 months after he was tapped by President Barack Obama. The Senate voted 64-26 to approve Baer's nomination, which ran into problems with some Republicans because of secret information in an FBI background report. Baer, an antitrust and white collar criminal defense attorney with the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, has worked in the past for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). ... Full Story | Top |
| Chinese fishing boat detained in Japan: Xinhua Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 05:32 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Japan's coastguard detained a Chinese fishing boat within Japanese waters on Sunday evening, China's Xinhua news agency said, citing the Chinese consulate general in Fukuoka, a city in southwestern Japan. The captain of the boat, registered in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, and two crew members have been brought to the southern Japanese city of Kagoshima for questioning, Xinhua said. It said the captain had admitted he was in Japanese waters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Stock futures edge higher as "cliff" talks continue Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 04:57 PM PST  (Reuters) - Equity futures were slightly higher on Sunday night as talks continued in Washington over resolving the "fiscal cliff." While the Senate will not vote Sunday night on any bill to avoid a series of $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts, as many had hoped, negotiations continued between lawmakers and the White House. The Senate will reconvene on Monday after the open of equity trading. In order for a deal to take effect, it would also have to be passed by the House of Representatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate adjourns as "fiscal cliff" talks continue Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 04:56 PM PST (Reuters) - The Senate adjourned for the day on Sunday as Republicans and Democrats remained at odds over a deal to prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year's Day. Senator Richard Durbin said the Senate would reconvene at 1100 EST/1600 GMT on Monday. (Editing by Christopher Wilson) Full Story | Top |
| Parking dispute may have led to Maine shooting deaths: police Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 04:11 PM PST CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A dispute between neighbors over street parking may have led to the shooting deaths of two Maine teenagers, authorities said on Sunday after charging a 74-year-old man with murder in connection with the incident. Derrick Thompson, 19, and his girlfriend, Alivia Welch, 18, were killed on Saturday night in their apartment inside a two-unit home in Biddeford, Maine, about 15 miles southwest of Portland, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said. Thompson's mother, Susan Johnson, 44, who reported the shootings to authorities shortly after 7 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Significant differences" stand in way of fiscal cliff deal: Reid Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 04:09 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats and Republicans need to resolve significant differences to reach a deal to averting the "fiscal cliff" of looming tax hikes and spending cuts. "There are still significant differences between the two sides," Reid said on the Senate floor, adding that negotiations were continuing. "There is still time left to reach an agreement and we intend to continue negotiations," he added. (Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Christopher Wilson) Full Story | Top |
| Obama endorses gay marriage proposal in Illinois Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 03:43 PM PST  (Reuters) - President Obama is endorsing a proposal by the Illinois legislature to legalize gay marriage, a White House spokesman told Reuters on Sunday. It's an unusual move by a president - most of whom rarely weigh in on state legislative matters. Obama served in the Illinois state senate. Obama, who said earlier this year that he supports same-sex marriage, believes "it's wrong to prevent couples who are in loving, committed relationships and want to marry, from doing so," said White House spokesman Shin Inouye. ... Full Story | Top |
| Equity futures rise, but "cliff" stalemate suggests more losses Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 03:37 PM PST (Reuters) - Equity futures were slightly higher at the beginning of electronic trading on Sunday night as talks continued in Washington over resolving the "fiscal cliff." However, stocks still could end up falling on Monday when the cash markets open if lawmakers are unable to come to an agreement to avoid a series of $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that are expected to hurt economic growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Huawei partner offered embargoed HP gear to Iran Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 03:06 PM PST  (Reuters) - A major Iranian partner of Huawei Technologies offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran's largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010, documents show. China's Huawei, the world's second largest telecommunications equipment maker, says neither it nor its partner, a private company registered in Hong Kong, ultimately provided the HP products to the telecom, Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fiscal deal stalls as clock ticks to deadline Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 03:04 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Efforts to prevent the economy from tumbling over a "fiscal cliff" stalled on Sunday as Democrats and Republicans remained at loggerheads over a deal that would prevent taxes for all Americans from rising on New Year's Day. One hour before they had hoped to present a plan, Democratic and Republican Senate leaders said they were still unable to reach a compromise that would stop the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that could push the U.S. economy back into recession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says euro zone crisis far from over Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 03:02 PM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - The euro zone sovereign debt crisis is far from over even though reform measures designed to address the roots of the problem are beginning to bear fruit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said in her New Year's address. In a taped interview to be broadcast on Monday evening, Merkel urged Germans to be more patient even though the euro zone crisis has already dragged on for three years. She drew a line linking German prosperity to a prosperous European Union. "For our prosperity and our solidarity we need to strike the right balance," Merkel said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pro-marijuana campaign looks ahead after 2012 victories Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 02:14 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After a decades-long campaign to legalize marijuana hit a high mark in 2012 with victories in Washington state and Colorado, its energized and deep-pocketed backers are mapping out a strategy for the next round of ballot-box battles. They have their sights set on ballot measures in 2014 or 2016 in states such as California and Oregon, which were among the first in the country to allow marijuana for medical use. Although those states more recently rejected broader legalization, drug-law reform groups remain undeterred. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate confirms Galante as FHA chief despite losses Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 02:02 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Sunday confirmed the head of the Federal Housing Administration in her position despite mounting losses the mortgage funding agency that some fear could eventually lead to a taxpayer bailout. In a 69-24 vote, the Senate confirmed Carol Galante as an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Galante, a former affordable housing developer in San Francisco, had been running the FHA in an acting capacity since July 2011. The FHA, a key source of mortgage funding for first-time home buyers and those with modest incomes, backs $1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Immigration, economic revival head Obama's second-term checklist Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 01:30 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is pledging to focus in his second term on immigration reform, boosting economic growth through infrastructure repair and energy policies that nod to environmental protection. The president is mired in a difficult fight with congressional Republicans to avoid sharp spending cuts and steep tax increases collectively referred to as the "fiscal cliff." However, he still has a longer-term to-do list for his remaining four years in office, he said in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that was broadcast on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sunni protesters attack Iraq official's convoy, guards wound two Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 12:07 PM PST RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - Bodyguards for Iraq's deputy prime minister wounded two people when they fired warning shots at Sunni protesters who pelted his convoy with bottles and stones on Sunday, witnesses said. The incident took place in the city of Ramadi in the western province of Anbar, to where Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq had travelled to address people in an attempt to defuse sectarian tensions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb attempt on Northern Irish policeman foiled Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 11:47 AM PST BELFAST (Reuters) - An attempt by militant nationalists to kill a Northern Irish policeman was foiled when a booby trap bomb was found under his car, police said on Sunday. The attack was the latest by splinter groups of Irish republicans opposed to British rule of the province and a 1998 peace agreement that ended 30 years of sectarian conflict. It came two months after the first murder of a prison officer in almost 20 years and followed two weeks of rioting by pro-British loyalists protesting against restrictions on the flying of Britain's union flag from Belfast City Hall. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrats, Republicans apart on key "fiscal cliff" issues: Reid Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 11:27 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Sunday that Democrats and Republicans still had key differences in talks to avert a looming year-end "fiscal cliff," and he had not been able to make a counteroffer to the latest Republican proposal. "I've had a number of conversations with the president and at this stage we're not able to make a counteroffer," Reid said on the Senate floor. He said that as the day wears on, Democrats may be able to make such an offer. "I think that the Republican leader has shown absolutely good faith. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bahrain policemen jailed for beating opposition member to death Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:33 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Two Bahraini policemen were sentenced to jail for seven years each on Sunday for beating to death a Shi'ite opposition activist in custody during last year's crackdown on protesters. The sentences, reported by state news agency BNA, were criticized as too lenient by critics and may do little to blunt international criticism of human rights abuses since Bahrain's Sunni Muslim rulers quelled a Shi'ite-led uprising last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate leaders still have no fiscal cliff deal, time running out: senior aide Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:29 AM PST (Reuters) - Senate leaders have not yet been able to reach a deal to a avert a "fiscal cliff," and with time running out, it is uncertain if they will get one, a senior Senate aide said on Sunday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have been aiming to reach an agreement by 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) so that they can present it to previously scheduled closed-door meetings of their respective Democratic and Republican colleagues in an attempt to beat a New Year's Day deadline. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian Nobel scientist Montalcini dies at 103 Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 10:13 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Rita Levi Montalcini, joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and an Italian Senator for Life, died on Sunday at the age of 103, her family said. The first Nobel laureate to reach 100 years of age, she won the prize in 1986 with American Stanley Cohen for their discovery of nerve growth factor (NGF), a protein that makes developing cells grow by stimulating surrounding nerve tissue. Her research helped in the treatment of spinal cord injuries and has increased understanding of cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's and conditions such as dementia and autism. ... Full Story | Top |
| No end to Syria war if sides refuse to talk -envoy Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 09:23 AM PST AZAZ, Syria/CAIRO (Reuters) - The international peace negotiator for Syria pleaded with outside countries on Sunday to push the warring parties to the table for talks, warning that the country would become a failed state ruled by warlords unless diplomacy is given a chance. Lakhdar Brahimi, who inherited the seemingly impossible task of bringing an end to the war after his predecessor Kofi Annan resigned in frustration in July, has launched an intensified diplomatic campaign to win backing for a peace plan. He spent five days this week in Damascus, where he met President Bashar al-Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| CAR president says ready to share power with rebels Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 09:23 AM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's embattled President Francois Bozize said on Sunday he was ready to share power with the leaders of a rebellion that has swept aside government defences to within striking distance of the capital. The three-week old onslaught by the rebel alliance Seleka has highlighted the instability of the landlocked former French colony, which remains one of the least developed nations on the planet despite its rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama touts Hagel, says no decision on defense secretary job Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 09:11 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama offered strong support for former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as the potential next U.S. defense secretary but said in remarks aired on Sunday that he had not yet decided on a nominee for the Pentagon post. Hagel is considered a leading candidate to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, but the former Nebraska lawmaker has come under criticism for his record on Israel and for a comment that being gay was an inhibiting factor for being an ambassador. "I've served with Chuck Hagel. I know him. He is a patriot. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama skeptical of NRA proposal to put more guns in schools Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:57 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast on Sunday he hopes to get new U.S. gun control measures passed during the first year of his second term and is skeptical of a proposal by the National Rifle Association (NRA) gun lobby to put armed guards in schools. Obama assigned Vice President Joe Biden to lead a task force to come up with proposals on guns at the beginning of 2013 after the massacre of 20 children and six adults by a gunman at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, this month. "I'd like to get it done in the first year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican Senator says chances very good for limited "fiscal cliff" deal Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:49 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that chances for a limited "fiscal cliff" deal in the next 48 hours were "exceedingly good," as talks to avoid tax increases and spending cuts on New Year's Day went down to the wire. "I think people don't want to go over the cliff if we can avoid it," Graham, a leading conservative, said on Fox News Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey's Erdogan tells refugees Syrian rebirth near Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:41 AM PST ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a crowd of thousands of Syrian refugees on Sunday their country was preparing for a "sacred birth" that would replace President Bashar al-Assad with the will of the Syrian people. Refugee camps in Turkey host 150,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict across the border, and Erdogan visited one of them on Sunday, telling the people there they should regard Turkey as their "second home" and that help was at hand. "We can see very clearly that God's help is close. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic president says ready to share power with rebels Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:40 AM PST  BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's embattled President Francois Bozize said on Sunday he was ready to share power with the leaders of a rebellion that has swept aside government defenses to within striking distance of the capital. The three-week old onslaught by the rebel alliance Seleka has highlighted the instability of the landlocked former French colony, which remains one of the least developed nations on the planet despite its rich deposits of uranium, gold and diamonds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan militants kill 41 in mass execution, attack on Shi'ites Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:36 AM PST  PESHWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani militants, who have escalated attacks in recent weeks, killed at least 41 people in two separate incidents, officials said on Sunday, challenging assertions that military offensives have broken the back of hardline Islamist groups. The United States has long pressured nuclear-armed ally Pakistan to crack down harder on both homegrown militants groups such as the Taliban and others which are based on its soil and attack Western forces in Afghanistan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic president says ready to form coalition government with rebels Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:35 AM PST BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic President Francois Bozize said on Sunday he was ready to form a coalition government with the Seleka rebel alliance and would not stand for re-election in 2016. He told a news conference following a meeting with African Union Chairman Thomas Yayi Boni in the capital Bangui that he was ready for peace talks in Gabon, without conditions. A three-week-old Seleka rebellion has advanced to within 75 km (45 miles) of Bangui, posing the most serious threat yet to Bozize's nearly 10 years in charge of the turbulent and resource-rich former French colony. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic rebels say aim is not to join government Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 08:35 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - The Seleka rebel alliance in the Central African Republic will consider an offer by President Francois Bozize on Sunday to form a coalition government, but the group's aim is not to join the existing government, a spokesman said. "I take note of his proposals. We need to meet to study them," Seleka spokesman Eric Massi told France 24 television. He said that the rebels also wanted to see what guarantees would be made to them. ... Full Story | Top |
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