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| Britain considers recalling Israel envoy: source Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:36 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Britain is considering recalling its ambassador to Israel to protest at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to expand settlement building, a diplomatic source said on Monday. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that France was also considering withdrawing its envoy. Both embassies declined to comment on the reports, but the British issued a statement saying they had made clear they would not support strong Israeli retaliation to a U.N. vote last week that gave the Palestinians de facto recognition of statehood. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece set to unveil terms of crucial bond buyback Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:33 PM PST  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will unveil details of a bond buyback crucial to efforts by foreign lenders to trim the country's ballooning debt, hoping the terms will draw enough investors and unblock vital aid. Since plans for the buyback were announced last week, questions have swirled about whether it will tempt enough bondholders to cut Greek debt by a net 20 billion euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu brushes off world condemnation of settlement plans Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:29 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday brushed off world condemnation of Israel's plans to expand Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto U.N. recognition of statehood. "We will carry on building in Jerusalem and in all the places that are on the map of Israel's strategic interests," a defiant Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting. In another blow to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Israel announced it was withholding Palestinian tax revenues this month worth about $100 million. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia urges North Korea not to launch rocket Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:29 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia urged North Korea on Monday not to go ahead with a plan for its second rocket launch of 2012, saying the launch would violate restrictions imposed by the U.N. Security Council. "We urgently appeal to the government (of North Korea) to reconsider the decision to launch a rocket," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. North Korea's state news agency on Saturday announced the decision to launch another space satellite and reportedly told neighbors it would take a similar path to a failed rocket launch in April. ... Full Story | Top |
| EADS confirms shareholder structure talks Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:27 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - EADS confirmed that its French and German stakeholders were discussing potential changes to the shareholding structure and corporate governance at the European aerospace and defense group. The company said it was taking an active role in the discussions, which it said were intended to "preserve and enhance" the interests of all stakeholders. People familiar with the matter said on Sunday that France and Germany appeared to be very close to agreeing a new shareholder structure after talks over the weekend. ... Full Story | Top |
| France on track for 0.8 percent 2013 growth target: minister Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:01 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - French Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac said on Monday that the government believed it could reach its 2013 economic growth target of 0.8 percent. "We think we will reach this level of 0.8 percent growth," Cahuzac told France 2 television, noting that while some economists had more negative outlooks, others were more optimistic than the government. (Reporting by Catherine Bremer; Editing by James Regan) Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: In U.S. "fiscal cliff" maneuvers it's all about the holiday Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 10:03 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Watching the events of the past few weeks, you could have gotten the idea that the United States is not only going to slip from the "fiscal cliff" but jump lemming-like off it. President Barack Obama presented last week a proposal that upset Republicans with its $1.6 trillion in revenue increases and limited spending cuts and then goaded them while on the road at a toy factory with jokes meant to paint the Republicans as Scrooges. His main Republican sparring partner, Speaker of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama salutes entertainers at Kennedy Center Honors Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:46 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Music legend Led Zeppelin was recognized on Sunday alongside entertainers from stage and screen for their contributions to the arts and American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors, lifetime achievement awards for performing artists. The eclectic tribute in Washington, alternated between solemn veneration and lighthearted roasting of honorees Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, wisecracking late-night talk show host David Letterman, blues guitar icon Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova and Led Zeppelin. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factory surveys show China reviving, global rebound fragile Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:38 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy picked up in November but a broader global recovery remains fragile and patchy, a clutch of factory surveys suggested on Monday, with activity elsewhere in Asia remaining subdued amid depressed demand from the developed world. The euro zone, where factory surveys are due later, is on course for its worst quarter since the depths of the global financial crisis in early 2009. The U.S. picture is brighter, but manufacturing growth is still seen slowing in the fourth quarter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Greek deal puts euro zone in slow recovery room Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:35 PM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - The euro zone is in the recovery room now the danger of a Greek default has been averted for a couple of years, but it is not yet safe from a Japanese-style "lost decade". The currency area's escape route hinges more on the pace of expansion in the United States and China, lifting the world economy, than on the policy mix in Europe, which will continue to favour austerity over growth in 2013. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's top court shuts down, blames protesters Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:18 PM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - Protests by Islamists allied to President Mohamed Mursi forced Egypt's highest court to adjourn its work indefinitely on Sunday, intensifying a conflict between some of the country's top judges and the head of state. The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would not convene until its judges could operate without "psychological and material pressure", saying protesters had stopped the judges from reaching the building. ... Full Story | Top |
| Narrowing LDP lead points to Japan post-election confusion Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:15 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party's lead has shrunk in the polls ahead of a December 16 election, suggesting the conservative party and its partner may need help to make up a majority and threatening more policy confusion for the world's third-biggest economy. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP is expected to win the biggest number of seats in parliament's powerful lower house, putting Abe in pole position to form the next government, most likely with long-term LDP ally, the smaller New Komeito. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda says FDLR rebels cross from Congo, attack wardens Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:14 PM PST  KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda said FDLR rebels crossed the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday and attacked a game warden camp, killing one warden in the second attack by the Rwandan Hutu group in six days. Rwanda has in the past cited the presence of the FDLR, or Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, as a reason for sending troops into neighbouring Congo. Experts say the rebel group has dwindled in strength. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan could restart oil exports by year-end Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:05 PM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - South Sudan could restart oil exports through Sudan by the end of the year after successful talks between both countries on border security, a top Southern official said on Sunday. The two former civil war foes agreed in September to end hostilities and restart oil exports - including creating a demilitarised border zone - after coming close to war in April. But the neighbours had been unable to agree how to withdraw their armies from the disputed border, a step both had said was necessary to resume oil exports from landlocked South Sudan through Sudanese pipelines. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suspected Islamists kill 10 Christians in Nigeria Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:04 PM PST  MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist fighters went on the rampage in northeast Nigeria overnight, killing 10 Christians with guns and machetes and burning down their houses, witnesses said on Sunday. The attack happened in a village called Chibok, in a remote part of northeastern Borno state, at the heart of an insurgency led by Islamist sect Boko Haram. "Suspected Boko Haram came at night and set people's houses on fire before killing their victims," said Nuhu Clark, a former councillor of the village who escaped the attack. He said he counted 10 bodies afterwards. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. election, iPhone 5, Kardashian top Yahoo! 2012 searches Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 09:03 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential election became the most-searched item and Kim Kardashian was the most-searched person on Yahoo! in a year when online searches were dominated by big news stories and pop culture obsessions, the search engine company said on Monday. The search term "election" topped the list of searches, led not only by extensive media coverage but also widening conversation on online social media platforms. The term "political polls" was No. 8 of the top 10 Yahoo! searches of the year. ... Full Story | Top |
| UBS near settlement with U.S., UK over Libor, may pay $450 million: NYT Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 08:56 PM PST  (Reuters) - Swiss bank UBS AG is close to a settlement with U.S. and British authorities and is expected to pay more than $450 million over claims that some of its employees submitted false Libor rates, the New York Times reported. A UBS spokeswoman told Reuters that the bank was in the midst of discussions with authorities in the United States and Britain in connection with Libor investigations and has been cooperating fully with the regulatory and enforcement authorities, but gave no further details. ... Full Story | Top |
| Forces pound Damascus suburbs, flights to resume Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 08:19 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces pounded rebel-held suburbs around Damascus with fighter jets and rockets on Sunday, opposition activists said, killing and wounding dozens in an offensive to push rebels away from the airport and stop them closing in on the capital. The army struck hard after a week of rebel advances, including the capture of two military bases near the capital. Rebels had been planning to push into central Damascus from their strongholds on the outskirts and fighting in the past week has been fierce. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Krawcheck, possible SEC head, raises Washington image Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 08:02 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sallie Krawcheck has been quietly raising her profile in Washington. For six months the former executive at Bank of America and Citigroup has been meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, offering her insights on a variety of issues including "too big to fail banks" and money market fund reform. Krawcheck, 48, who was ousted from senior jobs by both banks in recent years, had already sought to distance herself from Wall Street "fat cats" through op-eds, social media posts and TV appearances that have positioned her as an investor advocate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soldier in WikiLeaks case seemed suicidal at times: sergeants Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 07:21 PM PST  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private charged with leaking classified U.S. war documents was held in extreme confinement for nine months at a Marine Corps detention center because of a pattern of behavior suggesting suicidal thoughts, military officials testified Sunday at a pretrial hearing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan opposition LDP's lead narrows before December 16 vote: polls Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 06:03 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's opposition Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) lead over the ruling Democrats and a new group led by a nationalist former governor of Tokyo narrowed with two weeks left to a December 16 lower house election, newspaper surveys showed on Monday. A poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily showed 20 percent of voters would cast their ballots for the LDP, led by conservative former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, down 3 points from a November 26 survey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton in Prague to lobby for Westinghouse nuclear bid Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 05:46 PM PST  PRAGUE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will seek to convince Czech leaders of the advantages of picking U.S. firm Westinghouse over a Russian rival as the contractor for a $10 billion nuclear reactor project in meetings in Prague on Monday. U.S. officials traveling with Clinton to Prague said the Temelin nuclear power project could bring as many as 9,000 jobs to the United States and would help diversify the Czech Republic's energy supply away from Russia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexico's new president, opposition agree to push reforms Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 04:48 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Sunday signed a pact with the country's leading political parties to increase competition in the telecommunications sector and overhaul the education system. The agreement was an effort to break through years of political gridlock in Congress on Pena Nieto's second day in office. Pena Nieto, 46, took office on Saturday, returning to power his centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, after 12 years in the opposition. No party holds an outright majority in Congress. "We have to negotiate to build consensus. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian forces pound Damascus suburbs, flights to resume Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 03:57 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces pounded rebel-held suburbs around Damascus with fighter jets and rockets on Sunday, opposition activists said, killing and wounding dozens in an offensive to push rebels away from the airport and stop them closing in on the capital. The army struck hard after a week of rebel advances, including the capture of two military bases near the capital. Rebels had been planning to push into central Damascus from their strongholds on the outskirts and fighting in the past week has been fierce. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bersani, anti-glamour candidate of Italy's center-left Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 03:27 PM PST ROME (Reuters) - Pier Luigi Bersani, the determinedly prosaic leader of Italy's Democratic Party, promised supporters he would not tell them "fairy tales", after his overwhelming victory at a primary to pick the center-left candidate in next year's election. The 61-year-old former communist and practicing Catholic crushed Matteo Renzi, the 37-year-old mayor of Florence who campaigned on a platform of party renewal and generational change. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's top court shuts down, blames Islamist protesters Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 03:25 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Protests by Islamists allied to President Mohamed Mursi forced Egypt's highest court to adjourn its work indefinitely on Sunday, intensifying a conflict between some of the country's top judges and the head of state. The Supreme Constitutional Court said it would not convene until its judges could operate without "psychological and material pressure", saying protesters had stopped the judges from reaching the building. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bersani wins big in Italian center-left primary Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 02:25 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Pier Luigi Bersani won a run-off primary election by a huge margin on Sunday to become the Italian center-left candidate for prime minister in national elections early next year. In his victory speech, Bersani promised to tackle Italy's economic crisis and high unemployment if elected and said his Democratic Party would have to win by telling Italians "the truth, not fairy tales" about the grave situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's opposition alliance calls for protests Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 01:26 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - An alliance of Egyptian opposition groups called for protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday to protest against President Mohamed Mursi's decision to call a December 15 referendum on what it called an illegitimate draft constitution. In a statement issued after a meeting on Sunday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, the alliance of liberal, leftist and socialist parties accused Mursi of putting the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood - the group that propelled him to power in a June election - ahead of the interests of the nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street finds a foreign detour around U.S. derivatives rules Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 01:11 PM PST SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Wall Street banks are looking to help offshore clients sidestep new U.S. rules designed to safeguard the world's $640 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market, taking advantage of an exemption that risks undermining U.S. regulators' efforts. U.S. banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been explaining to their foreign customers that they can for now avoid the new rules, due to take effect next month, by routing trades via the banks' overseas units, according to industry sources and presentation materials obtained by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Nationalist strains echo on Japan campaign trail Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 01:08 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Be careful what you wish for. U.S. officials have long urged Japan to loosen limits on its military, bear more of the burden of its own defense and play a more prominent global role. Now, Japanese politicians gearing up for a December 16 parliamentary election are promising to do just that - but with a strain of strident nationalism that could give not only Asian neighbors but also Washington cause for concern. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indian reforms face test with parliament vote Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 01:01 PM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's stuttering economic reform program faces a key parliamentary test this week on whether to let foreign supermarket chains such as Wal-Mart Stores set up shop, in a vote that could pave the way for further measures to revive the economy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's minority government bowed to opposition pressure last week in agreeing to a vote, ending days of deadlock in parliament and cheering investors who saw it as a sign of a renewed policy momentum to come. ... Full Story | Top |
| Geithner predicts Republicans will yield on taxes Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 12:25 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushed Republicans on Sunday to offer specific ideas to cut the deficit, and predicted that they would agree to raise tax rates on the rich to obtain a year-end deal and avoid possible economic doom. But the top U.S. Republican, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, stood firm and renewed his stand against increased tax rates, leaving talks at a stalemate. "Here's the problem," Boehner told "Fox News Sunday" as both sides took their battle to TV talks shows. ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition candidate wins Slovenian presidential election Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 12:24 PM PST  LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Former center-left prime minister Borut Pahor was elected to the largely ceremonial post of Slovenian president on Sunday to a backdrop of rising unrest in the recession-hit euro zone state. Pahor is a member of the opposition Social Democrats, and has called for cooperation between the government and opposition to tackle the economic crisis and prevent Slovenia becoming the latest member of the 17-member currency union to seek a bailout. In a run-off vote, Pahor won 67.4 percent, ahead of incumbent Danilo Turk on 32.6 percent with 99. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo demands investigation into ex-U.N. prosecutor del Ponte Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 12:09 PM PST  PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo called on Sunday for an investigation into the work of former United Nations chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte after the country's former prime minister was acquitted for a second time on war crimes charges brought by the Swiss lawyer. Ramush Haradinaj, a Kosovo Albanian former guerilla commander who served briefly as prime minister, was cleared last week of crimes against humanity in a retrial at the U.N. tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia may soften religion law over Putin concerns Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 12:03 PM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmakers are reworking a draft law introducing prison terms for religious offences after signs that Vladimir Putin is concerned it could undermine the delicate balance between the country's many religions. The president's party proposed the law after two members of the Pussy Riot punk band were jailed for two years over a protest in a cathedral against Putin's increasingly close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. ... Full Story | Top |
| French rightist's ally calls for new leadership vote Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:19 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - France's main conservative party edged closer to resolving a crisis on Sunday as an ally of one of the two men disputing its leadership called for a new vote to pick a leader. A two-week-old row over who won a November 18 vote for the UMP's presidency has plunged the opposition party into disarray and self-absorption, leaving Socialist President Francois Hollande unchallenged to advance left-wing policies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands rally against far right in Hungary Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:17 AM PST  BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Around 10,000 Hungarians protested on Sunday against the far-right opposition Jobbik party, after one of its lawmakers triggered outrage and memories of Nazism by calling for lists of Jews to be drawn up. The rally outside Budapest's parliament brought together leaders from governing and opposition parties in an unprecedented show of unity in the country's deeply divided political scene. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: EADS revamp brings government out of industry's shadow Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:12 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - An imminent shake-up of EADS is expected to lead to a rise in state shareholdings in Europe's largest aerospace group, but in reality merely changes the rules for what is already a wary co-habitation. Officials were putting finishing touches on Sunday to a deal to bring Germany on board with 12 percent of the maker of Airbus jets and Ariane rockets, at parity with France. The move paves the way for an exit by founder companies Daimler , the German carmaker, and French media firm Lagardere , increasingly viewed as state proxies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian judges' body urges members to boycott referendum Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:09 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - An influential body representing Egyptian judges has decided not to oversee a December 15 referendum on a draft constitution, the state news agency reported, in a blow to President Mohamed Mursi. The decision was made at a Judges' Club board meeting in Cairo on Sunday. Club decisions are not binding on its members. The Club had voiced strong condemnation of a November 22 decree issued by Mursi that expanded the president's powers and shielded them from judicial review. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia PM uses Romney defeat to warn divided party Sunday, Dec 02, 2012 11:08 AM PST  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - When Malaysia's ruling party gathered for a tub-thumping pre-election rally last week, Prime Minister Najib Razak delivered a stern behind-the-scenes warning: don't repeat the mistake of Mitt Romney. Just as the U.S. Republican presidential candidate's over-reliance on older, white voters lost him last month's election, so could the dependence of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) on rural, ethnic Malay voters, Najib told delegates at the assembly, according to a senior party insider. ... Full Story | Top |
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