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| China court rejects damages plea from man jailed for Bo joke Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 11:34 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese man sent to a labor camp for a joke about Bo Xilai said he was awarded minimal compensation by a court on Thursday, in what could be a blow to others jailed by the disgraced leader's administration and hoping for substantial damages. Fang Hong, 46, was sentenced to a year of re-education in 2011 after posting a poem online that mocked Bo and his then police chief Wang Lijun for miscarriages of justice during an anti-crime campaign in the southwestern city of Chongqing, where Bo was Communist Party chief. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hamas plans more "enemy language" Hebrew in Gaza schools Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 11:24 PM PST  GAZA (Reuters) - Islamist Hamas authorities plan to expand Hebrew-language classes in the Gaza Strip's high schools to help Palestinians know their enemy in times of conflict with Israel. Far from a sign that peace will soon break out, Hamas's promotion of Hebrew learning in the Israeli-blockaded Mediterranean enclave aims to make linguistic skill a useful new front in the struggle against the Jewish state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels make slow headway in south Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 11:14 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - The revolt against President Bashar al-Assad first flared in Deraa, but the southern border city now epitomizes the bloody stalemate gripping Syria after 22 months of violence and 60,000 dead. Jordan next door has little sympathy with Assad, but is wary of spillover from the upheaval in its bigger neighbor. It has tightened control of its 370-km (230-mile) border with Syria, partly to stop Islamist fighters or weapons from crossing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia says concerned with reports of Israeli attack in Syria Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 11:14 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli air attack deep inside Syria near Damascus and that any such action, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country. "If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the U.N. Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian opposition leader warns of second election Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 11:04 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia faces a possible fourth straight year of political instability after opposition leader Tony Abbott, on track to win power in a September election, threatened a second poll if a hostile upper house rejects his plan to scrap a tax on carbon. One day after Prime Minister Julia Gillard surprised voters by announcing a September 14 election, Abbott on Thursday promised to scrap a carbon tax if he wins office, but added he would call a second election if a hostile Senate rejected his plans. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF says Seychelles GDP to grow 3 pct in 2013 Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:47 PM PST  VICTORIA (Reuters) - Seychelles' economy is seen growing by an average 3 percent this year from an estimated 2.7 percent last year, helped by its tourism sector and ventures into new markets away from its main ones in Europe, while inflation is expected to slow, the International Monetary Fund said. "Growth is forecast to average around 3 percent, as tourism continues to diversify into nontraditional markets, and inflation is expected to return to low single digits," the IMF said in its latest staff report on Seychelles, released late on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| French troops deployed in last Mali rebel strongholds Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:44 PM PST  DOUENTZA, Mali/PARIS (Reuters) - French troops seized the airport in Mali's northern town of Kidal, the last urban stronghold held by Islamist insurgents, as they moved to wrap up the first phase of a military operation to wrest northern Mali from rebel hands. France has deployed some 4,500 troops in a three-week ground and air offensive to break the Islamist rebels' 10-month grip on major northern towns. The mission is aimed at heading off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| After school massacre, Newtown residents urge stricter gun control Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:26 PM PST  NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Parents and neighbors of the children killed in last month's Connecticut school shooting implored state lawmakers at a hearing on Wednesday to ban the powerful rifle and high-capacity magazines used in the massacre. As parents, first responders and town officials spoke at the Newtown high school, many in the audience of about 600 people gave standing ovations and wept. "We lost our son Benjamin" to an "unstable, suicidal individual who had access to a weapon that has no place in a home," said David Wheeler. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cost cuts and poor governance blamed for UK rail fiasco Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:05 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Cost-cutting, a lack of governance at the Department for Transport and mistakes by ministers contributed to the mishandling of the award of the West Coast Main Line rail franchise, according to a parliamentary report into the fiasco. The 13-year contract to run the London to Scotland route was awarded to FirstGroup late last year, but the government was forced to pull the award after flaws were found in the bidding process following a legal challenge by the losing bidder Virgin Trains. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sense of crisis in U.S. Congress as automatic cuts loom again Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:01 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Big automatic cuts in federal spending are fast approaching again, alarming the defense sector but generating little activity in Congress to avoid them. The cuts, known as a "sequestration," were postponed for two months as part of the legislation that ended the standoff over the "fiscal cliff" on January 1. But the sense of crisis that accompanied the thought of across-the-board reductions then has all but vanished, replaced by a widespread sense of inevitability. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF fails to agree on new formula for vote reforms Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:48 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund failed to meet a self-imposed Thursday deadline for agreeing on a new formula to determine member countries' voting power that would give emerging economies greater say in the global financial institution. IMF member countries have wrangled for two years over specifics of the formula intended to reflect the rise of China, Brazil and other large emerging market economies. The IMF said it planned to finalize a formula by January 2014, when it next reviews the voting shares of member countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| China sentences two Tibetans for "inciting" self-immolations Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:40 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - A court in China has handed down heavy sentences to a Tibetan monk and his nephew for inciting eight people to set themselves on fire in anti-Chinese protests, media said on Thursday, the first time punishment has been meted out over such protests. Nearly 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest against Chinese rule since 2009, with most of them dying from their injuries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prominent NY prosecutor enters private practice Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:34 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reed Brodsky, the former prosecutor who led the insider trading prosecution of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta, is leaving the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office to join law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner in New York, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the move. Brodsky, who is expected to specialize in white collar defense and general litigation at the Los Angeles law firm, also helped convict the hedge fund titan Raj Rajaratnam on insider trading charges in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cameroon leader sees minds changing on "crime" of homosexuality Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:33 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Cameroon's President Paul Biya said on Wednesday that attitudes were changing in his country towards its criminalisation of homosexuality, which has been criticised by the European Union. Speaking to journalists after meeting with French President Francois Hollande in Paris, Biya stressed that homosexuality had been illegal in Cameroon since before he came to power more than 30 years ago. "Now I can say that discussions are under way. People are talking, minds can change one way or another but currently it's a crime," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: US envoy Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:30 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China needs to move beyond a narrow focus on oil issues in South Sudan and help tackle that country's larger political disputes with Sudan, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to the two African states said on Wednesday. Ambassador Princeton Lyman said he had worked closely with Chinese officials more than two years, during which time South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 to become the world's newest nation. ... Full Story | Top |
| UN Security Council to discuss peacekeepers for Mali Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:29 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will soon begin discussing a possible United Nations peacekeeping force for Mali, an idea the world body had been uncomfortable with before France's recent military intervention, envoys said on Wednesday. Last month, the 15-nation council approved an African-led force for Mali that likely would have been funded with voluntary contributions from U.N. member states and trained by the European Union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Threat of ethnic reprisals stalks liberated Mali towns Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:20 PM PST  KONNA, Mali (Reuters) - Omar Sangare surveyed the wreckage in his hometown of Konna in central Mali, ravaged by battles between the army and Islamist rebels, and vowed his days of living peacefully with Arabs and Tuaregs were over. "They are traitors," said Sangare, a member of Mali's black African majority, examining the rubble of a military base. "We saw our former neighbours, people who used to live here and run shops, among the attackers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo's Kabila says wants better deal from miners as output grows Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:19 PM PST  LUBUMBASHI, Congo (Reuters) - Congo must tighten controls on granting mining licences and fight corruption so that the country can benefit fully from rising copper production, President Joseph Kabila said on Wednesday. The Democratic Republic of Congo has some of the world's largest copper deposits, and is also rich in tin, diamonds, gold and other commodities, but its mining sector has been held back by decades of underinvestment, conflict and corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulk of Timbuktu manuscripts survived occupation Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 09:14 PM PST  DAKAR (Reuters) - The majority of Timbuktu's ancient manuscripts appear to be safe and undamaged after the Saharan city's 10-month occupation by Islamist rebel fighters, experts said on Wednesday, rejecting some media reports of their widespread destruction. Denying accounts that told of tens of thousands of priceless papers being burned or stolen by the fleeing rebels, they said the bulk of the Timbuktu texts had been safely hidden well before the city's liberation by French forces on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunman opens fire in Arizona office building, one dead Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:08 PM PST  PHOENIX (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire in an Arizona office building following a legal mediation meeting on Wednesday, shooting dead one man and wounding two other people including a prominent Phoenix lawyer before fleeing in a car, officials said. Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson said the shooting erupted after a morning meeting involving a legal dispute, and police were looking for a 70-year-old suspected gunman described as "armed and dangerous. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York Times says targeted by China hackers after Wen report Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 08:07 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - The New York Times said on Thursday that Chinese hackers had "persistently" attacked its computers over the past four months since the paper published a story on Premier Wen Jiabao, but sensitive material related to the report was not accessed. The New York Times said the attacks coincided with its report last October that Wen's family had accumulated at least $2.7 billion in "hidden riches". China said at the time the report smeared its name and had ulterior motives. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Gomer Pyle" actor Jim Nabors weds longtime male partner Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:40 PM PST SEATTLE (Reuters) - American actor Jim Nabors, the star of 1960s television comedy "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.," married his longtime male partner at a Seattle hotel this month. Nabors, 82, also a singer, wed 64-year-old Stan Cadwallader, his partner of some 38 years, in a ceremony before a judge on January 15 at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, where the couple traveled after same sex marriage became legal in Washington state last month. "I was just trying to solidify all of our years together," Nabors told Reuters on Wednesday from Hawaii, where the two live. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hostage drama drags on after Alabama school bus shooting Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:19 PM PST  MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - A gunman suspected of fatally shooting an Alabama school bus driver before holing up in an underground bunker with a young child is a Vietnam veteran with anti-government views, authorities and an organization that tracks hate groups said on Wednesday. Law enforcement officials from multiple agencies were bivouacked near the bunker in Midland City but offered few details about a standoff with the shooter that stretched into its second day on Wednesday. Authorities said driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. Security Council to discuss peacekeepers for Mali Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will soon begin discussing a possible United Nations peacekeeping force for Mali, an idea the world body had been uncomfortable with before France's recent military intervention, envoys said on Wednesday. Last month, the 15-nation council approved an African-led force for Mali that likely would have been funded with voluntary contributions from U.N. member states and trained by the European Union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cod quotas slashed in New England amid dwindling stocks Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:17 PM PST LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New England's once mighty fishing industry suffered a blow on Wednesday after a council voted to cut cod fishing quotas by more than 50 percent this year amidst sharply declining North Atlantic stocks of the bottom-feeder. At a meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to slash the legal harvest of cod in the Gulf of Maine by 77 percent to 1,550 metric tons for the fishing season beginning May 1, said Pat Fiorelli, a spokeswoman for the council. "It's really grim," said Fiorelli. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez gets passport, will travel Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:16 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, received a passport on Wednesday under the island's new, freer travel law and said she would go abroad soon, after years of being denied that right. Sanchez' case was viewed as a test of the Cuban government's commitment to free travel, but the news was not as good for Angel Moya, another dissident who, Sanchez said, was denied a passport. "Incredible! They called to my house to tell me that my passport was ready. They just delivered it to me," Sanchez wrote on Twitter. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oregon Christmas tree bomb plot case goes to jury Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:02 PM PST PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Jurors began deliberating on Wednesday in the trial of a Somali-born man accused of trying to blow up a Christmas-tree lighting event in Oregon, after prosecutors and defense lawyers sparred during closing arguments over his intent. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former Oregon State University student, faces life in prison if he is found guilty of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction to blow up the holiday tree-lighting in Portland in November 2010, when he was 19. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arab-American groups call Coke Super Bowl ad "racist" Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 07:00 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Arab-American groups have sharply criticized a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad depicting an Arab walking through the desert with a camel, and one group said it would ask the beverage giant to change it before CBS airs the game on Sunday before an expected audience of more than 100 million U.S. viewers. "Why is it that Arabs are always shown as either oil-rich sheiks, terrorists, or belly dancers?" said Warren David, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, or ADC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rocket blasts off with new NASA communications satellite Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:59 PM PST CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Atlas 5 rocket blasted off on Wednesday to put the first of a new generation of NASA communications satellites into orbit, where it will support the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and other spacecraft. The 191-foot (58-metre) rocket lifted off at 8:48 p.m. (0148 GMT Thursday), the first of 13 planned launches in 2013 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just south of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vince Cable sees merit in growth target for BoE Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:45 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Business minister Vince Cable said on Wednesday he could see some merit in incorporating growth into the Bank of England's objectives, adding his voice to an emerging debate over the bank's mandate. "I think the argument for having growth as part of the objectives seems eminently sensible and I think it is important we have a debate on how best that should be done," Cable said in remarks at a think tank event in London. ... Full Story | Top |
| Military judge rejects defense arguments in Fort Hood shooting case Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 06:33 PM PST SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A military judge on Wednesday rejected a defense counsel's arguments over whether Major Nidal Hasan, who is due to stand trial for the 2009 killing of 13 people at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas, could face the death penalty if found guilty. More than three years after Hasan, an Army psychiatrist allegedly carried out the worst shooting ever at a U.S. military base, defense lawyers last week asked the court to set aside the possibility of the death penalty against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK unveils £159 billion defence equipment plan, but doubts remain Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:46 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain published on Thursday a 159-billion-pound long-term defence equipment spending plan, a move aimed at reversing decades of mismanagement but which drew only qualified praise from experts. The plan covers spending from 2012 to 2022, the first time the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined defence equipment spending over such a long period, reflecting the gestation time of major military projects. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Iran crude oil exports rise to highest since EU sanctions Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:35 PM PST  GENEVA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's crude oil exports in December leapt to their highest level since European Union sanctions took effect last July, analysts and shipping sources said, as strong Chinese demand and tanker fleet expansion helped the OPEC member dodge sanctions. Exports rose to around 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, according to two industry sources and shipping and customs data compiled by Reuters on a country-by-country basis and corroborated by other sources and consultants. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says immigration overhaul possible by first half of 2013 Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 05:06 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama rejected Republican complaints about his proposals for overhauling the U.S. immigration system on Wednesday and said he believed it was possible to get a deal done by the end of the year if not in the first half. Obama gave an interview to a pair of Spanish-language U.S. television networks to promote his proposals for giving 11 million illegal immigrants a pathway to U.S. citizenship after a bipartisan Gang of Eight senators offered its own plan. "I´m hopeful that this can get done, and I don´t think that it should take many, many months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top senator denies sex tourism claim as FBI raids donor's offices Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:26 PM PST MIAMI (Reuters) - New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat and incoming chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denied on Wednesday allegations that he engaged in sex with prostitutes during free trips to the Dominican Republic provided by a political donor. The denial from Menendez, 59, who was re-elected to a second term last year, came as FBI agents searched the offices of a prominent South Florida eye doctor who is the donor linked to his alleged unpaid trips. The FBI did not explain the motive for the raid on the offices of Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. struggles over which gun crimes to prosecute Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A dispute erupted at a congressional hearing on Wednesday over which existing gun-control laws were worth enforcing, even as lawmakers debated whether to pass new ones. The flashes of anger underscored the deep divisions in America's gun culture. "You do not support background checks for all buyers of firearms?" Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont asked the head of the National Rifle Association, the largest U.S. gun rights lobby. ... Full Story | Top |
| RIM rebrands as BlackBerry; launches nifty new devices Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 04:04 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd on Wednesday unveiled the long-delayed line of smartphones it hopes will put it on the comeback trail, but it disappointed investors by saying U.S. sales of its all-new BlackBerry 10 devices will not start until March, sending its share price tumbling 12 percent. Chief Executive Thorsten Heins also announced that RIM was abandoning the name it has used since its inception in 1985 to take the name of its signature product, signaling his hopes for a fresh start for the company that pioneered on-your-hip email. ... Full Story | Top |
| Girl who performed at inauguration killed in Chicago shooting Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:49 PM PST (Reuters) - A 15-year-old Chicago girl who performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration last week was shot to death in a city park in what police think was a case of "mistaken identity" related to a gang turf war. "Mistaken identity -- wrong place at the wrong time," Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said at a press conference on Wednesday, a day after the shooting that killed Hadiya Pendleton and injured another teen. The press conference was broadcast by CLTV. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida teenager's killer seeks to delay trial Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:47 PM PST  ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - George Zimmerman will seek to delay the start of his trial in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin to allow him more time to raise money for his defense, his attorney said on Wednesday. Mark O'Mara, Zimmerman's lead defense attorney, said he planned to file a motion to request the trial, which is scheduled to start in June, be delayed by six months, arguing he needs more time and money to investigate the claims against his client. "I think that we still need another $200,000 to $300,000," he told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| City officials probed for negligence in Brazil nightclub fire Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 03:46 PM PST  SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Prosecutors in southern Brazil, where 235 people died when a fire ravaged a nightclub in Santa Maria last weekend, are investigating whether city leaders and inspectors were negligent in allowing the club to operate. The investigation, which is separate from a criminal probe into the causes of the tragedy, comes after police said the club's sole exit was partially blocked and that fire extinguishers and emergency exit lights weren't working. ... Full Story | Top |
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