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| Libyan police captain abducted in Benghazi Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 11:28 PM PST  BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A police investigator was missing after being abducted in the militia-ridden Libyan city of Benghazi, police said on Thursday, but tests on a charred body showed it was not his. The corpse charred with hydrochloric acid and found in the Buhmeida district was not that of the missing Captain Abdel-Salam al-Mahdawi, head of the city's criminal investigation unit, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said. "The body that was found in Benghazi was that of another man's and not Captain al-Mahdawi," Zeidan told reporters. "We wish that he is returned home safely to his family. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels demand government sign ceasefire for talks Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:38 PM PST  BUNAGANA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congolese rebels on Thursday threatened to walk away from this week's peace talks to end their nine-month revolt unless the government signs an official ceasefire, a demand Kinshasa dismissed as unnecessary. The rebel March 23 Movement, preparing for talks on Friday in Kampala, capital of regional mediator Uganda, said government troops had reinforced positions in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and warned it would resist an offensive. ... Full Story | Top |
| French Niger hostages alive and well: minister Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:30 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - Four French hostages kidnapped two years ago by al Qaeda's North African arm are alive and well but being held in "very difficult" conditions, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday. In a statement following a meeting with the hostages' families, Fabius said all four were being well fed in captivity, and had access to a doctor and had received letters sent to them by their relatives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan, South Sudan leaders to try to defuse tension at summit Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:29 PM PST  KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The leaders of Sudan and South Sudan meet on Friday to make another attempt to defuse hostilities after their countries split and restart cross-border oil flows to throw their beleaguered economies a lifeline. Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir and South Sudan's Salva Kiir have both signalled possible concessions at the talks in Addis Ababa to end a stalemate over how to set up a demilitarised buffer zone after the countries came close to war in April. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ghana's cedi seen steady ahead of bond auction Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:26 PM PST  ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana's cedi is expected to hold ground against the dollar next week ahead of a three-year government bond auction, traders said on Thursday. The Bank of Ghana is due to issue 400 million cedis worth of bonds on January 10, open to foreign investors, to settle maturing notes. "We expect the cedi to hold firm against the dollar this month, supported by the upcoming three-year auction, which is also expected to bring in offshore inflows," Christopher Nettey of Stanbic Ghana said. On Thursday, the cedi traded at 1.9050/75 by 12.30 GMT, from Wednesday's close offered at 1.9090. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: "Fiscal cliff" fracas: From smiles to distrust to rancor Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 10:10 PM PST  (Note: includes graphic language) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It began so optimistically. On November 16, after their first "fiscal cliff" session with President Barack Obama, the four leaders of Congress had stood in the driveway of the White House shoulder-to-shoulder for what is a rare photo these days, Republicans and Democrats together, smiling. There they were at the microphone, talking about a "framework" for tax reform and deficit reduction. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wal-Mart defends low-price ads after rivals' objection Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 09:29 PM PST  (Reuters) - Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc has gone on the defensive against charges by competitors that a recent ad campaign is using inaccurate information, leading the competitors to file complaints with state legal officials. A Wal-Mart Stores spokesman defended the retailer's ad campaign that claims to offer better prices on some products than competitors, after the Wall Street Journal reported rivals have complained to attorneys general in more than half a dozen states. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hiring seen edging up, recovery grinds on Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 09:01 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers likely stepped up hiring a touch in December as retailers and other businesses took on more staff for the holidays, but the gain will probably not be enough to make inroads in the country's still high unemployment rate. Payrolls outside the farming sector are expected to have grown by 150,000 last month, a modest increase from November's 146,000 job gain, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. The employment reading, due to be released by the Labor Department on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Same-sex marriage bill heads to Illinois state Senate floor Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:48 PM PST  SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (Reuters) - A panel of Illinois lawmakers voted on Thursday to send legislation legalizing gay marriage in President Barack Obama's home state to the floor of the state Senate, setting up a possible vote on the issue next week. The 8-5 vote by the Senate Executive Committee fell along party lines, with the panel's Democratic majority supporting the measure and its Republican minority opposing it. Although the Democratic-controlled Senate adjourned late on Thursday, lawmakers said the bill likely would be called on Tuesday when the Senate returns for a special session. ... Full Story | Top |
| As Newtown students return to school, more worry for parents Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:43 PM PST  NEWTOWN, Connecticut (Reuters) - The roar of school buses and the sight of bundled-up youngsters dashing out of them for home made a welcome return on Thursday in a neighborhood of Newtown, Connecticut, scarred by the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history three weeks ago. Classes resumed on Thursday for more than 400 students at Sandy Hook Elementary School. But even as the community inched back to normal, reminders of the December 14 massacre that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults were everywhere. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC drops case against ex-Berkshire exec Sokol: lawyer Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 08:28 PM PST  (Reuters) - The U.S. securities regulator has decided not to take action against David Sokol, once considered a possible candidate for the top job at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Sokol's lawyer told Reuters. In 2011, Buffett said Sokol violated the company's insider trading rules to score a $3 million windfall profit on shares of U.S. chemicals maker Lubrizol, which rose by nearly a third after Berkshire Hathaway announced it would buy the company. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Geithner's planned departure puts Obama in tough spot Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 07:21 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plans to leave near the end of January put the White House in a tricky spot, depriving the Obama administration of its longest-serving economic adviser for its next fiscal showdown with Congress. Geithner, who spent his years as Treasury secretary battling the financial crisis and then fighting with Republican lawmakers in 2011 over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, has wanted to leave government service for some time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chavez still has "severe" respiratory problem Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:48 PM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering a "severe" respiratory infection that has hindered his breathing as he struggles to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba, the government said on Thursday. The 58-year-old socialist leader has not been seen in public nor heard from in more than three weeks. Officials say he is in delicate condition after his fourth operation in just 18 months for an undisclosed form of cancer in his pelvic area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chavez still has "severe" respiratory problem: Venezuela government Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 06:26 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is still suffering from a lung infection that has hindered his breathing as he battles to recover from December 11 cancer surgery, the government said on Thursday. "Commander Chavez has faced complications as a result of a severe lung infection," Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said, reading the latest official update on the president's condition in a hospital in Cuba. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb hits Damascus petrol station, 11 killed Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:27 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded on Thursday at a petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus, opposition activists said. The petrol station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long civil war, the activists said. The bombing took place in the Barzeh al-Balad district, whose residents include a mix of majority Sunni Muslims and several other religious and ethnic minorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eleven dead in Damascus gas station blast Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:27 PM PST  AZAZ, Syria (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and 40 wounded when a car bomb exploded at a crowded petrol station in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, opposition activists said. The station was packed with people queuing for fuel that has become increasingly scarce during the country's 21-month-long insurgency aimed at overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad. The semi-official al-Ikhbariya television station showed footage of 10 burnt bodies and Red Crescent workers searching for victims at the site. ... Full Story | Top |
| House chooses Boehner as speaker again despite dissent Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:14 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Despite a rocky few weeks during the "fiscal cliff" fight, John Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will again lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner defeated House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi 220-192 in a vote on the opening day of the 113th Congress and vowed to use his second term to shrink the national debt of $16 trillion to prevent it from "draining free enterprise. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish agency blamed by U.S. companies for intercepted Web pages Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:09 PM PST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An agency of the Turkish government deployed a deceptive version of some Google Inc web pages, possibly to monitor activity by its employees, major Internet companies said on Thursday. The reports are the latest in a series of incidents in which hackers or governments have taken advantage of the loose rules surrounding the standard security for financial and other sensitive sites, those with Web addresses starting with Https. ... Full Story | Top |
| Al Jazeera's new channel struggles for U.S. distribution Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:09 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Al Jazeera's announced plans to establish a new U.S. cable news channel via the purchase of Current TV isn't even 48 hours old and already it finds itself in a vicious battle to retain distribution rights. Al Jazeera's acquisition of Current TV is basically a pay-for-distribution play. The Qatar-backed network plans to replace Current TV in the more than 40 million homes where it is currently distributed with its own news network, tentatively dubbed Al Jazeera America. The new network's success is predicated on maintaining, if not increasing, that level of distribution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former lawmaker Giffords to visit Newtown on Friday Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 05:05 PM PST (Reuters) - Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a mass shooting in her Arizona district two years ago, plans to visit Newtown, Connecticut, the site of last month's deadly elementary school massacre, the Connecticut lieutenant governor's office said Thursday. Giffords plans to attend a private event at a local home on Friday, Steven Jensen, spokesman for Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, said in an email. The event will have no media access and Giffords' plans are still developing and may change. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chicago couple eagerly awaits Illinois gay marriage vote Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:46 PM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Theresa Volpe and Mercedes Santos' 8-year-old daughter, Ava, has learned about the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s in school. So her school friends understand when she tells them her two moms are fighting for their civil rights to marry -- it's just hard to explain it to grown-ups sometimes, Volpe and Santos say. "This is really for our kids," said Volpe, who along with Santos are plaintiffs in a lawsuit demanding same sex marriage in Illinois. "It's important for them to be treated fairly. We're just as much a family as any other family. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed minutes short-circuit Wall Street rally Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:43 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks dipped on Thursday after signs the Federal Reserve has growing concern about its highly stimulative monetary policy, giving investors reason to pull back after a two-day rally. The minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, released on Thursday, showed increasing reticence about adding to the central bank's $2.9 trillion balance sheet, which it expanded sharply in response to the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Northern Irish police injured as flag row turns violent again Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:25 PM PST BELFAST (Reuters) - Eight police officers were injured in Northern Ireland on Thursday when protests at the removal of the British flag from Belfast City Hall turned violent for the first time in more than two weeks. Pro-British loyalists began rioting and fighting street battles with police after a decision a month ago by mostly nationalist pro-Irish councillors to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag from City Hall every day in the British-controlled province. More than 40 police officers were injured in the initial wave of violence, which stopped over Christmas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congressional critics of bin Laden film step up pressure on CIA Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:15 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. senators, including the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, have stepped up their pressure on the CIA over its response to "Zero Dark Thirty," a new film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. In a letter sent to the CIA and released on Thursday, Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Intelligence Committee, Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin and Senator John McCain asked the agency for evidence that "enhanced interrogation techniques" produced information that helped U.S. authorities locate and kill the al Qaeda leader in May 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. ends long Google probe with only mild reprimand Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:09 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a major victory for Google Inc, U.S. regulators on Thursday ended their investigation into the giant Internet company and concluded that it had not manipulated its Web search results to hurt rivals. The Federal Trade Commission did, however, win promises from Google that it would end the practice of "scraping" reviews and other data from rivals' websites for its own products, and to allow advertisers to export data to independently evaluate advertising campaigns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Transocean to pay $1.4 billion for role in BP oil spill Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 04:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle U.S. government charges over BP Plc's massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 and the rig contractor admitted that its crew on the Deepwater Horizon was partly responsible. Transocean, which employed nine of the 11 workers killed in the accident, had set aside $1.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Justice out of a $1.95 billion Macondo loss provision. The settlement, unveiled on Thursday by the DoJ, includes $1 billion in civil penalties and $400 million in criminal penalties. ... Full Story | Top |
| $400 million raised by charities working on Sandy relief in New York Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:58 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Charities working on Superstorm Sandy relief in New York have raised at least $400 million, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said on Thursday. Starting in November, Schneiderman contacted 90 charities that helped after the late October devastation, asking them to complete a survey detailing the amount they raised and how it was being spent. As of Thursday, 88 had obliged and their responses were posted on a website run by the attorney general, www.CharitiesNYS.com. Schneiderman said the charities' information had not been checked for accuracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Flood program to run dry without congressional action: FEMA Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:58 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The flood insurance program will run out of money to pay claims for Hurricane Sandy and other disasters in coming days unless Congress lets it borrow more funds, the national emergency agency said on Thursday. The warning from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) came a day ahead of a vote by the House of Representatives on a $9 billion payment on storm-related support for the National Flood Insurance Program. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF's economist: budget cuts may hurt growth less now Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:47 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Belt-tightening in advanced economies may not be as harmful to growth now as it was during the height of the financial crisis, but governments should still be careful about drastic cuts, an International Monetary Fund research paper found on Thursday. The IMF came under heavy criticism in October when it conceded that austerity programs it recommended during the global economic crisis were more costly than expected, causing economic damage that was as much as triple the amount forecast. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court hearing delayed for former Haitian President Aristide Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:44 PM PST  PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Thursday won a delay until next week in a court hearing to address accusations he exploited former street children for political gain. Aristide, who did not appear in court, has not been charged with a crime and a judge will ultimately decide whether any charges should be filed. His lawyer successfully argued that the hearing should be delayed to next Wednesday because the court summons was served improperly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mississippi man pleads guilty to hate crimes following attacks Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 03:39 PM PST JACKSON, Miss (Reuters) - A Mississippi man pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal hate crime charges in connection with attacks on African-Americans that ended with a black man dead after being run over by a truck, federal officials said. Joseph Dominick, 21, was the sixth person to plead guilty to hate crimes charges for being part of a group of white males who routinely assaulted blacks in the Jackson area starting in the spring of 2011, attacking victims with motor vehicles, beer bottles and sling shots. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuban group says political detentions rose dramatically in 2012 Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 02:55 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - Political detentions rose dramatically in Cuba in 2012 and will likely increase again in 2013 because of a lack of "real reforms" on the communist island, a Cuban human rights group said on Thursday. The independent Cuban Commission of Human Rights said in its annual report there were 6,602 detentions of government opponents last year, compared to 4,123 in 2011 and 2,074 in 2010. Elizardo Sanchez, head of the group, said the rise reflected growing discontent among Cubans and the government's attempts to keep a lid on dissent. ... Full Story | Top |
| NY pension fund sues Qualcomm for political records Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 02:33 PM PST  (Reuters) - New York State's $150-billion public pension fund has sued Qualcomm Inc., seeking to force the chipmaker to reveal its political spending, according to the state comptroller. The suit was filed late on Wednesday in Delaware Court of Chancery, after Qualcomm refused the request by the New York State Common Retirement Fund -- a Qualcomm shareholder -- to inspect records detailing the use of corporate resources for political activities, said state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the fund. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senator from cotton state named top Republican on farm panel Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 02:01 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran claimed the role of Republican leader on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday, giving the U.S. cotton-and-rice-growing region a more powerful voice in the debate over how to reform farm subsidies. Cochran, who chaired the committee from 2003 to 2007, displaced Pat Roberts from Kansas, one of the largest wheat-growing states. Roberts was an advocate of replacing traditional crop subsidies with a program that shielded crop revenue from poor yields or low prices. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Congress tax panels welcome fresh faces Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The rosters of the powerful, tax-writing panels of the U.S. Congress were nearly filled out on Thursday, with three prominent Republicans named to the Senate Finance Committee. At a time when tax-and-spending issues are at center stage, Republican Senators Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Rob Portman of Ohio are joining the finance panel. It is chaired by Montana Democrat Max Baucus. Toomey in 2011 proposed a tax reform plan that included raising revenues - taboo to many Republicans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rig accident shows danger of Arctic drilling - Green groups Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:42 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opponents of Royal Dutch Shell's ambitious Arctic oil program have called on the Obama administration to put offshore drilling plans in the region on hold after one of the company's oil rigs broke away from tow boats in high seas and ran aground off Alaska. The Natural Resources Defense Council and The Wilderness Society on Thursday said the accident involving Shell's Kulluk oil rig is new evidence that oil companies are not prepared to safely manage the extreme conditions of the Arctic. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. approves health exchanges in four Republican-governed states Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:32 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials on Thursday gave four states currently governed by Republicans the green light to set up their own health insurance exchanges under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, an initiative largely opposed by Republicans. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah joined a list totaling 17 states and the District of Columbia that have all won conditional approval to establish their own state exchanges, with operations set to begin on January 1, 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed becoming worried about stimulus side effects Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:27 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials are increasingly concerned about the potential risks of the U.S. central bank's asset purchases on financial markets, even if they look set to continue an open-ended stimulus program for now. In a surprise to Wall Street, minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, published on Thursday, showed a growing reticence about further increases in the central bank's $2.9 trillion balance sheet, which it expanded sharply in response to the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Private sector job gains offer hope for labor market Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:18 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Private-sector employers shrugged off a looming budget crisis and stepped up hiring in December, offering further evidence of underlying strength in the economy as 2012 ended. While other data on Thursday showed an increase in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits, the trend remained consistent with steady job growth. "The underlying economy has momentum, and the employment data confirms that. The hope and prayer of the market is that our political leaders don't screw it up," said John Brady, managing director at R.J. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S.: Time not right for Google executive's North Korea trip Thursday, Jan 03, 2013 01:16 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday the time was not right for Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and former diplomat Bill Richardson to visit North Korea, which drew international criticism for a rocket launch last month. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said Schmidt and Richardson would be traveling as private citizens, not representatives of the U.S. government. "Frankly, we don't think the timing of this is particularly helpful," Nuland told reporters, citing North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket in December. ... Full Story | Top |
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