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| White House, Republicans dig in ahead of budget talks Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 06:02 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Positions hardened on Wednesday between U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders over the budget crisis even as they arranged to hold last-ditch talks to prevent harsh automatic spending cuts beginning this week. Looking resigned to the $85 billion in "sequestration" cuts starting on Friday, government agencies began reducing costs and spelling out to employees how furloughs will work. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate approves Lew as Treasury chief Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 05:46 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jack Lew as President Barack Obama's new Treasury secretary, putting the former White House chief of staff in the middle of political brawls over the government's budget. Senators backed Lew 71-26, with all 53 Democrats voting in favor. Lew's most pressing task will be to find a compromise to lessen the economic blow from $85 billion in government spending cuts set to kick in on Friday. But two more deadlines will quickly follow. Funds for most government operations expire on March 27, and the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel delays CIA nominee Brennan's confirmation vote Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 04:10 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday postponed until next week a vote on the confirmation of White House aide John Brennan to be CIA director, dashing hopes of Democratic leaders who had hoped to have a vote on Thursday. The committee's Republican vice chairman, Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, said the panel expects to hold the vote on Tuesday. No explanation for the delay was immediately available. ... Full Story | Top |
| Low-key departure as pope steps down and hides away Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 04:18 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict slips quietly from the world stage on Thursday after a private last goodbye to his cardinals and a short flight to a country palace to enter the final phase of his life "hidden from the world". In keeping with his shy and modest ways, there will be no public ceremony to mark the first papal resignation in six centuries and no solemn declaration ending his nearly eight-year reign at the head of the world's largest church. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan government taps Kuroda for BOJ in battle for economic revival Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:20 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe nominated an advocate of aggressive policy action to head the Bank of Japan, challenging the opposition to back his push for radical action as officials warned a nascent economic upturn could easily be derailed. By choosing Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda to take over at the central bank, Abe is looking to deliver on an election pledge of overhauling monetary policy to revive the economy after nearly two decades of mild deflation and lackluster growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thailand agrees to talks with southern Muslim rebels Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:53 PM PST  KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 Reuters) - Thailand's government agreed on Thursday to start talks with a major Muslim rebel group, marking a breakthrough in efforts to end a worsening conflict in the country's south that has claimed over 5,000 lives since 2004. The agreement, signed in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur by senior Thai security officials and members of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) group, opens the way for the first formal peace talks with rebels seeking autonomy or even a separate state in the south. ... Full Story | Top |
| Business spending plans gauge hits 13-month high Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 02:13 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gauge of planned U.S. business spending recorded its largest increase in more than a year in January, suggesting growing confidence in the durability of the economic recovery. The case for the economy's resilience was further bolstered by another report on Wednesday showing that contracts to buy previously owned homes approached a near three-year high last month. Housing is expected to underpin growth this year. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, jumped 6. ... Full Story | Top |
| Elegant Damascus, besieged by both sides Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:09 AM PST  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - In a city lived in for seven millennia, it may take more than two years of civil war to put a full stop to the genteel round of dinner parties and walks in the park for the affluent folk of downtown Damascus. But from out in the grim suburbs, rebels incensed at their prosperous neighbors' passivity lob in more bombs and President Bashar al-Assad's forces make their presence ever more heavily felt around his stronghold, disrupting comfortable old routines and setting fear gnawing at Damascenes' cocoon of civilization. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's political crisis deepens, Grillo refuses to support government Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 01:05 PM PST  ROME (Reuters) - An Italian political crisis that has rattled the euro zone deepened on Wednesday when two party leaders ruled out the most likely options to form a government and avoid a new election. Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from center-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani's junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the center-right. ... Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO says he feels shareholders' pain, urges long view Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:45 PM PST  CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday acknowledged widespread disappointment in the company's sagging share price but shared few details about its secretive product pipeline and touched only briefly on a raging debate about how best to reward shareholders. The world's most valuable technology company headed into its annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters on shakier ground than it has been accustomed to in years, since the iPhone and iPad helped vault the company to premier investment status. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran upbeat on nuclear talks, West still wary Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:39 AM PST  ALMATY (Reuters) - Iran was upbeat on Wednesday after talks with world powers about its nuclear work ended with an agreement to meet again, but Western officials said it had yet to take concrete steps to ease their fears about its atomic ambitions. Rapid progress was unlikely with Iran's presidential election, due in June, raising domestic political tensions, diplomats and analysts had said ahead of the February 26-27 meeting in the Kazakh city of Almaty, the first in eight months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan government nominates Kuroda, Iwata, Nakaso to BOJ board: lawmaker Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 08:08 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government has nominated Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda to be the next governor of the Bank of Japan, a lawmaker said on Thursday. Kuroda, 68, would replace current BOJ governor Masaaki Shirakawa, who will step down on March 19. The government also nominated academic Kikuo Iwata and BOJ official Hiroshi Nakaso to serve as the central bank's two deputy governors, said Genichiro Sata, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. In coming days, the three candidates will give testimony in parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| America must not "dictate" to world, new defense chief says Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:03 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, promising to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to "dictate" to the world. Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad. "We can't dictate to the world. But we must engage the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves Lew as new Treasury chief Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:40 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jack Lew as President Barack Obama's new Treasury secretary, putting the former White House chief of staff in the middle of a bitter political fight over the government's budget. Senators backed Lew with a 71-26 vote. All of the chamber's 53 Democrats voted for him. Some Republicans had expressed misgivings about Lew's perks from previous employers Citigroup and New York University. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House, Republicans dig in ahead of budget talks Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 02:55 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Positions hardened on Wednesday between President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders over the budget crisis even as they arranged to hold last-ditch talks to prevent harsh automatic spending cuts beginning this week. Looking resigned to the $85-billion in "sequestration" cuts starting on Friday, government agencies began reducing costs and spelling out to employees how furloughs will work. Expectations were low that a White House meeting on Friday between Obama and congressional leaders, including Republican foes, would produce any deal to avoid the cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel delays CIA nominee Brennan's confirmation vote Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:34 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday postponed until next week a vote on the confirmation of White House aide John Brennan to be CIA director, dashing hopes of Democratic leaders who had hoped to hold a vote on Thursday. The committee's Republican vice chairman, Senator Saxby Chambliss, said the panel expects to hold the vote on Tuesday. No immediate explanation was available for why the vote was delayed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama will meet with congressional leaders on spending cuts Friday Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:37 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with top congressional leaders on Friday to discuss the deep, automatic U.S. government spending cuts slated to go into effect that day, congressional and White House officials said on Wednesday. Obama is set to meet with Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope speaks of "rough seas" of papacy at emotional farewell Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 06:51 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict bid an emotional farewell at his last general audience on Wednesday, acknowledging the "rough seas" that marked his papacy "when it seemed that the Lord was sleeping." In an unusually public outpouring for such a private man, he alluded to some of the most difficult times of his papacy, which was dogged by sex abuse scandals, leaks of his private papers and reports of infighting among his closest aides. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO, European governments, hit by "MiniDuke" cyber attack Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 12:33 PM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hackers targeted dozens of computer systems at government agencies across Europe through a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc's software, security researchers said on Wednesday, while NATO said it too had been attacked. The alliance said its systems had not been compromised, although it was sharing the details of the attack with NATO member states and remained vigilant. Security experts say governments and organizations such as NATO are attacked on a daily basis - although the sophistication varies wildly. ... Full Story | Top |
| Conservatives on high court cast doubt on voting law Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 11:24 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative Supreme Court justices on Wednesday signaled strong doubts about the ongoing validity of a key part of the Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965 to end a century of attempts by formerly slaveholding Southern states to block blacks from voting. During a tense and sometimes fractious oral argument, which extended beyond the scheduled hour, the nine justices considered the claim made by officials from Alabama's Shelby County that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was no longer needed nearly five decades later. ... Full Story | Top |
| Storm that buried Plains slams Great Lakes region Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 06:22 AM PST  CHICAGO (Reuters) - A powerful winter storm that buried the U.S. Plains moved on Tuesday into the southern Great Lakes region, where it snarled the evening commute in Chicago and Milwaukee, created near-whiteout conditions and forced hundreds of flight cancellations. Wind gusts of up to 35 miles per hour (56 km per hour) hurled a potent blend of wet snow and sleet on north-central Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northern Indiana and Ohio, according to the National Weather Service. ... Full Story | Top |
| America must not "dictate" to world, new defense chief says Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 09:59 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Decorated Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel was sworn in as U.S. defense secretary on Wednesday after a bruising Senate confirmation battle, and promised to renew old U.S. alliances and forge new ones without attempting to "dictate" to the world. Addressing Pentagon employees shortly after a small, closed-door swearing-in ceremony, Hagel spoke optimistically, if vaguely, about global challenges ahead and the importance of American leadership abroad. "We can't dictate to the world. But we must engage the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea blames U.S. for tension on peninsula Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 06:02 AM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Wednesday of contributing to an "unpredictable" situation on the divided Korean peninsula and abusing its power in the U.N. Security Council to impose its "hostile policy" against Pyongyang. North Korea is facing further United Nations sanctions for its underground nuclear test explosion two weeks ago, its biggest and most powerful to date which drew warnings from Washington and international condemnation. ... Full Story | Top |
| China likely to appoint expert on North Korea, Japan as foreign minister Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 03:13 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is likely to appoint an expert on Japan and North Korea as its next foreign minister, three independent sources said, in a measure of Beijing's resolve to improve difficult relationships with two of its closest neighbors. Barring last-minute changes, Wang Yi, 59, China's ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007, was likely to be appointed foreign minister during the annual full session of parliament next month, the sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's Abe to advance reforms with free trade decision Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 04:13 AM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears poised to raise the curtain on Act Three of his "Abenomics" drama with a decision to join talks on a U.S.-led free trade pact, seen by some as a test of his appetite for vital economic reform. Abe's first two acts - big spending and a push for hyper-easy monetary policy aimed at reviving the economy - have met little political opposition, since few vested interests are harmed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Target cautious after weak holiday quarter, shares fall Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:02 AM PST  (Reuters) - Target Corp on Wednesday offered a cautious outlook for consumer spending in 2013 following a weak holiday quarter and said it was on track with its massive Canadian store opening plans this year. The discount retailer's fourth-quarter profit fell short of Wall Street expectations as the number of purchases dropped 1 percent, the first such decline in 14 quarters. Its shares fell nearly 1 percent at $63.46 after dropping as much as 3.7 percent. "The U.S. economy is growing at a painfully slow rate," Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said on a conference call. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish rebel leader sees Turkey pullout by August: media Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 05:28 AM PST  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan is proposing to withdraw his fighters from Turkey by August if Ankara pushes through reforms under a draft plan to end a 28-year insurgency, media reports said on Wednesday. Imprisoned on Imrali island near Istanbul since 1999, Ocalan has since October been discussing a deal with Turkey's government to end a conflict that has killed 40,000 people since his Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms in 1984. ... Full Story | Top |
| Manhunt under way for gunman who killed South Carolina college student Wednesday, Feb 27, 2013 10:09 AM PST CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A statewide manhunt was under way on Wednesday for a gunman who fatally shot a South Carolina university student outside a dormitory and then fled the campus in a car, police said. No motive has been revealed for the attack, which occurred Tuesday night at an apartment-style residence that houses almost 2,000 students about 2 miles from the main campus of Coastal Carolina University, near Myrtle Beach. ... Full Story | Top |
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