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| Kenyans await ruling in disputed presidential election Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 12:09 AM PDT  By Edmund Blair and Humphrey Malalo NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Supreme Court rules on Saturday on a legal challenge to Uhuru Kenyatta's win in a presidential election seen as a test of democracy, five years after vote disputes triggered widespread bloodshed. The country's outgoing president called for calm ahead of a decision that will either confirm the victory of Kenya's richest man Kenyatta or force another vote. Defeated candidate Raila Odinga says the March 4 poll was marred by technical problems and widespread rigging. Both politicians have promised to abide by the court's final word. ... Full Story | Top |
| China "resolutely opposes" U.S. curbs on IT imports: state media Friday, Mar 29, 2013 10:29 PM PDT By Megha Rajagopalan BEIJING (Reuters) - China expressed "resolute opposition" and "strong dissatisfaction" with a new U.S. cyber-espionage rule limiting imports of Chinese-made information technology products, state media reported on Saturday. The remarks underscore growing tension between the world's top two economies after the United States accused China of backing a string of hacking attacks on U.S. companies and government agencies. China says the accusation lacks proof and that it is also a victim of hacking attacks, more than half of which originate from the United States. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. B-2 bombers sent to Korea on rare mission: diplomacy not destruction Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:40 PM PDT  By Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The stealthy, nuclear-capable U.S. B-2 bomber is a veteran of wars in Iraq and Libya, but it isn't usually a tool of Washington's statecraft. Yet on Thursday, the United States sent a pair of the bat-winged planes on a first-of-its-kind practice run over the skies of South Korea, conducting what U.S. officials say was a diplomatic sortie. The aim, the officials said, was two-fold: to reassure U.S. allies South Korea and Japan in the face of a string of threats from North Korea, and to nudge Pyongyang back to nuclear talks. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea says enters "state of war" against South Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:07 PM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday it was entering a "state of war" with South Korea in a continuing escalation of angry rhetoric directed at Seoul and Washington, but the South brushed off the statement as little more than tough talk. The two Koreas have been technically in a state of war for six decades under an armistice that ended their 1950-53 conflict. Despite its threats few people see any indication Pyongyang will risk a near-certain defeat by re-starting full-scale war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Muslims vanish as Buddhist attacks approach Myanmar's biggest city Friday, Mar 29, 2013 08:48 PM PDT  By Jason Szep SIT KWIN, Myanmar (Reuters) - The Muslims of Sit Kwin were always a small group who numbered no more than 100 of the village's 2,000 people. But as sectarian violence led by Buddhist mobs spreads across central Myanmar, they and many other Muslims are disappearing. Their homes, shops and mosques destroyed, some end up in refugee camps or hide in the homes of friends or relatives. Dozens have been killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two fifth-graders face trial in alleged Washington murder plot Friday, Mar 29, 2013 07:46 PM PDT By Laura Myers SEATTLE (Reuters) - Two Washington state fifth-grade boys, accused in a foiled plot to rape and kill a girl and kill or harm six other classmates, will stand trial as juveniles, a prosecutor said on Friday. Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen said the boys, 11 and 10, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Friday over the alleged murder-rape plot that also targeted other children in Colville, Washington, about 215 miles east of Seattle. One of the boys wanted the girl dead because "she's rude and always made fun of me and my friends," according to court documents. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oklahoma to allow horses to be slaughtered for meat Friday, Mar 29, 2013 07:22 PM PDT  OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - Oklahoma took a step toward allowing livestock owners to slaughter horses for food on Friday when the governor signed a bill that permits the practice, but processing plants must first be authorized by the federal government. Governor Mary Fallin's action legalized the slaughter of horses so that their meat may be prepared and packaged for export. But slaughterhouses must get U.S. Department of Agriculture authorization, Fallin said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Big depositors in Cyprus to lose far more than feared Friday, Mar 29, 2013 07:09 PM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Big depositors in Cyprus's largest bank stand to lose far more than initially feared under a European Union rescue package to save the island from bankruptcy, a source with direct knowledge of the terms said on Friday. Under conditions expected to be announced on Saturday, depositors in Bank of Cyprus will get shares in the bank worth 37.5 percent of their deposits over 100,000 euros, the source told Reuters, while the rest of their deposits may never be paid back. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Cyprus, the bank run that wasn't Friday, Mar 29, 2013 06:29 PM PDT By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - In the end it was hardly even a stroll, let alone the widely predicted run on the banks of Cyprus. Commentators had been confident that as soon as the banks reopened on Thursday at noon after Cyprus signed a rescue deal with the European Union to stave off national bankruptcy, there would be scenes of chaos. The experts were right, but it wasn't the Cypriots causing the pandemonium. Television crews from around the world crowded into tiny Eleftheria Square in central Nicosia, the convenient location of two of the capital's main banks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Slovenia will not be the next Cyprus: finance minister Friday, Mar 29, 2013 06:29 PM PDT By Marja Novak and Zoran Radosavljevic LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia will not be the next euro member to need a financial rescue as it can afford to wait for lower borrowing costs before issuing new debt, its top economic official said on Friday. The new center-left government was widely expected to raise money on financial markets shortly after taking office on March 20 but has not done so because Slovenia's borrowing costs have soared due to the turmoil in Cyprus. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Navy SEAL dies in parachute training accident Friday, Mar 29, 2013 06:04 PM PDT PHOENIX (Reuters) - A member of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs died and another was injured in a parachute training accident in Arizona, military officials said on Friday. The man died after being taken to a hospital for injuries sustained in a "free-fall training" accident on Thursday at the U.S. Special Operations Command's Parachute Testing and Training Facility, northeast of Tucson, said Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander David McKinney. The injured man remains hospitalized in stable condition, he said. "I can confirm that a SEAL died yesterday as a result of the accident," McKinney said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyans await ruling in disputed presidential race Friday, Mar 29, 2013 04:34 PM PDT  By Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Supreme Court rules on Saturday on a challenge to Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential election win, a judgment seen as a test of the democratic system five years after another disputed vote triggered tribal bloodshed. The country's outgoing president called for calm ahead of the decision that will either confirm the victory of Kenya's richest man Kenyatta or force another vote. Defeated candidate Raila Odinga says the March 4 poll was marred by technical problems and widespread rigging. Both politicians have promised to abide by the court's final word. ... Full Story | Top |
| Group plans free shotgun give-away to boost safety in Tucson Friday, Mar 29, 2013 03:47 PM PDT  By Brad Poole TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - A non-profit group plans to hand out free shotguns to residents of Tucson, Arizona in an effort to show that more guns mean less crime. The Houston, Texas-based Armed Citizens Project has raised about $12,000 or enough to fund about 36 weapons, Shaun McClusky, a Tucson realtor who launched the Tucson effort, told Reuters on Friday. The group has begun tracking illegal activity in three crime-ridden neighborhoods and will continue to monitor the crime rate after guns are distributed. "This is about public safety. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to reexamine health effects of cellphone radio waves Friday, Mar 29, 2013 03:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators are looking into how radio frequencies emitted by cellphones and other wireless devices affect people amid lingering concerns about the risks of cellphone radiation. The Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it is seeking comment from other agencies and health experts on whether it should update its standards limiting exposure to phones' electromagnetic fields, as they apply to children in particular. The FCC last reviewed those standards in 1996, before the ubiquitous use of mobile devices. ... Full Story | Top |
| House Speaker admonishes fellow Republican for immigrant slur Friday, Mar 29, 2013 03:12 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Friday condemned a reference to migrant workers made by fellow Republican Representative Don Young, calling the comments "offensive and beneath the dignity of the office." Young referred to migrant workers as "wetbacks" in a radio interview aired in his home state of Alaska on Thursday, but issued an apology late in the day after criticism. The term is considered a slur against illegal immigrants who crossed into the United States from Mexico. "My father had a ranch. We used to hire 50-60 wetbacks ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Huntington Ingalls wins $2.6 billion U.S. Navy carrier refueling deal Friday, Mar 29, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. on Friday won a $2.6 billion contract to refuel and overhaul the USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy said. "Refueling, repairing and modernizing a Nimitz-class carrier gives the Navy a fully mission-ready aircraft carrier ready for two and a half more decades of service on the front line," said Captain Frank Simei, program manager for in-service aircraft carriers. The contract award was delayed six weeks due to a delay in passage of the fiscal year 2013 defense spending bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Central African Republic coup leader says will review resource deals Friday, Mar 29, 2013 02:28 PM PDT  By Ange Aboa and Paul-Marin Ngoupana BANGUI (Reuters) - Central African Republic's new President Michel Djotodia, who seized power last week, said on Friday he would review resource deals signed by the previous government and promised to step down at elections in 2016. Djotodia, a former civil servant turned rebel leader, said he would seek aid from former colonial power France and the United States to retrain the ill-disciplined army, which was easily overrun by fighters from his Seleka rebel coalition. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's Xi wraps up Africa tour in Republic of Congo Friday, Mar 29, 2013 02:14 PM PDT  BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) - China's newly appointed President Xi Jinping wrapped up a six-day tour of Africa on Friday in Republic of Congo, where he signed off on infrastructure projects and pledged deeper cooperation between his country and the continent. Thousands of people, many wearing T-shirts bearing the president's likeness, turned out under a blazing equatorial sun to welcome the new Chinese leader to the former French colony's sprawling riverside capital, Brazzaville. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama touts infrastructure in Florida trip focused on economy Friday, Mar 29, 2013 01:22 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason MIAMI (Reuters) - President Barack Obama walked into the mouth of a giant tunnel in Miami on Friday to highlight proposals to boost investment in U.S. infrastructure, a move designed to show a leader still focused on the economy in the midst of broader policy battles in Washington. Obama's tour of the Port of Miami tunnel project and a subsequent speech were aimed at convincing members of the U.S. Congress to back proposals that would leverage taxpayer dollars into funds to rebuild American roads, bridges and other infrastructure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guinea to hold polls with or without opposition: minister Friday, Mar 29, 2013 01:15 PM PDT By Bate Felix and Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) - Guinea will hold long-delayed parliamentary elections this year, to conclude its transition to civilian rule, with or without the participation of the country's main opposition coalition, a government minister said on Friday. The mineral-rich country was originally supposed to hold the vote in 2011 - but it was held up amid wrangling over the makeup of the electoral commission and opposition accusations that the government was planning to rig it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sicily revokes permission for military satellite station Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:57 PM PDT PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) - The Sicilian regional government in Italy has revoked permission for the United States to build a military satellite station on the island, its governor said on Friday, after protests by residents who said it could pose a health risk. The planned ground station is part of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), an ultra high-frequency satellite network aimed at significantly boosting communications capacity for the U.S. military and its allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA approves Johnson & Johnson diabetes drug, canagliflozin Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:47 PM PDT By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - FDA has approved a new diabetes drug from Johnson & Johnson, making it the first in its class to be approved in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, Invokana, after data showed it was effective in lowering blood sugar in patients with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. The FDA has asked for five postmarketing studies for the drug including a cardiovascular outcomes trial, an enhanced pharmacovigilance program, a bone safety study and two pediatric studies, the agency said in a statement on its website. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hundreds of migrants rescued off Italian coast Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:43 PM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italian coastguards said on Friday they had intercepted almost 700 mostly African migrants trying to get to the country on board 10 flimsy and rickety boats. One vessel crammed with 150 people sent out a distress call about 80 miles off the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa on Friday afternoon, the service said. Emergency services were sent to rescue them and another 70 people in a rubber craft nearby. All the other boats were stopped over the last two days. Italy's coast is a common destination for migrants from north and sub-Saharan Africa. ... Full Story | Top |
| No end to Italy deadlock despite president's efforts Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie and Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Italy remained in political deadlock on Friday after a new round of talks led by President Giorgio Napolitano failed to break the stalemate created by elections last month that left no group able to form a government alone. Napolitano, 87, conducted a swift round of talks with the three main forces in parliament on Friday after the failure of a week of efforts by center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani to win support for a new government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury's Lew heading to Europe for talks on economy Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:38 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will travel to Europe in early April, his second international trip since taking office a month ago, to discuss recent deterioration in the euro zone and prospects for boosting global economic growth. Lew will travel to Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin on April 8-9 to meet with the leaders of the European Council and the European Commission as well as European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, among others, the Treasury said on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's centre-left rejects coalition with Berlusconi Friday, Mar 29, 2013 12:05 PM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-left Democratic Party (PD) on Friday rejected a coalition proposed by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as the way out of a deep political crisis, leaving Italy in total deadlock following an election last month. The PD's deputy leader Enrico Letta said after meeting President Giorgio Napolitano that a grand coalition between the traditional parties "would not be the choice of change the country has asked for." PD leader Pier Luigi Bersani this week failed to gather enough support for a government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Azeri election monitor under attack, rights worries grow Friday, Mar 29, 2013 11:53 AM PDT  By Lada Evgrashina and Margarita Antidze BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan said on Friday it was investigating a U.S. vote-monitoring group for fraud ahead of presidential elections in October that are expected to extend President Ilham Aliyev's decade in power in the former Soviet republic. Mainly Muslim Azerbaijan has been governed by Aliyev since he succeeded his father in 2003. It has been courted by the West because of its role as an alternative to Russia in supplying oil and gas to Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy leftist party rules out coalition with Berlusconi Friday, Mar 29, 2013 11:20 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - The junior partner in Italy's center-left alliance ruled out a coalition with Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party following talks on Friday to try to form a government after last month's deadlocked election. "Any possibility of a broad coalition government is out of the question," said Nichi Vendola, leader of the Left, Ecology, Freedom party, the junior partner in the center-left alliance led by Pier Luigi Bersani. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armenia opposition chief ends hunger strike, calls for protests Friday, Mar 29, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  YEREVAN (Reuters) - Defeated Armenian presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian said on Friday he was ending a hunger strike over allegations President Serzh Sarksyan rigged last month's vote, but vowed to continue street protests. Armenia's Constitutional Court has rejected challenges lodged by Hovannisian over the February 18 poll which Sarksyan won with 58.6 percent of the vote. Hovannisian came second with 37 percent. The head of the opposition Heritage Party said he would end his two-week-old hunger strike on Easter Sunday to make sure he had enough energy to keep up his political work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Biogen prices new MS drug at discount to key competitors Friday, Mar 29, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Biogen Idec Inc said on Friday it will charge $54,900 a year for its multiple sclerosis drug, Tecfidera, which received U.S. approval on Wednesday. The company has priced the drug at a discount to key competitors such as Novartis AG's MS pill Gilenya, which costs roughly $60,000 a year, in a bid to maximize its market share. "We think this represents solid value to the MS community and demonstrates our commitment to patient access," said Kate Niazi-Sai, a Biogen spokeswoman. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy centrists willing to form coalition with main parties Friday, Mar 29, 2013 10:23 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's centrist group is willing to form a grand coalition with the main parties that emerged from a deadlocked election, an official told reporters on Friday after the Italian president held talks with parties to try to form a government. "We expressed our full willingness and commitment to form a grand coalition between the three main parties," said Andrea Olivero, a Senator of the Civic Choice party led by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York state passes budget on time third year in a row Friday, Mar 29, 2013 10:17 AM PDT  By Cheryl Clark ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - New York's Assembly passed the state's $135 billion budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 on Thursday just before midnight, the third budget in a row to be delivered on time in a state known for regularly being late. Lawmakers rushed to sign off on the legislation during a week that was punctuated with religious holidays and have succeeded in getting the job done ahead of the start of the state's fiscal year on April 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian coastguard intercepts more than 470 migrants Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:43 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's coastguard said on Friday it had intercepted eight flimsy and rickety boats carrying more than 470 migrants, mostly from Africa, who were attempting to reach Italian shores over the past two days. Italy bears the brunt of clandestine seaborne migration to southern Europe. Most migrants risk the voyage across the Mediterranean Sea in small and overcrowded fishing boats. Thousands have died as a result of shipwreck, harsh conditions at sea or a lack of food and water in recent years, activists say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Latvia rescues 220 people stranded on ice Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:42 AM PDT RIGA (Reuters) - Latvia's emergency services rescued more than 220 people who were stranded on ice floes in the Gulf of Riga on Friday. About 180 people, mostly fishermen, were rescued from a floe off the town of Vakarbulli, while another 43 people were taken off the ice near the seaside resort of Jurmala. The State Fire and Rescue Service used boats, ships and helicopters in an operation that took more than three hours, said Viktorija Sembele, a spokeswoman for the service. The ice had drifted in strong winds about 4 km (2-1/2 miles) from the shore by the end of the operation, she said. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House condemns assaults on women at Egyptian demonstrations Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:31 AM PDT  ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Friday condemned the rape and assault of women at recent demonstrations in Egypt and called on the Cairo government to prevent sexual violence and prosecute those responsible. The New York Times reported that on January 25, the second anniversary of the Tahrir Square revolution in Cairo, at least 18 cases of sexual assaults were reported by human groups. White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters that the United States is deeply concerned at reports of rapes and sexual assaults in public squares in Egypt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ruling Serb Progressive Party stays popular: opinion poll Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:26 AM PDT  By Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) - The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the strongest in Serbia's coalition government, kept its popularity in March, indicating it could win any snap election, an opinion poll published on Friday said. The poll conducted this month put support for the SNS, led by Vice-Premier Aleksandar Vucic, at 38.6 percent, well ahead of the 14.8 percent scored by its closest rival, the opposition Democratic Party, which lost power in an election in May. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kyrgyz MPs jailed for plotting coup Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:21 AM PDT By Olga Dzyubenko BISHKEK (Reuters) - A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced three opposition members of parliament to up to 18 months in jail on Friday for leading a protest the judge said had aimed to seize power by force in the Central Asian nation. Prosecutors had sought jail terms of up to 10 years for nationalist MPs Kamchibek Tashiyev, Sadyr Zhaparov and Talant Mamytov, who led a crowd which tried to storm government headquarters last October. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's 5-Star Movement rejects deal with other parties Friday, Mar 29, 2013 09:18 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement said on Friday that it would not give a confidence vote to any government led by other politicians or technocrats like outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti. "We repeat our determination not to give a confidence vote to political or pseudo-technocrat governments," Vito Crimi, head of the 5-Star Movement's senators, told reporters after meeting President Giorgio Napolitano. Crimi said his movement would only support a government that it led. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish police seize firearms cache on Syrian border Friday, Mar 29, 2013 08:58 AM PDT AKCAKALE, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish authorities said they had seized thousands of guns in a warehouse by the Syrian border, and a local news agency said the weapons had been destined for Turkey's war-torn neighbor. The firearms - including more than 5,000 shotguns and rifles, starting pistols, gunstocks and 10,000 cartridges - were discovered during a raid in a village on the edge of the Turkish town of Akcakale and displayed to journalists on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumer data support sturdy first-quarter growth picture Friday, Mar 29, 2013 08:51 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending rose in February and sentiment among Americans perked up this month, further signs of an acceleration in economic activity in the first quarter after a near stall late last year. The data on Friday also showed a rebound in income growth, putting the economy in a better shape to deal with tighter fiscal policy, particularly $85 billion in across-the-board federal government spending cuts, known as the "sequester. ... Full Story | Top |
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