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| Obama renews offer to cut social safety nets Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 10:49 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama raised anew the issue of cutting entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security as a way out of damaging budget cuts, a White House official said on Sunday, as both sides in Washington tried to limit a fiscal crisis that may soon hit millions of Americans. Signaling he might be ready to explore a compromise to end automatic spending cuts that began late Friday, Obama mentioned reforming these entitlement programs in calls with lawmakers from both parties on Saturday afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: China's next inner circle Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 02:47 PM PST  HONG KONG (Reuters)-Even as Xi Jinping gets ready to assume the presidency of China this month, jockeying has begun for 2017 when rising stars of the ruling Communist Party move into top leadership posts. China's first and second generation Communist Party leaders, such as Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, ruled as single paramount leaders. But over the past two decades, Chinese leaders have tried to institutionalize governance with an emphasis on collective leadership - except when it comes to choosing leaders. ... Full Story | Top |
| BOJ nominee Kuroda sets out aggressive policy ideas Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 09:32 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japan government's nominee to be the next central bank governor outlined more forceful policy prescriptions on Monday to finally defeat deflation, saying he would not set any limits on the amount of cash the Bank of Japan pumps into the economy. Underlining expectations he would be an aggressive governor, Haruhiko Kuroda told lawmakers the BOJ's current policies were not powerful enough to boost inflation to 2 percent, a target he said the central bank should strive to achieve in two years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu says Iran using nuclear talks to "buy time" for bomb Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 06:20 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Renewed international efforts to negotiate curbs on Iran's disputed nuclear program have backfired by giving it more time to work on building a bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. His remarks on the inconclusive February 26-27 meeting between Iran and six world powers signaled impatience by Israel, which has threatened to launch preemptive war on its arch-foe, possibly in the coming months, if it deems diplomacy a dead end. Senior U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Four policemen butchered as Kenyans queue in tense vote Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 10:37 PM PST  NAIROBI/MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyans stood patiently in long lines on Monday to elect a new president but machete-wielding youths on the coast killed four policemen, casting a shadow over a vote seen as vital to repairing Kenya's image after tribal bloodshed five years ago. A few hours before the 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) start of voting and with long queues formed across the nation before sunrise, four police officers on patrol in the Mombasa port city area were hacked to death by attackers, a senior police officer said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: China eyes market forces to drive forex reform agenda Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 02:18 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is set to use swelling offshore holdings of its tightly-managed currency worth around 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) to justify a landmark shift in tactics to relax capital controls. The shift means the People's Bank of China (PBOC) will abandon a time-table approach to liberalizing capital controls, favoring instead a series of reforms tied to soaring foreign demand for yuan to give more freedom to invest offshore currency deposits on the mainland. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Alfa Romeo reboot marks tough road for Fiat recovery Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 09:44 PM PST  GENEVA/DETROIT (Reuters) - Sergio Marchionne does not walk on water. Nevertheless, it may require a miracle to pull off the Fiat chief's latest gambit: Take his sporty Alfa Romeo brand global with more expensive models and triple its sales volume by 2016 - after years of losses. To add extra spice to the challenge, which takes place as European car sales plummet to 17-year-lows, the new Alfas will be built in Italy, where labor and material costs are far higher than in the United States, Asia or Eastern Europe. The plan is however about far more than the fate of the Alfa brand. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Optimistic India budget jars with revenue reality Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 01:06 PM PST  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Staking his credibility on meeting a deficit-cutting target, Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is likely to be forced to scale back spending in the upcoming fiscal year after delivering a federal budget that makes aggressive revenue assumptions. Cutting expenditure would pit Chidambaram against the ruling Congress party's urge to ramp up populist spending ahead of elections due in 2014, and risks exacerbating a dramatic slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| French soldier killed in Mali, Belmokhtar fate unsure Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 02:04 PM PST  PARIS/GAO, Mali (Reuters) - France said on Sunday a third French soldier had been killed in fierce fighting with Islamist rebels in northern Mali but could not confirm Chad's report that its troops had killed the al Qaeda commander behind January's mass hostage-taking in Algeria. A whirlwind seven-week campaign has driven al Qaeda-linked fighters who took over northern Mali last April into mountain and desert redoubts, where they are being hunted by hundreds of French, Chadian and Malian troops. ... Full Story | Top |
| Opposition leader visits Syria amid Assad offensive Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 03:50 PM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - Exiled opposition figure Moaz Alkhatib visited Syria on Sunday for the first time since fleeing last year, as rebels said President Bashar al-Assad's forces embarked on counter-offensives in various parts of the country. In the central city of Homs, heavy fighting broke out between loyalist forces and opposition brigades dug in preparation for an onslaught, opposition sources said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama renews budget offer to cut social safety nets Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 03:03 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama raised anew the issue of cutting entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security as a way out of damaging budget cuts, a White House official said on Sunday, as both sides in Washington tried to limit a fiscal crisis that may soon hit millions of Americans. Signaling he might be ready to explore a compromise to end automatic spending cuts that began late Friday, Obama mentioned reforming these entitlement programs in calls with lawmakers from both parties on Saturday afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Without Belmokhtar, jihadi networks would suffer Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 12:02 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly two years after the killing of Osama bin Laden, the death in Mali of Algerian commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, if confirmed, would be a serious blow to al Qaeda's efforts to recover its cohesion as a force for global jihad. Official sources question how far al Qaeda's leadership is able to influence its branches in far-flung North Africa, arguing that an intensive U.S. drone campaign on its presumed haven in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan has severely damaged its ability to exercise command and control. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb at Shi'ite mosque kills 45 in Pakistan Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 11:13 AM PST KARACHI (Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber attacked Shi'ite Muslims as they were leaving a mosque in Pakistan's commercial capital on Sunday, killing at least 45 people, in another signal Sunni militants are escalating sectarian attacks. "It's like doomsday to me. I was watching television when I heard an explosion and my flat was badly shaken," said Mariam Bibi. "I saw people burning to death and crying with pain. I saw children lying in pools of their own blood and women running around shouting for their children and loved ones. ... Full Story | Top |
| A reflective Romney emerges from seclusion, rips Obama Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 10:35 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four months after his bitter election defeat, a reflective Mitt Romney said it "kills" him not to be president and admitted mistakes were made in his losing White House campaign - particularly his failure to win over minority voters. In his first television interview since November's loss to President Barack Obama, Romney leveled a fresh blast of criticism at Obama for failing to lead and putting politics ahead of results in the confrontation with congressional Republicans over the budget and spending cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu says Iran using nuclear talks to "buy time" for bomb Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 03:55 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Renewed international efforts to negotiate curbs on Iran's disputed nuclear program have backfired by giving it more time to work on building a bomb, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. His remarks on the inconclusive February 26-27 meeting between Iran and six world powers signaled impatience by Israel, which has threatened to launch preemptive war on its arch-foe, possibly in the coming months, if it deems diplomacy a dead end. Senior U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's Queen Elizabeth in hospital with stomach bug Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 10:15 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Queen Elizabeth went into hospital in London on Sunday with symptoms of gastroenteritis, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said. The 86-year-old monarch first developed symptoms of the stomach bug on Friday and the decision to take her to hospital was a precautionary measure. She was in good spirits and her condition was not deteriorating, the palace spokesman said. All the queen's engagements for the coming week, including a trip to Italy scheduled for March 6-7, have been cancelled or postponed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Luxury villas, designer labels: jailed Mexico union boss' U.S. oasis Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 10:52 AM PST  CORONADO, California (Reuters) - Boasting two properties in an exclusive enclave just outside San Diego and an enviable designer wardrobe, the jailed boss of Mexico's teachers' union was just another multi-millionaire to her neighbors. As Elba Esther Gordillo, once widely regarded as the most powerful woman in Mexico, languishes in a Mexico City jail on charges she embezzled around $200 million in union funds, her six bedroom, three-floor luxury villa on the Coronado Cays stands empty. Gordillo, 68, has previously denied allegations of corruption. Her lawyer could not be reached for comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libya stops gas exports to Italy after militia fight Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 11:45 AM PST  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya has stopped gas exports to Italy from its Mellitah complex after fighting on Saturday between militias, Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) and Italy's Eni said on Sunday. Libya's defense ministry sent security personnel to secure the complex, about 100 km (60 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, to ensure exports could resume soon, said Abdufattah Shagan, chairman of Mellitah, an NOC-Eni joint venture. Mellitah supplies Italy with gas through the Greenstream pipeline, which at full capacity pumps at least 8 billion cubic meters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Militant says Belmokhtar alive: monitoring service Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 11:09 AM PST  DUBAI (Reuters) - Algerian al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar, reported killed by Chadian troops, is alive, a monitoring service that tracks online militant forums reported a contributor as saying on Sunday. An unidentified participant in militant website discussions said in a message posted on several forums that Belmoktar was "alive and well and leading the battles himself", the U.S.-based SITE service reported. The message said Belmokhtar, the presumed mastermind behind a hostage-taking at an Algerian gas plant in January, would soon issue a message confirming the news, SITE reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Women deserve bigger role in Church, says key cardinal Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 06:55 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church must open itself up to women in the next pontificate, giving them more leadership positions in the Vatican and beyond, according to a senior cardinal who will be influential in electing the next pope. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, an Argentine, also said the next pope should not be chosen according to a geographic area but must be a "saintly man" qualified to lead the Church in a time of crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Papal vote preparations start in earnest at Vatican Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 03:28 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Preparations for electing Roman Catholicism's new leader begin in earnest on Monday as the College of Cardinals opens daily talks to sketch an identikit for the next pope and ponder who among them might fit it. The idea is to have the new pope elected during next week and officially installed several days later so he can preside over the Holy Week ceremonies starting with Palm Sunday on March 24 and culminating in Easter the following Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Retrial of Egypt's Mubarak and sons set for April 13 Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 05:33 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - The retrial of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, his sons and top aides will begin next month, an Egyptian court said on Sunday, ordering the politically-fraught hearings over the killing of protesters to start just nine days before elections. Mubarak, the first Arab ruler to be tried by his people after the uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa, was jailed for life for ordering the killing of demonstrators, but granted a retrial by a Cairo court in January. ... Full Story | Top |
| What's on Amazon: The e-tailer's quest to make TV hits Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 07:10 AM PST  (Reuters) - A new show called "Alpha House," whose pilot filmed in New York late last month, has many of the ingredients necessary for television success. John Goodman, coming off notable roles in Oscar-winning movies "Argo" and "The Artist," is the star. Bill Murray did a cameo. Stephen Colbert shot a teaser for the next episode of the series, which is written by "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau. Yet this is not the project of a big movie studio or a television network but rather of Amazon.com Inc, the world's largest Internet retailer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shi'ite fighters rally to defend Damascus shrine Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 07:23 AM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Shi'ite fighters from Iraq and Lebanon have joined fellow Shi'ite Syrian gunmen to defend a shrine south of Damascus which they fear is threatened by Sunni rebels battling President Bashar al-Assad. The presence of Shi'ite combatants from neighboring states - confirmed by sources in Iraq and Syria and highlighted in videos glorifying their mission - underlines how Syria's conflict is inflaming sectarian feelings in the region. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Groupon may usher in more “serious” era Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 05:06 AM PST  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Groupon Inc under a new chief executive should look a lot trimmer with a sharply reduced international arm, a more focused business - and minus its large and once internally celebrated editorial staff, analysts and investors say. The exit of co-founder and CEO Andrew Mason - fired after another disappointing set of quarterly results slashed Groupon's market value by a quarter - may usher in a new, more "serious" era marked more by careful, painful decisions rather than reckless geographical and market expansion. ... Full Story | Top |
| From Hollywood to Kansas, drones are flying under the radar Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 07:06 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - They hover over Hollywood film sets and professional sports events. They track wildfires in Colorado, survey Kansas farm crops and vineyards in California. They inspect miles of industrial pipeline and monitor wildlife, river temperatures and volcanic activity. They also locate marijuana fields, reconstruct crime scenes and spot illegal immigrants breaching U.S. borders. Tens of thousands of domestic drones are zipping through U.S. skies, often flouting tight federal restrictions on drone use that require even the police and the military to get special permits. ... Full Story | Top |
| A push for change in China as new leaders take the helm Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 12:33 AM PST  YUANGUDUI, China (Reuters) - For Chen Qiuyang, the new Chinese leadership that formally takes over this month can radically improve her life by doing just one thing: providing running water in her village in a remote corner of the northwestern province of Gansu. "We have to carry water from the well on our shoulders several times day. It's exhausting," Chen, who looked older than her 28 years, said in Yuangudui village, resting on a stool outside her home after completing another trip to the well. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Daimler CEO Zetsche unveils his last-chance saloon Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 06:18 AM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - Embattled Daimler AG boss Dieter Zetsche will this week defend his strategy - and his job - by unveiling a new Mercedes seen as key to the premium carmaker's turnaround. In his first major appearance since the board extended his contract by less than expected last month, Zetsche will be looking to the CLA compact to fix Daimler's chronic underperformance in small cars, as well as his own management record. Both objectives face long odds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violence spreads in Borneo as five Malaysian police killed Sunday, Mar 03, 2013 12:01 AM PST  LAHAD DATU, Malaysia (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed five policemen in Malaysia's Sabah state where members of an armed faction from the Philippines have been facing off with security forces as they stake an ancient claim to the remote corner of Borneo island. Police on Friday tried to end the standoff with scores of followers of the sultan of Sulu, a south Philippine region, who occupied a Sabah village in February to press their claim. Two policemen and 12 followers of the sultan were killed. ... Full Story | Top |
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