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| U.S. stares down start of steep "automatic" budget cuts Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:05 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government hurtled on Friday toward making deep spending cuts that threaten to hinder the nation's economic recovery, after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree on an alternative deficit-reduction plan. Locked in during a bout of deficit-reduction fever in 2011, the time-released "automatic" cuts can only be halted by agreement between Republican lawmakers and the White House. That has proved elusive so far. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Glencore bartered with firm linked to Iran nuclear program Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:08 PM PST  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Commodities giant Glencore supplied thousands of tons of alumina to an Iranian firm that has provided aluminum to Iran's nuclear program, intelligence and diplomatic sources told Reuters. The previously undisclosed barter arrangement between Glencore, the world's biggest commodities trader, and the Iranian Aluminum Company (Iralco) illustrates how difficult it is for Western powers to curb Iran's ability to trade with the rest of the world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bradley Manning pleads guilty to misusing classified data in WikiLeaks case Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:11 PM PST  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private accused of providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website pleaded guilty on Thursday to misusing classified material he felt "should become public," but denied the top charge of aiding the enemy. Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, entered the pleas prior to his court martial, which is set to begin on June 3, in a case that centers on the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history. Military judge Colonel Denise Lind accepted the guilty pleas late in the afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Benedict's reign ends with a promise to obey next pope Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:51 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict ended his difficult reign on Thursday pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history. The papacy became vacant at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT/2PM ET), marking the first time in six centuries a pope has resigned instead of ruling for life. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed's Evans sees economy achieving "escape velocity" by 2014 Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 07:50 PM PST  DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - The U.S. economy should emerge from the doldrums next year if the Federal Reserve sticks to its super-easy monetary policies, a top Fed official said on Thursday, even as he warned that cutting back too early would be a "big mistake." The Fed is buying $45 billion in Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage bonds per month, its third round of "quantitative easing," and has said it will continue the purchases until it sees substantial improvement in the labor market outlook. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: The big U.S. budget cuts: Will the bite match the bark? Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:02 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delays of four hours or more at airports. Exasperating wait times for people, and goods, crossing America's borders. Reduced paychecks for thousands of civilians employed by the Pentagon. The U.S. Coast Guard, crippled in its patrols of U.S. waters. Meat shortages, thanks to cutbacks in food inspections. Teachers of low-income children and special-education students losing their jobs. These are just samples of the possible consequences of impending across-the-board U.S. government budget cuts as described by officials in President Barack Obama's administration. ... Full Story | Top |
| China February factory growth fizzles as demand wanes Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:32 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory growth cooled to multi-month lows in February as domestic demand dipped, weighing on firms already hit by slack foreign sales and underlining the patchiness of the country's economic recovery. But the bigger-than-expected retreat in two purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs) on Friday does not signal China's economy is slipping into another slowdown, analysts said. Instead, they show China's recovery this year would be mild, as widely expected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Turkey row over Zionism deepens rift between ex-allies Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:40 PM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's prime minister accused his Turkish counterpart on Thursday of making a "dark and false" statement by calling Zionism a crime against humanity - a comment likely to hit efforts to repair ties between the two former allies. The Turkish premier's statement, made at a U.N. meeting in Vienna a day earlier, was also condemned by the head of Europe's main rabbinical group who called it a "hateful attack" on Jews. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cardinals begin long process of picking new pope Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:00 PM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - With Pope Benedict XVI now officially in retirement, Catholic cardinals from around the world begin on Friday the complex, cryptic and uncertain process of picking the next leader of the world's largest church. Some details are still unclear, owing to Benedict's break with the tradition that papacies end with a pope's death, so these "princes of the Church" will first hold an informal session before traditional rounds of talks begin on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran nuclear talks show progress, Western diplomat says Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:05 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers this week were more constructive and positive than in the past, but Iran's willingness to negotiate seriously will not become clear until an April meeting, a senior Western diplomat said on Thursday. The diplomat was more upbeat about the talks in Kazakhstan than other Western officials have been, suggesting there could be a chance of diplomatic progress in the long standoff over Iran's nuclear activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: China plans bond overhaul to fund $6 trillion urbanization - sources Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:19 PM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans major bond market reform to raise the money the ruling Communist Party needs for a 40 trillion yuan ($6.4 trillion) urbanization program to buoy economic growth and close a chasm between the country's urban rich and rural poor. The Party aims to bring 400 million people to cities over the next decade as the new leadership of president-in-waiting Xi Jinping and premier-designate Li Keqiang seek to turn China into a wealthy world power with economic growth generated by an affluent consumer class. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blame game gets louder with budget cuts looking inevitable Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:10 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day before sweeping budget cuts begin, the White House and Republicans blamed each other on Thursday for failure to prevent a fiscal crisis which the International Monetary Fund warned could slow the U.S. and world economies. Absent a highly unlikely last-ditch deal, the $85 billion in cuts across federal government agencies start on Friday. ... Full Story | Top |
| West to send Syrian rebels aid, not arms Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:43 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Western powers pledged aid for Syrian rebels on Thursday but stopped short of offering them weapons, disappointing opponents of President Bashar al-Assad clamoring for more arms. More than 70,000 Syrians have been killed in a fierce conflict that began with peaceful anti-Assad protests nearly two years ago. Washington has given $385 million in humanitarian aid for Syria but U.S. President Barack Obama has so far refused to give arms, arguing it is difficult to prevent them from falling into the hands of militants who could use them on Western targets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Election result may condemn Italy to weak, short government Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 10:08 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Italy's electoral earthquake seems to have condemned the country to the thing it needs least - a short-term government and new elections in as little as six months or a year. A huge protest vote in the Feb 24-25 election produced the worst possible result for Italy's stagnant and recession-hit economy - a parliament in which no single group has a workable majority and populist leader Beppe Grillo has the whip hand. Global markets plunged immediately after the election before calming on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus president says committed to stability, swift bailout Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:44 AM PST  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's new President Nicos Anastasiades vowed on Thursday to work for a swift conclusion of a bailout for the cash-starved island, ruling out debt or deposit "haircuts" for the Mediterranean nation threatened with a financial meltdown. Economic turmoil engulfing Cyprus, one of the euro zone's smallest economies, could test the European Union's mettle in a crisis threatening to spill beyond the tiny island's shores and unravel nascent recovery in the bloc. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada minister doesn't expect U.S. to veto Keystone pipeline Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:29 AM PST  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said on Thursday he does not expect the United States to reject TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to Texas. U.S. officials say they expect the government to make a final decision on the northern leg of the $5.3 billion pipeline by the middle of the year. Green groups strongly oppose Keystone XL, which they say will boost global warming, and want President Barack Obama to block the project. "I remain cautiously optimistic," Oliver told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Economy barely expands in fourth quarter, brighter days ahead Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:26 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The economy barely grew in the fourth quarter as the military slashed spending and companies restocked their shelves with less gusto, but growth already appears to be picking up. The Commerce Department said on Thursday the economy expanded at a 0.1 percent annual rate in the last three months of 2012, scratching an earlier estimate that had showed a small decline. The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter of 2011 and fell short of the 0.5 percent economists had expected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Benedict's reign ends with a promise to obey next pope Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:21 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict ended his difficult reign on Thursday pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history. The papacy became vacant at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT/2PM ET), marking the first time in six centuries a pope has resigned instead of ruling for life. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bradley Manning pleads guilty to misusing classified data in WikiLeaks case Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:50 PM PST  FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private accused of providing secret documents to the WikiLeaks website pleaded guilty on Thursday to misusing classified material he felt "should become public," but denied the top charge of aiding the enemy. Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, entered the pleas prior to his court martial, which is set to begin on June 3, in a case that centers on the biggest leak of government secrets in U.S. history. Military judge Colonel Denise Lind accepted the guilty pleas late in the afternoon. ... Full Story | Top |
| Regulators move forward on foreclosure relief Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:14 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Borrowers whose homes were foreclosed on during the U.S. housing crisis will start receiving payments in April from a $3.6 billion fund under a previously announced settlement with 13 banks, regulators said on Thursday. Certain borrowers whose mortgages were serviced by one of the 13 banks can expect to receive between a few hundred dollars and $125,000, under settlements designed to end case-by-case reviews of past foreclosures. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bangladesh Islamist's death sentence sparks deadly riots Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 08:34 AM PST  DHAKA (Reuters) - A Bangladeshi Islamist party leader was sentenced to death on Thursday over abuses carried out during the country's independence war, triggering riots that killed at least 30 people. Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 73, vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty by Bangladesh's war crimes tribunal of mass killing, rape, arson, looting and forcing minority Hindus to convert to Islam during the 1971 war of separation from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian president says forming new government cannot be rushed Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 11:24 AM PST  BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said on Thursday that the formation of a new government could not be rushed because of what he said were unfounded fears that Italy was a threat to the stability of Europe. Napolitano told reporters during a visit to Berlin that the Italian constitution requires 20 days between elections - which were held on Sunday and Monday - and the new parliament sitting for the first time. "I don't see right now how it could be accelerated. ... Full Story | Top |
| Journalist Woodward tangles with White House over spending cuts Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 06:35 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A prominent Washington journalist said in interviews on Wednesday a senior White House official warned him he would "regret" publishing a story challenging the White House's account of how the idea for automatic spending cuts originated. Bob Woodward said in interviews with Politico and CNN that when he informed the White House he was writing a story critical of the White House's handling of a debate over the origin of the cuts, known as sequestration, the official reacted angrily. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Italy election punches hole in ECB's euro defenses Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 06:07 AM PST  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A dramatic anti-austerity vote leaves Italy lying outside the fortress the European Central Bank constructed around the euro zone last year and vulnerable to a market attack. This week's election leaves slim prospects for a durable, reform-minded government in Rome and exposes a flaw in the bond-buying defense plan the ECB put together last September - a weakness that could see the euro zone crisis roar back to life. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate defeats Democratic alternative to automatic spending cuts Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 12:26 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic plan backed by President Barack Obama for replacing $85 billion in across-the-board government spending cuts that are set to begin within hours. As expected, the Senate defeated the proposal that would have substituted the indiscriminate budget cuts with tax increases on the rich and the elimination of some farm subsidies for large corporations. Republicans have vowed to block any new tax increases as part of deficit-reduction efforts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope Benedict quits Vatican with promise to obey successor Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 09:20 AM PST VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict left the Vatican on Thursday after pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history. The first pope in six centuries to step down, Benedict flew off in a white Italian air force helicopter for the papal summer villa south of the capital where he took up temporary residence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to name Edith Ramirez as FTC chief Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:35 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is to name Edith Ramirez, once his colleague at the Harvard Law Review, as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission, the FTC said on Thursday. Ramirez, 44, a Democrat who worked for Obama during the 2008 presidential race, was a lawyer specializing in business litigation and intellectual property in Los Angeles. She has been a commissioner since 2010. Ramirez is to begin work as chairman on Monday, the FTC said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Grillo's rookies ready to take Italian parliament by storm Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:41 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Meet the Grillini. They are the 162 very ordinary people who are now regarded with trepidation by financial markets and world leaders after this week's Italian election failed to produce a government. The Grillini - literally "little Grillos" - are the lawmakers elected for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of comic Beppe Grillo, which upset all forecasts by emerging as the largest party in Italy. ... Full Story | Top |
| New top diplomats in China signal focus on U.S., Japan, North Korea Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 12:13 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - China is signaling that it is keen to get on top of troubled ties with the United States, Japan and North Korea with the likely appointment of two officials with deep experience of these countries to its top diplomatic posts. Current Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, ambassador to Washington from 2001-2005 and a polished English speaker, is tipped to be promoted to state councilor with responsibility for foreign policy, three independent sources said. China has only five such councilors and the post is senior to that of foreign minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jobless claims hint at improving labor market Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:36 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting some traction in the labor market recovery. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 344,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 4,000 more applications received than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 360,000. ... Full Story | Top |
| China says U.S. routinely hacks Defense Ministry websites Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 05:03 AM PST  BEIJING (Reuters) - Two major Chinese military websites, including that of the Defense Ministry, were subject to about 144,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds of which came from the United States, the ministry said on Thursday. This month a U.S. computer security company said that a secretive Chinese military unit was likely behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting the United States, setting off a war of words between Washington and Beijing. China denied the allegations and said it was the victim. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Egypt's army tiptoes through democracy's minefield Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:29 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - As cities along the Suez Canal erupted in violence in late January, the leader of Egypt's armed forces feared for the future of the fledgling democracy. General Abdel Fattah Sisi told the elected president, Mohamed Mursi, that the situation was critical, according to Egyptian security sources familiar with the events. "The military leadership advised the president that national security was threatened following the chaos and vandalism that befell the cities of Suez and Port Said," a security source with links to the military told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan government taps Kuroda for BOJ in battle for economic revival Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 03:39 AM 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 that 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 Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 04:43 AM PST  KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Thailand's government will hold formal peace talks with a major Muslim rebel group for the first time next month, marking a breakthrough in efforts to end a worsening conflict in the country's south that has claimed over 5,000 lives since 2004. Senior Thai officials and members of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) group signed the agreement for the talks in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. ... Full Story | Top |
| Western governments to discuss military assistance to Syrian rebels: source Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 01:09 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Western and Arab officials will meet representatives of the Syrian opposition in Istanbul next Monday to discuss military and humanitarian support for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, a European diplomatic source said on Thursday. "The meeting aims to work directly with opposition structures to increase the level of support," the source said, adding that both civilian and military representatives of the Syrian opposition would attend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves Lew as Treasury chief Thursday, Feb 28, 2013 06:42 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The 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 50 Democrats present 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 |
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