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| Supreme Court indicates it may strike down marriage law Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:00 PM PDT By Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court seemed to be leaning on Wednesday toward striking down a law that denies federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples in a move that would reflect a shift in Americans' attitudes about gay marriage. In a second day of oral arguments on same-sex marriage, a majority of the court raised serious concerns with the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, enacted in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus reopens banks under tight restrictions Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:45 AM PDT  By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriots banks reopen on Thursday with tight controls imposed on transactions to prevent a run on deposits after the government was forced to accept a stringent EU rescue package to prevent the country from going bankrupt. Banks were shut almost two weeks ago as the government negotiated a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout package, the first in Europe's single currency zone to impose losses on bank depositors. Bank staff turned up for work early in Nicosia as cash was delivered by armored trucks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Wal-Mart may get customers to deliver packages to online buyers Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 10:01 PM PDT  By Alistair Barr and Jessica Wohl SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc is considering a radical plan to have store customers deliver packages to online buyers, a new twist on speedier delivery services that the company hopes will enable it to better compete with Amazon.com Inc. Tapping customers to deliver goods would put the world's largest retailer squarely in middle of a new phenomenon sometimes known as "crowd-sourcing," or the "sharing economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democratic hopes dashed for Hong Kong 2017 election Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:11 PM PDT  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hopes that Hong Kong's 2017 election will be genuinely democratic have been dashed after a senior Chinese leader said, regardless of the vote, Beijing will have the final say on who is appointed Hong Kong's next leader. Qiao Xiaoyang, chairman of the law committee of the National People's Congress, said China will not allow someone who "confronts" Beijing to become Hong Kong's leader. "First, the nomination committee will decide. Then voters in Hong Kong will decide. ... Full Story | Top |
| Red-tape Belgium falls behind euro zone peers Thursday, Mar 28, 2013 12:18 AM PDT  (Please note strong language in line 62) By Robin Emmott and Ben Deighton CHARLEROI, Belgium (Reuters) - Just a day after giving birth, Belgian entrepreneur Esmeralda Desart was back at work running her export business, putting in the kind of 16-hour day that has become the norm since she started up a company selling printer parts in 2007. Refused bank loans, looking after a baby was just one more concern as Desart confronted the problems of red tape and rising costs that entrepreneurs say are making her homeland at the heart of the euro zone a bad place for business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite threats, North Korea keeps border factories open Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 08:13 PM PDT  By Ju-min Park PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - A heavily armed border crossing between North and South Korea that allows the North access to $2 billion in trade a year, one of its few avenues to foreign currency, remained open on Thursday despite Pyongyang's move to cut communications. North Korea on Wednesday severed the last of three telephone hotlines with South Korea as it readied its troops to face what it believes to be "hostile" action from Seoul and Washington. ... Full Story | Top |
| Internet slowed by cyber attack on spam blocker Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:32 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - One of the largest ever cyber attacks is slowing global internet services and the disruption could get worse, experts said on Wednesday, after an organization blocking "spam" content became a target. Spamhaus, a London and Geneva-based non-profit group which helps weed out unsolicited "spam" messages for email providers, said it had been subjected to "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attacks on an unprecedented scale for more than a week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shell faces new probe over Alaska drill program Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:51 PM PDT  By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A fourth government probe is under way into Royal Dutch Shell's mishap-prone 2012 Alaska drilling season, this time for possible violations of international marine environmental rules, a U.S. Coast Guard official said on Wednesday. The Coast Guard has asked federal prosecutors to consider taking action on possible violations of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) committed in the operations of Shell's Kulluk drillship, said Rear Admiral Thomas Ostebo, head of the Coast Guard in Alaska. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to cut all channels with South Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 08:14 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - Reclusive North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment", it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack. The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to "hostile" military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea. The North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain opens inquest into Berezovsky's unexplained death Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Maria Golovnina LONDON (Reuters) - Britain opens a judicial inquiry into the death of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky on Thursday to establish how he died in the locked bathroom of his vast mansion near London. Berezovsky, who survived years of intrigue, power struggles and assassination attempts in Russia, was found dead on Saturday in his home in Ascot, a town close to Queen Elizabeth's Windsor Castle. Police said there was no sign of a struggle and the 67-year-old's death was "consistent with hanging", suggesting he might have killed himself. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senators say they expect to deliver immigration bill Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 03:36 PM PDT  By Tim Gaynor NOGALES, Ariz (Reuters) - Members of a bipartisan group of eight Senators took their quest for a deal on immigration reform to the Arizona-Mexico border on Wednesday where they said they were on track to deliver a bill when Congress resumes next month. The senators - New York Democrat Charles Schumer, Arizona Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake and Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet - toured a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border where many foreigners have entered the United States illegally. ... Full Story | Top |
| American Airlines-US Airways merger gets court approval Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:45 PM PDT  By Nick Brown NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday approved AMR Corp's plan to merge with US Airways Group, a step toward creating the world's largest airline. AMR, parent of American Airlines and in bankruptcy since November 2011, must still construct a formal restructuring plan incorporating the merger that meets court and creditor approval before the airline can emerge from bankruptcy. American Airlines announced the plan to combine with US Airways last month, a deal that also requires regulatory approval. In a crowded Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday, U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. law to restrict government purchases of Chinese IT equipment Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh and Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress quietly tucked in a new cyber-espionage review process for U.S. government technology purchases into the funding law signed this week by President Barack Obama, reflecting growing U.S. concern over Chinese cyber attacks. The law prevents NASA, and the Justice and Commerce Departments from buying information technology systems unless federal law enforcement officials give their OK. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition opens first embassy, says world lets it down Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  By Yara Bayoumy and Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - A Syrian opposition bloc recognized by the Arab League as the sole representative for Syria opened its first embassy in Qatar on Wednesday in a diplomatic blow to President Bashar al-Assad. But opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib, who took Syria's seat at an Arab summit in Doha on Tuesday, used the ribbon-cutting ceremony to voice his frustration with world powers for failing to do more to help in the two-year-old struggle to topple Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea to cut all channels with South as "war may break out any time" Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 09:43 AM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Reclusive North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment", it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack. The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to "hostile" military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea. The North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| BRICS "Big Five" find it hard to run as a herd Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:59 AM PDT  By Pascal Fletcher DURBAN, South Africa (Reuters) - At a summit in South Africa on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin likened the BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - to Africa's "Big Five" game beasts of trophy hunting lore - the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. The Russian president's comparison captures the dilemma of these muscular emerging global powers, which together present a formidable potential economic and political counterweight to the developed West, but individually could hardly be more different. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus reopens banks, under strict restrictions Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:12 PM PDT By Karolina Tagaris and Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriots are expected to descend in their thousands on Thursday on banks, which reopen with tight controls imposed on transactions to prevent fleeing depositors from cleaning out the vaults in a catastrophic bank run. The east Mediterranean island fears a stampede at banks almost two weeks after they were shut by the government as it negotiated a 10 billion euro ($12.78 billion) bailout package with the European Union to escape financial meltdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: FBI has cooperating witness for soccer fraud probe: sources Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:57 AM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An FBI probe into alleged corruption in international soccer has recently intensified after investigators persuaded a key party to be a cooperating witness, U.S. law enforcement sources said. They said that the witness is Daryan Warner, the son of former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner. The sources declined to further discuss the role of Daryan Warner, who could not be reached for comment. They also would not say who might be charged, if anybody, or when. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lean inventories hold back pending home sales Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 11:16 AM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes fell in February, held back by a shortage of properties, but there is little to suggest that the housing market's recovery is stalling. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Wednesday said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, slipped 0.4 percent to 104.8. Still, contracts last month remained at the second-highest level in nearly three years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Afghanistan says ready to work for peace without Pakistan help Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:55 AM PDT  By Michael Georgy and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan is shocked by Pakistan's "complacency" in the nascent Afghan peace process and is ready to work without Islamabad's help on reconciliation, Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin told Reuters on Wednesday. It was the first time Afghanistan has suggested the possibility of going it alone without its neighbor. Regional power Pakistan is seen as critical to stabilizing Afghanistan because of its long ties to insurgent groups. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt could hold delayed election in October: Mursi Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi said on Wednesday parliamentary elections could be delayed until October, a postponement which could give his cash-strapped administration breathing space to negotiate an IMF deal. Mursi's original plan was for a four-stage election that would start in late April and put a parliament in place by July. But the schedule fell apart this month when a court canceled the presidential decree setting the dates. "Perhaps the elections will be held in the coming October," state news agency MENA quoted Mursi as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lehman plans to distribute $14.2 billion to creditors Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:51 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it plans to distribute about $14.2 billion to creditors early next month, as the company winds down following its emergence from bankruptcy protection last year. The distribution, to be made April 4, will be Lehman's third since it emerged from Chapter 11 protection on March 6, 2012. Lehman said the payout will increase total distributions to about $47.2 billion, with two-thirds going to third parties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Hopes, suspicions over peace in Kurdish rebel hideout Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 06:34 AM PDT  By Patrick Markey and Isabel Coles QANDIL MOUNTAINS, Iraq (Reuters) - Shattered stone houses recall Turkish air strikes on Kurdish rebels holed up in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq. Life is harsh amid the snowcapped peaks, supplies are sparse and armed forays across into Turkey perilous in the extreme. Yet rebel chief Abdullah Ocalan, who declared a ceasefire from his Turkish prison cell last week, may not find it easy to coax his fighters down as part of any deal to end a conflict that has taken over 40,000 lives. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: German reliance on Deutsche Bank outweighs scandals Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 04:19 AM PDT  By Edward Taylor and Philipp Halstrick FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany has become so dependent on Deutsche Bank to grease the wheels of its export driven economy that it looks willing to gloss over scandals involving its largest bank. Deutsche is one of several European banks under investigation by regulators in Europe and the United States for its suspected role in rigging benchmark interest rates. It is cooperating with German authorities in a separate inquiry into alleged tax fraud. Deutsche has denied allegations it misvalued derivatives and mis-sold mortgage-backed securities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy politics still stuck as Bersani to face president Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 01:51 PM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani was left on Wednesday with only slim hope of forming a government after talks with rival party leaders ended with rejection from Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement. Bersani said he would report back to President Giorgio Napolitano on Thursday and called on all parties to "accept their responsibilities" and allow a government to be formed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Rebuff of missile request helps Assad - Syria opposition leader Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 05:56 AM PDT  By Yara Bayoumy and William Maclean DOHA (Reuters) - The refusal of international powers to provide Patriot missile support for rebel-held areas of northern Syria sends a message to President Bashar al-Assad to "do what you want", Syrian opposition leader Moaz Alkhatib said on Wednesday Alkhatib, a popular figure in the opposition, also said he would not rescind his resignation as leader of the main anti-Assad alliance but he would still perform leadership duties for the time being. ... Full Story | Top |
| Petraeus apologizes for affair, moves to mend image Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 07:08 AM PDT  By Brandon Lowrey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former CIA Director David Petraeus apologized on Tuesday for the extramarital affair that forced his November resignation and acknowledged the toll it took on his family, career and reputation. His appearance at an event honoring University of Southern California veterans and Reserve Officers' Training Corps students was his first public speech since the storied Army general's career was cut short by the scandal. Petraeus noted that "life doesn't stop with such a mistake. It can and must go on. ... Full Story | Top |
| In snub to Assad, opposition takes Syria's Arab summit seat Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013 02:34 AM PDT  By Sami Aboudi and Yara Bayoumy DOHA (Reuters) - To applause from Arab heads of state, a foe of Bashar al-Assad took Syria's vacant seat at an Arab summit on Tuesday, deepening the president's diplomatic isolation and diverting attention from rifts among his opponents. Speaking at an annual gathering of Arab leaders in the Gulf state of Qatar, Moaz Alkhatib said he had asked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for American forces to help defend rebel-controlled northern parts of Syria with Patriot surface-to-air missiles now based in Turkey. NATO swiftly rebuffed the idea. ... Full Story | Top |
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