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| Syrian prime minister survives bomb attack: TV Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:42 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki survived a bomb attack that targeted his convoy in central Damascus on Monday, Syrian state media and Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported. "The terrorist explosion in al-Mezze was an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister. Doctor Wael al-Halqi is well and not hurt at all," state television said. It had earlier reported that a "terrorist explosion" in the Mezze district, where many government and military institutions are situated and where senior Syrian officials live, had caused casualties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two dead, 8 missing after cargo ships collide off Greece Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:32 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Two people drowned and eight are missing after two cargo ships collided off southwestern Greece early on Monday, the Greek coastguard said. The drowned and missing crew were from the Pirireis, sailing under a Cook Islands flag, which was in a collision with the ConSouth carrier about 75 nautical miles off the islet of Sapienza, a coastguard official said. The ConSouth, sailing under an Antigua-Barbuda flag, was not seriously damaged and its crew of 16 is safe. "Pirireis had a crew of 17. ... Full Story | Top |
| Investors welcome new Italian government Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:24 AM PDT MILAN (Reuters) - Italian bond investors cheered on Monday the formation of a coalition government by new Prime Minister Enrico Letta, a move that ends two months of political deadlock and easing short-term concerns about the country's ability to implement reforms. If the government wins a confidence vote in parliament later on Monday, this would remove the threat of a snap election, an option not liked by investors as it would ensure more political uncertainty while the social crisis is intensifying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eight dead in Pakistan bombing, including son of Afghan cleric Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:21 AM PDT  By Jibran Ahmad PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A bomb killed eight people in Pakistan on Monday, including the son of an influential Afghan cleric, and wounded about 45 in the northwestern city of Peshawar, officials said. Bombings and attacks have increased across the country in the run-up to a May 11 general election. The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for most of the violence and some political parties have decided not to hold open-air rallies because of the danger. The attack on Monday appeared to be aimed at the convoy of a city official, said police officer Mohammad ... Full Story | Top |
| Moody's says Italy may still eventually need bailout Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:08 AM PDT By Francesca Landini MILAN (Reuters) - Rating agency Moody's believes Italy may still eventually need to seek a bailout despite forming a new government and avoiding immediate crisis. "We cannot yet rule out Italy will end up asking for help to the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism," Dietmar Hornung, senior credit officer at Moody's, was cited as saying in Monday's told La Repubblica. Prime Minister Enrico Letta's new Italian government was sworn in on Sunday and the premier will seek the backing of parliament in a confidence vote at 3 p.m. on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta government begins life in climate of crisis Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:05 AM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - New Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta will seek the backing of parliament in a confidence vote on Monday, facing severe political and economic problems that will test the solidity of his coalition government in the months ahead. The vote takes place under the shadow of the gun attack on Sunday in which an unemployed man shot two police officers and a passerby outside the prime minister's office in Rome just as the cabinet was being sworn in at the nearby presidential palace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three car bomb blasts kill 11 in Iraq Shi'ite provinces Monday, Apr 29, 2013 12:04 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 11 people were killed and dozens wounded when three car bombs tore through public markets in Shi'ite provinces in southern Iraq early on Monday, medics and police sources said. Sectarian tensions are at their highest since U.S. troops left Iraq more than a year ago and militant attacks have increased as the country's fragile intercommunal balance comes under growing strain from the civil war in neighboring Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| VTB says Norway, Qatar, Azerbaijan back $3.3 billion share offer Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:41 PM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest bank VTB said on Monday investors have subscribed for the entirely of its 102.5 billion rouble ($3.3 billion) share offering, with bids from sovereign wealth funds in Norway, Qatar and Azerbaijan. VTB is raising the funds to bolster its capital and to allow it to increase lending capacity. The bank's supervisory board on Friday approved the issue of 2.5 trillion new shares at 4.1 kopecks each, a discount of around 9 percent to the price at which the stock ended the week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Conservatives turn on UKIP before vote Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:36 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives derided the rival UK Independence Party as a "collection of clowns" on Sunday as they tried to stop supporters switching to the surging anti-European Union movement in local elections this week. Thursday's vote in England and Wales offers parties a chance to test the political climate before a national election in 2015 at a time when Conservative strategists fear UKIP will split the centre-right vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian PM rules out election spree as high dollar hits budget Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:30 PM PDT  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, well behind in opinion polls for elections in September, has ruled out a major spending spree to win back voters, conceding that the stubbornly high Australian dollar has put a A$12 billion hole in government revenue forecasts. Gillard's struggling minority government will on May 14 deliver its final budget before the September elections, with economists expecting the government to unveil a deficit of between A$10 billion ($10.3 billion) and A$25 billion. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gaza rocket strikes Israel, causes no injuries: military Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:24 PM PDT JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A rocket fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Monday, causing no injuries or damage, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. No group took responsibility for launching the rocket, which landed in an open field. Israel carried out an air strike on a site belonging to a Palestinian militant group on Sunday in response to similar rocket fire. "Sporadic firing of missiles and rockets will be met with a very aggressive response," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the strike. No one was hurt in Sunday's rocket attack or air strike. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: The maze behind EU "treaty change" Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 10:54 PM PDT  By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - If there are two words that tense the jaws of European policymakers and prompt a concerned sucking of teeth, they are treaty change. Like a nervous driver being told mid-route that he needs a different map if he's going to get where he's going, no one is sure whether the outcome will be road rage, a car crash or a smoother, if longer, journey. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Tax strategy may be key to Verizon Wireless deal Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 10:03 PM PDT  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Nanette Byrnes (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc's chances of buying the 45-percent stake in Verizon Wireless owned by the UK's Vodafone Group Plc will hinge, at least in part, on the quality of tax advice it is getting. Verizon, the No. 2 U.S. telecommunications company, may have found a way to structure a purchase of the stake so that Vodafone can avoid a multi-billion dollar U.S. capital gains tax bill, sources familiar with Verizon's plans said. The possibility of a huge tax bill has previously been regarded by analysts as a big hurdle to any such deal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Court may limit use of race in college admission decisions Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:30 PM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court set the terms for boosting college admissions of African Americans and other minorities, the court may be about to issue a ruling that could restrict universities' use of race in deciding who is awarded places. The case before the justices was brought by Abigail Fisher, a white suburban Houston student who asserted she was wrongly rejected by the University of Texas at Austin while minority students with similar grades and test scores were admitted. ... Full Story | Top |
| In abortion debate, both sides point to Philadelphia trial Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:04 PM PDT Full Story | Top |
| Utah excels in economy and business: Chamber of Commerce report Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 09:03 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When it comes to economic growth and business strength, there may be no better U.S. state than Utah, according to a report set to be released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday. The business association found that Utah, population 2.8 million, ranked third among all states in overall economic performance - a measure of how states' economies have fared over time in terms of jobs, gross domestic product, productivity and income. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:33 PM PDT By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten killed in battles between armed groups in Mexico: reports Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:25 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ten people were reported killed in clashes on Sunday between armed groups in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, which is plagued by battles between rival drug gangs. Skirmishes broke out in two communities near the town of Apatzingan, a drug gang stronghold, according to local media. State officials could not be immediately reached by Reuters and a federal official could not confirm details of the battles. ... Full Story | Top |
| Millions in CIA "ghost money" paid to Afghan president's office: New York Times Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 07:00 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Tens of millions of U.S. dollars in cash were delivered by the CIA in suitcases, backpacks and plastic shopping bags to the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for more than a decade, according to the New York Times, citing current and former advisers to the Afghan leader. The so-called "ghost money" was meant to buy influence for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) but instead fuelled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington's exit strategy from Afghanistan, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting reported near suspected chemical arms site in Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 06:48 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Fighting erupted in Damascus on Sunday near a complex linked to Syria's chemical weapons program, on the third day of an offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's forces aimed at driving rebels from main sectors of the capital, activists said. The fighting occurred near the Scientific Studies and Research Centre on the foothills of Qasioun Mountain in the northern Barzeh district, opposition sources said from Damascus. ... Full Story | Top |
| London property being snapped up as quickly as before 2007 crisis - Hometrack Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Property in London is being snapped more quickly than at any time since October 2007 when the market hit its peak before the financial crisis, according to figures from real estate data firm Hometrack. Homes in London were typically on the market for 4.6 weeks in April - nearly half the period of more than eight weeks seen at the end of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. Sellers achieved more than 95 percent of their asking price, also a level not seen since 2007. Property prices in the capital rose 0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Austerity is hurting our health, say researchers Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - Austerity is having a devastating effect on health in Europe and North America, driving suicide, depression and infectious diseases and reducing access to medicines and care, researchers said on Monday. Detailing a decade of research, Oxford University political economist David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor of medicine and an epidemiologist at Stanford University, said their findings show austerity is seriously bad for health. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. identifies four American victims in Afghan crash Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 04:05 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon identified four U.S. victims in Saturday's crash of a surveillance aircraft in southern Afghanistan and said the incident appeared unrelated to Taliban violence. The police chief in Zabul province, Rogh Lewanai, told Reuters on Saturday that bad weather caused the plane to crash, in the district of Shahjoi. At the time, NATO did not identify the nationality of the victims but said they were part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The Pentagon said on Sunday the crash of the MC-12 was under investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fire breaks out in Bangladesh building where 377 die Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:17 PM PDT  By Ruma Paul and Serajul Quadir DHAKA (Reuters) - Fire broke out on Sunday in a garment factory that collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital, complicating attempts to find any survivors of a disaster that has killed 377 people. Fire service officials said the blaze had been started by sparks from cutting equipment used by rescuers. Police said the owner of the factory, Mohammed Sohel Rana, was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, as hopes of finding more survivors from the country's worst industrial accident began to fade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers press Obama to take action on Syria Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:06 PM PDT  By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican senators on Sunday pressed U.S. President Barack Obama to intervene in Syria's civil war, saying America could attack Syrian air bases with missiles but should not send in ground troops. Pressure is mounting on the White House to do more to help Syrian rebels fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, which the Obama administration last week said had probably used chemical arms in the conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bissau leader pledges election by year end Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 03:05 PM PDT  BISSAU (Reuters) - Guinea-Bissau's interim leader returned home on Sunday after weeks abroad seeking medical treatment and pledged to organize elections in his coup-prone nation before the end of the year. President Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo refused to comment on this month's U.S. drug sting that targeted his country's top brass, accused of trafficking Latin American cocaine, but said he expected leaders to unite so donors could fund the election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama to nominate Anthony Foxx as transportation secretary Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:48 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to nominate on Monday Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Anthony Foxx to be his next transportation secretary, a White House official said on Sunday. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Foxx would replace Ray LaHood, who has served as transportation secretary since January 2009. Foxx is African-American and would add to the Obama Cabinet's racial diversity, something the president's supporters have been urging him to do. As Charlotte mayor, Foxx is credited with improving the city's transportation systems. ... Full Story | Top |
| Key Egyptian negotiator with IMF quits Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:39 PM PDT By Paul Taylor CAIRO (Reuters) - A key Egyptian negotiator with the International Monetary Fund said on Sunday he has resigned as first deputy finance minister, in a potential blow to Cairo's prospects of an early IMF deal. Hany Kadry Dimian has been the crucial point man in Egypt's protracted and so far fruitless negotiations to obtain a $4.8 billion loan needed to help combat a severe economic crisis. "The only comment I can make for the time being is that yes, my term ends on April 30 according to my resignation, which I submitted in December," Kadry told Reuters by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen surround Libyan foreign ministry to push demands Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen surrounded Libya's Foreign Ministry on Sunday, calling for a ban on officials who worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi holding senior positions in the new administration. Just days after the French embassy in Tripoli was bombed, the armed protest raised fresh security fears in the capital and the German embassy suspended some of its activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan hopes Russia summit can bring momentum on island dispute Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hopes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will revive efforts to end a territorial dispute that has prevented the nations signing a treaty to end World War Two. Japan also expects Russia to present a proposal for Japan's participation in building a pipeline connecting East Siberian gas fields and a planned $38 billion Vladivostok gas hub built by state-controlled Russian export monopoly Gazprom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Greens lurch left in bid to beat Merkel Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Greens lurched to the left at a party congress in Berlin over the weekend by endorsing a "soak-the-rich" campaign for new taxes, a risky attempt to win power in September's election that upset the party's pragmatist wing. Ignoring warnings against raising too many taxes at once from their most successful leader, Greens state premier Winfried Kretschmann, the 800 delegates voted to push to raise the top income tax rate to 49 percent from 42 percent and introduce an annual 1.5 percent wealth tax on assets above a million euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece passes reform law to unlock more EU/IMF rescue loans Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 01:54 PM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers on Sunday approved a reform law to unlock about 8.8 billion euros ($8.9 billion) of rescue loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. The law, which was a condition for further aid installments, passed easily with the solid backing of the three parties comprising Greece's ruling coalition, by 168 to 123 votes. Following parliament's approval, senior euro zone officials will meet on Monday to approve overdue payment of 2.8 billion euros ($3.65 billion) in rescue loans, finance minister Yannis Stournaras said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Far right stumbles again in Austrian state election Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:39 PM PDT VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's far-right Freedom Party lost ground on Sunday at a third consecutive state election, further clouding its prospects for joining a national coalition after parliamentary elections due by September. Heinz-Christian Strache's Freedom Party - which had stumbled badly in two other state votes this year, including in its heartland of Carinthia - fell below 10 percent in the western province of Tyrol, provisional results showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Authorities seek "persons of interest" in U.S. tied to Boston bombing Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:24 PM PDT BOSTON (Reuters) - Congressional intelligence leaders said on Sunday that authorities are pursuing "persons of interest" in the United States in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings, and asked for more help from Russian spy agencies. Congressman Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Of Representatives intelligence committee said better cooperation from Russia was needed in Washington's probe of the two suspected bombers' recent contacts and activities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mursi backs down, to seek compromise on judges Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Paul Taylor and Omar Fahmy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi and top judges agreed on Sunday to seek a compromise to defuse a battle over Islamist attempts to force out thousands of judges that have deeply polarized the Arab world's most populous nation. Mursi's Islamist allies had proposed legislation to purge more than 3,000 judges at a stroke by reducing their mandatory retirement age to 60 from 70 to sweep away senior jurists appointed under autocratic former President Hosni Mubarak. ... Full Story | Top |
| Still stuck on central-bank life support Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 12:06 PM PDT  By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Five years after the onset of the global financial crisis, the world economy is in such a chronic condition that the European Central Bank might cut interest rates this week and the Federal Reserve is likely to indicate no let-up in the stimulus it is providing the U.S. economy. With the euro zone economy in recession, momentum is building for the ECB to lower interest rates for the first time since July 2012, according to senior sources involved in the deliberations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Boston bomb suspects' parents retreat to village, cancel U.S. trip Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Maria Golovnina UNDISCLOSED LOCATION IN NORTH CAUCASUS, Russia (Reuters) - The parents of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have retreated to a village in southern Russia to shelter from the spotlight and abandoned plans for now to travel to the United States, the father of the suspects told Reuters on Sunday. Speaking in the garden of a large house, Anzor Tsarnaev said he believed he would not be allowed to see his surviving son DzhokharŸ, who was captured and has been charged in connection with the April 15 bomb blasts that killed three people and wounded 264. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy prosecutors aim to hasten Finmeccanica graft trial: source Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:32 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors investigating allegations of corruption by Finmeccanica in the sale of 12 helicopters to India believe their evidence is strong enough to warrant an urgent trial without preliminary proceedings, a legal source with direct knowledge of the situation said. Prosecutors in the city of Busto Arsizio will ask a judge to order that Finmeccanica's former chairman, Giuseppe Orsi, and other suspects skip preliminary hearings and are sent directly to trial, the source said. Pre-trial hearings can last for months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank of Cyprus converts portion of uninsured savings to equity Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:23 AM PDT  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot lender Bank of Cyprus said on Sunday it had carried out a conversion of uninsured cash deposits in the bank into equity, one of the conditions of international lenders to offer the cash-starved island financial aid. The process, known as a 'bail-in', made depositors in the bank pay for its recapitalization, after the institution was hit by massive losses from its exposure to debt-crippled Greece. Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest bank, said it had converted 37.5 percent of deposits exceeding 100,000 euros into "class A" shares, with an additional 22. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iceland seeks end to austerity with new center-right government Sunday, Apr 28, 2013 11:17 AM PDT  By Balazs Koranyi and Robert Robertson REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's center-right parties began talks on Sunday to form a new government, promising to end years of austerity and provide debt relief to households, and only arguing about which one of them should lead the government. Fed up with years of belt tightening and soaring debt, Icelanders ousted the Social Democrats on Saturday, handing the biggest defeat to any ruling party since independence from Denmark in 1944 and offering a new chance to the very parties that presided over its economic rise and collapse. ... Full Story | Top |
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