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| China reports latest bird flu death, toll rises to 27 Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:38 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - A 55-year-old man in central China has died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing to 27 the number of deaths from the mysterious H7N9 virus, state news agency Xinhua said on Thursday. The H7N9 virus, which has infected 127 people in China, is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday. The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as "one of the most lethal" flu viruses but said there is as yet no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus. ... Full Story | Top |
| Grim OECD forecasts on Italy underline task for new PM Letta Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:35 AM PDT  By Gavin Jones ROME (Reuters) - Italy's economy will contract by more than expected this year and its public finances will deteriorate in 2013 and 2014, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday. The OECD's 122 page Economic Survey of Italy, which said Rome's fiscal deficit will exceed European Union limits this year and next, underlined the tough challenges faced by Enrico Letta's new government which took office last week. The euro zone's third largest economy will shrink by 1.5 percent in 2013, compared with a forecast of a 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta says June EU summit must focus on youth jobs Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:16 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The June summit of European Union leaders must focus on cutting disastrously high levels of youth unemployment, Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Thursday after a meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Speaking at the end of a series of visits in Berlin, Paris and Brussels, he said he was returning to Rome more optimistic that European leaders were ready to give more priority to boosting economic growth and said the June summit had to give "concrete messages. ... Full Story | Top |
| India fumes after farmer jailed for spying dies in Pakistan Thursday, May 02, 2013 12:07 AM PDT  ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India reacted furiously to Thursday's death in a Pakistani jail of an Indian farmer convicted of spying who was badly beaten last week by fellow inmates, the latest incident to strain relations between the neighbors. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the partition of British-ruled India in 1947, although they began a peace process in 2004. They remain deeply suspicious of each other. Sarabjit Singh was arrested in Pakistan in 1991 and sentenced to death for spying and carrying out four bomb blasts that killed 14 people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Amid new security threats, some in Congress look to update 9/11 law Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:26 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A few dozen words rushed into law days after the September 11, 2001, attacks have been used to justify U.S. counterterrorism efforts from the war in Afghanistan to warrantless wiretapping and drone strikes, all on orders of the White House - and with little congressional oversight. Now, as criticism grows that the law has been stretched well beyond its original intent to go after militant groups that did not even exist on 9/11, some Democrats and Republicans have begun writing legislation to update the nearly 12-year-old resolution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan, Afghan forces in high-stakes clash along border Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:24 PM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An Afghan border policeman was killed and two Pakistani soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire along the border late on Wednesday, officials from both countries said, a clash likely to unsettle already strained ties between the neighbors. A senior Afghan official said hundreds of additional Afghan troops were sent to a disputed border gate after the exchange of fire, which lasted for more than two hours. The stakes are high. ... Full Story | Top |
| Americans want U.S. to keep out of Syria conflict: poll Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:05 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria's civil war even if the government there uses chemical weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, in a clear message to the White House as it considers how to respond to the worsening crisis. Only 10 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said the United States should become involved in the fighting. Sixty-one percent opposed getting involved. ... Full Story | Top |
| China, India PMIs show factory-sector growth stumbling Wednesday, May 01, 2013 11:00 PM PDT  By Langi Chiang and Jonathan Standing BEIJING (Reuters) - Factory-sector growth in China and India stumbled in April to further underline the impact of a fragile global economy, which is under pressure from the euro zone recession and fresh signals of weakness in the United States. Reports on Wednesday showed manufacturing growth in the United States eased in April, while figures due later on Thursday from the euro zone are expected to show the sector there firmly entrenched in contractionary territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six killed in Thai south days after rebel demands rejected Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:37 PM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Suspected Muslim insurgents shot dead six people, including a three-year-old boy, in a convenience store in southern Thailand, police said, just two days after peace talks in Malaysia aimed at ending the violence ended in deadlock. The attack took place on Wednesday when four gunmen on motorcycles pulled up at the store in Pattani province, just 500 meters from a military checkpoint. Five of the victims were Buddhists and one Muslim. "The attackers sprayed the shop with bullets before going in to finish off their victims. ... Full Story | Top |
| What options does Obama have to close Guantanamo? Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:17 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell and Jane Sutton (Reuters) - With his renewed vow to close the detention camp for foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, President Barack Obama has effectively assigned himself a list of possible ways to take the prison's population down from 166 to zero. Some would be more easily achieved than others. In pledging to look again at an unfulfilled promise dating back to his first election campaign and early days in office in 2009, Obama made plain on Tuesday that it was untenable to keep the 11-year-old camp open. A hunger strike at the camp at the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Korea pledges $272 million in loans for Kaesong companies Wednesday, May 01, 2013 10:01 PM PDT  SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has offered 300 billion won ($272.41 million) million in special loans to companies affected by Pyongyang's decision last month to close a jointly run industrial zone in North Korea, a government official said on Thursday. A government taskforce will provide the assistance from May 6 in the form of loans with interest rates of 2 percent. More than 120 South Korean businesses have invested in the border complex at Kaesong. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police clash with protesters after May Day rally in Seattle Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:46 PM PDT  By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - Protesters clashed with police in Seattle on Wednesday as a May Day rally that began peacefully turned violent after dark, with demonstrators hurling objects at officers who responded by firing flash-bang grenades and pepper spray. One protester was seen using a skateboard to smash windows at a Walgreens drug store in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood, and others overturned trash cans and lined up newspaper display racks to block police. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-New AFC president Sheikh Salman Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:42 PM PDT May 2 (Reuters) - Factbox on Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, who was on Thursday elected new president of the Asian Football Confederation. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea sentences American to 15 years hard labor Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:42 PM PDT By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sentenced U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years hard labor on Thursday for committing crimes against the state, a move that will likely see him used as a bargaining chip in talks with Washington. Bae, 44, was born in South Korea but is a naturalized American citizen and attended the University of Oregon. According to U.S. media, he most recently lived in the Seattle suburb of Lynnwood. His sentencing comes after two months of saber-rattling by Pyongyang that saw North Korea threaten both the United States and South Korea with nuclear war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury to weigh fraud charges against NYC mayoral hopeful's aides Wednesday, May 01, 2013 09:11 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal jury was set to weigh fraud charges on Thursday against two former fundraising associates of John Liu, a Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Jia Hou, the Liu campaign's former treasurer, and Xing Wu Pan, a fundraiser for Liu, were part of a coordinated conspiracy by the campaign to fraudulently get money from the city's donation-matching program, thwarted only by a federal investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Sheikh Salman wins FIFA executive committee seat Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:59 PM PDT (Updates with quotes, details) By Patrick Johnston KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Reuters) - The Asian Football Confederation elected Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa on to FIFA's executive committee at Thursday's vote in Malaysia. The Bahraini secured 28 votes of the 46 available, beating Qatari Hassan Al Thawadi (18 votes) to secure a four-year term on the world governing body's powerful decision making table. ... Full Story | Top |
| China factory growth eases, adds to recovery risk Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:42 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factory-sector growth eased in April as new export orders fell for the first time this year, a private survey showed on Thursday, suggesting the euro zone recession and sluggish U.S. demand may be risks to China's economic recovery. The final HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 50.4 in April from March's 51.6 and was largely in line with a flash reading last week of 50.5. Fifty divides expansion from contraction on a monthly basis. China's official PMI on Wednesday painted a similar picture, falling to 50.6 in April from an 11-month high of 50. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Sheikh Salman wins AFC presidential election Wednesday, May 01, 2013 08:23 PM PDT By Patrick Johnston KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Reuters) - Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa will run Asian soccer for the next two years after the Bahraini won a three-way election for the presidency of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday. Sheikh Salman secured 33 votes of the 46 available from the AFC's member associations in Malaysia to beat Yousuf Al Serkal of the United Arab Emirates (six votes) and Thailand's Worawi Makudi (seven votes). ... Full Story | Top |
| UKIP pressures Cameron in local vote Wednesday, May 01, 2013 06:50 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn ASHFORD, England (Reuters) - The Conservatives are set to lose hundreds of seats in local polls on Thursday that will go some way to measuring the threat the surging anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) poses to their hopes of re-election in 2015. Even in towns like Ashford in southeast England, which has returned a Conservative MP to the national parliament at every election since 1945, surveys suggest UKIP could win up to one fifth of the votes. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA appeals making 'morning-after' pill available to all ages Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:57 PM PDT  By Terry Baynes (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday appealed a court order directing the agency to make "morning-after" emergency contraception pills available without a prescription to all girls of reproductive age. Lawyers with the Justice Department filed the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, according to court documents. The appeal is the latest foray in the years-long legal battle over the pill known as "Plan B," a drug that has also sparked political and religious clashes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Chad government foils coup attempt: minister Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:52 PM PDT N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Security forces in Chad foiled a coup against the government of President Idriss Deby that had been in preparation for several months, the West African desert nation's communications minister announced late on Wednesday. "Today, May 1, a group of individuals with bad intentions sought to carry out an action to destabilize the institutions of the republic," Hassan Sylla Bakary read in a statement broadcast on state-owned television. "They did not count on the valiant security forces who have tracked them since December 2012 and who, this morning, neutralized them," he ... Full Story | Top |
| Bank of Canada's Carney says growth looking better than expected Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:42 PM PDT  EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - There appears to be more momentum in the Canadian economy in the first quarter than the central bank had anticipated in its quarterly forecasts last month, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Wednesday. "Very short-term performance, yeah, there is on average a bit more momentum," Carney told reporters when asked if he saw growth surpassing the bank's forecast of 1.5 percent annualized growth in the first quarter. The economy grew 0. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM's 'stealth' constitution plan raises civil rights fears Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:42 PM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Shinzo Abe makes no secret of wanting to revise Japan's constitution, which was drafted by the United States after World War Two, to formalize the country's right to have a military - but critics say his plans go deeper and could return Japan to its socially conservative, authoritarian past. Abe, 58, returned to office in December for a second term as prime minister and is enjoying sky-high support on the back of his "Abenomics" recipe for reviving the economy through hyper-easy monetary policy, big spending and structural reform. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff insists oil royalties should fund education Wednesday, May 01, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said on Wednesday she has sent lawmakers another proposal to earmark all oil royalties collected by the state for public education after Congress shelved an earlier effort. She made the announcement in a televised Labor Day speech in which she said improving education was vital for Brazil's development in a highly competitive world. Rousseff last year proposed earmarking for education all revenue from future oil royalties, which are expected to rise when Brazil taps huge subsalt fields off its Atlantic coast. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama taps former lobbyist Wheeler as telecoms regulator Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tom Wheeler, nominated by President Barack Obama on Wednesday to become the next U.S. communications regulator, is expected to face tough scrutiny from senators over his past close ties to the very industries he would oversee. For the past decade, Wheeler has been a venture capitalist investing in technology firms and a tech adviser for the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). But he is best known in Washington as the chief lobbyist for the cable industry in the 1980s and the wireless industry in the 1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands call for immigration reform in Los Angeles May Day march Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:46 PM PDT  By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thousands of mostly Latino protesters marched through downtown Los Angeles in a boisterous but peaceful May Day rally on Wednesday urging an overhaul of immigration laws to provide potential citizenship for millions of undocumented residents. The march was believed to be the largest of more than a dozen similar demonstrations planned in cities across California by a coalition of organized labor activists, students, civil rights advocates and members of the clergy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon may soon clear use of Apple, Samsung, BlackBerry devices Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:29 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is expected to clear Apple, Samsung and BlackBerry mobile devices for use on Defense Department networks in the next few weeks, part of an effort to ensure the military has access to the latest communications technology, a spokesman said on Wednesday. The decision will set the stage for an intensified struggle for Pentagon customers among BlackBerry devices, Apple's iPhones or iPads and units using Google's Android platform such as Samsung Electronics' phones. ... Full Story | Top |
| IRS deals employers a setback in healthcare rules: lawyers Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:25 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employer-sponsored healthcare plans cannot include most "wellness programs" as part of minimum coverage requirements, dealing a setback to many businesses, according to new federal rules for U.S. President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul starting next year. The Internal Revenue Service released on Tuesday proposed rules for Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act that handed a victory to labor unions and consumer groups, tax lawyers said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Illinois Senate passes gambling bill with Chicago casino Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:19 PM PDT  By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Illinois Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would bring much-need revenue to the cash-strapped state by expanding gambling and giving Chicago its first casino. The 32-20 vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate sent the measure to the House. The addition of five new casinos and 1,200 slot games at race tracks is expected to generate about $1.2 billion in one-time revenue for the state from initial license and other fees and about $269 million in recurring revenue once the bill is fully implemented, according to a legislative analysis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon prepares to ask Congress for break from 'sequester' Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:14 PM PDT  By David Lawder and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is preparing to ask Congress soon for more authority to shift funds to cope with automatic spending cuts, confronting lawmakers with another exception to the "sequester" just days after they gave a break to the flying public and the airline industry. The request may be sent to the House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee as early as next week, a House Republican aide said on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| HMRC faces court challenge over Goldman "sweetheart deal" Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - The HMRC faces a court challenge on Thursday over a deal with Goldman Sachs worth an estimated 10 million pounds to the U.S. bank, a case aimed at pressuring the government into tougher action against corporate tax avoidance. The challenge by activist group UK Uncut Legal Action stems from public anger in Britain about how big and powerful firms succeed in paying less tax than many ordinary people struggling to cope with a stagnating economy and government spending cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Six ministers to change in Egypt cabinet reshuffle: state paper Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - A limited cabinet reshuffle will see six ministers replaced in Egypt, state newspaper al-Ahram said on Thursday, citing government sources. The new ministers, who could swear oath on Tuesday, are expected to be those of justice, legal and prosecution affairs, culture, agriculture, planning and international cooperation, and one of the economic portfolio ministries, al-Ahram said, without naming the candidates. ... Full Story | Top |
| Britain's job market weaker than official data suggest - study Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A sharp rise in the number of people working less than they would like helps explain the apparent resilience of Britain's job market while the economy stagnates, according to a study published on Thursday. British unemployment has risen from 5 percent in 2007 to just under 8 percent, well below the double-digit rates scaled during recession in the 1990s. The study, co-authored by labour market economist and former Bank of England rate-setter David Blanchflower, shows nearly 10 percent of British workers wanted more hours than their employers would provide in 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| British overseas territories sign deal to curb tax evasion Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Tax havens such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands will work more closely with Britain and other European countries to fight tax evasion, British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday. With governments in most advanced economies short of tax revenue after the financial crisis, pressure has been growing on small territories with big banking sectors to lift bank secrecy and do more to combat tax dodging and money laundering. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK taxman faces court challenge over Goldman "sweetheart deal" Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:06 PM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's tax authority faces a court challenge on Thursday over a deal with Goldman Sachs worth an estimated 10 million pounds ($15.5 million) to the U.S. bank, a case aimed at pressuring the government into tougher action against corporate tax avoidance. The challenge by activist group UK Uncut Legal Action stems from public anger in Britain about how big and powerful firms succeed in paying less tax than many ordinary people struggling to cope with a stagnating economy and government spending cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Anti-EU party pressures Britain's PM Cameron in local vote Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn ASHFORD, England (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives are set to lose hundreds of seats in local polls on Thursday that will go some way to measuring the threat the surging anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) poses to their hopes of re-election in 2015. Even in towns like Ashford in southeast England, which has returned a Conservative MP to the national parliament at every election since 1945, surveys suggest UKIP could win up to one fifth of the votes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Starving Virginia settlers turned to cannibalism in 1609: study Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:03 PM PDT  By Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Settlers at Virginia's Jamestown Colony resorted to cannibalism to survive the harsh winter of 1609, dismembering and consuming a 14-year-old English girl, the U.S. Smithsonian Institution reported on Wednesday. This is the first direct evidence of cannibalism at Jamestown, the oldest permanent English colony in the Americas, according to the Washington-based museum and research complex. ... Full Story | Top |
| UKIP pressures PM Cameron in local vote Wednesday, May 01, 2013 04:02 PM PDT  By Andrew Osborn ASHFORD, England (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Conservatives are set to lose hundreds of seats in local polls on Thursday that will go some way to measuring the threat the surging anti-European Union UK Independence Party (UKIP) poses to their hopes of re-election in 2015. Even in towns like Ashford in southeast England, which has returned a Conservative MP to the national parliament at every election since 1945, surveys suggest UKIP could win up to one fifth of the votes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama taps Representative Watt as housing regulator Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:59 PM PDT  By Margaret Chadbourn WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday nominated a veteran Democratic congressman to oversee mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a choice that could set up a contentious political debate over housing policy. Representative Mel Watt, a longtime consumer advocate who serves on the House Financial Services Committee, understands the roots of the housing crisis, Obama said at the White House. "He knows what it's going to take to help responsible homeowners fully recover and he's committed to helping folks ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama quietly signs bill easing air travel delays Wednesday, May 01, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Without comment or fanfare, President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed legislation sparing U.S. air travel from the effects of across-the-board spending cuts that had caused delays and stirred public ire. Cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration under the budget-cutting process known as sequestration began holding up air travel across the country last week, infuriating travelers and airline staff. Congress quickly passed legislation allowing the agency to shift money within its budget to halt furloughs of air-traffic controllers that began April 21. ... Full Story | Top |
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