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| Gatwick profit edges up on new routes to China, Russia Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:28 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - London's Gatwick Airport posted a 2.5 percent rise in full year profit on Tuesday, helped by the addition of new routes to countries such as China and Russia and moderate traffic growth. The British capital's second largest airport said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 2.5 percent to 227.1 million pounds for the year to the end of March. Revenues increased by 4.2 percent to 538.9 million pounds. ... Full Story | Top |
| China denounces 'groundless' accusations by U.S. on Snowden Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:17 AM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday the United States' accusations of Beijing facilitating the departure of fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from Hong Kong were "groundless and unacceptable". Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing that all parties should accept that the Hong Kong government had handled Snowden's case in accordance with the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| China-U.S. ties under strain, but not imperiled by Snowden Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:07 AM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ties with the United States are coming under strain over the flight of wanted U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from Hong Kong, with Beijing's main state newspaper praising him on Tuesday for "tearing off Washington's sanctimonious mask". The White House said the decision by the Chinese territory to allow Snowden to leave was "a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the U.S.-China relationship. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar emir hands power to son, no word on prime minister Monday, Jun 24, 2013 11:49 PM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani handed power on Tuesday to his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim, taking the rare step for a Gulf Arab ruler of voluntarily ceding power to try to ensure a smooth succession. But the 61-year-old emir made no immediate mention of the public face of Qatar's assertive foreign policy, prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim, a veteran politician who had been expected also to step down. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australia seeks Triton superdrones for Indian Ocean overwatch Monday, Jun 24, 2013 11:48 PM PDT By Rob Taylor CANBERRA (Reuters) - Rising Indian Ocean rivalries as China seeks to safeguard key energy lifelines loom behind an Australian push for a $3 billion fleet of maritime superdrones, which will likely boost intelligence sharing with the United States. With elections looming and pressure for budget savings, the purchase of up to seven MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft has emerged as rare point of bipartisan agreement between Australia's Labor government and conservative opponents, but both sides are reluctant to discuss their wider strategic aims. ... Full Story | Top |
| New emir seen maintaining Qatar's role as power broker Monday, Jun 24, 2013 11:00 PM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's new emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is widely expected to push ahead with his father's drive that transformed the wealthy Gulf Arab gas exporter into a regional power broker. A graduate of Britain's prestigious Sandhurst military academy, 33-year-old Sheikh Tamim is said to be a warm and affable pragmatist as well as being an avid fan of Britain's Manchester United who enjoys playing tennis and other sports. ... Full Story | Top |
| CFTC planning to file civil lawsuit against Corzine: NYT Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:58 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Federal regulators are planning a civil lawsuit against Jon Corzine over the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd and the commodity broker's misuse of customer money during its final days, the New York Times reported, citing law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that regulated MF Global, plans to approve the lawsuit as soon as this week, the NY Times said. (http://link.reuters.com/mej29t) MF Global, led by former New Jersey Gov. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar's outgoing emir, a visionary for tiny Gulf state Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:46 PM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - To his admirers, Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is a champion of the common man's struggle against tyranny, and a visionary who turned billions of dollars in energy revenues into strategic international investments. To his critics, the 61-year-old ruler only pretends to be a friend of the masses, for while he backed Arab Spring revolts against autocracy, he clamped down on freedoms at home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boy Scouts, Mormon Church sued in Idaho pedophile case Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:48 PM PDT By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Four men sued the Boy Scouts of America and its largest sponsor, the Mormon Church, on Monday accusing both organizations of failing to protect them from sexual abuse by adult volunteers when they were children at scouting activities in Idaho. Three of the men said they were abused as members of Boy Scout troops affiliated with the Utah-based church, two of them by a scout leader previously identified as a molester in a complaint brought by a parent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran condemns Egypt's sectarian killings as 'contradicting Islam' Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:41 PM PDT  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry condemned the killing of four Shi'ite Egyptians near Cairo, saying such extremism violated the tenets of Islam, state television reported late on Monday. "The Islamic Republic of Iran denounces any act of extremism and violence which contradicts Islam and the tenets of Islam," read a foreign ministry statement published by the website of English-language news channel, Press TV. "Iran is certain that the sensible and revolutionary Egyptian nation, through its prudent leaders ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan forces put down attack on presidential palace: police Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:38 PM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan forces put down an early morning attack by Taliban insurgents on the presidential palace and nearby buildings in central Kabul on Tuesday, with police saying all the assailants had been killed after a 90-minute gunfight. A Reuters reporter at the palace said the attack began soon after 6:30 a.m. (0200 GMT) when at least one man opened fire with an automatic rifle at a gate to the palace in the central Shash Darak district. Karzai's whereabouts were not immediately known, though he had been due to attend a press event at the palace after 9 a.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ten car bombs kill 39 in Iraqi capital Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:22 PM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Ten car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital on Monday, killing nearly 40 people in markets and garages on the evening of a Shi'ite Muslim celebration, police and medical sources said. Some of the attacks targeted districts where Shi'ites were commemorating the anniversary of the birth of a revered Imam, but there also were explosions in mixed neighborhoods and districts with a high population of Sunnis. ... Full Story | Top |
| All assailants in attack on Afghan presidential palace killed: police Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:54 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - An early morning insurgent attack on Tuesday on Afghanistan's presidential palace has been put down with all the assailants killed, Kabul's police chief said. General Ayoub Salangi told Reuters the gunfight ended after about 90 minutes with all the attackers killed. (Reporting by Mirwais Harooni and Dylan Welch, Editing by Ron Popeski) Full Story | Top |
| Taliban say they attacked Afghan presidential palace Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:08 PM PDT KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an early morning attack on the presidential palace and nearby government and other buildings as fighting raged in the area. "Today at 6.30 a.m. a number of martyrs attacked the presidential palace, defense ministry and the Ariana Hotel," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message. The Ariana Hotel is known to house the headquarters of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan. (Reporting by Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Ron Popeski) Full Story | Top |
| Singapore smog eases as Indonesian planes waterbomb fires Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:49 PM PDT  By John O'Callaghan and Chris Nusatya SINGAPORE/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Air quality in Singapore improved significantly to "moderate" pollution levels on Saturday, as Indonesian planes waterbombed raging forest fires and investigators scrambled to determine the cause of one of Southeast Asia's worst air pollution crises. Indonesia's environment minister said eight domestic firms were suspected of being responsible for the blazes on Sumatra island that blanketed neighboring Singapore in record levels of hazardous smog. ... Full Story | Top |
| No sign of Snowden as Aeroflot plane lands in Havana Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:22 PM PDT  HAVANA (Reuters) - An Aeroflot flight from Moscow that was being closely tracked by media organizations in case Edward Snowden, the former security contractor who revealed details of U.S. surveillance programs, was on board, landed in Cuba uneventfully on Monday. Russian reporters on board the flight and foreign press gathered at Havana airport reported no sightings of Snowden or any unusual security. When the captain of the Aeroflot plane emerged from customs he was surrounded by photographers. He pulled out his own camera, took picture of the photographers and said "No Snowden, no. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Rousseff calls for constitutional vote to quell protests Monday, Jun 24, 2013 07:15 PM PDT  By Brad Haynes and Maria Carolina Marcello SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff sought to overcome a sudden wave of national discontent with a surprising call on Monday for a referendum on what would be the country's most ambitious political reform in decades. Rouseff proposed a national vote on amending Brazil's constitution in a meeting with governors and mayors the week after the country's largest protests in 20 years jolted politicians of all stripes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian team threatens legal action over new America's Cup rules Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:59 PM PDT By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A lawyer for the Italian team competing in this summer's America's Cup sailing regatta in San Francisco said on Monday that he is prepared to go to court over last-minute rule changes that came in the wake of a fatal training accident in May. The four teams competing for the cup have been meeting with mediators to reach agreement on 37 safety measures that Regatta Director Iain Murray and race organizers formulated after the wreck of an Artemis Racing catamaran killed Olympic gold medalist Andrew Simpson. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses Russia as mystery over Snowden deepens Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:59 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Lidia Kelly WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States increased pressure on Russia on Monday to hand over Edward Snowden, the American charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, and said it believed he was still in Moscow. Snowden, until recently a contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency, had been expected to fly to Havana from Moscow on Monday, perhaps on the way to Ecuador, according to sources at the Russian airline Aeroflot who spoke on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| BRICS seek to limit fallout of U.S. stimulus withdrawal Monday, Jun 24, 2013 06:09 PM PDT By Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Major emerging-market nations will work together to limit the effects that a strong U.S. dollar could have on their economies as the Federal Reserve signals plans to scale back its massive stimulus program, the Brazilian government said on Monday. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed ways to strengthen policy coordination on Monday in a telephone conversation, said Thomas Traumann, spokesman for the Brazilian government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian army chief of staff to leave post Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:59 PM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian army chief Rachid Ammar abruptly announced his retirement on Monday night amid increased political tensions surrounding the country's transition to democracy. "I decided to leave the service under the age limit .. I asked the president on Saturday and he agreed to my departure," Ammar, 65, said in a live television program. Tunisian democracy activists initially hailed the army's role in the revolution that toppled former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and inspired revolts across the Arab world. ... Full Story | Top |
| Same-sex couples wait - and hope - for U.S. high court marriage ruling Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:55 PM PDT  By Ronnie Cohen and Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) - The Reverend Paul Mowry, a minister at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church near San Francisco, awoke at 6:30 a.m. Monday, hoping it would be the day the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that would allow him to marry Joe Silverman, his companion of 27 years. But despite widespread expectations, the court put off releasing its opinions on two key same-sex marriage cases until later this week, leaving Mowry and his partner to wait that much longer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:46 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - Asian powers are outpacing the United States to become the biggest spenders on defense by 2021 and are fuelling an "explosion" in the global arms trade, a study showed. The global arms trade jumped by 30 percent to $73.5 billion between 2008-2012 in spite of the economic downturn, driven by surging exports from China and demand from countries like India, and is set to more than double by 2020, defense and security consultancy IHS Jane's said on Tuesday. "Budgets are shifting East and global arms trade is increasing competition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Questions turn to U.S. competence in Snowden saga Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:37 PM PDT  By Andy Sullivan and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has spent the past few weeks arguing it can wield power responsibly after Edward Snowden unveiled its sweeping spying programs. Now the administration must prove it can wield power effectively. As the 30-year-old leads the world's lone superpower on a global game of hide and seek, U.S. government officials faced questions about whether they had botched the effort to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong to face charges related to his leak of classified information. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lebanon faces tumult after deadliest Syria-related clashes Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:17 PM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Lebanese government will try on Tuesday to secure the country after the deadliest violence since the start of a two-year conflict in neighboring Syria that has pushed Lebanon's myriad militia to clashes. Gunfights between the army and Sunni Muslim radical groups in the southern port of Sidon extended into Monday night after Lebanese soldiers stormed a complex holding gunmen loyal to a radical Islamist cleric and arrested dozens of his supporters. Violence also spread to the city of Tripoli in the north. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. angry about Snowden's protectors, but will it get even? Monday, Jun 24, 2013 05:16 PM PDT  By Paul Eckert and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials and lawmakers have made it clear they're furious at the governments that have played a role in enabling fugitive security contractor Edward Snowden's globe-trotting, but the United States is expected to take a restrained approach to any retribution. President Barack Obama's administration has been trying to track Snowden since he slipped out of Hong Kong and flew to Moscow on Sunday, but his whereabouts remained a mystery amid a blizzard of speculative reports that he could be headed to Cuba, Ecuador, or Iceland. ... Full Story | Top |
| Column: NSA and the Pandora's box of surveillance Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:31 PM PDT  By Jack Shafer (Reuters) - Let's assume for a moment that National Security Agency Director Gen. Keith Alexander was telling the truth yesterday on ABC News's This Week when he said that the NSA material leaked by Edward Snowden "has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and to our allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Immigration bill passes key test vote in Senate Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:25 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An immigration bill endorsed by President Barack Obama easily cleared an important test on Monday when the U.S. Senate backed new border security steps seen as essential to the legislation's fate. By a vote of 67-27, the border security amendment cleared a procedural hurdle, leaving opponents of the bill with few remaining opportunities for killing or further delaying passage of the legislation this week. In a sign of the bill's growing strength, 15 Republicans voted with Democrats, who control the Senate. The bipartisan legislation would bring the biggest changes to ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Supreme Court takes small step to bridge ideological divide Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:23 PM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It may never be clear what happened behind the scenes at the U.S. Supreme Court to yield Monday's compromise decision upholding university affirmative action. The case was heard in October, the first month of the term, and as the months went by and the justices deliberated in secret, the suspense grew. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Jersey poised to become second state to ban anti-gay therapy Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:17 PM PDT  By Victoria Cavaliere (Reuters) - The New Jersey Assembly voted on Monday to ban so-called conversion therapy, taking a step toward becoming the second U.S. state to prohibit licensed therapists from counseling gay and lesbian youths to change their sexual orientation The bill passed by a 56-14 vote, with seven abstentions, and it was expected to be adopted by the state Senate in a vote on Thursday. Governor Chris Christie in March said he opposed the practice of conversion therapy, but on Monday his office declined to comment on whether he would sign or veto the bill. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish investors to berate Bankia executives at annual meeting Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Jesús Aguado MADRID (Reuters) - Thousands of ordinary investors who lost money when Spain's Bankia had to be bailed out barely a year after its stock market listing intend to protest at the lender's annual general meeting on Tuesday. Shareholder activist groups have hired buses to the meeting in Valencia, in eastern Spain, and have berated Bankia executives for failing to book a larger venue. The government had pitched Bankia's public offering as the solution to Spain's banking ills when it was listed in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| World's bankers meet, pressing for clarity on regulatory change Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Steve Slater and Laura Noonan PARIS (Reuters) - Top bankers and policymakers from around the world will search for ways to kick-start Europe's economy and seek clarity on regulatory changes at this week's conference of the financial industry's global trade body. More than 1,000 bankers, politicians, regulators and investors meet in Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday for a conference of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which lobbies on behalf of banks over regulatory, financial and economic issues. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rapper 'Fat Joe' sentenced to prison on tax charges Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By David Jones NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Hip hop artist Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena was sentenced on Monday to four months in federal prison and fined $15,000 for failure to file tax returns on more than $3.3 million in income. The 42-year-old rapper faced the possibility of up to two years in prison after pleading guilty in December to two counts of failing to file with the Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy Waldor gave the Bronx-born rapper credit for paying $718,000 in back taxes prior to his sentencing and for his charitable work. ... Full Story | Top |
| Trayvon Martin murder case: Opening clash on shooter's motive Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  (Editor's note: This story contains language in the 4th paragraph that some readers may find offensive) By Tom Brown and Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin simply because "he wanted to," because he was an armed vigilante, and because he viewed the 17-year-old whom he'd never met as just another "punk," a prosecutor said in opening statements to the jury in a trial that promises to raise thorny issues of race and gun rights. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton letters, Lewinsky clothing gifts up for auction Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:52 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A collection of items used in the investigation of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky's sexual encounters with then U.S. President Bill Clinton is being auctioned online, Nate D. Sanders Auctions said on Monday. The 32-item collection was submitted by Lewinsky's former lover Andy Bleiler to special prosecutor Kenneth Starr during his investigation of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in the 1990s, the auction house said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Labor Dept probes whether food court workers were underpaid in federal building Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:48 PM PDT By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Labor Department is investigating whether food court vendors in Washington's largest U.S. government building underpaid workers and denied them overtime pay. Good Jobs Nation, a non-union group representing current and former workers in the Ronald Reagan Building, had urged the Labor Department on Monday to probe whether nine of the food court's 18 employers - including Subway, Quick Pita and Smoothie King - owed as much as $1 million in back wages and damages. "The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. officials don't know how much secret material Snowden took Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:46 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies are worried they do not yet know how much highly sensitive material is in the possession of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, whose whereabouts are unclear, several U.S. officials said. The agencies fear that Snowden may have taken many more documents than officials initially estimated and that his alliance with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange increases the likelihood that they will be made public without considering the security implications, they said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. panel takes action aimed at needless patent lawsuits Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:45 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. trade panel that deals with patent infringement cases took a step on Monday that could rein in companies, often known as patent trolls, accused of embarking on frivolous litigation. The International Trade Commission said it will soon require some complaining companies to prove upfront that they have a significant presence in the United States. The commission said it created a pilot program in which its six administrative judges will in some cases determine within 100 days if companies that sue for infringement have adequate U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alberta promises C$1 billion in flood funding, won't balance budget Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  TORONTO (Reuters) - Alberta Premier Alison Redford on Monday promised C$1 billion ($950 million) in initial funding to help pay for damage caused by major flooding this past weekend, and said the oil-rich province would no longer be able to balance its operating budget this year. Redford said funding was a preliminary contribution to pay for the initial cost of cleaning up the floods in southern Alberta that began last week and for those that affected the oil sands center of Fort McMurray earlier this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| IRS 'lookout' lists cast wider net than conservative groups Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:31 PM PDT  By Patrick Temple-West and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Internal Revenue Service agents used more than just "Tea Party" and other conservative terms to screen tax exempt applications, the newly-appointed IRS chief said on Monday after a month-long review ordered by President Barack Obama. The IRS has scrapped use of the "be on the lookout" (BOLO) lists, newly appointed IRS chief Daniel Werfel said in a conference call with reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
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