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| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| German election puts Europe's ambitions on ice Tuesday, Jun 25, 2013 12:39 AM PDT  By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - For the best part of a year, the minds of European policymakers have focused on one overriding issue - banking union. By establishing stricter oversight of Europe's banking sector and a unified system for dealing with any problems, they hope to draw a line under more than three years of debt and economic turmoil by separating countries from their banks. For months, a summit of EU leaders on June 27-28 was flagged by officials as an important 'landmark' on the road towards a fully fledged banking union. ... 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Qatari emir set to hand over to son, little policy change seen Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:27 PM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - The emir of Qatar told his family on Monday he would hand power to his son, al Jazeera reported, preparing the wealthy gas-exporting Gulf Arab country for a highly unusual step in a region where hereditary rule normally means for life. The U.S.-allied state is geographically small, with 2 million people, but is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, a global investment powerhouse, a force in international media and a backer of Arab Spring revolts. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. presses Russia as mystery over Snowden deepens Monday, Jun 24, 2013 03:03 PM PDT By Jeff Mason and Lidia Kelly WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States on Monday increased pressure on Russia to hand over Edward Snowden, the American charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, and said it believed he was still in Moscow despite reports he was leaving for Cuba. Earlier Snowden, until recently a contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency, had been expected to fly to Havana from Moscow, perhaps on the way to Ecuador, but he was not seen on the plane and Russian officials declined to say where he was. The U.S. ... 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 |
| Behind Snowden's Hong Kong exit: fear and persuasion Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By James Pomfret and Greg Torode HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hunkered down in a small apartment in Hong Kong, Edward Snowden was running out of options. The United States had charged him with felonies under the Espionage Act and demanded that Hong Kong authorities arrest him. His trio of high-powered local lawyers had warned the former U.S. spy agency contractor he might be stuck in legal limbo for years - and possibly detained - if he stayed put and requested asylum in the city-state of Hong Kong, where authorities answer to China's central government in Beijing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asia driving 'explosion' in global arms trade: study Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:07 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 |
| Italy court convicts Berlusconi on sex charges Monday, Jun 24, 2013 01:43 PM PDT  By Silvia Aloisi and Sara Rossi MILAN (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi was handed a seven-year jail sentence on Monday for abuse of office and paying for sex with a minor, adding to the complications facing Italy's fragile left-right government. The former prime minister will not have to serve any jail time before he has exhausted an appeals process that could take years, but the conviction angered members of his centre-right party who questioned whether he should continue to support the coalition. ... 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 |
| Lebanon faces tumult after deadliest Syria-related clashes Monday, Jun 24, 2013 04:50 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. 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 |
| Ten car bombs kill 39 in Iraqi capital Monday, Jun 24, 2013 12:59 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 |
| South Africans resigned over 'critical' Mandela Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:32 AM PDT  By Jon Herskovitz JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africans adopted a mood of sombre resignation on Monday to the inevitability of saying goodbye to former president Nelson Mandela after the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader's condition in hospital deteriorated to critical. Madiba, as he is affectionately known, is revered among most of South Africa's 53 million people as the architect of the 1994 transition to multi-racial democracy after three centuries of white domination. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House presses Russia to expel Snowden; sharp words for China Monday, Jun 24, 2013 11:55 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House pressed Russia on Monday to exercise all options to expel Edward Snowden and slammed China for allowing the former U.S. spy agency contractor who disclosed government surveillance secrets to leave Hong Kong. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters it was the U.S. assumption that Snowden was still in Russia and he dismissed suggestions that the decision to allow Snowden to depart Hong Kong was a technical one. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatari emir set to hand power to son, little policy change expected Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:39 AM PDT  By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, 61, informed members of the ruling family on Monday of his decision to hand power to Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim after a meeting in the capital Doha, the Qatari-owned television channel Al Jazeera said. The U.S.-allied Gulf Arab state is geographically small, with 2 million people, but is the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, a global investment powerhouse, a growing force in international media and a financial backer of Arab Spring revolts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Google says did 'good job' replying to EU antitrust probe Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:10 AM PDT  By Ethan Bilby BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google said on Monday it had done a good job coming up with concessions to allay EU antitrust concerns it blocks competitors in web search results, as it sought to deflect criticism the proposals would serve only to reinforce its dominance. The world's most popular search engine has been under investigation for nearly three years by the European Commission, the EU executive. More than a dozen companies, including Microsoft, British price comparison site Foundem and German online mapping company Hotmaps, have accused it of squeezing them out of the market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says following legal channels on Snowden case Monday, Jun 24, 2013 11:29 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that his government is following all legal channels in the case of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden charged with disclosing secret U.S. surveillance programs, and said he is working with other countries to ensure the rule of law is observed. Obama made his comments to reporters in answer to a question about whether he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin to pressure him not to let Snowden leave Russia for another country. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; editing by Jackie Frank) Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says got Booz Allen job for access to NSA programs Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Edward Snowden said he accepted a job at contractor Booz Allen Hamilton to gain access to details of the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance programs, according to the South China Morning Post. Snowden, who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton for roughly three months at an NSA facility in Hawaii, is now the subject of an international manhunt after leaking highly classified documents to the Washington Post and Britain's Guardian newspaper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: A big Bridgewater fund is under the weather Monday, Jun 24, 2013 02:21 PM PDT By Katya Wachtel and Jennifer Ablan NEW YORK (Reuters) - A $70 billion portfolio managed by hedge fund titan Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates and widely held by many pension funds to survive stormy markets is emerging as a big loser in the recent selloff in global markets. The Bridgewater All Weather Fund is down roughly 6 percent through this month and down 8 percent for the year, said two people familiar with the fund's performance. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House criticizes Snowden's choice of 'protectors' Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:08 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday that the countries in which former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden had chosen to seek protection belied his claim that he was focused on supporting transparency, freedom of the press and individuals' rights. "If his passion here is for press freedom and freedom of the Internet and the like, he has chosen unlikely protectors," Carney told a White House briefing. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; editing by Jackie Frank) Full Story | Top |
| Germany proposes delaying EU-Turkey talks over protests Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:19 AM PDT By Adrian Croft and Justyna Pawlak LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Germany proposed on Monday postponing a new round of European Union membership talks with Turkey by about four months to signal EU displeasure at Ankara's handling of anti-government protests. The EU had planned to revive Turkey's EU ambitions on Wednesday by opening a new chapter, or policy area, in its EU membership talks - the first opened since 2010. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. conveys dismay to China and Hong Kong over Snowden: State Department Monday, Jun 24, 2013 10:04 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has told China and Hong Kong it is "deeply disappointed" with their handling of former national security contractor Edward Snowden, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said on Monday. "We are deeply disappointed by the decision of the authorities in Hong Kong to permit Mr. Snowden to flee despite a legally valid U.S. request to arrest him for purposes of his extradition," Ventrell told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden receives refugee document of passage from Ecuador Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:10 AM PDT (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday that fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden had received refugee papers from the Ecuador government to secure him safe passage as he fled Hong Kong over the weekend. "In relation to Hong Kong, Mr Snowden was supplied with a refugee document of passage by the Ecuadorean government," Assange told reporters from inside the Ecuador embassy in London where he has been himself hiding from arrest for more than a year. Such papers did not necessarily mean that Snowden would be granted asylum in Ecuador, Assange said. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. in touch with countries where Snowden may travel - White House Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:55 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is in touch with other countries through which former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden may travel or end up, the White House said on Monday. White House spokesman Jay Carney said senior officials were briefing U.S. President Barack Obama regularly about the situation. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; editing by Jackie Frank) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senator asks Russia to turn over Snowden Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:45 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham wrote to Russia's embassy in Washington on Monday and urged Moscow to apprehend former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden and turn him over to U.S. authorities immediately, calling the case a test of the two countries' relationship. "The Snowden case is an important test of the 'reset' in relations between our two countries," the South Carolina Republican wrote in a letter to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. "Mr. Snowden's own statements have made clear his guilt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador president vows 'sovereign' decision on Snowden Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:40 AM PDT  By Alexandra Valencia and Brian Ellsworth QUITO (Reuters) - President Rafael Correa vowed on Monday that Ecuador's decision on the "complicated" asylum case of fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden would not be swayed by others. Snowden, 30, whose exposure of secret U.S. surveillance infuriated Washington while making him a champion of civil liberties for others, has requested asylum from the tiny South American nation's leftist government. His whereabouts remains uncertain after he flew at the weekend from Hong Kong to Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain's crusading ex-judge Garzon mulls helping Snowden Monday, Jun 24, 2013 09:32 AM PDT  By Fiona Ortiz MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish jurist Baltasar Garzon, who made an international reputation in pursuing Chilean ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet in the 1990s, said on Monday he was considering a request from former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden for legal help. Snowden, who exposed secret U.S. government surveillance programs in a series of leaks, left Hong Kong on Sunday to escape U.S. prosecution and the South American country of Ecuador has offered him asylum. On Monday Snowden's whereabouts were a mystery. ... Full Story | Top |
| All eyes on seat 17A as reporters head to Cuba without Snowden Monday, Jun 24, 2013 08:51 AM PDT  By Katya Golubkova and Lidia Kelly MOSCOW (Reuters) - All eyes were on seat 17A as a planeload of journalists strapped themselves in for an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Cuba with former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. Their first disappointment was that Snowden didn't show up. The second was that it was a booze-free flight - all 11 hours and 35 minutes of it. Moscow-based journalists had scrambled to buy seats, at around $2,000 for a return flight, in the hope of getting a few words from Snowden - or even a first sighting of him since he left Hong Kong on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
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