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| Mursi held by Egypt's army; 'coup' dilemma for the West Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 09:48 PM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army was holding ousted President Mohamed Mursi at a military facility in Cairo on Thursday and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders were arrested in a crackdown on the movement that won several elections last year. The United Nations, the United States and other world powers did not condemn Mursi's removal as a military coup. To do so might trigger sanctions. Army intervention was backed by millions of Egyptians, including liberal leaders and religious figures who expect new elections under a revised set of rules. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morales back in Bolivia after plane drama over Snowden Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:16 PM PDT  By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived home to a hero's welcome late on Wednesday, saying some European countries' refusal to let his plane enter their airspace because of suspicion it carried fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was a provocation aimed at all of South America. Morales was greeted by his Cabinet and cheering, fist-pumping crowds at La Paz's airport after a dramatic journey from Moscow that ignited a diplomatic furore when his plane had to make an unscheduled stop in Vienna on Tuesday evening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate bill could slash illegal immigration by 50 percent: CBO Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By David Lawder and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate-passed immigration bill would significantly reduce the flow of illegal immigrants, but increased U.S.-Mexico border security costs would eat into projected budget savings, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. The CBO concluded that the bill, which would double the number of federal agents along the border and complete the 700 miles of fencing, would reduce the number of people entering the United States from Mexico without documentation by one-third to one-half. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Could the U.S. delay Obamacare's mandate for individuals, too? Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:44 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama can expect mounting pressure to make new concessions on healthcare reform, especially the requirement that all Americans obtain insurance, after delaying penalties for businesses for the first year of his plan. The U.S. Treasury said late on Tuesday it would grant businesses with 50 or more workers a one-year reprieve from having to provide health coverage to full-time staff. The move appeared to ease the concerns of major companies about being ready to meet new reporting regulations in time for a January 1 deadline. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition meets to find leader, show it is ready for arms Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:41 PM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition coalition meets on Thursday under pressure to name a new leader and prove to its Western and Arab backers it can be trusted with advanced weapons to beat back a concerted offensive by President Bashar al-Assad. The opposition's inability to unite has made Western countries reluctant to send weapons, even as Assad's forces have seized initiative in recent months and Washington and its European allies have vowed to aid his enemies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Nigeria seeks farming revival to break oil curse Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 11:38 PM PDT  By Joe Brock SAULAWA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Down a winding dirt track in this sleepy village in northern Nigeria lies a corn farm which looks much like the dozens that surround it. The difference is, this one is turning a profit. "I can barely lift my 8-year-old. He's the fattest in the village," said Ibrahim Mustapha, 50, drawing laughter from his fellow farmers as he pretends to lift up his chubby son. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish court blocks disputed park project Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:10 AM PDT  By Ayla Jean Yackley (Reuters) - A Turkish court has canceled an Istanbul building project backed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan which provided the trigger for nationwide anti-government demonstrations last month, a copy of the court decision showed. Authorities may well appeal against cancellation of plans for a replica Ottoman-era barracks on Istanbul's Taksim Square. But the ruling marked a victory for a coalition of political forces and a blow for Erdogan, who stood fast against protests and riots he said were stoked by terrorists and looters. ... Full Story | Top |
| When is a coup not a coup? Obama faces tricky call in Egypt Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:04 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Egyptian military's overthrow of elected President Mohamed Mursi left President Barack Obama grappling with a difficult question of diplomacy and language in dealing with the Arab world's most populous nation: was it a coup? At stake as Obama and his aides wrestle with that question in the coming days is the $1.5 billion in aid the United States sends to Cairo each year - almost all of it for the military - as well as the president's views on how best to promote Arab democracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman studied Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' law: witness Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 03:50 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was well versed in Florida's self-defense laws before he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, despite a previous claim to the contrary, jurors were told at Zimmerman's trial on Wednesday. The contradiction came into evidence as prosecutors were preparing to wrap up their case on Friday after two weeks of testimony aimed at showing inconsistencies in Zimmerman's accounts of the February 2012 shooting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel agree to high-level talks on U.S. surveillance program Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:56 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to allay concerns from German Chancellor Angela Merkel about reported U.S. spying on European allies on Wednesday, and they agreed to hold a high-level meeting on the subject in coming days. The European Union has demanded the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington was spying on its European allies, calling such surveillance shocking if true. The reports came to light amid an ongoing imbroglio involving former U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| New Tunisian protest movement takes cue from Egypt Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:36 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian opposition activists have launched their own version of Egypt's Tamarud protest movement, whose campaign to remove President Mohamed Mursi drew millions onto the streets and led to an army ultimatum for the Islamist leader to share power. The youthful, little known leaders of Tunisian Tamarud (Rebel) hope to galvanize opposition to their own Islamist-led government which, like Mursi, came to power after an uprising in 2011 swept an autocratic leader from office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police, workers exhume Mandela's children Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  By Yvonne Bell MVEZO, South Africa (Reuters) - Workers armed with pick-axes and a court order broke into the compound of Nelson Mandela's grandson on Wednesday to exhume the remains of three of the anti-apartheid hero's children, a new twist in a row that has split South Africa's most famous family. Within hours of a ruling against Mandla Mandela by the high court in Mthatha, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg, police and hearses arrived at Mandla's complex in the nearby village of Mvezo, where the three Mandela offspring are buried. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama expresses deep concern, doesn't condemn Egyptian military intervention Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:43 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama expressed deep concern about the Egyptian military's removal of President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday but stopped short of condemning a move that could lead to a cut-off in U.S. aid. Obama issued a written statement responding to dramatic events in Cairo after huddling with his top national security advisers at the White House. The session took place shortly after the Egyptian military made its move. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army topples president, announces transition Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:58 PM PDT By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday, sparking wild rejoicing in the streets at the prospect of new elections as a range of political leaders backed a new political transition. Mursi was sequestered in a Republican Guard barracks after denouncing a "military coup" that stripped him of power after just a year. As tanks and troops secured the area, tens of thousands of supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood rallied nearby to protest against his removal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden still in Moscow despite Bolivian plane drama Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:07 PM PDT  By Angelika Gruber and Emma Farge VIENNA/GENEVA (Reuters) - Bolivia accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to "kidnap" its president, Evo Morales, after his plane was denied permission to fly over some European countries on suspicion he was taking fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to Latin America. Bolivia said the incident, in which the plane was denied permission to fly over France and Portugal before making a stop in Vienna, was an act of aggression and a violation of international law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police, workers exhume Mandela's children Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  By Yvonne Bell MVEZO, South Africa (Reuters) - Workers armed with pick-axes and a court order broke into the compound of Nelson Mandela's grandson on Wednesday to exhume the remains of three of the anti-apartheid hero's children, a new twist in a row that has split South Africa's most famous family. Within hours of a ruling against Mandla Mandela by the high court in Mthatha, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg, police and hearses arrived at Mandla's complex in the nearby village of Mvezo, where the three Mandela offspring are buried. ... Full Story | Top |
| Column: China and America's related, but inverse, dilemmas - Ian Bremmer Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 01:44 PM PDT  By Ian Bremmer (Reuters) - As protests sweep the developing world and Europe struggles through an austerity hangover, China and the U.S., relative to their peers, look like the best in class. They are both comfortable with their modest economic growth rates compared to their norms of the past decade, and are insulated from the kind of social unrest we are seeing in Egypt, Turkey or Brazil. But both countries have a deeper intractable challenge that will, in the longer-term, get worse. What's interesting is that they're the inverse of each other. In the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Australia's growth solution - more Australians Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:03 PM PDT  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - For a modern developed nation, Australia is taking a less-travelled path to prosperity. It wants more Australians. An overlooked aspect of the Pacific nation's economic outperformance has been the ability to attract a quarter of a million migrants every year, underpinning demand for everything from homes to cars, schools and hospitals. "Provided population growth is planned for by government, it represents power to the economy," said Craig James, chief economist at stockbroker and fund manger CommSec. ... Full Story | Top |
| Belgian King Albert II to step down in favor of son Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 11:35 AM PDT  By Robert-Jan Bartunek BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's King Albert II said on Wednesday he would abdicate on July 21 and leave the throne to his son, saying at 79 he felt too old to carry out his duties properly. Albert II, who has three children, ascended to the throne in 1993 when his childless brother Baudouin died. His 53-year-old heir, Philippe, studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and Stanford University, and has led trade delegations to countries such as the United States, China and Thailand. ... Full Story | Top |
| With eye on election, India launches huge cheap food scheme Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 09:34 AM PDT  By Anurag Kotoky and Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Indian government launched a $22 billion welfare scheme on Wednesday to give cheap food to hundreds of millions of people, a centerpiece of the ruling Congress party's plan to win a third term in elections due by May 2014. The minority government sidestepped India's unruly parliament and resorted to an executive order to implement the program, hoping to take the credit for a vote-winning plan. "The union cabinet has approved the food security ordinance unanimously," Food Minister K.V. ... Full Story | Top |
| Credit card donations to WikiLeaks flowing through Iceland again Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 07:36 AM PDT  STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - International credit card donations to WikiLeaks are flowing again after an Icelandic court ruling forced MasterCard's and Visa's local agent to process payments, the companies involved in processing the funds said. One of WikiLeaks' most important sources of funding - donations made from Visa and MasterCard users around the globe - was cut off in 2010 when the firms stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks' direct payment line in Iceland. Their move came after criticism by the United States of the anti-secrecy organization's release of thousands of sensitive U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leaks like Snowden's put lives at risk: UK minister Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 08:49 AM PDT  By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Leaks of sensitive intelligence like those of fugitive U.S. analyst Edward Snowden put lives and national security at risk, potentially jeopardizing vital work to protect the public, Britain's security minister said on Wednesday. Revelations by Snowden, a former contractor with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), published in Britain's Guardian newspaper last month, led to claims that British spies have been circumventing the law and have stirred concern among London's European allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's army chief turns on the president who promoted him Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - When President Mohamed Mursi swept aside the ageing commanders of Egypt's military a year ago and named a soft-spoken, deeply religious younger general to head the armed forces, it was a demonstration that the military was now subordinate to Egypt's first freely elected leader. Fast forward one year, and now it is the general, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who appears poised to sweep aside the president. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused kidnapper Castro may not see six-year-old daughter: judge Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 09:53 AM PDT By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio judge on Wednesday rejected a surprise request from accused Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro to have visits in jail from his six-year-old daughter, fathered with a woman allegedly held captive in his house. With his head down and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, Castro was barely audible at a court hearing when asked the judge to see his daughter, appearing to catch his own lawyers off guard. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia peace possible by year's end, President says Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 06:47 AM PDT  By Robert Evans GENEVA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday an agreement with the Marxist FARC rebels to end their 50-year-old insurgency could be reached by the end of this year if there were "sufficient political will". But he insisted that it was out of the question to postpone next year's presidential election, as demanded by the FARC at peace talks with the government currently under way in Havana. "If there is sufficient political will, we can achieve an agreement by the end of the year ... ... Full Story | Top |
| American jailed in North Korea asks U.S. for help: report Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 06:30 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Korean-American sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea is asking U.S. officials to help secure his release from prison and is seeking forgiveness from North Korean officials, according to a media report on Wednesday. In an edited interview obtained by CNN, Kenneth Bae, who was convicted by North Korea in April of trying to overthrow the state, said he was being patient and coping well despite poor health. The footage showed Bae wearing a dirty, blue-gray prison uniform and seeming thinner than before, according to the television network. ... Full Story | Top |
| St Petersburg blast blows off man's hand: Russian media Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 06:25 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - A package exploded in a man's hand outside a McDonald's restaurant on the main boulevard in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Wednesday, injuring him but causing no other casualties, Russian media reported. The man was hospitalized after the blast on the bustling Nevsky Prospekt blew his hand off at the wrist and injured his abdomen, RIA news agency quoted police as saying. Interfax cited police as saying the man told them he had just picked up the package from the ground. The nature of the explosive was not immediately known and the man's identity was not released. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ecuador says it found a hidden microphone at its London embassy Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 05:38 AM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - Ecuador has found a hidden microphone inside its London embassy, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is living, and will disclose on Wednesday who controls the device, its foreign minister said. Ricardo Patino said the microphone was found inside the office of the Ecuadorean ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ana Alban, at the time of a visit to the embassy by Patino to meet with Assange on June 16. Assange lives and works in a different room within the embassy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's Rouhani urges end to meddling in private lives Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:26 AM PDT  By Jon Hemming DUBAI (Reuters) - President-elect Hassan Rouhani called on Wednesday for the government and powerful clergy to end interference in the private lives of the Iranian people, free up Internet access and allow state media to be more open about Iran's problems. Rouhani's comments began to flesh out his message of moderation at home and better relations abroad that contributed to his surprise election victory last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| South American leaders to meet on Bolivian plane diversion Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  GENEVA (Reuters) - Latin American presidents plan an emergency meeting on Wednesday over the diversion to Austria of a plane carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales, the Bolivian ambassador to the United Nations said. The Bolivian plane, which was taking Morales home from Moscow, was stranded and searched in Vienna on suspicion that it might be carrying fugitive U.S. intelligence analyst Edward Snowden. A search determined that Snowden was not onboard and the plane eventually left Vienna about noon on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamist rebel vows 'maximum force' to stop Sochi Olympics Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:20 AM PDT  By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Islamist rebel leaders urged their fighters on Wednesday to use "maximum force" to prevent President Vladimir Putin staging the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. In an online video recorded in a forest, Doku Umarov said an order not to attack Russian targets outside the North Caucasus had been cancelled and likened holding the Games in the Black Sea city to performing "Satanic dances" on the graves of Muslims killed fighting Russian forces there in the 19th century. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greece's lenders could delay aid for three months: official Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:45 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - International lenders may freeze emergency aid to Greece for three months unless Athens can convince them that the country is on track to meet its reform goals, a senior euro zone official said on Wednesday. "If we don't conclude this review, I don't see any disbursement to Greece over the next three months"," the official told reporters, referring to a health check of the country's progress by the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Portugal, Greece risk reawakening euro zone beast Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:13 AM PDT  By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A teetering Portuguese government has underlined the threat that the euro zone debt crisis, in hibernation for almost a year, may be about to reawaken. From Greece to Cyprus, Slovenia to Spain and Italy, and now most pressingly Portugal, where the finance and foreign ministers resigned in the space of two days, a host of problems is stirring after 10 months of relative calm imposed by the European Central Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Sudan's Bashir plays to hardliners to stem succession debate Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:15 AM PDT  By Ulf Laessing KHARTOUM (Reuters) - When Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir returned a few weeks ago from a summit in Ethiopia with his South Sudanese counterpart and former civil war foe, many people here expected him to talk of peace. Instead, the 69-year-old ruler donned his officer's uniform, waved his trademark walking stick and - once again - threatened to cut off South Sudanese oil exports through Sudan, something the northern country's battered economy can ill afford. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Armed Forces General Command holds crisis meeting: military source Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 03:58 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The general command of the Egyptian armed forces is currently holding a crisis meeting, a military source told Reuters on Wednesday. The meeting was being held hours before the expiry of a deadline set by the army for rival politicians to find a solution to the country's political crisis. (This story is corrected to show meeting of general command) (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Tom Perry and Jon Boyle) Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare implementation delay no boon for hiring Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 03:46 PM PDT  By Lisa Baertlein (Reuters) - The Obama administration's decision to delay a key provision of the healthcare law, by giving employers an extra year to offer insurance coverage, is not expected to significantly impact 2014 hiring since many big businees were prepared for the change. Smaller businesses, which have been among the most vocal critics of the law, say they are still coming to terms with the system's cost and complexity and need the extra time simply to make Obamacare work. "It's a good thing they delayed it," said Doug Prestwood. "There's just not enough information. ... Full Story | Top |
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