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| Mursi backers to protest after overthrow, arrests Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:34 PM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamist supporters of Egypt's ousted president, Mohamed Mursi, will rally on Friday to express their outrage at his overthrow by the army and to reject a planned interim government backed by their liberal opponents. Dozens of people were wounded in clashes in Mursi's home city on Thursday, raising fears of more of the violence in which several dozen have died in the past month. There were also militant attacks in the restive Sinai peninsula, next to Israel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Steady U.S. job gains to keep Fed's focus on tapering Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:38 PM PDT  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth probably slowed in June, but not enough to shift the Federal Reserve away from expectations that it will start scaling back its massive monetary stimulus later this year. Employers are expected to have added 165,000 new jobs to their payrolls last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists, slightly below the 175,000 positions created in May. The unemployment rate is expected to fall a tenth of a percentage point to 7.5 percent. The Labor Department will release its closely watched employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Cautious toward Middle East, Obama gets second chance in Egypt Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:44 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When President Barack Obama sat down with his top national security aides this week to determine how to react to a military takeover in Egypt, he had a tough choice to make. He could denounce what had taken place as a coup launched against a legitimately elected president in Cairo and suspend U.S. military aid. Or he could embrace the move as a reaction to popular discontent with the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled government. That he chose a middle ground, urging a swift return to civilian government and ordering a U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. enjoys July 4 parades, picnics under watchful eyes of police Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:19 PM PDT  By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans gathered on Thursday for parades, fireworks and hot dog-eating contests at Independence Day celebrations, held under unprecedented security following the Boston Marathon bombings. A fireworks display lit up the National Mall in Washington as a packed crowd of onlookers listened to booming cannons accompany Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." President Barack Obama led Washington's celebrations, which included a concert on the National Mall, by hosting members of the U.S. military and their families on the South Lawn of the White House. ... Full Story | Top |
| Delay in Obamacare requirement puts onus on the honor system Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:34 PM PDT  By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration's move to delay a key element of healthcare reform has another, unintended, consequence: A crucial part of that reform will depend on consumers observing the honor system, with millions of dollars at stake. The U.S. government said on Tuesday it would postpone by a year the provision that employers with 50 or more workers provide them with health insurance; the delay is intended to let companies work out how they report their compliance to tax authorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa says Mandela still 'critical but stable' Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:12 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela remained in a "critical but stable" condition after nearly four weeks in hospital, the government said on Thursday. Mandela is receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection, his fourth hospitalization in six months. The latest health update from the government followed a visit to the hospital by current President Jacob Zuma. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morales back in Bolivia after plane drama over Snowden Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:47 AM 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 |
| South American leftist leaders rally for Bolivia in Snowden saga Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 09:45 PM PDT  By David Mercado COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Reuters) - South America's most outspoken leftist leaders demanded an explanation and public apology from four European countries on Thursday after Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane was diverted this week on suspicions that fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was aboard. At a summit in Cochabamba, Bolivia - where Morales began his political career as a leader of coca leaf farmers - five regional leaders joined him in denouncing his "virtual kidnapping" and the U.S. pressure they believe spurred it behind the scenes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Merkel hopes for U.S. answers on spying Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Gernot Heller BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a phone call with Barack Obama on Wednesday night that she believed the U.S. president took Germany's concern over reported U.S. spying very seriously, and she hoped coming talks would bring answers. Obama sought to allay the anger in Germany and other European allies in his call with Merkel, during which the chancellor said she made clear to him spying was not what she expected from countries considered friends. ... Full Story | Top |
| Samsung Electronics' second quarter misses forecast as smartphone worries deepen Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 08:59 PM PDT  By Miyoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd missed already modest expectations for its quarterly earnings guidance on Friday, deepening worries that its smartphone business may have peaked, as growth in sales of its blockbuster Galaxy phones begins to wane and new rivals emerge to eat away at its market share. The Galaxy S, powered by Google's free Android platform, propelled the South Korean firm into the top rank of smartphone makers in 2012, overtaking Apple Inc whose iPhone had set an industry standard five years earlier. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition meets to find leader, show it is ready for arms Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition coalition met 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 the initiative in recent months and Washington and its European allies have vowed to aid his enemies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Aid worker killed in fighting in biggest city in Darfur Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:12 PM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - One aid worker was killed and three others wounded when a grenade hit their office during a gunfight between competing security forces on Thursday in the biggest city of Sudan's Darfur region, the United Nations and witnesses said. Clashes between the army, rebels and rival tribes have surged in the vast and mostly lawless region in recent months, but had until now been confined to rural areas. Residents said heavy gunfire could be heard for hours near the security headquarters in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state and the second-biggest city in Sudan. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU parliament urges blocking U.S. data access after spy leaks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:02 AM PDT  By Claire Davenport BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament called on Thursday for the scrapping of two agreements granting the United States access to European financial and travel data unless Washington reveals the extent of its electronic spying operations in Europe. A non-binding resolution, passed by 483 votes to 98 with 65 abstentions, said the United States should come clean about its surveillance of email and communications data or risk seeing the transatlantic information-sharing deals, created in the wake of the September 11 attacks, torn up. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brotherhood leader arrested, Egypt's Islamists call protests Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:02 PM PDT  By Asma Alsharif and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces arrested the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday, security sources said, in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country's first democratically elected president. The dramatic exit of President Mohamed Mursi was greeted with delight by millions of jubilant people on the streets of Cairo and other cities overnight, but there was simmering resentment among Egyptians who opposed military intervention. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. enjoys July 4 parades, picnics under watchful eyes of police Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:01 PM PDT  By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - People across the United States gathered on Thursday for parades, picnics and fireworks at Independence Day celebrations, held under unprecedented security following the Boston Marathon bombings. Spectators waving U.S. flags and wearing red, white and blue headed for public gatherings in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta and other cities under the close watch of police armed with hand-held chemical detectors, radiation scanners and camera surveillance, precautions sparked by the deadly April 15 bombings. A U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Samsung estimates second-quarter profit at record high, misses forecast Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:46 PM PDT SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd estimated its April-June operating profit rose 47 percent to a record 9.5 trillion won ($8.3 billion), lifted by the late April launch of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphones. The guidance - released ahead of full quarterly results due by July 26 - was worse than an average forecast of 10.16 trillion won by 43 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Samsung estimated its second-quarter sales at 57 trillion won, versus a market forecast for 58.7 trillion won. (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Stephen Coates) Full Story | Top |
| Mexican reforms hostage to opposition in local elections Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A year after winning the Mexican presidency, Enrique Pena Nieto needs a solid performance by the opposition in state elections on Sunday to keep alive a fragile alliance he built to steer reforms through Congress. Falling short of a majority when he won, Pena Nieto crafted an informal coalition with the opposition to help realize his economic vision, two key parts of which - opening up state oil giant Pemex to private capital and boosting the tax take - he is planning to send to Congress by September. ... Full Story | Top |
| World Bank chief says hopes to continue Egypt programs Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:11 PM PDT  SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The World Bank hopes to continue its programs in Egypt following the military ousting of the country's first democratically elected leader, bank president Jim Yong Kim told reporters on Thursday during a visit to Chile. The bank, which Kim said has a $4.7 billion loan program for Egypt, is still trying to understand the situation in the country, he added. "Our hope is that we'll be able to continue with our programs to provide essential services and essential support," said Kim, flanked by Chile's president and finance minister. ... Full Story | Top |
| North and South Korea agree fresh talks over shuttered factories Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:59 AM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea agreed on Thursday to hold talks aimed at reopening a jointly run factory park that was a rare source of cash for the North three weeks after their last attempt at dialogue collapsed in bickering over protocol. North Korea accepted the South's proposal, made by its Unification Ministry, paving the way for talks on Saturday at the Panmunjom truce village that straddles their heavily militarized border. "The North agreed to working-level talks at 10 o'clock on July 6...at Pammunjom," the Unification Ministry said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| French agency spies on phone calls, email, web use, paper says Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:36 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's external intelligence agency spies on the French public's phone calls, emails and social media activity in France and abroad, the daily Le Monde said on Thursday. It said the DGSE intercepted signals from computers and telephones in France, and between France and other countries, although not the content of phone calls, to create a map of "who is talking to whom". It said the activity was illegal. "All of our communications are spied on," wrote Le Monde, which based its report on unnamed intelligence sources as well as remarks made publicly by intelligence officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Supreme Court's Ginsburg vows to resist pressure to retire Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At age 80, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leader of the Supreme Court's liberal wing, says she is in excellent health, even lifting weights despite having cracked a pair of ribs again, and plans to stay several more years on the bench. In a Reuters interview late on Tuesday, she vowed to resist any pressure to retire that might come from liberals who want to ensure that Democratic President Barack Obama can pick her successor before the November 2016 presidential election. ... Full Story | Top |
| British surveillance firm denies bugging Ecuador's embassy Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:03 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A British private surveillance company denied on Thursday that it had bugged the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living for over a year. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino made the allegation against the Surveillance Group Ltd in Quito on Wednesday, adding that Ecuador would seek help from the British government to get to the bottom of the matter. In a statement, the Surveillance Group's CEO Timothy Young rejected Patino's allegation as "completely untrue". ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting spreads to city in Sudan's Darfur region Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:04 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A gunfight broke out on Thursday in Sudan's second-largest city, in the strife-torn Darfur region, witnesses said, prompting residents to take cover and the United Nations to cancel a routine flight there. Residents said heavy gunfire could be heard near the security headquarters in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. The identities of the gunmen were unknown. Clashes between the army, rebels and rival tribes have surged in Darfur in recent months, but had until now been confined to rural areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-trader Kerviel rebuffed by Paris employment tribunal Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:23 AM PDT  By Lionel Laurent PARIS (Reuters) - A Paris employment tribunal on Thursday rejected former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel's plea for a new expert inquiry to help overturn his dismissal in France's biggest-ever trading scandal in 2008. In a separate criminal case, Kerviel is running out of options to escape conviction and a jail sentence upheld by an appeals court in October over 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in losses that French bank SocGen said were the result of unauthorized trades by Kerviel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi's blunders helped doom Egypt's first stab at democracy Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:50 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed Mursi's early challenge to the army and his imposition of an Islamist-tinged constitution were fateful moments in his turbulent year as Egypt's first freely elected president. A year ago, the Muslim Brotherhood seemed about to reap the fruits of the popular uprising that had toppled Hosni Mubarak, with Mursi installed in the palace he occupied for 30 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Tugged by Syria storm, Lebanon risks drifting into chaos Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:44 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - After weeks of sectarian violence fuelled by Syria's civil war, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker summoned deputies this week for a legislative session to address the country's deepening crisis. They never met. Hobbled by many of the same religious and ideological rivalries that are tearing Syria apart, Lebanon's government fell in March and a new one has yet to emerge. Deputies failed to reach a quorum on speaker Nabih Berri's summons, forcing him to postpone any meeting for another fortnight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia worried by lack of progress towards Iran nuclear talks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:14 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia voiced concern on Thursday that no progress has been made towards organizing new talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, despite the election of a relative moderate as Iran's president. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said a diplomatic push had been launched to arrange a new round of talks after Hassan Rouhani was elected president on June 14 but made clear there had been no breakthrough. "There is no agreement now on when and where the next round will be. That worries us," Ryabkov told Interfax news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria's Assad says only foreign invasion can threaten him Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:45 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he and his government would survive the civil war having endured everything his opponents could do to topple him and only the distant prospect of direct foreign military intervention could change that. After steady rebel gains in the first two years of civil war, Syria became stuck in a bloody stalemate lasting months until a June government offensive that led to the capture of a strategic border town. Momentum now looks to be behind Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arrested Vatican prelate lived lush life in hometown Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:09 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella SALERNO, Italy (Reuters) - Even though he was known to like to live well, police said they were startled when they entered Monsignor Nunzio Scarano's apartment after he called them one night in January to report a burglary. The apartment, in one of Salerno's most up-market neighborhoods in the city center, was huge, with art lining the walls and hallways divided by Roman-style columns. Scarano, a Vatican official with close ties to the Vatican bank and who is now in Rome's Queen of Heaven jail, had called police to report that thieves had stolen part of his art collection. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan says building nuclear safety culture will take a long time Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  By Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's nuclear regulator said on Thursday that elevating safety culture to international standards will "take a long time", days before new rules come into effect to avoid a repeat of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. An earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant was destroyed, leaking radiation into the sea and air. ... Full Story | Top |
| ElBaradei tops list to head Egypt government: sources Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:19 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. nuclear agency chief, is favorite to head a transitional government in Egypt after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Mursi, military, political and diplomatic sources said on Thursday. ElBaradei, 71, was mandated by the main alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front, and youth groups that led anti-Mursi protests as negotiator with the armed forces and was present when armed forces commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the military takeover on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal PM says found formula for government stability Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  By Shrikesh Laxmidas and Axel Bugge LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's prime minister has found a way to maintain government stability with the junior partner in the ruling coalition, but the full details still need to be agreed to end a political crisis that has threatened Lisbon's adjustment under a bailout. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said a formula had been found after meeting with the leader of the rightist CDS-PP party three times in the past 24 hours to heal the most damaging political rift since the country received a bailout in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| G20 to seek clarity on U.S. policy at July meet: South Korea Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:39 AM PDT By Se Young Lee and Choonsik Yoo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea along with other G20 members will seek clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve's exit strategy on stimulus policy at the G20 ministerial meeting later this month, the country's finance minister told Reuters on Thursday. "There will be discussions about how the U.S. will be unwinding (QE) if the U.S. economy does recover, as well as what the financial market impact will be when the unwinding takes place," Minister Oh-seok said in an interview. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's new president says Brotherhood 'part of nation': report Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:05 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new head of state said the Muslim Brotherhood were part of the people and were welcome to help "build the nation" a day after the military overthrew president Mohamed Mursi, the website of the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported. President Adli Mansour made the comments to journalists after being sworn in as the interim head of state at the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt prosecutor orders arrest of top Brotherhood leader Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:56 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian prosecutor's office ordered on Thursday the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood's top leader, Mohamed Badie, and his deputy, Khairat el-Shater, judicial and army sources said, after the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi. Shater, a wealthy businessman seen as the Brotherhood's top political strategist, was the group's first choice candidate to run in last year's presidential election. But he was disqualified from the race due to past convictions, forcing Mursi to take his place. (Writing by Tom Perry/Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's interim president sworn in Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:33 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The head of Egypt's Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, was sworn in as interim president on Thursday, a day after the army ousted Mohamed Mursi as head of state. Speaking at the Constitutional Court in Cairo, Mansour said he planned to hold new elections, but did not specify when. He said Egypt had "corrected the path of its glorious revolution" through mass street protests calling for Mursi's resignation, which ultimately sealed his fate. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
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