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| Insight - Obama and Syria: a trail of half-steps, mixed messages Friday, Jul 26, 2013 10:08 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the Syrian civil war deepened and anti-government rebels struggled to unify their fractious forces, the White House early last year quietly convened an elite group of senior policymakers to advise President Barack Obama. Their unusual mandate: think outside the box on how to push Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power. ... Full Story | Top |
| Under siege, JPMorgan to quit physical commodities Friday, Jul 26, 2013 07:01 PM PDT  By David Sheppard and Jonathan Leff NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co is exiting physical commodities trading, the bank said in a surprise statement on Friday, as Wall Street's role in the trading of raw materials comes under unprecedented political and regulatory pressure. After spending billions of dollars and five years building the banking world's biggest commodity desk, JPMorgan said it would pursue "strategic alternatives" for its trading assets that stretch from Baltimore to Johor, and a global team dealing in everything from African crude oil to Chilean copper. ... Full Story | Top |
| Death toll from attack on Mursi supporters rises to at least 70 Friday, Jul 26, 2013 11:58 PM PDT  By Tom Perry and Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces shot dead at least 70 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Mursi early on Saturday, his Muslim Brotherhood said, deepening the turmoil which has convulsed Egypt for weeks. Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad said the shooting started shortly before pre-dawn morning prayers on the fringes of a round-the-clock vigil being staged by backers of Mursi, who was toppled by the army more than three weeks ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea heralds 60th anniversary of war 'victory' with massive parade Saturday, Jul 27, 2013 12:09 AM PDT  By Se Young Lee and Maxim Duncan PYONGYANG (Reuters) - North Korea celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Korean War truce on Saturday with a massive military parade trumpeting the revolutionary genius of three generations of leaders that gave it "Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War". Leader Kim Jong-un was joined by Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao on the podium overlooking Pyongyang's main Kim Il Sung square to inspect a massive throng of soldiers in goosestep and a display of weapons including its mid-range missiles. ... Full Story | Top |
| SAC Capital pleads not guilty; reinsurance unit eyed Friday, Jul 26, 2013 03:55 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan and Svea Herbst-Bayliss (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen's hedge fund pleaded not guilty on Friday to insider trading charges in federal court, as questions also surfaced about the future of SAC Capital's Bermuda-based reinsurance unit, SAC Re. Ratings company, A.M. Best Co., and the Bermuda Monetary Authority, which regulates insurers on the island, said they were monitoring developments one day after prosecutors charged the hedge fund and various affiliates with four criminal counts of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. A year ago A.M. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blast kills six, wounds dozens in Philippine southern city Friday, Jul 26, 2013 09:59 PM PDT MANILA (Reuters) - A powerful blast ripped through a crowded popular nightclub in a southern Philippine city late on Friday, killing six people and wounding dozens, police said on Saturday, a reminder of the security challenges despite rising economic growth. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack and an army spokesman said security forces are looking into a potential motive for the attack, including the possible involvement of communist rebels who are active in the area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Protests hit Tunisia for second day after assassination Friday, Jul 26, 2013 08:22 PM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Demonstrations swept Tunisia for a second day on Friday after the assassination of a secular opposition figure, with one protester killed and several injured in the southern city of Gafsa, witnesses said. Late on Friday, 42 opposition members announced their resignation from the 217-seat Constituent Assembly to protest the killing on Thursday of Mohamed Brahmi, a member of the Arab nationalist Popular Front party. ... Full Story | Top |
| Was 'recklessness' to blame for Spanish train crash? Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:49 PM PDT  By Teresa Medrano and Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - Spanish police were investigating on Friday if the driver of a train that crashed in Santiago de Compostela killing dozens had been driving at reckless speed when he took a tight curve. Spain's worst train accident in decades on Wednesday evening killed at least 78, with three bodies still unidentified and 81 people in hospital, raising questions about the experienced railwayman's actions. The driver, Francisco Garzon, 52, was under arrest at a hospital in Santiago, the capital of the northwestern region of Galicia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Qatar grounds a 787 as glitches pile up on Boeing jet Friday, Jul 26, 2013 01:46 PM PDT  By Praveen Menon and Siva Govindasamy DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar Airways said on Friday it had taken one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of service following what it described as a "minor" technical issue, as pressure mounted on the plane maker over possible new electrical problems with the advanced jet. The airline and Boeing Co declined to give further details but industry sources said they were treating seriously reports that the aircraft had been grounded for days after smoke was seen near an electrical panel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama likely won't announce Fed chair pick until fall: official Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:53 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House moved on Friday to damp down speculation about President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Federal Reserve when Ben Bernanke's term expires, saying no decision has been made and no announcement is likely until the fall. Bernanke's second four-year term as chairman at the U.S. central bank ends January 31, and Obama has signaled that the former Princeton professor is likely to step down. ... Full Story | Top |
| Life in prison for man who held Cleveland women for years Friday, Jul 26, 2013 02:41 PM PDT  By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A former Cleveland school bus driver who held three women captive for years pleaded guilty on Friday to hundreds of charges of kidnapping and rape, allowing him to avoid the death penalty and instead serve life in prison without parole. At a court hearing, Ohio prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty against Ariel Castro. Under the agreement, he will not stand trial, sparing the women the trauma of testifying about their abuse by Castro over about a decade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Vivendi overhaul gathers pace with $8.2 billion Activision sale Friday, Jul 26, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  By Christian Plumb and Leila Abboud PARIS (Reuters) - Vivendi agreed to sell most of its stake in Activision Blizzard, the world's largest videogames publisher, for $8.2 billion on Friday, paving the way for a broader split of the French conglomerate's media and telecoms assets. Vivendi has been looking to sell assets since Chairman Jean-Rene Fourtou said 18 months ago there would be no taboos as it tried to make sense of a diverse portfolio built up in a frantic spending spree under a former CEO Jean-Marie Messier in the late 1990s. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. assures Russia Snowden won't be executed or tortured Friday, Jul 26, 2013 10:59 AM PDT  By Darya Korsunskaya and David Ingram MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has made a formal promise to Russia not to execute or torture Edward Snowden if he is sent home to face charges of illegally disclosing government secrets, and the Kremlin said Russian and U.S. security agencies are in talks over his fate. The 30-year-old former U.S. spy agency contractor has been stuck in the transit area of a Moscow airport for more than a month despite Washington's calls to hand him over. Russia has refused to extradite Snowden, who leaked details of a secret U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuba's Raul Castro promises succession has started Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:23 PM PDT  By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro assured his people on Friday that a transfer of power to younger generations had begun, in a televised address marking the 60th anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution. Castro spoke in the city of Santiago in eastern Cuba, where on July 26, 1953, the young Castro and a group of rebels, led by his brother Fidel, attacked the Moncada military barracks in a failed assault that sparked the movement that eventually toppled the U.S.-backed government of dictator Fulgencio Batista on January 1, 1959. ... Full Story | Top |
| Violence deepens Egypt turmoil, deposed leader probed for murder Friday, Jul 26, 2013 04:55 PM PDT By Asma Alsharif and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in scattered violence across Egypt during mass rallies for and against the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who was placed under investigation for murder. With hundreds of thousands taking to the streets on Friday, the new bloodshed deepened the turmoil convulsing the Arab world's most populous country, and could trigger a decisive move by the military against Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood. ... Full Story | Top |
| JPMorgan to quit physical commodity trade amid scrutiny Friday, Jul 26, 2013 02:54 PM PDT By David Sheppard NEW YORK (Reuters) - JP Morgan Chase & Co is exiting physical commodities trading, the bank said in a surprise statement on Friday, as Wall Street's role in the trading of raw materials comes under intense political and regulatory pressure. Wall Street's biggest bank said an "internal review" had concluded it should pursue "strategic alternatives" for its physical commodities operations, which includes assets like its Henry Bath metals warehousing subsidiary and a vast global team trading everything from African crude to Canadian natural gas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey warns Syrian Kurds against 'dangerous' moves Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  By Humeyra Pamuk and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey urged Syrian Kurds on Friday not to establish a break-away entity in northern Syria by force, with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warning against any "wrong and dangerous" moves that could hurt Turkish security. The warning was issued at a meeting in Istanbul between Turkish intelligence officials and Saleh Muslim, head of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), whose militias have been fighting for greater autonomy for Kurdish parts of northern Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. FDA proposes food companies verify safety of imports Friday, Jul 26, 2013 01:42 PM PDT  By Carey Gillam (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed rules on Friday that would require food companies to verify that the products they import meet certain safety standards. The rules are the latest in a series proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act, which was signed in 2011 and represents the most sweeping food safety reform in more than 70 years. More than 3,000 people in the United States die each year from food-borne illnesses, according to federal data. One in six are sickened and 100,000 hospitalized from illness tied to pathogens such as salmonella, E. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombs kill 39 near Shi'ite mosques in Pakistan Friday, Jul 26, 2013 09:18 AM PDT  By Javed Hussain and Jibran Ahmad PARACHINAR/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Suicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up within a minute of each other outside Shi'ite mosques in a volatile Pakistani town near the Afghan border on Friday, killing at least 39 people, officials said. Sectarian violence has been on the rise in nuclear-armed Pakistan, where hardline Sunni militant groups have been relentlessly attacking Shi'ites whom they see as heretics. The first explosion took place meters away from a Shi'ite mosque near a busy market in Parachinar, capital of the tribal Kurram area. ... Full Story | Top |
| SAC Capital pleads not guilty to insider-trading charges Friday, Jul 26, 2013 09:41 AM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven Cohen's hedge fund, SAC Capital Advisors LLP, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday, one day after it was indicted on insider-trading charges. The firm's general counsel, Peter Nussbaum, flanked by five defense lawyers, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in New York. U.S. prosecutors on Thursday charged the $14 billion hedge fund with presiding over a culture where employees flouted the law and were encouraged to tap their personal networks for inside information about publicly traded companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Russian opposition leader appeals conviction ahead of Moscow vote Friday, Jul 26, 2013 09:50 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's most prominent opposition leader and anti-graft blogger, Alexei Navalny, on Friday filed an appeal against his conviction and sentencing to five years in prison for embezzling funds from a state timber company. Navalny, a stringent critic of President Vladimir Putin, denies any wrongdoing and says his conviction in the remote Russian city of Kirov is a Kremlin-driven attempt to stop his opposition activism and part of a wider crackdown on dissent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Detroit case may alter distressed U.S. city behavior: Moody's Friday, Jul 26, 2013 12:45 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Detroit's filing for bankruptcy protection is "profoundly meaningful" for the small number of local governments in the United States that are below investment grade, and could change their approach to pensions and other long-term liabilities, Moody's Investors Service said on Friday. Some distressed local governments could even find bankruptcy more appealing if Detroit can use its Chapter 9 case [ID:nL1N0FU01E] to slash pension benefits or general obligation debt, Moody's said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-IMF chief Strauss-Kahn to be tried for pimping Friday, Jul 26, 2013 09:02 AM PDT  By Gérard Bon and Alexandria Sage PARIS (Reuters) - Former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn will be tried in France on pimping charges, prosecutors said on Friday, after a long inquiry into sex parties attended by the man whose presidential hopes were dashed by a separate 2011 U.S. sex scandal. Investigating judges in the case determined that Strauss-Kahn, 64, should be judged by a criminal court over allegations he was complicit in a pimping operation involving prostitutes at the Carlton hotel in the northern city of Lille. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden's father criticizes Congress, Obama over spy programs Friday, Jul 26, 2013 11:24 AM PDT  By Susan Heavey and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The father of fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden on Friday criticized Congress for failing to rein in a sweeping surveillance program made public by his son and accused the Obama administration of pursuing him with a "zeal to punish." Lonnie Snowden has not had direct communication with his son since he fled to Hong Kong and then Russia, but sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Friday defending his son's actions as similar to acts of civil disobedience. "We thus find your administration's zeal to punish Mr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Life in prison plea deal for man who held Cleveland women for years Friday, Jul 26, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A former Cleveland school bus driver, Ariel Castro, on Friday pleaded guilty to hundreds of charges of kidnapping and raping three women he held captive and will serve life in prison, the culmination of one of the most sensational criminal cases in the United States in recent years. At a court hearing, Ohio prosecutors in turn agreed that Castro would not be eligible for the death penalty. The agreement means Castro will not stand trial, sparing the women the trauma of testifying about their abuse by Castro over about a decade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria PM refuses to quit, says protests hamper reforms Friday, Jul 26, 2013 08:18 AM PDT  By Gareth Jones and Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's prime minister pledged on Friday to stay in power despite daily street protests demanding his resignation, but said his government's lack of broad public support would delay major reforms that the Balkan nation needs. Thousands of Bulgarians, mostly young and well-educated, have been staging noisy rallies outside the parliament in Sofia for nearly seven weeks against Plamen Oresharski's government, saying it is corrupt and dominated by murky business interests. ... Full Story | Top |
| Famed hacker Barnaby Jack dies a week before hacking convention Friday, Jul 26, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Barnaby Jack, a celebrated computer hacker who forced bank ATMs to spit out cash and sparked safety improvements in medical devices, died in San Francisco, a week before he was due to make a high-profile presentation at a hacking conference. The New Zealand-born Jack, 35, was found dead on Thursday evening by "a loved one" at an apartment in San Francisco's Nob Hill neighborhood, according to a police spokesman. He would not say what caused Jack's death but said police had ruled out foul play. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamists rally to defend Tunisian government after assassination Friday, Jul 26, 2013 10:04 AM PDT  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Several thousand Islamists took to the streets of Tunis on Friday to defend the Islamist-led government from popular demands for it to resign over the assassination of a secular opposition politician. As Islamists and secular opponents staged rival protests over the future of Tunisia's Ennahda government, the interior minister pointed the finger of suspicion at a hardline Islamist, saying the same gun had been used in Thursday's killing as in an assassination earlier this year that provoked violent protests. ... Full Story | Top |
| Consumer sentiment rises to highest level in 6 years in July Friday, Jul 26, 2013 06:59 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer sentiment rose in July to the highest level in six years as Americans felt better about the current economic climate, though they expected to see a slower rate of growth in the year ahead, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment climbed to 85.1 from 84.1 in June, topping expectations for 84. It was the highest level since July 2007 and was also an improvement from July's initial reading of 83.9. ... Full Story | Top |
| Banks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine Friday, Jul 26, 2013 06:01 AM PDT  WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) - UBS will pay $885 million in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks. European and U.S. lenders such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have set aside money to cover the cost of any losses arising from the dispute with the Federal Housing Finance Agency but estimates vary widely. ... Full Story | Top |
| Was 'recklessness' to blame for Spanish train crash? Friday, Jul 26, 2013 07:04 AM PDT  By Teresa Medrano and Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (Reuters) - Spanish police were investigating on Friday if the driver of a train that crashed in Santiago de Compostela killing dozens had been driving at reckless speed when he took a tight curve. Spain's worst train wreck in decades on Wednesday evening killed at least 78, with six bodies still unidentified and 95 people in hospital, immediately raising questions about why an experienced driver was travelling so fast into a sharp bend. ... Full Story | Top |
| France deepens dispute over Mercedes sales ban Friday, Jul 26, 2013 07:31 AM PDT  By Laurence Frost and Christiaan Hetzner PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - France took formal steps on Friday to outlaw sales of several Mercedes models, upping the stakes in a standoff over parent company Daimler's use of a refrigerant banned by the European Union. The government vowed to maintain a sales freeze on the Mercedes A-Class, B-Class and CLA after the German luxury carmaker contested the move in court. Registrations "will remain forbidden in France as long as the company does not to conform to European regulations", the environment ministry said in an emailed statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's Putin 'determined' Snowden case will not hurt U.S. ties Friday, Jul 26, 2013 05:59 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined not to allow a spat over Edward Snowden to hurt ties with the United States, his spokesman said on Friday. However, the spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin was not involved in talks over the fate of the 30-year-old former U.S. spy agency contractor, who is wanted by the United States on espionage charges and has been stuck at a Moscow airport for more than a month. Russia has refused to hand over Snowden, who leaked details of secret U.S. electronic surveillance programs to British and U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels kill dozens in offensives in north and south Friday, Jul 26, 2013 05:00 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels say they have overrun army positions in the north and south of the country this week, including an offensive in which a rights monitoring group said 51 soldiers were executed. Insurgents have focused on taking isolated army outposts, mostly in rural areas while forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have made gains in recent months around the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian punk band convict defiant after losing parole battle Friday, Jul 26, 2013 04:56 AM PDT  By Maria Stromova SARANSK, Russia (Reuters) - A jailed member of Russian female punk group Pussy Riot lost a court battle to be released but remained unrepentant over last year's protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova watched from behind the black metal bars of a courtroom cage as a regional court on Friday upheld an earlier decision not to release her after nearly a year in prison so that she could look after her five-year-old daughter. The ruling by the Supreme Court of the Mordovia region was the second blow in three days for Pussy Riot. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's PM calls for high-level talks with China Friday, Jul 26, 2013 04:04 AM PDT  By Masayuki Kitano SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Friday for a leaders' summit or a foreign ministers' meeting between his country and China as soon as possible, drawing a cool reaction from Beijing which accused Japan of lacking sincerity. Sino-Japanese ties, often fragile, have been seriously strained since September when a territorial row over tiny islands in the East China Sea flared. Concerns that the conservative Japanese leader wants to recast Japan's wartime history with a less apologetic tone have added to the tensions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police to question driver after Spanish train crash kills 80 Friday, Jul 26, 2013 01:56 AM PDT  By Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing at least 80 people, was under police guard in hospital on Friday after the accident, which an official source said was caused by excessive speed. The eight-carriage train came off the tracks, hit a wall and caught fire just outside the pilgrimage destination Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain on Wednesday night. It was one of Europe's worst rail disasters. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. General says al Qaeda just surviving in Afghanistan Friday, Jul 26, 2013 01:21 AM PDT By Rob Taylor KABUL (Reuters) - Pockets of al Qaeda militants will endure in Afghanistan beyond next year's departure of most Western combat forces, but they have lost the ability to mount serious attacks of the kind that triggered the Afghan war, a senior U.S. commander said. Major-General Joseph Osterman, the deputy operations chief of Afghanistan's NATO-led force, said small numbers of al Qaeda fighters remained entrenched in the rugged eastern mountain province of Nuristan, where the forested terrain and plunging valleys provided natural havens. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kremlin says Russian, U.S. security agencies in talks on Snowden Friday, Jul 26, 2013 05:07 AM PDT  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's FSB federal security agency and its U.S. counterpart, the FBI, are in talks over the fate of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who is stuck at a Moscow airport, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Friday. Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was not involved in talks over the 30-year-old American, who is wanted by the United States on espionage charges. (Reporting by Daria Korsunskaya, writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Full Story | Top |
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