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| As Obama pushes to punish Syria, lawmakers fear deep U.S. involvement Monday, Sep 02, 2013 10:35 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's efforts to persuade the U.S. Congress to back his plan to attack Syria were met with skepticism on Monday from lawmakers in his own Democratic Party who expressed concern the United States would be dragged into a new Middle East conflict. "There is a lot of skepticism," said Representative Jim Moran after taking part in a 70-minute phone briefing for Democratic lawmakers by Obama's top national security aides about the response to a chemical weapons attack that U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Microsoft to buy Nokia's handset business for $7.2 billion Monday, Sep 02, 2013 11:24 PM PDT  By Terhi Kinnunen and Bill Rigby HELSINKI/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said it will buy Nokia Oyj's phone business and license its patents for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion), making its boldest foray yet into mobile devices and bringing executive Stephen Elop back into the fold. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Verizon, Vodafone CEOs talked in gym, agreed on price at breakfast Monday, Sep 02, 2013 05:14 PM PDT  By Sinead Carew and Soyoung Kim (Reuters) - In the end, all it took was a workout session in the gym followed by conversation over breakfast at San Francisco's Four Seasons hotel for Verizon Communications Inc's Lowell McAdam and Vodafone Group Plc's Vittorio Colao to bridge a $30 billion, 10-year-long gap between their companies and strike the third-biggest corporate deal ever. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rodman returns to Pyongyang but says won't bring back jailed American Tuesday, Sep 03, 2013 12:10 AM PDT  By James Pearson and Megha Rajagopalan SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Flamboyant former basketball star Dennis Rodman left for North Korea on Tuesday for a five-day visit, his second this year, but said he had no plans to negotiate the release of a jailed American missionary. There had been speculation that Rodman, who met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in March, would secure the release of Kenneth Bae, who was jailed for 15 years for trying to overthrow the North Korean government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Obama lobbies personally for Syria vote Monday, Sep 02, 2013 04:41 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After putting a decision to launch military strikes on Syria into the hands of Congress, President Barack Obama is doing what his critics have long accused him of failing to do: reaching out, personally and aggressively, to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. While top lieutenants including Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry lobby their former congressional colleagues, Obama is making individual calls himself to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to press his case for action. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood under legal threat as bomb hits central Cairo Monday, Sep 02, 2013 03:25 PM PDT  By Kevin Liffey CAIRO (Reuters) - A judicial panel set up by Egypt's military-backed government supported a legal challenge to the status of the Muslim Brotherhood on Monday, compounding a drive to crush the movement behind the elected president deposed by the army in July. While short of a formal ban on the Brotherhood, which worked underground for decades under Egypt's previous military-backed rulers, the panel's advice to a court to remove its non-governmental organization status threatens the million-member movement's future in politics. ... Full Story | Top |
| Verizon, Vodafone agree to $130 billion Wireless deal Monday, Sep 02, 2013 05:07 PM PDT  By Kate Holton and Sinead Carew LONDON/SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Verizon Communications agreed on Monday to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone Group out of its U.S. wireless business, signing history's third largest corporate deal announcement to bring an end to an often tense 14-year marriage. The deal in cash and stock will give Verizon full access to the profits from the United States' largest mobile operator, handing it fresh firepower to invest in its mobile network and fend off challengers in a tough market that is fast becoming even more competitive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil, Mexico ask U.S. to explain if NSA spied on presidents Monday, Sep 02, 2013 07:32 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil assailed the United States on Monday after new allegations that Washington spied on President Dilma Rousseff, complaining that its sovereignty may have been violated and suggesting that it could call off Rousseff's planned state visit to the White House next month. A Brazilian news program reported on Sunday that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on emails, phone calls and text messages of Rousseff and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, a disclosure that could strain Washington's relations with Latin America's two biggest nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Airbus struggles to loosen Boeing's grip on Fortress Japan Monday, Sep 02, 2013 02:08 PM PDT  By Siva Govindasamy and Tim Kelly SINGAPORE/TOKYO (Reuters) - Airbus appears to have been pushed back once again in landmark efforts to break Boeing Co's grip on Japan's two largest airlines, which need to buy billions of dollars worth of planes in the next decade. In Japan, where buying American jets once helped take the sting out of trade deficit tensions, Boeing dominates with around an 80 percent market share. Flag carrier Japan Airlines Co Ltd has yet to buy an Airbus aircraft even though the political prodding to purchase Boeing jets partially built in Japan has lessened. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rattled by investigations, foreign firms in China beef up compliance Monday, Sep 02, 2013 02:11 PM PDT  By Michael Martina and Kazunori Takada BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Foreign companies in China are getting increasingly jumpy about a spate of antitrust and corruption investigations by Chinese authorities and are hiring lawyers to make sure their operations comply with the law. The investigations represent one of the most significant risks to doing business in China in years. Antitrust regulators have looked into sectors such as pharmaceuticals, milk powder and jewelry in recent months and suggested that autos, telecommunications, banks and oil firms could be next. ... Full Story | Top |
| American Diana Nyad, 64, sets record with Cuba-to-Florida swim Monday, Sep 02, 2013 06:57 PM PDT  By Michael Haskins KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - American 64-year-old long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim across the Florida Straits from Cuba without a shark cage on Monday, succeeding on her fifth attempt at the feat. Her face sunburned and lips swollen, with barely enough energy to speak, Nyad waded ashore at Key West, Florida, after a 53-hour swim and told onlookers: "We should never, ever give up ... You never are too old to chase your dreams. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil, Mexico ask U.S. to explain if NSA spied on presidents Monday, Sep 02, 2013 03:38 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil assailed the United States on Monday after new allegations that Washington spied on President Dilma Rousseff, complaining that its sovereignty may have been violated and suggesting that it could call off Rousseff's planned state visit to the White House next month. A Brazilian news program reported on Sunday that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on emails, phone calls and text messages of Rousseff and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, a disclosure that could strain Washington's relations with Latin America's two biggest nations. ... Full Story | Top |
| America's Diana Nyad, 64, sets record with Cuba-to-Florida swim Monday, Sep 02, 2013 03:14 PM PDT  By Michael Haskins KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - American 64-year-old long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad on Monday became the first person to swim across the Florida Straits from Cuba without a shark cage, succeeding on her fifth attempt at the feat. Her face sunburned and lips swollen, with barely enough energy to speak, Nyad waded ashore at Key West after a 53-hour swim and delivered a simple message to onlookers: "We should never, ever give up .... You never are too old to chase your dreams. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama authorization for Syria too broad for some lawmakers Monday, Sep 02, 2013 01:13 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers began work on Monday on their version of an authorization of the use of military force in Syria, worrying that President Barack Obama's draft could open the door to possible use of ground troops or eventual attacks on other countries. The White House is prepared to rework language to address concerns from lawmakers, an administration official said on Monday. The official said the administration was open to changes "within the parameters that (the) president has previously explained. ... Full Story | Top |
| Firefighters gain an edge on wildfire in Yosemite National Park Monday, Sep 02, 2013 02:01 PM PDT  By Laila Kearney (Reuters) - Firefighters in California gained ground on Monday against a massive wildfire burning part of Yosemite National Park, although complete containment may be weeks away, officials said. Crews working through the night got an edge on the so-called Rim Fire, a 350-square mile (906-square km) blaze that has charred the California park's Northwest, said Andrea Capps, spokeswoman for the Rim Fire command center. They connected containment lines near the fire's northwestern and western borders, where most of the 4,500 homes threatened by the blaze are located, she said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Verizon, Vodafone agree $130 billion Wireless deal Monday, Sep 02, 2013 03:24 PM PDT By Kate Holton and Sinead Carew LONDON/SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Verizon Communications agreed on Monday to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone Group out of its U.S. wireless business, signing history's third largest corporate deal announcement to bring an end to an often tense 14-year marriage. The deal in cash and stock will give Verizon full access to the profits from the United States' largest mobile operator, handing it fresh firepower to invest in its mobile network and fend off challengers in a tough market that is fast becoming even more competitive. ... Full Story | Top |
| Assad warns of retaliation as France builds case for Syria attack Monday, Sep 02, 2013 01:43 PM PDT  By John Irish and Catherine Bremer PARIS (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad warned Syria would retaliate if France takes part in foreign strikes on his forces, while Paris said it had intelligence proving Assad had ordered chemical attacks and was determined to punish him. "If the policies of the French state are hostile to the Syrian people, the state will be their enemy," Assad said in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro. "There will be repercussions, negative ones obviously, on French interests. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan Taliban target U.S. army base as attacks mount Monday, Sep 02, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters attacked part of a U.S. military outpost in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Monday, officials said, less than a week after targeting a Polish base in a nearby province. Attacks on Afghan security forces and civilians have also mounted this week killing dozens and adding to fears the drawdown of foreign troops, most of whom are due to leave the country by the end of next year, is allowing insurgents to regain lost territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| As Obama pushes to punish Syria, lawmakers fear deep U.S. involvement Monday, Sep 02, 2013 02:21 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's efforts to convince Congress to back his plan to attack Syria met with skepticism on Monday from lawmakers in his own Democratic Party who expressed concern the United States would be dragged into a new Middle East conflict. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO chief convinced Syrian government behind chemical attack Monday, Sep 02, 2013 06:21 AM PDT  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO's secretary-general said on Monday he had seen evidence convincing him Syrian authorities were behind a deadly chemical weapons attack and said it would send a "dangerous signal to dictators" if the world did not respond firmly. However, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was up to individual NATO countries to decide how they would respond to the attack and he did not envisage any NATO role beyond existing plans to defend NATO member Turkey, which borders Syria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: As Obama blinks on Syria, Israel, Saudis make common cause Monday, Sep 02, 2013 05:52 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller and Angus McDowall JERUSALEM/RIYADH (Reuters) - If President Barack Obama has disappointed Syrian rebels by deferring to Congress before bombing Damascus, he has also dismayed the United States' two main allies in the Middle East. Israel and Saudi Arabia have little love for each other but both are pressing their mutual friend in the White House to hit President Bashar al-Assad hard. And both do so with one eye fixed firmly not on Syria but on their common adversary - Iran. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soldier tells British side of story at Iraq killings inquiry Monday, Sep 02, 2013 05:10 AM PDT  By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A British army officer told a public inquiry on Monday that allegations that soldiers in his company tortured and executed Iraqis after a battle in 2004 were baseless rumors spread by insurgents who wanted to discredit U.S.-led coalition forces. Adam Griffiths was the first British military witness to give oral evidence about the allegations made by dozens of Iraqis, which if confirmed by the Al-Sweady Inquiry would go down as one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mine unions, bosses in war of words before South Africa gold strike Monday, Sep 02, 2013 04:19 AM PDT  By Sherilee Lakmidas and Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African union leaders warned on Monday, a day before a strike in the gold sector, that mine owners' handling of pay talks could provoke violence, and bosses said wage hikes would force mine closures and cost thousands of jobs. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), which represents about two-thirds of more than 120,000 unionized gold miners in Africa's biggest economy, is set to strike from Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria asks the United Nations to stop U.S. strike Monday, Sep 02, 2013 01:46 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has asked the United Nations to prevent "any aggression" against Syria following a call over the weekend by U.S. President Barack Obama for punitive strikes against the Syrian military for last month's chemical weapons attack. Washington says more than 1,400 people, many of them children, were killed in the world's worst use of chemical arms since Iraq's Saddam Hussein gassed thousands of Kurds in 1988. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan vows quick action, public funds for Fukushima Monday, Sep 02, 2013 01:22 AM PDT  By Sumio Ito and Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan vowed quick, decisive action, including the use of public funds, to tackle the worsening problem of contaminated water pouring from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, as the authorities step in to help the facility's embattled operator. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government "will step forward and implement all necessary policies" to deal with the flood of radioactive water from the plant, a legacy of the world's worst atomic disaster in a quarter century. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel's Germany Necklace' clear winner of debate on Twitter Monday, Sep 02, 2013 05:19 AM PDT  BERLIN (Reuters) - Never mind the euro crisis or the war in Syria - what seems to have generated most comment among Germans who tuned in to a live TV debate between Angela Merkel and her election rival Peer Steinbrueck is the German chancellor's necklace. The twisty necklace, made of long metal beads in the red, yellow and black colors of the German flag, now has its own Twitter account - with the handle @schlandkette - and that has attracted more than 6,300 followers since Sunday evening's duel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia sending spy ship to Mediterranean: Interfax Monday, Sep 02, 2013 02:21 AM PDT By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is sending a reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, as the United States prepares for a possible military strike in Syria. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will seek congressional authorization for punitive action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad after what Washington said was a sarin gas attack that killed over 1,400 people. Russia is a staunch backer of Assad in his war with rebels trying to topple him. ... Full Story | Top |
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