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| U.S., Japan to modernize alliance to counter 21st century threats Thursday, Oct 03, 2013 12:19 AM PDT  By Lesley Wroughton and David Alexander TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States and Japan agreed on Thursday to modernize their defense alliance for the first time in 16 years to address growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, global terrorism, cyber intrusions and other 21st century threats. The move to modernize the U.S.-Japanese defense alliance follows President Barack Obama's decision to strategically rebalance U.S. forces to the Asia-Pacific region following a dozen years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU's Almunia says ready to charge Gazprom in antitrust case Thursday, Oct 03, 2013 12:19 AM PDT  By Foo Yun Chee and Andrius Sytas VILNIUS (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief said on Thursday that he was ready to charge Gazprom with anti-competitive practices in a move that could lead to a fine of up to $15 billion for the Russian gas export monopoly. The European Commission opened an investigation more than a year ago after raiding the offices of several Gazprom units in central and eastern Europe, where it said it had concerns the company might have abused its dominant position. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Intellectual Ventures curbs patent buying amid fund-raising effort Thursday, Oct 03, 2013 12:11 AM PDT By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intellectual Ventures, a multi-billion-dollar firm that virtually invented a new market for patents and inventions, has curtailed its patent buying in the past few months, according to sources familiar with its patent market activity, as it seeks to raise new funds. Created in 2000, Intellectual Ventures to date has raised about $6 billion and acquired 70,000 patents and other intellectual property assets. The company is currently attempting to raise $3 billion more, according to an investor presentation reviewed by Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey 'highly likely' to sign Chinese missile deal: official Thursday, Oct 03, 2013 12:10 AM PDT  ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is highly likely to sign a deal to co-produce a missile defense system with a Chinese firm under U.S. sanctions after it placed the lowest bid of $3.44 billion in a tender, a senior defense ministry official said on Thursday. Murad Bayar, Undersecretary of Defense Industries at the Defense Ministry, told reporters in Ankara that Turkey could finalize the deal with China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) within six months. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. talks with Iran must be based on concrete steps by Tehran-Kerry Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 11:40 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday that the United States hopes to engage with the new Iranian administration, but that any advances must be based on concrete steps by Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons programme. If Iran intends to be peaceful, "I believe there is a way to get there," Kerry told a news conference in Tokyo after a meeting of the two countries' defense and foreign ministers. Kerry expressed hope that engagement with President Hassan Rouhani's government can succeed but said nothing would be taken at face value. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's Xi sidesteps SE Asia pressure over South China Sea disputes Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 11:29 PM PDT  By Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping showed no sign of bending to Southeast Asian pressure to resolve increasingly irascible territorial disputes over the South China Sea on Thursday, simply repeating past calls for dialogue. Xi, in the first address by a foreign leader to Indonesian MPs, made no reference to regional demands, echoed in Washington, that Beijing deal with the rival claims through multilateral talks rather than with individual negotiations. The issue is certain to overshadow two regional summits next week which Xi will attend. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| 15 dead in attack on leader of Pakistani anti-Taliban militia Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 11:26 PM PDT By Javed Hussain Parachinar, PAKISTAN (Reuters) - At least 15 people were killed in an attack on a pro-government militia commander in Pakistan's lawless northwestern tribal area on Thursday morning, security forces said. The attack comes as Pakistan's government is mulling peace talks with the Taliban, although no conditions have yet been set, and previous deals with the Taliban have always collapsed. A car bomb rammed into the compound of Mullah Nabi Hanfi, the leader of an anti-Taliban militia he formed after breaking away from the Taliban in 2009. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian prosecutors seek JPMorgan indictment for Paschi-Antonveneta deal Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:45 PM PDT  FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - Siena prosecutors requested that JPMorgan Chase & Co stand trial for obstructing regulators as part of a wider probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's purchase of Banca Antonveneta , said a judicial source. Prosecutors allege JPMorgan withheld information from Italian regulators about a 1 billion euro ($1.36 billion) financing the New York-based bank arranged for Italian bank Monte Paschi's takeover of domestic rival Antonveneta in 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Turkey questions its EU future as Brussels looks to Balkans Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:40 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey has been trying for years to join the European Union, presenting itself as a growing economic and political power and a bridge to Asian and Middle Eastern markets. But the next country to join the EU's existing 28 members is more likely to be one of six small Balkan countries, five of which still formed part of Yugoslavia when Turkey made its first membership bid. ... Full Story | Top |
| Late for class: India woos foreign colleges as population clock ticks Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:18 PM PDT  By Shyamantha Asokan NEW DELHI (Reuters) - When 19-year old Pavitra Singh, one of 20 million students at India's universities and colleges, gets her degree in two years' time, she fears it will not be enough to secure a job. Indian employers tend to agree. Many say graduates from homegrown universities are often unemployable because job seekers do not have the skills they want, one reason why New Delhi is trying to fast-track legislation to allow foreign colleges, until now largely shut out of India, to open their own campuses in the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Delaware's corporate courts on brink of big change Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 10:04 PM PDT  By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) - Two of the most important courts for resolving U.S. business disputes, Delaware's Court of Chancery and its state Supreme Court, may be on the cusp of a dramatic turnover that could affect corporate cases for years to come. The state's tight-knit legal community is abuzz over whether the outspoken head of the Court of Chancery, Leo Strine, will become chief justice of the state's Supreme Court after the incumbent retires on November 30. ... Full Story | Top |
| Motorcyclist charged in New York attack on SUV driver is released on bail Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 09:07 PM PDT  By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - The first motorcyclist to be charged for his alleged role in last Sunday's attack on an SUV driver who was chased for miles along a Manhattan highway by dozens of bikers was released on bail on Wednesday. Christopher Cruz, 28, of New Jersey, was freed on $1,500 cash bail on Wednesday after being formally charged with unlawful imprisonment and reckless driving, authorities said. A second biker who was arrested on Tuesday by New York police and charged in the attack went free on Wednesday, after Manhattan prosecutors declined to pursue a case against ... Full Story | Top |
| South Carolina drops extradition order for Baby Veronica's biological father Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 09:04 PM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - The biological father of "Baby Veronica," a Native American girl who was at the heart of a protracted custody battle, will not be extradited to South Carolina to face felony charges for interfering with her adoption, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said on Wednesday. Fallin said in a statement that she canceled an extradition warrant for Dusten Brown, the father of "Baby Veronica", after South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley withdrew her request for extradition. "My heart goes out to Dusten Brown as well as the Capobianco family. ... Full Story | Top |
| China official services PMI hits six-month high, supported third-quarter pickup Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:11 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Activity in China's services sector expanded at the fastest pace in six months in September as demand grew, cementing a modest pickup in the world's second-largest economy. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector rose to 55.4 in September - the highest reading since March - from 53.9 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Thursday. A reading above 50 indicates activity in the sector is accelerating, while one below 50 indicates it is slowing. ... Full Story | Top |
| MF Global trustee plans to return more customer funds Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:08 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The trustee liquidating the brokerage unit of MF Global Holdings Ltd has asked a federal bankruptcy judge for permission to return remaining funds to U.S. customers who traded on domestic exchanges. Wednesday's request by court-appointed trustee James Giddens would reallocate money earmarked for general unsecured creditors to customers of the brokerage, who have a higher-priority payback status. The move could bring closure to customers who have waited nearly two years to fully recover their money, which became tied up when MF Global went bankrupt on October 31, 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP wins reprieve over Gulf spill payouts: U.S. appeals court Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:04 PM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - BP Plc won a legal reprieve in its effort to force the administrator of a settlement related to the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill to tighten standards in assessing claims, potentially sparing the oil company billions of dollars of extra costs. A divided 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday directed U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who in March had approved administrator Patrick Juneau's evaluation methods, to take a fresh look at which claims are legitimate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Firms controlled by Asia's richest man face Australian tax fight Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 08:00 PM PDT  SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian Tax Office is pursuing unpaid taxes from companies controlled by Asia's richest man, Li Ka-shing, that relate to profits made in the country's power, gas and water industries. The Federal Court recently ruled against two companies related to Li's Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd , ordering they pay A$776 million ($726.92 million) in unpaid tax and penalties. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leader of Greek far-right Golden Dawn party jailed pending trial Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 07:59 PM PDT  By Renee Maltezou and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - The leader of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party was sent to jail pending trial on charges of belonging to a criminal group, a court official told Reuters early on Thursday, the first such action in decades against an elected party chief. Golden Dawn leader Nikolaos Mihaloliakos appeared before investigating magistrates and a prosecutor during a six-hour plea session to respond to charges of founding and participating in a criminal organization. "He will be jailed pending trial," the court official said on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury clears promoter of liability in Michael Jackson's death Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  By Eric Kelsey and Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles jury cleared concert promoter AEG Live of liability on Wednesday in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Jackson, in a trial that offered a glimpse into the private life and final days of the so-called King of Pop. The verdict, which concluded that the doctor the company hired to care for the singer was not unfit for his job, capped a sensational five-month trial that was expected to shake up the way entertainment companies treat their most risky talent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Navy-Air Force game to go ahead, despite shutdown -official says Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 06:58 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Navy-Air Force football game will go ahead this Saturday despite the government shutdown, since the military academy game will be paid for without using any funds appropriated by Congress, a Pentagon spokesman said on Wednesday. The same goes for an Army football game this weekend against Boston College, the spokesman said. Future games will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, congressional leaders still deadlocked on shutdown Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 06:40 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday to try to break a budget deadlock that has shut wide swaths of the federal government, but there was no breakthrough and both sides blamed each other. After more than an hour of talks, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to hold the president hostage over Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama tells congressional leaders he won't negotiate on shutdown, debt Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:27 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama stressed to congressional leaders on Wednesday that he will not negotiate with Republicans over a government shutdown or raising the U.S. debt limit, the White House said. After more than an hour of talks at the White House that did not lead to a breakthrough, the White House issued a statement saying that Obama remains hopeful that "common sense will prevail" in the budget standoff. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republican Speaker Boehner says Obama refused to negotiate in White House meeting Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:20 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner emerged from White House talks on Wednesday to say that President Barack Obama again refused to negotiate with them to end a government shutdown. After more than an hour of talks between Obama and congressional leaders, the top Republican in Washington told reporters it was a polite conversation, but essentially made no progress. (Reporting By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Stacey Joyce) Full Story | Top |
| Mali president dissolves army reform committee Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 05:08 PM PDT  By Tiemoko Diallo and Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's new president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, on Wednesday dissolved an army reform committee dominated by former members of a military junta after blasting disgruntled officers for staging an unruly protest at a military base earlier this week. Officers who participated in a military coup last year fired into the air on Monday in the southern garrison town of Kati, close to the capital, Bamako, in protest at not receiving promotions they said had been promised. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian police stop Indians from storming Congress Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:43 PM PDT  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian police used pepper spray to stop hundreds of protesting Indians from storming Congress on Wednesday, clamping down on the second day of indigenous rights marches. Tribes across Brazil blocked highways and occupied government offices to oppose what they see as a steady undermining of their rights to ancestral lands by farmers supported by politicians in disputes that have occasionally turned violent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian prosecutors seek JPMorgan indictment for Paschi-Antonveneta deal: report Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:41 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Siena prosecutors requested that JPMorgan Chase & Co stand trial for obstructing regulators as part of a wider probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA's purchase of Banca Antonveneta SpA , Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter. According to the Bloomberg report, prosecutors allege JPMorgan withheld information from Italian regulators about a 1 billion euro ($1.36 billion) financing the New York-based bank arranged for Monte Paschi's takeover of Antonveneta in 2008. ... Full Story | Top |
| Democrats say Obama rejected Republican arguments on government shutdown in meeting Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:22 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama rejected Republican entreaties to negotiate over his healthcare law on Wednesday as a condition for their agreement to approve legislation that would end a government shutdown, Democratic leaders said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid emerged from more than an hour of talks with Obama, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top U.S. Republican and other congressional leaders to say Obama told Republicans "he will not stand" for their tactics. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Jackson case will change the tune for concert, artist insurance Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:13 PM PDT  By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When Britney Spears takes the stage this December for the first of a heavily hyped 100-show two-year residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, the loudest cheers may come from her insurance underwriters. Along with the sound engineers and roadies who help stage a concert, insurance underwriters play a large role in making sure a star can get onstage and grab the microphone. Insurers are also key during those times when stars do not show and concerts get canceled. ... Full Story | Top |
| Global stocks, dollar pressured as U.S. shutdown drags on Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:11 PM PDT  By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar stayed under pressure in Asia on Thursday in what looked likely to be another jittery session for stock markets as President Barack Obama met congressional leaders to try and break a deadlock on the U.S. government shutdown. So far investors have been wagering that some deal would be reached in time to avoid lasting damage to the economy, although another fight over the debt ceiling still looms. ... Full Story | Top |
| In rural Georgia, U.S. government shutdown gets mixed reception Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:09 PM PDT By Steve Norder ROME, Georgia (Reuters) - In the bustling, tree-lined business district of Rome, Georgia, deli owner Charlie Schroeder lauded Republican Representative Tom Graves this week for his pivotal role in shutting down the U.S. government for the first time in 17 years. "It is like the sequester," said Schroeder, 64, referring to this year's deep cuts in government spending. "The administration made us think the world will end. As far as I can see, nothing was hurt. We need to do whatever we need to get rid of Obamacare. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge orders monitor appointed to oversee controversial Arizona sheriff Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:09 PM PDT  By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday ordered a monitor be appointed to oversee the work of hard-line Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio to ensure that his officers no longer use racial profiling, especially of Latinos, when cracking down on illegal immigration. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow had in May ordered the Maricopa County sheriff to stop using race as a factor in law enforcement decisions, in response to a lawsuit brought by Hispanic drivers that tested whether police could target illegal immigrants without profiling U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Marketplace of vice, 'Silk Road' meets its end Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:08 PM PDT By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Before it was shut down by U.S. agents this week, people looking to buy street drugs, hire hackers or hitmen, and acquire stolen e-commerce accounts anonymously online could go to Silk Road, the Amazon.com of vice. For more than two years, according to U.S. authorities, the website allowed users to buy and sell illegal goods and services on the assumption that they were safe from the law. The buyers were cloaked by technology designed to keep identities secret and transactions were processed with bitcoin digital currency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fired U.S. executive pleads guilty to assaulting 19-month-old baby Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:06 PM PDT By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A man accused of slapping a crying toddler on an airplane and using a racial slur pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of assault. Former aerospace executive Joe Rickey Hundley, 61, was accused of striking a 19-month-old boy in the face on board a Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta on February 8. In March, Hundley, who lives in North Carolina, entered a plea of not guilty but changed his plea on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shutdown, debt fight highlight Republican distance from 'big business' Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:05 PM PDT  By Gabriel Debenedetti and James B. Kelleher (Reuters) - Big business, a traditionally powerful but pragmatic player in Republican policy-making, has found itself outflanked and marginalized by smaller conservative groups opposed to compromise in the country's current fiscal crisis and the looming showdown over the debt ceiling. As the shutdown of the government approaches its third day, business leaders and groups like the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guinea's ruling party takes early lead in legislative polls Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  CONAKRY (Reuters) - The party of Guinean President Alpha Conde has taken an early lead, according to the first results from weekend legislative polls published by the elections commission late on Wednesday. The National Electoral Commission (CENI) initially said it would take days longer than expected to release a result but pledged earlier on Wednesday to announce tallies as they trickled in from 12,000 polling stations. ... Full Story | Top |
| Emerging market firms to reshape corporate world: report Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 04:02 PM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - The number of large emerging market companies will surge in coming years and they will become competitors but also customers for rich-country firms, according to a new study. Almost three-quarters of today's 8,000 companies with annual revenue of $1 billion or more are based in advanced economies. By 2025, another 7,000 will have joined their ranks, with seven out of 10 of them based in emerging economies, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) projects. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boston bomb suspect's lawyers want prison restrictions eased Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  BOSTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev asked a judge on Wednesday to lift sweeping restrictions on his ability to communicate from prison, claiming the measures are hindering his defense and violating his right to free speech. The U.S. Department of Justice in August imposed special limits on Tsarnaev barring him from speaking with other inmates or the outside world except in specific circumstances directly related to his defense, as a way to keep him from inciting or triggering other attacks. Tsarnaev's lawyers said in a motion filed in U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| How U.S. government shutdown ripples across nation Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 03:53 PM PDT By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - Science was put on hold, normally bustling stores went quiet and families depending on government aid feared losing their baby food as a government shutdown rippled across the country. The budget impasse in Washington shut all but essential U.S. government services for the second straight day on Wednesday, while neither political party appeared willing to budge. Republicans want to tie continued government funding to measures that would undercut Obama's signature healthcare law, while Obama and his Democrats say that is a non-starter. ... Full Story | Top |
| BP's well control exec says he was unprepared for U.S. Gulf blowout Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 03:46 PM PDT  By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - BP's manager in charge of controlling the Macondo blowout in 2010 was never trained to permanently plug a ruptured oil well and said in court on Wednesday the British company was not fully prepared for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. On day three of the second phase of a federal trial in New Orleans over the accident in the Gulf of Mexico, BP's James Dupree also said "yes" when asked if the company was "starting from scratch" when it scrambled to stop the leak. The U.S. District Court trial could lead to fines of more than $17 billion. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government scrambles to provide access to Obamacare sites Wednesday, Oct 02, 2013 03:45 PM PDT  By David Morgan and Lewis Krauskopf (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Wednesday scrambled to add computer capacity to handle an unexpectedly large number of Americans logging onto new online insurance marketplaces created under Present Barack Obama's healthcare reform law. Technical glitches and heavy traffic slowed Tuesday's launch of the marketplaces, particularly for the federal Healthcare.gov website serving 36 states. ... Full Story | Top |
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