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| U.S. government shutdown begins after Congress fails to break impasse Monday, Sep 30, 2013 10:36 PM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government began a partial shutdown on Tuesday for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects. Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: U.S. shutdown strategy - Many advisers keep clients in stocks Monday, Sep 30, 2013 03:54 PM PDT  By Lauren Young NEW YORK (Reuters) - Should I stay or should I go? The looming U.S. government shutdown has plenty of investors asking if it's time to exit the stock market or stay put. Stock prices have been under pressure in recent days in anticipation that the government may shut down on Tuesday if lawmakers are unable to agree on a spending bill. With the S&P 500 less than 3 percent from its all-time high, some advisers said the threat of a shutdown is a chance to reap some gains in a market that could be ripe for a correction anyway. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian PM welcomes Indonesia joint ventures on cattle Monday, Sep 30, 2013 10:24 PM PDT  By Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Tuesday threw his support behind Jakarta's plans to invest in Australian cattle farms to help end a trade dispute that has devastated his country's cattle industry and boosted beef prices in Indonesia. Abbott's comments came on the final day of an official visit to Indonesia, his first overseas trip as prime minister, in which he was keen to focus on strengthening trade and business ties and move on from tension over refugee boats. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare launch poised to reach millions despite shutdown drama Monday, Sep 30, 2013 10:01 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Millions of Americans will learn on Tuesday what President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law actually means for them, as the administration opens new insurance marketplaces in 50 states despite the government shutdown. The launch marks a milestone for Obama's signature domestic policy achievement, which aims to provide subsidized healthcare to millions of the uninsured, the most ambitious U.S. social program since Medicare was introduced in the 1960s. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: For House Republicans, confrontation is safer than compromise Monday, Sep 30, 2013 10:04 PM PDT  By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For most Republicans in the House of Representatives, the only greater peril than shutting down the federal government would have been fighting to keep it open. While a shutdown could hurt the Republican Party's ability to win the Senate next year or take the White House in 2016, that's not the concern of party members in the House, who led the push to pair continued government funding with measures that would delay President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: JPMorgan settlement complicated by Washington Mutual - sources Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:26 PM PDT  By Karen Freifeld and Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co's possible $11 billion settlement of government mortgage probes has been complicated by a dispute with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp over responsibility for losses at the former Washington Mutual Inc, said people familiar with the matter. The dispute, between the largest U.S. bank and the FDIC, could leave the federal agency on the hook for billions the bank is expected to pay as part of the settlement and substantially reduce the amount of the penalty JPMorgan actually pays to the government, some analysts said. ... Full Story | Top |
| At U.N., Syria compares rebel violence to 9/11 attacks Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:09 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister on Monday compared what he described as an invasion of foreign terrorists across his country to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, remarks that Washington dismissed as offensive and disingenuous. In a speech to the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem also said that "terrorists from more than 83 countries are engaged in the killing of our people and our army" under the appeal of global jihad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu to Obama: Tighten sanctions if Iran defies West Monday, Sep 30, 2013 05:59 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Dan Williams WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged President Barack Obama on Monday to step up sanctions on Iran if it pursues its nuclear drive even as Tehran exchanges overtures with Washington and restarts negotiations with the West. Seeking to reassure Israel about the emerging U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran, Obama said Tehran must prove its sincerity with actions, insisted that Washington would not ease sanctions prematurely and reaffirmed U.S. readiness to resort to military action if all else fails. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury set for billionaire Mark Cuban's insider trading trial Monday, Sep 30, 2013 06:17 PM PDT  By Jana J. Pruet DALLAS (Reuters) - Seven women and three men were chosen Monday as jurors in the civil trial of Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, who faces charges of insider trading in shares of a little-known Internet search company. Cuban, 55, is accused of selling his 600,000 shares of the former Mamma.com Inc nearly a decade ago, on June 28 and 29, 2004, soon after learning from Chief Executive Guy Fauré that the company was planning an equity offering that could dilute his 6.3 percent stake. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two U.S. generals ousted over failure to secure Afghan base Monday, Sep 30, 2013 05:44 PM PDT  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Marine Corps on Monday effectively fired two U.S. generals over their failure to defend a major base in Afghanistan from a deadly Taliban attack last year, in an extraordinary and rare public censure. Two Marines were killed and eight personnel were wounded when Taliban insurgents breached what a military investigation determined was inadequate security at Camp Bastion, in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. ... Full Story | Top |
| CNN, NBC scrap Hillary Clinton TV projects Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:26 PM PDT  By Liana B. Baker and Gabriel Debenedetti (Reuters) - Two television projects focused on Hillary Clinton got the axe on Monday after the programs became embroiled in partisan wrangling, including threats by the Republican National Committee (RNC) to boycott presidential debates sponsored by CNN and NBC. The filmmaker for CNN said he could not complete the project because he'd received no cooperation from either Democrats or Republicans, while industry sources said NBC's move had nothing to do with the RNC, the Clintons or NBC News, which is run separately from NBC's entertainment unit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi faces obstacles in bid to topple government Monday, Sep 30, 2013 01:16 PM PDT  By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi on Monday faced dissent within his People of Freedom Party, complicating his plans to bring down Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition government. But even if Letta survives a confidence vote on Wednesday the prospects for stability and reform in Italy look more fragile than ever as he will face a larger and stronger opposition backed by Berlusconi's media empire. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare push accelerates as government shutdown nears Monday, Sep 30, 2013 02:29 PM PDT  By David Morgan and Sharon Begley (Reuters) - The Obama administration accelerated its push to persuade individual Americans to sign up for the most extensive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system in 50 years, even as the program's foes in Congress fought to delay its launch with the threat of a federal government shutdown. The new online health insurance marketplaces at the heart of President Barack Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, are set to open on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 3 killed in fiery crash of small jet in California Monday, Sep 30, 2013 03:59 PM PDT By Dana Feldman SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - At least three people, including a wealthy California construction executive, were believed killed in the fiery crash-landing of a small jet at Santa Monica airport after a flight from Idaho's Sun Valley resort area, officials said on Monday. The twin-engine Cessna Citation 525A veered off the right side of the runway as it touched down at Santa Monica Municipal Airport west of Los Angeles on Sunday evening, slammed into a hangar and burst into flames, airport and federal safety officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu to Obama: Tighten sanctions if Iran defies West Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:20 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Dan Williams WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday to step up sanctions on Iran if it pursues its nuclear drive even as it exchanges overtures with Washington and restarts negotiations with the West. Seeking to reassure Israel about the emerging U.S. diplomatic engagement with Iran, Obama said Tehran must prove its sincerity with actions, insisted that Washington would not ease sanctions prematurely and reaffirmed U.S. readiness to resort to military action if all else fails. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two U.S. generals ousted over failure to secure Afghan base Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:24 PM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Marine Corps on Monday effectively fired two U.S. generals over their failure to defend a major base in Afghanistan from a deadly Taliban attack last year, in an extraordinary and rare public censure. Two Marines were killed and eight personnel were wounded when Taliban insurgents breached what a military investigation determined was inadequate security at Camp Bastion, in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. ... Full Story | Top |
| Deadlocked Congress takes U.S. government to brink of shutdown Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:03 PM PDT By David Lawder and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress, still in partisan deadlock on Monday over Republican efforts to halt President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms, was on the verge of shutting down most of the U.S. government starting on Tuesday morning. With the law funding thousands of routine government activities set to expire at midnight, Republicans in the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon chief, at Korean DMZ, says U.S. will not cut force in Korea Monday, Sep 30, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By David Alexander PANMUNJOM, Korean Demilitarized Zone (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel toured the Korean DMZ on Monday under the watchful eye of North Korean soldiers and said the Pentagon had no plans to reduce its 28,500-member force in the South despite budget constraints. "This is probably the only place in the world where we have always a risk of confrontation," Hagel said after visiting a blue, single-story building with a corrugated metal roof where talks are held with North Koreans in the truce village of Panmunjom. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel plans to talk with SPD and Greens on coalition Monday, Sep 30, 2013 08:05 AM PDT  By Alexandra Hudson BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel will hold preliminary coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday and also plans to meet with the Greens, as she tries to play her potential partners off against each other at the start of a tough horse-trading marathon. The SPD are seen as the chancellor's most likely partner, but they said on Monday they would not be rushed into a deal, suggesting the formation of a new government could drag on until January. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria at U.N. compares militant onslaught to 9/11 attacks Monday, Sep 30, 2013 03:51 PM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria's foreign minister on Monday compared what he described as an invasion of foreign terrorists across his country to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, remarks that Washington dismissed as offensive and disingenuous. In a speech to the annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem also said that "terrorists from more than 83 countries are engaged in the killing of our people and our army under the appeal of global Takfiri jihad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill three Egyptian policemen, one soldier in Sinai Monday, Sep 30, 2013 09:48 AM PDT By Maggie Fick CAIRO (Reuters) - Gunmen killed three policemen and a soldier in Egypt's Sinai region on Monday, security sources said, and Islamist militants released a video of an earlier drive-by shooting of an army colonel, highlighting growing security risks to the government. Violent disorder has gripped the Sinai Peninsula since the army overthrew elected President Mohamed Mursi, an Islamist, in July, plunging the most populous Arab nation into turmoil. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian judge orders new DNA tests on knife in Knox retrial Monday, Sep 30, 2013 02:18 PM PDT  By Catherine Hornby FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian judge presiding over the retrial of American student Amanda Knox on Monday ordered new DNA tests on the knife that prosecutors say was used to kill her British roommate in 2007. Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty in 2009 of murdering 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. They were acquitted on appeal in 2011 but the acquittal was later quashed by Italy's supreme court. Neither appeared in court on Monday for the first hearing in the retrial. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey presents reforms aimed at pressing Kurdish peace process Monday, Sep 30, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  By Jonathon Burch and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Monday announced reforms seen as designed to salvage a peace process with Kurdish insurgents, including changes to the electoral system, broadening of language rights and permission for villages to use their original Kurdish names. The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) said the proposals, presented by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, were not enough to satisfy Kurdish militants who this month halted their withdrawal from Turkish territory. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yemen's army retakes base seized by Qaeda militants Monday, Sep 30, 2013 10:45 AM PDT  ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni special forces retook an army base and freed several hostages hours after al Qaeda militants disguised as security personnel seized the site in southeast Yemen, killing at least four soldiers, a military official said on Monday. Dozens of militants had stormed the headquarters of the army's Second Division in the city of al-Mukalla and captured some military personnel. At least nine soldiers were wounded, the official said. "The anti-terrorism special forces clashed with al Qaeda militants and killed a number of them," the official said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bombs kill 54 in Shi'ite districts of Baghdad Monday, Sep 30, 2013 12:34 PM PDT  By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Car bombs killed at least 54 people in mostly Shi'ite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Monday as suspected Sunni Muslim militants pursued a campaign to plunge Iraq back into sectarian strife. Altogether 14 bombs shook Baghdad, the deadliest of them in Sadr City, where a white car blew up near where men had gathered to seek work, killing seven people, including two soldiers. "The driver said he would move the car soon, but it exploded a few minutes later," said Abu Mohammed, a worker at the scene, where bits of molten metal lay among cars wrecked in the blast. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Supreme Court meets to consider hearing Argentina bonds case Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:10 AM PDT By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled to meet behind closed doors on Monday to decide whether to hear a high-profile appeal by Argentina over its battle with hedge funds that refused to take part in two debt restructurings that sprang from the country's 2002 default. Argentina has appealed an October 2012 ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in which the court said the government had broken a contractual obligation to treat bondholders equally. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel showcases Iranian spy case as Netanyahu visits U.S. Monday, Sep 30, 2013 05:36 AM PDT  By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A man arrested on suspicion of being an Iranian spy appeared in an Israeli court on Monday and some Israeli analysts questioned the timing of the affair, suggesting it was being showcased as part of efforts to discredit Tehran's new opening to Washington. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew on Sunday to the United States for a visit focused on Iran's nuclear program, Israel's Shin Bet security service announced that Ali Mansouri had been arrested on September 11 on suspicion of spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. ... Full Story | Top |
| Driving Iran's change: Economic threats, strategic opportunities Monday, Sep 30, 2013 03:24 AM PDT  By William Maclean and Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Behind Iran's overtures to Washington lie pent-up pressures for change - from sanctions and internal dissent to regional turmoil - that are shaping a rare chance to end decades of hostility. For new President Hassan Rouhani, speed is of the essence. Sanctions are squeezing Iran's oil exports, economic misery is palpable, Arab Spring contagion poses a persistent threat and involvement in Syria's civil war is a drain on hard-pressed resources. ... Full Story | Top |
| Investors fret over Italian political uncertainty Monday, Sep 30, 2013 05:56 AM PDT  By Lisa Jucca and Agnieszka Flak MILAN (Reuters) - Investors shunned Italian government bonds and shares on Monday after Silvio Berlusconi pulled the rug from under Prime Minister Enrico Letta's frail coalition government by ordering five center-right ministers to quit. Berlusconi's decision, which comes as the media tycoon is facing eviction from parliament after a tax fraud conviction, has left the euro zone's third-largest economy without a functioning government. Italy's political strife may ripple beyond the country's borders, particularly if new elections result. ... Full Story | Top |
| Election risk rattles Italian government bonds Monday, Sep 30, 2013 04:03 AM PDT  By Marius Zaharia LONDON (Reuters) - Political instability put Italy's bonds under heavy selling pressure on Monday after five ministers from former premier Silvio Berlusconi's party stepped down at the weekend, increasing the risk of new elections. Yields rose and were at a three-month high over safe haven German equivalents. The cost of insuring Italian debt against default also climbed. Both remained well off crisis levels, however. The resignations were set off by clashes at a Friday cabinet meeting over an imminent sales tax hike. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury selection begins in insider trading trial of Mark Cuban Monday, Sep 30, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Jana J. Pruet DALLAS (Reuters) - Jury selection began on Monday in the civil trial of Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, who faces charges of insider trading in shares of a little-known Internet search company nearly a decade ago. Cuban, 55, is accused of selling his 600,000 shares of the former Mamma.com Inc on June 28 and 29, 2004, soon after learning from Chief Executive Guy Fauré that the company was planning an equity offering that could dilute his 6.3 percent stake. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian political crisis threatens to split Berlusconi camp Monday, Sep 30, 2013 03:41 AM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's bid to push Italy into new elections faces a test on Monday when he meets lawmakers from his center-right party who have shown growing unease over his shock decision to pull support from Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition. Berlusconi's decision to order the five ministers from his People of Freedom (PDL) party to resign from Letta's cabinet has plunged Italy into political chaos and left the euro zone's third-largest economy without a functioning government. ... Full Story | Top |
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