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| Analysis: On healthcare, spying, questions on what Obama knew and when Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:48 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - To his critics, President Barack Obama often has seemed to be conveniently distant when trouble has hit his administration. But on Tuesday, Obama was hit with a public-relations crisis that struck at the core of his domestic and foreign policy - one that raised questions about whether he had misled Americans on his signature healthcare overhaul, and whether he really was unaware of the U.S. government's alleged spying on its allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dogged by dissent, Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:29 PM PDT  By Dedi Hayoun OFER PRISON, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday, the second stage of a limited amnesty designed to help U.S.-sponsored peace talks that have been dogged by divisions on both sides. The inmates, convicted of murder in the killing of Israelis before or just after interim accords were signed two decades ago, were bussed from jail at midnight to welcoming parties in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan Fukushima panel proposals include Tepco breakup: source Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:45 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese ruling party panel will recommend proposals for handling the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant that include breaking up the facility's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, a person familiar with the process said on Wednesday. The task force of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party favors reorganizing Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, by creating a unit within the company to handle the key functions of decommissioning the reactors and cleaning up massive amounts of toxic water, the source told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghans to visit Pakistan for talks with ex-Taliban chief Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:52 AM PDT  KABUL (Reuters) - Senior Afghan officials will travel to Pakistan soon to speak to former Taliban No.2 leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar following a breakthrough in negotiations during a London summit, the Afghan presidential palace said on Wednesday. Baradar is a long-time friend of reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and is seen by some in Afghanistan as the key to restarting peace talks. British Prime Minister David Cameron is hosting Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in London this week for talks on the stalled peace process. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Yellen feared housing bust but did not raise public alarm Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:10 PM PDT  By Marilyn W. Thompson, Ann Saphir and Alister Bull (Reuters) - When Janet Yellen became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in June 2004, a massive real estate bubble was building in the vast nine-state area that it oversees. Her staff alerted her that banks were overinvesting in speculative commercial real estate at a time when housing prices in the region were ballooning. But as chief regulator in the Federal Reserve's largest district, Yellen conveyed two starkly different messages. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama under fire as Americans lose prior health plans Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:43 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is facing fresh attacks for his pledge that Americans who like their current healthcare plans can keep them under Obamacare after reports that thousands of Americans facing cancellation notices. Accusations that the pledge was misleading are potentially a deeper threat to Obama than the website glitches that have plagued Healthcare.gov since its October 1 launch and allowed only a trickle of people to sign up on new federal insurance exchanges. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senators seek to cut Iran's oil sales in half - again Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:09 PM PDT  By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh U.S. sanctions over Iran's disputed nuclear program being debated behind closed doors in the Senate aim to slash the country's oil sales in half within a year of the plan being signed into law, an influential senator said this week. Robert Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in New York on Monday that a package of sanctions ready to move in his chamber has a goal of cutting Iran's current oil exports to no more than 500,000 barrels per day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Starvation in Syria: a war tactic Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:53 PM PDT  DAMASCUS (Reuters) - One Syrian security official called it the "Starvation Until Submission Campaign", blocking food and medicine from entering and people from leaving besieged areas of Syria. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have used partial sieges to root out rebel forces from residential areas during the civil war. But a recent tightening of blockades around areas near the capital is causing starvation and death, residents and medical staff say. ... Full Story | Top |
| NSA chief defends agency amid U.S. spy rift with Europe Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:45 PM PDT  By Tabassum Zakaria and Deborah Charles WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency defended his beleaguered organization on Tuesday, saying it acts within the law to stop militant attacks and calling reports that the NSA collected data on millions of phone calls in Europe false. Army General Keith Alexander, testifying with other U.S. spy chiefs before the House of Representatives Intelligence committee, sought to defuse a growing controversy over reports of NSA snooping on citizens and leaders of major U.S. allies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Merck works toward bringing Zilmax back to the U.S., Canada market Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:48 PM PDT  By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co told Reuters on Tuesday that it plans to bring its Zilmax animal feed additive back for sale in the United States and Canada, after it completes an audit of how the muscle-building cattle feed product is used in the agriculture sector. A spokeswoman for the company's Merck Animal Health unit said that while "it is too early to speculate on when we will resume sales for Zilmax in the U.S. and Canada," Merck was pushing forward with its quality control program to ensure the weight-adding drug is being properly used. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. nuclear arms overhaul needed to ensure reliability: officials Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:32 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. nuclear arsenal needs a multi-billion dollar overhaul in the coming decade to ensure the weapons' safety and effectiveness, defense officials said on Tuesday, despite warnings from arms control groups that the effort is unaffordable and unnecessary. Assistant Defense Secretary Madelyn Creedon told a panel in the U.S. House of Representatives that modernization work on the aging weapons was needed to give policymakers the confidence they need to pursue President Barack Obama's goal of deeper cuts to the nuclear stockpile. ... Full Story | Top |
| JPMorgan's $13 billion deal hits stumbling blocks: sources Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:31 PM PDT  By Aruna Viswanatha and David Henry (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co and the U.S. Justice Department have hit snags in working out the final details of their $13 billion settlement over the bank's mortgage bonds, two people familiar with the talks said. The bank and the government are arguing over whether JPMorgan should be forced to pay for mistakes made by Washington Mutual, the failed mortgage lender it bought during the financial crisis. JPMorgan is also looking to shut down some criminal inquiries into the bank's mortgage business before the financial crisis, said one of the sources. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's anti-pollution drive risks running out of gas Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:39 PM PDT  By Adam Rose and David Stanway BEIJING (Reuters) - A chronic shortage of natural gas is hurting China's plan to move away from burning coal to heat homes and offices, raising the prospect of more choking air pollution this winter and beyond. The problem is worst in northern China, where air pollution mainly caused by decades of reliance on coal has lowered life expectancy by an estimated 5.5 years compared to the south, Chinese and international researchers said in July. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dogged by dissent, Israel frees 26 Palestinian prisoners Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 04:48 PM PDT By Dedi Hayoun OFER PRISON, West Bank (Reuters) - Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Wednesday, the second stage of a limited amnesty designed to help U.S.-sponsored peace talks that have been dogged by divisions on both sides. The inmates, convicted of murder in the killing of Israelis before or just after interim accords were signed two decades ago, were bussed from jail at midnight to welcoming parties in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers call for action to curb Internet child trading Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:37 PM PDT  By Megan Twohey CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers called Tuesday for federal action to prevent parents from giving unwanted adopted children to strangers met on the Internet, and the Illinois attorney general urged Facebook and Yahoo to police online groups where children may be advertised. The demands come as nations whose orphans have been adopted by Americans contend that the U.S. government isn't doing enough to stop the practice, known as "private re-homing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Merck works toward bringing Zilmax back to the U.S., Canada market Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 04:01 PM PDT By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co told Reuters on Tuesday that it plans to bring its Zilmax animal feed additive back for sale in the United States and Canada, after it completes an audit of how the muscle-building cattle feed product is used in the agriculture sector. A spokeswoman for the company's Merck Animal Health unit said that while "it is too early to speculate on when we will resume sales for Zilmax in the U.S. and Canada," Merck was pushing forward with its quality control program to ensure the weight-adding drug is being properly used. ... Full Story | Top |
| Push for immigration action targets House Republicans Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 12:19 PM PDT  By Gabriel Debenedetti and Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. businesses, religious leaders and other supporters of overhauling the nation's immigration laws mounted a massive lobbying push on Tuesday to urge a reluctant House of Representatives to tackle the issue before the end of the year. More than 600 people from 40 states planned to meet one-on-one with lawmakers to encourage the House to act soon on a top priority of labor groups, Latinos and businesses ranging from apple growers to software companies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama under fire as Americans lose prior health plans Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:58 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is facing fresh attacks for his pledge that Americans who like their current healthcare plans can keep them under Obamacare, as reports pile up of thousands of Americans facing cancellation notices. Accusations that the pledge was misleading are potentially a deeper threat to Obama than the website glitches that have plagued Healthcare.gov since its October 1 launch and allowed only a trickle of people to sign up on new federal insurance exchanges. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's anti-pollution drive risks running out of gas Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 03:48 PM PDT  By Adam Rose and David Stanway BEIJING (Reuters) - A chronic shortage of natural gas is hurting China's plan to move away from burning coal to heat homes and offices, raising the prospect of more choking air pollution this winter and beyond. The problem is worst in northern China, where air pollution mainly caused by decades of reliance on coal has lowered life expectancy by an estimated 5.5 years compared to the south, Chinese and international researchers said in July. ... Full Story | Top |
| In new U.S. budget talks, Republican proposal has flipped the script Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 02:15 PM PDT  By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the Congress are taking a new tack in the budget wars that have convulsed Washington for the past three years: They want to soak the rich, or at least get them a little damp. As Democrats and Republicans kick off another round of budget talks on Wednesday, a proposal by House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan appears to have flipped the usual script. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Obama orders curbs on NSA spying on U.N. headquarters Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  By Mark Hosenball (Reuters) - President Barack Obama recently ordered the National Security Agency to curtail eavesdropping on the United Nations headquarters in New York as part of a review of U.S. electronic surveillance, according to a U.S. official familiar with the decision. Obama's order is the latest known move by the White House to limit the NSA's vast intelligence collection, in the wake of protests by allies, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, over U.S. spying on foreign heads of state. The full extent of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare official apologizes for website glitches Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:44 AM PDT  By David Morgan and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. agency responsible for the troubled new government-run healthcare website apologized on Tuesday for the difficulty people are having in obtaining insurance, but blamed the portal's woes on contractors and high traffic. Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said the website faces "complex technical issues" four weeks after it opened for enrollment. "We know that consumers are eager to purchase this coverage. ... Full Story | Top |
| A year after Sandy, thousands still can't return home Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:43 AM PDT By Dave Warner and Victoria Cavaliere SEASIDE PARK, N.J./NEW YORK (Reuters) - A year after Superstorm Sandy inundated the East Coast with record flooding that left 159 people dead, residents of hard-hit New Jersey and New York shore communities still have a ways to go in rebuilding damaged homes. New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, began his day at the beach town of Seaside Park, where homes were flooded by two to three feet of water when the storm roared ashore. ... Full Story | Top |
| European banks pay heavy price for scandals Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:37 AM PDT  By Sara Webb and Katharina Bart AMSTERDAM/ZURICH (Reuters) - Four European banks paid a heavy price on Tuesday in a clean-up of the financial industry, with Rabobank fined $1 billion and three other major lenders preparing for possibly huge legal costs after a string of scandals. Dutch Rabobank said it would pay regulators in the United States, Britain and the Netherlands 774 million euros after 30 employees were involved in "inappropriate conduct" linked to interest rate manipulation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Slow Obamacare site repairs may limit coverage, savings Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 01:49 PM PDT  By Lewis Krauskopf and David Morgan (Reuters) - If technical problems with the U.S. government's new healthcare website are not fixed in November, hundreds of thousands of Americans could lose easy access to lower-cost coverage, jeopardizing the Obama administration's goal of making affordable insurance broadly available in 2014. Consumers in 36 states are relying on Healthcare.gov to qualify for tax subsidies that will reduce coverage costs under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which was expected to cover 7 million people next year alone through new private insurance marketplaces. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas attorney general asks court to reinstate abortion measure Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:16 AM PDT  By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court judge to immediately reinstate a restriction on abortion that a lower court judge had ruled unconstitutional, according to a court filing. A federal district court judge on Monday ruled unconstitutional a provision requiring physicians who perform abortions to have an agreement with a local hospital to admit patients. That was part of a sweeping new Texas law restricting abortions that was set to go into effect on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defiant Israel returns to U.N. rights forum Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:19 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel appeared before the main United Nations human rights body on Tuesday, ending a 20-month boycott of the Geneva forum which it accuses of bias against the Jewish state. Eviatar Manor, Israel's ambassador in Geneva, led its delegation to the session, held as part of the U.N. Human Rights Council's examination of U.N. member states every four years. "It was not an easy decision to make," Manor said in an opening statement to the talks. "But Israel's unfair treatment must come to an end. ... Full Story | Top |
| Can Merkel really be surprised the NSA spied on her? Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:23 AM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - When Angela Merkel was growing up in communist East Germany, she recalls her parents getting nervous whenever she talked for too long on the phone. "Hang up! The Stasi is listening and it's all being recorded," warned her mother, according to one biography. But somewhere along the line between her childhood behind the Iron Curtain and becoming chancellor of a united Germany, Merkel apparently lost her fear of eavesdropping. She called Barack Obama last week to demand clarification of reports that the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. inspectors hold 'very productive' nuclear talks with Iran Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran held "very productive" talks this week on how to advance a long-blocked investigation into Iranian atomic activities and will meet again in Tehran next month, they said in a rare joint statement on Tuesday. The relatively upbeat announcement by Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency may further buoy hopes for a negotiated solution to the international standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions after the June election of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who is seeking to reduce tension with the West. The U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian deputy PM dismissed after U.S. talks Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 09:15 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's deputy prime minister, Qadri Jamil, was dismissed on Tuesday for leaving the country and acting without government permission after meeting U.S. officials in Switzerland, state media said. The sacked minister is a member of what President Bashar al-Assad calls the "patriotic opposition" - political parties that consider themselves rivals to the president but have not joined the 2-1/2-year revolt against his rule. "Jamil was dismissed because he left his center of work without prior permission and did not follow up on his duties ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Spain launches legal inquiry into U.S. spying allegations Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:03 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's public prosecutor launched a preliminary inquiry on Tuesday into reports that U.S. intelligence has spied on million of its citizens. Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce authorized an information gathering process after El Mundo newspaper reported on Monday that the United States had tracked more than 60 million Spanish phone calls, his office said in a statement. Spain summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday to discuss the allegations, which are similar to reports of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq's Maliki to seek U.S. arms, role on Iran and Syria Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to Washington on Tuesday, seeking urgent military supplies to fight an upsurge in sectarian violence spilling over the Syrian border. He will also present himself to President Barack Obama as a potential mediator for him with Iran and Tehran's Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad, Iraqi sources said - though U.S. officials played down the prospect of Maliki playing such a role. Two years after his last visit, as U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pistorius to face additional gun charges in murder trial Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 08:52 AM PDT  By Peroshni Govender JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius will face two additional gun-related charges at his trial for the murder of his girlfriend due to start in March next year, prosecutors said on Tuesday. Pistorius, who is on bail, says he acted in self defense mistaking his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot and killed her on Valentine's Day at his upmarket home in February. She was shot in the head, arm and hip. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya says some soldiers looted during Nairobi mall attack Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan soldiers sent to protect civilians looted shops while al Qaeda-linked militants killed scores of people during a siege at a Nairobi shopping mall last month, the army admitted on Tuesday. The head of the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) said two members of a special combat unit had been dismissed from the force and jailed and a third was under investigation, though he rejected reports of systematic, large-scale looting by troops. "Discipline is our core driving point and we are not playing with this issue. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt and Brotherhood should pursue reconciliation: minister Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:57 AM PDT  By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army-backed government and the Muslim Brotherhood should seek reconciliation because only an inclusive political process, not security crackdowns, can bring stability to the country, a senior minister said on Tuesday. The most populous Arab state has been shaken by violence since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Brotherhood in July and announced a plan for new elections. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. House panel chairman subpoenas Obamacare contractor Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 06:53 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa on Tuesday subpoenaed Obamacare contractor, Quality Software Services Inc (QSSI), for documents related to the federal government's troubled website, Healthcare.gov. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by David Brunnstrom) Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi PM flies to U.S., seeking arms to fight militants Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 07:35 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki travelled to the United States on Tuesday to press for urgent help and arms to combat the worst upsurge of violence in years. Nearly three years since the last U.S. troops withdrew, Sunni Islamist militants are waging a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite-led government that came to power after former dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. ... Full Story | Top |
| China suspects Tiananmen crash a suicide attack- sources Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:20 AM PDT  By Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities investigating what could be Beijing's first major suicide attack were searching for two men from Muslim-dominated Xinjiang on Tuesday after three people suspected to be from the restive region drove a SUV into a crowd at Tiananmen Square and set it on fire. They killed themselves and two tourists on Monday in the square, the heart of China's power structure and the focal point of the mass 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations brutally crushed the military. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge in Brotherhood trial withdraws, case indefinitely adjourned Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 05:05 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The trial of three senior Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leaders on charges of inciting violence was halted on Tuesday after the judge said the court felt "unease" over the case. Judge Mohamed Amin Fahmi al-Qarmouty announced the decision at the start of the session and referred the case to another court. The case against Mohamed Badie, General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his deputies Khairat al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumy is part of a campaign against the Islamist movement waged by the authorities since the army overthrew President Mohamed Mursi on July 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leaders of South African 'Boer Army' plot receive long jail terms Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 06:08 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Five leaders of a "Boer Army" white supremacist plot in South Africa to assassinate Nelson Mandela and drive blacks out of the country were sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday after a trial lasting more than 10 years. A Pretoria High Court handed down sentences ranging from 20 to five years to others of the 21 defendants of the "Boeremag", a rag-tag militia of apartheid loyalists accused of a botched 2002 coup attempt in Africa's biggest economy. This had including charges of causing explosions. Some of the sentences were suspended. ... Full Story | Top |
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