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| AT&T says does not intend to bid for Vodafone Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:36 PM PST  U.S. mobile operator AT&T said on Monday it was not planning to take over Britain's Vodafone, making its intentions clear after a request from the takeover panel following months of speculation. The statement to the London Stock Exchange rules out the second-largest mobile service provider in the United States from buying Vodafone for the next six months. However the group can still make an offer if Vodafone's board agrees to it, or if a third party enters the fray. "AT&T notes the recent speculation regarding a potential transaction involving Vodafone Group Plc," it said in a short statement. Full Story | Top |
| Chinese man sentenced to death for hospital rampage Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:26 PM PST A court in eastern China on Monday sentenced to death a man who went on a rampage in a hospital and killed a doctor, because he was unhappy with the results of an operation on his nose, state media said. The case of Lian Enqing in wealthy Zhejiang province underscored difficulties in tackling violence in a sector plagued by corruption, with hospitals overwhelmed by patients and doctors badly paid. Unable to find him, he produced a knife and stabbed to death the head of the department, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Lian's sister, Lian Qiao, told the court that he had suffered respiratory problems and discomfort after the surgery in March 2013, Xinhua said. Full Story | Top |
| Libya says five kidnapped Egyptian diplomats freed Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:25 PM PST By Patrick Markey TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Five Egyptian diplomats kidnapped in Tripoli in retaliation for Egypt's arrest of a Libyan militia commander have been freed, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdul Razak Al-Grady said on Sunday. The abduction of diplomats in the Libyan capital illustrated the fragility of government control over former rebels and militias who two years ago helped topple Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed revolution. Libya's government said earlier the diplomats had been snatched in reaction to the arrest of Shaban Hadia, commander of the Operations Room of Libya's Revolutionaries, a powerful militia in Libya. Heavily armed ex-fighters, militiamen and Islamist militants who battled Gaddafi forces in 2011 have refused to disarm and often remain more loyal to their brigades, tribal leaders or local regions than to the new Libyan government. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. federal prosecutors target banks servicing payday lenders: NYT Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:21 PM PST  (Reuters) - The U.S. justice department is exploring civil and criminal actions against more than 50 big and small banks that conduct business with payday lenders, who are being increasingly scrutinized by regulators, the New York Times reported, citing government officials. Under a new program, "Operation Choke Point," the department is checking banks over whether they enabled payday lenders to illegally siphon billions of dollars from U.S. consumers' checking accounts, the newspaper said, citing state and federal officials briefed on the investigation. In the first action under the program, federal prosecutors have already brought a lawsuit against Four Oaks Bank for being "deliberately ignorant" about processing payments on behalf of merchants, the report said. About $2.4 billion was illegally withdrawn from checking accounts of U.S. customers by companies enabled by Four Oaks Bank, the New York Times said. Full Story | Top |
| China puts four more anti-graft activists on trial Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:14 PM PST By Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - Four more Chinese activists went on trial on Monday, accused of disturbing public order after urging officials to reveal their assets, the latest in a string of closely watched prosecutions of anti-graft campaigners. The trials of members of the "New Citizens' Movement" have sparked criticism from the West and rights groups, as evidence of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's determination to crush any challenge to its rule. The government has waged a 10-month drive against the movement, founded by Xu Zhiyong, one of China's most prominent rights activists, who was jailed on Sunday for four years. The four activists put on trial on Monday -- Ding Jiaxi, Li Wei, Zhang Baocheng and Yuan Dong -- advocated working within the system to press for change, including urging officials to publish details of assets. Full Story | Top |
| Brompton Bicycle shows British manufacturing how to shift up a gear Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 11:08 PM PST  By Brenda Goh and Neil Maidment LONDON (Reuters) - Loan refusal letters and retailers' rejections frame the walls of the Brompton Bicycle factory, a reminder of the obstacles the firm has overcome to establish itself as the UK's top bike-maker, selling 45,000 a year around the world. Brompton's success lies partly in its cool - the company cashed in on a trendy 'Made in Britain' tag, and the fact that its bikes fold up lends the label a geeky chic as well as popular practicality. But beneath the image lies a carefully-constructed business strategy that reveals not only the level of innovation required for UK manufacturing firms to succeed, but also the number of bumps in the road many of them still face. Britain's 1.5 trillion pound ($2.5 trillion) economy is among the developed world's fastest-growing thanks to a recovery in consumer spending last year. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Politics, legacy loom over Obama decision on Keystone XL pipeline Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 10:16 PM PST  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will lay out an agenda on jobs, the economy and the environment during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday. Some five years after Keystone XL was proposed, Canadian officials, Republicans and some Democrats in conservative U.S. states are expressing frustration over the lack of a decision by the White House on the initiative. The TransCanada Corp project involves construction of a 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with a previously approved line. Supporters say Keystone XL would create thousands of jobs and cut U.S. fuel costs by reducing the nation's reliance on oil imports from nations that are less friendly than Canada. Full Story | Top |
| Vigilantes vs. narcos: a security threat in Mexico badlands Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 10:14 PM PST  By Simon Gardner BUENAVISTA, Mexico (Reuters) - Clutching shotguns, rifles and battered submachine guns, dozens of vigilantes prepare to head out on patrol in this rugged corner of restive western Mexico, where they are at war with a drug cartel. Moments later, an armored convoy of federal police passes by. In violence-racked Michoacan, an impoverished agricultural state about 1-1/2 times the size of Switzerland, vigilantes are battling a cartel called the Caballeros Templarios, or Knights Templar, for control of swathes of the failing state. After letting the conflict brew, the government this month vowed to assert control but its messages have been contradictory. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. carries out air strike in Somalia targeting militant suspect Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:50 PM PST The U.S. military carried out a missile strike in Somalia on Sunday targeting a suspected militant leader with ties to al Qaeda and al Shabaab, a U.S. military official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The strike took place in southern Somalia, the official said, without offering further information, including the identity of the suspect or whether the strike was believed to have been successful. Another U.S. official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in a remote area near Barawe, Somalia. Barawe, a militant stronghold on Somalia's southern coast, was the site of a failed raid by American commandos in October targeting a militant known as Ikrima. Full Story | Top |
| China official seeks tougher rules on religion after Xinjiang blasts Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 09:45 PM PST  A senior Chinese official called for stricter management of religious activities, state media said on Monday, following explosions in China's western region of Xinjiang which authorities say were masterminded by a religious extremist. Police shot dead six people and six more died when explosives they were carrying detonated in Xinhe county, according to weekend media reports. Blasts struck a beauty salon and a vegetable market. Yu Zhengsheng, a member of the Communist Party's seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, called for action to ensure that religious practice did not spill over into illegal acts. Full Story | Top |
| ICE CEO Sprecher wants regulators to look at ‘maker-taker' trading Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:41 PM PST  By Christine Stebbins MIAMI (Reuters) - Stock market regulators should take a hard look at the 'maker-taker' form of trading that now dominates share transactions in the United States, Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of the IntercontinentalExchange and new chief of the New York Stock Exchange, said on Sunday. But it's certainly something we want to raise the profile and start a conversation around because I think it hurts everybody in the market," Sprecher told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Commodity Markets Council industry meeting in Miami. 'Maker-taker' refers to an organized system of "rebates" that large traders and brokers receive to channel their stock transactions through the NYSE or other established exchanges. As trading volumes have grown with electronic matching and other automated trading, the largest traders have tended to use such arrangements more, saying exchange fees on transactions were too high and demanding such rebates for large volumes. Full Story | Top |
| Thai red-shirt heartland backs government despite rice fiasco Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:34 PM PST By Amy Sawitta Lefevre CHAIWAN, Thailand (Reuters) - Rice farmer Thiwakorn Chomchan hasn't been paid in 2 months, but he is not angry with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, whose flagship policy is meant to guarantee him an above-market price. Instead, he blames anti-government protesters in Bangkok. They know the government has its hands tied," said Thiwakorn, 51. Elsewhere across Thailand thousands of farmers, many of whom are owed 4 months' pay, are demonstrating against the multi-billion dollar scheme they say is riddled with corruption and have threatened to join the protests disrupting the capital. Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia approves new constitution, appoints government Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:04 PM PST  By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's national assembly approved the country's new constitution on Sunday in one of the last steps to establishing full democracy three years after the uprising that toppled autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Just before the constitution vote, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa appointed a caretaker cabinet as part of a deal to end a crisis between Tunisia's Islamist party and its secular opposition until new elections this year. Tunisia's new constitution and progress contrasts sharply with messy transitions in Libya, Egypt and Yemen which are still caught up in turmoil after ousting their own long-standing leaders in 2011 revolts and uprisings. "This constitution was the dream of Tunisians, this constitution is proof of the revival of the revolution, this constitution creates a democratic civil nation," Assembly chief Mustapha Ben Jaafar said. Full Story | Top |
| As 'African' Chinese park money in Hong Kong, Beijing targets 'naked' officials Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 08:02 PM PST  By Yimou Lee HONG KONG (Reuters) - Step by step, Chinese authorities are making life tougher for officials looking to spirit assets and family members out of the country to avoid close scrutiny and strict currency controls. As part of President Xi Jinping's crackdown on pervasive corruption, China's so-called "naked officials", those who have moved their spouses, children and assets overseas while they remain at home, will not be considered for promotion, state media reported. Also, China's anti-graft body has asked newly promoted officials to disclose their assets and any foreign residency, while late last month, some 2,000 village chiefs in Guangzhou had to hand over their passports to stop corrupt officials from fleeing, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported. Many officials have been taking advantage of a Hong Kong investment scheme to squirrel away more than $1 million each, which includes buying 'residency' in faraway African nations, since the scheme is not open to mainland Chinese residents. Full Story | Top |
| South Korea expands poultry cull on bird flu fears Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:37 PM PST By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is expanding a poultry cull in a bid to contain the spread of bird flu that has been found on an increasing number of farms around the country and in migratory birds. The country's agriculture ministry said the H5N8 strain of bird flu had been detected on six poultry farms and that there had been 13 cases in migratory birds since the first outbreak earlier this month. No human infection has been reported, while the ministry is looking into four additional reports from poultry farms and more than 50 other suspected cases in migratory birds, it said in a statement on Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy has had four bird flu outbreaks in the past 10 years, without any cases of human infection reported. Full Story | Top |
| Syria talks bring offer of exit from siege of Homs Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:24 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government said women and children could leave the besieged rebel city of Homs on Sunday as negotiators from the warring sides discussed humanitarian gestures on a second day of face-to-face talks in Geneva. Government and opposition delegates also spoke of releasing prisoners and enabling access for aid convoys during what the U.N. mediator acknowledged was a slow process but one which he hopes will lead on Monday to broaching the central issue that divides them after three years of civil war - namely Syria's political future and that of President Bashar al-Assad. Homs, occupying a strategic location in the center of the country, has been a key battleground. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told a news conference after Sunday's meetings that the government would let women and children leave the city center if rebels gave them safe passage. Full Story | Top |
| 'No known relationship' between Maryland mall shooter, victims: police Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:00 PM PST There is "no known relationship" between the gunman and the two people he killed at a Maryland mall, police said on Sunday. "We are continuing to look for that motive," Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told a news conference the day after police said Darion Marcus Aguilar killed a young man and young woman at a mall in Columbia, Maryland, before apparently killing himself. "We have no known relationship between the victims and our shooter," McMahon said. Full Story | Top |
| Police name gunman in Maryland mall shooting; motive still unclear Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 06:00 PM PST  By Alice Popovici COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A gunman who shot and killed two people at a Maryland mall was a 19-year-old who lived with his mother in a nearby Washington suburb and arrived at the shopping center in a taxi about an hour before opening fire, police said on Sunday. But a day after Saturday's shootings, police could provide no immediate insight into why Darion Marcus Aguilar killed a young man and a young woman at the mall in Columbia, Maryland, about 20 miles west of Baltimore, before apparently killing himself. Police have found no evidence that Aguilar, of College Park, Maryland, knew the two victims who worked at a clothing and skateboard shop at the mall, Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told a Sunday evening news conference. Aguilar fired six to eight shots from a 12-gauge shotgun, killing Brianna Benlolo, 21, also of College Park, and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy, Maryland, police said. Full Story | Top |
| Eight dead in Central African Republic capital, rebel leaders flee city Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:26 PM PST By Emmanuel Braun BANGUI (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed in mob violence in Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, on Sunday as senior officers from the Seleka rebel movement fled the city, according to the country's Red Cross and a rights group. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Sunday that Washington was prepared to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the religious-based violence [ID:nL2N0L100O]. We even had one woman whose throat was slit," Antoine Mbao Bogo, president of the country's Red Cross, told Reuters. It was not immediately clear why the rebel leaders, who were travelling in a convoy of more than two dozen vehicles, left Bangui or where they were heading. Full Story | Top |
| Texas hospital ends life support for brain-dead pregnant woman Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:22 PM PST By Jana J. Pruet FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas hospital removed a pregnant brain-dead woman from life support on Sunday in line with a court order obtained by her husband who argued the fetus she was carrying was withering inside her lifeless body, the family's lawyers said. Marlise Munoz, who was about 22 weeks pregnant, had been on life support in the hospital in Fort Worth since November 26 after suffering what her husband believes was a pulmonary embolism. Erick Munoz had sought to remove his wife from life support, with the support of her parents, but the hospital had refused, citing a Texas law that says life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn or withheld from a pregnant woman despite a "do not resuscitate" order or a request from the family. A judge on Friday agreed with Erick Munoz in finding that Marlise Munoz was already legally dead and ordering the John Peter Smith Hospital to remove her ventilator, setting a Monday deadline. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. threatens sanctions to curb Central African Republic conflict Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 05:14 PM PST  The United States is deeply concerned with the escalation in clashes in Central African Republic and is prepared to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the religious-based violence, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Sunday. At least eight people were killed in mob violence in the capital Bangui on Sunday, the country's Red cross said. A Muslim former minister was hacked to death on Friday by militia, and at least nine others were killed when bands of people, some of them Christian groups, attacked and looted shops in a mostly Muslim neighborhood in the capital. "The United States is prepared to consider targeted sanctions against those who further destabilize the situation, or pursue their own selfish ends by abetting or encouraging the violence," Kerry said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Sochi's mayor says homosexuality not accepted in his region Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:16 PM PST The mayor of Sochi, the Russian city hosting the Winter Olympics next month, said homosexuality was not accepted in his Caucasus region, but that gay visitors would be welcome at the Games if they respected Russian laws. Russia's stance on gay rights, including laws introduced last year to ban the dissemination of "gay propaganda" among children, has drawn strong criticism from Western states and gay rights groups in the run-up to the Games, casting a shadow over President Vladimir Putin's $50-billion showpiece event. In remarks to be broadcast on Monday, Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov told the BBC's Panorama program: "We just say that it is your business, it's your life. Sochi is home to a few gay clubs, but according to members of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the scene is on the decline. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Emerging market pain not about to faze U.S.-focused Fed Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:14 PM PST  By Jonathan Spicer NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve, intent on cutting its stimulus again this week, is not about to blink in the face of a brutal selloff of emerging market assets that could yet gain steam in Turkey, Argentina and elsewhere. Though the central bank's 16-month-old bond-buying program is meant to boost the U.S. economy, in the past it has lifted currencies and stocks in emerging markets that have benefited from a rush of international investment and the resulting lower interest rates. Now that the Fed intends to wind down the unprecedented policy accommodation by later this year, those markets - especially in countries with large current account deficits - have dropped hard, prompting policy responses late last week from central banks around the world. But the turmoil would probably have to escalate dramatically and start to hurt the United States for the Fed, focused on domestic improvements in the world's largest economy, to back down from trimming the asset-purchase program known as quantitative easing, or QE. Full Story | Top |
| Cameron trumpets red tape cuts to woo business bosses Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:08 PM PST  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron will tell company owners on Monday that his government has exceeded its targets for cutting back over-zealous business regulations and will save firms millions of pounds per year. Cameron's appeal for support from the business world in the run-up to the 2015 election comes at a time when the opposition Labour party is facing heavy business criticism for planning to raise income taxes and shake up the energy and banking industries. Speaking at the Federation of Small Business, Cameron will say his government had beaten its target, set in late 2012, of finding 3,000 unnecessary regulations to cut or simplify, and had already implemented 800 changes. "We will be the first government in modern history to have reduced, rather than increased, domestic business regulation during our time in office," Cameron will say, according to extracts of his speech released by his office in advance. Full Story | Top |
| UK household job worries dip, inflation fears recede - survey Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:06 PM PST  British households have a growing sense of job security and declining fears that inflation is driving prices higher, a survey showed on Monday. The Markit Household Finance Index, which measures perceptions of financial well-being, continued its recent upward trend to hit 41.5 in January, matching the highest level in the poll's five-year history. The monthly survey showed that attitudes towards job security were at their least pessimistic in at least five years, although an index reading of 46.5 again meant sentiment was negative. "January's survey highlights some light at the end of the tunnel for UK households, with falling consumer price inflation and better labour market conditions helping to bring down the squeeze on finances after five years of gloom," said Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit. Full Story | Top |
| Olympics-Sochi's mayor says homosexuality not accepted in his region Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 04:01 PM PST The mayor of Sochi, the Russian city hosting the Winter Olympics next month, said homosexuality was not accepted in his Caucasus region, but that gay visitors would be welcome at the Games if they respected Russian laws. Russia's stance on gay rights, including laws introduced last year to ban the dissemination of "gay propaganda" among children, has drawn strong criticism from Western states and gay rights groups in the run-up to the Games, casting a shadow over President Vladimir Putin's $50-billion showpiece event. In remarks to be broadcast on Monday, Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov told the BBC's Panorama programme: "We just say that it is your business, it's your life. Sochi is home to a few gay clubs, but according to members of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the scene is on the decline. Full Story | Top |
| Italy minister resigns, adding to headaches for government Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:35 PM PST By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italian Agriculture Minister Nunzia De Girolamo resigned on Sunday, following heavy criticism after she was caught on tape discussing public contracts, adding a further complication to Prime Minister Enrico Letta's fragile coalition. De Girolamo, a member of the small New Centre Right (NCD) party which supports Prime Minister Enrico Letta's left-right coalition, denied any wrongdoing in the affair and said that she had quit her ministerial post to defend her dignity. "I cannot remain in a government which has not defended my honor," she said in a statement. The resignation adds another twist to the delicate situation facing the coalition between Letta's center-left Democratic Party (PD) and the NCD, already tested by strains over plans to reform electoral laws which could penalize smaller parties in a future election. Full Story | Top |
| Quebec premier vows 'never again' at site of senior residence fire Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:31 PM PST  By Randall Palmer L'ISLE-VERTE, Quebec (Reuters) - Quebec Premier Pauline Marois on Sunday said a fatal fire in a seniors' residence was "unacceptable" but stopped short of saying her government would make sprinklers mandatory in homes for the elderly. Authorities fear 32 people died early on Thursday when fire ripped through the Residence du Havre in L'Isle-Verte, a picturesque town of 1,500 people some 230 km (140 miles) northeast of Quebec City in eastern Canada. Roch Bernier, co-owner of the residence, greeted the congregation somberly and was given a standing ovation, an emotional show of support in this tight-knit community. Bernier also called on people not to look for blame. Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says 'significant threats' to his life Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:24 PM PST  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden told German TV on Sunday about reports that U.S. government officials want to assassinate him for leaking secret documents about the NSA's collection of telephone records and emails. In what German public broadcaster ARD said was Snowden's first television interview, Snowden also said he believes the NSA has monitored other top German government officials along with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Snowden told ARD that he felt there are "significant threats" to his life but he said that he nevertheless sleeps well because he believes he did the right thing by informing the public about the NSA's activities. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. farm bill agreement could come within days: report Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:09 PM PST An agreement on the long-overdue U.S. farm bill could be completed as soon as Monday, followed by final approval likely within days, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. Citing senior House of Representatives aides, the Post said that in the event of a deal on Monday, Republican leaders would bring it up for a House vote, with the measure seen passing with bipartisan support. The Democrat-controlled Senate would likely give its approval before a recess in mid-February, the newspaper said. "We remain optimistic that we can reach agreement in time to be on the floor next week," House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas was quoted as saying in a message to colleagues over the weekend. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. regulators to order Boeing 767 safety checks: WSJ Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 03:06 PM PST  (Reuters) - U.S. aviation regulators plan to order safety checks of more than 400 Boeing Co 767 jets because of movable tail sections that may jam and possibly cause some pilots to lose control of the aircraft, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. An order by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), set for publication in Monday's Federal register, calls for beefed up inspections of a flight control mechanism, known as an "elevator," which helps planes climb and descend, the business daily reported. Spokespeople for Boeing and the FAA could not be immediately reached for comment outside regular U.S. business hours. Full Story | Top |
| Netanyahu would let Israeli settlers live in future Palestine: report Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 02:42 PM PST  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will insist that Jewish settlers in the West Bank have a right to remain under Palestinian rule in any future peace deal, a government official was quoted as saying on Sunday. The apparent trial balloon, reported on the English-language Times of Israel website, drew a no-comment from a spokesman for Netanyahu and angry words from Naftali Bennett, a key pro-settlement partner in his governing coalition. The Israeli report quoted an official in Netanyahu's office as saying he did not intend to uproot Jewish settlements anywhere in the West Bank, land that Palestinians seek for a state under U.S.-brokered peace talks showing few signs of progress since they resumed in July after a three-year break. Netanyahu would "insist that settlers be given the free choice of remaining in place and living under Palestinian rule, or relocating to areas under Israeli sovereign rule," the official was quoted as saying. Full Story | Top |
| Hungary addresses Holocaust after accusations it 'whitewashed' past Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:59 PM PST By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarians collaborated with Nazis in sending nearly half a million Jews to their deaths, Hungary's president said on Sunday in a rare public acknowledgement of a war-time past that Jewish groups say is often glossed over. Earlier on Sunday, an American historian said he was returning an award he received from the previous head of state in protest at what he called the government's attempt to erase Hungary's role in the Holocaust. In a statement prepared for Monday's Holocaust Memorial Day, President Janos Ader said that if the war had gone according to the plans of Adolf Hitler and his Hungarian fascist allies, Jews would have been exterminated completely from Hungary. "Auschwitz may be hundreds of kilometers from Hungary but it is part of Hungarian history," Ader wrote. Full Story | Top |
| Thai anti-government protester killed, adds to doubts over election Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:31 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai anti-government protest leader was shot and killed in Bangkok on Sunday when violence erupted as demonstrators blocked early voting in many areas of the capital ahead of a disputed election next week. It brought the death toll to 10, with scores wounded, since protesters took to the streets in November, vowing to shut down the capital and force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office. A spokesman for the national police, Piya Utayo, identified the dead man as Suthin Tharatin, one of the protest leaders. Yingluck called the February 2 election, hoping to cement her hold on power, but the protests have continued and the Election Commission has been pushing to delay the vote. Full Story | Top |
| Police identify gunman in Maryland mall shooting, motive unclear Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:20 PM PST  By Alice Popovici COLUMBIA, Maryland (Reuters) - A gunman who shot and killed two people at a Maryland mall was a 19-year-old man who lived with his mother in the city of College Park and arrived at the shopping center in a taxi about an hour before opening fire, police said on Sunday. But a day after Saturday's shootings, police could provide no immediate insight into why Darion Marcus Aguilar killed a young man and a young woman at the mall in Columbia, Maryland, about 20 miles west of Baltimore, before apparently killing himself. Police have yet to find any ties between Aguilar and the two people he killed, employees at a skate shop at the mall, Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon told a Sunday morning news conference. "We do know that one of our victims also lived in College Park," McMahon said. Full Story | Top |
| Google, Samsung announce global patent agreement Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:06 PM PST  (Reuters) - Google Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which are frequently involved in patent infringement lawsuits but not against each other, announced on Sunday that they have reached a global patent cross-licensing agreement. The companies said the deal "would lead to deeper collaboration on research and development of current and future projects." "By working together on agreements like this, companies can reduce the potential for litigation and focus instead on innovation," said Allen Lo, deputy general counsel for patents at Google, in a statement. Samsung's Seungho Ahn, head of the company's intellectual property center, said the deal showed "the rest of the industry that there is more to gain from cooperating than engaging in unnecessary patent disputes." The companies have been at the center of the smartphone patent wars, though more as allies than foes. The majority of the litigation - which has sprawled across three continents, has been between Apple and the various companies involved in making smartphones based on Google's Android software, including Samsung and Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility. Full Story | Top |
| Iraqi planes, artillery strike rebel-held Falluja Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:04 PM PST  By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi government forces battling al Qaeda-linked militants intensified air strikes and artillery fire on the rebel-held city of Falluja on Sunday, and at least seven people were killed, according to hospital officials and tribal leaders. Religious and tribal leaders in the city, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, said they feared an imminent assault by the army to expel militants and end a three-week standoff that has driven thousands of people from their homes. Iraqi security forces have set up a loose cordon around Falluja and have clashed sporadically with insurgents inside. "There is no time left for talks and we're afraid a military solution is looming," said a local cleric in Falluja, the scene of two major battles with U.S. troops in 2004. Full Story | Top |
| Drawn-out Thai crisis unsettles investors, may deter new money Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 01:02 PM PST  By Khettiya Jittapong BANGKOK (Reuters) - Long-term foreign investors say they are sticking with Thailand despite its political woes but the threat of worsening chaos may scare away new money as companies scope out other options in neighboring countries such as Indonesia. Protesters trying to topple the government have rallied in the capital, Bangkok, since November. "Assuming the political woes go on, foreign investors may decide to shift to other countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar," Kyoichi Tanada, president of Toyota Motor Corp's Thai unit, said this week. "Many investors want to invest in Thailand. Full Story | Top |
| Republicans decry Obama plans to bypass Congress to advance agenda Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 12:29 PM PST  By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's strategy to bypass Congress this year with executive orders to advance his policy agenda received a cold reaction on Sunday from Republican leaders, who accused the White House of arrogance and sidestepping the political process. Obama and his advisers have signaled for weeks that the president would take a more active role in using his pen and phone to sign orders that do not require lawmaker approval and cajole others to back his priorities. Senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Obama needed Congress to pass immigration reform and extend unemployment insurance but that the president would telegraph in his State of the Union address on Tuesday that he would not be patient with lawmakers in areas where he did not need them. "The president ... is not going to tell the American people that he's going to wait for Congress," Pfeiffer told CNN's "State of the Union with Candy Crowley" program. Full Story | Top |
| Israeli defense computer hacked via tainted email: cyber firm Sunday, Jan 26, 2014 12:23 PM PST By Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Jim Finkle JERUSALEM/BOSTON (Reuters) - Hackers broke into an Israeli defense ministry computer via an email attachment tainted with malicious software that looked like it had been sent by the country's Shin Bet secret security service, an Israeli cyber security firm said on Sunday. Aviv Raff, chief technology officer at Seculert, said the hackers earlier this month temporarily took over 15 computers, one of them belonging to Israel's Civil Administration that monitors Palestinians in Israeli-occupied territory. Raff told Reuters that Palestinians were suspected to be behind the cyber attack, citing similarities to a cyber assault on Israeli computers waged more than a year ago from a server in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israeli officials declined to comment on Raff's findings. Full Story | Top |
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