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| South African rand recovers footing, market eyes on Turkey Monday, Jan 27, 2014 11:25 PM PST  South Africa's rand regained some of its footing against the dollar on Tuesday, largely tracking a similar recovery in emerging market peer the Turkish lira, whose slide to multi-year lows it had mirrored the previous day. South Africa and Turkey are both in the "fragile five" group of emerging economies whose weak economic fundamentals, including large balance of payments deficits, make them particularly vulnerable during bouts of global risk aversion. Full Story | Top |
| Toyota to curb Japan output in April as tax hike kicks in Monday, Jan 27, 2014 11:15 PM PST  By Yoko Kubota TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp plans to curb daily vehicle output in Japan by 15 percent in April from a year earlier as it adjusts for a dampening of demand from a national sales tax rise, a source familiar with its production plans said on Tuesday. The tax hike to 8 percent from 5 percent is widely expected to spur a pickup in consumer spending before it goes into effect on April 1, followed by a temporary slump when it kicks in. The tax increase, engineered by the previous opposition administration but given final approval by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and urged by IMF officials and global credit ratings agencies, aims to rein in Japan's huge public debt even at the risk of slowing the economy in the short term. Toyota plans to manufacture around 12,200 vehicles a day in the month of April, down 15 percent from a year ago, the source told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| 13 killed in C.African Republic, UN envoy says Muslims vulnerable Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:42 PM PST  By Emmanuel Braun BANGUI (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed in Central African Republic on Monday as the top U.N. human rights official warned of escalating reprisals against Muslims and urged foreign governments to do more to stop the country being torn apart. Almost one million people, or a quarter of the population, have been displaced by fighting since the mostly Muslim Seleka rebel group seized power in March in the majority Christian country. In recent days, Seleka fighters have steadily abandoned the riverside capital Bangui, leaving Muslim civilians at the mercy of Christian militia, known as 'anti-balaka' or 'anti-machete' in the local Sango language. Looting and mob violence mainly targeting predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods of Bangui have intensified despite the presence of a 1,600-strong French intervention force and thousands of African peacekeepers. Full Story | Top |
| Sudan's president to announce government, constitution shake-up Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:42 PM PST  Sudan's president will announce plans on Monday to redraw the constitution and bring opposition parties into government, a senior member of his party said, in a bid to shake-up a country beset by rebellions, protests and an economic crisis. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has had to wrestle with a sharp drop in oil revenues, the main source of government income, and rising inflation after losing the bulk of his active oilfields following the secession of South Sudan in 2012. Security forces responded swiftly, killing more than 200 protesters, opposition groups said. The government said 34 people died. Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill at least 62 in Nigeria, including in church Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:40 PM PST  By Imma Ande YOLA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Suspected insurgents armed with guns and explosives killed at least 62 people in northeast Nigeria, including at a church service, in a region where Islamist sect Boko Haram is resisting a military crackdown, witnesses said on Monday. They killed 22 people by setting off bombs and firing into the congregation in the Catholic church in Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa state on Sunday, before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a four-hour siege, witnesses said. President Goodluck Jonathan is struggling to contain Boko Haram in remote rural regions in the country's northeast corner, where the sect launched an uprising in 2009. Boko Haram, which wants to impose sharia law on a country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims, has killed thousands over the past four and a half years and is considered the biggest security risk in Africa's top oil exporter and second largest economy after South Africa. Full Story | Top |
| Japan revises teaching manuals, says islands its territory Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:37 PM PST  By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Tuesday it was revising teaching manuals to make clear that two sets of remote islands at the center of disputes with China and South Korea are integral parts of its territory, prompting protests from an angry Seoul. Japan's ties with Seoul and Beijing are increasingly strained over a host of issues, including the territorial rows and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit late last year to the Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are honored along with millions of war dead. The conservative Abe has said he wants to revise Japanese history to have a less apologetic tone, a sensitive topic for Asian neighbors such as South Korea and China, where memories linger of Japanese aggression before and during World War Two. Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura said the ministry was revising the manuals to teach "properly" about Japanese history and that it would make diplomatic efforts to explain the move to Japan's neighbors. Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda sending "chilling message" to dissenters: UN rapporteur Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:37 PM PST  By Jenny Clover KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda's track record of prosecuting politicians who criticise President Paul Kagame's government sends a chilling a message to opposition figures and rights campaigners, a U.N. Special Rapporteur said on Monday. Kagame, a rebel fighter-turned-statesman, has won plaudits for Rwanda's economic transformation since the 1994 genocide and for deploying peacekeepers to Africa's conflicts. Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai said that politicians who rejected what he called Kagame's 'consensus politics' ran into legal trouble, often facing charges of downplaying the genocide and sectarianism. "In all such cases, these politicians are accused of violence or having links with violent groups," Kiai told reporters at the end on an eight-day trip at Rwanda's invitation. Full Story | Top |
| Taiwan, China to hold historic talks, but avoid sensitive issues Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:34 PM PST By Miaojung Lin TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's chief policymaker on China will meet his mainland counterpart in China in February in what will be the highest-level official talks between the two sides since 1949, but said on Tuesday he would not discuss "sensitive political issues". The February 11 to 14 talks between Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Minister Wang Yu-chi and China's Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun, who heads the Taiwan Affairs Office, will mark a big step towards expanding cross-strait dialogue beyond economic and trade issues. China's ruling Communist Party considers Taiwan a renegade province and has never ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its wing after taking control of the mainland in 1949. Full Story | Top |
| Asian shares pinned at five-month lows, Turkey in spotlight Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:03 PM PST  By Hideyuki Sano TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were pinned near five-month lows on Tuesday as concerns that slower growth in China and reduced U.S. monetary stimulus could hurt some emerging economies dependent on exports and foreign capital. Investors are now focusing on whether the central bank of Turkey, one of the epicenters of the latest rout in emerging markets, could salvage the lira at an emergency policy meeting later in the day, after India surprised markets by raising rates. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan briefly dipped to a five-month low, extending a 3.8 percent loss in the past three days before recouping the losses to trade almost flat. Investors drew some comfort from the news that a Chinese trust firm had reached an agreement to resolve a troubled high-yield investment product, just days away from what could have been a precedent-setting default in China's shadow banking system. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to lay out go-it-alone approach in big speech Monday, Jan 27, 2014 10:01 PM PST  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will lay out a strategy for getting around a divided Congress and boosting middle-class prosperity on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that reflects some scaled-back legislative ambitions after a difficult year. Obama will make clear in his 9 p.m. EST address that he is willing to bypass U.S. lawmakers and go it alone in some areas by announcing a series of executive actions that do not require congressional approval. White House officials said Obama will announce new executive actions on retirement security and job training to help middle-class workers expand economic opportunity. "In this year of action, the president will seek out as many opportunities as possible to work with Congress in a bipartisan way. Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters surround cabinet meeting venue Monday, Jan 27, 2014 09:21 PM PST  Around 500 anti-government protesters on Tuesday gathered outside the Army Club compound in the Thai capital, where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra held a weekly cabinet meeting, as the two sides traded threats in a lengthy political crisis. The government has issued an ultimatum to protest leaders that they face arrest by Thursday if they do not give up areas they have taken over in Bangkok as protests drag into their third month. "The people want to talk to the prime minister because she says she is the people's prime minister ... but we want the premier to listen to us ... to our side of the story," a protest leader, Puttipong Punnakun, said. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has said his supporters would shut down the government body overseeing the emergency decree within 24 hours. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. securities class-action suits rise, big Supreme Court case looms Monday, Jan 27, 2014 09:10 PM PST  Investors are pursuing more lawsuits accusing companies of fraud, according to a new study, but filings may plunge if the U.S. Supreme Court decides soon to remake the legal landscape. Plaintiffs filed 166 federal securities lawsuits seeking class-action status in 2013, up 9 percent from 152 in 2012, according to data released Tuesday by Cornerstone Research and the Stanford Law School Securities Class Action Clearinghouse. The Supreme Court, in a case involving Halliburton Co to be argued on March 5, could accelerate that decline as it reexamines a 1988 precedent that made it easier to pursue class actions against companies. A narrowing or overruling of Basic could have "seismic" implications, said Joseph Grundfest, a Stanford law professor who works with Cornerstone and a former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Drug critic slams FDA over antibiotic oversight in meat production Monday, Jan 27, 2014 08:40 PM PST The United States Food and Drug Administration allowed 18 animal drugs to stay on the market even after an agency review found the drugs posed a "high risk" of exposing humans to antibiotic-resistant bacteria through food supply, according to a study released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The study by the NRDC, a non-governmental group that criticizes the widespread use of drugs in the meat industry, is the latest salvo in the national debate over the long-standing practice of antibiotic use in meat production. Agribusinesses say animal drugs help increase production and keep prices low for U.S. consumers, while consumer advocates and some scientists raise concerns over antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The FDA stirred the debate late last year when it unveiled guidelines for drug makers and agricultural companies to voluntarily phase out antibiotic use as a growth enhancer in livestock. Full Story | Top |
| Republicans, Democrats unite in bid to save California beach bonfires Monday, Jan 27, 2014 08:26 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - It may be January, but Southern California beach-goers could be forgiven for breaking out the marshmallows early, as lawmakers moved to protect a classic rite of summer - the seaside bonfire. Under a new anti-pollution measure adopted last year by regulators in charge of air quality for Los Angeles and Orange Counties, fire rings on beaches near houses or in places where air quality was low would have to be removed. The measure prompted outrage from across the political spectrum in the coastal state, with Republicans railing that unelected bureaucrats were destroying the California way of life. Freshman Republican assemblyman Travis Allen, a surfer whose district south of Los Angeles includes several beach communities, took on the issue as one of his first efforts. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Marines will retry sergeant accused of killing Iraqi civilian Monday, Jan 27, 2014 07:47 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine sergeant who was found guilty of murder in the 2006 death of an Iraqi civilian, only to have his conviction overturned, will face a retrial on the same charges, a Marine spokesman said on Monday. Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins III will be arraigned at the Camp Pendleton Marine Base in California on Wednesday, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Kloppel said. Hutchins was the leader of a squad of Marines that went on a mission aimed at stopping militants' use of improvised explosive devices in the village of Hamdania, Iraq, in the early morning hours of April 26, 2006. Witnesses said Hutchins and another Marine shot 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a father of 11 and grandfather of four, and placed an AK-47 and a shovel next to the corpse to suggest he had been planting a bomb. Full Story | Top |
| China says New York Times reporter broke visa rules, will leave Monday, Jan 27, 2014 07:23 PM PST  China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a China-based reporter for the New York Times broke rules on residence visas and would be leaving the country before the end of the week, in a case which could sour Beijing's relations with Washington. The issue of media freedom for foreign reporters in China has attracted high-level concern in the United States, especially over worries that the government is denying visas for organizations that carry negative stories about China. Last month, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden expressed concern, while on a visit to Beijing, over China's efforts to restrict the activities of foreign news organizations. Neither the New York Times Co nor Bloomberg News has been given new journalist visas for more than a year after they published stories about the wealth of family members of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and current President Xi Jinping, respectively. Full Story | Top |
| California students challenge teacher tenure rules in lawsuit Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:57 PM PST A group of nine California students challenged employment rules in court on Monday that they complain force public schools in the most populous U.S. state to retain low-performing teachers, mainly in poor and minority schools. At the start of a trial challenging state education employment policy, attorneys argued that California guidelines for permanent hiring, firing and layoff practices for K-12 public school teachers violate the constitutional rights of students by denying them effective teachers. "School districts, like any other organization, need to be able to manage their workforce in a rational way with a primary focus on putting the highest quality teachers in front of students," attorney Theodore Boutrous of the education advocacy group Students Matter said during opening statements. The group says the layoff policy disproportionately affects minority and low-income students, who are more likely to have entry-level teachers and poor quality senior teachers assigned to their district. Full Story | Top |
| Congressional negotiators reach deal on U.S. farm bill Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:49 PM PST  By Eric Beech WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House and Senate negotiators on Monday reached a bipartisan agreement on the long-overdue U.S. farm bill that ends a pricy direct subsidy to farmers while expanding government-backed crop insurance programs, and trims spending on food stamps for poor Americans by about one percent. "We've got a bill that makes sense, works for farmers and ranchers and consumers and families that need help, and protects our land and water and our wildlife," Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Reuters. The agreement on a new five-year bill came after lawmakers spent weeks ironing out differences over food stamps, dairy price supports and other issues contained in earlier House and Senate legislation. "I cannot march backwards and deliver more spending, more regulations and more waste." The 949-page conference agreement will be brought up for a vote in the House of Representatives "as early as this week," according to a statement from Stabenow. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate subcommittee sets hearing on consumer data security Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:44 PM PST The U.S. Senate banking panel has scheduled a subcommittee hearing for next week on safeguarding consumers' financial information following the theft of data at retailers such as Target Corp and Neiman Marcus, the committee said on Monday. Witnesses at the subcommittee on national security and international trade and finance hearing next Monday will include officials from the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, the American Bankers Association and National Retail Federation, the committee said in a statement. A data breach over the holiday shopping season at Target, the third-largest U.S. retailer, resulted in the theft of about 40 million credit and debit card records and 70 million other records with customer information such as addresses and telephone numbers. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich, opposition agree to scrap some anti-protest laws Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:41 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich agreed in talks with opposition leaders to the repeal of some anti-protest laws and to discuss the fate of the current government at a crunch session of parliament on Tuesday, called to end two months of unrest against his rule. But former Economy Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, now a leader of the opposition, refused his offer of the prime minister's job, setting the scene for a tough political battle in parliament over opposition demands for concessions, including an amnesty for detained protesters. There was no mention of any declaration of a state of emergency - something that Yanukovich's Cabinet ministers threatened to call for on Monday to re-establish control over the security situation in the country, where protesters are seizing public buildings. Talk of a state of emergency being declared in the former Soviet republic of 46 million made the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, hastily move up a visit to Kiev on Tuesday. Full Story | Top |
| Quentin Tarantino sues Gawker over links to leaked movie script Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:34 PM PST  Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino filed a lawsuit against media outlet Gawker for copyright infringement in a U.S. district court in Los Angeles on Monday, after the website published links to download the script for his latest movie, entitled "The Hateful Eight." Gawker editor John Cook denied the publication had infringed on copyright in a post published on Gawker.com on Monday. He said Gawker did not leak Tarantino's 146-page Western movie script and only published a link to a website where the script could be downloaded. In court documents, writer-director Tarantino claimed Gawker Media promoted and disseminated unauthorized, downloadable copies of the leaked screenplay. Full Story | Top |
| Mexico says catches senior Knights Templar drug gang boss Monday, Jan 27, 2014 06:28 PM PST  By Lizbeth Diaz MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico said on Monday it had captured a leader of the Knights Templar, a violent drug cartel that has created a major security problem for President Enrique Pena Nieto. The attorney general's office said security forces arrested Dionisio Loya Plancarte, known as "El Tio" ('The Uncle'), a top member of the Knights Templar, which has clashed with vigilante groups in the western state of Michoacan this year. The Knights emerged from a split in another cartel in Michoacan known as La Familia and have controlled large swaths of the restive mountainous state in recent years, extorting farmers and local businesses and diversifying away from drug trafficking to activities such as mining. Full Story | Top |
| Ex-strategist must arbitrate whistleblower claim against UBS: U.S. judge Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:57 PM PST  A former UBS AG employee must arbitrate a claim that he was terminated for disclosing to superiors that he was pressured to publish misleading research reports. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan found that Trevor Murray, who was fired in February 2012, could not cite the prohibitive provisions in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to avoid arbitrating a retaliation claim arising under the Dodd Frank Act. Sarbanes-Oxley is a 2002 law that created enhanced accounting standards for publicly traded U.S. companies after a series of accounting scandals. "Plaintiff cannot recast his claim to arise under Sarbanes-Oxley in order to benefit from the prohibition of predispute arbitration agreements afforded under that statute," Judge Polk Failla wrote of Murray's case. Full Story | Top |
| Bid to provide condoms to California prison inmates clears hurdle Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:49 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Condoms could eventually be distributed to California prison inmates under a bill passed in the Democratic-controlled state Assembly on Monday, setting the stage for potential pushback from Governor Jerry Brown, who vetoed a similar measure last fall. The bill, which must still be passed by the state Senate, directs California to develop a five-year plan to hand out condoms in the state prison system, where existing law already criminalizes sex acts between inmates, regardless of consent. Opponents of the plan have predicted prisoners in the overcrowded system could use condoms to store contraband rather than for safe sex, while backers say it could help cut down on high rates of sexually transmitted diseases among inmates. "Sexually transmitted disease is a tragic reality of life in prison," said Oakland Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, who introduced the bill. Full Story | Top |
| Ice skater Michelle Kwan's husband to run for Rhode Island governor Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:22 PM PST (Reuters) - Clay Pell, the grandson of a former U.S. senator and husband of retired U.S. Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan, indicated on Monday he intends to run as a Democrat for governor of Rhode Island. The personal website of the Providence, Rhode Island-based attorney features a picture of Pell and Kwan and reads "Clay Pell For Governor." Pell, 32, is expected to officially announce his candidacy on Tuesday. In a YouTube video posted on www.ClayPell.com on Monday, Pell confirms his plan to run for office, saying he "decided to run for governor because I believe I can help restore hope and economic growth in our state." His grandfather, former Senator Claiborne Pell, served six terms and was best known in the early 1970s for his championing of federal financial aid grants for college students, a U.S. government scholarship program which in 1980 was renamed the Pell Grant. Clay Pell will face off against two other Democrats in a primary election in September - Rhode Island General Treasurer Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. Full Story | Top |
| Pentagon notifies Congress of possible F-16 upgrades for UAE Monday, Jan 27, 2014 05:01 PM PST  The Pentagon has notified Congress of a possible sale of weapons and other equipment valued at $270 million that would be part of a larger, multibillion-dollar deal for 30 more F-16s that is still under discussion by Lockheed Martin Corp and the United Arab Emirates. Lockheed is continuing to negotiate with UAE about a direct commercial sale of the F-16s, but congressional approval is needed for some of the equipment that would go on the jets. Lockheed declined comment on the timing of a possible sale of additional F-16s to UAE, which acquired its current Block 60 F-16s in the early 2000s. "We continue to work with the UAE to ensure their fleet is well maintained and up to date. Full Story | Top |
| Ride service Uber faces new lawsuit after fatal San Francisco crash Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:56 PM PST By Dan Levine and Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The family of a young girl killed by a driver affiliated with fast-growing private transportation service Uber sued the company on Monday, adding to Uber's growing list of legal problems. On New Year's Eve Sofia Liu, 6, died after she, her younger brother and their mother were hit by a car in a San Francisco cross-walk, according to the lawsuit. At the time of the crash, driver Syed Muzzafar was logged on to the Uber X smartphone app and was available to provide rides, the lawsuit said. In a statement immediately after the San Francisco crash, Uber said the tragedy did not involve a vehicle "doing a trip on the Uber system," and that Uber "deactivated" the driver's account. Full Story | Top |
| Mental health patient shot dead by South Carolina probation agent Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:46 PM PST By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A patient brought to a mental health facility in South Carolina by a state agent on Monday morning was shot dead after the patient became loud and argumentative, the state mental health department said in a statement. While the patient was being seen by a psychiatrist at the mental health center in the town of Chesterfield, the agent with the state's Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services was seated outside the office door, the department said. The clinic, Tri-County Community Mental Health Center, is operated by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health and treats adults and children in three South Carolina upstate counties. The psychiatrist reported that he was physically assaulted by the patient but was not seriously injured, LaPointe said. Full Story | Top |
| Judge postpones trial of accused Los Angeles airport gunman Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:44 PM PST  By Dana Feldman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The upcoming trial of a man accused of killing a U.S. security screener and wounding three people at Los Angeles International Airport was postponed on Monday by a federal judge, giving prosecutors more time to decide whether to seek the death penalty. Paul Anthony Ciancia, who is accused of walking into an airport terminal in November and opening fire with a semi-automatic rifle, had been tentatively set for trial next week on murder and attempted murder charges. But U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez vacated that trial date at the request of prosecutors, who said during a brief pre-trial hearing in federal court in Los Angeles that they were going through a "multi-step process" of determining whether to seek the death penalty against Ciancia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said U.S. Attorney Eric Holder would make the final decision in the coming weeks. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Florida Democrats may get buzz from medical marijuana Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:34 PM PST  By David Adams and Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - A November ballot measure to legalize marijuana for medicinal use in Florida could have a decidedly political side effect. The ballot proposal, which was approved by Florida's Supreme Court on Monday, is so popular it could help Democrats unseat the state's Republican Governor, Rick Scott, who is up for re-election in November. Democrats believe it could energize their base in a midterm electoral season that generally results in low turn out, while polls show even a majority of Florida Republicans support medical marijuana use. Scott opposes the ballot initiative and is trailing in polls to his main challenger, former governor Charlie Crist, who favors legalization. Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Argentine ref retires yellow, sees red, only red Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:24 PM PST Referee Carlos Maglio realised that even after dishing out eight bookings in a friendly between bitter Argentine rivals Estudiantes and Gimnasia the players were not getting the message, so he relinquished his yellow card to send a clear warning: the next one's red. Maglio handed over his yellow card to one of his assistants during the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata in a friendly played during the season's summer break. Sooner afterwards, Maglio sent off Estudiantes midfielder Israel Damonte for violent play. "Even if I'd had the yellow card he would still have gone off," said the ref of Damonte. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. moves forward with attack helicopter sale to Iraq Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:19 PM PST  By Missy Ryan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration notified Congress on Monday of plans to sell 24 Apache attack helicopters to Iraq, part of an effort to bolster the military against al Qaeda-linked militants, after addressing lawmakers' concerns that held up the sale for months. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on its website it had informed Congress of the possible sale of the Boeing Co-built helicopters to the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is in a standoff with Islamist militants in the western province of Anbar two years after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. The administration also notified Congress of plans to lease Iraq up to six Apaches, which a U.S. defense official said would be used for training purposes until the purchased Apaches were delivered. Full Story | Top |
| Royal Household assailed over budget, 'crumbling' palace Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:09 PM PST  By Julia Fioretti LONDON (Reuters) - British members of parliament criticised Queen Elizabeth's Royal Household on Tuesday for blowing its annual budget while neglecting repairs at Buckingham Palace, which two lawmakers suggested was falling apart. The palace, which is over 300 years old, has not had its electrical wiring renewed since 1949, needs asbestos removing and has 60-year old boilers, parliament's Public Accounts Committee said in a report. The report included a transcript of exchanges between MPs and a royal household official over the upkeep of the palace, which is the monarch's London home. "So work is being carried on while they are living in crumbling surroundings?" opposition Labour MP Austin Mitchell asked Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the privy purse and treasurer to the queen. Full Story | Top |
| North Carolina police officer indicted in shooting of unarmed man Monday, Jan 27, 2014 04:07 PM PST By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - A North Carolina police officer accused of shooting and killing an unarmed man was indicted on Monday on a voluntary manslaughter charge, one week after a separate grand jury decided against indicting him. The officer, Randall Kerrick, who is accused of hitting the man, Jonathan Ferrell, 10 times in the shooting last September 14, is the first police officer in the city of Charlotte to be arrested for an on-duty shooting in at least 30 years, the Charlotte Observer said. Kerrick responded to a 911 call about a suspected burglar. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, whose office is handling the case, choose to present it a second time to a grand jury after a panel that was short some members last week asked to consider a lesser charge instead. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. frees tech companies to give more spying data Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:59 PM PST  By David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. technology companies may give the public and their customers more detail about the court orders they receive related to surveillance under an agreement they reached on Monday with the Obama administration. Companies such as Google Inc and Microsoft Corp have been prohibited from disclosing even an approximate number of orders they received from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. They could give only an aggregate number of U.S. demands that combined surveillance court orders, letters from the FBI, subpoenas in run-of-the-mill criminal cases and other requests. The deal frees the companies to say, for example, approximately how many orders they received in a six-month period from the surveillance court. Full Story | Top |
| Foundry owner admits to ripping off Jasper Johns sculpture Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:49 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A metal shop owner on Monday admitted he tried to pass off a sculpture he made as a Jasper Johns creation, bringing his criminal trial to an abrupt end just days after the renowned modern American painter himself testified as a witness. Brian Ramnarine, 59, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to attempting to sell a bronze sculpture made from a mold of Johns' iconic 1960 work, "Flag," for $11 million. "I think Mr. Ramnarine recognized the government had an overwhelming amount of evidence," said Ramnarine's lawyer, Troy Smith. "He balanced that against his right to fight the case and go to trial, and he recognized that this was his best option." Ramnarine pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud stemming from his attempt to sell the Johns work as well as efforts to sell artwork he falsely claimed had been created by Brazilian-born sculptor and painter Saint Clair Cemin and American pop art sculptor Robert Indiana, most famous for his sculpture "Love." Under the terms of the deal, Ramnarine's lawyers and prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence between approximately eight to 10 years, in prison. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's generals give Sisi green light to run for president Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:42 PM PST  By Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's top military council gave the army chief, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a green light on Monday to seek election as president, a vote he is almost sure to win with Egyptians weary of turmoil unleashed by a pro-democracy uprising in 2011. Sisi deposed elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July after mass unrest over his increasingly arbitrary and erratic rule, kindling political chaos and security crackdowns on dissent in the Arab world's most populous nation. He has since taken on almost cult-like popularity in Egypt, with many seeing him as a decisive figure able to stabilize a country that has lurched from one economically ruinous crisis to another since the 2011 overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. "(The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) is looking forward with respect and reverence to the desire of the huge masses of the great Egyptian people in the nomination of ... Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the presidency of the republic, which it considers a mandate and an obligation," the military high command said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Florida's top court puts medical marijuana initiative on November ballot Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:41 PM PST  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida voters will decide in November whether to legalize medical marijuana after the state Supreme Court on Monday approved an initiative to put the measure on the ballot. Florida's Republican Party leadership had opposed the wording of the ballot measure, saying it was too vague and misleading and that it would allow almost anyone to obtain marijuana for the slightest medical complaint. A bitterly divided state Supreme Court voted 4-3 on Monday to allow the medical marijuana initiative to go on the November ballot, saying it met all legal requirements. If the petition is backed by 60 percent of voters in November, Florida would become the first Southern U.S. state to approve marijuana for medical use, joining 20 other states. Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Bitcoin entrepreneur charged with money laundering Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:39 PM PST By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - The vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a trade group promoting the adoption of the digital currency, has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with conspiring to commit money laundering by helping to funnel cash to illicit online drugs bazaar Silk Road. Charlie Shrem, who had financial backing from the Winklevoss twins and is well known as one of the bitcoin's biggest global promoters, was arrested on Sunday at John. F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said on Monday. Shrem, who was also charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, appeared in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday and was released on $1 million bond. Full Story | Top |
| Bipartisan flood Insurance bill clears Senate hurdle Monday, Jan 27, 2014 03:38 PM PST By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan bill to delay dramatic increases in federal flood insurance premiums for millions of American homeowners and small businesses cleared a Republican procedural roadblock in the U.S. Senate on Monday. On a vote of 86-13, the Senate agreed to advance the Homeowners Flood Insurance Affordability Act, which would postpone for four years rate hikes of up to 10 fold and more. A vote on Senate passage of the bill could come later this week after consideration of a number of possible amendments offered by members on both sides of the political aisle. Conservative opponents of the measure argue that a delay in the premium hikes would force taxpayers to continue help cover the cost of insurance in high-risk flood areas. Full Story | Top |
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