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| UK home building hits highest since 2007 but still lags demand Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:52 PM PST  By Ana Nicolaci da Costa LONDON (Reuters) - New-home building in Britain last year hit its highest level since the financial crisis but remains far too low to meet a strong recovery in demand, an industry report showed on Friday. New home registrations in the UK increased by 28 percent in 2013 to 133,670, the highest number since 2007, according to data from the National House Building Council. But a mismatch between demand for homes and the number of properties coming on the market has pushed up house valuations and priced some people out of the property market, despite government programs to get them on the housing ladder. "Over the year, we have seen a genuine return of confidence to the industry as builders strive to meet the growing demand for new homes that the United Kingdom clearly needs," NHBC Chief Executive Mike Quinton said. Full Story | Top |
| Japan inflation quickens to over five-year high, output rebounds Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:49 PM PST  By Leika Kihara and Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's core consumer inflation rose at the fastest pace in more than five years in December and the job market improved, encouraging signs for the Bank of Japan as it seeks to vanquish deflation with aggressive money printing. The data points to an economy that continues to pick up momentum on strong domestic demand. However, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda expressed some caution about export demand as many of Japan's Asian trading partners remain weak. "The core consumer price index was stronger than expected, and durable goods prices seem to be rebounding. Full Story | Top |
| Fall in UK living standards over, recovery will be slow - think tank Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:27 PM PST  British living standards have probably stopped falling, but there is little chance of a swift recovery to undo the damage from years of low pay growth and high inflation, a leading think-tank said on Thursday. Touching on a key issue before 2015 elections, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said real median household income seems to have stabilised in the 2013/14 fiscal year, after failing to keep up with inflation for the past five years. Adjusted for inflation, household income is now 6 percent lower than it was before the financial crisis, the IFS said in a report. Andrew Hood, an IFS research economist and one of the report's authors, said continued sluggish wage growth and a new cap on welfare payments meant the recovery in living standards would be slow, even as high inflation subsides. Full Story | Top |
| Honda Q3 net profit more than doubles to $1.56 billion Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:23 PM PST  Honda Motor Co's October-December net profit more than doubled to 160.7 billion yen ($1.56 billion), back to pre-Lehman crisis levels but lower than expectations, helped by strong sales of the redesigned Fit subcompact that went on sale in Japan in September. The results, announced by Japan's third-biggest automaker by sales volume on Friday, were below the average estimate of 172 billion yen in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of seven analysts. In the same period a year ago, Honda booked 77.4 billion yen in net profit. For the year ending in March 2014, Honda stuck to its forecast of 580 billion yen in net profit, below expectations of 603.4 billion yen in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey of 20 analysts. Full Story | Top |
| Rand under pressure but short-covering could offer respite Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:15 PM PST  Government bond yields continued their march upwards in a market that is pricing in further domestic monetary tightening this year after a surprise 50 basis point hike in the repo rate on Wednesday. At 0700 GMT yields on the 2026 government bond and the paper maturing in 2015 were each quoted 6 basis points higher at 8.905 percent and 7.355 percent respectively, compared to Thursday's closing levels. Full Story | Top |
| Libya sets February 20 for constitution assembly vote Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:14 PM PST By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya will elect an assembly on February 20 to draft a constitution intended to advance transition to democracy and break political stalemate more than two years after a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi. The North African country is caught up in chaos with its Congress deadlocked between Islamists and a leading nationalist party, and its nascent army struggling to assert itself against unruly former rebels, tribal groups and Islamist militants. Just hours before the congress decision, gunmen kidnapped the son of Libya's special forces commander in Benghazi, later calling the colonel to demand he withdraw troops in return for his son's release, state news agency LANA said. "We want all Libyan people and groups to reconcile and support these elections," Nouri Abusahmain, president of the General National Congress, said after announcing the date of the vote On Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Australia permits dredge dumping near Great Barrier Reef for major coal port Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:11 PM PST  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Great Barrier Reef watchdog gave the green light on Friday for millions of cubic meters of dredged mud to be dumped near the fragile reef to create the world's biggest coal port and possibly unlock $28 billion in coal projects. The dumping permit clears the way for a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have $16 billion worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin. "This is a significant milestone in developing our Galilee Basin coal projects, which represent the creation of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and over $40 billion in taxes and royalties," said Darren Yeates, chief executive of GVK-Hancock, a joint venture between India's GVK conglomerate and Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting. Full Story | Top |
| AFRICA INVESTMEN: Weak rand shines warmly on South African tourism Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:09 PM PST By Stella Mapenzauswa CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African policymakers have watched in horror as the rand has plunged against the dollar over the last year, bringing inflation and higher interest rates, but the tourism industry is happily raking in the extra dollars. But he was quick to urge foreign currency earning industries such as tourism to seize the moment. Full Story | Top |
| In Egypt, just speaking to Brotherhood is a risk for foreign reporters Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 11:02 PM PST By Michael Georgy CAIRO (Reuters) - When Hosni Mubarak was in power, a foreign journalist could spend unlimited time with members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, who roundly condemned the autocratic leader. The public prosecutor said on Wednesday that Egypt would put an Australian, two Britons and a Dutchwoman working for Al Jazeera on trial for aiding 16 Egyptians belonging to a "terrorist organisation", a reference to the Brotherhood. Simply interacting with the Brotherhood may earn them prison sentences in Egypt, a major recipient of U.S. aid. Egypt has cracked down on dissent since the army toppled the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, the country's first freely elected president, in July after mass protests against him. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone pipeline review looming, likely to show little climate risk Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:55 PM PST By Lesley Wroughton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is poised to issue an environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that will likely say the project will not appreciably increase carbon emissions, sources said late Thursday, forcing President Barack Obama closer to a tough decision. Rumors swept through Washington late Thursday that the long-delayed review of the 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline to bring oil from Canada to Nebraska would finally be released as soon as Friday. "The Environmental Impact Statement is in the final stages of preparation and we anticipate a release of the document soon," a senior State Department official said late on Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Supporters say the TransCanada Corp project would create thousands of jobs and reduce U.S. reliance oil imports from nations that are less friendly than Canada. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. cancels funds for Afghan opinion polls ahead of election Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:28 PM PST  By Jessica Donati KABUL (Reuters) - The United States has canceled funding for opinion polls in the run-up to Afghanistan's presidential election after an initial poll in December triggered accusations of U.S. attempts to manipulate the outcome, officials said. A spokesman for the U.S.-funded group Democracy International said on Thursday it and other similar organizations had planned to carry out opinion polls as Afghanistan prepares for the April 5 election. The cut in funding comes as relations between the United States and Afghanistan have been severely strained over President Hamid Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security pact that would enable U.S. troops to stay beyond this year. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Bloomberg tapped to be U.N. cities, climate change envoy: sources Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:20 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been tapped to be U.N. special envoy for cities and climate change, sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Barring any last minute changes, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - who is seeking to re-energize the global climate change debate and boost the United Nations' role - could make the announcement as early as Friday, the sources said on the condition of anonymity. Bloomberg, a billionaire philanthropist who left office last month, made combating climate change a key focus during his 12 years leading the United States most populous city. He also advocated for national climate change legislation. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Thailand's election in numbers Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:16 PM PST - Thailand holds a general election on Sunday, called by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in December in an attempt to defuse protests aimed at overthrowing her. The main opposition Democrat Party is boycotting the election. THE VOTERS - There are 49 million eligible voters for 375 constituencies. - Bangkok, dominated by the Democrat Party in the last election in 2011, has 33 constituencies. Full Story | Top |
| BOJ Kuroda says ASEAN weakness behind soft exports Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:14 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday that sluggish economic growth in ASEAN nations is the key reason behind the slow pickup in domestic exports. "The pickup in Japan's exports has been quite modest," Kuroda told parliament. (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Shinichi Saoshiro) Full Story | Top |
| Thai protesters make up for lack of Bangkok pre-election buzz Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:12 PM PST By Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand goes to the polls on Sunday, but the usual pre-election buzz, banners and loud-hailers on the backs of trucks are noticeable by their absence in the capital, Bangkok. Anti-government protesters have blocked major intersections and flyovers for weeks, setting up camps in neat rows of tents. At a polling station at a school in the Don Muang district in north Bangkok, the only evidence is a signboard listing the candidates, propped up against the wall under a staircase. But that call has been lost on the protesters who want their own reform of the political landscape, setting up a "people's council" to run the country after bringing down Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: As Senate campaigns begin, some Democrats flee Obama Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 10:03 PM PST  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spooked by President Barack Obama's low approval ratings, some of his fellow Democrats in tough November election races have begun their campaigns by distancing themselves from the White House and asserting their independence from Obama's policies. In what amounts to a survival-first strategy among embattled Democrats crucial to the party's effort to keep control of the Senate, some candidates in conservative states Obama lost in 2012 are aggressively criticizing his healthcare, energy and regulatory policies. The group includes three incumbent senators, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Begich of Alaska, as well as Natalie Tennant, who is seeking to replace retiring Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. Full Story | Top |
| Thai polling stations might have to close if trouble on election day Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:58 PM PST  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai authorities might close polling booths if violence erupts during Sunday's disputed election which could further undermine the credibility of a vote that is deemed incapable of restoring stability in the polarized country. The government has vowed to push ahead with the general election despite threats by anti-government protesters, camped out at major intersections in Bangkok, that they will disrupt the polls in an attempt to stop Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's Puea Thai Party from returning to power. The anti-government protesters took to the streets in November in the latest round of an eight-year conflict that pits Bangkok's middle class, southern Thais and the royalist establishment against the mostly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in 2006. The prospect of polling stations having to close early because of trouble on the streets will only add to doubts about the vote's legitimacy. Full Story | Top |
| Indonesia's trade minister resigns to focus on presidential campaign Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 09:31 PM PST  Indonesian Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said on Friday he had resigned, effective immediately, to focus on his campaign to win the presidential nomination for the ruling Democratic Party. The U.S.-educated former investment banker is one of 10 candidates vying for presidential nomination by the party, whose fortunes have been slumping in opinion polls. State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, a media magnate, is expected to throw his hat in the ring, forcing a small cabinet reshuffle as early as this weekend. Political parties must secure either 20 percent of the seats or 25 percent of the vote to nominate a candidate for the July presidential election. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry to hold talks with Ukraine's opposition in Germany Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:56 PM PST  By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet key Ukrainian opposition figures on Friday on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday, his first meeting with some of the leaders of an anti-government uprising against President Viktor Yanukovich. Washington has welcomed talks in recent days between Yanukovich and the opposition groups to end two months of protests that began when Yanukovich rejected an EU trade deal in favor of closer ties and a financial bailout with Russia. Among those attending the meeting with Kerry is Arseny Yatsenyuk, a former economy minister and leader of the party of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko; Full Story | Top |
| Rwanda calls Congo 'crybaby' at U.N., Congo says Rwanda 'arrogant' Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council stressed on Thursday that M23 rebels must be stopped from regrouping in Democratic Republic of Congo and expressed concern at Congolese soldiers aiding Rwandan Hutu militia, sparking a verbal clash between the countries' envoys. Rwanda's U.N. ambassador, Eugene Gasana - a temporary member of the 15-member Security Council - accused Congo of "crying like small babies," while his Congolese counterpart, Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, said Rwanda's "arrogant behavior must stop." Rwanda has repeatedly intervened in Congo, saying it had to hunt down Hutu militia, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which fled after Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Top Obama aide predicts drama-free U.S. debt ceiling increase Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:54 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top White House official voiced confidence on Thursday that Republicans would agree in the next few weeks to lift the country's borrowing limit without using the confrontational tactics that rattled financial markets in past years. White House Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell said she believes there is less appetite on Capitol Hill for the messy fiscal standoffs that have taken place in recent years, such as the 2011 struggle over the debt limit and last October's budget fight that led to a 16-day shutdown of the government. In an interview with Reuters, Burwell pointed to the passage earlier this month of a $1.1 trillion bill to keep the government funded for the next nine months. The vote to approve the budget bill followed an agreement reached in December between Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray that included some deficit reduction along with a modest easing of automatic budget cuts known as the "sequester." She said such deals suggested an interest in staying "away from a path of crisis" and said that bodes well for passage of a debt limit increase. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Republicans wary as they weigh immigration reforms Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 08:31 PM PST  By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell CAMBRIDGE, Maryland (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday proposed granting legal status to potentially millions of undocumented residents and citizenship to some children brought into the United States illegally by their parents. The move, after months of preparing rank-and-file lawmakers for a new Republican Party approach toward immigration, was immediately met with opposition from conservatives who dominate the House. The broad principles that were unveiled for debating immigration reform in the Republican-controlled House were aimed at gauging the party's willingness to tackle such a controversial issue during an election year in which all 435 House seats are at stake. Republican leaders offered up the outline during a two-day retreat they were holding with their House members at a resort on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, about 85 miles from Washington, D.C. During a closed-door session, House Speaker John Boehner warned, "These standards are as far as we are willing to go," according to a source in the room. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. to release Keystone pipeline review soon: State Department official Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:43 PM PST An environmental impact review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline with Canada is close to being completed and will be released soon, a senior U.S. State Department official said on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry offered no timetable for the U.S. decision on TransCanada Corp's planned Keystone XL pipeline when he addressed the issue on January 17 during a joint news conference with his Canadian counterpart John Baird. Earlier Baird, Canada's foreign minister, had bluntly told the United States to end the "limbo' on the approval process for the pipeline, conceding that Washington might veto the project. Full Story | Top |
| Knox and Sollecito convicted again of Briton's 2007 murder Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 07:37 PM PST  By Naomi O'Leary FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - American student Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were found guilty on Thursday for the second time of the 2007 murder of Briton Meredith Kercher, in a retrial that reversed an earlier appeal judgment. The verdict, after 12 hours of deliberations, confirmed Knox and Sollecito's original 2009 conviction. Knox's sentence was increased to 28 years and six months and Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. Sollecito's lawyer Giulia Bongiorno confirmed that her client would appeal to Italy's highest court, and Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said he was "stunned". Full Story | Top |
| Judge upholds Connecticut gun control law passed after Newtown shootings Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:57 PM PST A federal judge on Thursday upheld Connecticut's tough gun control law that was passed in the wake of the deadly 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The stringent law is constitutional, said the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Alfred Covello, denying a legal challenge by a group of gun owners. The state's gun control measures, among the strictest in the nation, were signed into law four months after a gunman in December 2012 killed 26 children and staff in Newtown, Connecticut. The Newtown shooting revived a national debate on gun control and led to passage of stringent gun-control laws in northeastern states such as Connecticut and New York. Full Story | Top |
| Experts predict Lenovo's U.S. buys will pass regulatory muster Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:52 PM PST  By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials are likely to allow China's Lenovo Group to buy IBM's low-end server business and Google Inc's Motorola Mobility handset business if it agrees to concessions aimed at protecting U.S. national security, experts said. Computer maker Lenovo has advantages over other Chinese companies that should help it overcome the mutual suspicion between the United States and China over industrial spying and cybersecurity, such as its track record of successful U.S. acquisitions in the past. Lenovo said on Wednesday it would acquire Motorola Mobility, along with some 2,000 patents, for $2.91 billion. The deals will be reviewed by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, to ensure they do not threaten national security. Full Story | Top |
| Syria peace talks take a break as rivals dig in Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:41 PM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - A first round of peace talks on Syria wraps up Friday with both sides in entrenched positions and the U.N. mediator expressing frustration that it had not even been possible to get agreement for an aid convoy to enter the besieged city of Homs. After a week of talks at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the opposing sides in Syria's civil war were still stuck on the question of how to proceed. "I hope that in the next session, when we come back, we will be able to have a more structured discussion," mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said. He was "very, very disappointed" that a U.N. aid convoy was still waiting fruitlessly to enter the rebel-held Old City of Homs, where the United States says civilians are starving. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: White House hopes for fast-track trade hit political tangle Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:29 PM PST  By Krista Hughes and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's push for authority to fast-track trade deals has hit a big setback in the form of opposition from his top fellow Democrat in Congress, but it is far from dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's warning to policymakers on Wednesday "just to not push this right now" reflects concern about the domestic political agenda ahead of November's congressional elections, when free trade could be a damaging issue for many Democrats. The White House called Reid's office shortly after his comments to voice displeasure, a top Democratic party aide said. But the aide said the White House did not try to get Reid to shift his position. Full Story | Top |
| Lawsuit alleges Northrop defrauded U.S. over anti-missile contract Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 06:00 PM PST A lawsuit by a former Northrop Grumman employee alleges that the defense contractor defrauded the U.S. government over a contract to provide commercial airliners with a missile defense system. The suit, which was originally filed in 2009 by Leo Danilides, was unsealed in federal district court in Chicago on Thursday. The U.S. Justice Department said in a separate filing it was not joining in the action. Northrop spokesman Randy Belote said the company typically did not comment on litigation matters. Full Story | Top |
| Missouri professor sues Square, claims credit for business concepts Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:49 PM PST A professor in St. Louis who says he helped come up with the idea that became payments-company Square has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging fraud and patent infringement and seeking unspecified damages. Robert E. Morley, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, filed suit in federal court in St. Louis on Thursday against Square and its co-founders Jack Dorsey and James McKelvey. "The business now known as Square was not created solely by Jack Dorsey and James McKelvey," said the complaint. "It was Professor Robert Morley - and Dr. Morley alone - who invented the Square card reader, and Dr. Morley co-invented the corresponding magnetic stripe," the complaint continued. Full Story | Top |
| Ability to transport U.S. oil, gas lags booming output: Energy Secretary Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:42 PM PST  By Ros Krasny WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The energy boom of the last decade that has boosted oil and gas production in the United States has outpaced the development of critical infrastructure to transport the raw and refined materials, U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said on Thursday. Reflecting on a spate of accidents involving freight trains pulling tank cars full of volatile crude oil in Canada and the United States, Moniz said that infrastructure development was key, even beyond a reconsideration of rail regulations now under way by U.S. authorities. "The core approach, really, is that our infrastructure needs to build out," Moniz said in an interview with Reuters Insider. "Here we have a case, especially with the production in North Dakota, where the Bakken shale (output) zoomed from essentially nothing to past 1 million barrels a day," he said. Full Story | Top |
| New Orleans ex-mayor Nagin led culture of corruption: prosecutors Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:39 PM PST  By Kathy Finn NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Prosecutors accused former New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, who led the city during Hurricane Katrina, of running a graft scheme that netted him cash, vacation trips and granite supplies in exchange for contracts to help rebuild the city after the storm. Nagin, 57, who was swept into office on promises of good government in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, was indicted a year ago by a federal grand jury on 21 counts of corruption, including bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and filing false tax returns. "The evidence presented at this trial will show that Ray Nagin was a corrupt mayor - plain and simple," prosecutor Matthew Coman said in a 45-minute opening statement on Thursday. Nagin's attorney, Robert C. Jenkins, told the jury to expect ample evidence that will counter the prosecution's charges. Full Story | Top |
| New York private equity manager, firm charged with $9 million theft Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:38 PM PST  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Thursday it has charged a New York private equity manager and his firm with stealing more than $9 million from fund investors. The government has frozen the assets of Lawrence E. Penn III and his firm, Camelot Acquisitions Secondary Opportunity Management, another individual and three entities that may be related to the theft, according to an SEC release. The SEC alleges that Penn used about $9.3 million from the fund to pay fake fees to Ssecurion, a company controlled by his longtime acquaintance, San Francisco-based Altura S. Ewers, who would then kick the money back to companies and accounts controlled by Penn. Penn used the funds to rent luxury office space and pay commissions to third parties to secure investments from pension funds, according to the release. "Penn held himself out as an ultra-sophisticated and well-connected investor in the private equity world," Andrew M. Calamari, the director of the SEC's New York Regional Office said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| New York City, rights group seal deal to end stop-and-frisk Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:19 PM PST  By Marina Lopes and Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's new mayor on Thursday announced a settlement with a civil liberties group that sued the city over its stop-and-frisk practices, which he fiercely challenged as a candidate, paving the way for court-ordered reforms to take effect. Mayor Bill de Blasio's predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, appealed, arguing that the tactic was a key factor in the biggest U.S. city's historic drop in crime. The agreement will end the lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights and will empower a court-appointed monitor to oversee the police department's reform of stop-and-frisk over three years. "For too long, communities of color have felt under siege by the police, and young black and Latino men have disproportionately been the target." In a news conference in Brooklyn's high-crime Brownsville neighborhood - where police stops have been particularly frequent - de Blasio called the settlement a "defining moment in our history." The mayor said the deal would "lay the foundation for not only keeping us the safest big city in America, but making us safer still." The city has asked the federal appeals court that had been considering Bloomberg's challenge to send the case back to a lower court so that the parties could explore a resolution, according to a court filing. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's Yanukovich goes on sick leave in midst of political crisis Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:14 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich went on sick leave on Thursday after a bruising session of parliament, leaving a political vacuum in a country threatened with bankruptcy and destabilized by anti-government protests. The 63-year-old president appears increasingly isolated in a crisis born of a tug-of-war between the West and Ukraine's former Soviet overlord Russia. Shortly after his office announced he had developed a high temperature and acute respiratory ailment, Yanukovich defended his record in handling the crisis and accused the opposition, which is demanding his resignation, of provoking the unrest. Several members of Yanukovich's own party voted against the bill, even after he visited parliament himself to rally support, and some of his powerful industrialist backers are showing signs of impatience with the two-month-old crisis. Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bombers storm Iraq ministry building, 24 killed Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:06 PM PST  By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six suicide bombers burst into an Iraqi ministry building, took hostages and killed at least 24 people including themselves on Thursday before security forces regained control, security officials said. The brazen attack on the building belonging to the Ministry of Transportation in northeast Baghdad coincided with a month-long standoff between the Iraqi army and anti-government fighters in the western province of Anbar. No group claimed responsibility but suicide bombings in Iraq are the trademark of al-Qaeda linked groups. State buildings are a target for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and its allies that have been regaining momentum in a campaign to destabilize the Shi'ite Muslim-led government. Full Story | Top |
| White House releases plan to make Arctic shipping safer Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:06 PM PST By Timothy Gardner and Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Arctic ice melts away, opening the way for greater oil development and mining, the White House outlined a plan on Thursday to promote safety and security in the region by building ports, improving forecasts of sea ice, and developing shipping rules. With warmer temperatures leaving Arctic sea passages open for longer periods of the year, billions of barrels of oil could be tapped beyond what is already being produced in the region. The White House plan was released on the same day that Royal Dutch Shell canceled drilling this year off Alaska, after a series of costly mishaps in the harsh conditions, as part of efforts to cut spending. The U.S. Defense Department will lead an interagency effort to forecast icy conditions by launching a satellite and improving analytic methods to forecast icy conditions. Full Story | Top |
| Toyota tells U.S. agency seat issue could lead to recall Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:02 PM PST  By Ben Klayman DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp has alerted U.S. safety officials that seat material in several vehicles, including its top-selling Camry sedan, fails to meet fire retardation standards and could result in a recall. Toyota said on Thursday it had stopped selling eight recent-model vehicles equipped with seat heaters in North America following an advisory about fire risk from South Korean safety officials. Toyota said the number of affected vehicles at its U.S. dealers totaled about 36,000, or about 13 percent of dealer inventory, but that does not include vehicles in transit to dealers or those already sold to consumers. In the United States alone, the number of affected vehicles could top 111,000, according to research firm Kelley Blue Book. Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Brazil's laggard stadium risks being benched for World Cup Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 05:00 PM PST By Andrew Downie CURITIBA, Jan 30 - When Brazil chose 12 cities to host the 2014 World Cup, the one stadium everyone thought would be finished on time was the Arena da Baixada in Curitiba. Built in 1999, the arena was the most modern in Brazil. Its owners, the Atletico Paranaense club, were known for their fiscal prudence and good management. The Arena da Baixada is threatened with exclusion from the World Cup and has until Feb. 18 to convince FIFA it will be ready in June and local residents are in a state of shock. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. government names Navy man to head beleaguered NSA Thursday, Jan 30, 2014 04:55 PM PST  By David Alexander and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama nominated on Thursday the U.S. Navy's top cyber warrior to head the National Security Agency, a move seen as a vote of confidence in a unit that is under fire for spying on Americans and their allies. Navy Vice Admiral Michael Rogers, a cryptologist and head of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, is not expected to immediately make major changes to the NSA, shaken by revelations by former contractor Edward Snowden. "This is a critical time for the NSA, and Vice Admiral Rogers would bring extraordinary and unique qualifications to this position as the agency continues its vital mission and implements President Obama's reforms," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
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