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| Russian servicemen confiscate weapons in Crimea region - Interfax Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 10:51 PM PST Russian military servicemen have taken weapons from a radar base and naval training facility in Ukraine's Crimea region and urged personnel to side with the peninsula's "legitimate" leaders, Interfax news agency said on Sunday. It quoted a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source as saying the Russian servicemen had taken pistols, rifles and ammunition cartridges from the radar post near in the town of Sudak and taken them away by car. Another group of Russian military had also removed weapons from a Ukrainian navy training centre in the port city of Sevastopol, where Russia's Black Sea Fleet also has a base. Full Story | Top |
| Head of Russian region says armed groups tried to block road to Ukraine: Ifax Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 10:51 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Sunday armed groups had tried to cut off a road leading to Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported. "Armed men are roaming the area ... There was an attempt to close off the road from Moscow to Crimea," Yevgeny Savchenko was quoted as saying about events on Saturday. "This is really troubling." (writing by Elizabeth Piper, editing by Timothy Heritage) Full Story | Top |
| Obama's dilemma: boosting domestic initiatives without adding to deficit Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 10:10 PM PST  By Mark Felsenthal and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will unveil a budget this week that seeks to boost spending on new initiatives such as road repairs, education programs and tax breaks for the working poor while avoiding an increase in U.S. deficits. Obama has made reducing the gap between the rich and the poor a centerpiece of his agenda for his next three years in office. But he is limited in his ability to offer bold new initiatives because of a budget accord he reached in 2011 with House of Representatives Republicans that puts strict curbs on both domestic and military spending. An agreement reached in December between congressional Republicans and Obama's Democrats allowed a slight easing of curbs on spending in the current 2014 fiscal year, but outlays will be essentially flat in fiscal 2015, which begins October 1. Full Story | Top |
| Unionized truckers vote to join Vancouver port strike Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 09:16 PM PST By Julie Gordon VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Unionized container truck drivers at Canada's largest port voted on Saturday to join a strike by their non-unionized colleagues, who walked off the job on Wednesday over a long-running dispute about pay and services. Unifor, which represents about 400 container truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver, said its drivers voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the four-day-old work action. "Container truckers, like workers across this country, make the economy work," said Unifor's national president, Jerry Dias, in a statement. "They deserve to be compensated fairly for their role in generating wealth, but if workers can't share in that wealth, we'll help shut that port down until they get it." Rising Asian demand for Canadian products has led to a boom at Port Metro Vancouver's facilities, which handled a record 135 million tonnes (1 tonne = 1.102 metric tons) of cargo in 2013, including about 25 million tonnes of containerized material. Full Story | Top |
| China's security chief vows justice after deadly train station attack Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 09:12 PM PST  By Maxim Duncan KUNMING, China (Reuters) - China will spare no effort to seek justice for a "terrorist attack" at a crowded train station, its domestic security chief said, after militants from the restive region of Xinjiang were blamed for chilling violence that killed at least 29 people. Authorities said a group of knife-wielding "terrorists" launched a "premeditated" attack at the Kunming Railway Station late in China's southwest on Saturday night. Police shot four of the attackers dead and captured one, state news agency Xinhua reported. It quoted the Kunming city government as saying evidence at the crime scene showed the attack was carried out by "Xinjiang separatist forces". Full Story | Top |
| 'After Earth,' 'Movie 43' sweep Razzies; Sandler left empty-handed Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 09:10 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Big budget sci-fi flop "After Earth" and ensemble comedy "Movie 43" led the Razzie Awards on Saturday while annual favorite Adam Sandler went home empty-handed at the ceremony that mauled Hollywood's worst films and performances of the year. "After Earth," starring Will Smith and his teenage son Jaden, picked up three gold spray-painted raspberry accolades: Jaden Smith for worst actor, Will Smith for worst supporting actor and worst screen combo for the father-son stars. The $130 million film, co-written by Will Smith and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was a major flop for Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures last year, grossing just $60 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office. Full Story | Top |
| Elderly driver crashes truck into Las Vegas store, injuring 26 Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 07:10 PM PST (Reuters) - An elderly driver accidentally crashed her pickup truck into a Las Vegas grocery store on Saturday, injuring 26 people and sending nine to the hospital, police said. It was unclear why the woman, who was in her mid-80s, drove into the Food 4 Less store but it did not appear to be deliberate, said Lieutenant Ken Romane of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto's oft-lampooned mayor to guest on "Jimmy Kimmel" -reports Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 06:31 PM PST  Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who became a popular target for late-night TV hosts after admitting to smoking crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor", will appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and may join the comedian at the Oscars, Canadian media reported on Saturday. The Toronto Sun newspaper said Ford is scheduled to be on the Jimmy Kimmel show Monday night and is "looking forward to promoting Toronto on the world stage." The article also quoted Ford as saying he would attend this year's Academy Awards, though another report by a local TV news channel said a plan for Ford to attend the ceremony with Kimmel was not confirmed. Full Story | Top |
| F/A-18 fighter jet crashes during training in Nevada Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 06:26 PM PST A U.S. Navy F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet crashed Saturday during a training mission near a Nevada air base, the Navy said. The status of the pilot was not immediately clear, Navy spokesman Commander Ryan Perry said in a statement. Perry said an investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the crash, which occurred on a training range about 70 miles east of Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The F/A-18C Hornet is a single-seat fighter jet built by Boeing Co beginning in 1987. Full Story | Top |
| California governor signs $687 million drought relief legislation Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:46 PM PST  California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law a $687 million drought-relief package to deal with a water shortage he has called the worst in the state's modern history. The largest share of the drought relief package - $549 million - comes from accelerated spending of bond money voters previously approved in two ballot propositions. Those measures will fund storm water recapturing, expanded use of recycled water, better management of groundwater storage and stronger water conservation measures. While much of the United States has been pummeled by a series of snow storms, California in recent months has struggled with a drought that threatens to inflict the worst water crisis in recorded state history. Full Story | Top |
| '12 Years a Slave,' Oscar frontrunners sweep Spirit Awards Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:32 PM PST  By Piya Sinha-Roy SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - Harrowing slavery drama "12 Years a Slave" swept the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday with five wins, just one day ahead of the Oscar ceremony on Sunday. "12 Years a Slave" won five of its seven nominations at the awards show for independent movies made on small budgets, including the top award for best feature. Oscar frontrunners Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong'o also took home Spirit Award trophies on the eve of the movie industry's biggest honors. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela government says foes seek to slam it at Oscars Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:21 PM PST By Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's government said "right-wing extremists" were lobbying in Hollywood for movie stars to denounce President Nicolas Maduro's socialist administration from the stage at Sunday's Academy Awards. Venezuela has been rocked by its worst unrest in a decade, with at least 17 people killed in violence around opposition demonstrations and clashes between hooded protesters, security forces, and pro-government militants. Maduro's critics are demanding he quit and accuse him of repression, while the president says "fascists" working with U.S. financiers want to engineer a coup like the one in 2002 that briefly toppled his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. "Right-wing extremists are lobbying in Hollywood, looking for pronouncements against Venezuela at the Oscars!" Information Minister Delcy Rodriguez said on her Twitter account @DrodriguezMinci on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| Putin ready to invade Ukraine; Kiev warns of war Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:18 PM PST  By Lidia Kelly and Pavel Polityuk MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded and won his parliament's approval on Saturday to invade Ukraine, where the new government warned of war, put its troops on high alert and appealed to NATO for help. Putin's open assertion of the right to send troops to a country of 46 million people on the ramparts of central Europe creates the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cold War. Troops with no insignia on their uniforms but clearly Russian - some in vehicles with Russian number plates - have already seized Crimea, an isolated peninsula in the Black Sea where Moscow has a large military presence in the headquarters of its Black Sea Fleet. Kiev's new authorities have been powerless to stop them. Full Story | Top |
| Abenomics struggles to deliver Japan public works boom Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:04 PM PST  By Antoni Slodkowski and Junko Fujita TOKYO (Reuters) - When Tokyo asked for bidders to build what is expected to be the world's largest fish market on the city's vacant eastern edge there were no takers. In a graphic illustration of how the hopes for "Abenomics" are falling short, the city was forced to raise by two-thirds its budget for the project to more than $1 billion before some of Japan's top construction companies stepped forward. "Wages and material costs are rising, and that's why we failed to attract bidders the first time we tried," said Koji Ishii, a city official overseeing the project, on a sprawl of landfill at Toyosu, next to Tokyo Bay. Tokyo's predicament highlights a deeper problem for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic revival plan for Japan, comprising his "three arrows" of hyper-easy monetary policy, fiscal spending and growth-generating structural reform. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: List of winners at the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 05:00 PM PST SANTA MONICA, California (Reuters) - The Independent Spirit Awards handed out accolades on Saturday for the best films and performances of 2013. The awards, sponsored by Los Angeles-based Film Independent, are the top honors in the United States for independent movies made for less than $20 million. Following is a list of winners. ... Full Story | Top |
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