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| More than 2,100 confirmed dead in Afghan landslide Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:53 AM PDT  By Mirwais Harooni and Jeremy Laurence KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan officials gave up hope on Saturday of finding any survivors from a landslide in the remote northeast, putting the death toll at more than 2,100, as the aid effort focused on the more than 4,000 people displaced. Officials expressed concern the unstable hillside above the site of the disaster may cave in again, threatening the thousands of homeless and hundreds of rescue workers who have arrived in Badakhshan province, bordering Tajikistan. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said the focus was on the more than 4,000 people displaced, either directly as a result of Friday's landslide or as a precautionary measure from villages assessed to be at risk. Their main needs were water, medical support, counseling support, food and emergency shelter, said Ari Gaitanis, a spokesman from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Full Story | Top |
| New EU force in Central African Republic sets stability as top priority Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:49 AM PDT  By Crispin Dembassa-Kette BANGUI (Reuters) - The top priority of a new European Union peacekeeping force in Central African Republic is to restore stability in the capital, the force commander, French Major-General Philippe Ponties, told a news conference on Friday. Thousands of people have been killed in intercommunal violence in the former French colony in recent months and close to a million have been displaced from their homes. "The objective that we are looking for, and which I think we share with most of the international community, is to make it so each citizen of Central African Republic, whatever their communal background, can see a positive future," Ponties said. "There will be 850 soldiers (by June) who will be deployed to contribute to the security of the airport in Bangui and the establishment of a stable and secure environment in the third and fifth districts of the capital," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Father of Hawaii teenage stowaway denied access to son: report Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:48 AM PDT  (Reuters) - The father of a 15-year-old Somali boy who survived a trip from California to Hawaii stowed away in the wheel well of a jet has been denied access to his son days after arriving in Honolulu in a bid to bring him home, a newspaper reported on Friday. The boy sneaked into the wheel compartment of a Boeing 767 that took off last month from San Jose International Airport. Hawaii's Department of Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the newspaper report on Saturday. A spokeswoman for the department has said the boy's father arrived in Honolulu, but on Friday said its child welfare agency would not release additional information. Full Story | Top |
| Nine more Muslims killed in sectarian attack in India's Assam Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:32 AM PDT  By Biswajyoti Das BARAMA, India (Reuters) - Security forces in northeast India found the bodies of nine Muslims on Saturday, raising the death toll to 31 in a spate of attacks by suspected tribal militants as a weeks-long general election re-opens ethnic divisions. The election has rekindled the question of religious animosity across India with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looking set to win, but the violence in the tea-growing state of Assam stems from friction over migration. Police said six of the nine Muslims found shot dead were women and children. Security forces rescued three children found nearby hiding in forests close to the border with Bhutan. Full Story | Top |
| More than 2,100 confirmed dead in Afghanistan landslide: official Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:30 AM PDT More than 2,100 are confirmed to have been killed after a landslide crashed into a remote mountain village in northeast Afghanistan, a spokesman for the provincial governor said on Saturday. "More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakhshan provincial governor, told Reuters. The United Nations said the focus was now on the more than 4,000 displaced by Friday's disaster. Full Story | Top |
| Thai opposition leader wants election delayed to allow reforms Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:30 AM PDT  By Amy Sawitta Lefevre BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva on Saturday urged that a general election planned for July be delayed by up to six months to allow time for reforms aimed at ending a protracted political crisis that threatens to explode. Protesters have been trying to oust Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra since November, part of a long-running crisis that broadly pits Bangkok's middle class and royalist establishment against the mainly poor, rural supporters of Yingluck and her brother, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Former Prime Minister Abhisit, who launched a mediation effort on April 24, told a news conference the vote should be delayed by five or six months while a committee thrashed out reforms that would be put to a referendum. The panel should include representatives of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC), the protest group led by Suthep Thaugsuban, who was a deputy prime minister under Abhisit until 2011. Full Story | Top |
| Implats says most miners want to end platinum strike Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:22 AM PDT  By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Impala Platinum said on Friday that two thirds of its striking workers had indicated by text messages and phone calls that they want to accept the company's latest wage offer and end South Africa's longest and most costly mining strike. The 14-week strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which has also hit Anglo American Platinum and Lonmin, has taken out 40 percent of global platinum production and cost the companies nearly 16 billion rand ($1.5 billion) in lost revenue. AMCU General Secretary Jeffrey Mphahlele declined to comment on the company's claim, but the union said it planned to hold a press conference in Johannesburg on Monday. Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria says gathering of rich and powerful will not be cowed by bombings Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:20 AM PDT  By Tim Cocks and Pascal Fletcher ABUJA (Reuters) - - Nigeria on Friday urged delegates due for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Abjua next week "not to let terror win" by staying away after a second bombing in the capital in less than three weeks. Both attacks showed the powerlessness of Nigerian security forces to protect civilians against the militant Islamist group Boko Haram. President Goodluck Jonathan's government will mount a huge security operation to protect the WEF scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday. Full Story | Top |
| Bombs, protests hit Egypt in run-up to presidential election Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:19 AM PDT  By Shadia Nasralla and Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Two suicide bombings in Egypt's South Sinai killed a soldier and wounded at least eight people and two other bombs killed two people in Cairo on Friday, less than four weeks before a presidential election is due to be held, official sources said. In other violence in the port city of Alexandria, two people were shot dead when supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi clashed with residents, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Militant attacks and other political violence have spiralled since the army overthrew Mursi, a senior Muslim Brotherhood figure, last July after mass protests against his rule. Former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the action, is expected to win the presidential election on May 26 and 27. Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan leader ready for talks but rival doesn't commit Saturday, May 03, 2014 12:18 AM PDT  By Phil Stewart JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said on Friday he was ready for face-to-face talks with rebel leader Riek Machar to try and end months of fighting in the world's newest nation, but his rival held off from promising to take part. Kiir spoke hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met him in South Sudan's capital Juba to urge him to help end the conflict – part of a diplomatic push by Western and African powers who fear it could tip into full-blown ethnic slaughter and destabilise an already fragile region. "In the interest of peace in our country, I am willing and ready for face-to-face talks with Machar," Kiir was quoted as saying in a statement released by the government of Kenya, where he flew to brief his regional counterparts after meeting Kerry. Full Story | Top |
| Dozens die in Odessa, rebels down Ukraine helicopters Friday, May 02, 2014 11:19 PM PDT  By Maria Tsvetkova SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Dozens of people were killed in a fire and others were shot dead when fighting between pro- and anti-Russian groups broke out on the streets of Odessa on Ukraine's Black Sea coast on Friday, opening a new front in a conflict that has split the country. In the east, pro-Russian separatists brought down two Ukrainian military helicopters involved in a pre-dawn operation to try to dislodge the militants from their strongholds in the town of Slaviansk. The separatists said three of their number had been killed, and two civilians, while the defense ministry said two crew from the downed helicopters died and two other servicemen were killed when separatists attacked them on Friday evening. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said operations were continuing into Saturday and that Ukrainian forces had taken a television tower in the town Kramatorsk, south of Slaviansk. Full Story | Top |
| Carrefour looking to exit India wholesale ops: media reports Friday, May 02, 2014 11:12 PM PDT  French retail giant Carrefour SA has begun making plans to exit its India wholesale operations, the Times of India reported on Saturday. Carrefour operates five wholesale cash-and-carry outlets in India and, after foreign investment rules were eased in 2012, it had been widely expected to set up a chain of supermarkets. The company has seen senior-level exits from its India business recently and some employees may be asked to leave over the next few weeks, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources. A report in the Business Standard newspaper on Saturday, also citing unnamed sources, said the company has been working on an exit plan for India for the past two weeks and is expected to cut staff positions in the coming weeks. Full Story | Top |
| Marijuana banking scheme passes first test in Colorado legislature Friday, May 02, 2014 10:11 PM PDT By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Colorado lawmakers on Friday passed a bill that if enacted would lead to the first marijuana financial system in the United States, potentially granting legal cannabis businesses access to the Federal Reserve's money transaction system. Traditional banks have been wary to knowingly serve legal and medicinal marijuana businesses because the drug remains illegal under federal law, said the bill's sponsor, Representative Jonathan Singer. "This sets up a new type of financial structure to the gap we're seeing between banking and the marijuana industry," said Singer, a Democrat. The proposal calls for new "cannabis credit co-ops" - similar to credit unions without deposit insurance - to be governed by the state's financial services commissioner. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine says operations against rebels continue; 'we are not stopping' Friday, May 02, 2014 09:49 PM PDT Ukraine said military operations against pro-Russian separatists in the industrial east of the country continued at dawn on Saturday near the town of Kramatorsk, vowing it would not stop a bid to dislodge them. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Ukrainian forces had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slaviansk, but gave no information on possible casualties. Slaviansk was the target on Friday of the most significant advance by Ukrainian forces since the start of an armed uprising in the east a month ago, stalled by well-armed separatists who brought down two military helicopters and dug in the town of 130,000. "We are not stopping." Overnight, Russian media reported fighting near Kramatorsk, citing hospital sources as saying one person had been killed and nine wounded. Full Story | Top |
| Japan considers tax breaks to promote investment, help companies: report Friday, May 02, 2014 08:33 PM PDT  Japan is considering expanding tax breaks and loosening some rules to promote investment in start-ups as part of the second installment of the government's economic growth strategy, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday. Japan is also likely to say next month that it will lower the effective corporate tax rate to 20 percent from around 35 percent currently, the Yomiuri newspaper said citing several government sources, which could encourage firms to boost much-needed capital expenditure in Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government is set to announce the second part of its growth strategy next month. One proposal is to expand the value of an investment that a so-called angel investor can deduct from his or her taxable income from the current limit of 10 million yen ($97,800) to several times as much, the Nikkei reported without citing the source of its information. Full Story | Top |
| Nevada court rejects U.S. request on Okada probe, says Wynn suit can proceed Friday, May 02, 2014 08:23 PM PDT  By Alexia Shurmur LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A Nevada state judge ruled on Friday that a civil lawsuit between Wynn Resorts and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada could proceed, rejecting the U.S. government's request to keep it on hold for another six months to protect the identity of witnesses in a criminal probe into Okada's business in the Philippines. In requesting a third, six-month "stay of discovery," Department of Justice attorney Laura Perkins told a hearing that allowing the civil case to proceed risked causing "irreparable harm if the witnesses' identities are revealed." Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales, who had already granted two previous motions suspending the civil proceedings for a total of 12 months, said the U.S. government had already been given enough time. It's been a year," Gonzales said, adding that she hoped her ruling would prompt the government to accelerate its criminal investigation. No representative for Universal Entertainment Corp , the Japanese gaming machine maker founded by Okada and the company at the heart of government's criminal investigation, could be reached for comment. Full Story | Top |
| China's April services growth quickens slightly: government survey Friday, May 02, 2014 08:02 PM PDT  Growth in China's services sector accelerated slightly in April as new orders held steady, an official survey showed, an encouraging sign of strength in an economy that otherwise faces a cloudy outlook. The purchasing manufacturing index (PMI) for the services industry edged up to 54.8 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, up marginally from 54.5 in March. The mild improvement in the services sector, which mirrors a marginal gain in the official PMI survey of Chinese factories in April, should be welcomed by investors fretting about the health of the world's second-largest economy. But the pick-ups in the official PMI surveys for factories and services firms would not be enough to dispel concerns that China's slowing growth engine might cool at a sharper pace faster in coming months. Full Story | Top |
| Colombia court backs Santos in sea boundary dispute with Nicaragua Friday, May 02, 2014 07:53 PM PDT Colombia's constitutional court ruled on Friday that applying a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that granted Nicaragua a disputed area of Caribbean waters could not take effect without a treaty between the countries. The court's verdict upholds the position taken by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who said the Hague-based ICJ's decision was not applicable according to Colombia's constitution without such a treaty, ratified by the Andean nation's congress. The ICJ in November 2012 reduced the area of ocean that belonged to Colombia around its cluster of Caribbean islands, determining that a section of their maritime shelf belonged to Nicaragua. Full Story | Top |
| Bundy sons in Nevada accuse feds of assault in police complaint Friday, May 02, 2014 07:10 PM PDT  By Jonathan Allen LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Sons and sisters of Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who has been resisting efforts by federal agents to seize his cattle grazing without permits on public land, attempted to file police complaints on Friday accusing the agents of assault. Bundy's 21-year-old dispute with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) came to a head last month when hundreds of his supporters, many of them armed militia members, rallied at his Bunkerville ranch northeast of Las Vegas, where armed federal agents were guarding a corral filled with seized Bundy cattle. After a stand-off, the BLM federal agents retreated, saying the agency would pursue other methods to remove the trespassing cattle. Bundy and his supporters do not recognize federal authority over the land, which has been cleared of other ranchers' livestock to protect the habitat of the desert tortoise. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jury orders smartphone maker Samsung to pay Apple $120 million Friday, May 02, 2014 06:38 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - A U.S. jury on Friday ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to pay $119.6 million to Apple Inc, far less than Apple had sought and marking a big loss for the iPhone maker in the latest round of their globe-spanning mobile patent litigation. During the month-long trial in a San Jose, California, federal court, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. On Friday, the jury found the South Korean smartphone maker had infringed two Apple patents. Apple and Samsung have been litigating around the world for three years. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel still struggle over spying but agree on trade Friday, May 02, 2014 05:52 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel could not hide differences on Friday over U.S. surveillance practices despite Obama's offer of "cyber dialogue" with Berlin and a pledge to bridge gaps that have tarnished their relationship. The two leaders have been at odds over the U.S. National Security Agency's spying habits since revelations from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden last year showed the United States had listened in on many of its allies, including Merkel. Obama has since banned the practice of eavesdropping on allied political leaders, but the measure has not placated Germany. "We have a few difficulties yet to overcome," Merkel said in a joint news conference with Obama at the White House, referring to the conflict and pointedly declining to say, when asked, that trust between the two nations had been restored. Full Story | Top |
| Florida lawmakers take a swing at rules for Cuban baseball players Friday, May 02, 2014 05:35 PM PDT  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida state legislature passed a bill on Friday that would allow Major League Baseball teams in the state to seek subsidies for ballpark improvements, but only if MLB changes its hiring rules for Cuban players. A $13 million economic-development package aimed at encouraging the state's professional sports franchises won approval in the state House of Representatives on the last day of the session. It allows the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays, along with soccer franchises in Orlando and Miami and the Daytona speedway, to compete for up to $2 million a year in sales tax concessions for expansion or renovation of franchises. The House and Senate added an amendment that would deny funding to baseball teams unless MLB drops a requirement that players from Cuba establish residency in another country before becoming free agents and negotiating with U.S. teams. Full Story | Top |
| Activists sue San Francisco over controversial tech bus program Friday, May 02, 2014 05:15 PM PDT  By Mary Papenfuss SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Activists have sued the city and county of San Francisco over a pilot program giving shuttles run by Google and other private companies access to municipal bus stops, claiming it favors higher-paid technology workers over low-income residents. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday, marks the latest sign of tensions in the Bay Area over the growing income divide, which has been widened by the latest tech industry boom. Late last year, protesters began to block the commuter buses that ferry employees from San Francisco to the offices of tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Yahoo, south of the city, which they say symbolize the rift being created by abundant tech money. Under the 18-month pilot program the unmarked, WiFi-equipped buses use San Francisco Municipal transit system stops for a fee of $1 per stop per day and are viewed by many as a symbol of the industry's disconnect from a broader community left behind by the tech boom. Full Story | Top |
| Rose storms into contention at Quail Hollow Friday, May 02, 2014 05:08 PM PDT  By Andrew Both CHARLOTTE North Carolina (Reuters) - Justin Rose's hopes of repeating as U.S. Open champion next month got a timely boost as he moved within a stroke of the lead in the Wells Fargo Championship second round on Friday. "Obviously you can never win it on Thursday and Friday, you can only lose it, so two solid days put me in good position for the weekend," Rose, who will defend his U.S. Open title at nearby Pinehurst No. 2 next month, told reporters. Rose was in third place at eight-under 136 at the halfway mark, while Argentina's Angel Cabrera (69) and American Martin Flores (68) set the pace at nine under. Full Story | Top |
| Florida legislators clear way for non-U.S. citizen to practice law Friday, May 02, 2014 04:57 PM PDT By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida Legislature voted on Friday to let a Mexican-born, non-U.S. citizen practice law in the state, prodded by a recent state Supreme Court ruling that illegal immigrants cannot be issued a law license. "This is a great day for Florida, a great day for immigrants, a great day for justice," said Jose Manuel Godinez-Samperio, after the Senate voted to send a bill to Governor Rick Scott clearing the way for the lawyer to join the Florida Bar. They entered with visas but overstayed them, and Godinez-Samperio went on to graduate from high school, college and Florida State University law school as a non-citizen. Full Story | Top |
| First U.S. case of deadly MERS virus confirmed: CDC Friday, May 02, 2014 04:53 PM PDT  A healthcare worker who had traveled to Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the first U.S. case of Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS), an often fatal illness, raising new concerns about the rapid spread of such diseases, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The male patient traveled via a British Airways flight on April 24 from Riyadh to London, where he changed flights at Heathrow airport to fly to the United States. He landed in Chicago and took a bus to an undisclosed city in Indiana. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the man visited the emergency department at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, on April 28 and was admitted that same day. Full Story | Top |
| Jury reaches verdict in Apple-Samsung patents trial Friday, May 02, 2014 04:49 PM PDT  SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - The jury has reached a verdict on Friday in a patent trial between Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, which will be read in a San Jose, California federal courtroom shortly, according to a court official. During the month-long trial, Apple accused Samsung of violating patents on smartphone features including universal search, while Samsung denied wrongdoing. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: U.S. anti-money laundering authority faces hiring probe - sources Friday, May 02, 2014 04:32 PM PDT  By Emily Flitter and Brett Wolf NEW YORK/ST LOUIS (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department temporarily froze all recruitment by its anti-money laundering arm and forced the agency to rescind 11 job offers, after an investigation found it violated the federal employment code during an aggressive hiring push, according to several government officials. The Office of Personnel Management, a federal agency that governs labor practices in the government, determined that the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, illegally screened candidates in a quest to hire only lawyers for certain jobs, the officials said. It has recommended further investigations by two other federal agencies into FinCEN's practices, they added. Rules for hiring at government agencies make it illegal to screen candidates for qualifications that aren't stipulated in the job description, and the jobs FinCEN had posted weren't designated as being only for lawyers, the officials said. Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel vow broader Russian sanctions if Ukraine election derailed Friday, May 02, 2014 04:14 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia on Friday it will face additional sanctions against key sectors of its economy if Moscow disrupts Ukraine's plan to hold elections on May 25. The two leaders linked the threat to the election when they addressed a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden after Oval Office talks dominated by the situation in Ukraine. Obama and Merkel said they were united in vowing to move to the tougher sanctions but made clear there were still negotiations to determine how to structure the sanctions should they be necessary. The election is to choose a successor to President Viktor Yanukovitch, the pro-Russian leader who resigned in the face of unrelenting protests and whose ouster has provoked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. Full Story | Top |
| Girl's blood in suspect's trailer, Virginia prosecutor tells jury Friday, May 02, 2014 03:52 PM PDT  By Gary Robertson LOVINGSTON, Virginia (Reuters) - The blood of a missing 17-year-old Virginia girl along with signs of a violent struggle were found in the trailer of a man charged with her murder, a prosecutor said in opening arguments of the handyman's trial on Friday. But a defense lawyer for the accused man, Randy Taylor, 48, said there was no evidence of either a murder or an abduction. Taylor is accused of abducting Alexis Murphy, a high school senior, in August 2013 while she was on a shopping trip, and then killing her. Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin told jurors that Murphy's blood was found on a shirt that had been balled up and shoved under a couch in Taylor's trailer. Full Story | Top |
| Arkansas judge rules voter ID law unconstitutional Friday, May 02, 2014 03:39 PM PDT By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - An Arkansas judge ruled unconstitutional for the second time in about a week a new law requiring voters to show a photo ID, but said on Friday there was not enough time to prevent officials from applying the law at primary elections this month. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox said he was staying his order because to do otherwise would create "turmoil" in thousands of precincts. Last week, he said the law was "void and unenforceable." Nearly three dozen U.S. states have voter identification measures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Arkansas attorney general on behalf of the state's election board and the election commission of Pulaski County, the state's most populous, filed separate briefs with the Supreme Court on Friday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. projected firefighting costs exceed budget by $470 million Friday, May 02, 2014 03:31 PM PDT  By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The U.S. government expects to spend $470 million more than it has on hand to fight wildfires in a season that has already brought large blazes to California and Western states, where drought is worsening fire risks, federal officials said on Friday. Predicted high temperatures and less moisture for much of the U.S. West are expected to boost firefighting costs to nearly$1.87 billion this year for agencies that only have $1.4 billion budgeted, according to the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. A provision in President Barack Obama's 2015 budget proposal and legislation pending in Congress would use federal disaster funds for expenses tied to catastrophic wildfires, which represent 1 percent of blazes but which cost roughly $400 million a year to contain, according to fire managers. Budget gaps come as federal agencies adjust to a "new normal" of wildfire seasons that start earlier and last longer, said Randy Eardley, spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street Week Ahead-Bond, stock investors making hay; can both be right? Friday, May 02, 2014 03:27 PM PDT  By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - With U.S. stocks near record highs and Treasury bond yields near multi-month lows, the disconnect between equity and debt investors has rarely been as stark. After a wintry first quarter, stock investors are betting that economic growth is picking up, as evidenced by stronger spending figures and business demand. That's boosted the cyclical stocks which react to rising demand, particularly energy shares. "The data are suggesting this may be the year when we turn the corner," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay banned one year for doping Friday, May 02, 2014 03:20 PM PDT  By Gene Cherry RALEIGH, North Carolina - Former world double sprint champion Tyson Gay has been suspended for one year after testing positive in 2013 for a banned anabolic steroid, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) said on Friday. Gay has also returned the silver medal he won with the U.S. 4x100 metres relay team at the 2012 London Olympics but will be eligible to return to competition as early as next month after admitting his offence and co-operating with investigators. "We are thankful he decided to come in and be truthful in his cooperation with us," USADA chief executive Travis Tygart told Reuters. "With the loss of results since 2012, including an Olympic medal, he has suffered serious consequences, but by cooperating he has tried to help the sport move forward for the good of clean athletes." As part of the suspension he accepted, Gay, the joint second fastest man in history, was disqualified from all competitive results since July 15, 2012, the date he first used a product that contained a prohibited steroid. Full Story | Top |
| Florida lawmakers back in-state tuition for undocumented students Friday, May 02, 2014 03:18 PM PDT By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida legislators voted on Friday to allow students who are children of undocumented workers to qualify for in-state tuition rates at public universities and community colleges. Republican Governor Rick Scott said he will sign the bill, making Florida the 20th state to offer children brought to the United States illegally the same tuition as U.S. citizens. The approval of the legislation comes as Scott faces a tight re-election campaign and Florida Republicans look to court the state's influential Hispanic voters. Riding a Tea Party wave of conservative support in 2010, Scott campaigned on a promise to bring Florida a law like Arizona's hotly debated statute allowing police to check the immigration status of anyone they believe may be undocumented. Full Story | Top |
| Genocide risk in South Sudan amid personal power struggle: U.N. Friday, May 02, 2014 03:06 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ethnic violence in South Sudan risks spiraling into genocide, with the country's leaders locked in a personal struggle for power, top U.N. officials said on Friday as a U.N. Security Council showdown looms over calls to impose targeted sanctions. Thousands of people have been killed and more than 1 million have fled their homes since fighting erupted in the world's newest nation in December between troops backing President Salva Kiir and soldiers loyal to his sacked deputy, Riek Machar. Adama Dieng, U.N. special adviser on prevention of genocide, and U.N. Human Rights chief Navi Pillay briefed the 15-member council on Friday. "If such attacks are not immediately halted it could plunge the country into serious violence that could spiral out of control," said Dieng, who has visited South Sudan with Pillay. Full Story | Top |
| Detroit's civilian retiree group agrees to pension cuts Friday, May 02, 2014 02:59 PM PDT  (Reuters) - The group representing the largest block of Detroit's retired workers on Friday agreed to accept the city's proposed cuts to their pension benefits, the latest in a string of deals the city has struck in an effort to resolve its historic bankruptcy. The board of directors for the Detroit Retired City Employees Association, which represents 8,000 retired civilian workers, voted to support the city's plan of adjustment, according to the mediators appointed by the federal bankruptcy judge overseeing the case. Under the deal, contingent on full funding of the so-called Grand Bargain to aid retired city workers, nonuniformed city retirees would accept a 4.5 percent reduction in benefits and the elimination of cost-of-living-adjustment increases to their benefits. Previously, the group representing retired police and firefighters agreed to back the city's adjustment plan, as had the boards for the two independent pension systems for both groups. Full Story | Top |
| China's Sina fined for indecent content in web porn crackdown Friday, May 02, 2014 02:58 PM PDT (Reuters) - Chinese Internet firm Sina Corp said it was fined 5.1 million yuan ($815,038) by Beijing authorities for allowing "unhealthy and indecent content" on its online reading channel and on its main website. Sina was stripped of some online publication licenses last week after being targeted in a pornography crackdown, the harshest punishment yet for a Chinese Internet company in an intensifying online crackdown. The fine was imposed by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Market Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, Sina said in a statement on Friday. Sina said it was currently evaluating the impact of the administrative penalties and the options available to the company. Full Story | Top |
| 'American Idol' runner-up Clay Aiken winning political respect in North Carolina Friday, May 02, 2014 02:45 PM PDT  By Colleen Jenkins CARY N.C. (Reuters) - "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken readily signs autographs and poses for selfies with voters in his bid for a North Carolina congressional seat, but tries hard to keep his pitch at campaign stops focused on political issues. "I have done my very best not to sing," said Aiken, 35. In April, the Washington-based Cook Political Report admitted surprise after Aiken proved to be well-versed on political affairs, "washing away any notion he's another superficial, stage-managed Hollywood star dabbling in politics as a new hobby." Even so, political experts say the first-time candidate is in an uphill, perhaps futile, battle to win the primary and then unseat the incumbent in a district North Carolina's Republican-led legislature re-drew to favor their party. U.S. Representative Renee Ellmers, 50, a former nurse, beat a moderate Democrat for the seat during the Republicans' national electoral sweep in 2010 and two years later won her second term with 56 percent of the vote. Full Story | Top |
| BBC rebukes 'Top Gear' presenter Clarkson over racist language Friday, May 02, 2014 02:42 PM PDT  By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - British state broadcaster, the BBC, has rebuked presenter Jeremy Clarkson over using racist language while filming car show "Top Gear", one of the most popular and profitable TV programs in the world, but dismissed calls for his resignation. Clarkson, 54, apologized after a newspaper report earlier this week revealed he used an epithet for blacks while reciting the rhyme "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe" to choose between cars while filming two years ago. Full Story | Top |
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