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Saturday, December 31, 2011 12:52 AM PST

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Cyclone Thane kills at least 33 in southeast India Boeing wins $3.48 billion U.S. missile contract North Korea says names Kim Jong-un top military commander China says finds no more excess toxins in milk FDA says no need to recall Enfamil formula Cuba pilgrimage ends with call for reconciliation Brazil's Embraer aircraft wins U.S. Defense contract China says rebel village was right to complain Myanmar sets April by-elections, Suu Kyi set to run Court delays EPA rule on coal plants Man charged after Colorado toddler shoots brother In Iowa, Republican candidate Paul campaigns his way Former Mexico soldier sentenced for aiding cartels Rick Santorum takes aim at Romney, Paul Seventeen dead as Syrians stage mass protests Verizon ditches $2 fee after customer uproar Pro-Saleh protests in Yemen, seven militants killed Court blocks EPA rule in last-minute order North Korea names Kim Jong-un top military commander Merkel says Europe must cooperate more for euro to succeed Kodak loses third director in a week Boeing wins $3.48 billion U.S. missile defense contract Muslim leaders boycott New York City mayor's event Gingrich chokes up in Iowa recalling his mother MSF ponders Somali presence after attack: official South Korea takes "major step" to accepting Canada beef Virginia to print, mail ballots despite Perry suit Egypt assures U.S. no more raids on democracy groups WHO "deeply concerned" by mutated birdflu research Israel kills al Qaeda-linked chief in Gaza strike North Korea's new leaders lash out at South Korea and allies Romney brings in Christie in Iowa final push White House delaying debt ceiling request Nigerian Christmas bomb death toll rises to 37 Futures bets show Romney heavy Republican favorite Conflict minerals crackdown backfiring in Congo: U.N. Congo ex-rebels given perks for backing Kabila: U.N. Whirlpool accuses Samsung, LG of dumping washers FDA approves Pfizer's Prevnar pneumonia vaccine for adults London tube strikes suspended Cyclone Thane kills at least 33 in southeast India Fri,30 Dec 2011 11:45 PM PST Reuters - CHENNAI, Dec 31 (AlertNet) - At least 33 people died when Cyclone Thane hit coastal southern India near the former French colony of Pondicherry, officials said on Saturday, causing thousands to evacuate and damaging roads, buildings and power lines. Thane hit Tamil Nadu state on Friday with winds of up to 135 kmph (83 mph) and tidal surges of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). About 6,000 coastal villagers were forced to seek safety in relief shelters, the state's Chief Minister J Jayalalitha said. "Most of the deaths in the district were because of house collapses and electrocution," said V. ... Full Story Top Boeing wins $3.48 billion U.S. missile contract Fri,30 Dec 2011 09:32 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Boeing Co beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said on Friday. The U.S. Defense Department said it was awarding Boeing a $3.48 billion, seven-year contract to develop, test, engineer and manufacture missile defense systems. A team led by Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co had vied with Boeing to expand and maintain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, hub of layered antimissile protection. Boeing partnered with Northrop Grumman Corp to retain the work. ... Full Story Top North Korea says names Kim Jong-un top military commander Fri,30 Dec 2011 07:49 PM PST Reuters - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea announced on Saturday it has appointed Kim Jong-un, the anointed successor and youngest son of Kim Jong-il, as supreme commander of its 1.2 million-strong military, two days after official mourning for the late leader ended. The North's state news agency KCNA said the appointment was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Friday. ... Full Story Top China says finds no more excess toxins in milk Fri,30 Dec 2011 07:20 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - China's quality watchdog said it has found no further problems with milk tainted by high levels of carcinogenic mildew in tests of products by major dairy producers. Public concern was triggered this week after milk giant Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd said its Sichuan plant had destroyed products found by a government quality watchdog to contain the cancer-causing substance aflatoxin. Aflatoxin occurs naturally in the environment and is produced by certain common types of fungi. It can cause severe liver damage, including liver cancer. ... Full Story Top FDA says no need to recall Enfamil formula Fri,30 Dec 2011 07:15 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health officials said they found no trace of potentially deadly bacteria that killed two infants in recent weeks in sealed cans of Enfamil baby formula, and that a recall was unnecessary, providing relief for the product's manufacturer, Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. ... Full Story Top Cuba pilgrimage ends with call for reconciliation Fri,30 Dec 2011 07:14 PM PST Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - Roman Catholic Church leaders called for reconciliation among Cubans and urged further economic reform at an outdoor mass in Cuba on Friday marking the end of a national pilgrimage of a statue of the island's patron saint. About 3,000 people gathered along Havana Bay for the ceremony led by Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega paying tribute to the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, a Catholic icon that has toured the communist-ruled country for the past 16 months in the first such religious display permitted since the 1950s. ... Full Story Top Brazil's Embraer aircraft wins U.S. Defense contract Fri,30 Dec 2011 06:20 PM PST Reuters - SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian planemaker Embraer will sell its A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, in a firm-fixed price delivery order contract worth $355 million, the company said in a statement late on Friday. Twenty aircraft will be provided, as well as ground training devices to support pilot training and support for all maintenance and supply requirements for the aircraft and associated support equipment. "We are committed to pursuing our U.S. ... Full Story Top China says rebel village was right to complain Fri,30 Dec 2011 06:01 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - Residents of a south China village who tested the ruling Communist Party's control with more than a week of protests had "legitimate complaints" over a land grab that sparked the rebellion, state news agency Xinhua has said. Ten days of protests over confiscated farmland and the death of a protest organizer in Wukan in booming Guangdong province earlier this month drew widespread attention as a rebuff to the stability-obsessed government. The standoff ended after authorities offered concessions in a rare example of the government backing down to mobilised citizens. ... Full Story Top Myanmar sets April by-elections, Suu Kyi set to run Fri,30 Dec 2011 05:40 PM PST Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar has set a date of April 1, 2012, for by-elections that could see pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi enter parliament, although the military's grip on the assembly will not be threatened. State television announced the date late Friday. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) refused to take part in elections in November 2010, disagreeing with the electoral process set in place by the former military leaders. ... Full Story Top Court delays EPA rule on coal plants Fri,30 Dec 2011 05:22 PM PST Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday issued a last-minute order to delay the January 1 implementation of stricter federal limits on pollution from coal-fired plants, providing a temporary win for utilities worried about the cost of implementation. In a blow to environmental groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a request to stay the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, pending further court review. ... Full Story Top Man charged after Colorado toddler shoots brother Fri,30 Dec 2011 05:14 PM PST Reuters - DENVER (Reuters) - A Kansas man accused of leaving a loaded handgun where a 3-year-old Colorado boy found it and shot his 5-year-old brother dead was charged on Friday with felony child abuse. Authorities said Adam Dean Laham, 23, left his loaded .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun unsecured while visiting the boys' home in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, earlier this month. The toddler shot his brother in the chest after finding the weapon in a bedroom where Laham was staying, police said. The boys' father heard the gunshot and raced to the bedroom, where he saw the 3-year-old holding the ... Full Story Top In Iowa, Republican candidate Paul campaigns his way Fri,30 Dec 2011 04:34 PM PST Reuters - LEMARS, Iowa (Reuters) - There's nothing quite like a Ron Paul rally. If you've come expecting to hear the Texas congressman bash his opponents for the Republican nomination for president, you're likely to be disappointed. And if you've come for a fiery pep talk or pandering words about how wonderful your state is, you're probably in the wrong place. ... Full Story Top Former Mexico soldier sentenced for aiding cartels Fri,30 Dec 2011 04:16 PM PST Reuters - MEXICO CITY, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A former soldier in the Mexican army was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aiding drug cartels, the attorney general's office said on Friday. Reymundo Morales of the Mexican infantry was arrested two years ago and found guilty of passing information to drug cartels, the attorney general's office said in a statement. Local media said that Morales and several colleagues in uniform were passing information about security operations to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, led by Joaquin 'Shorty' Guzman, Mexico's most-wanted man. ... Full Story Top Rick Santorum takes aim at Romney, Paul Fri,30 Dec 2011 04:04 PM PST Reuters - AMES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum criticized his main rivals in Iowa on Friday in hopes a last-minute wave of support will carry him to victory on Tuesday in the first U.S. election contest of 2012. Santorum, who has risen to third place in polls in the week before Tuesday's Iowa caucuses, focused his attention on Mitt Romney and Ron Paul during an appearance at a rowdy chicken wings restaurant. Both Romney and Paul are leading Iowa polls. He said Romney's conservative credentials are in doubt because of his support for U.S. ... Full Story Top Seventeen dead as Syrians stage mass protests Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:55 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian security forces, undaunted by the presence of Arab League observers, have killed at least 12 protesters as hundreds of thousands demonstrated against the government of President Bashar al-Assad, opposition activists said. Five members of the security forces were also killed in a shooting in the city of Homs, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday. ... Full Story Top Verizon ditches $2 fee after customer uproar Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:41 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless has reversed its decision to charge a $2 fee for telephone and online bill payments, bowing to a storm of criticism from consumers and the U.S. communications regulator. The biggest U.S. wireless operator retracted its decision on Friday, just a day after it announced the fee for one-time payments, which was to have begun January 15. The consumer victory comes after Bank of America recently decided against a new $5 monthly fee for debit card users after consumers and lawmakers protested the charge. ... Full Story Top Pro-Saleh protests in Yemen, seven militants killed Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:38 PM PST Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Supporters of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh took to the streets of Yemen's capital on Friday for the first time since he signed a peace agreement last month as violence broke out on other fronts in the country. Seven Islamist militants connected to al Qaeda were killed in southern Yemen, residents of a city occupied by the militants said. Also in the south, rebel fighters killed a security officer. ... Full Story Top Court blocks EPA rule in last-minute order Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:13 PM PST Reuters - HOUSTON (Reuters) - Efforts by U.S. regulators to cut air pollution from coal-fired power plants faced a setback on Friday when a federal appeals court issued a last-minute order delaying their January 1 implementation. The U.S. District Court of Appeals granted a request to stay the Environmental Protection Agency's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) pending further court review. ... Full Story Top North Korea names Kim Jong-un top military commander Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:02 PM PST Reuters - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said Saturday it has officially appointed Kim Jong-un, anointed successor and the youngest son of the late leader Kim Jong-il, the supreme commander of North Korea's 1.2 million-strong military. The North's state news agency KCNA said the appointment was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party Friday. ... Full Story Top Merkel says Europe must cooperate more for euro to succeed Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:00 PM PST Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Europe must cooperate more closely if it wants the euro to succeed as its shared currency, and it still has a long way to go to overcome its sovereign debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in her New Year's Eve address. She said that she would do everything in her power to strengthen the euro, but that this would only work if Europe learned from its mistakes. "A common currency can only really be successful if we in Europe cooperate more than we have done," Merkel said in a pre-recorded televised address to be broadcast on Saturday. ... Full Story Top Kodak loses third director in a week Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:58 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The third director in a week has resigned from Eastman Kodak Co as the former film giant struggles to survive the dominance of digital photography. Laura Tyson, a professor and White House advisor, told Kodak on Thursday she was resigning from its board, the company said on Friday in a Securities and Exchange filing. Kodak, which was once synonymous with photography, is looking to sell patents to shore up its shrinking cash position and stay in business after failing to turn an annual profit since 1997. ... Full Story Top Boeing wins $3.48 billion U.S. missile defense contract Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:54 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Boeing Co beat out Lockheed Martin to retain its position as the prime contractor for the U.S. long-range missile shield, the Pentagon said on Friday. The U.S. Defense Department said it was awarding Boeing a $3.48 billion, seven-year contract to develop, test, engineer and manufacture missile defense systems. A team led by Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co had vied with Boeing to expand and maintain the Ground-based Midcourse Defense, or GMD, hub of layered antimissile protection. Boeing partnered with Northrop Grumman Corp to retain the work. ... Full Story Top Muslim leaders boycott New York City mayor's event Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:27 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than a dozen Muslim community leaders boycotted an interfaith breakfast organized by Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday to protest reported police surveillance of Muslim areas since the September 11, 2001, attacks. In an open letter to Bloomberg, the leaders accused the mayor of ignoring concerns that the New York Police Department has been using racial profiling and violating civil rights in its anti-terrorism surveillance programs. ... Full Story Top Gingrich chokes up in Iowa recalling his mother Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:23 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Struggling Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich choked up at a campaign event on Friday, wiping away tears as he discussed his late mother in a display of emotion that was reminiscent of Hillary Clinton's game-changing teary moment in 2008. At a campaign event in Iowa targeted at moms, Gingrich lost his composure repeatedly when asked about his mother, who suffered from depression and bipolar disorder before she died in 2003. The audience of mostly women was sympathetic as Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, cried. ... Full Story Top MSF ponders Somali presence after attack: official Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:13 PM PST Reuters - BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Medecins Sans Fontieres is withdrawing non-Somali staff from a hospital in Mogadishu where two of its staff were shot dead but the aid group hopes to maintain its operation in Somalia despite the danger, an official said on Friday, Meinie Nicolai, president of MSF's Belgian branch which runs the hospital in the Somali capital, said Thursday's attack did not appear to be politically driven. "For us to leave Somalia would be a last option," Nicolai told Reuters. "It is not a political action as far as we can read it today," she added. "It's not against the organisation. ... Full Story Top South Korea takes "major step" to accepting Canada beef Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:06 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - South Korea has taken a "major step" to ending an eight-year-old ban on imports of Canadian beef, Canada's agriculture and trade ministers said on Friday. The South Korean Parliament ratified import health requirements for Canadian beef under 30 months of age on Friday, one of the final steps to ending the ban, the ministers said in a release. South Korea is the last major beef-importing country to agree to lower its restrictions on Canadian beef, since a 2003 case of mad-cow disease (BSE) in Canada. ... Full Story Top Virginia to print, mail ballots despite Perry suit Fri,30 Dec 2011 02:06 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Virginia plans to print and mail absentee ballots for its upcoming Republican presidential primary with only candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul listed, a state official said on Friday, despite a court challenge from Rick Perry. Texas Governor Perry sued Virginia election officials after state Republican officials ruled he did not get the required number of verified voter signatures, arguing the state's qualification process limits voters' access to the candidates of their choosing. U.S. District Judge John Gibney set a January 13 hearing on the matter. ... Full Story Top Egypt assures U.S. no more raids on democracy groups Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:52 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Egyptian officials have assured the United States they will halt raids on pro-democracy and human rights groups and return property seized in a crackdown that strained ties with Washington, U.S. officials said on Friday. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the U.S. ambassador in Egypt, Anne Patterson, spoke with top Egyptian officials including the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Friday to press U.S. ... Full Story Top WHO "deeply concerned" by mutated birdflu research Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:43 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization issued a stern warning on Friday to scientists who have engineered a highly pathogenic form of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, saying their work carries significant risks and must be tightly controlled. The United Nations health body said it was "deeply concerned about the potential negative consequences" of work by two leading flu research teams who this month said they had found ways to make H5N1 into a easily transmissable form capable of causing lethal human pandemics. ... Full Story Top Israel kills al Qaeda-linked chief in Gaza strike Fri,30 Dec 2011 03:27 PM PST Reuters - GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters)- Israel killed the leader of an al Qaeda-inspired faction in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accusing him of involvement in firing rockets and a planned attack on the Jewish state from the neighboring Egyptian Sinai. The deadly air strike was Israel's second against a Salafi Islamist militant this week. Militants identified him as Momen Abu Daf, chief of the Army of Islam, among a loose network of Palestinian groups which profess allegiance to al Qaeda and have been reinforced by volunteers who slip in from the Sinai. ... Full Story Top North Korea's new leaders lash out at South Korea and allies Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:42 PM PST Reuters - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sounded a bellicose note in its first communication with the outside world since the death of leader Kim Jong-il, saying its confrontational stance against South Korea would not change and labeling its opponents "foolish." Since Kim Jong-il died on December 17, the outside world has been watching to see whether his son Kim Jong-un, aged in his 20s, would stick to its hardline "military first" policies that have seen the isolated nation move closer to nuclear weapons capacity. ... Full Story Top Romney brings in Christie in Iowa final push Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:40 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - White House hopeful Mitt Romney brought in help from New Jersey on Friday to bolster his prospects for a win in Iowa next week that would put him in the lead in the Republican presidential race. Romney campaigned alongside tough-talking New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in a final frenzy of candidate appearances before Iowa launches the state-by-state contests to choose the Republican nominee who will face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election. ... Full Story Top White House delaying debt ceiling request Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:11 PM PST Reuters - HONOLULU (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has agreed to delay submitting a debt ceiling increase request until next month to allow lawmakers time to consider it while they are in session, the White House said on Friday. Under an August deal between Obama's Democrats and the Republicans, Congress is unlikely to block the expected $1.2 trillion increase request, ensuring that the debt limit will not be reached again until after November's presidential election. ... Full Story Top Nigerian Christmas bomb death toll rises to 37 Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:10 PM PST Reuters - ABUJA (Reuters) - The death toll from a bomb attack on a church just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja on Christmas Day has risen to 37, with 57 people wounded, a source at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Friday. The bombing at St. Theresa's Catholic church in Madalla on Abuja's outskirts during a packed Christmas mass was the deadliest of a series of Christmas attacks on Nigerian churches and other targets by the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram. "As of just now, the latest death toll from the bombing of St. Theresa's church is at 37. ... Full Story Top Futures bets show Romney heavy Republican favorite Fri,30 Dec 2011 01:05 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Opinion polls come and go, but for those with money on the line Mitt Romney is now a heavy favorite to win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and go on to challenge President Barack Obama. Two electronic markets that allow wagering on real-world events have the former Massachusetts governor well ahead, days before the first votes are tallied in a months-long series of state elections to pick the Republican nominee. The Iowa Electronic Markets, or IEM, on Friday showed a bid for Romney to win the nomination at 0.779 and an offer at 0. ... Full Story Top Conflict minerals crackdown backfiring in Congo: U.N. Fri,30 Dec 2011 12:58 PM PST Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - A U.S. crackdown on so-called "conflict minerals" in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has backfired by pushing trade deeper into the hands of criminals, including at least one former rebel leader, a U.N. report said on Friday. The finding underscores the difficulty faced by both the United States and Congo governments in choking off funding to eastern Congo's roving armed bands, believed responsible for thousands of rapes and killings of villagers. ... Full Story Top Congo ex-rebels given perks for backing Kabila: U.N. Fri,30 Dec 2011 12:42 PM PST Reuters - KINSHASA (Reuters) - Former rebels have been promoted to senior posts in Democratic Republic of Congo's military in return for supporting President Joseph Kabila's re-election effort, the United Nations said in a report on Friday. The finding could deepen divisions within the army and add to doubts over the credibility of the November 28 poll, which was marred by violence and described by Kabila's opponents as fraudulent, although endorsed by the Supreme Court. The government has been integrating former rebels into the army, the FARDC, in a bid to curb rebellion. ... Full Story Top Whirlpool accuses Samsung, LG of dumping washers Fri,30 Dec 2011 12:42 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Whirlpool Corp on Friday accused two South Korean rivals, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics , of dumping washing machines in the United States by selling them "at substantially less than fair value." The action comes as the company's shares have slid more than 46 percent this year because of by weak demand resulting largely from high unemployment and a depressed housing market. It filed petitions with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission seeking an investigation into its rivals' clothes washers, which are made in South Korea and Mexico. ... Full Story Top FDA approves Pfizer's Prevnar pneumonia vaccine for adults Fri,30 Dec 2011 12:09 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators approved the expansion of Pfizer Inc's blockbuster Prevnar vaccine for use in adults 50 and older to fight pneumonia, meningitis and other diseases cause by pneumococcus bacteria. Prevnar 13 is designed to fight 13 forms of a bacterium called streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus. Pneumonia caused by the pneumococcal organism is one of the biggest causes of death in older people and its incidence begins to increase after age 50. ... Full Story Top London tube strikes suspended Fri,30 Dec 2011 12:08 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Planned new year strikes on London's Underground over Boxing Day pay and staffing arrangements were suspended on Friday to allow further talks, management and a train divers' union said. Three days of strikes were planned to take place on January 16 and February 3 and 13 following a 24-hour walk-out on Boxing Day which disrupted shoppers trying to get to the sales and a delayed soccer match. But following talks between the Aslef union and London Underground it was agreed that the strikes would be suspended. ... Full Story Top

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