Today's Reuters News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Lawyer says U.S. blocks investigation of Afghan massacre
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident. John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down. ...
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Record $640 million lottery has at least one winner
Fri,30 Mar 2012 11:12 PM PDT
Reuters -  ATLANTA (Reuters) - The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history totaling $640 million has at least one winner and officials were waiting early on Saturday to see if there are other winning tickets. Maryland lottery officials announced that a winning ticket was purchased at a store in Baltimore County, though they had not identified the winner yet. "This is truly remarkable and historic," said Maryland lottery director Stephen Martino. If there is more than one winning ticket with all six numbers of the Mega Millions lottery drawn on Friday night the winners split the jackpot. ...
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Documents show debate over handling of 9/11 remains
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:07 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cremated remains that may have included those of victims of the September 11 attacks were incinerated and sent to a landfill despite an internal debate in which some officials at the main U.S. military mortuary recommended the ashes be dispersed at sea. Documents released on Friday show that nearly one year after the September 11, 2001 attacks, military and civilian personnel responsible for the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware engaged in an lengthy e-mail exchange over what to do with 1,321 portions of remains. ...
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Exclusive: Iran helps Syria ship oil to China: sources
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is helping its ally Syria defy Western sanctions by providing a vessel to ship Syrian oil to a state-run company in China, potentially giving the government of President Bashar al-Assad a financial boost worth an estimated $80 million. Iran, itself a target of Western sanctions, is among Syria's closest allies and has promised to do all it can to support Assad, recently praising his handling of the year-long uprising against Assad in which thousands have been killed. ...
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Euro zone agrees to boost rescue capacity
Fri,30 Mar 2012 01:59 PM PDT
Reuters -  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Friday to increase their financial firewall to 700 billion euros to ward off a new flare-up of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, drawing a positive initial reaction from G20 partners and markets. The 17-nation currency area agreed to combine two rescue funds to make 500 billion euros of new funds available in case of emergency until mid-2013, on top of 200 billion euros already committed to bailouts for Greece, Ireland and Portugal. ...
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Exclusive: Brazil prosecutor plans wider offshore oil probe
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:23 PM PDT
Reuters -  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Brazilian federal prosecutor plans to expand his investigation of a November offshore oil spill in a field run by Chevron to areas operated by other companies in the country's main oil region. The probe will explore geological conditions and operational practices in the Campos Basin in an attempt to prevent future accidents, said Eduardo Santos de Oliveira, federal prosecutor for Campos, Brazil, the city for which the offshore oil province is named. ...
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Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:21 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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Analysis: Saudi summer oil burn should decline this year
Fri,30 Mar 2012 08:40 PM PDT
Reuters - DUBAI/KHOBAR (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is likely to burn less crude in its power plants this summer thanks to rising output from dedicated gas fields and gas that would be associated with any increase in oil output to make up for lower Iranian production. Last summer the world's leading oil exporter burned an average of 730,000 barrels a day (bpd) of crude for electricity to keep the population cool in the hottest months from July to the end of September, official figures indicate. ... Full Story | Top |
Obama says enough world oil to crack down on Iran
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:20 PM PDT
Reuters -  BURLINGTON, Vt./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Friday to forge ahead with tough sanctions on Iran, saying there was enough oil in the world market - including emergency stockpiles - to allow countries to cut Iranian imports. In his decision, required by a sanctions law he signed in December, Obama said increased production by some countries as well as "the existence of strategic reserves" helped him come to the conclusion that sanctions can advance. ...
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Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:29 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a major cyber intrusion at an Atlanta-based payment processor that could expose millions of MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover cardholders to fraudulent charges. Processor Global Payments Inc said on Friday it had found "unauthorized access" into its system early in March and notified law enforcement and financial institutions. ...
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Syrian army must pull back first under Annan plan
Fri,30 Mar 2012 01:00 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian artillery hit parts of Homs city and at least 37 people were killed in clashes around Syria on Friday, opposition activists said, as peace envoy Kofi Annan told President Bashar al-Assad his forces must be first to cease fire and withdraw. "The deadline is now," Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said in Geneva. "We expect him to implement this plan immediately." An army pullback to bases would permit a safe return to mass, peaceful protest, said anti-government activists. But there was no sign of any risk-free demonstrations on Friday. ...
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U.S. may accept less stringent controls for Taliban detainees
Thu,29 Mar 2012 05:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration has signaled a willingness to accept less-stringent controls on former Taliban leaders who could be transferred to Qatar as part of a deal between the United States and the Afghan militants to kick-start Afghan peace talks, U.S. officials said. ...
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Exclusive: Soros' son strikes out on his own
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The upheaval within billionaire investor George Soros' firm continues as one of his sons is separating some of his personal fortune to manage it himself. Jonathan Soros, who stepped down in September from day-to-day management of Soros Fund Management LLC, plans to hire at least one of his father's key employees, say two people familiar with the situation. The two sources said Soros' son intends to set up his own family office - something the Soros Fund converted to last year - with the help of David Kulsar, currently chief risk officer for the Soros Fund. ...
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Security breach hits U.S. card processors, banks
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:39 PM PDT
Reuters - (Reuters) - Four giant card-payment processors and large U.S. banks that issue debit and credit cards were hit by a data-security breach after third-party services provider Global Payments Inc discovered its systems were compromised by unauthorized access. It was not immediately clear how many cardholders became victims of the breach, which affected MasterCard Inc, Visa Inc, American Express Co and Discover Financial Services, as well as banks and other franchises that issue cards bearing their logos. U.S. ...
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Lawyer says U.S. blocks investigation of Afghan massacre
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:05 PM PDT
Reuters -  SEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer defending the U.S. soldier accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians claims U.S. authorities are blocking his ability to investigate the incident. John Henry Browne, the lawyer for Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, said U.S. forces in Afghanistan have prevented his team from interviewing injured civilians at a hospital in Kandahar, and are allowing other potential witnesses to scatter, making it difficult to track them down. "My gut is the reason is they don't have much of a case," said Browne at a press conference at his downtown Seattle office on Friday. ...
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Consumer spending jumps, GDP prospects brighten
Fri,30 Mar 2012 09:41 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending increased by the most in seven months in February as households shook off a rise in gasoline prices, leading economists to raise forecasts for first-quarter growth. Even with gasoline around $4 a gallon, Americans were more optimistic about the economy's prospects this month than at any other time over the past year, drawing solace from a firming labor market. The Commerce Department said on Friday that consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in February as demand for long-lasting goods, like automobiles, rose sharply. ...
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U.S. begins sanctions process in Airbus dispute with EU
Fri,30 Mar 2012 10:00 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday that European governments had failed to end illegal subsidies for aircraft manufacturer Airbus and so will be taking the first step at the World Trade Organization toward seeking sanctions on potentially billions of dollars of European goods. "We refuse to stand by while American businesses and workers are disadvantaged," U.S. ...
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Insight: Obama's North Korean leap of faith falls short
Fri,30 Mar 2012 08:14 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. diplomats filed into North Korea's grim embassy in Beijing last month they found an unlikely surprise: Starbucks. Their hosts, led by North Korean's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye-gwan, had ordered U.S.-style coffee for talks both sides hoped would lead to new negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear program and to resumed U.S. food shipments to one of the most feared and secretive countries in the world. There were more surprises to come. ...
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North Korea test fires short-range missiles: reports
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:08 AM PDT
Reuters -  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its west coast on Thursday believed to be part of a test to upgrade capabilities, said news reports published on Friday, quoting South Korean military officials. North Korea has raised tensions in recent weeks by announcing it would launch a rocket to put a satellite into orbit, but regional powers are urging Pyongyang to drop the plan, saying it would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. ...
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RIM posts loss as new CEO begins to clean house
Fri,30 Mar 2012 11:04 AM PDT
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion posted a net loss and its first slump in BlackBerry shipments for its holiday quarter since 2006, as its new CEO announced the initial steps in a strategic overhaul and would not rule out an eventual sale of the company. RIM's shares dropped as much as 9 percent on Thursday after the company said it would no longer issue financial forecasts and was reviewing "strategic opportunities" such as partnerships and joint-venture licensing, and other ways to leverage its assets. ...
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Japan to lift entry ban on some Fukushima cities
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:01 AM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan said on Friday it would lift entry bans on some cities in Fukushima prefecture that had been designated no-go zones due to their proximity to a nuclear power plant crippled by a powerful earthquake and tsunami last March. After the natural disasters triggered the worst atomic accident since Chernobyl by causing nuclear fuel meltdowns at the Daiichi power plant in Fukushima, 240 km (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo, the government evacuated a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the complex, in which around 80,000 people lived. ...
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Consumer sentiment highest in over a year
Fri,30 Mar 2012 07:45 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence rebounded to its highest level in 13 months at the end of March as optimism about jobs and income overcame higher prices at the gasoline pump, according to a survey released on Friday. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final March reading for the overall consumer sentiment index rose to 76.2, the highest since February 2011, from 75.3 in February. The final March figure rose from a preliminary reading of 74.3 and was above economists' median forecasts of 74.7. ...
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Dozens of Taliban killed in fighting in west Afghanistan
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:06 AM PDT
Reuters -  KABUL (Reuters) - Dozens of Taliban fighters were killed in U.S. air strikes and a gunbattle in western Afghanistan after an insurgent attack on an Afghan army patrol, NATO and Afghan officials said on Friday. A spokesman of the International Security Assistance Force said the patrol came under attack in Gulistan district in western Farah province on Wednesday, prompting a call for air support. "Numerous insurgents were killed, and several motorbikes were damaged or destroyed" following two strikes by coalition aircraft, he said. ...
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Fourth quarter income trends up, boost for spending
Thu,29 Mar 2012 02:03 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Household income grew at a faster pace in the fourth quarter than previously thought as the jobs market strengthened, a development that could underpin consumer spending. The Commerce Department said on Thursday real disposable income rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $11.73 trillion, $10.6 billion more than previously estimated. While its final estimate left growth in gross domestic product at an unrevised 3 percent pace last quarter, when measured from the income side, the economy expanded at a solid 4. ...
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February personal spending posts largest gain in 7 months
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:51 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending in February increased by the most in seven months even as income rose modestly, which could prompt analysts to scale back expectations of a sharp pull back in economic growth this quarter. The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending rose 0.8 percent, as households probably stepped up purchases of motor vehicles, despite a spike in gasoline prices. January's spending was revised up to 0.4 percent from a previously reported 0.2 percent gain. Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Apple, Foxconn set new standard for Chinese workers
Fri,30 Mar 2012 06:12 AM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc and its main contract manufacturing Foxconn agreed to tackle violations of conditions among the 1.2 million workers assembling iPhones and iPads in a landmark decision that could change the way Western companies do business in China. Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, whose subsidiary Hon Hai Precision Industry assembles Apple devices in factories in China, will hire tens of thousands of new workers, eliminate illegal overtime, improve safety protocols and upgrade workers' housing and other amenities. ...
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February personal spending posts largest gain in 7 months
Fri,30 Mar 2012 05:32 AM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer spending in February increased by the most in seven months even as income rose modestly, which could prompt analysts to scale back expectations of a sharp pull back in economic growth this quarter. The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending rose 0.8 percent, as households probably stepped up purchases of motor vehicles, despite a spike in gasoline prices. January's spending was revised up to 0.4 percent from a previously reported 0.2 percent gain. Economists polled by Reuters had expected spending, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexican presidential favorite vows to restore peace
Fri,30 Mar 2012 02:40 AM PDT
Reuters -  GUADALAJARA, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexican presidential front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto vowed to quell the growing violence engulfing his country as the campaign for the July 1 election took off on Friday with the ruling conservatives struggling to retain power. Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is hot favorite to succeed President Felipe Calderon, whose term in office has been dominated by the government's struggle to bring brutal drug cartels to heel. ...
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Euro zone agrees 800 billion euro firewall: Austria
Fri,30 Mar 2012 03:30 AM PDT
Reuters -  COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers have agreed to boost the currency bloc's debt crisis firewall to roughly 800 billion euros ($1.06 trillion), Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter said on Friday. After what sources called a heated discussion, the 17 countries sharing the euro agreed on the lowest common denominator favored by countries such as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, where public opinion is against more money for bailouts, EU sources said. ...
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Murdoch's media empire strikes back
Fri,30 Mar 2012 12:28 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch on Thursday declared war against "enemies" who have accused his pay-TV operation of sabotaging its rivals, denouncing them as "toffs and right wingers" stuck in the last century. Reports by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Financial Review newspaper this week said that News Corp's pay-TV smartcard security unit, NDS, had promoted piracy attacks on rivals, including in the United States. ...
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Japan government submits tax hike plan, heads into political showdown
Fri,30 Mar 2012 01:52 AM PDT
Reuters -  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's government on Friday submitted laws to double its sales tax by 2015 to fund swelling social security costs in the world's fastest-ageing nation, setting up a showdown that could split the ruling party, force early elections and deepen policy paralysis. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has staked his political career on the tax hike plan, but the chance of success looks slim as opposition parties in a divided parliament baulk at cooperating with the government. ...
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Pentagon says F-35 fighter delayed, costs rise 4.3 percent
Thu,29 Mar 2012 07:33 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - The cost of developing and building the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter rose 4.3 percent to $395.7 billion last year and the plane will not reach full-rate production until 2019, two years later than planned, the Pentagon said on Thursday. It cited a slowdown in orders from the U.S. military and other countries as a reason for the higher cost of the Lockheed Martin Corp next-generation combat plane, which has been dogged by delays and cost overruns. ...
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Assad says foreign aid to rebels must stop under peace plan
Thu,29 Mar 2012 12:36 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad said on Thursday Syria would spare no effort to ensure the success of international envoy Kofi Annan's peace mission but warned it would not work without securing an end to foreign funding and arming of rebels opposing him. Assad is under international pressure to call his troops and tanks back to their bases, a year into a popular revolt against his iron rule. Fighting between troops and rebels killed at least 38 more people on Thursday, 15 of them soldiers. ...
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China firm fights to stay out of court in U.S. spy case
Thu,29 Mar 2012 08:09 PM PDT
Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Chinese steel firm accused by the United States with industrial espionage targeting chemical giant DuPont will ask a judge to quash moves for it to appear in court because a summons was not delivered correctly, court filings said. The Pangang Group, a state-owned steel manufacturer in Sichuan province, allegedly worked with a California businessman and others to obtain several valuable trade secrets from DuPont, according to a U.S. indictment. Lawyers for Pangang argued in a document filed in San Francisco federal court on Thursday that the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
Google to open online tablet store: report
Thu,29 Mar 2012 05:20 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc is planning to open an online store to sell tablet PCs directly to consumers, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The online store would offer tablets made by Samsung Electronics Co and Asustek Computer Inc based on Google's Android software, according to the report, which cited anonymous sources and which Reuters was not able to confirm. Google declined to comment. ...
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Angry Spaniards strike against labor reform
Thu,29 Mar 2012 05:11 PM PDT
Reuters -  BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish workers angry at a labor reform the government calls an "unstoppable" necessity staged a general strike on Thursday, bringing factories and ports to a standstill and igniting flashes of violence on the streets. Hundreds of thousands attended largely peaceful marches throughout Spain, waving red flags and beating drums against the budget cuts of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was elected by a landslide only four months ago on a mandate to dig the country out of a debt crisis that has unnerved its European neighbors. ...
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BRICS flay West over IMF reform, monetary policy
Thu,29 Mar 2012 11:03 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging market nations pressed Western powers to cede more voting rights at the IMF this year and flayed the rich world's reflationary monetary policies for putting global economic stability in jeopardy. "This dynamic process of reform is necessary to ensure the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Fund," Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa said in a joint declaration after their one-day summit in New Delhi. ...
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House budget chair questions Pentagon budget cuts
Thu,29 Mar 2012 04:38 PM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon budget for next year is dishonest and generals who have endorsed it on Capitol Hill are not giving Congress their "true advice," a senior Republican lawmaker on budget matters said on Thursday amid rising rhetoric over looming defense cuts. Representative Paul Ryan, head of the budget committee of the House of Representatives, said the defense budget President Barack Obama sent to Congress last month was driven by spending constraints and not by the new U.S. military strategy unveiled in January. "We don't think the generals are giving us their true advice. ...
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Exclusive: West wants Saudi Arabia to keep up oil production
Thu,29 Mar 2012 12:50 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil consuming nations may seek reassurance from Saudi Arabia that it will not cut oil production and neutralize the impact on oil prices if consumer countries release emergency reserves, diplomats and industry sources said. The issue may be raised by a U.S. delegation, led by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which is in Riyadh this weekend to discuss Syria with Gulf states. Clinton will see Saudi King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal. ...
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Apple, Foxconn revamp China work conditions
Thu,29 Mar 2012 04:40 PM PDT
Reuters -  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In a landmark development for the way Western companies do business in China, Apple Inc said on Thursday it had agreed to work with partner Foxconn to tackle wage and working condition violations at the factories that produce its popular products. Foxconn - which makes Apple devices from the iPhone to the iPad - will hire tens of thousands of new workers, clamp down on illegal overtime, improve safety protocols and upgrade worker housing and other amenities. The moves come in response to one of the largest investigations ever conducted of a U.S. ...
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