Today's Reuters World News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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Australia PM stands by Huawei ban despite China plea
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:19 PM PDT
Reuters -  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard backed a ban on Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from tendering for major government contracts on Thursday after Beijing raised concerns about fair treatment for Chinese firms. Australia has blocked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's largest telecoms company, from tendering for contracts in Australia's $38 billion high-speed broadband network (NBN) due to undefined security concerns. Gillard told reporters she stood by the decision, saying the move was not against trade rules, and pointed to China's own rules on telecoms ...
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Torture marred rule of fallen Chinese leader: lawyer
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:09 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIJING (Reuters) - Lawyer Li Zhuang remembers the snap as police buckled him into a "tiger seat", an instrument for sleep deprivation that he said was a staple in the crusade against organized crime that won fame for China's now fallen leadership aspirant Bo Xilai. Li has been the most outspoken lawyer to challenge Bo's crackdown on crime syndicates, an offensive that boosted Bo's nationwide popularity and hopes for climbing from his base in Chongqing, a huge city in the southwest, to the centre of power when China's new leadership is chosen later this year. ...
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BRICS nations gird to pressure West over imbalances
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:56 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The BRICS group of emerging market nations will look at ways of pressuring the West to redress global economic imbalances amid growing frustration at the pace of change in institutions such as the IMF at a meeting in Delhi on Thursday. Brazil's Trade and Industry Minister Fernando Pimentel told Reuters on the eve of the meeting his country hopes for a summit communique denouncing what it sees as unfair monetary policies by Europe and the United States. ...
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Spanish strike to test tolerance for austerity
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:52 PM PDT
Reuters -  MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish unions hold a general strike on Thursday in a test of public patience with austerity a day before Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announces a new round of deep budget cuts. Spaniards have shown remarkable tolerance as Rajoy's centre-right government struggles to meet strict European-set deficit goals, but that may be running low as the economy enters its fourth year of low or no growth. ...
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U.S. charges JetBlue pilot for midair meltdown
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:49 PM PDT
Reuters -  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. authorities filed criminal charges on Wednesday against a JetBlue Airways pilot who witnesses said yelled incoherently about religion and the 2001 hijack attacks and pounded on a locked cockpit door before passengers subdued him in a midair uproar. Flight 191 was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday, following what authorities described as erratic behavior by Capt. Clayton Frederick Osbon, who allegedly ran through the cabin before passengers tackled him in the galley. A flight attendant suffered bruised ribs, officials said. ...
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Intrigue, treachery charges fly in fight for U.N. post
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:42 PM PDT
Reuters -  UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Accusations of threats, Cold War-style treachery and backstage attempts by Russia to punish a former Soviet ally are turning a routine election for a high-profile but largely ceremonial U.N. post into a bitter diplomatic tussle. The countries vying for the presidency of the 193-nation U.N. General Assembly are Serbia and Lithuania. Both want the 12-month post that involves chairing the annual gathering of world leaders in New York in September and other U.N. events. The U.N. assembly has no real power. ...
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Japan hangs 3 murderers in first executions since 2010
Wed,28 Mar 2012 09:48 PM PDT
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan hanged three convicted multiple murderers on Thursday, the Justice Ministry said, its first executions in almost two years putting it back alongside the United States as the only leading developed nations to carry out the death penalty. Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa authorized the executions of the three men and they were hanged in jails in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Fukuoka, the ministry said. They were the first executions in Japan since two death row inmates were hanged in July 2010. ... Full Story | Top |
Brazil World Cup legislation moves closer to passage
Wed,28 Mar 2012 08:00 PM PDT
Reuters - BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian lawmakers on Wednesday moved a step closer to passing a long-delayed measure key to preparations for the 2014 soccer World Cup, breaking a gridlock in Congress that threatened to delay President Dilma Rousseff's legislative agenda this year. The lower house of deputies voted in favor of the bill after Rousseff appeared to bow to pressure from lawmakers of her unruly coalition to release some frozen cash for their pet projects. The bill still needs to be debated in the senate. ... Full Story | Top |
Data request investigation points finger at UK newspapers
Wed,28 Mar 2012 05:30 PM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Analysis showing the alleged extent of a private investigator's dealings with some British national newspapers was published on Wednesday by ITV News. The broadcaster's investigation into Steve Whittamore's activities, known as Operation Motorman, reveals that newspapers made hundreds of requests for information about public figures. A number of British newspapers, including the Mirror, the People and the Daily Mail, which it is claimed requested the personal details of the Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton, are implicated in the investigation. ...
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Data request investigation points finger at UK newspapers
Wed,28 Mar 2012 04:48 PM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Analysis showing the alleged extent of a private investigator's dealings with some British national newspapers was published on Wednesday by ITV News. The broadcaster's investigation into Steve Whittamore's activities, known as Operation Motorman, reveals that newspapers made hundreds of requests for information about public figures. A number of British newspapers, including the Mirror, the People and the Daily Mail, which it is claimed requested the personal details of the Duchess of Cambridge and her sister Pippa Middleton, are implicated in the investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. charges screaming, incoherent JetBlue pilot
Wed,28 Mar 2012 04:48 PM PDT
Reuters - AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Authorities filed criminal charges on Wednesday against a JetBlue pilot who screamed over the radio, pounded on the door of the cockpit and was tackled by passengers during a chaotic flight from New York forced to make an emergency landing in Texas. Flight 191 was diverted to Amarillo, Texas, on Tuesday, following what federal authorities described as erratic behavior by captain Clayton Frederick Osbon, who passengers said was restrained after he pounded on the locked cockpit door. A U.S. ...
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Pope meets Cuba's Fidel Castro, slams U.S. embargo
Wed,28 Mar 2012 04:37 PM PDT
Reuters -  HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict called for an end to the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba and met with revolutionary icon Fidel Castro on Wednesday as he ended a trip in which he urged the communist island to change. He also spoke at a public Mass in Havana's sprawling Revolution Square where the Vatican said 300,000 people gathered to hear the 84-year-old pontiff. ...
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Iran says expects nuclear talks on April 13
Wed,28 Mar 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters -  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran expects to reopen talks with world powers that could defuse mounting tensions over its disputed nuclear program on April 13, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Wednesday. Turkey has offered to host the talks and the location will be decided in the next few days, Salehi said, after greeting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on his arrival in Tehran. The major nations are keen to get Iran to enter talks on curbing its uranium enrichment program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing a nuclear weapons capability but Tehran says is peaceful. ...
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Could bombing Iran push it to build the Bomb?
Wed,28 Mar 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters - VIENNA (Reuters) - Pre-emptive military strikes aimed at forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear activities may end up having the opposite effect: convincing the Islamic Republic's leaders they need an atomic arsenal to secure their hold on power. That is the argument from those in the West and elsewhere who say the negative impact of an Israeli or U.S. attack would eventually outweigh any gains - pushing Iran towards a decision that Western intelligence services believe it has not yet taken. ... Full Story | Top |
U.S. sets sanctions on Iran shipping, engineer firms
Wed,28 Mar 2012 03:46 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday set additional sanctions against Iranian engineering firms with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), which it said has continued to expand its control of the Iranian economy. It also sanctioned individuals and shipping companies with ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL). ... Full Story | Top |
Obama lawyer asks Supreme Court to save healthcare law
Wed,28 Mar 2012 07:24 AM PDT
Reuters -  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's top courtroom lawyer made an impassioned plea on Wednesday for the Supreme Court to save President Barack Obama's healthcare law, capping three days of historic arguments that left it unclear how the nine justices would rule. Having peppered lawyers for and against the law with questions for more than six hours over the three days, the justices withdrew to their chambers to begin up to three months of deliberation expected to yield a decision by late June. ...
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"What does a pope do?" Fidel Castro asks Benedict
Wed,28 Mar 2012 03:33 PM PDT
Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, both octogenarians, joked about their age in a brief meeting on Wednesday and then Castro popped the question: so what do you do? The two world figures chatted for about 30 minutes at the Vatican embassy in Havana near the end of the pope's three-day visit to Cuba, where he called for greater freedom and a bigger role for the Catholic Church in the communist-led nation. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict, 84, and Castro, 85, had an "exchange of ideas" in a "very cordial" atmosphere. ... Full Story | Top |
Exclusive: Brazil to rally BRICS against rich countries
Wed,28 Mar 2012 03:15 PM PDT
Reuters -  NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Brazil will push for its large emerging-market peers including China to denounce what it sees as unfair monetary policies by Europe and the United States, raising the stakes in a global confrontation over economic imbalances. Brazilian Trade and Industry Minister Fernando Pimentel told Reuters on Wednesday his country would seek such language in a communique at this week's BRICS summit, which brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. ...
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New tool helps U.S. group track sex crimes in Syria
Wed,28 Mar 2012 02:50 PM PDT
Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. women's group is using new crowd-sourcing techniques to track rape and other sexual violence across Syria in one of the first efforts to monitor assaults against women during military conflict in real-time. The effort by the Women's Media Center aims to shed light on such assaults and provide possible evidence to prosecute future human rights violations and war crimes. The group launched its website on Wednesday and said it was working with multiple Syrian activists whom it did not identify. ... Full Story | Top |
Rating agencies still wary about Ontario finances
Wed,28 Mar 2012 02:47 PM PDT
Reuters -  TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario's bold austerity budget has received lukewarm response from bond investors and credit rating agencies as they question whether the minority government of the heavily indebted Canadian province can deliver on pledges to freeze public sector wages and implement tough spending caps. Credit rating agency Moody's - which lowered its outlook on Ontario's debt ratings to "negative" in December - said on Wednesday that a downgrade for Ontario is "still a possibility". "The outlook is negative, so the pressure is on the downside. ...
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Syrian violence ignores peace diplomacy
Wed,28 Mar 2012 02:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian forces bombarded cities and towns in southern and northern Syria on Wednesday and stormed villages, forcing thousands to flee after President Bashar al-Assad accepted a peace plan calling for the army to withdraw to barracks. Assad's ally Iran backed the peace plan, saying Syria's crisis "should be dealt with patiently", and Russia said it was now up to Syria's opposition groups to also endorse the proposals, which do not require Assad to give up power. But the United States, Germany and the Arab League called for action not words. ...
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Factbox: Main proposals of French election candidates
Wed,28 Mar 2012 01:58 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Following are the main election pledges of the six leading candidates in France's 2012 presidential race: NICOLAS SARKOZY, CENTRE-RIGHT UMP PARTY * Sarkozy wants structural economic reforms to boost competitiveness and growth. Before officially declaring his candidacy he announced proposals to wind down the 35-hour week and raise VAT in order to fund a reduction in social charges for employers to lower the cost of labor; * Sarkozy has pledged to reform the country's generous welfare system to get the long-term unemployed back to work. ... Full Story | Top |
France's Sarkozy narrows Hollande's second round poll lead
Wed,28 Mar 2012 01:58 PM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS (Reuters) - Two polls on Wednesday showed France's conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of his Socialist challenger in the first round of a presidential election next month and narrowing his strong lead for the decisive run-off in May. A survey by TNS-Sofres/Sopra group found that Sarkozy had pulled ahead in voting intentions for the April 22 first-round vote with 29 percent versus 28 percent for Francois Hollande, vying to become France's first Socialist president since 1995. ...
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Thousands rally for Mali junta, Toure says free
Wed,28 Mar 2012 01:56 PM PDT
Reuters -  BAMAKO (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators chanted pro-junta slogans in Mali's capital on Wednesday, protesting against the threats of foreign powers to use sanctions to force the leaders of last week's military coup to step down. Deposed leader Amadou Toumani Toure, meanwhile, said in his first public comments since he was ousted that he was free and unharmed somewhere inside the West African nation, and called for a swift solution to the crisis. ...
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Canada to test immigrants' professional credentials
Wed,28 Mar 2012 01:13 PM PDT
Reuters - OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government says it is taking action to try to ensure that immigrants with foreign professional credentials are actually qualified to work in their chosen fields in Canada, with the screening to be done before they arrive. Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced the proposed new requirement on Wednesday in a speech to regulatory bodies that are responsible for recognizing or denying foreign credentials. ... Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Mexican presidential candidates on the issues
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - On July 1, Mexican voters elect a new president faced with the challenge of controlling drug violence and boosting an economy that is failing to create enough jobs to meet the demands of a growing population. The law bars President Felipe Calderon from seeking a second six-year term, and the contest is being fought chiefly by three candidates: front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Josefina Vazquez Mota of Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the 2006 runner-up, leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. ... Full Story | Top |
Factbox: Mexico's presidential candidates
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicans will choose a new leader on July 1 amid rampant drug violence and a sluggish economy that have hurt the administration of President Felipe Calderon. Four candidates are on the ballot, with Calderon himself prohibited by law from running for a second term. The campaign will officially start on Friday. The field is clearly led by Enrique Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI, which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century. ... Full Story | Top |
Mexico presidential favorite Pena Nieto has clear lead: poll
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters -  MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican presidential front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto has a 10-percentage point lead over his closest rival ahead of the election campaign that officially starts on Friday, a public opinion poll showed. Pena Nieto, of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has 36 percent backing, while Josefina Vazquez Mota of President Felipe Calderon's conservative National Action Party (PAN) is second with 26 percent, the survey by newspaper Reforma said on Wednesday. Mexico will elect a new president on July 1. ...
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Analysis: Young face promises new dawn for old Mexican party
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:38 PM PDT
Reuters - MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - In his campaign to be Mexico's next president, Enrique Pena Nieto has struggled to name a single book he has read, upset some women with a sexist remark and had to admit he fathered two children outside marriage. But none of that has seriously threatened his hopes of winning the election on July 1. The telegenic Pena Nieto carries the hopes of the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century until it lost power in 2000. ... Full Story | Top |
Libya militias resume fighting after ceasefire
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:24 PM PDT
Reuters -  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Rival militias in the Libyan city of Sabha resumed fighting hours after calling a ceasefire on Wednesday, after three days of clashes that killed more than 50 people and highlight the government's failure to restore law and order nationwide. Representatives from the Sabha and Tibu-dominated militias had held a meeting at which they had agreed to end the fighting, said Ahmed Abdelqadir, a local council member in Sabha. But shooting resumed just a few hours later, Sabha fighter Oweidat al-Hifnawi said. ...
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Canada's Flaherty says budget spending cuts modest
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:14 PM PDT
Reuters -  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Spending cuts in Canada's federal budget, which will be presented on Thursday, will be modest and mostly affect back-office operations rather than programs and services, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters during his customary pre-budget visit to a shoe store, Flaherty promised the government would eliminate its budget deficit, now at about 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, in the medium term, without putting a date on it. "We want to stay on plan. We want to get to a balanced budget in the medium term. ...
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Body of French gunman may be sent to Algeria for burial
Wed,28 Mar 2012 12:04 PM PDT
Reuters -  ALGIERS/PARIS (Reuters) - The father of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who killed seven people in a shooting rampage in southwest France said on Wednesday he wanted his son buried in Algeria, but the Algerian authorities had yet to agree to receive the body. "I believe the paperwork will take some time before we will be able to transfer the body of my son here, to Algeria," Mohamed Benalel Merah told Reuters by telephone. "The consulate in Toulouse has to send a file to the city hall in (the Algerian city of) Medea, which has to send it back. ...
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U.S. generals, Pakistan army chief meet on NATO skirmish
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:59 AM PDT
Reuters -  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The head of U.S. Central Command and the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan met Pakistan's army chief on Wednesday in the first high-level military visit since a cross-border U.S. attack last November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Their talks, announced by the Pakistani military, took place a day after U.S. President Barack Obama met Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in Seoul. He expressed hope that Pakistan's review of strained ties with Washington would respect U.S. security needs. ...
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Gas leaks near flare as Total dismisses blast risk
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:57 AM PDT
Reuters -  PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Explosive natural gas is leaking from Total's Elgin North Sea platform less than 100 meters from a flare which workers left burning as they evacuated the rig, the French energy company said on Wednesday. Total dismissed the risk of a blast at the platform, 240 km (150 miles) off the east coast of Scotland, and the British government said the flame had to remain burning to prevent excess gas pressure from building up. ...
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Moody's says Ontario downgrade still possible
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:55 AM PDT
Reuters - TORONTO (Reuters) - Credit rating agency Moody's said on Wednesday that a downgrade for Ontario is "still a possibility" despite austerity measures the Canadian province announced in Tuesday's budget aimed at eliminating its deficit in six years and calming investors. Moody's lowered its outlook on Ontario's debt ratings to "negative" in December, blaming the province's growing debt burden, softening economic outlook and the length of time it will take to balanced its budget. ... Full Story | Top |
Liberals challenge Islamist grip on Syrian National Council
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:18 AM PDT
Reuters - ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syrian opposition leaders agreed on Wednesday to expand and reorganize the main dissident group receiving international backing in the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, in a move that could lessen Islamist influence on the organization. Invited by Turkey and Arab League chair Qatar to form a common front in their year-old uprising against Assad, the opposition met in Istanbul on Tuesday riven by disputes. ... Full Story | Top |
Pope Benedict meets Fidel Castro in Havana
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:48 AM PDT
Reuters - HAVANA (Reuters) - Pope Benedict met with Cuban revolutionary icon Fidel Castro after saying mass in Havana on Wednesday, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. The meeting comes towards the close of the pope's three-day visit to the Communist-run island, during which the pontiff has called for greater freedoms, and a bigger role for the Roman Catholic Church in Cuban society. (Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Eric Walsh) Full Story | Top |
Egyptian army takes on Islamists to retain power
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:46 AM PDT
Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is locked in a power struggle with ruling generals over how much influence the army will have after civilians take over in three months time, a dispute that could decide whether democracy thrives after Hosni Mubarak's ouster. The tussle is over a new constitution, being drafted by an Islamist-led assembly, and focuses on the powers of the next president, the extent army privileges will be preserved and how much say the military will have in national security policy in future, Brotherhood members and an army official told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
Protests against Italy's Monti rising
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:33 AM PDT
Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italy's three main trade union federations will hold a joint protest rally against Prime Minister Mario Monti's economic reforms on April 13, the head of the country's largest union, Susanna Camusso, said on Tuesday. The proposed labor reforms, including changes which would make it easier for companies to fire workers, have already prompted the CGIL union to call a general strike, although no date has been set. ... Full Story | Top |
Egypt rulers lift block on Ayman Nour election bid
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:12 AM PDT
Reuters -  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military rulers on Wednesday lifted a ban preventing Ayman Nour from running for the presidency, opening the way for a presidential bid by the liberal politician who came a distant second to Hosni Mubarak in a 2005 election. Nour mounted the most serious challenge to Mubarak that year. He was sentenced a few months later to five years in prison on charges of forgery that were widely viewed as trumped up as part of a political vendetta. ...
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