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| French police arrest two in Toulouse killings probe Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:42 PM PST PARIS (Reuters) - French police arrested two people on Tuesday in the hunt for accomplices of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman who went on a killing spree in March, a judicial source said. The two men aged 29 and 30 were detained in southwest France, where gunman Mohamed Merah killed three soldiers, a rabbi and three Jewish children before he was shot dead by elite police forces besieging his home. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday he did not believe Merah had been a "lone wolf", but had received help from overseas and been radicalized in France. ... Full Story | Top |
| With or without Exxon, Iraq Kurds strive for energy autonomy Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:41 PM PST  ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Behind the closed doors of their offices in the United States, top executives and lawyers for Exxon Mobil are poring over two sets of contracts, weighing a decision that could shift the balance of power in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last week hastily convened a meeting with Exxon's chief executive Rex Tillerson in a bid to woo back the U.S. major, which had seemed intent on pulling out of the $50 billion West Qurna 1 oilfield in the south, in an area under Baghdad's control. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF sees higher Mauritius GDP growth in 2013 Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:30 PM PST  PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius' economy will grow 3.7 percent in 2013 compared to 3.3 percent last year, helped by improved activity in fisheries, financial services and information and communication technology, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The IMF had previously forecast the Indian Ocean island's economy would expand 3.7 percent in 2012. "Growth will be fuelled by strong growth in fisheries, information and communication technology and financial services," Martin Petri, IMF mission chief told a news conference. The IMF's forecast matches the government's own ... Full Story | Top |
| Benefits time bomb ticking for UK Conservatives Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:27 PM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - The last thing a British Conservative government wants in an election year is a rise in taxes for the middle class, yet that appears to be what Finance Minister George Osborne will deliver in his drive to cut costs. By the time the country votes for a new parliament in May 2015, many better off families may have been claiming benefits they are no longer entitled to for more than a year. The money will be recouped via their taxes, leaving many with hefty bills. ... Full Story | Top |
| French troops deploy to last of Mali rebel strongholds Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:21 PM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - French troops have been deployed at the airport of the northern Malian town of Kidal, the last rebel stronghold in the north, a French officer and a local official told Reuters on Wednesday. "I can confirm it. They arrived late last night and they deployed in four planes and some helicopters," said Haminy Belco Maiga, president of the regional assembly of Kidal. A French officer said operations were "ongoing" in Kidal, the last of northern Mali's major towns to be retaken by French forces after they reached Gao and Timbuktu earlier this week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali secures recaptured towns, donors pledge funds Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:21 PM PST  DOUENTZA/GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French-backed Malian troops searched house-to-house in Gao and Timbuktu on Tuesday, uncovering arms and explosives abandoned by Islamist fighters, and France said it aimed to hand over longer-term security operations in Mali to an African force. An 18-day offensive in France's former West African colony has pushed the militants out of major towns and into desert and mountain hideouts to head off the risk of Mali being used as a springboard for jihadist attacks in the wider region or Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan PM shrugs off global criticism over latest stimulus steps Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:11 PM PST  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe waded into the growing global debate about currency wars for the first time on Wednesday, shrugging off criticism that Tokyo was trying to intentionally weaken the yen with its monetary and fiscal stimulus measures. "The measures taken by the government and the BOJ are aimed at beating deflation and achieving sustainable economic growth," Abe said, when asked by an opposition party leader in parliament about criticism from some overseas policymakers that the steps were attempts by Tokyo to directly weaken the yen. ... Full Story | Top |
| One dead after Alabama school bus shooting, child seized Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:02 PM PST (Reuters) - A gunman boarded an Alabama school bus ferrying children home from school on Tuesday and fatally shot the driver before fleeing with a young child and holing up in an underground bunker, Alabama media reported. Sheriff's officials confirmed that one person had been killed in a shooting involving a school bus in Alabama's Dale County but gave scant details other than to say that a child was present at the scene in Midland City. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia scraps law enforcement deal with Washington Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 11:00 PM PST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia is scrapping its agreement with Washington to cooperate on law enforcement and narcotics control, another sign of deteriorating ties between the Cold War-era foes since Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin last year. The order, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the government website on Wednesday, said the agreement, which came into force in 2002, "does not address current realities and has exhausted its potential". Moscow is unhappy with a law passed by the United States last year imposing sanctions on alleged Russian human rights abusers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel to give Palestinians $100 million in withheld funds Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:47 PM PST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel will give Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's administration around $100 million in tax revenues that had been withheld in retaliation for his statehood bid in the United Nations, Israeli officials said on Wednesday. They described the handover as a one-time deal, signaling rightist Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had not formally scrapped sanctions that have hurt the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and worried world powers. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N.'s Ban says aid response for Syria "very limited" Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:26 PM PST KUWAIT (Reuters) - The United Nations is receiving only limited support for its aid to millions of Syrians, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in published remarks, adding its humanitarian work needed "generous" help from a donor pledging conference on Wednesday. The gathering in the Gulf Arab state of Kuwait will seek $1 billion of aid for Syria's neighbors sheltering 700,000 registered refugees, and another $500 million to bankroll humanitarian work for 4 million Syrians inside their country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sixty-five people executed in Syria's Aleppo: activists Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:26 PM PST  BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 65 people were found shot dead with their hands bound in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Tuesday in a "new massacre" in the near two-year revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. Opposition campaigners blamed the government but it was impossible to confirm who was responsible. Assad's forces and rebels have been battling in Syria's commercial hub since July and both have been accused of carrying out summary executions. U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan says militant bases broken up near Afghan border Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:25 PM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani security officials broke up more than a dozen militant sanctuaries in the Khyber tribal region this week and killed 23 fighters, they said, while tribal sources said pro-Taliban groups killed 20 pro-government militants. The Lashkar-e-Islam and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant groups attacked villages in the Tirah region and killed residents when they tried to stop them entering the area, the security officials said, requesting anonymity. Tirah is a maze of valleys on a route from Afghanistan to the Pakistani city of Peshawar. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clinton says she doesn't see "getting back into politics" Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:24 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday cast doubt on speculation she might run for the White House in 2016. In an interview taped for National Public Radio, Clinton was asked what questions she needs to answer for herself as she decides whether to run for president. "I'm not even posing those questions. I am really looking forward to stepping off the fast track that I've been on. I've been out of politics as Secretary of State. I don't see myself getting back into politics," she said, according to an excerpt of the interview. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: CIA nominee had detailed knowledge of "enhanced interrogation techniques" Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:13 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Brennan, President Barack Obama's nominee to head the CIA, had detailed, contemporaneous knowledge of the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" on captured terrorism suspects during an earlier stint as a top spy agency official, according to multiple sources familiar with official records. Those records, the sources said, show that Brennan was a regular recipient of CIA message traffic about controversial aspects of the agency's counter-terrorism program after September 2001, including the use of "waterboarding. ... Full Story | Top |
| In big push for Hagel, no leading from behind from White House Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:09 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Pentagon, prepared to meet with senior New York Senator Chuck Schumer in mid-January, the White House stepped in and ensured that the get-together would take place quickly - and in the West Wing. Some of the loudest objections to Obama's choice of Hagel for secretary of defense stemmed from lawmakers' concerns about his past comments on Israel and Iran. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fed seen maintaining bond-buying, but divisions remain Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:03 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is expected to keep monetary policy on a steady path when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, though behind the scenes intensive debate continues over when the controversial bond-buying program should be curtailed. The policy statement issued by the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe draft constitution curbs presidential powers Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:03 PM PST  HARARE (Reuters) - A draft constitution in Zimbabwe that paves the way for an election this year curbs presidential powers and strengthens cabinet and parliament, which have been weakened under veteran President Robert Mugabe's rule. According to a final copy of the draft charter obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, the president will be required to exercise power in consultation with the cabinet, with decrees requiring its majority backing. The current constitution allows the president to issue decrees alone that can have the force of law for up to six months. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. growth seen braking as inventories, government weigh Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy likely grew at its slowest pace in nearly two years in the fourth quarter as businesses added less stock to their warehouses and government spending fizzled, setting it up for a difficult start in 2013. Gross domestic product probably expanded at a 1.1 percent annual rate, braking sharply from a 3.1 percent clip in the third quarter, according to a Reuters poll of economists. That would mark the weakest growth pace since the first quarter of 2011 and it would show the economy entering the new year with little momentum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian PM surprises with September election call Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 10:00 PM PST  CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard set national elections for September 14, stunning voters on Wednesday with eight months notice of the vote in a bold move designed to end political uncertainty surrounding her struggling minority government. The election date means Gillard's government will serve a full three-year term, although analysts said the early notice meant she had started an eight-month campaign and lost her ability catch opposition leader Tony Abbott by surprise with a snap early poll. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria removes $1 bln from oil savings to give governors Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:54 PM PST  ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan approved the removal on Tuesday of $1 billion from the country's oil savings to distribute to state governors for unspecified projects, one of the governors said after a meeting with him. The withdrawal leaves $8.242 billion in the Excess Crude Account (ECA), Nigeria's mechanism for oil savings, Rivers state governor Rotimi Amaechi said after the meeting. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been on a drive to boost savings for Africa's second largest economy, doubling the balance in the ECA over a year before this withdrawal. ... Full Story | Top |
| For Mali Islamist rebels, death came from the sky Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:52 PM PST  DOUENTZA, Mali (Reuters) - The group of Islamist rebels occupying this dusty northern Malian town at the gateway to Timbuktu had been slaughtering a cow to eat at a small hotel. The next instant, they were caught in an explosive blizzard of flying concrete and shrapnel. "They ate no meat. Many were killed, maybe 40," said Hamidou Dicko, a neighbour who had peered over his mud-brick wall at the hotel - used by the rebels as a base - after the French warplanes attacked late on January 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU takes on task of rebuilding Mali army Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:41 PM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union has a vital role to play in rebuilding Malian army that is badly paid, poorly equipped and seriously weakened by a year of defeats, the commander of a new EU military training mission said on Tuesday. French General Francois Lecointre, speaking after an initial fact-finding trip to Mali, where troops are fighting with French help to push back Islamist rebels who occupied the north of the country, said the army there was in a "very broken-down" state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury needs exit plan for Ally Financial: watchdog Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 09:05 PM PST (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury needs to develop a concrete plan for exiting its 74 percent stake in auto lender Ally Financial Inc, the second-largest remaining recipient of federal bailout dollars, an internal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday. The agency, however, must exercise "great care and coordination" with the U.S. Federal Reserve in planning its exit to make sure Ally maintains a viable presence as a lender to the U.S. auto industry, said the watchdog, the special inspector general for the U.S. government's bailout program. Starting in 2008, the government pumped $17. ... Full Story | Top |
| China parliament: no flowers, gifts and keep speeches short Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:46 PM PST BEIJING (Reuters) - No flowers, no banquets, no gifts, no welcoming ceremonies and more importantly no useless long-winded speeches -- Chinese state media on Wednesday laid out strict instructions for this year's annual meeting of parliament. Normally a bastion of sycophancy, as the hand-picked delegates seek to out-compete each other in lauding the Communist Party, the official Xinhua news agency said that would change when the largely rubber stamp parliament meets in March. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nudists lose bid to block San Francisco ban on baring all Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:31 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nudists in famously tolerant San Francisco lost a bid on Tuesday to block a city ban on nakedness in public places, when a federal judge threw out a legal challenge that argued public nudity was akin to political expression. San Francisco city leaders last month approved the ban on baring it all in streets, public plazas and the transit system to curtail public nudity, which some residents and business owners complained had gotten out of control. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arizona Latinos say Obama's immigration push overdue Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:06 PM PST PHOENIX (Reuters) - Student Maxima Guerrero welcomed Democratic President Barack Obama's drive to give millions of illegal immigrants like her a pathway to U.S. citizenship on Tuesday, saying it cannot come soon enough for many in the tough-on-immigration state of Arizona. "It was a good step forward," said Guerrero, 22, a student in Phoenix. But one speech will not stop deportations, which are separating some local children from their parents, who entered the country illegally, she said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama pushes Congress on immigration, split emerges Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 08:06 PM PST  LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Just over a week into his second term, President Barack Obama took his fight for immigration reform to the West on Tuesday and pushed Congress to quickly find a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented residents. But as Obama praised a bipartisan immigration plan during a speech in Las Vegas, disagreement emerged between the White House and Republicans that underscored the difficulty of resolving an emotive issue that has long defied a legislative fix. ... Full Story | Top |
| Los Angeles official seeks to shut hotels for maternity tourists Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 07:02 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Los Angeles official moved on Tuesday to crack down on so-called maternity hotels he said have sprung up across parts of Southern California as pregnant women travel to the United States in a growing "birthing tourism" trend. Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe asked colleagues to approve a series of steps designed to ultimately close the hotels - typically single-family homes carved into bedrooms where visiting women pay to stay in anticipation of giving birth to a child who will be born a U.S. citizen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Actress Ashley Judd and race car driver Dario Franchitti split Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 06:26 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - American actress Ashley Judd and her Scottish race car driver husband Dario Franchitti are ending their marriage after 11 years. The movie star, 44, and the Indianapolis 500 race car driver, 39, married in 2001 and have no children. "We have mutually decided to end our marriage. We'll always be family and continue to cherish our relationship based on the special love, integrity and respect we have always enjoyed," a representative for the couple told People magazine in a statement on Tuesday. No reason was given for the split. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cuban baseball defector returns home under new law Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 06:12 PM PST  HAVANA (Reuters) - A decade after he defected to the United States to play Major League Baseball, Cuban pitcher Jose Contreras has returned to his homeland in the first test of the island's liberalized travel laws. He was welcomed on Tuesday at Havana's Hot Corner, a mecca for baseball fans, by about 200 people who crowded around to get photos and autographs from the lanky right-hander. Contreras, 41, signed baseball caps, dollar bills, Cuban money and a woman's dress as he mixed happily with his fellow countrymen in an emotional return home. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazilian cities crack down on nightclubs after deadly fire Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 05:28 PM PST  SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Cities across Brazil are cracking down on nightclubs to ensure that they comply with fire regulations after a weekend blaze destroyed a club in the southern university town of Santa Maria, killing 235 people. The fire was Brazil's deadliest in half a century and the tragedy resonated across the country, with many people demanding those responsible be prosecuted and that the government tighten up on safety. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate Democrats plan fresh push to ease home refinancing Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 05:16 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats will propose legislation as early as this week to extend a government program that aims to help homeowners with government-backed loans to refinance, according to aides on Capitol Hill. The proposal would expand on a housing relief bill that Senators Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer failed to gain traction on last year. The legislation aims to open the door to refinancing for more borrowers who owe more than their properties are worth. More than 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Guantanamo defense lawyers want prison camp sleep-over Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 04:57 PM PST  GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Lawyers defending the Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 attacks sought permission on Tuesday to spend 48 hours in the top-secret prison where the alleged al Qaeda conspirators have awaited trial for more than six years. "You want to sleep with your client?" Army tribunal judge Colonel James Pohl asked one of the lawyers during a hearing, provoking snickers in the courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. ... Full Story | Top |
| Families of servicemen killed in attack to get Iran money Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 04:46 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The families of 17 U.S. servicemen killed in a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia linked to Iran can collect damages from Iran-funded accounts at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan ordered the bank, which did not oppose the motion, to hand over more than $260,000 in various accounts linked to Tehran, still a far cry from the full amount to which the families are entitled. In June 1996, a truck bomb destroyed the Khobar Towers, a housing complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. servicemen. ... Full Story | Top |
| Job growth likely modest but steady in January Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 04:18 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hiring by employers likely held steady in January, pointing to modest growth in the economy despite worries that budget battles in Washington could derail the recovery. Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have risen 160,000, a marginal step up from December's 155,000 job gain, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 7.8 percent. Many economists think companies would create more jobs if Washington could resolve a seemingly intractable fight over how to tame the federal budget deficit. ... Full Story | Top |
| Muse to play anniversary gig for War Child charity Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 04:05 PM PST LONDON (Reuters) - British rock band Muse will headline a gig in London next month to mark the 20th anniversary of War Child, a charity that aims to protect young victims of conflicts around the world. The gig on February 18 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire will be the fifth time War Child has staged a concert in association with the BRIT Awards, Britain's top pop honors which take place this year at the O2 Arena on February 20. War Child is to receive the inaugural Special Recognition Award at the ceremony, while Muse has been nominated for best British group and best British live act. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria "breaking up before everyone's eyes:" envoy tells U.N. Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 03:45 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N.-Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi warned the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may be able to cling to power for now but the country is "breaking up before everyone's eyes," diplomats told Reuters. Brahimi appealed to the 15-nation council to overcome its deadlock and take action to help put an end to the Syrian civil war. However, it was not clear whether his latest report, which diplomats said was his bleakest since his appointment last year, would persuade Russia to agree to support concrete U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Blind dissident urges global pressure on China over rights Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 03:41 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged the United States on Tuesday not to let business concerns prevent it from pressing China over human rights, saying America must never "offer the smallest compromise" on its principles. Chen is a self-taught legal advocate whose escape from house arrest last April and subsequent refuge in the U.S. Embassy embarrassed China and led to a diplomatic tussle that ended with him leaving China to study in New York. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate approves Kerry as secretary of state Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013 03:35 PM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John Kerry's nomination as President Barack Obama's new secretary of state sailed through the Senate on Tuesday, as his fellow senators voted overwhelmingly to confirm him to replace Hillary Clinton as the country's top diplomat. The vote was 94-3 in favor. The two senators from Texas, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, and Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, all Republicans, were the only no votes. Kerry, the senior Democratic senator from Massachusetts, voted "present." Kerry's confirmation as the first new member of Obama's second-term national security team had been expected. ... Full Story | Top |
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