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Sunday, September 30, 2012 12:04 PM PDT

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Labour to impose "real" bank split if elected - Miliband Egypt signs $1 billion Turkish loan deal Child killed in Kenya church grenade attack Ten years later, DC sniper says he felt like "scum" California bans gay "conversion" therapy for minors Argentina president's image slides further as CPI, crime weigh Two Kenyan police officers shot dead near Somalia border Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me Two Americans killed in confused Afghan shootout Five things to watch in the presidential debate Before first presidential debate, allies debate stakes Muslim protesters torch Buddhist temples, homes in Bangladesh Azerbaijan eyes aiding Israel against Iran France's Hollande faces street protest over EU fiscal pact String of Iraq blasts kills at least 32 Kenya navy shells Somali town after rebels announce retreat Italy business lobby head against second Monti government Russian Church tells Pussy Riot to repent before appeal Venezuela opposition wants deaths probe, Chavez vows to improve In Syrian shadow, Iraq's Maliki juggles Tehran, Washington Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists France, Germany agree strategy in EADS talks: report Analysis: As fiscal cliff nears, markets ponder a rougher ride Turkish democracy is example for Muslim world: Erdogan Baghdad to make payments to ease Kurd oil conflict Saudi detains activist after demonstrations near Yemen border Insight: Three lawyers ask U.S. Supreme Court: Why here? A history of the U.S. Alien Tort Statute Anglican church deadlocked over new leader - report Pope's bid to win over Catholic rebels seems at dead end Exxon yet to inspect Afghanistan's biggest oil project: minister Preserving old ships is dear to U.S. veterans, costly for museums UK banks must lend more and build defences - regulator Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style Israel finance minister says Iran economy "on verge of collapse" Nigeria security officers held over suspected militant links UK's Labour to impose "real" bank split if elected: Miliband Give Greece more time, says Germany's Steinbrueck Iraq to check Syria-bound Iran flights for arms: Zebari Labour to impose "real" bank split if elected - Miliband Sun,30 Sep 2012 11:24 AM PDT Reuters - MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Labour leader Ed Miliband launched an offensive against banks on Sunday ahead of his party's annual conference, promising a "real separation" of retail and investment banking and to raise the top rate of personal income tax. The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government has said it will implement the recommendations of an independent review by Oxford University economist John Vickers into how banks should be structured in the wake of the global credit crisis. ... Full Story Top Egypt signs $1 billion Turkish loan deal Sun,30 Sep 2012 11:23 AM PDT Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt signed a deal on Sunday to loan $1 billion from Turkey, half of the aid package Ankara promised Cairo earlier this month, Egypt's state news agency reported. President Mohamed Mursi signed the loan agreement with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan after giving a speech at Turkey's ruling AK Party conference. "President Mohamed Mursi and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on signing a loan worth $1 billion dollars from Turkey," MENA state news agency said, quoting Egypt's finance minister. It did not give further details of the agreement. ... Full Story Top Child killed in Kenya church grenade attack Sun,30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT Reuters - NAIROBI (Reuters) - A nine-year-old boy was killed by a hand grenade thrown into a church in Nairobi on Sunday, the work, police said, of sympathizers of the al Qaeda-linked rebels that Kenyan forces are trying to flush out of Somalia. Three other children were wounded by the blast at a Sunday school session which happened as troops were cautiously entering a Somali port city that had been the last stronghold of the Islamist al Shabaab militants. Kenyan troops launched a surprise offensive late on Friday on the southern Somali port of Kismayu, forcing the rebels to flee. ... Full Story Top Ten years later, DC sniper says he felt like "scum" Sun,30 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Convicted Washington sniper Lee Boyd Malvo said the devastated reaction of a victim's husband 10 years ago made him feel like "the worst piece of scum on the planet," The Washington Post reported on Sunday. In a rare interview, Malvo, 27, urged the families of victims to try to forget about him and his partner, John Allen Muhammad, so they can get on with their lives. Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of the start of Malvo and Muhammad's deadly rampage in the Washington area. ... Full Story Top California bans gay "conversion" therapy for minors Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:48 AM PDT Reuters - SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill barring a controversial therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality in minors, the measure's sponsor said on Sunday, making California the first state to ban a practice many say is psychologically damaging. The move marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say so-called conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy, has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. The bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, said in a statement that Brown had signed the bill. ... Full Story Top Argentina president's image slides further as CPI, crime weigh Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:48 AM PDT Reuters - BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina President Cristina Fernandez's popularity continued its downward slide in September, sinking to 24.3 percent from 30 percent in August, according to a poll published on Sunday, as high inflation and worries over crime weighed. As recently as September 2011, a month before winning her second term, Fernandez had a 64.1 percent popularity rating while campaigning on promises of deepening the interventionist policy model of her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner. The 24. ... Full Story Top Two Kenyan police officers shot dead near Somalia border Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:45 AM PDT Reuters - GARISSA, Kenya (Reuters) - Two Kenyan police officers were shot dead and their rifles stolen on Sunday in the northern town of Garissa near the border with Somalia, police said. The killings came hours after a nine-year-old boy was killed in the capital Nairobi by a grenade attack on a church by suspected sympathizers of Somali al Shabaab rebels and days after Kenyan troops led an offensive against the insurgents in their last stronghold in Somalia. (Reporting by Abdisalan Mohamed; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Full Story Top Chavez to Obama: I'd vote for you, and you for me Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:43 AM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - With both presidents facing tight re-election fights, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gave a surprise endorsement to Barack Obama on Sunday - and said the U.S. leader no doubt felt the same. "I hope this doesn't harm Obama, but if I was from the United States, I'd vote for Obama," the socialist Chavez said of a man he first reached out to in 2009 but to whom he has since generally been insulting. Chavez is running for a new six-year term against opposition challenger Henrique Capriles, while Obama seeks re-election in November against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. ... Full Story Top Two Americans killed in confused Afghan shootout Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:39 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Two Americans were killed in Afghanistan during an exchange of fire between NATO-led forces and the Afghan army that may have been the result of a misunderstanding, as the death toll of U.S. military and civilian personnel passed 2,000. A U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, said on Sunday that an American soldier and a civilian contractor had been killed in the incident in eastern Afghanistan, the circumstances of which remain unclear. ... Full Story Top Five things to watch in the presidential debate Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:36 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The debate between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on Wednesday marks the first time the two candidates will be able to challenge each other directly on the economic issues that have been the focus of the presidential campaign. Viewers should be able to determine how each candidate fares by keeping an eye on the following five factors: * ROMNEY ON OFFENSE, OBAMA ON DEFENSE With less than six weeks to go until the election, Romney is under pressure to deliver a performance that shifts the momentum in his direction. ... Full Story Top Before first presidential debate, allies debate stakes Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:33 AM PDT Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three days before the first presidential debate, allies of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney debated on Sunday how the encounter between the White House contenders will influence the U.S. election. In typical straight-talking fashion, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie predicted that fellow Republican Romney's performance at Wednesday's debate would alter the course of the campaign, weeks before the November 6 vote. "This whole race is going to turn upside down come Thursday morning," Christie told CBS' "Face the Nation. ... Full Story Top Muslim protesters torch Buddhist temples, homes in Bangladesh Sun,30 Sep 2012 10:14 AM PDT Reuters - COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - Hundreds of Muslims in Bangladesh burned at least four Buddhist temples and 15 homes of Buddhists on Sunday after complaining that a Buddhist man had insulted Islam, police and residents said. Members of the Buddhist minority in the Cox's Bazar area in the southeast of the country said unidentified people were bent on upsetting peaceful relations between Muslims and Buddhists. Muslims took to the streets in the area late on Saturday to protest against what they said was a photograph posted on Facebook that insulted Islam. ... Full Story Top Azerbaijan eyes aiding Israel against Iran Sun,30 Sep 2012 09:46 AM PDT Reuters - BAKU (Reuters) - Israel's "go-it-alone" option to attack Iran's nuclear sites has set the Middle East on edge and unsettled its main ally at the height of a U.S. presidential election campaign. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exudes impatience, saying Tehran is barely a year from a "red line" for atomic capacity. Many fellow Israelis, however, fear a unilateral strike, lacking U.S. forces, would fail against such a large and distant enemy. ... Full Story Top France's Hollande faces street protest over EU fiscal pact Sun,30 Sep 2012 09:41 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched through Paris on Sunday against a European fiscal pact, the first major display of public anger to face President Francois Hollande since his May election. The march organized by the Left Front coalition drew trade unionists, far-left sympathizers and other opponents of the EU accord, two days before lawmakers start to debate a draft law of the budget pact in the lower house of parliament. ... Full Story Top String of Iraq blasts kills at least 32 Sun,30 Sep 2012 09:24 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Coordinated bomb attacks killed more than 32 people across Iraq on Sunday, the latest violence in an insurgency the government has failed to quell more than nine months after the last U.S. troops withdrew. Violence in Iraq has eased since the carnage of 2006-2007, but Sunni Islamists still launch frequent attacks to undermine the Shi'ite-led government's claim to provide security and prove they remain a potent threat. ... Full Story Top Kenya navy shells Somali town after rebels announce retreat Sun,30 Sep 2012 09:21 AM PDT Reuters - MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Kenyan warships shelled the southern Somali port of Kismayu overnight after al Qaeda-linked rebels said they had abandoned the city, residents said on Sunday. Stunned by an assault by sea, air and ground forces late on Friday night, al Shabaab rebels fled the city that had been their key source of revenue, retreating to surrounding forests and towns. The shells may have been targeting any remaining pockets of resistance or military installations in the city that was the rebels' last stronghold. ... Full Story Top Italy business lobby head against second Monti government Sun,30 Sep 2012 09:16 AM PDT Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - Italy needs a strong political government, not another technocrat administration when Prime Minister Mario Monti's term ends in the spring, the head of the country's main employers' confederation said on Sunday. Talk of Monti being reinstalled after the elections has been swirling in Italy and the prime minister said in New York on Thursday that if no clear winner emerges from the vote he would be willing to carry on if asked to. However, the unelected former European commissioner also made it clear that he would not be a candidate at the election. ... Full Story Top Russian Church tells Pussy Riot to repent before appeal Sun,30 Sep 2012 08:47 AM PDT Reuters - MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Orthodox Church on Sunday called for members of the Pussy Riot punk band to repent, on the eve of an appeal court hearing they hope will quash their two-year jail sentences for performing an anti-Kremlin song in Moscow's main cathedral. The three women - who belted out a "punk prayer" criticizing President Vladimir Putin's close ties to the Russian Orthodox Church - were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" by a district court on August 17. ... Full Story Top Venezuela opposition wants deaths probe, Chavez vows to improve Sun,30 Sep 2012 08:41 AM PDT Reuters - CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez vowed on Sunday to run a more efficient government if he wins Venezuela's election next weekend while rival Henrique Capriles demanded justice for the shooting of two opposition activists. With the South American OPEC member's October 7 presidential vote shaping into a close fight, Capriles is hammering Chavez daily on his record with day-to-day problems such as crime, blackouts and shoddy infrastructure. "Efficiency, that is one of my promises for the next period. ... Full Story Top In Syrian shadow, Iraq's Maliki juggles Tehran, Washington Sun,30 Sep 2012 08:33 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's move to inspect Iranian aircraft flying to Syria may appease the United States but also shows how crisis in Damascus has pushed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki into an ever more delicate balancing act between his two main allies. When he faced a parliamentary revolt this year, he could count on Tehran to pull strings of influence over restive fellow Shi'ite politicians in Iraq's majority community that saw the Iraqis quickly fall in line again behind the Shi'ite premier. ... Full Story Top Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father Sun,30 Sep 2012 08:29 AM PDT Reuters - BOSTON (Reuters) - The Harvard-educated son of disgraced Chinese political leader Bo Xilai defended his father against charges of taking bribes and having improper sexual relationships, saying he believed in his father's good character. "Personally, it is hard for me to believe the allegations that were announced against my father, because they contradict everything I have come to know about him throughout my life," Bo Guagua said in a statement posted on the microblog site Tumblr. ... Full Story Top Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists Sun,30 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - Large parts of Aleppo's covered market, the largest of its kind in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site that traces its history back to the 14th century, have been reduced to ashes as government forces and rebels fight for control of the city. The historic market was largely undamaged by earlier fighting in Syria's largest city, but in the early hours of Saturday some of its shops caught fire during clashes in circumstances that remain unclear. ... Full Story Top France, Germany agree strategy in EADS talks: report Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:59 AM PDT Reuters - FRANKFURT (Reuters) - France and Germany have agreed a common strategy for the planned $45 billion merger of Airbus parent EADS and Britain's BAE Systems , a German magazine reported on Sunday. The plan foresees France and Germany each holding a 9 percent stake in the merged entity, which would be the world's largest defense and aerospace company, Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing high level civil servants. The Franco-German agreement would form the basis for their negotiations with the British government in talks this week, the magazine added. ... Full Story Top Analysis: As fiscal cliff nears, markets ponder a rougher ride Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:53 AM PDT Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - When it comes to deficit reduction, many investors would rather Congress "kick the can down the road" again than let 2013 start with a blast of fiscal austerity not seen since the Vietnam War. While hardly optimal, a temporary deal that prevents a plunge over the "fiscal cliff" would stave off recession and buy time for investors to tweak their portfolios. ... Full Story Top Turkish democracy is example for Muslim world: Erdogan Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:51 AM PDT Reuters - ANKARA (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan trumpeted Turkey's credentials as a rising democratic power on Sunday, saying his Islamist-rooted ruling party had become an example to the Muslim world after a decade in charge. Addressing thousands of party members and regional leaders at a congress of his Justice and Development (AK) Party, Erdogan said the era of military coups in the nation of 75 million people was over. ... Full Story Top Baghdad to make payments to ease Kurd oil conflict Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:40 AM PDT Reuters - BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Oil payments from Baghdad to Iraq's Kurdish region will be transferred today, Kurdish Energy Minister Ashti Hawrami said on Sunday, offering hope that a long-running conflict between the central government and autonomous region is easing. Baghdad and Kurdistan agreed earlier this month to draw a line under a dispute over oil payments after the latter pledged to continue exports and Baghdad said it would pay foreign companies working there. ... Full Story Top Saudi detains activist after demonstrations near Yemen border Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:37 AM PDT Reuters - JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - A Saudi activist detained after calling for protests against the displacement of families near the border with Yemen began a hunger strike on Sunday, his lawyer said. Eisa al-Marzouq al-Nakhifi, from Jazan Province in southern Saudi Arabia, was arrested two weeks ago and started a hunger strike to protest against being detained without any date set for a court hearing, his lawyer told Reuters. ... Full Story Top Insight: Three lawyers ask U.S. Supreme Court: Why here? Sun,30 Sep 2012 07:26 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - For more than three decades survivors of human rights abuses in foreign countries have turned to U.S. federal courts to seek justice. On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court hears a case that could make that impossible. The case pits a Nigerian widow against a multinational oil company. Esther Kiobel and others say Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell) helped the Nigerian government commit human rights violations against her husband, who was executed in 1995. ... Full Story Top A history of the U.S. Alien Tort Statute Sun,30 Sep 2012 06:07 AM PDT Reuters - (Reuters) - The 33-word Alien Tort Statute, at the center of a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, was enacted by the First Congress in 1789. It reads: "The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States. It lay essentially dormant for decades. Then, in 1978, a U.S. lawyer named Peter Weiss used the statute to bring a case against former Paraguayan police inspector Americo Pena-Irala over the torture and killing of Joelito Filartiga. ... Full Story Top Anglican church deadlocked over new leader - report Sun,30 Sep 2012 06:06 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A Church of England panel meeting in secret to choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury has failed to reach agreement on who should be the new leader of the world's 80 million Anglicans, a newspaper reported on Sunday. After three days of talks behind closed doors in an undisclosed location, officials narrowed the field to three candidates, but will need to meet again to finish the job, the Sunday Times said, citing an unnamed senior cleric. ... Full Story Top Pope's bid to win over Catholic rebels seems at dead end Sun,30 Sep 2012 05:57 AM PDT Reuters - PARIS (Reuters)- Pope Benedict's bid to draw rebel Catholic traditionalists back to the Roman fold, a major effort that has divided Catholics and sometimes embarrassed him, seems to have hit a dead end with little apparent hope of a solution. Two leaders of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which broke away over reforms of the 1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, have recently rejected his conditions for their rehabilitation after a series of contacts following his 2005 election as pope. ... Full Story Top Exxon yet to inspect Afghanistan's biggest oil project: minister Sun,30 Sep 2012 05:24 AM PDT Reuters - KABUL (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's biggest non-state oil company, has not yet accepted an offer to look over a new Afghan oil concession in the country's north, possibly indicating a fading appetite to invest in the conflict-wracked country. As Afghanistan's government finalizes new laws designed to attract more foreign mining investment, Mining Minister Wahidullah Shahrani told Reuters that Exxon had not turned up for a site tour which closes on Sunday, despite being shortlisted with eight other firms for the Afghan Tajik tender near Mazar-e-Sharif. ... Full Story Top Preserving old ships is dear to U.S. veterans, costly for museums Sun,30 Sep 2012 05:07 AM PDT Reuters - MOUNT PLEASANT, South Carolina (Reuters) - The Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, a popular tourist spot in South Carolina's Charleston Harbor, is facing the same challenge as other U.S. Navy ship museums: keeping retired, once-storied warships afloat. Its World War Two destroyer, the USS Laffey, just had a nearly $13 million restoration. The almost 70-year-old World War Two aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown, will need eventual repairs at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. ... Full Story Top UK banks must lend more and build defences - regulator Sun,30 Sep 2012 04:34 AM PDT Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - British banks must combine extra lending to help restore growth with efforts to strengthen their balance sheets to defend against threats from the euro zone, a senior financial regulator said on Sunday. "The challenge of helping banks' resilience and boosting the availability of credit is complicated. But we cannot duck the challenge," Andrew Bailey, head of prudential regulation at the Financial Services Authority wrote in the Sunday Times. ... Full Story Top Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style Sun,30 Sep 2012 04:09 AM PDT Reuters - PEMBA, Mozambique (Reuters) - It was billed as a celebration of its socialist revolution, but when Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party marked its 50th birthday this week, Marx came a distant second to Money. Reflecting their anti-colonial, revolutionary roots, Frelimo leaders pointedly chose a venue in the untamed corner of southern Africa where half a century ago guerrillas launched the uprising that would lead to independence from Portugal in 1975. ... Full Story Top Israel finance minister says Iran economy "on verge of collapse" Sun,30 Sep 2012 04:05 AM PDT Reuters - JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Iran's economy is edging towards collapse due to international sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Sunday. Israel regards the prospect of its arch enemy developing nuclear weapons as a threat to its existence, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that, although sanctions are taking their toll, they are not yet forcing Iran to abandon work that could soon lead to a nuclear warhead. ... Full Story Top Nigeria security officers held over suspected militant links Sun,30 Sep 2012 04:03 AM PDT Reuters - MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria's army said on Sunday it had arrested several security officials on suspicion of having connections with Islamist sect Boko Haram, which has killed hundreds in an insurgency this year. The government has regularly said it believes politicians and security agents are involved in the revolt, which poses the biggest security threat in Africa's leading oil exporter. ... Full Story Top UK's Labour to impose "real" bank split if elected: Miliband Sun,30 Sep 2012 03:48 AM PDT Reuters - MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Britain's Labour opposition leader launched an offensive against banks on Sunday ahead of his party's annual conference, promising a "real separation" of retail and investment banking and to raise the top rate of personal income tax. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government has said it will implement the recommendations of an independent review by Oxford University economist John Vickers into how banks should be structured in the wake of the global credit crisis. ... Full Story Top Give Greece more time, says Germany's Steinbrueck Sun,30 Sep 2012 03:42 AM PDT Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - Greece should be given more time to reform its economy and must not be thrown out of the euro zone, said Peer Steinbrueck, the man hoping to oust Angela Merkel as Germany's chancellor next year. Steinbrueck, named by the main opposition Social Democrats on Friday as their candidate to challenge the conservative Merkel, told Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper that Germany should be ready to provide aid to Greece for some time to come. "In the case of Greece, we cannot tighten the screws any further. ... Full Story Top Iraq to check Syria-bound Iran flights for arms: Zebari Sun,30 Sep 2012 03:23 AM PDT Reuters - DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq will ask Syria-bound Iranian planes passing through its airspace to land for random inspections after Washington said they could be ferrying arms to Damascus, the Iraqi foreign minister said in an interview. U.S. officials had raised their concerns over the past few days on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, Hoshiyar Zebari told the London-based al-Hayat newspaper. "We have informed Mrs Clinton (U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) and U.S. ... Full Story Top

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