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| Suicide bomber kills 8, wounds 100 in Nigerian church Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 12:11 PM PDT  KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - A suicide bomber drove a jeep full of explosives into a Catholic church during morning mass in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least eight people, wounding more than 100 and triggering reprisal attacks that killed at least two more. There was no claim of responsibility but Islamist sect Boko Haram has bombed several churches in the past in its fight to create an Islamic state in Nigeria where the 160 million population is evenly split between Christians and Muslims. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine's ruling party leads in election: exit polls Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 12:09 PM PDT  KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business ruling party led in a national election on Sunday and seemed likely to keep its majority in parliament, exit polls showed, despite a strong showing by the combined opposition. Two exit polls issued when a day of voting ended showed Yanukovich's Party of the Regions in the lead with between 28 percent and 30.5 percent of the voting in the part of balloting conducted by party lists. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: What's eating Australia? Foreign buyers at the farm gate Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 12:04 PM PDT SYDNEY/CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia risks losing an opportunity to become a farmyard for Asia, as growing unease over foreigners buying rural land threatens to provoke protectionist policies that may deter much needed investment in agriculture. With its vast landmass, abundant natural resources and stable government, Australia has relied on foreign farm investments for more than 100 years, with interest set to grow as the world looks to dramatically boost food production to feed Asia's booming middle class over the next 40 years. "I think we are going to see a continued interest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine leader's party expects majority in parliament Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:51 AM PDT KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's Party of the Regions expects to secure a parliamentary majority after the election on Sunday, Borys Kolesnikov, deputy prime minister and one of the Regions' leaders, said after voting ended. "There are 225 single-seat constituencies and we see our candidates winning 2/3 of them," he said after exit polls showed the Regions winning about 30 percent in party-list voting, in which the other 225 seats are allocated. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Richard Balmforth) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Congress may face another debt-limit showdown in 2013 Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:39 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. debt-ceiling increase could be headed for a Wall Street-rattling showdown in 2013 if Congress, as expected, shuns a quick and easy fix at the end of this year in favor of another round of last-minute brinkmanship. Regardless of who wins the November 6 elections, many congressional aides and Capitol Hill observers are predicting that lawmakers will go right up to the deadline - probably around mid-February or early March - before increasing the $16.4 trillion limit on borrowing that is nearly exhausted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gigantic Hurricane Sandy bears down East Coast Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:37 AM PDT  NEW YORK CITY (Reuters) - Tens of millions of people along the U.S. East Coast girded themselves on Sunday for Hurricane Sandy, a gigantic storm forecast to assault the densely populated region with battering winds, dangerous flooding and even heavy snowfall. Sandy, expected to come ashore late on Monday, could deliver a harsh blow to major cities in its target zone including New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore and Boston. Its center was forecast to strike New York-New Jersey area and then move inland toward Philadelphia and the rest of Pennsylvania. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama sees no hurricane impact on voting "at this point" Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:35 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Sunday that he did not expect that Hurricane Sandy would have an impact on voting for the November 6 election but suggested it was something that would have to be examined later. "We don't anticipate that at this point, but we're obviously going to have to take a look," Obama said during a visit to the government's storm response center when asked whether Hurricane Sandy, bearing down on the East Coast, might affect voting. The massive storm's approach has already raised fears of a disruption of early voting in some states. ... Full Story | Top |
| Finnish eurosceptics gain local seats, keep pressure on PM Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:29 AM PDT HELSINKI (Reuters) - The anti-euro Finns Party won around 12.8 percent of votes in Finnish municipal elections on Sunday, according to a preliminary count, keeping pressure on the pro-Europe government to take a tough stance on aid to euro zone states. Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen's conservative National Coalition party won the most seats with around 21.3 percent of votes, closely followed by the Social Democrats with 20.8 percent. The Finns Party finished fourth, behind another opposition party, the traditionally agrarian Centre Party, which won 20.2 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama warns East Coast to brace for Hurricane Sandy Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:21 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned on Sunday that Hurricane Sandy was a "serious and big storm" and called on East Coast residents to heed the orders of state and local officials to protect themselves from its onslaught. Obama, speaking after a briefing at the federal government's storm response center in Washington, said officials had assured him that they had all the resources they needed in place, and he stressed that "it is important for us to respond big and to respond fast" to the hurricane's onslaught. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former pop star Gary Glitter held in Savile probe Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:16 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested convicted sex offender and former pop star Gary Glitter on Sunday as part of an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, media said. Glitter was released on bail some 10 hours later. But the arrest - the first to be reported in the case - widened a scandal that has already damaged the reputation of the publicly-funded BBC and the legacy of Savile, a former DJ who was one of the broadcaster's top show hosts and a prolific charity fundraiser. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former UK pop star Gary Glitter held in Savile probe Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:16 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested convicted sex offender and former pop star Gary Glitter on Sunday as part of an investigation into allegations of child sex abuse by the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile, media said. Glitter was released on bail some 10 hours later. But the arrest - the first to be reported in the case - widened a scandal that has already damaged the reputation of the publicly-funded BBC and the legacy of Savile, a former DJ who was one of the broadcaster's top show hosts and a prolific charity fundraiser. ... Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi threat to topple Monti shows party divisions Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:09 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - Former premier Silvio Berlusconi's threat to bring down Italy's government underscores deep divisions in his center-right party ahead of next year's elections and risks rattling markets which see Prime Minister Monti as Italy's saviour. Berlusconi made the unexpected threat on Saturday, still fuming from his conviction 24 hours earlier on charges of tax fraud and a jail sentence of four years which he will not have to serve until all appeals are exhausted. ... Full Story | Top |
| Left in Lithuania eyes vote win after austerity pain Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 11:07 AM PDT VILNIUS (Reuters) - Center-left parties were set to win Lithuania's final round parliamentary election on Sunday thanks to voter anger over spending cuts, likely spelling the end for a conservative government praised abroad as a model of austerity. Labour and the Social Democratic Party, which won 34 of 141 seats in a first round two weeks ago, have a good chance of winning enough of the 67 remaining seats up for grabs to form a coalition, according to analysts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Fiscal cliff could hit economy harder than many expect Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 10:50 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States runs the risk of a recession far deeper than many investors and policymakers may think if lawmakers fail to avert looming tax hikes and cuts to public spending. Absent action by Congress, the country will face the so-called fiscal cliff at the start of next year, a combination of lower spending and higher taxes that is expected to extract about $600 billion from the economy. Many economists think every dollar of deficit reduction will subtract nearly the same amount from economic growth. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top regulators warn on expanding president's powers Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 10:35 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top financial regulators have told two senators a bill they are sponsoring would give the president undue influence on supervisory authorities and hurt the agencies' ability to do their job. Six regulators, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Schapiro, weighed in against the "Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Will Supreme Court turn up its nose at drug-sniffing dogs? Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 10:34 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Two dogs, a chocolate Labrador retriever named Franky and a German shepherd named Aldo, should have their day at the U.S. Supreme Court. The court is scheduled on Wednesday to hear Florida's appeal of two decisions by that state's highest court that found the detection of drugs by trained police dogs had violated the constitutional ban on unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hurricane Sandy blows election off course Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 10:22 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hurricane Sandy blew the presidential race off course on Sunday even before it came ashore, forcing Republican Mitt Romney to shift his campaign inland and fueling fears that the massive storm bearing down on the East Coast could disrupt early voting. As much of the heavily populated region braced for what could be the largest storm to ever hit the U.S. mainland, Romney re-routed his campaigning from Virginia to Ohio, another of the handful of battleground states that will decide the outcome of the November 6 election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Poland stumbles on journey from low-cost to hi-tech Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 10:18 AM PDT  WARSAW, Oct 28 Reuters) - Polish scientist Miroslaw Grudzien built the infra-red detectors that NASA uses to explore Mars, but getting a business development loan nearly defeated him. His firm, which made sensors on the U.S. space agency's Mars rover Curiosity, sought financing from banks for a new production facility. Because the loan was to be partly paid back from European Union funds, the government had to sign off on it. In the end, Grudzien got his money, but it took a year, forcing his company, VIGO System, to delay the launch of a new range of high-technology sensors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama at 49 percent, Romney 46 percent nine days before election: Reuters/Ipsos poll Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 09:56 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has extended his narrow lead over Republican challenger Mitt Romney among likely voters in a race that remains statistically tied nine days before the election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Sunday. Obama has a 49 percent to 46 percent edge over Romney, marking a 1 point increase from Saturday but still within the daily online survey's 4 percentage-point credibility interval for likely voters. Swings could be possible in the remaining days of the campaign, however. ... Full Story | Top |
| Statue of Liberty's renovated crown to reopen this weekend Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 09:35 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The crown of the Statue of Liberty will reopen to the public on Sunday - the 126th anniversary of its dedication - after a year-long renovation to make the New York landmark safer and more accessible to people in wheelchairs. The $30 million renovation of the statue, which towers over Liberty Island in New York Harbor, improved fire alarms, sprinkler systems and exit routes to bring Lady Liberty in line with New York City safety codes, the National Park Service said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian Salafis attack alcohol sellers in capital Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 09:15 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Clashes broke out between alcohol sellers and hardline Salafi Muslims in the Tunisian capital, a security official said on Sunday, wounding a police commander in the latest illustration of religious tensions in the home of the "Arab Spring". Tunisia, whose authoritarian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was overthrown by a popular uprising last year, now has an elected Islamist-led government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Catalans want referendum on independence - poll Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 09:02 AM PDT MADRID (Reuters) - An overwhelming majority in the powerful northeastern region of Catalonia want a referendum on independence, an opinion poll showed on Sunday, highlighting increasing dissatisfaction with Spain's central government as it struggles with economic crisis. Although a referendum has been rejected by Madrid, which says it would be against the constitution, the poll published by La Vanguardia newspaper also showed a majority in favor of independence in Catalonia, one of Spain's richer regions. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel kills Hamas gunman, Gaza salvo hits Israeli city Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:57 AM PDT GAZA (Reuters) - Israel killed a Hamas gunman it accused of preparing to fire a rocket from the Gaza Strip on Sunday and a separate Palestinian salvo struck a southern Israeli city, causing no damage. The incidents followed a three-day lull since an upsurge in violence last week in which Israel killed at least four Gaza militants as dozens of rockets were fired at Israeli towns, damaging some homes and wounding several agricultural workers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Rebels in Sudan's Darfur say they shelled state capital Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:53 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region said on Sunday they had shelled a state capital, in a rare attack on the government stronghold where international peacekeepers are also based. The government did not immediately comment on the report and the claim could not be immediately independently verified. War has ravaged Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003, complaining the central government had neglected the region. The United States and the International Criminal Court accuse Sudan's government of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. ... Full Story | Top |
| Olympics-Lukashenko fires Belarus sports chiefs for London flop Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:48 AM PDT MINSK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has fired his sports deputy Igor Zaichkov and Sports Minister Oleg Kachan following a "disastrous showing" at the 2012 London Olympics, Lukashenko's press office announced on Sunday. The axe on Zaichkov and Kachan came down two days after Lukashenko, who also serves as president of the Belarus Olympic committee (BOC), blamed them for the country's "complete failure" in London. "Belarus people will no longer tolerate such a disastrous showing. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York City mayor orders schools closed, some evacuation Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:46 AM PDT (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday ordered public schools closed on Monday and said that areas of the city from City Island to Coney Island to Battery Park City were under mandatory evacuation because of approaching Hurricane Sandy. Bloomberg said during a press conference that the mandatory evacuation applies to people in Zone A, which covers coastal areas. (Reporting by Caroline Humer; Editing by Eric Beech) Full Story | Top |
| Greek editor arrested over list of Swiss accounts Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:22 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek police arrested the editor of a weekly magazine for publishing a list of more than 2,000 names of wealthy Greeks who have placed money in Swiss bank accounts, police said on Sunday. The so-called "Lagarde List" - given to Greece by French authorities in 2010 with names to be probed for possible tax evasion - has been a topic of heated speculation in the Greek media. It is named after International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, who was French finance minister when the list was handed over. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian jihadist spillover haunts Jordan Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:19 AM PDT AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's announcement that it has foiled an al Qaeda plot to bomb the capital highlights the threat to Washington's ally from Islamist fighters hardened by conflict in neighboring Syria, and the danger of Damascus trying to export its crisis. The kingdom is no stranger to turmoil. For decades it has navigated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on its western border and more recently bloodshed in Iraq to the east, which spilled over to Jordan with hotel bombings in Amman seven years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Muslim survivors of Myanmar's sectarian violence relive ordeals Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:17 AM PDT  SITTWE, Myanmar (Reuters) - Muslim survivors of six days of sectarian violence in western Myanmar spoke on Sunday of fleeing bullets and burning homes to escape on fishing boats after an attack by once-peaceable Rakhine neighbors. The United Nations said 22,587 people had now been displaced after unrest between Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhines claimed at least 84 lives in Rakhine State and tested the reformist mettle of the quasi-civilian government that replaced Myanmar's oppressive ruling junta last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi authorities disperse anti-Assad protest in Mecca Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:02 AM PDT MECCA (Reuters) - Saudi authorities swiftly dispersed hundreds of Syrian pilgrims who staged a small protest near Mecca on Sunday to demand the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and denounce what they called the international failure to stop the bloodshed in Syria. Saudi Arabia prohibits any political activities at the annual haj pilgrimage, where some three million people from all over the world converged this year to perform one of the five pillars of Islam. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria airforce bombs cities, truce "practically over" Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 08:02 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian jets bombarded Sunni Muslim regions in Damascus and across the country on Sunday, activists said, as President Bashar al-Assad kept up air strikes against rebels despite a U.N.-brokered truce that now appears to be in tatters. "The ceasefire is practically over. Damascus has been under brutal air raids since day one and hundreds of people have been arrested," said veteran opposition campaigner Fawaz Tello. "Assad has been trying to use the truce to seize back control of areas of Damascus," said Tello, who is well connected with rebels. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iraq searches Syrian-bound Iran flight, finds no arms Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 07:58 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has stopped and searched an Iranian flight bound for Syria to check for weapons being shipped to President Bashar al-Assad, but found only humanitarian aid, authorities said on Sunday. The search was the second carried out by Baghdad since Washington warned Iraq not to allow Iran to ship weapons through its airspace to help Assad in his battle against a 19-month-long revolt. "Yesterday morning we stopped an Airbus plane from Iran heading to Syria... ... Full Story | Top |
| Picture shows captured Turkish journalist in Syria alive Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 07:58 AM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish relief agency trying to secure the release of a Turkish journalist captured by government troops in Syria has obtained a photograph showing him in apparent good health. Cuneyt Unal, who works for the U.S.-funded al-Hurra television channel, went missing with Jordanian colleague Bashar Fahmi shortly after crossing into Syria from Turkey on August 20. Unal appeared in an interview with a Syrian pro-government television channel several days later, in which he described his capture by Syrian soldiers in the city of Aleppo, but there has been no news of him since. ... Full Story | Top |
| Drone hits suspected al Qaeda target in north Yemen Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 07:24 AM PDT SANAA (Reuters) - At least four men suspected of being al Qaeda members were killed in what a local official said was a U.S. drone strike on Islamist militants in northern Yemen on Sunday. It was a rare attack on al Qaeda-linked targets in northern Yemen, an area dominated by Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels battling Yemeni government forces for control of the rugged mountainous region. The official said that a drone attacked two houses in the Abu Jabara area in Saada Province, killing four people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine votes, Yanukovich's party expected to keep majority Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 07:23 AM PDT  * Yanukovich's main rival in jail as vote goes ahead * His Regions party likely to secure slim majority * But faces new opposition force led by popular boxer * Observers will pronounce on whether vote free and fair KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainians voted on Sunday in an election that President Viktor Yanukovich's pro-business ruling party seemed likely to win, but it may now face a re-energized opposition which has promised to fight growing authoritarianism and corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| British woman, held in Pakistan on drug charges, has baby Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 06:51 AM PDT ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A British woman, held in Pakistan on charges of drug smuggling, has been sent back to prison with her newborn daughter after giving birth in a hospital, a British legal group said Sunday. Khadija Shah, 25, is being held on charges of trying to smuggle heroin worth nearly $5 million onto a flight to Britain. She gave birth to her baby girl Malaika a few weeks ago but was returned from hospital to Adiala prison near the capital Islamabad. The birth was not reported until Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide bomber kills 8, injures 100 in Nigerian church Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 06:46 AM PDT  KADUNA (Reuters) - A suicide bomber drove a jeep packed with explosives into a Catholic church in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least eight people, injuring more than 100 and triggering reprisal attacks that killed at least two more, officials said. The bomber drove right into the packed St Rita's church in the Malali area of Kaduna, a volatile ethnically and religiously mixed city, in the morning, witnesses said. A spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Yushua Shuaib said eight people had been confirmed killed and more than 100 injured. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's Zuma drops suit over rape cartoon Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 06:34 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma intends to drop a four-year-old lawsuit claiming nearly $600,000 in damages from a cartoonist who depicted him poised to rape "Lady Justice", his office said on Sunday. The Sunday Times, named as a defendant in the case, also said it had reached agreement with Zuma's lawyers for the suit and all claims to be ended. "The president ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Two militant suspects killed in police raid on Kenyan coast Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 06:20 AM PDT MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan police shot dead a Muslim cleric suspected of ties to Somalia's al Shabaab militants in the city of Mombasa on Sunday, the latest in a string of raids against alleged sympathisers of the Islamist militants along the east African coast. Local residents said gunfire erupted in the early hours when police broke into Omar Faraj's house in the city's rundown Majengo district, the same area where the radical preacher Aboud Rogo, shot dead in August by unknown gunmen, held sermons. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Swansea keeper Vorm out for six to eight weeks Sunday, Oct 28, 2012 05:15 AM PDT Oct 28 (Reuters) - Swansea City goalkeeper Michel Vorm will be out for between six and eight weeks after rupturing his groin against Manchester City on Saturday, the Premier League club said on Sunday. The Dutch international suffered the injury trying to keep out Carlos Tevez's winner just after the hour. He was replaced by Gerhard Tremmel in what was his second Premier League appearance. "It's a big blow for us because Michel is a very good goalkeeper who has been playing well," Swansea manager Michael Laudrup told the club's website (www.swanseacity.net). "But that is part of football. ... Full Story | Top |
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