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| "Fiscal cliff" moves to House, timing and outcome uncertain Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 11:32 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's last-minute scramble to step back from a recession-inducing "fiscal cliff" shifted to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Tuesday after the Senate approved a bipartisan deal to avoid steep tax hikes and spending cuts. In a rare late-night show of unity, the Senate voted 89 to 8 to raise some taxes on the wealthy while keeping income taxes low on more moderate earners. The bill's prospects were less certain in the House, where a vote had not yet been scheduled. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 61 crushed to death in Ivory Coast stampede Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 11:36 AM PST  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede after a New Year's Eve fireworks display at a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan early on Tuesday, officials said. Witnesses said police had tried to control crowds around the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium following the celebrations, triggering a panic in which scores were trampled. "The estimate we can give right now is 49 people hospitalized ... and 61 people dead," said the chief of staff of Abidjan's fire department Issa Sacko. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen in Pakistan shoot dead seven aid workers near capital Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 07:42 AM PST  PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen ambushed and shot dead six Pakistani women aid workers and a male doctor on Tuesday, police said, and the charity they worked for said it suspected the attacks were linked to recent murders of polio vaccination workers. Their vehicle was raked with gunfire as they returned home from work at a children's community center run by Pakistani charity Ujala, or Light, said district police officer Abdur Rashid Khan. Their driver was seriously wounded in the attack. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: U.S. arms sales to Asia set to boom on Pacific "pivot" Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 07:17 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. sales of warplanes, anti-missile systems and other costly weapons to China's and North Korea's neighbors appear set for significant growth amid regional security jitters. Strengthening treaty allies and other security partners is central to the White House's "pivot" toward a Pacific region jolted by maritime territorial disputes in China's case, and missile and nuclear programs, in North Korea's. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian government forces go on attack on first day of year Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 07:41 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Government war planes bombed opposition-held areas of Syria and President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels fought on the outskirts of the capital Damascus on New Year's Day on Tuesday. A year ago, many diplomats and analysts predicted Assad would leave power in 2012. But despite international pressure and rebel gains, he has proved resilient. His inner circle remains largely intact and retains control of the armed forces, even if it relies on air strikes and artillery power to hold back the rebels fighting to overthrow him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Afghan negotiator optimistic over peace prospects Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:32 PM PST  KABUL (Reuters) - A top Afghan peace negotiator said he was cautiously optimistic about prospects for reconciliation with the Taliban and that all sides now realized a military solution to the war was not possible. Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan Taliban, who have proved resilient after more than a decade of war against U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops, into a political movement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thousands march against Hong Kong's leader Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 06:16 AM PST  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Tens of thousands in Hong Kong protested on Tuesday against the city's leader Leung Chun-ying as pressure mounts against the Beijing-backed politician who has been embroiled in an illegal construction scandal since taking office in July. Thronging the streets on New Year's Day, crowds of people, some dressed in black with colorful banners and wearing long-nosed Pinocchio masks, chanted "Leung Chun-ying step down" in a rally that snaked several kilometers towards government headquarters. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korean leader seeks end to confrontation with South Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 03:31 AM PST  SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year speech broadcast on state media. The address by Kim, who took over power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place of the policy-setting New Year editorial published in leading state newspapers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: How Colombian drug traffickers used HSBC to launder money Monday, Dec 31, 2012 10:06 PM PST  (Reuters) - When several Colombian men were indicted in January 2010 on money-laundering charges, the case in Brooklyn federal court drew little attention. It looked like a bust of another nexus of drug traffickers and money launderers, with mainly small-time operatives paying the price for their crimes. One of the men was Julio Chaparro, a 48-year-old father of four who owned three factories that made children's clothing in Colombia. But to U.S. authorities the case was anything but ordinary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Economy would dodge bullet for now under fiscal deal Tuesday, Jan 01, 2013 04:26 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deal worked out by Senate leaders to avoid the "fiscal cliff" was far from any "grand bargain" of deficit reduction measures. But if approved by the House of Representatives, it could help the country steer clear of recession, although enough austerity would remain in place to likely keep the economy growing at a lackluster pace. The Senate approved a last-minute deal early Tuesday morning to scale back $600 billion in scheduled tax hikes and government spending cuts that economists widely agree would tip the economy into recession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Revelers gather in NY's frigid Times Square on New Year's Eve Monday, Dec 31, 2012 09:42 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Throngs of revelers in and around New York's Times Square bid farewell to 2012 and extended a raucous greeting to 2013 early Tuesday. The crowd in midtown Manhattan, which police expected to approach 1 million, cheered and counted down the final seconds of 2012 as a large lighted crystal ball descended for the last minute of the old year - a tradition started in 1907. Thousands cheered as the new year officially began and a blizzard of colorful confetti fell on the famous square. ... Full Story | Top |
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