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| Loud explosion shakes Syrian capital: residents Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:37 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - A powerful explosion shook the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday, residents reported, and state television said it struck the eastern district of Qaboun. The blast came after a series of car bombs in central Damascus last week, the most serious of which killed at least 60 people, according to activists. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. justice denounces prosecutor's racially charged question Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:31 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Monday condemned racially charged language used by a federal prosecutor in Texas. The justice, appointed to the court by President Barack Obama in 2009, took the relatively unusual step of writing a statement to accompany the nine-member Supreme Court's announcement that it would not take up a criminal case. Sotomayor took issue with the question asked by the prosecutor, identified in the trial transcript as Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Ponder. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy election forecasts point to political gridlock Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:30 AM PST  ROME (Reuters) - Conflicting early forecasts of the result of Italy's election on Monday raised the specter of deadlock in parliament that could paralyze a new government and re-ignite the euro zone crisis. Officials from both center and left warned that such gridlock could make Italy ungovernable and force new elections. Opinion polls have long pointed to the center-left of Pier Luigi Bersani winning the lower house, but projections from RAI state television showed Silvio Berlusconi's center right in front in the Senate - which has equal lawmaking power - but unable to form a majority. ... Full Story | Top |
| IKEA takes meatballs off Europe menus after horsemeat found Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:21 AM PST  PRAGUE/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's IKEA stopped nearly all sales of meatballs at its furniture store cafeterias across Europe after tests in the Czech Republic on Monday showed some contained horsemeat. The world's No. 1 furniture retailer, known also for the signature restaurants at its huge out-of-town stores, said it was pulling all meatballs produced by its main supplier in Sweden after the tests showed horsemeat in its beef and pork meatballs. ... Full Story | Top |
| St Joe investors lose in court; Einhorn had shorted stock Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:19 AM PST  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court has made it harder for investors to rely on reports from short sellers when bringing securities fraud lawsuits, in a case against a Florida developer long criticized by prominent hedge fund manager David Einhorn. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said St Joe Co was not liable to investors whose shares lost value after Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital Inc, accused the developer of vastly overvaluing its real estate holdings. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA approves Bayer drug for rare gastrointestinal tract cancer Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:08 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has approved Bayer AG's drug Stivarga for the treatment of a rare type of gastrointestinal tract cancer. Stivarga is already approved to treat colon cancer that has progressed after prior treatment or that has spread to other parts of the body. Bayer will now also be able to market the drug as a treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST). ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus remains stumbling block in Turkey's EU ambition: Merkel Monday, Feb 25, 2013 11:03 AM PST  ANKARA (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she was in favor of reviving Turkey's stalled talks on its relationship with the European Union but a dispute over the divided island of Cyprus remained a stumbling block. Speaking during a two-day visit to Turkey, Merkel, who favors a "privileged partnership" for Turkey in place of full EU membership, said it would be right to open a new chapter in Ankara's negotiations with Brussels. ... Full Story | Top |
| No majority seen in Italy Senate: RAI TV projection Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:59 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - None of the four main groups running in the Italian parliamentary election is likely to win a majority in the Senate, a projection for RAI state TV indicated on Monday. Italy's center-right is seen getting 113 Senate seats, with the center-left gaining 105, Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement at 63 and Mario Monti's centrists 20, RAI said. A coalition or party must win at least 158 of the 315 Senate seats to gain a majority in the upper house, which a government would need to pass legislation. (Reporting by Steve Scherer) Full Story | Top |
| Obama to governors: Tell Congress to stop spending cuts Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:57 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged state governors on Monday to pressure Congress to prevent $85 billion in across-the-board government spending cuts from going into effect on Friday, saying he is willing to reach a compromise with Republicans. But the president gave no indication that he would try to start negotiations or take steps to blunt the effect of the cuts. He bemoaned what he described as a confrontational atmosphere in Washington, where budget battles have provoked one near crisis after another since the summer of 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says ready to talk with armed opposition Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:53 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Syria is ready for talks with its armed opponents, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday, in the clearest offer yet of negotiations with rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad. But Moualem said at the same time Syria would pursue its fight "against terrorism", alluding to the conflict with rebels in which the United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed. His offer of talks drew a dismissive response from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was starting a nine-nation tour of European and Arab capitals in London. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus appoints economist Sarris Finance Minister Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:46 AM PST NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's president-elect Nicos Anastasiades on Monday appointed economist Michael Sarris as finance minister, tasked with negotiating a bailout with international lenders for the cash-starved island threatened with insolvency. It will be the second time Sarris serves as finance minister in the past decade. He had served under a previous Cypriot administration which successfully ushered Cyprus into the euro zone in 2008. Sarris, 67, is a respected economist with good contacts in Europe and the U.S., where he was based for years as a senior economist for the World Bank. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. told atheists face discrimination around globe Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:45 AM PST  GENEVA (Reuters) - Atheists, humanists and freethinkers face widespread discrimination around the world with expression of their views criminalized and subject in some countries to capital punishment, the United Nations was told on Monday. In a document for consideration by the world body's Human Rights Council, a global organization linking people who reject religion said atheism was banned by law in a number of states where people were forced to officially adopt a faith. ... Full Story | Top |
| Actor Depardieu hits dance floor in Russia's Chechnya Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:42 AM PST  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Arms flailing to the synthesized beat of a folk tune, film star Gerard Depardieu hit the dance floor in Chechnya and vowed to make a movie in the volatile region on the latest stop of an erratic tour of his new Russian homeland. The actor, who quit France after criticizing a planned 75-percent tax on millionaires, embraced Chechnya's strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov during a weekend visit, then showed off traditional 'Lezginka' dance moves in television footage aired on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Complaints on U.S.-led Afghan troops to be checked, Kerry says Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:38 AM PST  LONDON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday complaints against Afghans working for U.S. special forces in Afghanistan would be investigated, a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai ordered U.S. troops to leave a critical battleground province. Karzai's spokesman on Sunday said Karzai had decided that all U.S. special forces must leave Wardak Province within two weeks, after accusations that Afghans working for them had tortured and killed innocent people. ... Full Story | Top |
| After election win, Anastasiades tackles Cyprus bailout Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:36 AM PST  NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cypriot president-elect Nicos Anastasiades, armed with a clear mandate from voters to protect the island from insolvency, said on Monday he was committed to reforms in return for a bailout. The Conservative Anastasiades won decisive backing in a presidential election on Sunday for an aggressive approach to resolving the island's worst financial crisis in four decades. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamists threaten to kill French kidnapped in Cameroon Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:33 AM PST  DAKAR (Reuters) - Gunmen claiming to be from Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group threatened on Monday to kill a kidnapped French family of seven if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon do not release Muslim militants held there. French ministers said they believed the three adults and four children seized in Cameroon's far north near the Nigerian border on Tuesday were being held by Boko Haram which has killed hundreds to try to carve out an Islamist state in Nigeria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan militia brings pay protest to minister's office Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:23 AM PST  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A group of unarmed militiamen demanding better pay for guarding Libya's borders barged into the prime minister's headquarters on Monday, but the man they'd come to see was away, an official said. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan was in Geneva to address the United Nations Human Rights Council when about 30 men forced their way into the government compound in central Tripoli, in the latest example of volatility plaguing the North African country. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's center left seen with slim lower house lead: projections Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:22 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-left coalition leads former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's center-right bloc by no more than one percentage point in the lower house of parliament, projections for RAI state television and private broadcaster Mediaset indicated on Monday. The center-left is seen winning 29.1 percent of the vote in the lower house, with the center-right at 28.6 percent, Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement at 26.3 percent, and Mario Monti's bloc at 10.8 percent, RAI said. Mediaset put the center-left at 29.5 percent, the center-right at 28.5 percent, Grillo's movement at 26. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boko Haram claiming to hold French family: French PM Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:15 AM PST  PARIS (Reuters) - Islamist militant group Boko Haram has claimed that it is holding seven French nationals captured in Cameroon last week, France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Monday. "(We) have received information that the group Boko Haram is claiming to be holding the French family," Ayrault told reporters, adding that French experts were examining a video posted on YouTube appearing to show the hostages to determine whether it was authentic. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; Writing by Vicky Buffery; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| War is hell on veterans' job prospects: Fed paper Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:11 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military veterans who have been deployed overseas for prolonged periods struggle to find work because of the traumas of war, as well as training that does not readily translate into the civilian world, according to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. High joblessness could not be explained by the business cycle and by demographic differences between new veterans and civilians, two Fed economists said in a paper published on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel fears prisoner death may spark Palestinian uprising Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:05 AM PST  SE'EER, West Bank (Reuters) - Masked Palestinian gunmen fired in the air on Monday as thousands marched at the West Bank funeral of a prisoner whose death in an Israeli jail has raised fears in Israel of a new uprising. Arafat Jaradat's death on Saturday and a hunger strike by four other Palestinian inmates have raised tension in the occupied territory after repeated clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli soldiers in recent days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel says it successfully tests new missile defense Monday, Feb 25, 2013 10:02 AM PST  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel carried out a successful first test on Monday of its upgraded Arrow interceptor, which is designed to destroy in space the kind of missiles held by Iran and Syria, defense officials said. The U.S.-backed Arrow III will deploy "kamikaze" satellites that track and slam into ballistic missiles above the earth's atmosphere, high enough to allow for any chemical, biological or nuclear warheads to disintegrate safely. Monday's test was the first flight of the system, but did not involve the interception of any target. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey, Qatar denounce Syria's war on own people Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:50 AM PST GENEVA (Reuters) - Turkey and Qatar accused Syria on Monday of attacking Syrian towns with bombs, shells and Scud missiles and called at the main U.N. human rights forum for perpetrators of atrocities to be brought to justice. Britain and Switzerland urged the United Nations Security Council to refer war crimes in Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution. "The (Syrian) regime has lost its legitimacy. It is no longer governing. It is surviving by oppression, terror and massacres," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu declared in a speech to the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cardinal's departure darkens mood as pope allows early conclave Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:49 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A senior cleric resigned under duress on Monday and Pope Benedict took the rare step of changing Vatican law to allow his successor to be elected early, adding to a sense of crisis within the Roman Catholic Church. With just three days left before Benedict becomes the first pope in some six centuries to step down, he accepted the resignation of Britain's only cardinal elector, Archbishop Keith O'Brien, who was to have voted for the next pope. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-right seen with 121 Senate seats, centre-left 96: RAI Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:47 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy's center-right is ahead in the tally for Senate seats, according to a projection by RAI state TV. The center-right is seen taking 121 seats, with the center-left at 96, Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement at 65, and outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti's party at 19. A Senate majority is 158. Senate seats are awarded on a regional basis. Projections for the overall vote showed both blocs tied at 30.7 percent. (Reporting by Steve Scherer and Philip Pullella.) Full Story | Top |
| Iran says Oscar-winning "Argo" is weak, "anti-Iran" Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:40 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Oscar-winning best picture "Argo", about a CIA mission to rescue American diplomats from Tehran after the Islamic revolution, is anti-Iranian, Iran's culture minister said on Monday in a news agency report. Also, it isn't any good, the minister added. "This anti-Iran film lacks any artistic aspects and it is a very weak film from an artistic perspective and we don't expect anything else from the enemy," Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hosseini said, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Powers to offer Iran sanctions relief at nuclear talks Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:33 AM PST  ALMATY (Reuters) - Major powers will offer Iran some sanctions relief during talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, this week if Tehran agrees to curb its nuclear program, a U.S. official said on Monday. But the Islamic Republic could face more economic pain if it fails to address international concerns about its atomic activities, the official said ahead of the February 26-27 meeting in the central Asian state, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There will be continued sanctions enforcement ... ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran's negotiator - rigid ideologue close to Khamenei Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:33 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - If there is a path to compromise in nuclear talks between the big powers and Iran, it leads past Saeed Jalili, a man who bears the physical scars of Iran's battles to assert itself and its Islamic revolution against outsiders. For five years, Jalili has been Iran's top nuclear negotiator, relentlessly asserting what Iran says is its sovereign right to peaceful nuclear power. In those five years, U.N. sanctions over activities that could lead Iran to nuclear weapons have been tightened three times, and several attempts to resolve the dispute have failed. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU leaders give Kiev until May to prove it wants to look West Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:30 AM PST  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU leaders on Monday gave visiting Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich until May to show his nation had made progress towards political reform if it is serious about clinching a free trade deal which would move it away from Moscow's orbit. Both the European Union and Ukraine are keen to cut their dependency on gas giant Russia, but Ukraine has yet to make a clear choice between closer EU ties or tighter links with Moscow. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian civil society see echoes of past in new law Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:28 AM PST  CAIRO (Reuters) - A law drafted by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice (FJP) party threatens to stifle Egyptian civil society and takes a cue from the authoritarian ways of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, rights groups said. The draft law, due to be presented to Egypt's temporary legislature the Shura Council, places tight restrictions on the funding of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a problem which plagued civil society groups in Mubarak's days. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nigeria grants bail to Russian arms smuggling suspects Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:16 AM PST LAGOS (Reuters) - Fifteen Russian sailors charged with illegally bringing weapons into Nigeria last year were granted bail on Monday and released until a hearing in early April, a Lagos court ruled. Nigerian authorities intercepted a ship and arrested its Russian crew on October 23 after they found several guns and around 8,500 rounds of ammunition aboard. The Russian sailors have pleaded not guilty and the Moran Security Group, the Russian company that owns the confiscated vessel, has said the ship had permission to carry arms, calling the accusations "groundless". ... Full Story | Top |
| Carney: rebuilding trust in financial system needs more work Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:11 AM PST  LONDON, Ontario (Reuters) - Banks and regulators need to do a lot more to rebuild the trust in the financial system that was shattered in the recent crisis, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney, head of the G20's Financial Stability Board, said on Monday. The Group of 20 leading economies has made progress in financial reforms which will go a long way, but these alone will not be sufficient, he said in a speech to business students at Western University in London, Ontario. "Virtue cannot be regulated. Even the strongest supervision cannot guarantee good conduct. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite Venezuela homecoming, Chavez still out of sight Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:06 AM PST  CARACAS (Reuters) - From a billboard bearing his face, to a giant inflatable doll and posters hawked on the street below, there is no shortage of images of Hugo Chavez at the Caracas military hospital where he has been since returning from Cuba. Yet there has been no sight of the 58-year-old Venezuelan president since he came home - during the night and without photos or fanfare - a week ago. His surprise return to Caracas raised supporters' hopes of a recovery after December surgery in Havana that was his fourth operation in 18 months. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armenian opposition leader may challenge president's reelection Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:05 AM PST  YEREVAN (Reuters) - The runner-up in Armenia's presidential election said on Monday he might challenge the official result that gave Serzh Sarksyan a new five-year term and triggered street protests. Opposition leader Raffi Hovannisian got 37 percent of votes cast in the February 18 election in the nation of 3.2 million, Moscow's closest ally in the south Caucasus, nestled between Russia, Turkey, Iran and energy-rich Central Asia. Hovannisian and his Heritage Party say the vote was rigged in favor of Sarksyan, who won 58.6 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy vote may be blow to Europe, euro- centre-left official Monday, Feb 25, 2013 09:00 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy faces a period of instability that will hurt Europe and the euro if preliminary projections are confirmed and there is no stable majority in the Senate, a top center-left official said on Monday. Most projections have showed the center-right ahead in key regions needed to control the Senate. Data regarding the lower house, which includes younger voters, have yet to be reported. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy markets take fright at complex election results Monday, Feb 25, 2013 08:52 AM PST  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian shares and bonds lost earlier gains after election projections showed former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative bloc leading in the Senate, contradicting initial exit polls and raising the specter of deadlock in parliament. While polls indicated the center-left should win the lower house, projections based on early vote counts from television channels pointed to a victory for media tycoon Berlusconi in the key region of Lombardy, which holds the key to controlling the upper house. The situation remained confused, however. ... Full Story | Top |
| CEOs back more oil drilling and Keystone XL pipeline Monday, Feb 25, 2013 08:50 AM PST  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of top business executives on Monday urged U.S. officials to cut red tape for drillers and open more federal land to oil and gas interests and approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline which is opposed by some environmental groups. The Business Roundtable, which speaks for chief executives at major U.S. companies, said too much regulation is hindering a true domestic energy renaissance even as domestic oil and gas output is booming due to new technology such as fracking. ... Full Story | Top |
| Video appears to show French family kidnapped in Cameroon Monday, Feb 25, 2013 08:41 AM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - A video appearing to show seven French citizens, including four children, kidnapped in Cameroon last week was posted on the YouTube website on Monday. "We have been taken by Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad," one of the male hostages said in the video, referring to the name in Arabic of Nigeria's Boko Haram militants. "They want the liberation of their brothers in Cameroon and their women imprisoned in Nigeria. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-left official sees risk of return to polls Monday, Feb 25, 2013 08:35 AM PST ROME (Reuters) - Italy will need to return to the polls if early projections from the national election pointing to an inconclusive outcome are confirmed, a top official from the center-left Democratic Party (PD) said on Monday. "The scenario from the projections we have seen so far suggest there will be no stable government and we would need to return to the polls," PD economics spokesman Stefano Fassina told national television channel RAI. It was not realistic to imagine a broad coalition between the center-left and the center-right led by Silvio Berlusconi, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry calls Syria opposition, urges to attend Rome talks Monday, Feb 25, 2013 08:34 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - John Kerry, in London on his first trip as U.S. Secretary of State, telephoned Moaz Alkhatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, on Monday to urge him to attend a planned Syria meeting in Rome this week, a U.S. official said. "The secretary just completed a call with President Alkhatib ... to encourage him to come to Rome," said the senior U.S. official travelling with Kerry, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Maria Golovnina; editing by Tim Castle) Full Story | Top |
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