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| Italian president at center of storm as deadlock continues Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 08:20 AM PDT  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy's 87-year-old President Giorgio Napolitano will face the greatest test of his career during his final weeks in office as he tries to end the standoff preventing a new government being formed more than a month after elections. Following widespread reports he may resign to open the way for a new vote, Napolitano pledged to remain in office at the Quirinale palace until his term ends on May 15, averting the immediate threat of further turmoil. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa says Mandela's condition has improved Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The condition of South Africa's former President Nelson Mandela has improved further, the government said on Sunday, as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero spent a fourth day in hospital receiving treatment for pneumonia. "Nelson Mandela had a restful day," South Africa's presidency said in a statement, adding doctors treating him had reported "a further improvement in his condition". "Government is satisfied that the doctors are providing the former president with the best medical care possible to enable his recovery and comfort," the statement said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate group resolves key issues on immigration reform: lawmakers Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 11:40 AM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With U.S. business and labor now in agreement, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has resolved all major issues in a pending deal to overhaul the U.S. immigration system and aims to unveil it after Congress reconvenes in the second week of April, key lawmakers said on Sunday. The lawmakers said that while there was no final deal yet, they hope and even expect there to be one soon after the measure is put into legislative language so all eight senators in the bipartisan group can review it. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the biggest ... Full Story | Top |
| Exxon cleans up Arkansas oil spill; Keystone plan assailed Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 12:43 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil on Sunday continued cleanup of a pipeline spill that spewed thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude in Arkansas as opponents of oil sands development latched on to the incident to attack plans to build the Keystone XL line. Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said on Sunday that crews had yet to excavate the area around the pipeline breach, a needed step before the company can estimate how long repairs will take and when the line might restart. "I can't speculate on when it will happen," Jeffers said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya mostly calm after vote ruling; minor clashes in west Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 06:42 AM PDT  By Edmund Blair and Hezron Ochiel NAIROBI/KISUMU, Kenya (Reuters) - Kenyan police clashed on Sunday with a few dozen protesters angry at a court's confirmation of Uhuru Kenyatta as president-elect, but the unrest was minor compared with the nationwide bloodshed after the last disputed election. There was little sign of violence beyond Kisumu, a city in the west of Kenya where there is strong backing for Prime Minister Raila Odinga, loser in the presidential election. Kisumu and other regions were devastated by deadly riots after the vote in 2007. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian satirist questioned for insulting Mursi, freed on bail Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 10:28 AM PDT  By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian prosecutors questioned Egypt's most popular television satirist on Sunday over allegations that he insulted President Mohamed Mursi, a case regarded by his critics as new proof of a crackdown on dissent. Bassem Youssef turned himself in after the prosecutor general issued an arrest warrant for him on Saturday. He was released on bail of 15,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,200). Youssef rose to fame with a satirical online show after the uprising that swept autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power in 2011. His program, which has been compared to the Daily Show of U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghanistan's Karzai in Qatar, Taliban talks in focus Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 06:41 AM PDT  DOHA (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai held talks with Qatari leaders on Sunday, official media reported, on a visit the Kabul government has said would seek to explore the possibility of talks with Taliban insurgents on ending Afghanistan's war. Karzai's trip to the Gulf Arab state, a U.S. ally which has mediated in conflicts in Arab or Muslim countries, follows years of stalled discussions among the United States, Pakistan and the Taliban about a possible Afghan settlement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says rebels set fire to three eastern oil wells Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 08:40 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels have set three oil wells in the east of the country ablaze, causing a daily loss of nearly 5,000 barrels of oil and 52,000 cubic meters of gas, state media quoted an oil ministry official as saying on Sunday. SANA news agency said the damage to the oil wells in Deir al-Zor province, much of which is in rebel hands, followed disputes among the fighters over "sharing out the stolen oil" from fields in areas they control. It said Syria's Furat Petroleum Corporation was working to extinguish the three fires. ... Full Story | Top |
| German opposition parties warn each other: don't team up with Merkel Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 06:08 AM PDT  By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's two main opposition parties traded warnings on Sunday against joining forces with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives after September's election if they fail to win their own left-of-center majority. The leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens party issued unusually shrill messages to each others' supporters about the risk their votes might end up going to a party that could join forces in a coalition with Merkel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope appeals for end to Korea tensions in first Easter message Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 09:31 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, appearing before more than 250,000 people for his first Easter Sunday address, called for world peace, respect for the environment and a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula. In his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message, he also appealed for a resumption of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, an end to the civil war in Syria and political solutions to conflicts in several African countries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting erupts after car bombing in Mali Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 05:51 AM PDT By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Malian soldiers backed by French fighter jets battled Islamist rebels in Timbuktu on Sunday after insurgents used a car bomb as cover to infiltrate the northern desert town overnight, sources said. The French-led offensive in Mali has pushed a mix of Islamists out of their northern strongholds and remote mountain bases but the militants have hit back with several suicide attacks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi orders telcos to ensure Skype, Whatsapp meet local laws Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 06:30 AM PDT  RIYADH (Reuters) - Some Internet-based communication tools such as Skype and Whatsapp flout Saudi Arabia's telecom laws, the regulator said on Sunday, instructing telecom operators to quickly ensure these services comply. The announcement from the kingdom's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) follows local newspaper reports last week that claimed the government had asked telecom companies to look at ways to monitor or block these services. ... Full Story | Top |
| NATO eyes missile shield progress with Russia after U.S. move Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 04:40 AM PDT  By Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) - NATO hopes a U.S. change to global missile defenses will dispel Russian concern and foster cooperation on an issue that has long strained relations, alliance Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said in an interview. Russia has said U.S. missile shield plans could erode its nuclear deterrent. It has softened criticism since Washington announced on March 16 that it would station 14 missile interceptors in Alaska in response to North Korean nuclear threats and at the same time forgo a new type of interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe. ... Full Story | Top |
| Outlook for immigration deal brightens Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 07:02 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for a law to create a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants brightened on Saturday after major business and labor groups reached an agreement on a guest-worker program, a source familiar with the deal said. The agreement was reached on Friday night in a conference call between the head of the Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, and the president of the AFL-CIO labor organization, Richard Trumka, with New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer acting as the mediator, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Draghi phoned Napolitano over resignation reports: press Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 03:49 AM PDT  ROME (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi phoned Italian President Giorgio Napolitano after media reports that the 87-year-old head of state was planning to resign early to clear the way for new elections, newspapers reported on Sunday. Napolitano pledged on Saturday that he would stay in office until the end of his term on May 15 following reports that he planned to step down to break the deadlock created by last month's election, which left no party able to form a government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghans warned: the taxman is coming after you Sunday, Mar 31, 2013 01:33 AM PDT  By Katharine Houreld KABUL (Reuters) - One of Afghanistan's most surprising success stories lies tucked away on a potholed street notorious for suicide bombings and lined with rusting construction equipment. The work of the country's top tax collector is more inspiring than the view from his office in Kabul. Taxes and customs raised $1.64 billion last financial year, a 14-fold increase on 10 years ago. That means, now, the government can pay just over half of its recurrent costs such as salaries. ... Full Story | Top |
| Argentina challenges U.S. court with bond plan Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 06:19 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Hugh Bronstein NEW YORK/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina challenged a U.S. court over the weekend by proposing that "holdout" bond investors be repaid only about one sixth the money federal judges hearing the case say they are owed, setting the stage for a legal showdown in New York. The terms offered by Argentina are the same as those accepted by bondholders who chose to participate in the country's 2010 sovereign bond restructuring. The holdouts rejected that restructuring and are holding out for full repayment. ... Full Story | Top |
| China's urbanization drive leaves migrant workers out in the cold Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 06:26 PM PDT  By Lucy Hornby and Jane Lee BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Twenty minutes' drive from Shanghai's glitzy financial district, dozens of migrant workers are preparing to abandon homes in old shipping containers, as one of the more unusual solutions to China's housing shortage faces the wrecking ball. Cheap but crowded neighborhoods are being cleared across China as part of a stepped-up "urbanization" campaign by China's new leaders. The country aims to spend an estimated $6 trillion on infrastructure, including housing, as a projected 400 million people become urban residents over the next decade. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope leads Catholics into Easter at vigil service in St. Peter's Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 02:43 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics into Easter for the first time, on Saturday urged those who have strayed from the faith to allow God back into their lives. Francis, who was elected on March 13, presided at a solemn Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter' Basilica to usher the Catholic Church into the most important day of its liturgical calendar. ... Full Story | Top |
| Business, labor groups reach immigration deal Saturday, Mar 30, 2013 02:29 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prospects for a broad U.S. immigration overhaul brightened on Saturday after major U.S. business and labor groups reached an agreement on a guest-worker program, a source familiar with the deal said. The agreement was reached on Friday night in a conference call between the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Tom Donohue, and the president of the AFL-CIO labor organization, Richard Trumka, with New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer acting as the mediator, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. ... Full Story | Top |
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