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| Days before Venezuela vote, Maduro vows wage hikes Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:34 PM PDT  By Mario Naranjo CARACAS (Reuters) - Acting President Nicolas Maduro promised on Tuesday to hike Venezuela's minimum wage by about 40 percent if he is elected in a weekend vote to replace late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. His opponent Henrique Capriles has vowed a similar salary rise as both men adopt some Chavez-style populism on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday's vote. Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver named by Chavez as his heir, is leading opinion polls. But Capriles, a 40-year-old state governor, is predicting a late surge to tip it for him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Agrium sweeps proxy vote, Jana cries foul Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:31 PM PDT  By Scott Haggett CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian fertilizer company Agrium Inc said on Tuesday its entire slate of directors had been elected to its board, defeating a rival slate nominated by dissident U.S. shareholder Jana Partners. Jana, the hedge fund that is Agrium's biggest single shareholder, said the vote was tainted and should be investigated. Agrium said the result was "fair and square". Shares of Agrium, the world's third largest nitrogen producer and the largest farm retailer in the United States, fell around 3 percent in New York and Toronto. ... Full Story | Top |
| Armenian opposition cries foul as president is re-installed Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:31 PM PDT  By Hasmik Mkrtchyan YEREVAN (Reuters) - Thousands of Armenians protested in Yerevan on Tuesday against the inauguration of President Serzh Sarksyan for a second term, saying that his re-election had been fixed. Across town, Sarksyan said in his inauguration speech that developing the economy, ensuring the rule of law and deepening democracy were his top priorities, along with the peaceful resolution of a long-standing territorial dispute with Azerbaijan. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombians march in polarizing bid to make peace with FARC Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:27 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Waving balloons and dressed in white, tens of thousands of Colombians marched in Bogota and across the nation on Tuesday in a polarizing gathering for peace that critics slam as a show of support for Marxist FARC rebels. Throngs of people chanting "We want peace" advanced toward the capital's main square, Plaza Bolivar, a few blocks from where former presidential candidate Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was assassinated on April 9, 65 years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| European pension proposals could cost UK business 450 billion pounds Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Sarah Mortimer LONDON (Reuters) - British businesses could face a 450 billion pound bill as a result of plans to force pension funds to protect themselves from risk with extra capital, data from Europe's insurance and pensions watchdog showed. This could hamper companies' ability to invest and also force some pension schemes to close. The estimate from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) shows the impact of new capital requirements on final salary-linked pension schemes, where benefits are based on salary and duration of employment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man who fled Florida after taking two sons sighted in Cuba Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Jeff Franks HAVANA (Reuters) - A man accused of kidnapping his two young sons in Florida and fleeing with them by boat was seen in Cuba on Tuesday, where he was believed to be holed up with his wife and children at a marina outside the capital. Reporters from Reuters and other media outlets attempted to speak with the man, Joshua Hakken, when he appeared briefly to stow away some gear and secure the hatch on a small blue and white sailboat named Salty at the Hemingway Marina near Havana. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate to hold initial gun control vote Thursday Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:58 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday said he has scheduled an initial vote for Thursday on a controversial gun control bill that is in reaction to December's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. Reid, however, said he does not know if he will be able to attract the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural hurdles from senators opposed to gun control. In the meantime, some senators are trying to reach a bipartisan compromise on background checks for gun buyers, which could help build support for the measure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Bersani meets Berlusconi to seek end to impasse Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:54 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italian center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani met his center-right rival Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday to discuss the election for the next president of the Republic, offering hope of a breakthrough in the deadlock left by elections in February. "It was a good meeting but we're at the beginning," Enrico Letta, deputy leader of Bersani's Democratic Party (PD), told reporters in parliament. ... Full Story | Top |
| Oshkosh to cut 900 jobs in defense unit Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:52 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Truck and military vehicle maker Oshkosh Corp said it will cut about 900 jobs in its defense business due to budget cuts. The company said it would reduce its workforce by about 200 salaried positions through July and about 700 hourly positions starting in mid-June. Daily production volumes are expected to decline by about 30 percent this summer, it said. Oshkosh had said earlier that it expected domestic military vehicle production to decline significantly this year due to the budget cuts and a wind down in war activities. (Reporting by A. ... Full Story | Top |
| Sudan's army says kills 15 rebels, retakes part of South Darfur Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:50 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Sudanese forces retook a southern part of the country's Darfur region after clashing with insurgents, killing 15, a military spokesman said on Tuesday, while rebels claimed victory in fighting in northern Darfur. Spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad said the army had repulsed an attack by rebels loyal to veteran fighter Minni Minawi on the Dubu area in South Darfur state, and the state news agency SUNA said government forces had reasserted control over the area. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: North Korea tests Obama's "strategic patience" Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:46 AM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick and Anna Yukhananov WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's next act of defiance could be a critical test of whether President Barack Obama's "strategic patience," his long-standing policy toward the nuclear renegade state, is beginning to run out. With North Korea considered likely to cap its barrage of bellicose threats with a military provocation in coming days, the United States has drawn up new security plans with ally South Korea and increased pressure on China to do more to rein in Pyongyang, U.S. officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican manufacturing: from sweatshops to high-tech motors Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Krista Hughes SILAO, Mexico (Reuters) - Made in Mexico is increasingly more likely to mean cars than clothes as the country's manufacturing sector moves away from the low-skill, high-volume production lines of the past toward more sophisticated products. Times are tough for the assembly-for-export plants known as maquiladoras clustered along the U.S. border, a region that has lost economic muscle in the face of competition from China, successive U.S. recessions and drug war violence. But there are signs of a turnaround elsewhere. Mexico is winning back U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hedge fund Jana says Agrium proxy vote tainted Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:40 AM PDT  By Scott Haggett CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Jana Partners, the biggest shareholder in Agrium Inc , said on Tuesday the election for the fertilizer company's board of directors was tainted, and the activist fund appeared to concede that none of its candidates had been elected. Jana said that votes cast for some of its five candidates for the 12-member board were revoked after Friday's deadline. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama names three to troubled labor relations board Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:27 AM PDT  By Amanda Becker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated two new members to the National Labor Relations Board and renominated Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce for a new five-year term. The nominations, which require Senate confirmation, come amid uncertainty about the board's authority after a federal appeals court in January invalidated the appointments of two of its current members. In addition to Pearce, whose current term ends in August, Obama said he was naming Harry Johnson and Philip Miscimarra. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Air Force eyes mixed approach for next weather satellite Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:20 AM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force will likely opt for a mixed approach for a next-generation weather satellite that includes smaller spacecraft, according to top Air Force officials. The Air Force plans to finish a review of possible approaches for the satellite early this summer following the collapse of the previous program due to technical and cost issues. "It will be a much smaller satellite. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quake hits near Iran's nuclear city Bushehr, 32 dead Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati and Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake struck close to Iran's only nuclear power station on Tuesday, killing 32 people and injuring 850 as it destroyed homes and devastated two small villages, Iranian media reported. The 6.3 magnitude quake totally destroyed one village, a Red Crescent official told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), but the nearby Bushehr nuclear plant was undamaged, according to Iranian officials and the Russian company that built it. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian opposition group accuses rebel unit of torture Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:09 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday accused a rebel battalion of torturing civilians and extorting money from them in Syria's northern city of Aleppo. Torture, kidnapping and summary killings have become a daily aspect of Syria's uprising-turned-civil war. ... Full Story | Top |
| Libyan parliament criminalizes torture and kidnapping Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:07 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's national assembly approved a law criminalizing torture and abductions on Tuesday as the government seeks to stamp its authority on a country awash with weapons where militias often have more power on the ground than state security forces. Since the end of the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's new rulers have struggled to control a myriad of former rebel groups who refuse to lay down their arms and often take the law into their own hands and detain people. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-HBOS chief Crosby asks to be stripped of knighthood Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 11:01 AM PDT  By Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - James Crosby, former boss of failed British bank HBOS, offered on Tuesday to give up his knighthood and nearly a third of his pension after being denounced by lawmakers for the "colossal failure" that led to his bank's collapse. Crosby, whose bank had to be bailed out by taxpayers in 2008, effectively volunteered for the same punishment as that visited on Fred Goodwin, former head of Royal Bank of Scotland, the other large Scottish bank bailed out after the 2008 financial crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's 5-Star is growing threat to F-35 purchase Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:58 AM PDT By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's 5-Star Movement, led by comic Beppe Grillo, wants to scrap the country's planned purchase of 90 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets and use the savings to help boost the struggling economy, a lawmaker told Reuters on Tuesday. Italy has been unable to seat a government since the February national election that left no single force with a working majority in parliament, but 5-Star wants to form parliamentary committees so laws can be made without one. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy center-right says president must be able to unite country Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:58 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Italy's next head of state must be able to unite the country and be acceptable to all political parties, a top official from Silvio Berlusconi's center-right coalition said on Tuesday. "The president must represent national unity and therefore cannot be, or even appear to be, hostile to a significant part of the Italian people," Angelino Alfano, the national secretary of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bersani-Berlusconi meeting was "good"-centre-left official Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:58 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - A meeting between center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani and his center-right rival Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday to discuss how to break Italy's political deadlock went well but much more progress is needed, a center-left official said. "It was a good meeting but it is just the beginning," Enrico Letta, deputy leader of Bersani's Democratic Party told reporters on his way to a news conference. Bersani won a lower house majority in February elections but fell short of the Senate majority which would have allowed him to govern. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. can intercept North Korean missile but may opt not to: admiral Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:49 AM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is capable of intercepting a North Korean missile, should it launch one in the coming days, but may choose not to if the projected trajectory shows it is not a threat, a top U.S. military commander told Congress on Tuesday. Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific region, said the U.S. military believed North Korea had moved to its east coast an unspecified number of Musudan missiles, with a range of roughly 3,000-3,500 miles. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York proposes new laws against public corruption Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:41 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday proposed three new laws aimed at stopping corruption by elected officials, after federal prosecutors brought two criminal cases against officials in the state last week. The so-called Public Trust Act would create laws to punish bribery, scheming to corrupt the government and failure to report corruption, he told a joint news conference with several chief prosecutors from the New York City area. Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, brought the two cases last week. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama nominee vows to run Medicare agency as a "business" Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:33 AM PDT  By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the huge agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid got rare bipartisan praise on Tuesday, but faced tough questions about healthcare reform and a recent controversial decision on Medicare Advantage payment rates. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, which will decide whether to advance her nomination, Marilyn Tavenner said her role would be to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a business, and as a partner with many healthcare entities for the benefit of all. ... Full Story | Top |
| Alabama governor signs law tightening rules for abortion clinics Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:31 AM PDT  By Verna Gates BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Doctors who provide abortions will face stricter standards in Alabama starting in July under a law signed on Tuesday that requires them to have admitting privileges at hospitals in the state. Proponents say the legislation, the latest salvo in the national debate over abortion, will make pregnancy terminations safer, while critics say it will unnecessarily restrict a woman's right under the U.S. Constitution to choose an abortion. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. warns of risk of Mali war spillover in Western Sahara Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:26 AM PDT By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The conflict in Mali threatens to spill over into the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with the possibility of infiltration by foreign militant groups, the U.N. chief warned in a report. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also called for "sustained" independent human rights monitoring for Western Sahara, something Morocco opposes but human rights groups and the Polisario Front independence movement have long advocated. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI asked to probe recording of Senator McConnell's campaign strategy session Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:06 AM PDT  By Steve Holland and David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell's re-election campaign said on Tuesday it has asked the FBI to investigate how a campaign strategy meeting was recorded in which ways to attack a potential rival, actress Ashley Judd, were reportedly discussed. The magazine, Mother Jones, said it had obtained a recording of the meeting and that McConnell and his aides discussed criticizing Judd "for her past struggles with depression and her religious views." Judd has since ruled out running against McConnell in 2014. ... Full Story | Top |
| Treasury secretary talks up policies to spur demand in Europe Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:04 AM PDT  By Anna Yukhananov BERLIN/PARIS (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday urged countries with a trade surplus to boost domestic consumption, underlining a divergence of views between Washington and Europe's economic powerhouse Germany on austerity policies. On his first official visit to Europe, Lew stressed the need to strike the right balance between efforts to support growth while improving strained public finances - a stance that found support in particular from France. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quake caused no reactor damage, Iran tells IAEA Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:01 AM PDT VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran has told the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency that an earthquake that struck close to the country's only nuclear plant on Tuesday did not damage the facility, the IAEA said. The Vienna-based U.N. body said the quake - which Iranian media said killed 30 people as it devastated small villages - hit about 91 km (56 miles) from the Bushehr nuclear power plant. "Iran has informed (the IAEA's Incident and Emergency Centre) of the event, reporting that there has been no damage to the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and no radioactive release from the installation," the U. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan ambush kills five U.N. peacekeepers, seven civilians Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:59 AM PDT By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - Five U.N. peacekeepers and seven civilians working for the U.N. mission in South Sudan were killed in an ambush by unidentified attackers in the restive eastern state of Jonglei on Tuesday, the United Nations said. "At least nine additional peacekeepers and civilians were injured in the attack and some remain unaccounted for," the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a statement. India's foreign ministry said the peacekeepers killed were Indian. ... Full Story | Top |
| Global cost of Somali piracy down as higher security deters attacks Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:55 AM PDT  By Peter Apps LONDON, April 9 - The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy has declined by 12.5 percent since 2011 as attacks fell sharply, a survey showed on Tuesday, but the cost of armed guards to protect ships soared. The annual report by the Oceans Beyond Piracy advocacy group estimated the cost of piracy at $5.7-6.1 billion in 2012. For much of the last decade, young Somalis in sometimes tiny boats have wreaked havoc among Indian Ocean shipping, seizing vessels and sailing them to pirate havens where they remain until millions are paid in ransoms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's Embraer says it will sell KC-390 plane at competitive prices Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:48 AM PDT  RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Embraer SA expects to sell its KC-390 military cargo plane at "more competitive" prices than its rivals, Luiz Carlos Aguiar, the head of the Brazilian company's defense unit, said on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Aguiar said the company was looking to "astonish" rivals with the price of the plane. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Full Story | Top |
| Scores killed in Pakistan army clash with militants Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:40 AM PDT PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Twenty-three Pakistani soldiers and 110 militants have been killed in fierce fighting in a strategic area of northwest Pakistan, a military official said on Tuesday. The army, backed by fighter planes and helicopter gunships, launched an operation against the Taliban and its allies in the remote Tirah Valley four days ago and fighting was still raging on Tuesday. "In four days of fighting, 110 militants and 23 Pakistan army soldiers have been killed and dozens of militants injured," a senior military official told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe must use all tools to boost growth, finances: treasury secretary Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:28 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - European countries should use all means at their disposal to strike the right balance between boosting growth and improving their public finances, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Tuesday. "Our view is that there needs to be a balanced approach between growth and fiscal consolidation," Lew said in a joint news conference in Paris with French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici. "All tools need to be considered. Our encouragement is to use the leverage that is appropriate in Europe," he added. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Anna Yukhananov) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. agency to investigate possible leak of Medicare rate move Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:24 AM PDT  By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The nominee to lead a key healthcare agency said on Tuesday that the agency was investigating events surrounding a decision on Medicare Advantage payment rates that sent shares of insurance companies soaring. Marilyn Tavenner was asked about the April 1 rate decision at a Senate confirmation hearing by Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, who has said the rate decision might have been leaked to Height Securities, an investment research firm. "We have initiated an internal review. And it will be extensive," Tavenner said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two senators key to Obama's push for broader checks of gun buyers Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:10 AM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fate of one of President Barack Obama's key gun-control proposals appeared on Monday night to be in the hands of two senators: one Democrat, the other Republican, both of them longtime opponents of restrictions on guns. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania are seeking a compromise on expanding background checks for prospective gun buyers. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian vote watchdog among thousands of NGOs facing fines, closure Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:07 AM PDT By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian's main independent election watchdog and thousands of other non-governmental groups face fines or closure, the justice ministry said on Tuesday, in what activists call a campaign to silence criticism of President Vladimir Putin by rights groups. He has dismissed criticism of a recent wave of inspections of non-governmental organizations that have caused concern in the West. Putin has described the checks as "routine measures... to bring the activities of organizations in line with the law". ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia says G8 nations reject "bellicose" North Korea Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 08:59 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday the G8 was in agreement in rejecting North Korea's recent provocative behavior and urged all sides to pursue diplomacy to calm the increasingly tense situation in northeast Asia. Speaking before a regularly scheduled meeting of Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers later this week in London, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said Russia shared its partners' concerns about North Korea. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry promises steps to help Palestinian economy Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 08:56 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he had agreed to work with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to boost economic growth in the occupied West Bank as he seeks ways to revive Middle East peace talks. Speaking after a three-day visit to the region, during which he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Kerry told reporters he would provide full details of the economic plans next week. "We agreed among us ... ... Full Story | Top |
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