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| Virginia governor says unaffected by reported FBI probe Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:29 PM PDT  By Gary Robertson RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell on Tuesday declined to confirm a newspaper report that the FBI was investigating his relationship with a political campaign donor but said that any probe would not affect his ability to govern the state. McDonnell, a Republican who has been mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential contender, told Washington's WTOP radio that "there is nothing going on that impairs my ability to serve the people of Virginia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican Congress passes telecoms overhaul in swipe at Slim, rivals Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:28 PM PDT  By Miguel Gutierrez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Congress on Tuesday gave overwhelming final approval to an expansive overhaul of the telecommunications sector, which aims to boost competition in the industry and tame the likes of billionaire Carlos Slim and broadcaster Televisa. The bill encourages more foreign investment in the telecoms industry and gives regulators the power to stop companies from controlling more than 50 percent of the market, a measure aimed directly at telecoms tycoon Slim and Televisa. ... Full Story | Top |
| China dissident's brother says home attacked nightly with dead poultry, bottles Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:27 PM PDT  By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING (Reuters) - Security personnel in eastern China are carrying out a nightly harassment campaign against the brother of blind rights activist Chen Guangcheng, the two said on Tuesday, throwing rocks, bottles and dead poultry at his house for 12 nights in a row. The attacks on the village home of Chen Guangfu continued early on Tuesday, he said. Two cars parked outside his house in Shandong province, shining their headlights through the windows and again security personnel threw rocks and beer bottles at the house and into the yard, he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says does not trust chemical weapons claims by U.S., Britain Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:21 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria urged the United Nations on Tuesday to send scientists to investigate its claim of a chemical attack by rebels in Aleppo, but said it does not trust accusations by the United States, Britain and others that such weapons were used elsewhere in the country. Syria's U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari also accused "armed terrorist groups" of spreading powder from plastic bags - which he described as "probably a kind of chemical material" - among crowds in the northern city of Saraqeb on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama vows new push to close Guantanamo detention camp Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:09 PM PDT  By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to make a new push to close the Guantanamo detention center, where about 100 inmates are on hunger strike, saying it was damaging to U.S. interests to keep holding prisoners there in legal limbo. Human rights groups have long been critical of the 12-year-old camp for foreign terrorism suspects, and their concern has intensified in recent weeks. Some of those on hunger strike are being force-fed at the camp at the U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. ... Full Story | Top |
| Europe's regulator digs in for drug data fight Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:07 PM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The head of Europe's medicines regulator is digging in for a fight over data transparency after being stopped from releasing information on drugs from two U.S. companies by a court ruling. Defeat for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at the hands of AbbVie and InterMune highlights a growing battle between campaigners for more openness and companies which fear it will harm their business. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel to probe Texas fertilizer plant explosion Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:07 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Barbara Boxer said on Tuesday she plans to investigate the explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant that killed 15 people and injured scores more earlier this month. Boxer, the head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the panel will hold a hearing on the disaster and will probe the enforcement of chemical safety laws. (Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Gary Hill) Full Story | Top |
| Obama signals won't rush to act against Syria over chemical arms Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama cautioned against a rush to judgment on whether Syria used chemical weapons against its own people on Tuesday in a sign he is going to take a deliberate approach to a problem that could lead to U.S. military action. At a White House news conference, Obama said there is evidence chemical weapons were used inside Syria but "we don't know how they were used, when they were used, who used them" and "we don't have a chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened. ... Full Story | Top |
| France troops capture suspected French jihadist in Mali Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 12:03 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - A suspected French jihadist has been captured by French forces in Mali, the defense ministry in Paris said on Tuesday, one of a handful of French nationals in the Sahel suspected of fighting against their own country. French authorities had been searching for Gilles Le Guen since October, when he published a YouTube video in which he warned France, the United States and the United Nations not to interfere in Mali. "I confirm the capture of a French terrorist in Mali by the French Army," a defense ministry spokesman told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cyprus bailout scrapes through island's parliament Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:59 AM PDT  By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's parliament approved an EU bailout on Tuesday which will force it to wind down its second-largest bank and impose heavy losses on uninsured depositors at another, conditions that have intensified calls from islanders to exit the euro. With a razor-thin majority of just two votes, lawmakers approved terms accompanying 10 billion euros ($13.18 billion)in aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). ... Full Story | Top |
| Six Tunisian police wounded in hunt for Islamists near Algeria Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:54 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - A land mine suspected of being planted by hardline Islamists wounded six Tunisian police officers on Tuesday as they pursued a group of insurgents near the Algerian border, the interior ministry said. It was the third mine blast in Tunisia in two days, prompting Prime Minister Ali Larayedh to hold an emergency meeting with his defense and interior ministers. On Monday two policemen were seriously wounded in two explosions, also while searching for militants in the remote Mount Chaambi region west of Tunis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry pledges to answer Benghazi questions, laments 'misinformation' Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:49 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday pledged full cooperation with lawmakers' queries into last year's assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, while his spokesman dismissed reports that whistleblowers faced retaliation. "We're prepared to work openly and accountably to answer any of those questions," Kerry told reporters. "I'm determined that this will be an accountable and open State Department as it has been in the past and we will continue to provide answers," he said. The assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi last September 11, in which U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italy's Letta tells Merkel Europe needs more growth Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:42 AM PDT  By Steve Scherer and Stephen Brown ROME/BERLIN (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, fresh from winning a confidence vote in parliament, told Germany on Tuesday his government would meet its budget commitments but expected Europe to drop its austerity mantra and do more to lift growth. Speaking in Berlin on his first foreign visit since taking office on Sunday, Letta warned that Italy's February election, which saw a surge of support for parties attacking the European Union, showed that a change of course was needed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hezbollah says opposition will not topple Assad militarily Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:41 AM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Tuesday that the Syrian opposition fighting the forces of President Bashar al-Assad will not be able to topple him militarily. Nasrallah, a staunch ally of Assad, said in a televised speech that Syria's allies in the region and the world will not allow it to fall "in the hands of Americans, Israel and extremists". (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Pope accepts invite to Israel, urges peace talks Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:38 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume talks and make "courageous decisions" to bring peace after his first meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres on Tuesday and accepted an invitation to visit the Holy Land. The two discussed the civil war in Syria, tensions in Iran and the scourge of anti-Semitism during half an hour of private talks in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. ... Full Story | Top |
| Military push not sole way to end Congo conflict: U.N. envoy Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - A military solution is not the only way to end decades of conflict in eastern Congo, the newly appointed United Nations special envoy to the region said on Tuesday as the world body prepared to bolster its peacekeeping mission there. Former Irish president Mary Robinson was visiting the region for the first time since being appointed U.N. special envoy charged with helping bring an end to the violence, which has left millions dead and the mineral-rich nation in ruins. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada admits defense ministry vulnerable to security threats Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:21 AM PDT  By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay admitted on Tuesday his department has failed for years to combat the risk of security leaks from contract workers who are not being screened properly. The admission could lead to further embarrassment for the military after it emerged last year that a Canadian navy officer had passed secrets to Russia for years before he was caught. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia's oldest rights group told to register as "foreign agent" Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:17 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow prosecutors told Russia's oldest human rights group on Tuesday that it must register as a "foreign agent" under a new law that critics say is a move by President Vladimir Putin to silence dissent. Memorial opened in 1987 to document the Soviet Union's totalitarian past but has also spoken out against the detention of Russians held after an anti-Putin protest last year that turned violent. "We don't aim to register, we aim to appeal against this," Memorial's head, Aleksander Cherkasov, told Reuters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Many in Muslim world want sharia as law of land: survey Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Religion Editor Tom Heneghan (Reuters) - Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries, but they disagree on what it includes and who should be subject to it, an extensive new survey says. Suicide bombing was mostly rejected In the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Eygpt and 26 percent in Bangladesh. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish judge wants eight business leaders in court on graft case Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  MADRID (Reuters) - A magistrate investigating corruption allegations against Spain's ruling People's Party (PP) ordered eight business leaders on Tuesday to appear in court for questioning about supposed donations they made to the party. It was the latest development in a high-level corruption scandal that has enraged Spaniards struggling with a deep economic crisis and high unemployment. ... Full Story | Top |
| FDA looks at caffeine impact on kids after Wrigley gum Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Wrigley's new Alert Energy Caffeine Gum has prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to look into the potential impact that added caffeine may have on children and adolescents. The FDA said on Monday it was taking a "fresh look" at the issue in response to the launch of a caffeinated gum, "and if necessary, will take appropriate action." While the FDA did not name the gum in its statement, Wrigley launched the product this month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bomb blast kills 13 in center of Syrian capital Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - A bomb blast in the government-held center of Damascus killed 13 people on Tuesday, state television said, while rebels and loyalists to President Bashar al-Assad traded accusations over what they said was a chemical weapons attack the day before. Residents described scenes of carnage in Marjeh Square, in a the commercial district in the heart of the capital, with dozens of cars and buildings damaged by the bomb which went off in front of the former Interior Ministry building. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syrian air strike on Turkish border kills five: activists Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:06 AM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - A Syrian air strike on a headquarters of a rebel brigade along the Turkish border killed at least five people, including children, and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, opposition activists said. The attack targeted buildings belonging to the Ahrar al-Sham, a Salafist Islamist rebel unit fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the activists said. A Turkish aid worker said the strike also hit a warehouse on the Syrian side of the border used by aid groups. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justin Bieber, Obama election campaign headline Webby winners Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 11:05 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Campaigns for pop stars Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga joined comedian Jerry Seinfeld and the team behind President Barack Obama's 2012 social media election strategy on Tuesday in winning Webby Awards, the annual honors for excellence on the Internet. R&B singer Frank Ocean, fake news website, The Onion, and humor website Funny or Die also picked up awards. The Webby Awards recognizes websites, online video, social media and apps and interactive advertising. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Bulgarian keeper apologises for hitting team mate Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:47 AM PDT SOFIA, April 30 (Reuters) - Pirin Gotse Delchev's goalkeeper Abdi Abdikov has apologised after being handed a four-match ban by the Bulgarian FA (BFU) for hitting a team mate during a league match. The 29-year-old stopper was sent off for hitting defender Atanas Fidanin midway through the first half of a 5-1 loss at Cherno More Varna on Sunday, the incident apparently sparked by a row over who was to blame for conceding a goal. "I accept the punishment," Abdikov, who was also fined 1,000 levs ($670) by a disciplinary commission, told local media. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama says economics, security to be themes in Mexico visit Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:46 AM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said a trip to Mexico this week will center on economic issues such as trade and energy but security issues will not be far behind. "A lot of the focus is going to be on economics," Obama said during a news conference. "We've spent so much time on security issues between the United States and Mexico that sometimes I think we forget this is a massive trading partner, responsible for huge amounts of commerce and huge numbers of jobs on both sides of the border. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jury weighs fate of abortion doctor in murder trial Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:44 AM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Jury deliberations began on Tuesday in the murder trial of a Philadelphia doctor accused of killing babies and a patient during late-term abortions at a clinic serving low-income women. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, who ran the now-shuttered Women's Medical Society Clinic, could face the death penalty if convicted by the jury in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia. The case focuses on whether the infants were born alive and then killed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen stage protest outside Libyan justice ministry Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib and Jessica Donati TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Armed men in pick-up trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns and rocket-launchers protested on the road outside Libya's justice ministry on Tuesday to press demands that former dictator Muammar Gaddafi's aides be barred from senior government posts. Tensions between the government and armed militia have been intensifying since authorities began a campaign to dislodge the gunmen from strongholds in the capital Tripoli to tackle lawlessness threatening democratic transition. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pretrial self-defense hearing waived in shooting of Trayvon Martin Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:30 AM PDT  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman told a court in Florida on Tuesday he would wait until his June trial to argue that he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin last year. Prosecutors say Zimmerman, 29, profiled and confronted the 17-year-old Martin before shooting him in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, in February 2012, despite a police dispatcher instructing him not to give chase. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria prosecutors say ex-minister oversaw wiretapping breach Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:25 AM PDT  By Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgarian prosecutors on Tuesday said former Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov had allowed employees in his ministry to commit crimes in a growing wiretapping scandal dubbed "Bulgaria's Watergate". Analysts said the case was undermining public confidence in political institutions in the EU member state and was likely to dent support for the largest political party, the center-right GERB, ahead of parliamentary elections on May 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| South African army deaths from Central African Republic rise to 14 Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - One of 27 South African soldiers injured in March in fighting against rebels in Central African Republic has died, bringing to 14 the total killed in the clashes, a defense force spokesman said on Tuesday. The soldier, who was not identified, had been released from hospital on April 19 following an improvement in his condition. "Yesterday, he collapsed at home and was rushed to hospital, where he died," South African National Defense Force spokesman Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga said. Pretoria had originally reported 13 killed in the fighting. ... Full Story | Top |
| UAE head feted in Britain, Cameron urged to raise torture claims Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 10:00 AM PDT  By Mohammed Abbas LONDON (Reuters) - The president of the United Arab Emirates met Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday on a visit to Britain where Prime Minister David Cameron is under pressure to raise allegations that UAE police tortured British citizens. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan's visit poses a delicate diplomatic challenge for Cameron who has already expressed concern about the torture accusations but is keen to boost lucrative trade and strategically important diplomatic relations in the Gulf. The two men are due to meet on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Letta says Italy does not have to justify budget plans to Germany Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:55 AM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - Italy does not need to justify its spending plans to Germany as long as they remain within European Union deficit limits, Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Tuesday. "The ways in which we will find the resources are up to us, I don't have to explain it to anyone...I'm not here to justify the internal choices that we intend to make," Letta told a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mali court drops case against newspaper editor Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:54 AM PDT BAMAKO (Reuters) - A court in Mali threw out a case against a newspaper editor who was arrested after publishing an article criticizing the leader of last year's military coup. Boukary Daou was detained on March 6 and charged with inciting revolt after an open letter in his Le Republicain newspaper accused Captain Amadou Sanogo of taking a large salary while leaving his soldiers poorly equipped. Sanogo headed a putsch that toppled President Amadou Toumani Toure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel welcomes apparent Arab League softening of peace plan Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:51 AM PDT  JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel responded favorably on Tuesday to an apparent softening by Arab states of their 2002 peace plan after a top Qatari official raised the possibility of land swaps in setting borders between the Jewish state and an independent Palestine. The original Arab League proposal offered full recognition of Israel but only if it gave up all land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and accepted a "just solution" for Palestinian refugees. Israel, which has long said it would never return to narrow pre-1967 war borders, rejected the plan at the time. ... Full Story | Top |
| Government extends deadline to insurers for health exchanges Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:46 AM PDT (Reuters) - The deadline for health insurers to submit applications to sell insurance in the states in which the Federal government is running the health exchange has been extended by three days until Friday, a spokeswoman at the Department of Health and Human Services said on Tuesday. "Health insurance issuers have asked us to provide them with more time to submit their applications to offer Qualified Health Plans and we are accommodating that request," Alicia Hartinger, a spokeswoman at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said in an emailed statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Letta says Italy committed to keeping finances in order Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:38 AM PDT ROME (Reuters) - Europe must show the same determination to promote growth as it does to maintain sound public finances, Italy's new prime minister, Enrico Letta, said on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to Berlin, Letta said Rome was committed to maintaining budget discipline. "Our task is to continue with policies of fiscal consolidation and keeping public accounts in order," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Saudi Arabia has no plans to push oil capacity to 15 million bpd: minister Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:37 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Tuesday the kingdom has no plans to dramatically expand its oil production capacity to 15 million barrels per day, dispelling a suggestion put forth by a member of his country's royal family. Ali al-Naimi said his country will be "lucky to go past" its current oil production of about 9 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020, as new petroleum production from other countries comes into the global market. ... Full Story | Top |
| Merkel says Italy has taken 'considerable' reform steps Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:31 AM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that Italy had already taken "considerable" steps towards tackling weakness in its economy. "We want to ensure Europe emerges from this crisis stronger than it went into it. As part of that every country must do its part. Italy has taken considerable steps in this regard," Merkel said at a joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta in Berlin. ... Full Story | Top |
| ECB member Honohan says Cyprus bailout not a template Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 09:28 AM PDT DUBLIN (Reuters) - The treatment of deposit holders during the bailout of Cyprus is not something that will be repeated, Irish Central bank governor and European Central Bank governing council member Patrick Honohan said on Tuesday. "I think what happened in Cyprus certainly will not happen in any other country. It was certainly an unusual process that we observed," said Honohan when asked by a journalist if the "raiding" of savers in Cyprus might be repeated. Asked if he was happy with how the bailout of Cyprus was handled, Honohan said: "I would have done (things) differently myself. ... Full Story | Top |
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