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| Senate to cast first gun-control votes on Thursday Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:48 PM PDT  By Richard Cowan and John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate will cast its first vote on President Barack Obama's gun-control proposals on Thursday, but Democratic Leader Harry Reid said he was unsure if the bill could gain the 60 votes it needs to overcome Republican procedural hurdles. Reid called on Republicans to drop their attempt to block debate on the gun legislation, but Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said there was no bipartisan support for the effort. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI probes trading as KPMG quits as Herbalife, Skechers auditor Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  By Martinne Geller and Emily Flitter (Reuters) - In a blow to one of the world's largest accounting firms, KPMG said it resigned as auditor of two U.S. companies amid an FBI investigation into insider trading allegations involving a former senior partner. The companies - nutritional products group Herbalife Ltd and footwear maker Skechers USA Inc - said separately on Tuesday that KPMG had quit as their auditor in connection with alleged leaks of nonpublic information. The FBI's Los Angeles office is investigating the matter, according to a source familiar with the situation. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea warns foreigners to leave South amid new threats of war Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 06:07 AM PDT By Christine Kim and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea intensified threats of an imminent conflict against the United States and the South on Tuesday, warning foreigners to evacuate South Korea to avoid being dragged into "thermonuclear war". The North's latest message belied an atmosphere free of anxiety in the South Korean capital, where the city center was bustling with traffic and offices operated normally. Pyongyang has shown no sign of preparing its 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| At least 14 people injured in stabbing at Houston college Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:22 PM PDT  By Andrea Lorenz (Reuters) - At least 14 people were injured during a mass stabbing at a local community college in the northwest Houston area Tuesday morning, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Four people were transported by emergency officials to local hospitals after the incident at 11 a.m. at the CyFair campus of Lone Star College, the sheriff's office said in a statement. One suspect was detained, the statement said. "A long, extensive investigation on this sprawling campus is being conducted," the police statement said. ... 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 |
| 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 |
| J.C. Penney board comes under fire for CEO switch Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 07:59 AM PDT  By Ben Berkowitz (Reuters) - The board of J.C. Penney Co Inc is facing scathing criticism from investors and corporate governance experts after ousting Chief Executive Ron Johnson and replacing him with his own embattled predecessor, Myron Ullman. Hours after the switch was announced on Monday, there was at least one call for the entire board to resign, while others suggested shareholders might vote out current directors at the company's next annual meeting. "It was the wrong thing for the board to do to get rid of Johnson here. ... 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 |
| Iraqi al Qaeda wing merges with Syrian counterpart Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 08:28 AM PDT By Sami Aboudi DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's al Qaeda wing has united with a kindred Syrian group in the frontline of a struggle to oust President Bashar al-Assad, sharpening a dilemma for nations that back the revolt, but fear rising Islamist militancy. The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, said his group had trained and funded fighters from Syria's al-Nusra Front - which is blacklisted by the United States - since the early days of the two-year-old uprising. ... 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 |
| 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 |
| Analysis: Public doubt on bird flu a ghost of China's past Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 09:50 AM PDT  By Michael Martina and Kate Kelland BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) - China has earned praise from international scientists for its handling of an outbreak of a deadly new bird flu in humans, but a history of public health cover-ups means the Chinese public is harder to win over. Even as global authorities have said the new H7N9 bird flu strain that has killed eight and infected 28 is no cause for panic, memories of past health scandals continue to undermine the government's credibility at home in dealing with outbreaks. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Iron Lady" Thatcher mourned, but opponents celebrate Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Admirers of Margaret Thatcher on Tuesday mourned the "Iron Lady" who as Britain's longest serving prime minister in over a century pitched free-market capitalism as the only medicine for her country's crippled economy and the crumbling Soviet bloc. World leaders past and present, from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to U.S. President Barack Obama, led tributes to the grocer's daughter who sought to arrest Britain's decline and helped Ronald Reagan broker an end to the Cold War. ... Full Story | Top |
| Dell's evaluation of buyout bid flawed: shareholder Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 10:17 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Southeastern Asset Management, the activist investor that owns 8.4 percent of Dell Inc, said on Tuesday the computer maker's evaluation of a $24.4 billion leveraged buyout deal with its founder and buyout firm Silver Lake was flawed. Southeastern published a letter it sent to Dell's board of directors asserting the company's March 29 proxy statement fails to make a compelling case for shareholders to accept the $13.65 per share offer from Michael Dell and Silver Lake. The letter says Dell's special committee did not properly explore all options. ... 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 |
| Iran announces uranium mining after nuclear talks fail Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 06:45 AM PDT  By Yeganeh Torbati and Fredrik Dahl DUBAI/VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday operations had begun at two uranium mines and a milling plant and that Western opposition would not slow its nuclear work, days after talks with world powers made no breakthrough. Marking its annual National Nuclear Technology Day, Iran also said it would continue to need higher-grade enriched uranium - the part of its atomic activity that most worries the West - to fuel additional research reactors it plans to build. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya swears in president, West faces balancing act Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 07:45 AM PDT  By Duncan Miriri and Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in as Kenyan president on Tuesday, presenting Western states with the challenge of how to deal with a leader indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Cheered by tens of thousands of people at the ceremony, Uganda's president praised Kenyans for rejecting what he called the court's bid to sway the vote by "blackmail", a reflection of the distrust or resentment of the court felt by many Africans. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Insurers see promise in pay-for-performance health plans Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 05:29 AM PDT  By Caroline Humer (Reuters) - Insurers and doctors are testing a way to pay for healthcare that has been more common in the corporate suite than the emergency room - paying for better performance, betting it is the key to controlling runaway costs. Both private insurance plans and Medicare plans in hundreds of locations around the country are using incentives to try to cut healthcare spending and still keep Americans healthy. After a few years of pilot programs and studies, companies as large as Intel Corp. are offering these plans to employees this year. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan ambush kills 5 U.N. peacekeepers, 7 civilians Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 07:43 AM PDT 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. The nationalities of the civilians killed were not immediately available. The soldiers were escorting a U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| Lagardere sells EADS stake for $3 billion Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 03:50 AM PDT  By Blaise Robinson and Daniela Pegna PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - French media group Lagardere has sold its 7.4 percent stake in Airbus parent EADS, kicking off a long-expected overhaul in the ownership of Europe's top aircraft maker. Lagardere raised 2.3 billion euros ($3 billion) through the sale, with EADS spending 500 million euros to buy 1.6 percent of its own shares - a buyback below some analysts' expectations. Societe Generale, the global coordinator and bookrunner of the sale along with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said 61.1 million EADS shares were placed at 37.35 euros apiece. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan's quake-crippled nuclear plant "losing faith" in leaking water pits Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 02:29 AM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - The company that runs a Japanese nuclear power plant destroyed by a tsunami two years ago said on Tuesday it was losing faith in temporary storage pits for radioactive water - but it doesn't have anywhere else to put it. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said it had found a new leak at one of the pits at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Three out of seven storage pits are now leaking, compounding clean-up difficulties after the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man shoots dead 13 relatives and neighbors in Serb village Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 08:55 AM PDT  By Fedja Grulovic VELIKA IVANCA, Serbia (Reuters) - A veteran of the 1990s Balkan wars shot dead 13 people, including his mother, son and a two-year-old child in a dawn rampage through a small village in central Serbia on Tuesday, authorities said. The man, identified by police as Ljubisa Bogdanovic, also shot his wife before turning the gun on himself. Both were in critical condition in hospital, police said. "Most of the victims were shot in the head as they slept," police chief Milorad Veljovic told reporters at the scene in Velika Ivanca, about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Belgrade. ... Full Story | Top |
| China reports another bird flu death, total now 8 Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 03:59 AM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Another person died in China from a new strain of bird flu on Tuesday, state media said, bringing to eight the number of deaths from the H7N9 virus since it was confirmed in humans for the first time last month. The 83-year-old victim, from the eastern province of Jiangsu, was admitted to hospital with a fever on March 20 and confirmed as having H7N9 on April 2, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The H7N9 strain has infected 24 people, all of them in eastern China, of whom eight have died. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge rules administration overlooked fracking risks in California mineral leases Tuesday, Apr 09, 2013 12:34 AM PDT  By Rory Carroll SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled the Obama administration broke the law when it issued oil leases in central California without fully weighing the environmental impact of "fracking," a setback for companies seeking to exploit the region's enormous energy resources. The decision, made public on Monday, effectively bars for the time being any drilling on two tracts of land comprising 2,500 acres leased for oil and gas development in 2011 by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management in Monterey County. ... Full Story | Top |
| Easing food prices, mild recovery cool China March inflation Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:00 PM PDT  By Nick Edwards and Xiaoyi Shao BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual consumer inflation cooled in March as food prices eased from nine-month highs and producer price deflation deepened, data showed on Tuesday, leaving policymakers room to keep monetary conditions easy and nurture a nascent recovery. The National Bureau of Statistics' March inflation data reflected the tepid pace of the economic recovery that began late last year and is likely to reduce fears that monetary conditions could be tightened at an early stage in the recovery cycle. The consumer price index showed an annual rise of 2. ... Full Story | Top |
| GM Korea's contingency plan provokes union ahead of talks Monday, Apr 08, 2013 10:24 PM PDT  By Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) - General Motors Co has warned it could shift operations from South Korea in the longer term due to rising tension with the North, angering its Korean union which accuses the firm of using the instability as leverage ahead of tough annual labor talks. North Korea has issued a stream of threats of war with South Korea and the United States in recent weeks, and on Tuesday it effectively shut down an industrial park operated with South Korea a few kilometers inside its border. ... Full Story | Top |
| "Iron Lady" Thatcher mourned, but critics speak out Monday, Apr 08, 2013 03:32 PM PDT  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and admirers worldwide are mourning Margaret Thatcher, who has died aged 87, as the "Iron Lady" who rolled back the state and faced down her enemies during 11 years as Britain's first woman prime minister. Her impact on the 1980s was such that opponents, including Labour's Tony Blair and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, led tributes to a legacy that radically transformed the British economy along free-market lines now widely taken for granted and includes her role in the peaceful end to the Cold War. But while U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Venezuela's Maduro vows to battle corruption Monday, Apr 08, 2013 08:06 PM PDT  By Diego Ore and Daniel Wallis CARACAS (Reuters) - Acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed on Monday to stamp out corruption following days of accusations by his election rival Henrique Capriles that ruling party officials were plundering Venezuela's oil wealth. Corruption has been a perennial problem in the country and was a primary campaign issue for the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez when he was first elected in 1998. His death from cancer last month triggered the April 14 election. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bernanke says stress tests make banks more stable Monday, Apr 08, 2013 05:18 PM PDT  By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa STONE MOUNTAIN, Georgia (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday the central bank's periodic bank stress tests have made the financial system more resilient. Contrasting the current state of banks to their tattered condition in 2009 after the historic financial crisis, Bernanke said the sector's rebound was positive for the broader recovery given the importance of credit to economic growth. "The resilience of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's president says enemies poisoning peace process Monday, Apr 08, 2013 06:48 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's attempt to bring an end to five decades of war with Marxist FARC rebels faces "enemies," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday, calling for unity to support the process and assure its success in the next several months. In a televised address on the eve of an organized march against violence, Santos expressed optimism that the nation is close to achieving a historic agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, and an end to bloodshed, but he slammed those who are poisoning the effort and spreading lies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: The backroom battle delaying reform of China's one-child policy Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  By Sui-Lee Wee and Hui Li BEIJING (Reuters) - Two retired senior Chinese officials are engaged in a battle with one another to sway Beijing's new leadership over the future of the one-child policy, exposing divisions that have impeded progress in a crucial area of reform. The policy, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiraling out of control, has long been opposed by human rights and religious groups but is also now regarded by many experts as outdated and harmful to the economy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Hagel to ask Congress to end commanders' power to overturn jury verdicts Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:10 PM PDT  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Monday he would ask Congress to change U.S. military law to eliminate the power of senior commanders to alter courts martial verdicts for major crimes like murder or sexual assault. The decision follows a controversial ruling in which a senior military commander in Europe set aside the sexual assault conviction of an Air Force officer, throwing out his one-year prison term and dismissal from the service. ... Full Story | Top |
| Suicide car bomber kills 15 in central Damascus Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  By Oliver Holmes and Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb killed at least 15 people and wounded 53 in the main business district of Damascus on Monday in what the Syrian prime minister said was a response to army gains against rebels around the capital. The bomb near a school in the Sabaa Bahrat district, which also houses the Central Bank and Finance Ministry, set cars ablaze and damaged buildings, state television footage showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenya to swear in president, leave West with headache Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:00 PM PDT  By Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya swears in Uhuru Kenyatta as president on Tuesday after an election that avoided the bloodshed of five years ago, but left Western nations with the challenge of how to deal with a leader indicted by the International Criminal Court. Western states regard Kenya as crucial to regional stability and have supported the role played by Kenyan and other African troops in efforts to push back al Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militants in neighboring Somalia. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. envoy says must fight mistrust for Middle East peace Monday, Apr 08, 2013 01:48 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday he is trying to break down mistrust on both sides of the "festering" conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and would not rush into a new peace process. Making his third visit to the region in less than three weeks, Kerry met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday night had dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night. "I am intensely focused on this issue ... ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. holds visa lottery for 85,000 skilled workers Monday, Apr 08, 2013 01:47 PM PDT  By Sarah McBride WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. visa program ran a lottery on Sunday to award 85,000 slots for high-skilled workers just one week after the application period opened, the Citizenship and Immigration Service said, signaling companies feel confident enough about the economy to hire more foreign workers. The USCIS held the lottery to approve petitions for the slots after it received approximately 124,000 H-1B petitions last week, including petitions filed for holders of advanced degrees from U.S. universities. ... Full Story | Top |
| West sees enough substance for Iran talks to continue Monday, Apr 08, 2013 01:24 PM PDT  By Justyna Pawlak BRUSSELS (Reuters) - World powers believe there are enough grounds to keep talking to Iran about its disputed nuclear program, a senior Western diplomat said on Monday, even though the latest round of negotiations made little apparent progress. "There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue," the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters. "I would not expect a breakdown. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bernanke says stress tests make banks more stable Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:16 PM PDT  By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa STONE MOUNTAIN, Georgia (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday the central bank's periodic bank stress tests have made the financial system more resilient. Contrasting the current state of banks to their tattered condition in 2009 after the historic financial crisis, Bernanke said the sector's rebound was positive for the broader recovery given the importance of credit to economic growth. "The resilience of the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| North Korea suspends last project with South, Putin cites Chernobyl Monday, Apr 08, 2013 04:23 PM PDT By Christine Kim PAJU, South Korea (Reuters) - North Korea suspended its sole remaining major project with the South on Monday, after weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said any nuclear conflict could make Chernobyl look like a fairy tale. ... Full Story | Top |
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