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| Obama urges Massachusetts voters to back Markey's Senate bid Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:24 PM PDT  By Mark Felsenthal BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, fighting to protect his party's margin of control in the U.S. Senate, urged Massachusetts voters on Wednesday to back fellow Democrat Edward Markey in a June 25 special election that could gauge Americans' views of controversies vexing Obama's administration. With a Republican victory in a 2010 Senate special election still fresh on the minds of Democrats in a state that usually favors them, Obama spoke at a rally in Boston and with patrons at a locally famous sandwich shop to try to boost Markey's bid. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian protesters march as Putin seeks firmer political footing Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Gabriela Baczynska and Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow demanding Vladimir Putin resign on Wednesday, as the president took the helm of a loyalist movement designed to broaden his power base. With helmeted riot police looking on, some 10,000 protesters chanted "Russia without Putin!" and called for the release of activists who face long jail terms over violence at a protest against his inauguration to a third presidential term last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia jails three Europeans for topless feminist protest Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:17 PM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian court sentenced three European feminist activists to four months in jail on Wednesday after they demonstrated topless in central Tunis last month against the Islamist-led government, one of their lawyers said. Marguerite Stern and Pauline Hillier of France and Josephine Markmann of Germany, all members of the Femen protest group, appeared topless on May 29 to call for the release of fellow activist, Tunisian Amina Tyler, who was detained last month. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden says he will stay in Hong Kong and fight extradition Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The National Security Agency contractor who revealed the U.S. government's top-secret monitoring of phone and Internet data says he intends to stay in Hong Kong and fight any effort to bring him back to the United States to face charges. Edward Snowden, in his first public comments since he dropped out of view in Hong Kong on Monday, said he did not travel to the former British colony to avoid punishment for leaking details of the surveillance program. "I am not here to hide from justice. ... Full Story | Top |
| NSA chief: surveillance has stopped dozens of potential attacks Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:12 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The director of the National Security Agency said on Wednesday that recently disclosed top-secret U.S. surveillance programs have helped to prevent "dozens" of potential terrorist events. NSA chief General Keith Alexander made the comments at a Senate hearing when asked if the intelligence community could estimate how much the agency's broad monitoring of phone call and Internet data had helped prevent a terror attack. (Reporting by Deborah Charles; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Column: Building America's secret surveillance state - James Bamford Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:05 PM PDT  By James Bamford (Reuters) - "God we trust," goes an old National Security Agency joke. "All others we monitor. First, the Guardian reported details on a domestic telephone dragnet in which Verizon was forced to give the NSA details about all domestic, and even local, telephone calls. Then the Guardian and the Washington Post revealed another massive NSA surveillance program, called Prism, that required the country's major Internet companies to secretly pass along data including email, photos, videos, chat services, file transfers, stored data, log-ins and video conferencing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish ruling party orders protesters to leave Istanbul park Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:03 PM PDT ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party on Wednesday ordered protesters to leave Istanbul's central Gezi Park immediately and said it would consider holding a referendum on redevelopment plans which sparked almost two weeks of violent demonstrations. "Those with bad intentions or who seek to provoke and remain in the park will be facing the police," Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik told a news conference. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Asli Kandemir; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Michael Roddy) Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors call accused mob boss Bulger a 'hands-on killer' Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors described accused Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger as a "hands-on killer" in the opening statements Wednesday in his long-awaited trial on 19 murders he is said to have committed or ordered in the 1970s and 80s. In a story that has fascinated Boston for decades, the accused head of the "Winter Hill" crime gang fled after a corrupt law enforcement agent tipped him off in 1994 that arrest was imminent. He lived in hiding for 16 years, most of them while on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. The 83-year-old suspect's lead attorney, J.W. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bloomberg targets political donations in latest gun-control push Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:58 AM PDT  By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in his latest bid for tougher gun control, is urging the city's legions of Democratic donors to withhold funds from four Democratic senators who opposed a background checks bill earlier this year. The letter, sent to hundreds of the city's major donors on Wednesday, targets the four Democrats who joined Republicans in blocking a compromise bill designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group Bloomberg founded and largely funds. ... Full Story | Top |
| Southern Baptists condemn Boy Scouts policy on gays Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:54 AM PDT By Amanda Orr HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to voice opposition to the Boy Scouts of America decision to admit gay members, saying that homosexual conduct is contrary to a scout's oath to do his duty to God. The Southern Baptists, the nation's largest protestant denomination, approved a non-binding resolution expressing opposition to the policy at its annual convention in Houston. The resolution requires no action by member churches, with churches left to decide individually whether to stop sponsoring scout troops. Some other U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jordan removes last hurdle to cleric's extradition from UK Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:39 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan has removed the last hurdle preventing Britain from sending radical cleric Abu Qatada back home for trial by approving an extradition treaty satisfying British concerns about evidence used against him, officials said on Wednesday. The British government has for years been unable to deport Abu Qatada back to his native Jordan, where he is wanted on alleged terrorism charges, because judges have said evidence obtained through torture could be used against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Jordan removes last hurdle to Abu Qatada's extradition from UK Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:39 AM PDT  AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan has removed the last hurdle preventing Britain from sending radical cleric Abu Qatada back home for trial by approving an extradition treaty satisfying British concerns about evidence used against him, officials said on Wednesday. The British government has for years been unable to deport Abu Qatada back to his native Jordan, where he is wanted on alleged terrorism charges, because judges have said evidence obtained through torture could be used against him. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek PM faces coalition revolt over state TV shutdown Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:37 AM PDT  By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras faced a political revolt on Wednesday from partners in his ruling coalition after the government abruptly switched the state broadcaster off the air in the middle of the night. Screens went black on state broadcaster ERT, cutting newscasters off mid-sentence only hours after the decision was announced, in what the government said was a temporary measure to staunch a waste of taxpayers' money. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada's CBC says two reporters detained in Turkey Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:35 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two foreign correspondents from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) covering protests in Istanbul were detained by police on Wednesday and the company said it was seeking further information from the Turkish authorities. CBC said on its website it had been in touch with reporters Sasa Petricic and Derek Stoffel following their detention. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on his Twitter account he had telephoned the Turkish ambassador to express his concern. "Sasa and I are ok. In police custody but ok. Thanks for kind words. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU worried by violence in Turkey, calls for inquiries Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:31 AM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union expressed concern on Wednesday about Turkish government action to clear Istanbul's Taksim Square of protesters overnight, when police fired tear gas into a crowd of thousands. Top EU officials also called on Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government to investigate cases of excessive use of force and to hold those responsible to account. Riot police used tear gas and water cannon on people in office clothes and families with children, as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes for control of the central Istanbul square. ... Full Story | Top |
| NSA chief says U.S. infrastructure highly vulnerable to cyber attack Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:11 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. critical infrastructure - which ranges from telecommunications to water to energy supplies - is not well prepared to handle a destructive cyber attack, the top U.S. general in charge of cybersecurity said on Wednesday. National Security Agency chief General Keith Alexander, making his first public appearance since revelations surfaced last week about U.S. telephone and internet surveillance efforts, made the comments in a statement prepared for testimony before Congress. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek PM refuses to back down on state TV closure Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:10 AM PDT  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday said he would press ahead with plans to reform state broadcaster ERT and launched a blistering attack against those opposing its closure. In remarks at an awards ceremony, he made no reference to a demand by his junior coalition partners to hold a meeting to resolve the issue and reopen the state broadcaster immediately. "When thousands of business close and hundreds were losing their jobs there was no such reaction," he said. ... Full Story | Top |
| RBS boss Hester to step down this year Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland boss Stephen Hester will step down later this year, after the bank's board decided it wanted new leadership to oversee the sale of Britain's majority stake in the bank, which could take years. Hester said on Wednesday he would have liked to carry on at the helm for the start of sale of the government's 81-percent stake, which could take place before the next election in 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. says Israel-Syria ceasefire jeopardized by Golan violence Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 11:00 AM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A spillover of violence from Syria's civil war into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is jeopardizing a decades old ceasefire between Israel and Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday. Ban recommended to the 15-member council that self defense capabilities of a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the area, known as UNDOF, be enhanced, "including increasing the force strength to about 1,250 and improving its self defense equipment. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brazil offers new credit line as Rousseff pushes positive agenda Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:51 AM PDT  By Carl Patchen BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil will hand out 17 billion reais ($8 billion) in cheap loans for home appliance purchases, the government said on Wednesday, in a move to bolster Brazilians' buying power as a lackluster economy and high inflation erode its approval rating. President Dilma Rousseff, a leftist economist who plans to run for re-election next year, saw her high popularity edge lower for the first time in months as Brazilians grow wary of high inflation and slow growth, two recent opinion polls showed. ... Full Story | Top |
| Showtime in Brazil but woes sap hopes behind sport extravaganzas Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:50 AM PDT By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - All but diehard fans of international soccer could be forgiven for not knowing, much less caring, about the Confederations Cup, a two-week tournament that kicks off in Brazil on Saturday. For 200 million Brazilians, though, the competition is the first in a series of big events that will say a lot about their country, their first-world ambitions and the government's ability, amid fading confidence in Latin America's biggest economy, to deliver on the promise of a Brazil transformed. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU to levy 4.7 percent duty on jet fuel imports from Mideast Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:48 AM PDT By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union will impose a 4.7 percent duty on jet fuel imports from the Middle East starting next year, officials said on Wednesday, in a move that could significantly increase costs for the EU's embattled airlines. Last month, EU officials said jet fuel imports could dodge the new tariff thanks to a waiver known as airworthiness certificates or EASA Form 1 certificates. After reviewing the system, however, the officials concluded that jet fuel cannot benefit from the waiver, which applies mostly to airplane parts. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges eight for cybercrime targeting banks, government Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:42 AM PDT (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors in New Jersey on Wednesday announced criminal charges against eight people accused of trying to steal at least $15 million from U.S. customers in an international cybercrime scheme targeting accounts at financial institutions and government agencies. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said four of the defendants have been arrested, two are being pursued by law enforcement, and the other two, who are Ukrainian nationals, are at large. ... Full Story | Top |
| Algeria president makes first TV appearance since stroke Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:41 AM PDT  ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika appeared on state television on Wednesday for the first time since he was rushed to hospital in France on April 27 after a stroke. Bouteflika, 76, had not been seen in public since. The release of the video and a photograph of the same scene appeared aimed at quelling widespread speculation about his health. The footage showed the president at a meeting on Tuesday with the prime minister and the army chief of staff at the Institution Nationale des Invalides in Paris. ... Full Story | Top |
| Irish PM says received letters in blood over planned abortion law Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's prime minister said he had been sent letters written in blood and been branded a murderer by opponents of his government's plans to allow limited access to abortion, an issue that has polarized the country for decades. Enda Kenny's government agreed draft legislation in April to allow for limited access to abortion where a woman's life is in danger, including the threat of suicide, following months of protests from both sides of the debate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan MPs take first pay cut, but allowances mount Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:38 AM PDT By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan members of parliament, among the best paid in Africa, have bowed to public anger by accepting their first pay cut - but only in exchange for a tax-free car grant, pensions and extra allowances, officials said on Wednesday. The announcement of the reduction - to around $75,000 (6.38 million Kenyan shillings) a year from the $120,000 members of the last parliament earned - came a day after hundreds massed outside parliament denouncing MPs as "MPigs". ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkey protests do not affect Games bid: Istanbul 2020 Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Karolos Grohmann (Reuters) - Violent protests that have hit Turkey over recent days need to end swiftly but will have no bearing on Istanbul's candidacy to host the 2020 Olympics, bid leaders said on Wednesday. Riot police have cleared the Istanbul square at the center of almost two weeks of protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. "The feedback Istanbul 2020 has received from IOC (International Olympic Committee) members and the wider Olympic family continues to be positive and very understanding," bid officials said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: U.S. states poised to give economy a modest boost Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:36 AM PDT By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state and local governments finally appear to be collecting enough in taxes to raise spending and give the broader economy a bit of a lift after several years of being a drag. While progress in patching up budgets has been uneven across the country, a growing economy has led to higher tax revenues in most states and made officials more confident they can increase spending on infrastructure and education, if only a little. ... Full Story | Top |
| Messi and father accused of tax fraud in Spain Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:32 AM PDT  By Emma Pinedo MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi and his father denied wrongdoing on Wednesday after the Spanish tax authorities accused them of defrauding the state of more than four million euros ($5.3 million). The World Player of the Year and his father Jorge allegedly filed fraudulent tax returns for the years 2006 to 2009, according to Jose Miguel Company, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office for tax crimes in Catalonia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Turkey's history of military coups hangs over protests Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:31 AM PDT  By Ralph Boulton and Parisa Hafezi ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's "pashas", the generals who once made politicians quake at the mere hint of disapproval, are staying silent as riots sweep the nation. Today the words "military coup" are nowhere to be heard, a tribute perhaps to the prime minister now accused of trampling on democracy. Until recently Turkish army chiefs repeatedly got rid of politicians who displeased them or proved unable to cope with turmoil. In 1960 they toppled a premier and later hanged him; three more coups followed in 40 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Soccer-Messi and father accused of tax fraud in Spain Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:31 AM PDT * Messi, father allegedly withheld over 4 million euros * Accused of filing fraudulent returns in 2006-09 * Pair deny wrongdoing in statement on Facebook (Adds details of charges) By Emma Pinedo MADRID, June 12 (Reuters) - Barcelona's Argentina forward Lionel Messi and his father denied wrongdoing on Wednesday after the Spanish tax authorities accused them of defrauding the state of more than four million euros ($5.3 million). ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada names interim boss Pecman to head competition watchdog Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:27 AM PDT TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's competition watchdog got a new chief on Wednesday, with the government choosing an internal candidate who has signaled a tougher stance on forcing companies to hand over information when they are being investigated for abuses. John Pecman was named Commissioner of Competition for a five-year term, nearly a year after he stepped into the role as interim head of the country's Competition Bureau. The bureau is an independent law enforcement agency tasked with ensuring fair competition in the marketplace. ... Full Story | Top |
| FEMA denies West, Texas, bid for more disaster aid: governor's office Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:25 AM PDT  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The federal government's disaster agency denied a request for disaster aid to replace infrastructure destroyed in West, Texas by a fertilizer plant explosion in April that killed 14 people, Texas Governor Rick Perry's office said on Wednesday. President Barack Obama declared the area a disaster after the April 17 explosion, releasing funds for individuals and for cleanup of the site. The application denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was for additional funds to rebuild infrastructure. ... Full Story | Top |
| Olympics-Turkey protests do not affect Games bid - Istanbul 2020 Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:23 AM PDT By Karolos Grohmann June 12 (Reuters) - Violent protests that have hit Turkey over recent days need to end swiftly but will have no bearing on Istanbul's candidacy to host the 2020 Olympics, bid leaders said on Wednesday. Riot police have cleared the Istanbul square at the centre of almost two weeks of protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. "The feedback Istanbul 2020 has received from IOC (International Olympic Committee) members and the wider Olympic family continues to be positive and very understanding," bid officials said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Florida, Texas set to execute convicted killers Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:18 AM PDT By Karen Brooks and Bill Cotterell AUSTIN, Texas/TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Texas and Florida are scheduled to execute convicted killers on Wednesday, one of whom murdered an East Texas man at the end of a deadly six-month crime spree that the killer described in court as "a whole lot of fun." Elroy Chester, who is due to be put to death in Texas, admitted killing five people and sexually assaulting or raping three girls during his spree in 1997 and 1998, according to an account of the case by the Texas Attorney General's Office. ... Full Story | Top |
| Australian woman attempts record swim from Cuba to U.S. Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:18 AM PDT  By Jeff Franks HAVANA (Reuters) - Under a bright, tropical sun, Australian Chloe McCardel jumped into a calm, crystal-clear sea on Wednesday and began her quest to become the first person to make the 103 mile swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage. If all goes well, she hopes to swim through the Straits of Florida in about 60 hours and reach Key West on Friday night. McCardel will use a team of scientists in the United States to help guide her through the Gulf Stream, the powerful and unpredictable current that has stymied many previous attempts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Harper says won't be rushed into Canada-EU trade deal Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Wednesday his government would not be rushed into signing a free trade agreement with the European Union this week just to coincide with meetings he is holding with European leaders. Harper was speaking to reporters in London on the first leg of a European tour that will take him also to France and Ireland, which holds the European presidency, as well as to Northern Ireland, where he will attend a summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations and the European Union. ... Full Story | Top |
| Royalty wants appeal over Elan bid heard next week Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:05 AM PDT DUBLIN (Reuters) - U.S.-based Royalty Pharma sought to have an appeal heard next week over conditions attached to its hostile bid for Irish drug firm Elan that threaten to scupper the $8 billion deal. Royalty received a blow in its battle to take over Elan last week when Ireland's Takeover Panel ruled that the investment firm could not revise the terms of its offer, meaning it could become null and void at an Elan shareholder meeting on Monday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Greek junior coalition partners demand reopening of state TV Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 10:02 AM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - The junior partners in Greece's ruling coalition demanded the reopening of shuttered state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday and called for a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to resolve the issue. "ERT undoubtedly must be reformed and restructured, it must be upgraded but it is essential that this happens while ERT is open," said Fotis Kouvelis, leader of the small Democratic Left party in the coalition. "It is unacceptable that ERT is shut while there are still outstanding issues. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. hopes NSA surveillance won't derail data trade goals Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013 09:52 AM PDT By Doug Palmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top U.S. trade official on Wednesday acknowledged that revelations of government surveillance of phone and internet records could complicate trade negotiations aimed at reducing barriers to cross-border electronic data flows. "There's no question that for a long time one of the most difficult issues that we're grappling with ... is the whole domain of issues encompassed in privacy," said Michael Punke, U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization. ... Full Story | Top |
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