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| Philadelphia latest U.S. city to sue banks in Libor scandal Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:39 PM PDT (Reuters) - The city of Philadelphia is the latest of a series of U.S. municipalities, following Houston a week ago, to sue some of the world's biggest banks for financial losses incurred in the Libor interest-rate rigging scandal. Philadelphia sued nine banks and several subsidiaries on Friday in Pennsylvania Federal Court, seeking punitive and other damages and claiming that the banks' behavior "was nothing short of naked price-fixing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisia says eight soldiers killed near Algeria border Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:35 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Eight Tunisian soldiers were killed by militants near the Algerian border on Monday, the president's office said, in what appeared to be one of the biggest attacks on the country's security forces in decades. The incident occurred in the remote area of Mount Chaambi, where Tunisian troops have been trying to track down Islamist militants since December last year. (Reporting by Erika Solomon; editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen launch major attack on Pakistani prison holding militants Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:33 PM PDT DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen battled Pakistani security forces for control of a major prison holding hundreds of militants on Monday night, police said. The gunmen launched their attack with a series of heavy explosions before firing rocket propelled grenades and machineguns, district police chief Sohail Khalid said. The prison, in the central town of Dera Ismail Khan, houses Taliban and militants from banned sectarian groups. (Reporting by Katharine Houreld) Full Story | Top |
| White House says not confirming Carter trip to North Korea Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:30 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday it was not confirming a trip by former President Jimmy Carter to North Korea to win release of an American citizen being held there. Earlier a White House spokesman said Carter would be making the trip in a personal capacity. The White House later clarified those remarks, saying the spokesman was not confirming that Carter was making a trip. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Full Story | Top |
| Gunmen kill seven Tunisian soldiers near Algeria border: radio station Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:29 PM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead seven Tunisian soldiers near the Algerian border on Monday, according to Tunisia's Mosaique radio station. There was no word on the attack from the army, and the identity of the assailants was unclear. A similar ambush near the border on police in April was blamed on hardline Islamist militants. (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) Full Story | Top |
| Mali counts votes, cheered by high turnout in presidential race Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:26 PM PDT  By David Lewis and Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali tallied votes from its high-stakes election on Monday cheering a robust turnout and lack of violence as proof Malians were eager to turn the page on more than a year of turmoil, war and an army coup. Official results were not due until Tuesday, but that did not stop ex-prime minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's camp from saying a first round victory was within reach. ... Full Story | Top |
| SEC fraud case against ex-Goldman trader Tourre in homestretch Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:25 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Katya Wachtel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Testimony ended Monday in the civil fraud case of Fabrice Tourre, with lawyers for former Goldman Sachs trader not calling any witnesses before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case goes to a Manhattan federal jury. Tourre's lawyers had been expected to call witnesses including hedge fund billionaire John Paulson to testify on his behalf. Instead, his lawyers asked the presiding judge to take the case away from the jury and rule in Tourre's favor, which, as expected, she rejected. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt sides defiant as EU envoy seeks compromise Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:23 PM PDT By Maggie Fick and Matt Robinson CAIRO (Reuters) - Europe's top diplomat pressed Egypt's rulers on Monday to step back from a growing confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, two days after 80 of his supporters were gunned down in Cairo. Raising the prospect of more bloodshed, the Brotherhood said it would march again on Monday evening towards a military intelligence headquarters. ... Full Story | Top |
| Iran nominee seen as olive branch to United States Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  By Marcus George and Paul Taylor DUBAI/PARIS (Reuters) - If Iran's president-elect wanted to signal his determination to rebuild relations with the United States and strike a "grand bargain", he could hardly do better than pick Mohammad Javad Zarif as his foreign minister. Iranian news agencies reported on Monday that Zarif, a former ambassador to the United Nations and Tehran's leading connoisseur of the U.S. political elite, is set to be in the new cabinet to be announced after President Hassan Rouhani takes office on Sunday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Aggressive Chinese territorial claims bring risks: U.S. general Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Aggressive moves by China to assert territorial claims run the risk of "miscalculations" but are also helping Washington strengthen ties with other countries in the region, the general who oversees U.S. air forces in the Pacific said Monday. "Being fairly aggressive runs the risk of creating the potential for miscalculation," Air Force General Herbert Carlisle told defense reporters in Washington. "That's something we think about every day. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says army retakes Homs district from rebels Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:04 PM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops drove insurgents from a central district of Homs on Monday, tightening their siege on remaining rebel bastions in the city, which links Damascus to the Mediterranean heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect. The military's gains in Khalidiya district follow a counter-offensive by Assad's forces, which have pushed back rebels around the Syrian capital and retaken several towns and villages near the border with Lebanon in the last few weeks. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel convicts seven Arab citizens in Jewish gunman's killing Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:03 PM PDT By Rami Amichai HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court convicted seven Arab citizens on Monday in connection with the mob killing in 2005 of a Jewish gunman after he went on a lethal shooting rampage on a bus in their town. While none of the men was found guilty of directly causing the death of Eden Nathan-Zaada, a 19-year-old army deserter and far-right West Bank settler, some members of Israel's Arab minority deplored the verdict as a sign of discrimination. ... Full Story | Top |
| Black lawyer group urges Florida governor to repeal 'Stand Your Ground' Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Kevin Gray MIAMI BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - A leading group of black lawyers on Monday urged Florida's governor to call a special legislative session to repeal the state's "Stand Your Ground" law after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. "Stand Your Ground must fall," said John Page, the president of the National Bar Association, one of the oldest organizations of African-American lawyers, during the group's annual meeting in Miami Beach, Florida. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: EU to clear US Airways, American $11 billion merger - sources Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:43 AM PDT  By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - AMR Corp's American Airlines and US Airways will win EU approval for their $11 billion merger to become the world's largest carrier after agreeing to cede slots on a transatlantic route, three persons familiar with the matter said on Monday. The airlines offered to give up slots at Heathrow and Philadelphia airports earlier this month after the European Commission raised competition concerns over the route. "The deal is set to be approved," one source said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian prime minister aims for December election Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:30 AM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Prime Minister on Monday proposed holding fresh elections in December, and said that the Islamist-led transitional government would go on with its work despite mounting efforts to dissolve it. Ali Larayedh accused the secular opposition, which has launched widespread protests against the ruling Islamist Ennahda party, of being "coupists". "The government will continue performing its duties and it will not abandon them, not because it is keen to hold power, and we will maintain our responsibilities until the final moment," he said in televised speech. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-football coach testifies in Sandusky scandal Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:28 AM PDT  By Dave Warner HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - The former football coach whose account of Jerry Sandusky molesting a boy in a Penn State shower is at the heart of a cover-up case against former school officials testified at their court hearing on Monday. Mike McQueary told of a series of talks he had with late Penn State coach Joe Paterno in February 2001, including the morning after he spotted Sandusky sexually abusing a child in the locker room showers. "I had seen Jerry Sandusky engaged in a very bad sexual act, a molestation act, with a minor," McQueary testified he told Paterno. ... Full Story | Top |
| FBI arrests 150 in three days in sex-trafficking sweep Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:08 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI arrested 150 people across the United States on charges of holding children against their will for prostitution, a three-day weekend sweep that officials on Monday called the largest-ever operation against child sex-trafficking. The suspects, whom the FBI referred to as "pimps," were arrested in 76 U.S. cities and are expected to face state and federal charges related to sex crimes and human trafficking, FBI and U.S. Justice Department officials said at a news conference. ... Full Story | Top |
| Philadelphia building collapse injures eight: officials Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:04 AM PDT By Daniel Kelly (Reuters) - Eight people were injured in Philadelphia in what police said might have been a gas explosion that caused the collapse of one building and damage to others nearby on Monday. Authorities suspected a gas explosion and local residents reported a strong smell of gas when they emerged from their homes after the blast. "The street was full of debris," said local resident Carol McKenna. Philadelphia Gas Works crews were dispatched to the scene by the city's fire department and immediately shut off gas to the area, said PGW spokeswoman Melanie McCottry. ... Full Story | Top |
| Islamist party office attacked as Libya violence surges Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:53 AM PDT  By Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Assailants attacked an Islamist party office in Tripoli and a soldier was killed in fighting in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, officials said, in a wave of unrest since the killing of a political activist last week. A car later exploded in central Benghazi but the blast was minor and no-one was hurt, a security official said. The death of prominent Muslim Brotherhood critic Abdelsalam al-Mosmary, shot after leaving a Benghazi mosque on Friday, has triggered violent demonstrations and attacks on the movement's offices in Benghazi and Tripoli. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel convicts six Arab citizens in Jewish gunman's killing Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:47 AM PDT By Rami Amichai HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli court convicted six Arab citizens on Monday in connection with the mob killing in 2005 of a Jewish gunman after he went on a lethal shooting rampage on a bus in their town. While none of the men was found guilty of directly causing the death of Eden Nathan-Zaada, a 19-year-old army deserter and far-right West Bank settler, some members of Israel's Arab minority deplored the verdict as a sign of discrimination. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kerry seeks 'reasonable compromises' in Middle East talks Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:44 AM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Monday for Israel and the Palestinians to make "reasonable compromises" for peace as he prepared to preside over their first direct negotiations in nearly three years. "It is no secret this is a difficult process. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago," Kerry said with his newly named envoy for Israeli-Palestinian peace, former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, at his side. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House: Carter traveling to North Korea in personal capacity Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:42 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is traveling to North Korea on a private trip, the White House said on Monday, commenting on reports that Carter was going to the reclusive nation soon to win release of an American citizen being held there. Earlier on Monday a representative for Carter said he had no immediate plans to make such a trip. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Carter was going on his own. "President Carter is traveling to North Korea on a private trip. He's doing that in his personal capacity," Earnest said. ... Full Story | Top |
| IMF approves $2.3 billion aid for Greece Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund's board on Monday completed the fourth review of Greece's bailout program, and approved a further 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in funds for the cash-strapped euro zone state. Greece last week adopted the last piece of legislation its international lenders required to release their next batch of rescue loans, after two months of wrangling over unpopular measures to overhaul the economy. The total funds from the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank comprise 5.8 billion euros. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-FBI agent calls Boston mob boss 'Whitey' Bulger a reluctant snitch Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:38 AM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Notorious mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger peered from behind dark glasses and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap at former FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick the first time they met, and the agent realized this was no average informant. "I couldn't see his soul," Fitzpatrick on Monday told the jury hearing Bulger's murder and racketeering trial, adding he quickly concluded that Bulger had no intention of sharing information with the FBI. Fitzpatrick was the first witness called by Bulger's attorneys as they began to present their defense. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House condemns Egyptian military crackdown Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:22 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House condemned the Egyptian military's bloody weekend crackdown on demonstrators on Monday but took no immediate steps to suspend U.S. military assistance to Egypt. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the crackdown, in which 80 people were gunned down in Cairo, sets back the process of democratization in Egypt and does not square with the interim government's pledge to swiftly return to civilian rule. ... Full Story | Top |
| Verdict in Bradley Manning WikiLeaks case to be read on Tuesday Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:16 AM PDT  By Medina Roshan (Reuters) - The verdict in the court-martial of Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, accused of the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, will be read on Tuesday, the presiding judge said on Monday. Manning, who is accused of spilling secrets to the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website, is charged with 21 criminal counts, the most serious of which, aiding the enemy, carries a life sentence. Judge Colonel Denise Lind, who presided over Manning's court-martial in Fort Meade, Maryland and began deliberations on Friday, said she plans to read the verdict at 1 p.m. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia should use own electronics in defense industry: deputy PM Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:12 AM PDT  By Alexei Anishchuk NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's defense industry is cutting down on its use of foreign electronics as a result of leaks by ex-U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, a Russian government official said on Monday. Snowden's actions in divulging details of U.S. government intelligence programs had shown the need for arms makers to be careful in importing any equipment that contained software capable of transmitting sensitive data abroad, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said. Rogozin specifically referred to foreign-made lathes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian prime minister says aiming for December election Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:04 AM PDT  TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said on Monday the Islamist-led transitional government would continue working despite mounting efforts to dissolve it, and, for the first time, proposed a date for fresh elections later this year. "The government will continue performing its duties and it will not abandon them, not because it is keen to hold power, and we will maintain our responsibilities until the final moment," he said in televised speech. "We will focus on holding the elections by the end of this year and our date is December 17. ... Full Story | Top |
| Judge says Bernanke should testify in AIG bailout lawsuit Monday, Jul 29, 2013 10:00 AM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should testify in the multibillion-dollar lawsuit by the former chief of American International Group Inc , Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, against the United States over the insurer's 2008 bailout. Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims rejected the government's effort to keep Bernanke from submitting to a deposition by Greenberg's Starr International Co, once AIG's largest shareholder with a 12 percent stake. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia's ELN rebels pledge to free Canadian captive soon Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:54 AM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian rebel group the National Liberation Army said on Monday it would soon free a Canadian citizen it seized six months ago after his employer, gold miner Braeval, decided it would no longer mine in the area where he was kidnapped. The smaller of Colombia's two insurgent groups, known as the ELN, said the mining company's decision "showed goodwill" and brings closer the release of geologist Jernoc Wobert, who was kidnapped along with two Peruvian and three Colombian colleagues in northern Bolivar province. The other captives were freed weeks later. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama welcomes Middle East talks, says hard choices remain Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:27 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed Israeli-Palestinian talks starting in Washington later on Monday but cautioned that a tough path lies ahead. "This is a promising step forward, though hard work and hard choices remain ahead," Obama said in a statement. "I am hopeful that both the Israelis and Palestinians will approach these talks in good faith and with sustained focus and determination," he said. "The United States stands ready to support them throughout these negotiations, with the goal of achieving two states, living side by side in peace and security. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Zimbabwe's tempestuous democracy Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:22 AM PDT HARARE (Reuters) - Following are some key events in the recent history of Zimbabwe, which goes to the polls on July 31 in an electoral showdown between veteran leader Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, his political nemesis of the last 15 years. 1980 - ZANU-PF wins independence elections, leading to Mugabe's installation as prime minister on April 18. Veteran nationalist rival Joshua Nkomo takes home affairs portfolio. 1983 - Mugabe deploys North Korean-trained 5th Brigade in Western province of Matabeleland to crush rebellion by guerrillas loyal to Nkomo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Uganda in talks with Chinese firm to bail out indebted MPs Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:20 AM PDT By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan parliament is in talks with a Chinese company on buying out the debts of legislators facing high repayment fees on loans taken against their salaries, a member of parliament said on Monday. The arrangement has been criticized by diplomats and rights groups, who say Uganda is giving too much leverage to China as its companies secure many infrastructure and oil contracts. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pending home sales pull back in June as rates rise Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:09 AM PDT  By Paige Gance WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes fell in June, retreating from a more than six-year high and suggesting rising mortgage rates were starting to dampen home sales. The National Association of Realtors said on Monday its Pending Homes Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, decreased 0.4 percent to 110.9. May's index was revised down to 111.3, the highest since December 2006, from a previously reported 112.3. Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which become sales after a month or two, to fall 1.0 percent. ... Full Story | Top |
| Campaign against illegal immigrants strains coalition Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:08 AM PDT  By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - An advertising campaign designed to get illegal immigrants to leave Britain opened up a rift in the government on Monday when Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said it was working but his coalition partner said the idea was "offensive". The trial campaign saw two vans drive around six London boroughs in the last week displaying billboards telling illegal immigrants to "Go Home or Face Arrest", part of a wider government crackdown aimed at reducing net migration - the numerical difference between people coming in and out of the country. ... Full Story | Top |
| France wants mandate for EU-US trade talks published Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:03 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France called on Monday for the European Commission to make public its mandate to negotiate EU-U.S. free-trade talks, citing what it said was an atmosphere of mistrust over efforts to forge a landmark pact. The U.S. and EU launched the negotiations earlier this month despite European concerns about U.S. spying that had threatened to delay the start after nearly two years of preparation. France moreover only agreed to the talks after securing assurances that its entertainment industry would be ringfenced. ... Full Story | Top |
| In Zimbabwean diaspora, only some trek home to vote Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:58 AM PDT  By Stella Mapenzauswa JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - If Zimbabwe's election this week delivers a win for the party he supports, Gilbert Zondo could be back home by the end of the year, reviving the teaching career he abandoned five years ago to live in precarious exile in South Africa. "It would be nice to stand in a classroom again and do the job I was trained for," Zondo, from Bulawayo and in his 40s, said in downtown Johannesburg at the weekend as he sat in a bus loading passengers for a trip to Zimbabwe's second city. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Leading candidates in Zimbabwe election Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:48 AM PDT HARARE (Reuters) - Following are pen profiles of the three main candidates in Zimbabwe's presidential election on July 31. ROBERT MUGABE (ZANU-PF) Zimbabwe's ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe started off as prime minister before becoming executive president after a change in the constitution in 1987. Mugabe, 89, has led the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) since 1977 when, along with Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU, the party was waging a guerrilla war for independence. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: How Zimbabwe election voting system works Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:34 AM PDT HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe holds presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31 in which Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will try for the third time to unseat veteran President Robert Mugabe, who is seeking to extend his 33-year grip on power. Below are five facts about the voting: * Zimbabwe has 6.4 million registered voters who are expected to cast their ballots at 9,735 polling stations dotted around the southern African country. * Voters directly elect a president, 210 members of parliament and more than 9,000 councilors. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimbabwe campaign ends with PM pushing Mugabe to retirement Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:33 AM PDT  By Ed Cropley HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai vowed to pack entrenched President Robert Mugabe off into retirement at a thunderous final campaign rally on Monday, capping a high-spirited election race that has gone down to the wire. With no reliable opinion polls, it is hard to say whether 61-year-old Tsvangirai will succeed on Wednesday in his third attempt to unseat his 89-year-old rival, who has run the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980. ... Full Story | Top |
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