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| With Pope in town, ribald Rio a land of outdoor confessionals Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Ah, Rio. The sun. The sand. The absolution. Often, tourists and travelers leave this hedonist hotspot with a feeling of guilt. This week, however, thousands of young visitors are dropping to their knees and asking for forgiveness. Never mind that they might still fall prey to the temptations of the famous nightclubs, bars and beaches of the coastal metropolis, let alone the allure of the many other young pilgrims gathered here for a week long visit by Pope Francis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bombings and shootings kill 28 across Iraq: police Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:32 PM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 28 people were killed in bombings and shootings across Iraq on Thursday, police said. In the deadliest attack, a bomb in a parked car exploded in a busy market killing 14 people in central Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the capital Baghdad, police said. (Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| 60 tons of Eiffel Tower trinkets seized in Paris Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:29 PM PDT By Alexandria Sage PARIS (Reuters) - Paris police have seized 60 tons of miniature Eiffel Towers that black-market vendors were hoping to sell to tourists. Paris is one of the world's top destinations, visited by about 29 million tourists a year, but with the holidaymakers comes an influx of bootleg souvenirs, from replica towers to fake Hermes scarves. Police play a cat and mouse game with the mostly immigrant sellers who flood the top tourist sites, taking business from the authorized vendors and paying no taxes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama administration declares new voter rights strategy Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:23 PM PDT  By David Ingram and Dave Warner WASHINGTON/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Obama administration embarked on a new strategy on Thursday to challenge voting laws it says discriminate by race, an effort to counter a Supreme Court ruling last month that freed states from the strictest federal oversight. Attorney General Eric Holder vowed to start in Texas, a conservative stronghold where his Justice Department will ask a federal court for renewed power to block new election laws it says illegally discriminate against blacks and other minorities. ... Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Key moves by Justice Department on voting rights Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:23 PM PDT (Reuters) - Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday the Department of Justice would ask a federal court to reinstate its authority over Texas voting laws as part of a new Obama administration strategy to challenge state and local election laws it says discriminate by race. There have been more challenges to the Voting Rights Act in the past two years than in the previous 45 years combined, culminating in the Supreme Court's decision in June striking down components of the historic law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pope scolds rich, demands social justice in visit to Brazil slum Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella and Anthony Boadle RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Thursday issued the first social manifesto of his young pontificate, telling slum dwellers in Brazil that the world's rich must do much more to wipe out vast inequalities between the haves and the have-nots. The pope also urged Brazil's youth, who have taken part in recent protests showing discontent with the status quo, to keep alive their "sensitivity towards injustice" and be a catalyst in the fight against corruption. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers want sanctions on any country taking in Snowden Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:18 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel voted unanimously on Thursday to seek trade or other sanctions against Russia or any other country that offers asylum to former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, who has been holed up for weeks at a Moscow airport. The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombian leader Santos defends constitutionality of peace law Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:16 PM PDT  By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday defended the constitutionality of a law that paved the way for ongoing peace talks with Marxist rebels, as legal challenges risk undermining efforts to end five decades of war. The so-called Legal Framework for Peace, approved in Congress last year, modified the constitution and laid the foundation for punishment of war crimes, reparations for victims and eventual peace with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army issues threats ahead of street confrontation Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 12:00 PM PDT By Yasmine Saleh and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army threatened on Thursday to turn its guns on those who use violence, its starkest warning yet ahead of what both sides expect will be a bloody showdown in the streets between supporters and opponents of deposed president Mohamed Mursi. An army official said the military had issued an ultimatum to Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, giving the Islamist group until Saturday to sign up to a plan for political reconciliation which it has so far spurned. ... Full Story | Top |
| Political trials in Ukraine, Tajikistan draw U.N. rebuke Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:57 AM PDT  By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights watchdog on Thursday deplored "politically motivated" prosecutions in Ukraine and Tajikistan and told the two former Soviet republics to make sure judges were impartial. It cited the case of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, jailed for seven years in October 2011 for abuse of office, and of Zaid Saidov, a Tajik politician who was setting up an opposition political party before his arrest in May. In Ukraine, despite steps to reform the judiciary, judges "still remain vulnerable to outside pressure", the U.N. ... Full Story | Top |
| SAC says did not encourage insider trading, will continue operating Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:56 AM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Steven A. Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors will continue to operate as the firm deals with criminal charges of insider trading, a spokesman for SAC said in a statement. Spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter said the firm "has never encouraged, promoted or tolerated insider trading and takes its compliance and management obligations seriously." The hedge fund was indicted in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday, but not Cohen personally. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges SAC Capital with insider trading crimes Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:50 AM PDT  By Emily Flitter, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors came down hard on billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen on Thursday, unveiling criminal fraud charges against his SAC Capital Advisors LP that could end the career of one of Wall Street's most successful investors. Cohen stands accused of presiding over a broken business where employees were encouraged to push the envelope to get that extra investing edge, with little regard for whether they were acting honestly and within the law. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kiir flexes muscles but risks splitting South Sudan Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:47 AM PDT  By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has asserted his power by firing his biggest political rivals along with his entire cabinet, but he risks splitting the African oil producer at a time of new tensions with civil war foe Sudan. On Tuesday, Kiir removed Vice President Riek Machar and top negotiator Pagan Amum, senior officials in the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) who had indicated they would challenge him as party frontrunner for elections in 2015. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's new finance minister plans stimulus, not austerity Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Patrick Werr and Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt interim government will seek to avoid major austerity measures and instead work to stimulate the economy by improving security and pumping in new funds, the new finance minister, Ahmed Galal, said on Thursday. The government, sworn in last week after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, inherits a budget deficit that since January has been running at around $3.2 billion a month, equivalent to almost half of all state spending. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. charges six in major credit card, Nasdaq hacking cases Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:36 AM PDT  By David Jones and Jim Finkle NEWARK, N.J./BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors charged six foreign nationals with hacking crimes, including credit and debit card thefts that authorities say cost U.S. and European companies more than $300 million in losses, and charged one of them with breaching Nasdaq computers. Prosecutors said the indictments unsealed on Thursday for the payment card hacking were the biggest cyber fraud case filed in U.S. history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Car bomb in Damascus suburb kills seven: state media Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:34 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded around 62 on Thursday when it exploded on the edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, state media said. State news agency SANA said the bomb hit the al-Siyouf Square in Jaramanah. It blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group fighting alongside rebels in the two-year-old civil war against President Bashar al-Assad. Bombs have previously hit Jaramanah, a religiously mixed area that houses supporters and opponents of Assad but which is under army control. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turmoil hits Tunisia after secular politician slain Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:28 AM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead on Thursday in the second such assassination this year, setting off violent protests against the Islamist-led government in the capital and elsewhere. "This criminal gang has killed the free voice of Brahmi," his widow Mbarka Brahmi told Reuters, without specifying who she thought was behind the shooting outside their home in Tunis. Brahmi's sister later accused the main Islamist Ennahda party of being behind the killing. "Ennahda killed my brother," Souhiba Brahmi said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tunisian police fire teargas to disperse protesters in Sfax Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:26 AM PDT TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who stormed a local government office in Sfax, in the south of the country, in protest at the assassination of opposition figure Mohamed Brahmi, witnesses said The protesters threw stones at the police. There were no immediate reports of any dead or injured. (Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Alison Williams) Full Story | Top |
| SAC gets cut by 'edge,' a word Cohen hated Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:25 AM PDT By Lauren Tara LaCapra NEW YORK (Reuters) - The word that Steve Cohen hates is coming back to bite him. A federal indictment on Thursday of the billionaire hedge fund manager's firm, SAC Capital Advisors, uses the word "edge" 14 times to describe the way its traders sought information or insight that no one else on Wall Street had. ... Full Story | Top |
| House panel passes bill to cut back mail delivery Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:20 AM PDT  By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A House of Representatives committee advanced a bill to end Saturday delivery of first-class mail and eliminate direct-to-door delivery to help the struggling U.S. Postal Service shave costs. But the plan faces stiff opposition in the Senate. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 22-17, along party lines, late on Wednesday to send the bill to the full Republican-led House. But if it passes there, Democrats who lead the Senate have said they would oppose service cuts. ... Full Story | Top |
| The countries not letting a crisis go to waste: Ian Bremmer Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:15 AM PDT By Ian Bremmer (Reuters) - In 2008, before the financial crisis had even reached its nadir, Rahm Emanuel, famously said: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Emanuel's quote became the conventional wisdom for crisis management, even if the idea is age-old. John F. Kennedy Jr. famously pointed out that the Chinese word for "crisis" is composed of two characters, one for "danger" and one for "opportunity. Nearly five years after the global economic meltdown, we can now look at the world's major powers and assess how well they've responded to their various crises. ... Full Story | Top |
| Prosecutors say U.S. WikiLeaks soldier was seeking notoriety Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:14 AM PDT  By Medina Roshan FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Military prosecutors said the U.S. soldier accused of the largest leak of classified information in the nation's history was hoping to make a name for himself by releasing documents on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As the court-martial of Private First Class Bradley Manning winds down, prosecutors in closing arguments on Thursday said that the 25-year-old intelligence analyst had betrayed the trust his nation put in him. "The only human PFC Manning ever cared about was himself," said Major Ashden Fein, the lead prosecuting attorney. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. makes it easier to sell medical supplies to Iran Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:13 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday expanded the list of medical devices that can be exported to Iran without special permission, as it seeks to show support for humanitarian needs in a country that has been hit hard by Western sanctions. The United States and its European allies have tightened their economic sanctions on Iran to pressure the government to rein in its nuclear program, which the West suspects aims to produce a bomb. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes such as generating electricity and making medical isotopes. ... Full Story | Top |
| O.J. Simpson asks Nevada parole board to cut prison sentence Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:13 AM PDT  By Ben Miller CARSON CITY, Nevada (Reuters) - Former football star O.J. Simpson asked the Nevada parole board on Thursday to reduce his prison sentence of up to 33 years for his role in the robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers and said he has missed key moments with family while he was behind bars. Simpson, convicted in 2008 of storming a Las Vegas hotel room with other men and taking thousands of dollars worth of memorabilia he said dated from his sports career, is seeking parole for convictions on robbery, kidnapping and burglary charges. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal government sticks to bailout goals in confidence motion Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:06 AM PDT  LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's reshuffled coalition government stuck to plans to complete the country's EU/IMF bailout program while promising to promote growth, in a document sent to parliament on Thursday tabling a symbolic vote of confidence. The ruling center-right coalition narrowly avoided a breakup this month that would have put the country back at the center of the euro zone's debt crisis, by striking a deal giving its junior partner more clout in the cabinet. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quinn overtakes scandal-hit Weiner in N.Y. mayoral race: poll Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 11:03 AM PDT  By Edith Honan NEW YORK (Reuters) - New disclosures of explicitly sexual online chats have cost former Congressman Anthony Weiner the lead in the New York City mayor's race and helped City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pull ahead among Democratic voters, according to a poll released on Thursday. Less than two months ahead of the September 10 Democratic primary, Quinn leads with 25 percent among Democrats polled and Weiner trails her by nine percentage points, according to the NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. strongly condemns assassination of Tunisian politician Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:58 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the assassination of Tunisian opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi and called for a thorough investigation to bring those responsible before the courts. "This is not the first political assassination since Tunisia's revolution and there is no justification for such outrageous and cowardly acts in a democratic Tunisia," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told a daily briefing. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi's brother stands by Egyptian army in home village Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:54 AM PDT  By Maggie Fick AL-ADWA, Egypt (Reuters) - Even though they ousted his brother from office, Sayed Mursi does not have a bad word to say about Egypt's military. "I have boundless confidence in the army," Sayed said, sitting in his sparse, drafty house, a picture of deposed president Mohamed Mursi hanging on the wall next to a framed verse from the Quran. "I have patience. He does too," he told Reuters, referring to his elder brother. "He taught me that when someone makes you mad, don't antagonize them, you don't respond with anger. ... Full Story | Top |
| Brave faces at Cairo's pro-Mursi vigil belie fear of rallies Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:44 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - Supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi camping on the streets of Cairo are stocking up with bandages and syringes ahead of mass rallies called by the army that deposed him. And mounting guard with barricades, helmets and sticks. Since Mursi was toppled three weeks ago, more than 100 people, mainly supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood, have died in clashes between his supporters, his opponents and the security forces. ... Full Story | Top |
| Being rude to French president no longer an offense Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:39 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Being rude to the French president is no longer an offence after parliament agreed on Thursday to amend legislation dating back to 1881 in favour of freedom of speech. Whereas before any rude remark risked an automatic fine for "offending the head of state", the president is now reduced to the same category as ministers and parliamentarians and would need to have a judge prove there had been slander or defamation. ... Full Story | Top |
| D.R. Horton profit beats estimates on higher home prices Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:29 AM PDT (Reuters) - Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc reported a better-than-expected profit as it sold more homes at higher prices in quarter ended June. Demand for homes has remained strong despite a recent rise in mortgage rates as a shortage of homes available for sale has enabled builders to raise prices. D.R. Horton, which sells homes priced between $100,000 and $600,000, said average selling price rose 15 percent in the third quarter. Orders — a key indicator for builders, who do not book revenue until they finish a house — rose 12 percent to 6,822 homes. Net income fell 81. ... Full Story | Top |
| White House urges restraint by Egyptian military Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:24 AM PDT  ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday urged the Egyptian military to exercise "maximum restraint" and to do its utmost to prevent clashes between rival protesters. White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said Washington was concerned about "any rhetoric that inflames tension" after Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Egyptians to take to the streets to show their support. ... Full Story | Top |
| New York's Weiner chatted with more women since scandal: report Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:18 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner may have exchanged sexually-charged messages with as many as three women in the two years since he resigned from Congress amid revelations of similar behavior, press reports said on Thursday. "I don't believe I had any more than three," Weiner told reporters on Thursday, according to the news site Politico Weiner, 48, resigned from the U.S. Congress in June 2011 after admitting he used Twitter and other social media to send lewd pictures of himself to women he met online. ... Full Story | Top |
| Two soldiers killed by gunmen in North Sinai: sources Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:15 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian soldiers were killed and four were injured on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on a military checkpoint near the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid, security and medical sources told Reuters. Militants also attacked four other army sites in Sheikh Zuweid, which lies near Egypt's border with Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, injuring at least three soldiers. Egypt's lawless Sinai peninsula has seen a spike in violence since the army ousted the country's Islamist president on July 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Bosnia lawmakers end power struggle over judges Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:07 AM PDT By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Lawmakers moved to end a near year-long political standoff that has paralyzed government in Bosnia's autonomous Muslim-Croat federation on Thursday, when they finally agreed to appoint judges to a top court. The decision will allow the Muslim, Serb and Croat judges to meet in the Constitutional Court and reach a long-delayed ruling on the validity of a new coalition government which ministers had hoped to set up last year. ... Full Story | Top |
| Royal baby, sporting triumphs - even Britain's economy looking up Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:06 AM PDT  By William Schomberg and James Davey LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's recovery from financial crisis sped up and spread through the economy in the second quarter, giving a boost to the government and to a swathe of companies which increased sales and profits. The pace of quarterly economic growth doubled to 0.6 percent between April and June, a contrast with worries just a few months ago about a return to recession. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army gives Brotherhood 48 hours to join roadmap: official Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:06 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's army gave the Muslim Brotherhood until Saturday afternoon to sign up to political reconciliation, a military official said on Thursday, after the army issued a veiled threat to use tougher tactics against the group. "We will not initiate any move, but will definitely react harshly against any calls for violence or black terrorism from Brotherhood leaders or their supporters. We pledge to protect peaceful protesters regardless of their affiliation," the official said, saying they had 48-hours to comply. ... Full Story | Top |
| SAC indictment describes 'insider trading group' at Citadel: sources Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 10:05 AM PDT By Emily Flitter and Katya Wachtel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former employee of SAC Capital Advisors' Chicago office was once part of an "insider trading group" at a rival hedge fund, according to an indictment filed on Thursday against SAC. A source familiar with the matter said the hedge fund was Citadel. A Citadel spokeswoman said there was no such "insider trading group" at the firm. Charges filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday against prominent hedge fund manger Steven A. ... Full Story | Top |
| Timeline: Mali holds first vote since coup, French intervention Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:52 AM PDT (Reuters) - Here is a look at the last 16 months in Mali which is holding a presidential election on Sunday. The vote follows a French-led military intervention from January that expelled Islamist militants who, with Tuareg separatists, had seized the north of the country after a March 2012 coup. March 22, 2012 - Soldiers seize power from Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure as a protest against the government's ineffective handling of a campaign against northern rebels. Coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo says he is ready for talks with rebels but wants to preserve Mali's territorial ... Full Story | Top |
| Election offers new start for Mali, but no magic wand Thursday, Jul 25, 2013 09:52 AM PDT  By David Lewis and Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - When Mali imploded last year - its president ousted by mutinous soldiers and its north seized by separatist and Islamist rebels - many called for an overhaul of the West African state's flawed democracy, once held up as a model of stability. Sunday's presidential election in the Sahel state, which experienced turmoil and conflict for over a year, including a French-led military intervention from January, provides the chance for a fresh start to rebuild and unite the nation. ... Full Story | Top |
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