| | |
| 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 |
| Publicis, Omnicom say major clients welcome merger Monday, Jul 29, 2013 09:04 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - The chief executives of Publicis and Omnicom said they had spoken to major clients about their planned merger and did not anticipate major problems with big advertisers defecting to rivals in the transition period. Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said the reaction to the merger from all the company's major clients had been "extremely positive". Competing sector executives and analysts expect that the Publicis Omnicom merger could spur some big customers to switch agencies to avoid conflicts. ... 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 |
| Canada's Hudson's Bay to buy Saks for $2.4 billion Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Phil Wahba and Solarina Ho NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) - Richard Baker is doubling down on his attempt to revive big-name department stores with a $2.4 billion bid to buy Saks Inc, bringing the iconic New York retailer under the same roof as Lord & Taylor and Canada's Hudson's Bay. Baker's Hudson's Bay Co is offering $16 per share to buy the retailer, a 30 percent premium over levels in May, right before media reports that Saks was up for sale. The deal is worth $2.9 billion in cash, including the assumption of Saks' debt. ... Full Story | Top |
| Swiss train crash injures about 40 Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:35 AM PDT  GRANGES-PRES-MARNAND, Switzerland (Reuters) - Two trains collided at Granges-près-Marnand in the Swiss canton of Vaud on Monday evening, injuring about 40 people, four seriously, Swiss news agency ATS reported. A Reuters photographer at the scene said the trains had collided head on. There was no immediate report of any deaths in the crash. (Reporting by Denis Balibouse; Writing by Tom Miles; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) 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 |
| Pope says gays should not be marginalized Monday, Jul 29, 2013 11:41 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis has said gay people should not be marginalized but integrated into society, in some of the most conciliatory remarks by a pontiff on the issue of homosexuality. In a broad-ranging 80-minute conversation with journalists on the plane bringing him back from a week-long visit to Brazil on Sunday night, he also said he could not judge gay priests, an emotive topic that divides Catholic opinion. But the 76-year-old Argentine did reaffirm Church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin. ... 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Party in Tunisian ruling coalition demands new government Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:18 AM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - A secular party in Tunisia's ruling Islamist-led coalition demanded a unity government on Monday to defuse a deepening political crisis, hours after the army sealed a square in the capital where protesters had clashed. Tensions have been mounting over opposition efforts to oust the government following last week's assassination of a leftist politician, the second such killing in six months. Soldiers blocked off the central Bardo square in Tunis, declaring it a "closed military zone" after pro- and anti-government protesters threw rocks at each other. ... 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 |
| Kerry calls for reasonable compromises as he names Mideast envoy Indyk Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:26 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry named former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk as his main envoy in Israeli-Palestinian talks starting in Washington later on Monday and said he was seeking "reasonable compromises" in the tough negotiations. "Going forward it is no secret this is a difficult process. If it were easy, it would have happened a long time ago," Kerry told reporters. ... Full Story | Top |
| European Court to hear new CIA jail case against Poland Monday, Jul 29, 2013 08:01 AM PDT  By Christian Lowe WARSAW (Reuters) - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has agreed to consider a second case against Poland over allegations it allowed the CIA to run a secret jail on its soil, intensifying pressure on Warsaw to reveal how closely it was involved in the U.S. "war on terror". The Strasbourg-based court will consider an application from Saudi-born Abu Zubaydah, who alleges that he was held illegally about a decade ago in a CIA-run facility on the grounds of an intelligence training academy in a Polish forest. ... Full Story | Top |
| Wave of car bombings target Iraqi Shi'ites, killing 60 Monday, Jul 29, 2013 06:44 AM PDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Car bombs ripped through busy streets and markets in Iraq on Monday, killing at least 60 people in predominantly Shi'ite areas in some of the deadliest violence since Sunni insurgents stepped up attacks this year. The 17 blasts, which appeared to be coordinated, were concentrated on towns and cities in Iraq's mainly Shi'ite south, and districts of the capital where Shi'ites live. ... Full Story | Top |
| Italian bus crash kills 39; second European transport disaster in five days Monday, Jul 29, 2013 05:11 AM PDT  By Roberto Mignucci MONTEFORTE IRPINO, Italy (Reuters) - Thirty-nine people were killed and around 10 injured when a bus plunged off a viaduct in southern Italy in what Prime Minister Enrico Letta described on Monday as a huge tragedy. Initial reports suggested that the coach was travelling at speed and had hit four or five cars before crashing over the roadside barriers on a stretch of road near Monteforte Irpino, east of Naples, on Sunday night. There were around 50 people on board, including many children. ... Full Story | Top |
| Boeing asks for beacon checks on up to 1,200 jets Monday, Jul 29, 2013 06:10 AM PDT  By Tim Hepher and Siva Govindasamy PARIS/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Boeing has asked airlines to inspect up to 1,200 aircraft across its fleet to gather data on Honeywell emergency beacons that have come under scrutiny following a fire on a parked 787 Dreamliner two weeks ago. The blaze caused serious damage to the jet owned by Ethiopian Airlines at London's Heathrow on July 12. ... Full Story | Top |
| Icahn opposes voting rule change proposed by Dell founder Monday, Jul 29, 2013 04:54 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn urged Dell Inc's special committee to not change voting rules, as proposed by the company's founder Michael Dell, which would make it easier for a CEO-led group to take the personal computer maker private. The CEO and partner Silver Lake last week raised their $24.4 billion bid by less than 1 percent hours before it was to be put to a vote, and added on a controversial demand to change voting rules to make it easier for his group to take the company private. Icahn, who has amassed an 8. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel, Palestinians dispute format of Washington peace talks Monday, Jul 29, 2013 03:22 AM PDT  By Dan Williams and Ali Sawafta JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is due to bring the negotiators together in the evening and on Tuesday to renew talks that broke down in 2010 over Israel's settlement of occupied land where Palestinians seek a state. ... Full Story | Top |
| Cambodia's Hun Sen shaken as opposition rejects poll result Monday, Jul 29, 2013 03:12 AM PDT  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's long-ruling Prime Minister Hun Sen faced his biggest political setback in two decades on Monday as the country's opposition rejected an election result as tainted by widespread fraud, despite heavy losses for the ruling party. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy, buoyed by a near doubling of seats in parliament, called for an inquiry into what he called massive manipulation of electoral rolls in Sunday's vote. ... Full Story | Top |
| Clashes erupt in Libya's Benghazi after blasts, protests Monday, Jul 29, 2013 03:04 AM PDT  TRIPOLI (Reuters) - At least one soldier was killed in overnight fighting in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi, a security official said on Monday, in violence that has surged since last week's killing of an anti-Islamist political activist. The clashes erupted in the western Gwesha district between an armed group and military special forces, hours after explosions that targeted buildings used by the judiciary. "Clashes broke out between special forces and an unknown armed group," Mohammed al-Hijazy, a spokesman for Benghazi security operations, said by telephone. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria says army retakes Homs district from rebels Monday, Jul 29, 2013 06:37 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian troops drove insurgents from central 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 |
| Spain to mourn train crash victims; driver freed pending trial Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:29 AM PDT  By Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - Spain was to hold a memorial service on Monday for the 79 people who died in the country's worst rail disaster in decades, hours after the driver of the train was freed pending trial on charges of reckless homicide. The ceremony takes place at 1900 (1 p.m.ET) in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a world-famous pilgrimage city in northwestern Spain where the high-speed train derailed. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, several ministers and the King's children Prince Felipe and Infanta Elena will attend. ... 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 |
| Japan's top diplomat heads for China, seeking better ties Monday, Jul 29, 2013 12:00 AM PDT  By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki will visit China on Monday and Tuesday for talks with senior officials, the latest in a series of efforts by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to improve relations soured by a bitter territorial row. The hawkish Abe, who cemented his grip on power in an upper house election last week, has since then been signaling a desire for dialogue - even though Japan has raised its assessment of the risk of China's military buildup and maritime assertiveness. ... Full Story | Top |
| Five people killed in Pennsylvania helicopter crash Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 08:15 PM PDT By Mary Wisniewski (Reuters) - Five people including a child were killed on Saturday when a helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area of northeastern Pennsylvania, officials said on Sunday. The wreckage of a Robinson 66 helicopter was found in a rugged area in Noxen, about 21 miles west of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The dead include three men, one woman and one male child, according to Wyoming County coroner Thomas Kukuchka. He said they are believed to be a father and his son, a father and his daughter, and the pilot. ... Full Story | Top |
| Millions at Brazil Mass hear pope ask youth to change world Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 04:37 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella and Anthony Boadle RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Pope Francis left Brazil on Sunday with Rio still pulsating with excitement after a historic beachfront Mass for more than 3 million people in which he challenged young people to build a new world based on tolerance and love. Rio's famed Copacabana beach, usually the venue for scantily-clad sun-seekers and revelry, became a massive Catholic campground for the closing event of a world youth festival. ... Full Story | Top |
| Explosions rock Libya's Benghazi, protesters take to streets Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 06:08 PM PDT  By Feras Bosalum and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Explosions rocked the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Sunday in what appeared to be attacks on judicial buildings, a security official said, sparking protests a day after more than 1,100 inmates escaped during a prison riot there. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Benghazi's streets denouncing the latest violence, according to residents. Thirteen people were slightly wounded in one of the blasts which targeted a court in the north of the city, said Interior Ministry spokesman Rami Kaal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Indyk expected to be named new U.S. Middle East envoy Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 04:55 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel who heads foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution think tank, is expected to be named the new U.S. envoy for Middle East peace, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the announcement could come as early as on Monday, when Israeli and Palestinian negotiators plan to resume direct peace talks in Washington for the first time in nearly three years. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Philip Barbara) Full Story | Top |
| Israeli, Palestinian negotiators expected to resume peace talks: U.S. Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 01:44 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators plan to resume peace talks in Washington this week after nearly three years, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday. Two officials from each side - Israeli's Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho and the Palestinians' Saeb Erekat and Mohammed Ishtyeh - are expected to hold initial meetings on Monday evening and on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Bangladesh struggles to check garment factories are safe Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 02:09 PM PDT  By Nandita Bose DHAKA (Reuters) - In the weeks since the Rana Plaza collapse killed more than 1,100 workers, at least five different Bangladesh agencies have sent teams to begin inspecting the estimated 5,600 factories that make up the nation's $20 billion garment industry. But there's little coordination between the agencies, and senior government officials are unable to say just how many factories have been checked. Estimates vary from just 60 to 340. While U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Malians flock to vote in bid to rebuild broken nation Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 03:33 PM PDT  By David Lewis and Adama Diarra BAMAKO (Reuters) - Ballot counting began in Mali after voters turned out in large numbers on Sunday for a presidential election they hope will provide a fresh start for the West African nation after more than a year of turmoil, war and an army coup. Polling ended at 12.00 p.m. ET and, as night fell, officials started tallying results. Election officials at a school in Bamako used electric lamps to check ballot papers for thumbprints and witnesses sat at wooden students' desks jotting down results using mobile phones for light. ... Full Story | Top |
| Driver of derailed Spanish train charged with 79 counts of homicide Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 04:01 PM PDT  By Tracy Rucinski SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish high-speed train that derailed and killed 79 people was released pending trial on charges of reckless homicide, a judge ruled on Sunday night. Francisco Garzon, 52, had been under arrest since Thursday. He is suspected of driving the train too fast through a tight curve on the outskirts of the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. ... Full Story | Top |
| Explosions rock Libya's Benghazi, protesters take to streets Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 02:35 PM PDT  By Feras Bosalum and Ghaith Shennib TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Explosions rocked the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Sunday in what appeared to be attacks on judicial buildings, a security official said, sparking protests a day after more than 1,100 inmates escaped during a prison riot there. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Benghazi's streets denouncing the latest violence, according to residents. Thirteen people were slightly wounded in one of the blasts which targeted a court in the north of the city, said Interior Ministry spokesman Rami Kaal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to resume after three years Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 03:12 PM PDT  By Arshad Mohammed and Ori Lewis WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and the Palestinians plan to resume peace negotiations this week for the first time in nearly three years after an intense effort by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to bring them back to the table. The talks are scheduled to resume in Washington on Monday evening and on Tuesday and will be conducted by senior aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the State Department said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Spanish train driver charged with 79 counts of homicide Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 03:57 PM PDT  SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - The driver of a Spanish high-speed train that derailed was charged with 79 counts of homicide and released pending trial, after appearing before a judge on Sunday evening. Francisco Garzon, 52, had been under arrest since Thursday, a day after the worst train crash in Spain in decades. He is suspected of driving the train too fast through a tight curve on the outskirts of the northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Brotherhood stands ground after killings Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 02:51 PM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters stood their ground near a Cairo mosque on Sunday, a day after at least 72 were shot dead by Egyptian security forces, braced for a move against them by the army chief who ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made his first appearance since Saturday's bloodshed, smiling before television cameras at a graduation ceremony for police recruits in starched white uniforms. ... Full Story | Top |
| Motive a mystery in Miami area mass shooting Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 01:32 PM PDT  By Zachary Fagenson MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami police on Sunday searched for a motive for a shooting rampage in which six people were killed by a gunman who set his apartment on fire before shooting several neighbors and taking others hostage. They said they were investigating reports that the man, Pedro Alberto Vargas, 42, was in the process of being evicted and had had disputes with the building's management. More than 100 police, including SWAT teams, stormed an apartment in Hialeah, a heavily-Hispanic suburb of Miami, in a pre-dawn raid on Saturday, killing Vargas and rescuing two hostages. ... Full Story | Top |
| Party of PM Hun Sen wins Cambodian election, majority slashed Sunday, Jul 28, 2013 04:36 PM PDT  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's ruling party won Sunday's general election but with a much-reduced majority, according to the government, a result that will be seen as a setback for authoritarian leader Hun Sen, one of the world's longest-serving prime ministers. Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman and information minister, said on his Facebook page the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won 68 seats in parliament to the opposition's 55, adding that was the final count. ... Full Story | Top |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment