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| Brotherhood leader arrested, Egypt's Islamists call protests Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:29 AM PDT  By Asma Alsharif and Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood was arrested by Egyptian security forces on Thursday in a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country's first democratically elected president. The dramatic exit of President Mohamed Mursi was greeted with delight by millions of people on the streets of Cairo and other cities overnight, but there was simmering resentment among Egyptians who opposed military intervention. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. enjoys July 4 parades, picnics under watchful eyes of police Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:11 PM PDT  By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - People across the United States gathered on Thursday for parades, picnics and fireworks at Independence Day celebrations, held under unprecedented security following the Boston Marathon bombings. Spectators waving U.S. flags and wearing red, white and blue headed for public gatherings in Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta and other cities under the close watch of police armed with hand-held chemical detectors, radiation scanners and camera surveillance, precautions sparked by the deadly April 15 bombings. A U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Africa says Mandela still 'critical but stable' Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:08 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ailing anti-apartheid hero and former President Nelson Mandela remained in a "critical but stable" condition after nearly four weeks in hospital, the government said on Thursday. Mandela is receiving treatment for a recurring lung infection, his fourth hospitalization in six months. The latest health update from the government followed a visit to the hospital by current President Jacob Zuma. ... Full Story | Top |
| Morales back in Bolivia after plane drama over Snowden Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:47 AM PDT  By Daniel Ramos LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived home to a hero's welcome late on Wednesday, saying some European countries' refusal to let his plane enter their airspace because of suspicion it carried fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden was a provocation aimed at all of South America. Morales was greeted by his Cabinet and cheering, fist-pumping crowds at La Paz's airport after a dramatic journey from Moscow that ignited a diplomatic furore when his plane had to make an unscheduled stop in Vienna on Tuesday evening. ... Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Merkel hopes for U.S. answers on spying Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Gernot Heller BERLIN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a phone call with Barack Obama on Wednesday night that she believed the U.S. president took Germany's concern over reported U.S. spying very seriously, and she hoped coming talks would bring answers. Obama sought to allay the anger in Germany and other European allies in his call with Merkel, during which the chancellor said she made clear to him spying was not what she expected from countries considered friends. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria opposition meets to find leader, show it is ready for arms Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 07:54 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition coalition met on Thursday under pressure to name a new leader and prove to its Western and Arab backers it can be trusted with advanced weapons to beat back a concerted offensive by President Bashar al-Assad. The opposition's inability to unite has made Western countries reluctant to send weapons, even as Assad's forces have seized the initiative in recent months and Washington and its European allies have vowed to aid his enemies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mexican reforms hostage to opposition in local elections Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 10:15 AM PDT  By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A year after winning the Mexican presidency, Enrique Pena Nieto needs a solid performance by the opposition in state elections on Sunday to keep alive a fragile alliance he built to steer reforms through Congress. Falling short of a majority when he won, Pena Nieto crafted an informal coalition with the opposition to help realize his economic vision, two key parts of which - opening up state oil giant Pemex to private capital and boosting the tax take - he is planning to send to Congress by September. ... Full Story | Top |
| French agency spies on phone calls, email, web use, paper says Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:36 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - France's external intelligence agency spies on the French public's phone calls, emails and social media activity in France and abroad, the daily Le Monde said on Thursday. It said the DGSE intercepted signals from computers and telephones in France, and between France and other countries, although not the content of phone calls, to create a map of "who is talking to whom". It said the activity was illegal. "All of our communications are spied on," wrote Le Monde, which based its report on unnamed intelligence sources as well as remarks made publicly by intelligence officials. ... Full Story | Top |
| EU parliament urges blocking U.S. data access after spy leaks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:02 AM PDT  By Claire Davenport BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament called on Thursday for the scrapping of two agreements granting the United States access to European financial and travel data unless Washington reveals the extent of its electronic spying operations in Europe. A non-binding resolution, passed by 483 votes to 98 with 65 abstentions, said the United States should come clean about its surveillance of email and communications data or risk seeing the transatlantic information-sharing deals, created in the wake of the September 11 attacks, torn up. ... Full Story | Top |
| North and South Korea agree fresh talks over shuttered factories Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:59 AM PDT  By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korea agreed on Thursday to hold talks aimed at reopening a jointly run factory park that was a rare source of cash for the North three weeks after their last attempt at dialogue collapsed in bickering over protocol. North Korea accepted the South's proposal, made by its Unification Ministry, paving the way for talks on Saturday at the Panmunjom truce village that straddles their heavily militarized border. "The North agreed to working-level talks at 10 o'clock on July 6...at Pammunjom," the Unification Ministry said in a statement. ... Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Supreme Court's Ginsburg vows to resist pressure to retire Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:02 AM PDT  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At age 80, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, leader of the Supreme Court's liberal wing, says she is in excellent health, even lifting weights despite having cracked a pair of ribs again, and plans to stay several more years on the bench. In a Reuters interview late on Tuesday, she vowed to resist any pressure to retire that might come from liberals who want to ensure that Democratic President Barack Obama can pick her successor before the November 2016 presidential election. ... Full Story | Top |
| British surveillance firm denies bugging Ecuador's embassy Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:03 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - A British private surveillance company denied on Thursday that it had bugged the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been living for over a year. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino made the allegation against the Surveillance Group Ltd in Quito on Wednesday, adding that Ecuador would seek help from the British government to get to the bottom of the matter. In a statement, the Surveillance Group's CEO Timothy Young rejected Patino's allegation as "completely untrue". ... Full Story | Top |
| Fighting spreads to city in Sudan's Darfur region Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:04 AM PDT KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A gunfight broke out on Thursday in Sudan's second-largest city, in the strife-torn Darfur region, witnesses said, prompting residents to take cover and the United Nations to cancel a routine flight there. Residents said heavy gunfire could be heard near the security headquarters in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. The identities of the gunmen were unknown. Clashes between the army, rebels and rival tribes have surged in Darfur in recent months, but had until now been confined to rural areas. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-trader Kerviel rebuffed by Paris employment tribunal Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:23 AM PDT  By Lionel Laurent PARIS (Reuters) - A Paris employment tribunal on Thursday rejected former Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel's plea for a new expert inquiry to help overturn his dismissal in France's biggest-ever trading scandal in 2008. In a separate criminal case, Kerviel is running out of options to escape conviction and a jail sentence upheld by an appeals court in October over 4.9 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in losses that French bank SocGen said were the result of unauthorized trades by Kerviel. ... Full Story | Top |
| Mursi's blunders helped doom Egypt's first stab at democracy Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:50 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed Mursi's early challenge to the army and his imposition of an Islamist-tinged constitution were fateful moments in his turbulent year as Egypt's first freely elected president. A year ago, the Muslim Brotherhood seemed about to reap the fruits of the popular uprising that had toppled Hosni Mubarak, with Mursi installed in the palace he occupied for 30 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Tugged by Syria storm, Lebanon risks drifting into chaos Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 05:44 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - After weeks of sectarian violence fuelled by Syria's civil war, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker summoned deputies this week for a legislative session to address the country's deepening crisis. They never met. Hobbled by many of the same religious and ideological rivalries that are tearing Syria apart, Lebanon's government fell in March and a new one has yet to emerge. Deputies failed to reach a quorum on speaker Nabih Berri's summons, forcing him to postpone any meeting for another fortnight. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russia worried by lack of progress towards Iran nuclear talks Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 06:14 AM PDT  By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia voiced concern on Thursday that no progress has been made towards organizing new talks between Iran and six world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, despite the election of a relative moderate as Iran's president. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said a diplomatic push had been launched to arrange a new round of talks after Hassan Rouhani was elected president on June 14 but made clear there had been no breakthrough. "There is no agreement now on when and where the next round will be. That worries us," Ryabkov told Interfax news agency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Syria's Assad says only foreign invasion can threaten him Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:45 AM PDT  BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he and his government would survive the civil war having endured everything his opponents could do to topple him and only the distant prospect of direct foreign military intervention could change that. After steady rebel gains in the first two years of civil war, Syria became stuck in a bloody stalemate lasting months until a June government offensive that led to the capture of a strategic border town. Momentum now looks to be behind Assad. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arrested Vatican prelate lived lush life in hometown Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:09 AM PDT  By Philip Pullella SALERNO, Italy (Reuters) - Even though he was known to like to live well, police said they were startled when they entered Monsignor Nunzio Scarano's apartment after he called them one night in January to report a burglary. The apartment, in one of Salerno's most up-market neighborhoods in the city center, was huge, with art lining the walls and hallways divided by Roman-style columns. Scarano, a Vatican official with close ties to the Vatican bank and who is now in Rome's Queen of Heaven jail, had called police to report that thieves had stolen part of his art collection. ... Full Story | Top |
| Japan says building nuclear safety culture will take a long time Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:38 AM PDT  By Aaron Sheldrick and Kentaro Hamada TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's nuclear regulator said on Thursday that elevating safety culture to international standards will "take a long time", days before new rules come into effect to avoid a repeat of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. An earthquake and tsunami killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant was destroyed, leaking radiation into the sea and air. ... Full Story | Top |
| ElBaradei tops list to head Egypt government: sources Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 04:19 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. nuclear agency chief, is favorite to head a transitional government in Egypt after the military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Mursi, military, political and diplomatic sources said on Thursday. ElBaradei, 71, was mandated by the main alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front, and youth groups that led anti-Mursi protests as negotiator with the armed forces and was present when armed forces commander General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the military takeover on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Nigeria seeks farming revival to break oil curse Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 11:38 PM PDT  By Joe Brock SAULAWA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Down a winding dirt track in this sleepy village in northern Nigeria lies a corn farm which looks much like the dozens that surround it. The difference is, this one is turning a profit. "I can barely lift my 8-year-old. He's the fattest in the village," said Ibrahim Mustapha, 50, drawing laughter from his fellow farmers as he pretends to lift up his chubby son. ... Full Story | Top |
| Portugal PM says found formula for government stability Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  By Shrikesh Laxmidas and Axel Bugge LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's prime minister has found a way to maintain government stability with the junior partner in the ruling coalition, but the full details still need to be agreed to end a political crisis that has threatened Lisbon's adjustment under a bailout. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said a formula had been found after meeting with the leader of the rightist CDS-PP party three times in the past 24 hours to heal the most damaging political rift since the country received a bailout in 2011. ... Full Story | Top |
| G20 to seek clarity on U.S. policy at July meet: South Korea Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:39 AM PDT By Se Young Lee and Choonsik Yoo SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea along with other G20 members will seek clarity on the U.S. Federal Reserve's exit strategy on stimulus policy at the G20 ministerial meeting later this month, the country's finance minister told Reuters on Thursday. "There will be discussions about how the U.S. will be unwinding (QE) if the U.S. economy does recover, as well as what the financial market impact will be when the unwinding takes place," Minister Oh-seok said in an interview. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's new president says Brotherhood 'part of nation': report Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 03:05 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's new head of state said the Muslim Brotherhood were part of the people and were welcome to help "build the nation" a day after the military overthrew president Mohamed Mursi, the website of the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported. President Adli Mansour made the comments to journalists after being sworn in as the interim head of state at the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt prosecutor orders arrest of top Brotherhood leader Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:56 AM PDT  CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian prosecutor's office ordered on Thursday the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood's top leader, Mohamed Badie, and his deputy, Khairat el-Shater, judicial and army sources said, after the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi. Shater, a wealthy businessman seen as the Brotherhood's top political strategist, was the group's first choice candidate to run in last year's presidential election. But he was disqualified from the race due to past convictions, forcing Mursi to take his place. (Writing by Tom Perry/Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's interim president sworn in Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 02:33 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The head of Egypt's Constitutional Court, Adli Mansour, was sworn in as interim president on Thursday, a day after the army ousted Mohamed Mursi as head of state. Speaking at the Constitutional Court in Cairo, Mansour said he planned to hold new elections, but did not specify when. He said Egypt had "corrected the path of its glorious revolution" through mass street protests calling for Mursi's resignation, which ultimately sealed his fate. (Reporting by Asma Alsharif; writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Could the U.S. delay Obamacare's mandate for individuals, too? Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:44 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama can expect mounting pressure to make new concessions on healthcare reform, especially the requirement that all Americans obtain insurance, after delaying penalties for businesses for the first year of his plan. The U.S. Treasury said late on Tuesday it would grant businesses with 50 or more workers a one-year reprieve from having to provide health coverage to full-time staff. The move appeared to ease the concerns of major companies about being ready to meet new reporting regulations in time for a January 1 deadline. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt's Mansour takes oath as head of top court Thursday, Jul 04, 2013 01:39 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian judge who is due to be sworn in as interim president on Thursday took his oath of office as head of the constitutional court. Adli Mansour, who will replace Mohamed Mursi as president, had yet to be sworn in as head of the Supreme Constitutional Court. He will become head of state under an army transition plan. (Writing by Tom Perry/Asma Alsharif; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Full Story | Top |
| When is a coup not a coup? Obama faces tricky call in Egypt Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 10:04 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Egyptian military's overthrow of elected President Mohamed Mursi left President Barack Obama grappling with a difficult question of diplomacy and language in dealing with the Arab world's most populous nation: was it a coup? At stake as Obama and his aides wrestle with that question in the coming days is the $1.5 billion in aid the United States sends to Cairo each year - almost all of it for the military - as well as the president's views on how best to promote Arab democracy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Zimmerman studied Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' law: witness Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 03:50 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was well versed in Florida's self-defense laws before he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, despite a previous claim to the contrary, jurors were told at Zimmerman's trial on Wednesday. The contradiction came into evidence as prosecutors were preparing to wrap up their case on Friday after two weeks of testimony aimed at showing inconsistencies in Zimmerman's accounts of the February 2012 shooting. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama, Merkel agree to high-level talks on U.S. surveillance program Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:56 PM PDT  By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to allay concerns from German Chancellor Angela Merkel about reported U.S. spying on European allies on Wednesday, and they agreed to hold a high-level meeting on the subject in coming days. The European Union has demanded the United States explain a report in a German magazine that Washington was spying on its European allies, calling such surveillance shocking if true. The reports came to light amid an ongoing imbroglio involving former U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police, workers exhume Mandela's children Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 05:25 PM PDT  By Yvonne Bell MVEZO, South Africa (Reuters) - Workers armed with pick-axes and a court order broke into the compound of Nelson Mandela's grandson on Wednesday to exhume the remains of three of the anti-apartheid hero's children, a new twist in a row that has split South Africa's most famous family. Within hours of a ruling against Mandla Mandela by the high court in Mthatha, 700 km (450 miles) south of Johannesburg, police and hearses arrived at Mandla's complex in the nearby village of Mvezo, where the three Mandela offspring are buried. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama expresses deep concern, doesn't condemn Egyptian military intervention Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 04:43 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama expressed deep concern about the Egyptian military's removal of President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday but stopped short of condemning a move that could lead to a cut-off in U.S. aid. Obama issued a written statement responding to dramatic events in Cairo after huddling with his top national security advisers at the White House. The session took place shortly after the Egyptian military made its move. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt army topples president, announces transition Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:58 PM PDT By Tom Perry and Yasmine Saleh CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's armed forces overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday, sparking wild rejoicing in the streets at the prospect of new elections as a range of political leaders backed a new political transition. Mursi was sequestered in a Republican Guard barracks after denouncing a "military coup" that stripped him of power after just a year. As tanks and troops secured the area, tens of thousands of supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood rallied nearby to protest against his removal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden still in Moscow despite Bolivian plane drama Wednesday, Jul 03, 2013 02:07 PM PDT  By Angelika Gruber and Emma Farge VIENNA/GENEVA (Reuters) - Bolivia accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to "kidnap" its president, Evo Morales, after his plane was denied permission to fly over some European countries on suspicion he was taking fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden to Latin America. Bolivia said the incident, in which the plane was denied permission to fly over France and Portugal before making a stop in Vienna, was an act of aggression and a violation of international law. ... Full Story | Top |
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