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| Mandela 'responding to treatment': South African president Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 11:26 AM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is responding to treatment but remains in a critical but stable condition after more than a month in hospital, the office of President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday. "We are encouraged that Madiba is responding to treatment and urge the public to continue providing support and showering him with love, which gives him and the family strength," Zuma himself said after visiting Mandela, often referred to affectionately by his clan name Madiba, in a Pretoria hospital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Egypt orders arrest of Brotherhood leaders Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 12:10 PM PDT  By Maggie Fick and Alexander Dziadosz CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's public prosecutor ordered the arrest on Wednesday of the leaders of ousted President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, charging them with inciting violence in a clash that saw troops shoot dozens of his supporters dead. A week after the army toppled Egypt's first democratically elected leader, bloodshed has opened deep fissures in the Arab world's most populous country, with bitterness at levels unseen in its modern history. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused Boston Marathon bomber to make first court appearance Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 07:43 AM PDT  By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is due in court on Wednesday to face charges in the worst mass-casualty attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, a crime that could bring the death penalty. The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen was charged late last month with killing three people by setting off homemade pressure-cooker bombs, assembled by him and his older brother Tamerlan, in a crowd of thousands of race spectators on April 15, and later shooting dead a university police officer. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama pushes House Republicans on immigration Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 10:07 AM PDT  By Thomas Ferraro and Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama jumped into the immigration debate on Wednesday, releasing a report touting economic benefits from reforms and meeting with Hispanic lawmakers, as House of Representatives Republicans gathered to try to craft their response. The release of the White House report signaled a new outspokenness by Obama, who made immigration a top legislative priority but stayed on the sidelines of the debate that raged in the Senate in May and June. The report said passing reforms would grow the economy by 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| Accused Boston Marathon bomber pleads not guilty to all charges Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  BOSTON (Reuters) - Accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to setting off a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs along with his brother at the race's crowded finish on April 15. The bombing attack killed three people and injured about 264. Tsarnaev and his older brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, are also accused of killing a fourth person, a campus police officer, three days later when they prepared to flee Boston. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in an overnight gunbattle with police after killing the officer. (Reporting by Scott Malone) Full Story | Top |
| Berlusconi ruling shakes Italy government Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 09:47 AM PDT  By Barry Moody ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's party boycotted a summit of Italy's fragile coalition government and blocked parliamentary activity on Wednesday in protest against a supreme court decision to fast track a ruling that could ban him from public office. Legislative activity in both chambers of parliament was suspended for a day because of the protest by Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, one of the two main partners in Enrico Letta's left-right coalition government. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defense rests in WikiLeaks trial, Manning doesn't testify Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 12:29 PM PDT  By Ian Simpson FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The defense rested its case on Wednesday in the court martial of U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, accused of passing secrets to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning, 25, who is charged with leaking more than 700,000 classified files, combat videos and State Department cables to WikiLeaks, told Judge Colonel Denise Lind that he did not want to testify on his own behalf. "The defense rests, your honor," defense attorney David Coombs told the court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Defense rests its case in Zimmerman murder trial in Florida Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 12:52 PM PDT  SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - Lawyers for George Zimmerman on Wednesday rested the former neighborhood watch volunteer's side of the case at his closely watched murder trial for the shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in February last year. The end of the defense case after four days of testimony and shortly after Zimmerman said in court he would not be taking the witness stand in his own defense. The case has drawn media scrutiny to Sanford, Florida, the central Florida town where the killing occurred. ... Full Story | Top |
| Railway head faces devastated Quebec town, points to train brakes Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 12:45 PM PDT  By Julie Gordon and Richard Valdmanis LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - The head of the company whose oil-tanker train exploded and devastated a small Quebec town faced cries of "murderer" from furious town residents on Wednesday and said the calamity may well have resulted from crucial hand brakes on the train not being set properly. "It's very questionable whether the hand brakes were properly applied on this train. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pakistan president's close aide killed in suicide attack Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 09:31 AM PDT  By Syed Raza Hassan ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - One of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's most trusted aides was killed in a suspected suicide bombing in the volatile port city of Karachi on Wednesday as he stopped his armored vehicle to buy some fruit, police said. Pakistan has suffered a spate of bombings since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn in last month, underscoring the challenges facing the nuclear-armed nation in taming a Taliban-linked insurgency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tribune to separate broadcasting, publishing businesses Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 08:32 AM PDT  By Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - Tribune Co will separate its publishing business from its more-profitable broadcast division, it said on Wednesday, following the path taken by Time Warner Inc and News Corp. Media companies have been shedding their print assets to allow a greater focus on their faster-growing broadcast businesses. Tribune plans a tax-free spinoff of its eight newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune. The new company, Tribune Publishing Co, will have its own board and senior management team. ... Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Events in Egypt may influence, won't define Syria war Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 07:50 AM PDT  By Samia Nakhoul BEIRUT (Reuters) - The fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has put a new spring in the step of Bashar al-Assad, who sees it as a sign that Islamists - including those spearheading the Sunni-dominated rebellion against him - are in decline. Exuding confidence after a recent successful army counter-offensive, and speaking as the Egyptian army was deposing Islamist president Mohamed Mursi, Assad said "what is happening in Egypt is the fall of what is known as political Islam." "After a whole year, reality has become clear to the Egyptian people. ... Full Story | Top |
| British police pass royal hoax call file to Australian officers Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 07:55 AM PDT  LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Wednesday they had asked Australian colleagues to consider criminal action against a Sydney radio station and its DJs who made a hoax call to a London hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Kate. Jacintha Saldanha, a nurse who answered the prank call from presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian at Australian radio station 2Day FM, killed herself days after their ruse was reported across the world last December. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.N. rights body poses tough questions to Vatican over child abuse Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 08:16 AM PDT By Robert Evans GENEVA (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights panel has posed a list of tough questions to the Vatican about child abuse by Catholic priests, a potential embarrassment for Pope Francis a few months into his papacy. The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) asked for "detailed information on all cases of child sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy, brothers or nuns" since the Holy See last reported to it some 15 years ago, and set November 1 as a deadline for a reply. ... Full Story | Top |
| Kurdish rebels promote hawk as peace process falters Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 08:04 AM PDT  By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Kurdish rebels have named a veteran senior militant as co-head of their political wing, replacing a relative moderate and clouding the future of a peace process with the Turkish state that has been disrupted by renewed violence. The umbrella political group of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) publicly reaffirmed on Wednesday a commitment to ending the conflict, which has killed 40,000 people in 29 years. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ramadan in Damascus more festive this year but prices soar Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 07:38 AM PDT  (The name of the reporter has been withheld for security reasons) DAMASCUS (Reuters) - As Ramadan began, the mood in Damascus was more festive than a year ago, reflecting perhaps a greater sense of security as government troops make gains against the rebel insurgency. Many Damascenes have returned from abroad to spend the Muslim holy month with loved ones. Food shops were abuzz with shoppers and butchers and bakers ran low on supplies. But many shoppers expressed frustration at food shortages and inflated prices. The Syrian pound has crashed to one sixth of its value two years ago. ... Full Story | Top |
| Biden calls for U.S.-China trust, urges Chinese economic reforms Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 06:46 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday the United States and China must build greater trust and he argued that Chinese economic reforms such as freeing its exchange rate and moving to a consumption-led economy were in both nations' interest. Biden also said that the United States was determined to intensify its cooperation with China to rein in North Korea's nuclear programs, as he spoke at the formal opening session of this week's annual U.S.-Chinese Strategic and Economic Dialogue. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Vicki Allen) Full Story | Top |
| Syrian rebels disperse food protest with gunfire Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 06:17 AM PDT  By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels fired into the air to disperse a protest by civilians in a rebel-held district of Aleppo against a blockade preventing food and medicine reaching government-held areas of the northern city, residents said on Wednesday. Rebel fighters have stopped supplies entering western parts of Aleppo for weeks. The tactic is aimed at weakening the supply routes of President Bashar al-Assad's forces but thousands of civilians are now going hungry, residents say. ... Full Story | Top |
| Colombia demands explanation on NSA spying allegations Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:30 AM PDT BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia expressed concern early on Wednesday after revelations the United States had spied on the Andean nation, its closest military ally in Latin America, and called for an explanation. In a brief statement at midnight, Colombia's foreign ministry said it "registered its concern" that there had been an "unauthorized data collection program" and asked that the U.S. government give an account of its actions through its embassy in Bogota. A leading Brazilian newspaper reported on Tuesday that the U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Czech president swears in cabinet in showdown with parliament Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:57 AM PDT  By Jana Mlcochova PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech President Milos Zeman swore in a cabinet led by a longtime ally on Wednesday but it faces almost certain rejection by parties in parliament, raising the specter of prolonged political uncertainty in the central European nation. That would increase the risk of gridlock in policymaking which could hold up a 2014 budget plan and rattle investors, who have long viewed the Czech Republic as a safe haven among emerging economies. ... Full Story | Top |
| Obama pushes case for immigration as House eyes next steps Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:12 AM PDT  By Roberta Rampton and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House is trying to turn up the pressure on Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass sweeping immigration reform in coming weeks, making the argument that modernizing the outdated system would boost the economy and cut the deficit. President Barack Obama's top advisers released a 32-page report on Wednesday pulling together well-known economic arguments - highlighted by quotes from some Republican stalwarts - that passing reforms will grow the economy by 3. ... Full Story | Top |
| South Sudan backs plans to boost press freedom, reporters wary Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 06:23 AM PDT By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's parliament has passed two bills to improve press freedom, an official said on Wednesday, a move reporters in the African country hope will strengthen their rights in the face of regular harassment by the authorities. Journalists in South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011, often complain of obstruction and arbitrary detention by the security forces, a loose conglomeration of former militias from decades of civil war with Khartoum. ... Full Story | Top |
| Israel strengthens Syria border with an eye on Hezbollah Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 05:27 AM PDT  By Maayan Lubell BOOSTER MILITARY OUTPOST, Golan Heights (Reuters) - Israel is bolstering its forces on the once-quiet frontier with Syria where it believes Lebanese Hezbollah militants are preparing for the day when they could fight Israel. Syria's civil war has brought an end to decades of calm on the Golan Heights, a strip of land which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Battles between rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syrian villages nearby are being watched intensely by Israel's military. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopia expected to join WTO in 2015: ministry Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:09 AM PDT  By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia expects to join the World Trade Organization in 2015 without heeding to demands that it liberalizes its state-run banking and telecoms sectors, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. The Horn of Africa nation applied to join the body in 2003, but its hopes for membership had hinged on Addis Ababa opening those areas to international competition. U.S. officials have publicly asked the country to liberalize both sectors, but Ethiopia says they are "sensitive areas" whose liberalization may harm national interests. ... Full Story | Top |
| French judges seize Tapie assets in arbitration case Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:42 AM PDT  PARIS (Reuters) - Judges have ordered a Mediterranean villa and other assets to be seized from a French businessman at the center of a fraud investigation that could weigh on ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy's hopes of a comeback, legal sources said. Bailiffs will confiscate assets worth tens of millions of euros belonging to tycoon Bernard Tapie, in a move that suggests investigating judges believe they have evidence of fraud in a 403 million euro ($515.27 million) arbitration payment he received in 2008 under Sarkozy's presidency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Man arrested after crashing car into U.S. embassy in Australia Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 04:43 AM PDT CANBERRA (Reuters) - A man was arrested on Wednesday after crashing his vehicle into the gates of the U.S. embassy in Australia's capital of Canberra, police said. Emergency services, including a bomb disposal squad, were at the scene as a precaution after the incident occurred at about 6 p.m. (3:00 a.m. EDT) Detectives were talking to the 30-year-old arrested man, a police spokesman said. No injuries were reported. Australia is a close ally of the United States, fighting alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Ron Popeski) Full Story | Top |
| Europe tempers power of agency to shut troubled banks Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 02:45 AM PDT  By John O'Donnell BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday creating an agency to salvage or shut failed banks, but the absence of an immediate backstop fund to pay for a clean-up means it may struggle to do its job. Working in tandem with the European Central Bank as supervisor, the new authority is supposed to wind down or revamp banks in trouble. It constitutes the second pillar of a 'banking union' meant to galvanize the euro zone's response to the crisis. ... Full Story | Top |
| Pilots in Asiana crash relied on automatic equipment for airspeed Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 07:47 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The pilots aboard the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco relied on automatic equipment - an auto-throttle system - to maintain airspeed and did not realize the plane was flying too slowly until it was just 200 feet above the ground, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Police sift through 'crime scene' days after Quebec train crash Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 03:57 AM PDT  By Julie Gordon and Richard Valdmanis LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - Investigators sifted through the charred remains of Lac-Megantic's historic downtown early Wednesday morning, as they searched for clues into what could turn out to be North America's worst railway disaster since 1989. Police said they are investigating whether Saturday's derailment and subsequent explosion - which leveled the center of the lakeside Quebec town killing at least 15 and probably dozens more - involved foul play or criminal negligence. "We are conducting a criminal investigation. ... Full Story | Top |
| Texas House approves sweeping abortion restrictions Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 06:32 AM PDT  By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas House of Representatives approved sweeping abortion restrictions on Tuesday, including a ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy and tougher standards for clinics that perform the procedure. The vote of 98-49 came after a full day of sometimes emotional debate. Before the measure can head to the state Senate, it needs a final vote from the House, which is expected on Wednesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| China to hand over documents for U.S. accounting probes Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013 11:52 AM PDT By Samuel Shen and Dena Aubin SHANGHAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - China's securities watchdog said it is ready to turn over audit documents of a Chinese company listed in the United States to U.S. regulators, signaling the latest breakthrough in a two-year international dispute over accounting scandals. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been struggling to obtain papers from China to investigate possible accounting fraud at dozens of Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges. China has resisted for years turning over documents because of state-secrets and sovereignty concerns. ... Full Story | Top |
| Snowden has not yet accepted asylum in Venezuela: WikiLeaks Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 06:05 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela, the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on Tuesday after a Russian lawmaker posted a statement to that effect on Twitter and then deleted it. WikiLeaks, on its own Twitter feed, said that states involved in deciding an asylum destination for Snowden, who fled the United States last month, "will make the announcement if and when the appropriate time comes. ... Full Story | Top |
| Turkish protesters break Ramadan fast as police stand by Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 01:01 PM PDT  By Ece Toksabay and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police allowed thousands of protesters who have been trying to block the redevelopment of a park in Istanbul to break their Ramadan fast on Tuesday before resuming efforts to get them to leave the area. The previous night police fired teargas and water cannon at protesters as they tried to prevent them gathering in Gezi Park, which has become the focal point of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government. ... Full Story | Top |
| China, U.S. talks on cyber security go well: Xinhua Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 10:32 PM PDT  BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks between China and the United States on cyber security, overshadowed by revelations of U.S. electronic surveillance by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, have gone well, state media said on Wednesday, with both sides pledging to improve cooperation. Cyber security is one of the main topics for high-level talks this week between the world's two largest economies, as both countries trade accusations about hacking attacks on each other. Snowden's revelations of American electronic surveillance around the world have given China an argument to counter U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Republicans press White House to delay key Obamacare mandate Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 04:08 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Republicans pressed President Barack Obama on Tuesday to delay a requirement under his healthcare law that Americans obtain insurance next year after the administration gave employers a one-year reprieve from having to provide it to staff. The U.S. Treasury and White House announced last week that businesses would not be required to offer health coverage, or pay a fine, in 2014 because the administration had yet to issue final regulations in time for employers to comply. ... Full Story | Top |
| Quebec police open criminal probe after deadly train crash Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 04:44 PM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis and Julie Gordon LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (Reuters) - Canadian police on Tuesday said they had opened a criminal investigation into the train explosion that likely killed 50 people in Lac-Megantic, and some 200 officers were scouring the town's devastated center for clues. Inspector Michel Forget said police did not believe terrorism was involved when a runaway train hauling 72 cars of crude oil barreled into town early on Saturday, derailed on a curve and exploded into a huge fireball that destroyed the center of the lakeside community. ... Full Story | Top |
| Leaked Gitmo 'baseball cards' had little value: WikiLeaks trial witness Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 02:43 PM PDT  By Ian Simpson FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - Secret files on Guantanamo Bay detainees dubbed "baseball cards" that a soldier leaked to WikiLeaks had little value for U.S. enemies since it was available publicly, the prison's former top prosecutor testified at a court-martial on Tuesday. Testimony about the files came as the defense for Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, sought to show that much of the information Manning is charged with leaking was publicly available. The leaked files include assessment briefs for more than 700 inmates at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. ... Full Story | Top |
| Expert bolsters Zimmerman account of Trayvon Martin shooting Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 05:56 PM PDT  By Barbara Liston SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A forensic expert backed George Zimmerman's account of his fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on Tuesday, testifying in the neighborhood watchman's murder trial that evidence showed he was under the unarmed black teenager when he fired his gun. The forensic pathologist testifying for the defense cited the trajectory of the bullet that pierced Martin's chest and gun powder on his body in supporting Zimmerman's version of events of the shooting, in a setback to the prosecution. ... Full Story | Top |
| Afghan officials skeptical as U.S. mulls complete withdrawal Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 01:45 PM PDT  By Steve Holland and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering pulling out all its troops from Afghanistan next year but is far from making a decision, White House and Pentagon officials said on Tuesday, but Afghan officials expressed skepticism that President Barack Obama would back a complete withdrawal. Amid tensions between Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the path forward, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that a "zero option" of leaving no U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is among the policy possibilities under consideration. ... Full Story | Top |
| Asiana flight crew saw trouble at 500 feet, safety board says Tuesday, Jul 09, 2013 04:59 PM PDT  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The pilot in charge of landing the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco tried to correct its course when he saw it was off center and too low as it approached the airport runway at an altitude of 500 feet, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. "At about 500 feet, he realized that they were low," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman told reporters, describing the failed last-second attempts to avoid Saturday's disaster. "Between 500 and 200 feet, they had a lateral deviation and they were low. ... Full Story | Top |
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