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| Top Obamacare official blames insurers for lost coverage Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:52 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's top health official said on Wednesday that private insurance companies, not President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, are to blame for hundreds of thousands of people losing their coverage in the past few weeks. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the debut of the Affordable Care Act a "debacle" as she sought to assure skeptical lawmakers at a congressional hearing that the administration will fix technical flaws with the website. But even as Sebelius acknowledged that the administration should have done more to ensure the portal would work smoothly, she blamed private insurers for a separate problem that has critics questioning the administration's honesty and competence. When asked by Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee what she would say to Americans receiving cancellation notices because their policies are not compliant with the new law, Sebelius said: "Insurance companies cancel individual policies year in and year out." Obama, who is due to speak about the healthcare reform known as Obamacare on Wednesday, and other administration officials have repeatedly promised that the 85 percent of Americans who already have health insurance would be able to keep their current plans. Full Story | Top |
| Instant View: Fed says financial conditions looser than September Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:47 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve extended its support for a slowing U.S. economy on Wednesday, saying it will keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month for the time being. KEY POINTS: * In announcing the widely expected decision, Fed officials nodded to a weaker growth outlook due in part to a fiscal fight in Washington that shuttered much of the government for 16 days earlier this month. * "Available data suggest that household spending and business fixed investment advanced, while the recovery in the housing sector slowed somewhat in recent months," the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee said. "Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth." COMMENTS: DAVE RODA, REGIONAL CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER FOR WELLS FARGO PRIVATE BANK IN MIAMI: "It was not outside expectations. Full Story | Top |
| US F-35 fighter drops first guided bomb against ground target Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:34 PM PDT  By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jet dropped a 500-pound bomb this week, hitting a tank at Edwards Air Force Base in California and marking the first time the new warplane has fired a weapon, the Pentagon said Wednesday. An F-35 B-model jet released the laser-guided Guided Bomb Unit-12 (GBU-12) Paveway II bomb from its internal weapons bay while flying at around 25,000 feet, successfully smashing into a tank parked on the ground, the Pentagon's F-35 program office said in a statement. It took 35 seconds to hit the target. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tech startups bring jobs to low-tax Ireland Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:32 PM PDT By Paul Sandle and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Small tech firms are set to create up to 2,000 jobs in Ireland, following the lead of web giants like Google and Facebook, the country's investment agency said on Wednesday as nine firms announced hundreds of new positions. The companies said they were basing their regional headquarters in Ireland because of the quality of the workforce rather than its low tax rate, which has led to criticism of the country from the U.S. Senate. Nine firms in software development, online security and digital media announced a total of 330 jobs at a reception hosted by Prime Minister Enda Kenny. "We are probably going to build up to about 2,000 jobs over a period of two to three years," said Barry O'Dowd, who manages a team of 12 people based in cities around the United States and Europe to attract start-ups to Ireland for the country's investment agency, the IDA. Full Story | Top |
| Saudi court convicts Jordanian of spying for Israel: newspaper Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:23 PM PDT A Saudi court convicted a Jordanian citizen of spying for Israel and sentenced him to nine years in jail and 80 lashes, a pro-government Saudi newspaper reported on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia and Israel are officially enemies, although the U.S.-allied Muslim kingdom has for more than a decade been promoting a plan for Israel to withdraw from occupied Arab lands in exchange for peace with the entire Arab world. The Arabic-language al-Riyadh newspaper did not identify the Jordanian but said the Riyadh criminal court found him guilty of "writing to the Israeli prime minister and communicating with a Zionist (Israeli) intelligence officer" by email and receiving a financial payment. Saudi Arabia this month refused to take up a temporary seat on the U.N. Security Council, citing among other things what it said was the world body's failure to make Israel find a just solution to its conflict with the Palestinians. Full Story | Top |
| Scandal alarms Canada's ruling Conservatives ahead of convention Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:22 PM PDT  By David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's ruling Conservatives go into what was supposed to be a triumphant convention this weekend trying to limit damage from a scandal over improper expenses that reaches the office of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and could undermine the party's chances of winning re-election in 2015. Harper has been on the defensive since news broke that his then chief of staff, Nigel Wright, gave a personal check for C$90,000 ($85,700) to Mike Duffy, a member of the upper Senate chamber, to help repay expenses that Duffy improperly claimed. "It's a bit too early to slam the panic button, but I think the hands should be over the panic button," said pollster Nik Nanos, who sees the opposition Liberals ahead of the Conservatives by 37 percent to 29 percent. If those numbers hold on election day two years from now, the Liberals, under new party leader Justin Trudeau, would almost certainly end nearly a decade of Conservative power. Full Story | Top |
| Fed maintains strong stimulus as U.S. growth stumbles Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:21 PM PDT  By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve extended its support for a slowing U.S. economy on Wednesday, sounding a bit less optimistic about growth and saying it will keep buying $85 billion in bonds per month for the time being. In announcing the widely expected decision, Fed officials nodded to weaker economic prospects due in part to a fiscal fight in Washington that shuttered much of the government for 16 days earlier this month. The central bank noted that the recovery in the housing market had lost some steam and suggested some frustration at how slowly the labor market was healing. "Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth." The Fed's statement differed only slightly from the economic assessment it delivered after it last meeting in September, and the reaction in financial markets was relatively subdued. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil's OGX files for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:20 PM PDT  By Sabrina Lorenzi and Jeb Blount RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - OGX Petróleo e Gas Participações SA, the Brazilian oil company controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, sought court protection from creditors on Wednesday in Latin America's largest-ever corporate bankruptcy filing. The bankruptcy protection request, which was confirmed by the court in Rio de Janeiro, came after OGX failed to reach an agreement with creditors to renegotiate part of its $5.1 billion debt load. It also is another chapter in the unraveling of Batista's once high-flying industrial empire, which he has been dismantling in recent months after disappointing output from offshore OGX wells set off a crisis of investor confidence. If the court approves the request, OGX will have 60 days to come up with a corporate restructuring plan. Full Story | Top |
| Bulgaria takes seven of Roma girl's brothers and sisters into care Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:14 PM PDT  Bulgarian authorities said on Wednesday they would take into care most of the brothers and sisters of Maria, the four-year-old whose discovery in neighboring Greece captured global attention. DNA tests have confirmed that Sasha Ruseva, 35, is the biological mother of Maria, whose blue eyes and blonde hair aroused the suspicions of Greek police when they raided a Roma camp this month. Ruseva and her husband, both Bulgarian Roma, have nine other children aged between 2 and 20 and live in deep poverty, occupying one room in a crumbling house in the town of Nikolaevo, 280 km (170 miles) east of Sofia. "We decided to accommodate four of the kids with foster families," Diana Kaneva, head of the agency for social assistance in the area, told Reuters on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. private hiring slows, inflation stays muted Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  The slowdown in private job growth was the latest signal that the labor market has taken a step back in recent months and the clearest indication yet that a 16-day federal government shutdown weighed on economic activity. FED TO STAY THE COURSE FOR A WHILE The weak labor market picture and benign inflation environment should allow the Fed to stay the course on its monthly bond purchases for a while as it tries to stimulate the economy through low interest rates. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street sags after steady Fed sees less growth ahead Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:13 PM PDT  By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track to snap a four-day streak of gains after the Federal Reserve said it had a weaker growth outlook for the economy, even as it held steady with its stimulus program for the time being. Almost three-fourths of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange declined, while all 10 S&P 500 sector indexes fell. While it had been widely expected that the U.S. central bank wouldn't announce any adjustments to its bond-buying program, the statement wasn't enough to extend a rally that has taken both the Dow and S&P 500 to repeated record highs. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. senator vows to block Yellen, Johnson nominations Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:10 PM PDT  A senior Republican U.S. senator vowed on Wednesday to block confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominees to head the Federal Reserve and the Department of Homeland Security if the administration does not provide more information about the 2012 attack on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya. Senator Lindsey Graham said he would put a hold on the nomination of Janet Yellen to head the Fed and Jeh Johnson to take the homeland security post as a last resort after trying repeatedly to get more information on the Benghazi matter. "That is the only leverage we have," the South Carolina Republican told a news conference. Republicans and Democrats have been waging a political battle over Benghazi since militants linked to al Qaeda affiliates attacked U.S. diplomatic outposts and killed Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans on September 11 of last year. Full Story | Top |
| Kenya crackdown on militants troubles Muslims Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:08 PM PDT By Drazen Jorgic MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A Kenyan police crackdown on Islamists is fuelling Muslim resentment and moderate preachers say it undermines their efforts to counter recruiting by al Qaeda militants with links across the border in Somalia. Smashing Islamist recruitment networks among its Muslim minority has become a priority for Kenya, however, as it tries to end attacks by Somali militants bent on punishing it for sending troops over the frontier to fight al Shabaab rebels. The cost of failure was laid bare in September when al Shabaab gunmen, one of whom police say is a Kenyan from the port of Mombasa, raided the Westgate shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. Police say their tough approach, taken before Westgate but stepped up since, has limited the flow of would-be jihadists in and out of Somalia, citing a drop in the number of suspected militants they have tracked and arrested in the past year. Full Story | Top |
| Peru's Humala reshuffling Cabinet in investor-friendly move Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:03 PM PDT  Peruvian President Ollanta Humala is reshuffling his Cabinet after asking his prime minister to leave, part of an investor-friendly effort to push through stalled reforms and projects, sources said Wednesday. Energy and Mines Minister Jorge Merino will also stay on, a separate source in his ministry told Reuters. The regional governor and former business manager whom Humala has tapped as his fourth prime minister, Cesar Villanueva, has been praised by leaders across the political spectrum - except the far left - as an effective leader and savy politician. The move makes clear that Humala, once a radical nationalist who was elected in 2011 on promises to make sure the poor benefit from Peru's mining-fueled economic boom, intends to continue adhering to orthodox economic policies. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors must have known of phone hacking, court hears Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:03 PM PDT  By Michael Holden and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks, a former top editor, and Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron's ex-media chief, oversaw a system of phone-hacking and illegal payments when they ran Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids, a London court heard at the start of their trial on Wednesday. Setting out the prosecution case, Andrew Edis said Brooks was linked to both phone-hacking that ruined the tabloid News of the World and the practice of paying public officials for stories at its sister newspaper, the Sun. Brooks, 45, later ran Murdoch's British newspaper division from 2009 to 2011. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. joins lawsuit against firm that vetted Snowden Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:01 PM PDT  The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it joined a lawsuit filed by a whistleblower against United States Investigations Services, the firm that vetted Edward Snowden who leaked documents about U.S. spying efforts. While the lawsuit is not about the firm's review of Snowden, it alleges that USIS failed to perform quality control reviews in connection with its background investigations. The lawsuit adds to the pressure on the firm, which also cleared government contractor Aaron Alexis, who killed 12 people at the Navy Yard last month. Such background checks include investigative fieldwork on each application. Full Story | Top |
| Lockheed signs deal to design largest ocean thermal electric plant Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:49 AM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leading U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin signed a contract on Wednesday to design the biggest power station fueled by differences in ocean temperatures, a 10-megawatt plant that would provide electricity for a new Asian resort. The contract between Lockheed and Beijing-based Reignwood Group, a Chinese consumer products and lifestyle firm, is the initial 10-month stage in a 3-1/2-year effort to build the green energy electric plant, which would generate power using a process known as ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). And that's where the business is for Lockheed," said Dan Heller, vice president of new ventures for Lockheed's Mission Systems and Training unit. Heller declined to say how much the contract is worth for Lockheed or to estimate the potential cost of constructing the facility, which uses a process that has been tested in smaller plants but has never been developed on a commercial scale. Full Story | Top |
| Bombs blasts in Russia's volatile North Caucasus kill two Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:49 AM PDT Bomb blasts in shops in Russia's volatile North Caucasus province of Dagestan killed two people and injured 15 others on Wednesday, Itar-Tass quoted the Emergencies Ministry as saying. Dagestan has become the focal point of violence in the insurgency that has its roots in two wars fought between separatists in the neighboring Russian region of Chechnya and federal troops since the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia's anti-terrorism committee said two bombs were detonated in two stores standing side by side. Full Story | Top |
| NSA intercepts Google, Yahoo traffic overseas: report Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:46 AM PDT  The National Security Agency has tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo to move huge amounts of email and other user information among overseas data centers, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. It was unclear how the NSA accessed the links. The report, based on secret NSA documents leaked by former contractor Edward Snowden, appears to show that the agency has used weak restrictions on its overseas activities to exploit even major U.S. companies' data to a far greater extent than previously realized. Previously reported programs included those that allowed easy searches of Google's, Yahoo's and other Internet giants' material based on court orders. Full Story | Top |
| Congo rebels abandon last town, withdraw to hills Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:45 AM PDT By Kenny Katombe BUNAGANA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Civilians celebrated in the streets on Wednesday as Congolese troops entered the eastern border town of Bunagana after a major new success in their offensive to crush a 20-month rebellion. The town was the first seized last year by M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the last they held after being forced back recently by Congo's U.N.-backed army. A Reuters reporter in Bunagana said residents flocked onto the streets to cheer the arrival of Congolese government troops, calling them liberators. A Congolese army officer in Goma, the regional capital, told Reuters government troops would now move to mop up pockets of rebel fighters in the hills around Bunagana. Full Story | Top |
| Trial of Kenyan president likely to be delayed until next year Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:39 AM PDT  The trial of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on charges of crimes against humanity is unlikely to start next month as planned, after prosecutors said on Tuesday they did not object to a delay. Fellow African leaders have urged Kenyatta not to attend the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which they accuse of unfairly targeting Africans and of violating Kenyan sovereignty. His deputy William Ruto, a former political rival, faces similar charges. Full Story | Top |
| Boeing to place much of 777X design work outside Seattle Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:37 AM PDT  has decided to place a significant amount of design work for its coming 777X jetliner in cities outside the Seattle area, where the current 777 was designed and is being built, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by Boeing on Wednesday. "It has been decided that much of the detailed design will be carried out by Boeing engineering teams in Charleston (South Carolina), Huntsville (Alabama), Long Beach (California), Philadelphia and St. Louis," the memo said. The Boeing Design Center in Moscow will also support the design activity. "However, at this time, no decisions have been made about 777X design or build in Puget Sound," the memo said. Full Story | Top |
| White House: president has 'complete confidence' in HHS's Sebelius Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:26 AM PDT ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has full confidence in embattled Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who told Congress on Thursday that she is responsible for the "debacle" of the roll out of the health care web site. "The president has complete confidence in Secretary Sebelius," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with the president. (Reporting By Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal; editing by Jackie Frank) Full Story | Top |
| Traders keep eyes on 2015 for first Fed rate hike Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:24 AM PDT (Reuters) - Traders of short-term U.S. interest-rate futures on Wednesday kept bets that the Federal Reserve will wait to raise rates until at least April 2015, and more likely even longer, after the Fed said it would keep its massive stimulus program in place. Fed funds futures contracts, tied to the Fed's policy rate target, fell slightly after the announcement. Futures prices suggest the Fed will raise rates no earlier than April 2015, giving the probability of an increase in that month about 51 percent, according to CME Group's Fed Watch, which generates probabilities based on the price of Fed funds futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. tells U.N. it won't spy on world body Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:23 AM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Wednesday that the United States has pledged not to spy on the world body's communications after a report that the National Security Agency had gained access to the U.N. video conferencing system. The United Nations contacted U.S. authorities after the spying revelations were made by German news magazine Der Spiegel in August, citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. "I understand that the U.S. authorities have given assurances that United Nations communications are not and will not be monitored," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| German-Swiss tax deal could be revived, conservatives say Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:20 AM PDT  Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives want to revive a bilateral tax agreement with Switzerland in coalition talks with the Social Democrats, who blocked the proposed tax deal in the upper house last year. Markus Soeder, finance minister in the state of Bavaria, told journalists in Berlin the federal and state governments in Germany could get significant funds if the bilateral deal with Switzerland was ever approved. Soeder, one of the conservative Christian Democrats' leaders in the coalition talks, said he was in favor of tightening rules on tax evasion, in comments supported by another conservative negotiator, Norbert Barthle. Full Story | Top |
| India's Infosys to pay $34 million in U.S. visa case Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:16 AM PDT  agreed on Wednesday to pay $34 million to end a U.S. investigation related to the widespread practice by Indian firms of flying workers to client sites in the United States on temporary visas. The settlement, which the U.S. Justice Department said was the largest in a case of alleged civil fraud over visas, was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Infosys, India's second-largest IT services exporter, agreed in the settlement that it committed civil violations of U.S. employment law, but it was not required to admit and did not admit widespread further wrongdoing. "Infosys denies and disputes any claims of systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage or immigration abuse. Full Story | Top |
| Twitter hit with $124 million lawsuit over private stock sale Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:15 AM PDT  By Nate Raymond and Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - Twitter Inc was sued for $124 million on Wednesday by two companies claiming the social media darling fraudulently had them organize a private sale of its shares to stoke investor interest for an initial public offering then canceled it. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Precedo Capital Group Inc and Continental Advisors SA accused Twitter of using the aborted sale as a way to give the money-losing company a $10 billion market valuation and higher IPO price. "Twitter never intended to complete the offering on behalf of Twitter stockholders, in the private market, thereby causing substantial damages to the plaintiffs in the loss of commissions, fees and expenses, as well as through their business reputation," the lawsuit said. Jim Prosser, a spokesman for Twitter, in a statement said the company had never had a relationship with Precedo or Continental Advisors. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. primaries a legacy of President Kennedy: historians Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:15 AM PDT By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Nearly fifty years after an assassin's bullet found its mark in Dallas, one of President John F. Kennedy's greatest political legacies is the power of the presidential primaries to select who will lead the nation. This legacy was a topic of discussion at a recent roundtable of historians held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston to promote a PBS documentary "JFK," debuting November 11. When Kennedy, as a second-term Senator from Massachusetts decided to make a run for the White House in 1960, the primaries held little power. Indeed they seemed so insignificant that Kennedy's major rival, the Senate majority leader, Lyndon B. Johnson, opted to skip them altogether. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. criminal division nominee could counter 'revolving door' criticism Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:12 AM PDT  By Aruna Viswanatha WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's pick to serve as the top criminal prosecutor dedicated more of her time in the private sector to defending technology companies than she did financial institutions, a resume that could ease concerns that she might be soft on Wall Street. Leslie Caldwell, who the White House nominated last month to lead the Justice Department's criminal division, has worked for firms such as Oracle Corp, Cisco Systems and Hewlett Packard as a private lawyer, according to ethics disclosures released by the government. She has also counseled clients ranging from Toyota's U.S. sales arm and defense contractor Northrop Grumman to romance novelist Danielle Steel, according to a list of recent clients that she has billed for at least $5,000 in one year. Full Story | Top |
| Madoff trustee may pursue $8 billion claims vs. banks in feeder fund cases Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 11:12 AM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has made it easier for the trustee seeking money for Bernard Madoff's victims to pursue more than $8 billion of claims against banks and other financial firms that received money from "feeder funds" that profited from the swindler's massive Ponzi scheme. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said federal bankruptcy law did not require the trustee, Irving Picard, to obtain final court orders against the feeder funds before pursuing claims against third parties to which those funds transferred money. Picard said he has so far recovered $9.5 billion of the roughly $17.3 billion of principal that Madoff's customers lost. Full Story | Top |
| Poland asks court to hear CIA jails case in private Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:58 AM PDT By Christian Lowe WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's government has asked the European Court of Human Rights to exclude the media and the public from a court hearing on whether Poland hosted a secret CIA prison on its territory. The request for a private hearing was criticized by a Polish human rights group, which accuses the state of trying to conceal its involvement in the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program behind a veil of secrecy. The Strasbourg-based court scheduled a public hearing for December 3 to hear arguments in the cases of two men who say they were held in a CIA-operated jail in Poland. Since then, Poland's government has submitted a request to the court asking for the hearing to be held in private, a spokeswoman for the court told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Florida city bans guns for neighborhood watch volunteers Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:50 AM PDT  By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The Florida city where neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin is changing the rules on how civilian patrols can operate to help prevent a recurrence and revive the program's reputation. The new rules, to be released at a community meeting on November 5 in Sanford, Florida, will state explicitly that residents acting under the authority of neighborhood watch may not carry a firearm or pursue someone they deem suspicious. That's what this program is and that's all it is," said Shannon Cordingly, spokeswoman for the Sanford Police Department. "People in the community are nervous to join a group (neighborhood watch) that was tarnished in the media and got a bad image with everything that happened. Full Story | Top |
| India's Modi aims at history and Gandhis with world's tallest statue Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:49 AM PDT  By Frank Jack Daniel and Sruthi Gottipati NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian opposition leader Narendra Modi is building the world's tallest statue at a cost of almost $340 million in honor of one of the country's founding fathers, a project he is using to undermine his chief rivals, the Gandhi-Nehru political dynasty. The statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's deputy and his interior minister but often at odds with him, is to be built on a river island in Gujarat, the home state of both Patel and Modi. Modi, who rules Gujarat as chief minister and is the leading opposition candidate for prime minister in general elections due next year, is to inaugurate the construction of the statue on Thursday, the 138th birth anniversary of Patel. "Every Indian regrets Sardar Patel did not become the first prime minister. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Merck works toward bringing Zilmax back to U.S., Canada Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:45 AM PDT  By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co plans to resume sales of the controversial Zilmax animal feed additive in the United States and Canada after it completes an audit of how the product is used, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Merck halted sales of the muscle-building drug in August after Tyson Foods Inc. said it would stop accepting Zilmax-fed beef given some cattle were observed arriving for slaughter with signs they were having difficulty walking or moving. Merck has said it stands behind the safety of its product, but the pause added to global concerns over its use. On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Merck's Animal Health unit said that while "it is too early to speculate on when we will resume sales for Zilmax in the U.S. and Canada," Merck was pushing forward with its quality control program to ensure the drug was being properly used. Full Story | Top |
| Doping-Spain moving to shed drug-cheat haven label Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:37 AM PDT  By Braden Phillips BARCELONA (Reuters) - For years considered a haven for drug cheats in sport, Spain is facing up to its chequered past and trying to clean its image with a beefed-up anti-doping law. Legislators in the Iberian nation, home of such decorated champions as tennis player Rafa Nadal, Formula One driver Fernando Alonso and the world's best soccer team, have set up a new body to replace the national anti-doping agency (AEA) and armed it with enhanced powers under rules that took effect in July. The Agency for the Protection of Health in Sport (AEPSAD) is an independent organization responsible for managing and carrying out doping tests rather than leaving them in the hands of national sports federations. "I think Spain's reputation is vastly improved with the changes they have made," David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Association (WADA), told Reuters in a telephone interview. Full Story | Top |
| Judge rejects Monte Paschi prosecutor's seizure request against JP Morgan Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:32 AM PDT  An Italian judge has rejected a prosecutors' request to seize just under 200 million euros ($275 million) of funds from JP Morgan as part of an investigation into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's acquisition of a smaller rival, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Prosecutors allege that JP Morgan withheld information from Italian regulators about a 1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) financing the New York-based bank arranged for Monte Paschi's takeover of regional lender Antonveneta in 2008. A spokewoman for JP Morgan in Italy said the bank, which has denied any wrongdoing, had no immediate comment to make on Wednesday. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Syria peace talks face delay as big powers split Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:27 AM PDT  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - International powers are unlikely to meet their goal of convening peace talks on Syria in Geneva next month as differences emerge between Washington and Moscow over opposition representation, Arab and Western officials said. Failure of the main Syrian National Coalition to take a clear stance over the talks, which aim to find a political solution to Syria's 2-1/2 year civil war, are also expected to contribute to a delay of up to one month, the officials told Reuters. "A clearer picture will emerge when the United States and Russia meet next week, but all indications show that the November 23 goal will be difficult to meet," said one of the officials involved in preparing for the talks. U.S., Russian and U.N envoys are due to meet in Geneva next Tuesday as part of the preparation for the long-delayed peace conference, which was first proposed back in May. A main point of contention, the official said, is the role of the Western-backed opposition coalition - an issue which has flared up since a meeting in London last week of Western and Gulf Arab countries opposed to Assad. Full Story | Top |
| Mozambique's Renamo says leader 'hunted', government cracks down Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:23 AM PDT  By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique's Renamo opposition party said on Wednesday the army was trying to hunt down and kill its leader after President Armando Guebuza said the former rebel group was threatening national sovereignty with renewed attacks. Renamo chief and ex-rebel commander Afonso Dhlakama is in hiding in the mountains of central Mozambique after government troops on October 21 overran his jungle base camp, where he had been living for a year after withdrawing from city life. This week the army captured another Renamo jungle camp in central Sofala province, tightening a military noose around Dhlakama and his followers who are holed up in the nearby Gorongosa mountains, military officials say. Full Story | Top |
| Italian magazine says U.S. spies listened to pope, Vatican says unaware Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 10:13 AM PDT  An Italian magazine said on Wednesday that a United States spy agency had eavesdropped on Vatican phone calls, possibly including when former Pope Benedict's successor was under discussion, but the Holy See said it had no knowledge of any such activity. Panorama magazine said that among 46 million phone calls followed by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) in Italy from December 10, 2012, to January 8, 2013, were conversations in and out of the Vatican. In a press release before full publication on Thursday, Panorama said the "NSA had tapped the pope". Asked to comment on the report, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said: "We are not aware of anything on this issue and in any case we have no concerns about it." Media reports based on revelations from Edward Snowden, the fugitive former U.S. intelligence operative granted asylum in Russia, have said the NSA had spied on French citizens over the same period in December in January. Full Story | Top |
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