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| Police have video of Toronto mayor, won't detail contents Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:42 PM PDT  By Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Police said Thursday they have obtained a video "consistent" with media accounts that it shows Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine, but they would not confirm the contents of the video. Ford, who has denied he smokes crack, said he could not comment on the matter because the video is evidence in a separate case before the courts. In the first official link between Ford and a high-profile Toronto drugs investigation, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on Thursday identified the mayor as a subject in a video recovered during the probe. "I can tell you that the digital video file that we have recovered depicts images which are consistent with those that had previously been reported in the press," Blair said. Full Story | Top |
| Kenyan warplanes bomb al Shabaab strongholds in Somalia Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:42 PM PDT By James Macharia NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan military said its warplanes bombed targets held by al Qaeda-linked Islamists in Somalia on Thursday, in retaliation for an attack on a Nairobi mall that killed at least 67 people. The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) said they destroyed a training camp used by the members of the al Shabaab Islamist group who attacked the Westgate Mall on September 21. A Kenyan drone strike killed two leading members of al Shabaab on Monday. "This was part of a broader mission by the AMISOM (the U.N.-backed African peacekeeping mission in Somalia), targeting where the Shabaab were training. Full Story | Top |
| German lawmaker meets Snowden, will deliver message to Berlin Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:40 PM PDT BERLIN (Reuters) - German Greens lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele met fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden in Moscow on Thursday, his office said in a statement, and would give details of the meeting on Friday. It said Snowden, an ex-National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who disclosed secret U.S. internet and phone surveillance programs, had given Stroebele a letter addressed to the German government and federal public prosecutor. ... Full Story | Top |
| Russian lawyer says Snowden to start website job Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:40 PM PDT  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden has found a job working for a website in Russia, where he was granted asylum after fleeing the United States, a Russian lawyer helping him said on Thursday. "Edward starts work in November," lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, according to state-run news agency RIA. Snowden, 30, a former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed secret U.S. internet and phone surveillance programs, fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia in June. President Vladimir Putin rejected U.S. pleas to send Snowden home to face charges including espionage, and the temporary asylum he was granted in early August can be extended annually. Full Story | Top |
| In Syria blast mystery, Israel silent on report of strike Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:39 PM PDT BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Reports of an explosion at a Syrian military base late on Wednesday have prompted speculation of a new Israeli attack on Syria but Israeli officials would not confirm a report on CNN that their jets had carried out a strike. But Israeli officials declined comment. "We're not commenting on these reports," a spokesman for the Israeli Defence Ministry said. One Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he thought that Israel had indeed carried out a strike. Full Story | Top |
| Key U.S. senators strongly criticize Obama's Syria policy Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:32 PM PDT  By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee strongly criticized the Obama administration on Thursday for lacking a plan to resolve the war in Syria. "I just don't get a sense that we have a strategy," said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, the panel's chairman, during a contentious hearing on Syria policy. Noting the war's human cost and recent gains by President Bashar al-Assad's forces, several senators made clear their disappointment at the administration's failure to carry through with promises of military aid for the rebels. "I think our help to the opposition has been an embarrassment and I find it appalling you would sit here and act as if we're doing the things we said we'd do three months ago, six months ago, nine months ago," said Senator Bob Corker, the panel's top Republican. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors Brooks, Coulson had affair, British hacking trial told Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:24 PM PDT By Kate Holton and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, former editors of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid, had a six-year affair at the time their reporters hacked phone messages of politicians and royalty, a London court heard on Thursday. Revealing their close ties, prosecutor Andrew Edis said the intimacy of their relationship indicated both knew as much as the other about the criminal activities of senior journalists on the paper. Brooks and Coulson are on trial accused of conspiring to hack into phones of high-profile public figures or those close to them and also making illegal payments to public officials, charges they deny. What effect did it have?" Edis told the court. Full Story | Top |
| Storms spook some U.S. cities into postponing Halloween fun Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:21 PM PDT By Timothy Ghianni NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Forecasts for heavy rain and strong winds spooked dozens of U.S. cities and towns into postponing Halloween trick-or-treating on Thursday as a storm system that flooded parts of Texas churned north toward the Great Lakes. Local officials in parts of at least four states in the path of the storm - Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee - said they decided to put off the customary practice of children in costumes going from house to house collecting candy. "I think it's a good idea," said Tara Dudzik, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. Full Story | Top |
| Ethiopian opposition says members beaten, illegally detained Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 12:03 PM PDT By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian opposition group accused police and security officials of beating, illegally detaining and abducting more than 150 of its members between July and September this year. Addis Ababa, long seen by the West as a bulwark against militant Islam in the Horn of Africa, denies charges that it is quashing dissent. In a 39-page report launched on Thursday, the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) detailed what it said were "gruesome rights violations" committed against its supporters and members. "One hundred and fifty members and supporters of the party have been subject to severe beatings, illegal detentions and abductions by police and security officials," party chairman Negasso Gidada told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| Emerging economies nearing half of global warming emissions Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 11:50 AM PDT Total greenhouse gas emissions by China and other emerging nations since 1850 will surpass those of rich nations this decade, complicating U.N. talks about who is most to blame for global warming, a study showed on Thursday. Developing nations accounted for 48 percent of cumulative emissions from 1850 to 2010, according to the study by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, research group Ecofys and the European Commission's Joint Research Center. "Discussions at the U.N. climate negotiations tend to focus on which countries have contributed most to climate change," the study said. The biggest emitters since 1850, taken as the start of widespread industrial use of fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases when burnt, were the United States, China, the European Union and Russia, it said. Full Story | Top |
| Bomb attacks across Iraq kill at least 16 Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 11:39 AM PDT Bombs exploded across Iraq on Wednesday, killing at least 16 people, police and medical sources said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks, but Sunni Islamist militants including al Qaeda, have been regaining ground in Iraq, seeking to undermine the Shi'ite-led government. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki flew to the United States this week seeking military supplies to counter insurgents who have pushed the civilian death toll above 3,000 so far this year. In the latest violence, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a group of people who had gathered to assess the damage from two earlier blasts in the town of Tuz Khurmato, 170 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, killing four people, police and medics said. Full Story | Top |
| Iran and big powers end expert talks without comment Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 11:37 AM PDT Iran and six world powers ended an expert-level meeting over Tehran's disputed nuclear activities on Thursday, but there was no immediate word on whether they had come any closer to an elusive breakthrough deal. The two-day meeting was meant to prepare for the next round of political negotiations on November 7-8, building on a diplomatic opening created by the election of Hassan Rouhani as new Iranian president. Rouhani, a pragmatist and a former chief nuclear negotiator for Iran, took office in August promising to try to resolve the dispute after years of confrontation and secure an easing of sanctions that have damaged Iran's oil-dependent economy. Western diplomats had said the talks at the U.N. complex in Vienna could help define the contours of any preliminary agreement on scaling back Iran's uranium enrichment in return for an easing of sanctions. Full Story | Top |
| Congo army hunts rebels deep into mountain bases Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 11:27 AM PDT  By Kenny Katombe BUNAGANA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Congo's army said on Thursday it was hunting rebels deep in the forests and mountains along the border with Rwanda and Uganda, the insurgents' last hideouts after they were driven from towns they seized during a 20-month rebellion. Peace talks between the government and M23 rebels resumed on Wednesday in neighboring Uganda but Congo's army appeared intent on crushing the most serious uprising in its mineral-rich east since a war ended a decade ago. Now is the time to bring peace." Artillery and small arms fire rang out on Thursday in the hills around Bunagana, a border town which the army retook the previous day, a Reuters reporter said. Eastern Congo has been caught up in a cycle of violence, exacerbated by the presence of rival ethnic militias and simmering disputes over land and minerals. Full Story | Top |
| Mauritania must wipe out persistent slavery, U.N. watchdog says Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 11:22 AM PDT Slavery is still being practiced in Mauritania, even though the West African country made it a crime against humanity last year, a U.N. human rights watchdog said on Thursday. Despite becoming the last country worldwide to abolish slavery, in 1981, Mauritania has the highest prevalence worldwide of slavery per head of population, according to the Global Slavery Index 2013. "Mauritania is one of those few countries in which slavery still exists, in which slavery is still practiced. The government seems to deny it, at the same time there is an Anti-Slavery Act," Cornelis Flinterman, a Dutch member on U.N. Human Rights Committee told a news briefing. Full Story | Top |
| Pakistani PM says talks with Pakistani Taliban are underway Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:52 AM PDT  Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday his country had started talks with the Pakistani Taliban to try to stop what he said was the killing of innocent people and members of the law enforcement agencies. The Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of factions operating independently from their Afghan Taliban allies, are fighting to set up an Islamic state in Pakistan. The Pakistani government has been trying to negotiate a peace settlement to end years of fighting, but the al Qaeda-linked group had previously said it was not open to talks. "The Prime Minister informed that the dialogue with the Taliban has started," the High Commission for Pakistan in London said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Syria meets deadline to destroy chemical production facilities Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:31 AM PDT  By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria has destroyed or rendered inoperable all of its declared chemical weapons production and mixing facilities, meeting a major deadline in an ambitious disarmament program, the international chemical weapons watchdog said Thursday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which won the Nobel Peace prize this month, said its teams had inspected 21 out of 23 chemical weapons sites across the country. Syria "has completed the functional destruction of critical equipment for all of its declared chemical weapons production facilities and mixing/filling plants, rendering them inoperable," it said, meeting a November 1 deadline for the work. The next target date is November 15, by when the OPCW and Syria must agree to a detailed plan of destruction, including how and where to destroy more than 1,000 metric tons of toxic agents and munitions. Full Story | Top |
| Cold killer Breivik said sorry to mother for ruining her life Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 10:01 AM PDT  By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik, who refused to show remorse for killing 77 people in 2011, hugged his mother and apologized for ruining her life before she died of cancer this year, according to a new biography. "The Mother", based on hours of conversations with Wenche Behring Breivik by journalist Marit Christensen and published on Thursday, says she once described herself as the world's "saddest mother" who both hated and loved her son. She broke down in tears when the police came to her house that night to say Anders Breivik was to blame for the massacre - a bombing in Oslo that killed 8 and a shooting rampage on a nearby island that killed 69, many of them teenagers. Breivik, a right-wing anti-Islamic fanatic now aged 34, is serving Norway's maximum sentence in jail for the attacks, which were aimed at the Labour-led government and its youth wing. Full Story | Top |
| Mexican tax plan weakened further, nears final approval Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:49 AM PDT  By Miguel Gutierrez, Michael O'Boyle and Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's Senate on Thursday made new cuts to a tax reform plan that President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed to increase the nation's anemic tax take before sending the bill back to the lower house of Congress for final approval. The bill, which includes higher taxes for the rich as well as levies on junk food and on stock market gains, is a cornerstone of a wider reform agenda that Pena Nieto is pushing to lift lackluster growth in Latin America's No. 2 economy. After conservative opponents walked out of the Senate, refusing to support the legislation, ruling party leaders struck a deal with leftist lawmakers on changes to income tax rates that would lower the bill's projected tax take. It would then fall to Pena Nieto to sign it into law. Full Story | Top |
| Malaysia PM says curb on use of 'Allah' key to stability Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:43 AM PDT  By Brenda Goh and Shadi Bushra LONDON (Reuters) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak defended a court ruling banning a Christian newspaper from using the word "Allah" to refer to God, saying on Thursday it would help ensure stability. The court decision this month fanned religious tensions and raised questions over minority rights in the mainly Muslim country. Christians there have used the word for centuries, but the three Muslim judges ruled The Herald's usage of it in its Malay edition would "cause confusion in the community". "People must understand that there are sensitivities in Malaysia, but what is important is public security and national harmony," Najib told Reuters Insider in an interview. Full Story | Top |
| Thousands march in Mozambique to demand peace, security Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:41 AM PDT By Manuel Mucari MAPUTO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Mozambicans marched in the capital Maputo and two other cities on Thursday to protest against the threat of armed conflict in the country and a spate of kidnappings by criminal gangs. Carrying signs reading "We want peace", and "Stop the kidnappings", the protesters criticized President Armando Guebuza's government for not doing enough to protect citizens as it confronts attacks by armed guerrillas of the Renamo opposition movement in the center and north. Besides the demonstration in downtown Maputo, protesters also marched in the port cities of Beira and Quelimane. Renamo raids and ambushes since April have killed civilians, police and soldiers and the army is hunting fugitive Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama in what some say is an escalation of violence that could tip Mozambique back into civil war. Full Story | Top |
| Thousands in contested Abyei vote to join South Sudan, risking tensions Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:34 AM PDT  By Ilya Gridneff ABYEI (Reuters) - Permanent residents of the disputed Abyei region overwhelmingly voted to join South Sudan on Thursday in a symbolic referendum that could antagonize heavily armed Arab nomads who drive their livestock through the area and claim it for Sudan. Local leaders said they held the poll because they were tired of waiting for a long-promised official plebiscite on the ownership of the remote region on the border of Sudan and South Sudan, which has seen several clashes between their troops. The one-sided vote by the Dinka Ngok people, who occupy most of Abyei's permanent settlements and are loyal to South Sudan, had already been dismissed by both Khartoum and Juba who said it would carry no legal weight. "The Abyei people have been suffering for a long time. Full Story | Top |
| Venezuelan leader says workers see Chavez apparition at building site Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:31 AM PDT  By Andrew Cawthorne CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said an image of his idol and predecessor, the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, has appeared miraculously in the wall of an underground construction site. Since his death from cancer earlier this year, Chavez has taken on mythical proportions for supporters and Maduro has spoken of seeing his former mentor's spirit several times, including in the shape of a bird. Full Story | Top |
| German journalists urged to shun Google and Yahoo Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 09:01 AM PDT  By Harro Ten Wolde FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The union representing German journalists advised its members on Thursday to stop using Google and Yahoo because of reported snooping by U.S. and British intelligence. "The German Federation of Journalists recommends journalists to avoid until further notice the use of search engines and e-mail services from Google and Yahoo for their research and digital communication," the union said in a statement. "The searches made by journalists are just as confidential as the contact details of their sources and the contents of their communication with them," said Michael Konken, head of the union which represents about 38,000 journalists. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the NSA had tapped directly into communications links used by Google and Yahoo to move large amounts of email and other user information between overseas data centers. Full Story | Top |
| OSCE warns of intimidation in north Kosovo ahead of vote Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:50 AM PDT By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Europe's chief rights and democracy watchdog warned on Thursday of a campaign of intimidation among Serbs in north Kosovo before an election central to a fragile EU-brokered accord between Serbia and its former southern province. Sunday's Kosovo municipal election is the first to include a small Serb-populated pocket in the north, which has resisted integration since Kosovo - where 90 percent of the population is Albanian - declared independence in 2008. The vote is vital to a landmark accord agreed in April in which Serbia gave up its de facto hold over north Kosovo, though some 50,000 minority Serbs living there are deeply suspicious of the deal and hardliners among them are calling for a boycott. Serbia hopes for smooth passage of the vote as it eyes the start of EU accession talks in January, but the election risks being marred by a climate of fear and intimidation in the north. Full Story | Top |
| Shale gas fracking a low risk to public health -UK review Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:37 AM PDT  By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The risks to public health from emissions caused by fracking for shale oil and gas are low as long as operations are properly run and regulated, the British government's health agency said on Thursday. Public Health England (PHE) said in a review that any health impacts were likely to be minimal from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves the pumping of water and chemicals into dense shale formations deep underground. Since there is currently no fracking in Britain, the PHE report examined evidence from countries such as the United States, where it found that any risk to health was typically due to operational failure. Full Story | Top |
| Niger says 92 migrants found dead in Sahara after failed crossing Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:36 AM PDT By Abdoulaye Massalatchi NIAMEY (Reuters) - Rescuers have found the bodies of 92 migrants, most of them women and children, strewn across the Sahara desert in northern Niger after their vehicles broke down and they died of thirst, authorities said on Thursday. Rescue worker Almoustapha Alhacen said the bodies - 52 children, 33 women and seven men from Niger - were found on the route from the northern mining town of Arlit to the Algerian border. Northern Niger lies on a major corridor for illegal migration and people-trafficking from sub-Saharan African into north Africa and across the Mediterranean into Europe. Rescuers said the doomed convoy of women and children was puzzling. Full Story | Top |
| EU prepares new GMO maize cultivation approval: draft Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:34 AM PDT  By Charlie Dunmore BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is on course to approve cultivation of a new type of genetically modified maize for the first time in more than a decade, according to a draft proposal from the bloc's executive seen by Reuters. The proposal was drawn up after Europe's second highest court last month blamed the European Commission for lengthy delays in the approval process for the insect-resistant maize, developed jointly by DuPont and Dow Chemical. The Commission is expected to send the proposal to EU ministers next week for approval. Even if governments fail to decide, as is expected, the Commission will have the power to grant approval by the end of the year. Full Story | Top |
| Russian court closes news agency, citing new obscenity law Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:15 AM PDT By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Moscow court on Thursday revoked the registration of web-based news agency Rosbalt for posting videos it said contained profane language, including a clip by punk band Pussy Riot, in violation of a law adopted earlier this year. Critics say the Kremlin-backed law banning profanity in the media is aimed at further tightening state control of news organizations in Russia as part of a clampdown on dissent under President Vladimir Putin. A medium-sized agency specializing in political and general news set up in 2000, Rosbalt earlier this year posted two videos on its website containing foul language, the court said. One clip featured a song by Pussy Riot, whose two members are serving jail sentences for a profanity-laced protest against Putin in a Moscow Russian Orthodox Cathedral. Full Story | Top |
| Kenya MP accused of inciting protests against oil firm Tullow Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:12 AM PDT A member of Kenya's parliament said on Thursday he had been accused of inciting his community for taking part in a protest against Tullow Oil that led to the British firm suspending its operations in northern Kenya. The government has said James Lomenen led a group of about 400 people to Twiga 1 drilling camp in Turkana County who broke down the fence and "engaged in wanton destruction of property and looting" when security officials barred their entry. Lomenen, MP for the Turkana South, told Reuters the demonstrators were peaceful and said he prevented any violence, although he said those involved had been "very furious" at Tullow for not giving them enough jobs or contracts. He said protesters only sought dialogue with the firm. Full Story | Top |
| Hague court postpones Kenyatta trial again Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 08:10 AM PDT  The start of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's trial for crimes against humanity has been postponed until February 5, the International Criminal Court said on Thursday. Kenyatta and his deputy, former political rival William Ruto, both face charges at the court relating to the wave of violence that swept Kenya after elections in late 2007, in which 1,200 people died. Defense lawyers last week asked for the original start date of November 12 to be dropped, saying Kenyatta needed time to deal with the aftermath of the September attack on the Westgate shopping center in Nairobi. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch editors Brooks and Coulson had affair during hacking period: court Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:49 AM PDT Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson, two former editors of Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid, were having an affair at the time their reporters are accused of hacking into phones, a court heard on Thursday. Prosecutor Andrew Edis said the closeness of their relationship showed that both knew as much as each other how staff at the tabloid were operating. "What Mr Coulson knew, Mrs Brooks knew too. What Mrs Brooks knew, Mr Coulson knew too," Edis told the court. Full Story | Top |
| Bavarian conservatives get boost from EU on foreign-driver road toll plan Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:48 AM PDT  Bavarian conservatives have received an unexpected boost from Brussels for a controversial plan to impose a motorway toll on foreign drivers, giving impetus to their push for the idea in German talks to form a coalition government. The idea faces strong opposition from the other parties in the talks, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). In effect, German drivers would end up paying the same amount as previously, while the extra income from foreign drivers would be spent on infrastructure projects. The main problem is linking the road toll system and the tax system, as that could be seen as discriminatory. Full Story | Top |
| Lonmin pay dispute tees up sector-wide South African platinum strike Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:38 AM PDT By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The hardline AMCU union declared a wage dispute with mining company Lonmin on Thursday, raising the possibility of a strike across South Africa's platinum industry that could hit half of global output. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) would stay in talks with the world's third largest platinum producer, but if no progress was made a government mediator would try to resolve the deadlock, AMCU spokesman Jimmy Gama said. A pay strike across the platinum belt of Africa's biggest economy is looming after AMCU said on Monday its members had voted to down tools at Impala Platinum. In addition, AMCU has declared a wage dispute with the world's top producer, Anglo American Platinum. Full Story | Top |
| Czech left leader defeats rebels, takes control of government talks Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:30 AM PDT  By Robert Muller PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka took back control of talks to form a new government on Thursday, defeating a bid to oust him by party rebels unhappy over a poor election result. The Social Democrats are the largest party in the new parliament and have a chance to build a coalition with two other groups, but their low share of last weekend's vote, at 20.5 percent, emboldened Sobotka's opponents. The internal party squabble dented hopes the central European country of 10.5 million could quickly emerge from a political crisis that began with the fall of a center-right government in June amid bribery and spying allegations. The party rebels led by Vice-Chairman Michal Hasek voted on Sunday to remove Sobotka from the team negotiating a new government and called on him to resign. Full Story | Top |
| Canada economy grows 0.3 percent in August, outlook modest Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:27 AM PDT  By Louise Egan OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's thriving oil and gas industry helped the economy grow by 0.3 percent in August from July, confirming modest growth that is expected to keep the Bank of Canada's key interest rate on hold for more than a year. The monthly gross domestic product data, released by Statistics Canada on Thursday, showed the economy continues to bounce back from a downturn in June caused by severe flooding in the nation's oil capital Calgary and a strike by construction workers in Quebec. The economy contracted 0.5 percent in June and then unexpectedly surged by 0.6 percent in July. Despite evidence the economy is regaining some lost momentum, Mazen Issa, macro strategist at TD Securities in Toronto, said the outlook remains pretty tame. Full Story | Top |
| Kosovo withdraws warrant for Serbian minister ahead of vote Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:12 AM PDT By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo has withdrawn an arrest warrant for a Serbian government minister, a judge said on Thursday, easing tension before an election that is central to a fragile EU-brokered accord between the Balkan neighbors. Sunday's Kosovo municipal election is the first to include a small Serb-populated pocket in the north, which has resisted integration since the former Serbian province - where 90 percent of the population is Albanian - declared independence in 2008. The vote is vital to a landmark accord agreed in April in which Serbia gave up its de facto hold over north Kosovo, though some 50,000 minority Serbs living there are deeply suspicious of the deal and turnout on Sunday may be low. Testing the accord, a court in Kosovo last week ordered the arrest of Serbia's minister for Kosovo, Aleksandar Vulin, on charges of entering the country illegally after he visited the north. Full Story | Top |
| UK weighs introducing criminal sanctions against energy firms Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:12 AM PDT  By William James and Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is considering introducing criminal sanctions against energy firms that manipulate the market at the expense of consumers, energy minister Ed Davey said on Thursday. Pledging to take a tough line against Britain's big six energy companies, who together control 99 percent of the retail market, Davey said the government was considering ways to punish any firm that abused its dominant market position. "I intend to consult on the introduction of criminal sanctions for anyone found manipulating energy markets and harming the consumer interest," Davey told parliament. But if the government made it a criminal one energy executives could be jailed if their company was found guilty of market manipulation. Full Story | Top |
| China state media calls for stern action after Tiananmen attack Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 07:02 AM PDT By Michael Martina TURPAN, China (Reuters) - Chinese state media demanded severe punishment on Thursday to put down what China has said is a holy war aimed at Beijing by Islamist militants from the restive Xinjiang region. Security has been strengthened in both Beijing and in Xinjiang in the far west after an SUV ploughed through bystanders in the capital's iconic Tiananmen Square on Monday and burst into flames. The exiled leader of Xinjiang's Muslim Uighur minority called for an independent probe into the crash, in which the three occupants of the vehicle and two bystanders were killed and dozens were injured. U.S.-based Rebiya Kadeer said she did not believe any kind of organized extremist Islamic movement was operating in Xinjiang, a view shared by rights groups and some experts. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: Russian banks strengthen ties with blacklisted Syrian lenders Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:55 AM PDT  By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - Intent on supplying his government with arms, oil and food, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has turned to Russian banks to access world markets, and the lenders could open more doors to him, despite a risk of isolation from the U.S. banking system. U.S. sanctions aimed at forcing Assad to end the violence in Syria's two-and-a-half-year civil war forbid its own banks from dealing with Syria's central bank and the Commercial Bank of Syria. U.S. senators asked Treasury Secretary Jack Lew last month to put Russian banks that deal with them on a list prohibiting U.S. banks from doing business with them, in an attempt to pressure them into ending their relationships with Assad. While Assad has used second-tier Russian banks to pay for air defense systems and fighter jets, the Commercial Bank of Syria has also opened accounts in the small Moscow-based lender Tempbank and is in talks with the bank to expand ties. Full Story | Top |
| Egyptian Islamists call for daily protests before Mursi trial Thursday, Oct 31, 2013 06:34 AM PDT  Supporters of Egypt's ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi called on Thursday for daily protests in the four days before his trial on November 4, raising the danger of more violence in a crisis that has already cost hundreds of lives. Mursi, who was ousted by the army on July 3 after mass demonstrations against his rule, is due to appear in court on Monday along with 14 other senior Muslim Brotherhood figures on charges of inciting violence. The trial could further inflame tensions between the Brotherhood and the army-backed interim government as it struggles to restore stability in the most populous Arab state. "The Alliance calls on all proud, free Egyptians to gather in the squares in protest against these trials... starting on Friday," the Brotherhood and its allies said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
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