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| Iran, six powers may be nearing a nuclear deal Friday, Nov 22, 2013 11:55 AM PST By Louis Charbonneau and Parisa Hafezi GENEVA (Reuters) - Iran and six world powers appeared closer on Friday towards clinching an elusive interim deal under which Tehran would curb its contested nuclear program, with diplomats saying a major sticking point may have been overcome. A compromise deal over Iran's insistence that its "right" to enrich uranium be internationally recognized has been proposed, they said, possibly opening the way to a breakthrough in intensive negotiations that began in Geneva on Wednesday. The United States and other Western powers say there is no such thing as a right to enrich - a process that can yield both electricity and nuclear bombs - but Iran views it as a matter of national sovereignty and crucial to any deal that would resolve a decade-old standoff over its nuclear intentions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Geneva on Friday evening and planned to participate, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Full Story | Top |
| Afghanistan rejects U.S. call for quick security deal Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:38 AM PST  By Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - The future of U.S. troops in Afghanistan remained in doubt on Friday after a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai rejected a U.S. call to sign a security pact by the end of the year rather than after next year's presidential election. The United States has repeatedly said it will not wait until after the April 2014 vote to seal the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and rejected Karzai's suggestion for the signing to take place next year "properly and with dignity". Without an accord, the United States could pull out most of its troops by the end of 2014, as it did two years ago when it failed to negotiate a deal with Iraq. "They have set other deadlines also, so this is nothing new to us." Karzai had suggested on Thursday, as the Afghan leaders began a meeting known as a Loya Jirga, that the signing of the pact should wait until after the poll. Full Story | Top |
| Bombings, shootings kill at least 23 across Iraq Friday, Nov 22, 2013 11:14 AM PST At least 23 people were killed in bombings and shootings in Iraq on Friday, police and medical sources said, the latest in the worst wave of sectarian attacks to sweep the country in five years. The deadliest attack took place in a predominantly Sunni Doura neighborhood in southern Baghdad, where two roadside bombs exploded near a soft drinks store, killing six people and wounding 18, the police and medics said. Another roadside bomb hit the vehicle of a government-backed Sunni militia's patrol in the Sunni neighborhood of Tarmiya in the north of the Iraqi capital, killing three fighters and wounding another three, police said. Two roadside bombs also went off near Sunni mosques in the southern and western outskirts of Baghdad after Friday prayers, killing three worshippers and wounding 12, the police said. Full Story | Top |
| Syria Islamists unite as faction-fighting goes on Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:32 AM PST  By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Erika Solomon AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamist fighters in Syria have joined forces to form what may be the biggest rebel army in the country, further undermining Western-backed military commanders and potentially challenging al Qaeda. The announcement on Friday of a common leadership for the Islamic Front, an amalgam of six major Islamist groups which had earlier declared an intention to merge, coincided with accounts of a battle on the Turkish border between rival Islamists that ended with al Qaeda allies taking control of the town of Atma. Factional fighting and fragmentation among those seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have hampered the revolt and the latest effort to unite has yet to show that it can result in effective coordination among groups which between them control large parts of Syria and some tens of thousands of fighters. Gains by Assad since the United States held back from intervening following a poison gas attack on rebel territory in August have both hardened many rebels against the Western-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), notionally charged with coordinating the war, and also galvanized some major formations to come together. Full Story | Top |
| EU loses out on Ukraine, but may have dodged a bullet Friday, Nov 22, 2013 08:45 AM PST  By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - In post-Soviet Europe, Russia looks to have won a decisive victory by convincing Ukraine to reject a trade deal with the European Union and deepen ties with Moscow instead. Once any sense of rejection or thwarted ambition passes, the reality remains that taking Ukraine under its wing, a highly indebted country of 46 million people stricken by corruption and unpredictable politics, could have proven a costly and difficult burden for the EU, at least in the short term. And in the longer term, it remains possible that Ukraine will turn its gaze back to the West and seek to reopen talks on deeper EU trade and political ties, although that is now unlikely to happen until after Ukrainian elections in 2015. In explaining its decision to reject the deal, due to have been signed at a summit in Vilnius next Friday, Ukraine's prime minister put it down to economic pragmatism, and sought to keep alive the idea of strategic ties with the EU in the future. Full Story | Top |
| North Korea confirms detention of U.S. citizen: State Department Friday, Nov 22, 2013 11:24 AM PST  North Korea has confirmed through Swedish officials in Pyongyang that it has detained a U.S. citizen, a State Department official said on Friday, after reports that an 85-year-old California man was pulled off a plane as he was about to leave the country. "Our Swedish protecting power has been informed of the detention of a U.S. citizen," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. The family of Merrill Newman, a retiree from Palo Alto, California, and Korean War veteran, said he was taken away by North Korean officials. Full Story | Top |
| Sinopec oil pipeline blast kills 35 in eastern China Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:07 AM PST  By Chen Aizhu BEIJING (Reuters) - An explosion in a Sinopec Corp oil pipeline killed 35 people in Qingdao in eastern China on Friday, causing a blaze that took several hours to bring under control and halting operations at a major oil port, media and ship brokers said. Qingdao is one of China's largest crude oil import terminals, supplying at least two major Sinopec refineries -- the Qingdao plant and Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical Corp -- as well as many small, independent refineries. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: For Cisco and Huawei, a bruising rivalry reaches stalemate Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:29 AM PST  By Jeremy Wagstaff, Sinead Carew and Jim Finkle (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc and Huawei Technologies Co, two of the world's largest communications equipment makers, have been slugging it out for a decade now - in court, in emerging markets, in the lobbies of government and even on blogs. Earlier this month Cisco CEO John Chambers admitted in an earnings call that political dynamics were stymieing his company's long march into Huawei's backyard. Asked whether the recent U.S. spying scandal was affecting overseas business, Chambers said it was having an impact, particularly in China, which is Cisco's biggest emerging market country but represents less than 5 percent of its total revenue. Huawei has also admitted something of a defeat in the United State for carrier equipment, which accounts for more than 70 percent of its global revenues. Full Story | Top |
| On 50th anniversary of JFK death - tears, memories, suspicion Friday, Nov 22, 2013 11:52 AM PST By Jon Herskovitz and Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - U.S. President John F. Kennedy was remembered as a transcendent leader of a rising nation at a ceremony in Dallas on Friday, the 50th anniversary of his assassination. "Our collective hearts were broken," Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told a crowd of about 5,000 who came to a frigid Dealey Plaza, near where Kennedy was slain, for a commemoration marked with prayer, song and tears. Remembered fondly for his youthful vigor and his glamorous wife, Kennedy remains one of Americans' favorite presidents for his handling of the Cuban missile crisis, his call to public service with programs such as the Peace Corps and a promise - later fulfilled - to land an American on the moon before the end of the 1960s. Full Story | Top |
| Insight: Old assumptions questioned in Arafat's mysterious death Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:35 AM PST  By Crispian Balmer RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Yasser Arafat's spartan bedroom remains largely as he left it in 2004, when he flew off to France for treatment for a mystery illness only to return home two weeks later in a coffin. Arafat's body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, was buried nine years ago, but conspiracy theories he was poisoned were never laid to rest, with accusations flying on all sides. Should evidence emerge that Israel killed the Palestinian leader, a legacy of rancor could wreck the chances of peace for years to come. Like many Palestinians, Imad Abu Zaki, one of Arafat's closest bodyguards, has no doubt who did it. Full Story | Top |
| Analysis: Brazil's Rousseff working to prevent a debacle in 2014 Friday, Nov 22, 2013 09:27 AM PST  By Brian Winter and Cesar Bianconi BRASILIA (Reuters) - Seen from Brazil's modernist, glass-walled presidential palace, 2014 looks like a minefield. A downgrade of Brazil's credit rating seems possible, if not likely. The World Cup of soccer, which Brazil will host in June and July, could end up revealing to billions of TV viewers the shoddy government planning and transportation bottlenecks that have frustrated investors here for years. To top it all off, leftist President Dilma Rousseff is up for re-election in October - meaning if any of those things go horribly awry, she might lose her job. Full Story | Top |
| China president to promote allies in sweeping reshuffle: sources Friday, Nov 22, 2013 02:35 AM PST  By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to promote a string of allies in coming months as part of a sweeping reshuffle of the Communist Party, the government and the military, three separate sources with ties to the leadership said. The Communist Party spokesman's office, also declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| ECB's Praet warns of deflationary pressures in euro zone Friday, Nov 22, 2013 04:53 AM PST  By Ingrid Melander and Paul Carrel PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank's chief economist said on Friday the euro zone faces deflationary pressures, and the bank's president stressed that interest rates must remain low "because the economy is weak". With euro zone inflation running at 0.7 percent, well below its target of just under 2 percent, a raft of ECB speakers this week have said it is open to taking fresh measures to support the economy. Vice-President Vitor Constancio said on Tuesday "everything is possible" and both he and economics chief Peter Praet have said asset buying - or quantitative easing (QE) - is an option after years in which the bank's policymakers have ruled it out. But the more conservative minority at the bank, who voted against this month's surprise cut in interest rates and are led by its German members, still seem dead set against any such move. Full Story | Top |
| Death toll in Latvian store collapse jumps to 47 Friday, Nov 22, 2013 07:26 AM PST By Aija Braslina RIGA (Reuters) - Rescue workers pulled bodies from the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital Riga on Friday as the death toll rose to 47 in the Baltic state's worst disaster in decades. Rescue workers cleared away rubble from the store, which had occupied around 1,500 square meters (5,000 square feet), as ambulances and fire engines stood by. Police said the death toll had reached 47 as of 10 a.m. ET, including three rescue workers. "In the past hours, no survivors have been found," said Viktorija Sembele, a rescue service spokeswoman. Full Story | Top |
| Indonesia, Australia spy claim tension spreads to corporate world Friday, Nov 22, 2013 05:53 AM PST  By Yayat Supriyatna and Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - Rising diplomatic tension between Australia and Indonesia spread into the corporate world on Friday, after a state-owned Indonesian firm suspended talks with Australian cattle ranchers, citing trust issues between the neighbors. PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI) is the first Indonesian firm to freeze business ties with Australia due to the uproar sparked by reports that Canberra had spied on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his wife. Dozens of protesters burned Australian flags and images of Prime Minister Tony Abbott outside the heavily fortified Australian embassy in Jakarta for a second day on Friday. "We decided to halt talks on cattle ranches in Australia temporarily until the Australian government fulfils what the Indonesian government insists they do," RNI Chief Executive Ismed Hasan Putro told Reuters. Full Story | Top |
| Days before launch, Obamacare website failed to handle even 500 users Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 06:54 PM PST By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In the last days before the botched October 1 launch of President Barack Obama's healthcare website, the team in charge was seeing alarming results from performance tests, according to internal emails released by Republican lawmakers investigating the rollout. HealthCare.gov was unable to consistently handle 500 users at once in the testing, and tests failed with 2,000 users over a three-day period, according to a series of emails between members of the information technology team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS. "I do not want a repeat of what happened near the end of December 2005 where Medicare.Gov had a meltdown," Henry Chao, the website's project manager at CMS, wrote in capital letters in an urgent message on September 26 to his team and contractors. The emails, released by the Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee, are the latest to illustrate the depths of problems with the Obamacare website, which has frustrated millions of Americans with error messages and slow responses as they try to shop for health insurance. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. jury awards Apple $290 million in retrial against Samsung Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 03:29 PM PST  By Gerry Shih SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - A U.S. jury awarded Apple Inc about $290 million in a damages retrial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, restoring a large chunk of a historic verdict the iPhone maker won last year. Apple had requested $379.8 million, while Samsung argued that it should have to pay $52.7 million. Apple and Samsung have been fighting in the courts for over two years. Apple was awarded over $1 billion last year after it convinced a jury that Samsung copied various iPhone features - like using fingers to pinch and zoom on the screen - along with design touches like the phone's flat, black glass screen. Full Story | Top |
| United States gives Afghanistan year-end deadline for crucial security deal Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 03:58 PM PST By Hamid Shalizi and Jessica Donati KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai triggered uncertainty about a vital security pact with the United States on Thursday by saying it should not be signed until after Afghanistan's presidential election next April, prompting the White House to insist on a year-end deadline. Karzai's surprise move, which came just a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the pact's language had been agreed upon, suddenly threw its future into question and seemed certain to reignite tensions with Washington. The Afghan leader spoke to about 2,500 tribal elders and political leaders from across Afghanistan gathered in the capital for a Loya Jirga, or grand council, to debate whether to allow U.S. troops to stay after the planned 2014 drawdown of foreign forces. Without an accord on the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), the United States says it could pull out all its troops at the end of 2014 and leave Afghan forces to fight the Taliban insurgency on their own. Full Story | Top |
| Democrats ditch historic U.S. Senate rule blamed for gridlock Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 01:42 PM PST  By Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate, in a historic and bitterly fought rule change, stripped Republicans on Thursday of their ability to block President Barack Obama's judicial and executive branch nominees. The action fundamentally altered the way Congress' upper chamber has worked since the mid-19th century by making it impossible for a minority party, on its own, to block presidential appointments, except those to the U.S. Supreme Court. The change in the so-called "filibuster" rule does not apply to legislation, which can still be held up by a handful of senators. The action will undoubtedly come back to haunt Democrats the next time they lose the Senate and the White House simultaneously. Full Story | Top |
| Ukraine drops plan to go West, turns East to Moscow Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 02:23 PM PST  By Richard Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine abruptly spurned an historic new alliance with its western neighbors on Thursday, suspending an imminent trade pact with the European Union and saying it would revive talks on a deal instead with Russia, its old Soviet master. Kiev's sudden eastward pivot was a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who once described the Soviet Union's demise as the tragedy of the century. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, a veteran of east-west diplomacy, tweeted: "Ukraine government suddenly bows deeply to the Kremlin. Politics of brutal pressure evidently works." Ukraine had been due to sign a wide-ranging trade and cooperation agreement with the EU on November 29 which would have tugged it westwards and away from Russia's sphere of influence. Full Story | Top |
| U.N. anti-spying resolution weakened in bid to gain U.S., British support Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 03:04 PM PST  By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A draft U.N. resolution that some diplomats said suggested spying in foreign countries could be a human rights violation has been weakened to appease the United States, Britain and others ahead of a vote by a U.N. committee next week. Germany and Brazil drafted the resolution calling for an end to excessive electronic surveillance. It does not name specific countries but comes after former U.S. contractor Edward Snowden released details of spying by the U.S. National Security Agency. The U.N. General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals with human rights issues, is to vote on the draft next week, and it is then expected to be put to a vote by the 193-nation General Assembly in December. Full Story | Top |
| Six dead, dozens feared trapped in Latvia supermarket collapse Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 03:36 PM PST  By Aija Braslina RIGA (Reuters) - Six people, including two firefighters, were killed and dozens more were feared trapped after the roof of a busy supermarket in Latvia's capital, Riga, collapsed on Thursday evening, a rescue official said. TV pictures showed the Maxima store surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances with rescue workers using their hands and crowbars to pull away rubble from inside the single-storey concrete and glass building. "There are six people dead, four of them are shop clients and two are firefighters," Latvian rescue service spokeswoman Viktorija Sembele told Reuters. Earlier news agency RIA Novosti quoted Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs as saying 70 people were trapped in the building. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. signals North Korea can improve ties by freeing Americans Thursday, Nov 21, 2013 01:40 PM PST  The United States on Thursday signaled North Korea could improve its strained ties with Washington by releasing U.S. citizens, as former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson became involved in the case of an 85-year-old American held by Pyongyang. North Korea last month detained Merrill Newman, a veteran of the Korean War and a retiree from Palo Alto, California, taking him off a plane as he was about to leave the reclusive Asian country, which he had been visiting on a tourist visa. North Korea has also held Korean-American Christian missionary Kenneth Bae since November 2012, sentencing him to 15 years of hard labor. His detention followed a long series of acrimonious exchanges between North Korea and the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear program. Full Story | Top |
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