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| White House: Obama has not decided to release Israeli spy Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama has not made a decision to release convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. "Jonathan Pollard was convicted of espionage and he is serving his sentence," Carney said. "I don't have any other update to provide you on Mr. Pollard's status. There are obviously a lot of things happening in that arena and I am not going to get ahead of discussions that are under way," he said. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and David Storey; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Bid to topple Mississippi senator tests Tea Party's muscle Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:33 PM PDT  By Nick Carey VICKSBURG, Mississippi (Reuters) - It is not shaping up as a great year for the conservative Tea Party movement as it seeks to revamp the Republican Party by challenging "establishment" Republicans in the U.S. Senate. The Tea Party's assault on Senator John Cornyn fell short in the Texas primaries last month, and recent polls indicate that the movement's candidates are unlikely to oust incumbents in Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas. But the Tea Party's outlook is considerably better in Mississippi. The stars appear to have aligned for Chris McDaniel, a state senator who is waging a primary battle against Thad Cochran, who is seeking his seventh six-year term in the Senate. Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Islamist shot dead on Kenyan coast: police Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:30 PM PDT  By Joseph Akwiri MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A prominent Kenyan Islamist, accused by the United States and U.N. Security Council of supporting the Somali militant group al Shabaab, was shot dead on Tuesday, police said. Abubakar Shariff, also known as Makaburi, was killed as he left a court compound about 15 km (10 miles) north of the port city of Mombasa, police chief for Kisauni area Richard Ngtia told journalists. Makaburi had been attending a court hearing. "Our brother Abubakar Shariff Makaburi has left us. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. lawmakers, victims pressure GM on recalled vehicles Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:29 PM PDT  By Ben Klayman and Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers, seeking to establish who is to blame for at least 13 auto-related deaths over the past decade, challenged General Motors CEO Mary Barra on Tuesday afternoon over the automaker's slow response to defective ignition switches in its cars. Despite tougher laws enacted in 2000 and 2010 to encourage automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to aggressively root out safety concerns, it took GM more than 10 years to publicly acknowledge that it had a potentially fatal problem. Since February, GM has recalled 2.6 million vehicles due to concerns about ignition switches that unexpectedly turn off engines during operation and leave airbags, power steering and power brakes inoperable. But sadly, vehicle safety has fallen short," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton of Michigan. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare enrollment exceeds seven million target despite setback Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:28 PM PDT  By Jeff Mason and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's national healthcare program signed up more than 7 million people by the last day of March, the White House said on Tuesday, notching a rare victory after a months-long, glitch-filled rollout of the law. Obama is scheduled to make a statement about the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, at 4:15 p.m. EDT in the White House. His remarks could be the start of a victory lap for the administration, which suffered from the botched unveiling of the program's primary website, HealthCare.gov, and wavering support from Americans years after the U.S. Congress passed the healthcare law over Republican objections. "With the remarkable surge in enrollment, 7,041,000 people signed up for health insurance before the midnight deadline yesterday and that doesn't count the last day surge in signups in more than a dozen states that run their own marketplaces," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| French Greens say they will not join new government Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:27 PM PDT  The French Greens party will not take part in a newly formed government under Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls, it said on Tuesday, breaking away from a coalition marked by tensions over energy policy. The decision capped nearly two years of tense relations between coalition partners as the Greens sought to wind down use of nuclear energy and insisted on maintaining a blanket ban on shale gas exploration. It followed a rout of the ruling Socialist Party in local elections on Sunday which prompted an unpopular President Francois Hollande to appoint his tough-talking former interior minister Valls as prime minister. "The ecologists will back the government without fail when it acts for progress and ecology, but it will oppose it whenever ecology is not taken into account," the party said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Kerry cancels meeting with Abbas in Ramallah Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:25 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday called off a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah for last-minute talks on extending peace talks with Israel, a senior State Department official said. "We are no longer travelling tomorrow. We are in close touch with the team on the ground," the official said. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; editing by Andrew Roche) Full Story | Top |
| Kerry says too early to draw conclusions about Israel-Palestinian talks Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:25 PM PDT BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday it was too early to draw conclusions about the prospects in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, saying "a lot of possibilities" were in play. Kerry said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to keep his promise to continue negotiating with Israel until the end of the month. "Even tonight, both parties say they want to continue to find a way forward," Kerry told reporters after meeting his NATO counterparts in Brussels to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. ... Full Story | Top |
| Abbas signs international conventions, jeopardizing peace moves Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:25 PM PDT  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed more than a dozen international conventions on Tuesday citing anger at Israel's delay of a prisoner release, in a move jeopardized U.S. efforts to salvage fragile peace talks. His unexpected decision came just a day before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had been due to travel to Ramallah for talks aimed at finalizing a complex, three-way deal that would enable the talks to continue into 2015. Israel had promised in exchange to free more than 100 prisoners by the end of March, but failed to release the final batch, saying it wanted guarantees that the Palestinians would extend the negotiations beyond the April 29 deadline. In his remarks to Palestinian leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas made clear he was not abandoning the negotiations, but blasted Israel's delay in freeing prisoners. Full Story | Top |
| SEC needs bigger budget to police trading, chair says Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:19 PM PDT  By Sarah N. Lynch and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission needs more money to properly police equity markets and detect potential misconduct, especially in a world of rapid-fire trading, SEC Chair Mary Jo White told lawmakers on Tuesday. "We... have focused intensively on potential misconduct in the equity markets," White told a U.S. House of Representatives appropriations panel in prepared testimony. "But detecting misconduct in constantly evolving securities markets, including as a result of the growth of algorithmic, automated trading and 'dark pools,' requires substantial resources," she added. The SEC is seeking a $1.7 billion budget for fiscal 2015, up from its current budget of $1.35 billion. Full Story | Top |
| Apple again seeks decisive U.S. court ruling against Samsung Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:17 PM PDT  By Dan Levine SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - An Apple Inc attorney said the iPhone contains more than 200 inventions and the company deserves legal protection against Samsung, as the rivals returned to court on Tuesday for opening statements in their long-running patent battle. Apple and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd have been litigating around the world for nearly three years. Jurors awarded the iPhone maker about $930 million after a 2012 trial in San Jose, California, but Apple failed to persuade U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh to issue a permanent injunction against the sale of Samsung phones. A sales ban would be a far more serious threat to Samsung, which earned $7.7 billion in the quarter that ended in December. Full Story | Top |
| Japanese families torn as return to Fukushima 'hot zone' begins Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:15 PM PDT  By Mari Saito TAMURA, Japan (Reuters) - People in Japan on Tuesday began their first homecomings in three years to a small area evacuated after the Fukushima disaster, but families are divided as worries about radiation and poor job prospects have kept many away. The reopening of the Miyakoji area of Tamura, a city 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Tokyo and inland from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear station, marks a tiny step for Japan as it attempts to recover from the 2011 disasters. "Many of our friends and neighbors won't come back," said Kimiko Koyama, 69, speaking on her return to the large farmhouse she had occupied for 50 years, while her husband Toshio, 72, tried to fix a television antenna on the roof. "My daughter won't bring our grandsons here because of the radiation." Miyakoji, set amid rolling hills and rice paddies, has been off-limits to most residents since March 2011, when the government ordered evacuations after a devastating earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown at the power plant on the Pacific coast about 20 km (12 miles) away. Full Story | Top |
| NATO suspends cooperation with Russia over Ukraine crisis Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:11 PM PDT  By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia on Tuesday in protest at its annexation of Crimea and ordered military planners to draft measures to strengthen its defences and reassure nervous eastern European countries. Foreign ministers from the 28-nation, U.S.-led alliance were meeting for the first time since the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region touched off the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. They agreed to "suspend all practical civilian and military cooperation between NATO and Russia". NATO officials said the decision could affect cooperation with Russia on Afghanistan in areas such as training counter-narcotics personnel, maintenance of Afghan air force helicopters and a transit route out of the war-torn country. Full Story | Top |
| GM CEO says 'disturbed' by company references to high cost of replacing switches Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:06 PM PDT General Motors CEO Mary Barra told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that she was disturbed by past GM comments that the cost of replacing defective switches in some cars, that have now been recalled, was too high. Barra told a House of Representatives committee that the company had retained Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw victims compensation funds after the September 11 attacks, to help in its response to the crisis. U.S. lawmakers are seeking to establish who is to blame for at least 13 GM auto-related deaths over the past decade and challenged Barra over the automaker's slow response to defective ignition switches in its cars. Full Story | Top |
| 'Eagle-caught salmon' and other stunts mark April Fools' day Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 12:05 PM PDT From Washington, D.C., to Silicon Valley, U.S. politicians and major companies turned prankster on Tuesday, April Fools' Day, with gags ranging from a fake tattoo to a perfume with cheesy notes. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz turned up on Fox News's morning show sporting a fake tattoo of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. "My wife was fairly astonished," Cruz told "Fox and Friends." The Republican National Committee also got in on the act, saying in a news release that the party was changing its color from red to blue. "This unprecedented color swap sends a clear signal that we're serious about change — and that we're making a clean break with the recent past," said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in the statement. Full Story | Top |
| Syrian boys become breadwinners as parents struggle in Turkey Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:58 AM PDT  By Dasha Afanasieva KILIS, Turkey (Reuters) - The busy market district of Kilis in southeast Turkey is full of Syrian refugee children, repairing household goods, serving baklava and selling jewelery to become the main breadwinner of their families because their parents struggle to find jobs. The civil war in neighboring Syria has killed more than 140,000 people and driven 2.5 million abroad, at least 700,000 of whom have been formally registered in Turkey under its "open door" policy reflecting support for the Syrian uprising. But the total number of Syrians in Turkey is believed to be much higher and the influx has transformed the southern borderlands, with many Syrian grocery shops selling all their home brands and property prices sky-rocketing. Only 14 percent of Syrian children living outside the camps go to school, according to Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD), with the majority taking up work, however minimally paid, to help sustain their families. Full Story | Top |
| Aid bureaucracy, suspicion threaten to deepen South Sudan crisis: MSF Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:51 AM PDT  By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The humanitarian crisis created by South Sudan's civil war may well worsen this year because of the slow international response and suspicions among warring parties of U.N. relief efforts, the head of aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Tuesday. More than 1 million people have been displaced since December 15, according to the United Nations, including 800,000 uprooted within South Sudan and 254,000 who have taken refuge in neighboring states. A ceasefire deal in January collapsed and negotiations in Addis Ababa have failed to stop fighting between the government and rebels in the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011 but has been plagued by disorder since. All indicates a civil conflict that is there to last, unless there is an unexpected diplomatic success," Bruno Jochum, director general of MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders, told reporters in Geneva. Full Story | Top |
| FBI searches legislative office of arrested state senator Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:40 AM PDT  By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - FBI agents searched a legislative office in California's capital on Tuesday that was used by staff of state Senator Leland Yee, who faces charges of corruption and gun trafficking, a senate official said. Yee, a San Francisco Democrat who was the senate's first Chinese-American member, is the third state senator to face criminal charges this year, the latest in a spate of legal problems that has cost Democrats a precious two-thirds majority in the legislature. The office that was searched is located across the street from the state capitol building and was used by Yee's San Francisco district staff when they were working in Sacramento, a spokesman for senate Democratic leader Darrell Steinberg said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says JP Morgan 'illegally' blocked embassy money transfer Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:38 AM PDT  By Thomas Grove and Megan Davies MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused U.S. bank JP Morgan on Tuesday of "illegally" blocking a payment from one of its embassies to an insurance agency "under the pretext of anti-Russian sanctions". In a statement on its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry suggested the action, which it called "unacceptable, illegal and absurd", would have consequences for the U.S. embassy and consulate in Russia. One of the highest profile confrontations yet over U.S. sanctions, the move may increase tensions between Washington and Moscow and add to nervousness of U.S. companies over doing business in Russia. JP Morgan gave no immediate comment. Full Story | Top |
| French Greens will not join newly formed government: sources Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:33 AM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - The French Greens party will not take part in a newly formed government under Prime Minister Manuel Valls, parliamentary sources said on Tuesday, breaking out of a ruling coalition with the Socialist Party. The party's executive committee voted after a day of talks not to join the government, the sources told Reuters. (Reporting By Chine Labbe; Writing by Nicholas Vinocur, editing by Astrid Wendlandt) Full Story | Top |
| Startup completes first equity crowdfunding drive in Italy Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:28 AM PDT By Naomi O'Leary ROME (Reuters) - A software firm has become the first Italian company since the country introduced a pioneering crowdfunding law to raise target capital from investors buying equity through an online portal. Rome was an early mover in implementing a legal framework for equity crowdfunding, passed as part of a 2012 package of laws intended to encourage startups, which the government sees as a way to boost growth and employment in a struggling economy with record joblessness. Equity crowdfunding resembles services offered by online fundraising sites such as Kickstarter, through which creative projects gather donations from supporters. The startup, Diaman Tech Srl, raised 157,780 euro ($217,500), exceeding an initial target of 147,000 euro from 65 investors in a three-month fundraising effort that concluded on Monday on online platform Unicaseed, the website shows. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Supreme Court could limit bank fraud law Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:25 AM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to limit the scope of a federal criminal law that targets people who defraud banks. A ruling along those lines could prevent federal prosecutors from using the law to crack down on routine fraud, such as the use of altered checks to purchase merchandise. Cases of fraud that do not include intent to defraud could still be prosecuted under state laws or potentially via another federal law that imposes shorter sentences. The nine justices heard a one-hour oral argument on Tuesday in an appeal brought by Kevin Loughrin, who was convicted in Salt Lake City, Utah, of six counts of bank fraud for stealing checks he then altered so he could purchase merchandise at Target Corp stores. Full Story | Top |
| Ford sees U.S. 16 million annualized auto sales rate, including big trucks Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:19 AM PDT Ford Motor Co said it expects U.S. auto sales to be 16.0 million vehicles at an annualized rate in March, slightly less than the estimate in a poll of analysts by Thomson Reuters. Ford included medium and heavy trucks in its forecast, which accounts for about 300,000 vehicles annually. The average forecast of 40 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters was for 15.8 million vehicles on an annualized basis, not including the trucks. Ford's March U.S. sales rose 3 percent to 244,167 vehicles. Full Story | Top |
| Weather, incentives help lift March U.S. auto sales Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:19 AM PDT  By Bernie Woodall and Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - U.S. auto sales inched up more than expected in March after two months when weather reduced demand, and at least two auto industry executives said a more robust sales rebound could come in April. Ford Motor Co reported a 3 percent rise in U.S. sales; All three narrowly beat expectations by industry research firm Edmunds.com. Ford's vice president of U.S. sales John Felice said the sales momentum in late March shows "the trend positive heading into April." Bill Fay, general manager for Toyota brand U.S. sales, said, "We're optimistic that momentum will spring us in into April." U.S. auto sales leader General Motors Co delayed until late Tuesday afternoon its March U.S. sales statement because of computer glitches. Full Story | Top |
| Accused ‘Craigslist killer' makes Pennsylvania court appearance Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:11 AM PDT  By David DeKok SUNBURY, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - The woman dubbed the "Craigslist killer" suspect appeared on Tuesday in a Pennsylvania courtroom, where legal arguments focused largely on the online activities of the man she is accused of murdering. The appearance in Northumberland County Court of Common Pleas was the first by Miranda Barbour, 19, since she began making controversial claims that she is a serial killer with at least 22 victims. Barbour and her husband, Elytte Barbour, 22, have pleaded not guilty to the stabbing and strangling in November of Troy LaFerrara, 42, whose body was found dumped in an alley in Sunbury. Prosecutors say the couple used the Craigslist classified ad website to lure him to a meeting, offering sex, in a shopping mall parking lot. Full Story | Top |
| White House: Obamacare enrollment exceeds seven million people Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:07 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday that more than 7 million people had signed up for healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act, exceeding its original goal after a botched rollout of the program. "With the remarkable surge in enrollment, 7,041,000 people signed up for health insurance before the midnight deadline yesterday and that doesn't count the last day surge in signups in more than a dozen states that run their own marketplaces," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and David Storey; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Man accused in SXSW festival killings faces additional assault charges Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:01 AM PDT  A man facing capital murder charges for plowing his car into a crowd at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin last month, killing four and injuring nearly two dozen others, has been charged with an additional 20 counts of aggravated assault. Prison records posted on Tuesday show Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, from Killeen, Texas, has had the charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon added to his detention booking. Each count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon can bring up to life in prison while a conviction on capital murder carries the possibility of the death penalty. Jamie West, 27, from Austin, and Steven Craenmehr, 35, of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, died at the scene. Full Story | Top |
| Soros wins partial dismissal of suit filed by ex-girlfriend Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 11:00 AM PDT  By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - George Soros won a bid on Tuesday to dismiss a $50 million claim by an ex-girlfriend who claimed he reneged on a promise to buy her a pricey Manhattan apartment, but the appeals court did not dismiss an assault claim against the 83-year-old billionaire. A New York state appellate court dismissed claims by Brazilian former actress Adriana Ferreyr, 30, seeking damages for fraud, infliction of emotional distress and other claims. Full Story | Top |
| Biggest backer of Labour Party warns it could cut funding Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:57 AM PDT  By William James LONDON (Reuters) - The biggest financial backer of Labour Party said on Tuesday it could withdraw its support and funding unless the left-leaning party came up with a credible alternative to austerity that wins next year's election. Len McCluskey, General Secretary of the Unite trade union, said Labour would lose the next election if it continued to only offer voters "a pale shade of austerity", and that a loss would force the union to discuss breaking its links with the party. "I believe the Labour Party is at a crossroads," McCluskey told reporters, saying Ed Miliband, Labour's leader, had to come up with a new message for voters. Labour, a party born out of the trade union movement, has a 3 percentage-point lead in opinion polls over Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives ahead of a May 2015 election. Full Story | Top |
| Shrine for Washington state mudslide site is considered Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:52 AM PDT  By Eric M. Johnson DARRINGTON, Washington (Reuters) - Survivors of a mudslide that left dozens dead or missing in Washington state said they would like to turn the disaster site into a shrine for the victims once bulldozers clear away the mud and debris. Rescue teams pressed on for an 11th day on Tuesday in their efforts to find more victims of the slide, triggered when a rain-soaked hillside collapsed above the north fork of the Stillaguamish River, northeast of Seattle. The torrent of mud roared over the riverbanks and across state Highway 530, flattening more than two dozen homes on the outskirts of the town of Oso in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office said 19 of the confirmed fatalities have now been identified, including a 4-month-old girl and two children aged 5 and 6. Full Story | Top |
| Republicans defend Caterpillar, blast U.S. tax code at hearing Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:52 AM PDT  By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The broken U.S. tax code encourages companies to shift profits overseas, Republican senators said on Tuesday, seeking to deflect criticism from Caterpillar Inc at a hearing on how it allegedly avoided paying $2.4 billion in taxes. The world's largest maker of mining and construction equipment was only acting in its shareholders' best interests, and in a wholly legal manner, Republicans said at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing. The tax code needs to be on trial here," said Republican Rand Paul, a libertarian and potential 2016 White House contender. Republican Rob Portman said the 35-percent U.S. corporate income tax rate drives capital and investment overseas. Full Story | Top |
| German airliner hostage-taking ends after brief standoff Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:52 AM PDT A Kosovo man took a flight attendant hostage on a German airliner on Tuesday but surrendered to police after a brief standoff, police said. German media said a 50-year-old flight attendant suffered cuts after the man put her in a headlock and held a razor blade to her throat minutes after takeoff from Munich airport. Other crew rushed to the assistance of the flight attendant and there was a scuffle, Bild online said. When no one understood the man's demands, he barricaded himself in a toilet with the flight attendant. Full Story | Top |
| European ministers take sobering look at social impact of crisis Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:51 AM PDT By John O'Donnell ATHENS (Reuters) - The economic crisis in Europe has put 6 million people out of work and driven others into poverty, according to a think-tank study looking into the social impact of the slump that was examined by EU finance ministers for the first time on Tuesday. After six years of recession that many blame on international lenders such as euro zone heavyweight Germany for exacerbating tax hikes and spending cuts, about a quarter of Greeks are jobless, including over half of those aged under 25. "The European Union faces major social problems," the study's authors said in the presentation. The report also identified the wide disparities of wealth across the European Union, a shaky alliance of 28 countries which gather under the umbrella of the EU but who often clash due to their different cultures and interests. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. factory activity picks up, more gains eyed as winter fades Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:42 AM PDT  The Institute for Supply Management said on Tuesday its index of national factory activity rose to 53.7 last month from a reading of 53.2 in February. "It offers an upbeat assessment on manufacturing." Stocks on Wall Street pushed higher on the factory report, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index hitting a record high. Full Story | Top |
| More than seven million people signed up for Obamacare: Pelosi Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:36 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, said on Tuesday that the Obama administration would announce more than 7 million people had signed up for the healthcare program known as Obamacare. Pelosi, speaking to reporters at the White House after a meeting with President Barack Obama, noted that the figures were not yet official. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Sandra Maler) Full Story | Top |
| Prominent Islamist killed on Kenyan coast: witnesses Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:34 AM PDT MOMBASA (Reuters) - A prominent Kenyan Islamist, accused by the United States and U.N. Security Council of supporting the Somali militant group al Shabaab, was killed on Tuesday on the Kenyan coast, a police officer at the scene and a witness said. An officer pointed to a dead body that lay a few km (miles) from the port city of Mombasa and said it was the corpse of Abubakar Shariff, also known as Makaburi. A Reuters witness also identified the corpse, which appeared to have bullet wounds to the body and head. There was no immediate official police comment. ... Full Story | Top |
| News Corp wins dismissal of U.S. lawsuit over phone hacking Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:19 AM PDT  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - News Corp, its Chairman Rupert Murdoch and other top officials have won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing them of defrauding shareholders by concealing widespread, illegal phone hacking at two of its British newspapers. In a decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan said the defendants could not be held liable over statements predating the period for which shareholders sought to recoup alleged losses. The case was based on statements by Murdoch, former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks and others in the years after the 2006 arrest of reporter Clive Goodman and investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who were both later imprisoned for allegedly hacking the phones of Britain's royal family. Shareholders led by Britain's Avon Pension Fund accused the defendants of making statements in press releases, interviews, conference calls, testimony to Parliament and elsewhere suggesting that the incident was isolated. Full Story | Top |
| EU launches peacekeeping force for Central African Republic Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:18 AM PDT The European Union formally launched a peacekeeping force for Central African Republic on Tuesday, overcoming delays due to shortages of soldiers and equipment thanks to last-minute offers of help from EU governments. French and African Union peacekeepers have so far failed to stop the conflict that erupted after the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power a year ago in the majority Christian state. "The launch of this operation demonstrates the EU's determination to take full part in international efforts to restore stability and security in Bangui and right across the Central African Republic," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement. The United Nations said on Tuesday it was trying to evacuate 19,000 Muslims urgently from Bangui and other parts of Central African Republic who are surrounded by anti-balaka Christian militia threatening their lives. Full Story | Top |
| Congress begins battle over temporary U.S. tax measures Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:14 AM PDT  An annual fight in the U.S. Congress over renewing scores of temporary tax breaks - including the corporate research tax credit and individual deductions for teachers' supplies and college tuition costs - got under way on Tuesday. In the Senate, the new chairman of the tax-writing Finance Committee unveiled legislation that would modestly trim the list of about 55 laws known as the "tax extenders" because they expire every year or two and need to be regularly extended. Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who recently took over the committee, scheduled a review-and-amendment session for Thursday on the bipartisan bill that he is offering along with Utah's Orrin Hatch, the committee's top Republican member. The extenders list is chock-full of special tax breaks for businesses. Full Story | Top |
| Egypt Muslim Brotherhood chief calls Sisi a 'tyrant' Tuesday, Apr 01, 2014 10:11 AM PDT  By Samia Nakhoul CAIRO (Reuters) - The top leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood accused Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former army chief widely tipped to become the country's next president, of being a tyrant and predicted he would fail to stay in power. Speaking on Tuesday from a cage in a courtroom where he faces trial for inciting violence, Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie also dismissed accusations by the military-backed government that the group engaged in terrorism. "The people will not accept an army tyrant," Badie said in reference to Sisi, who resigned from the military on Wednesday in order to contest a presidential election on May 26-27. Sisi toppled President Mohamed Mursi, who was freely elected in 2012 after many years rising through the Brotherhood, last July after mass protests against his rule. Full Story | Top |
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