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| Man under evaluation for alleged gun threat at L.A. Times building Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 11:49 AM PDT By Brendan O'Brien (Reuters) - A man who allegedly threatened to open fire in the building that houses the Los Angeles Times' headquarters was being held in custody for a mental evaluation, police said on Saturday. Full Story | Top |
| Mediator heads to east Ukraine, seeking surrenders Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 11:12 AM PDT  By Alastair Macdonald and Aleksandar Vasovic KIEV/DONETSK (Reuters) - A mediator from Europe's OSCE security body headed to eastern Ukraine on Saturday seeking the surrender of pro-Russian separatists as the Kiev government declared an Easter truce following a peace accord with Moscow. Gunmen occupying public buildings in Donetsk and other Russian-speaking border towns refuse to recognize an accord in Geneva on Thursday by which Russia, Ukraine and Kiev's U.S. and EU allies agreed that the OSCE should oversee the disarmament of militants and the evacuation of occupied facilities and streets. Full Story | Top |
| Italy gives wife, daughter of wanted Kazakh banker refugee status Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 10:23 AM PDT  The wife and daughter of a Kazakh tycoon who is wanted in three countries for alleged fraud have been granted refugee status in Italy, their lawyer said on Friday. Lawyer Anton Giulio Lana said in a statement that an Interior Ministry committee had granted Alma Shalabayeva and daughter Alua a five-year, renewable permit of stay. Shalabayeva is the wife of oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov, a political adversary of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev who has ruled for more than two decades and tolerates no dissent. Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have laid charges against Ablyazov. Full Story | Top |
| Rajaratnam's brother loses bid to dismiss insider trading charges Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 09:35 AM PDT  (This story from April 18 corrects the number of counts the judge called "inconsistent" from four to two in 3rd, 16th and 17th paragraphs) By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rengan Rajaratnam, the younger brother of imprisoned hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, on Friday lost a bid to dismiss some of the insider trading charges leveled against him last year. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan ruled that the indictment adequately alleged the essential elements of the crimes charged. A lawyer for Rajaratnam did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| VW has agreed budget car concept, design: manager Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 09:34 AM PDT  Volkswagen has agreed the basic concept and design of a budget car for emerging markets, a VW manager told Reuters, nearing the project's completion after a long struggle to meet cost targets for the vehicle. "The concept and design are now in place," Hans Demant, responsible for the so-called budget car project at VW, told Reuters on the eve of the Beijing auto show. "We will produce all components in China." Demant's comments are more upbeat than those of VW brand development chief Heinz-Jakob Neusser who said at last month's Geneva auto show that it was becoming more difficult to hit cost goals for the budget car, adding it made no sense to approve a vehicle that was not meeting in-house targets. VW lacks a strong presence in markets such as India and southeast Asia which are dominated by no-frills models, and without a successful budget car, analysts have questioned whether the group will be able to meet its goal of becoming the world's biggest carmaker by 2018. Full Story | Top |
| Comcast in talks with Charter over divestitures: source Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 09:15 AM PDT  (Reuters) - Comcast Corp is in talks with Charter Communications over selling or spinning off roughly 3 million subscribers worth approximately $18 billion to $20 billion as part of the divestitures related to its $45.3 billion takeover of Time Warner Cable , according to a source familiar with the matter. The talks center around either a straight sale of 3 million or so subscribers, or the potential creation of a spinoff in which Charter would buy a substantial minority stake, the source added. There may be other options the two companies are discussing, the source said, adding that while the negotiations with Charter are serious, they are still in the early stages and could fall apart. Other cable companies also are interested in Comcast's divested subscribers, according to the source. Full Story | Top |
| Iran says plane at airport leased to Ghana after U.S.-flagged plane sighting Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 08:04 AM PDT Iran says that a plane which landed in Tehran airport flying the American flag was leased to Ghana's presidential office and carrying a business delegation from the West African nation. The New York Times reported on Thursday that a plane owned by the Bank of Utah was parked in Mehrabad Airport in Tehran on Tuesday. Its presence was noteworthy as the United States and Iran have been at loggerheads for decades and the Islamic Republic is subject to economic sanctions. A State Department spokeswoman said on Friday these sanctions "generally prohibit" U.S.-registered aircraft from flying to Iran. Full Story | Top |
| Fiat Chrysler strikes deal to produce Jeeps in China Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 06:33 AM PDT  Fiat Chrysler has reached an agreement to start producing Jeep vehicles in China with partner Guangzhou Automobile Group Co , the companies said on Saturday, as Fiat tries to catch up with competitors in a fast-growing market. The plan to produce three new Jeep vehicles in China for the domestic market, through the GAC Fiat joint venture, has received the necessary government approvals, the companies said. GAC Fiat is also considering making a Jeep uniquely designed for China, where the Italian carmaker hopes the successful sport-utility brand can help it make up lost ground behind long-established rivals. Full Story | Top |
| Congo province poised to start certified 'conflict-free' tin exports Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 05:21 AM PDT  By Peter Jones GOMA Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's tin producing North Kivu province may begin exports of certified 'conflict-free' minerals as soon as next week after the roll-out of a new barcode tagging scheme, the head of the regional division of mines said. North Kivu is at the heart of Congo's production of tin and coltan - used in electronic devices such as mobile phones and video game consoles. In an effort to halt the violence, the United States included a provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank act obliging U.S.-listed companies to ensure their supply chain was free from Congolese conflict minerals, specifically gold, coltan, tin and tungsten - a hard metal used in filaments, tools and weaponry. Congo imposed a six-month ban on mining in North Kivu in late 2010 and then, in early 2012, forbade mineral exports unless they could be proven to come from conflict-free zones. Full Story | Top |
| Japan expands army footprint for first time in 40 years, risks angering China Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 04:59 AM PDT  By Nobuhiro Kubo YONAGUNI, Japan (Reuters) - Japan began its first military expansion at the western end of its island chain in more than 40 years on Saturday, breaking ground on a radar station on a tropical island off Taiwan. The move risks angering China, locked in a dispute with Japan over nearby islands which they both claim. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who attended a ceremony on Yonaguni island to mark the start of construction, suggested the military presence could be enlarged to other islands in the seas southwest of Japan's main islands. "I want to build an operation able to properly defend islands that are part of Japan's territory." The military radar station on Yonaguni, part of a longstanding plan to improve defense and surveillance, gives Japan a lookout just 150 km (93 miles) from the Japanese-held islands claimed by China. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says reinforced troops on Ukraine border as precaution Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 04:06 AM PDT The extra Russian military forces near the border with Ukraine have been deployed there in response to instability in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman said, in a departure from the previous explanation that they were on routine exercises. Some of these forces are based there permanently, others are there to reinforce, against the backdrop of what is happening in Ukraine itself," Dmitry Peskov, spokesman to Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the Rossiya 1 television station. "Forgive me but, it (Ukraine) is a country where there has just been a military coup, so naturally any country is going to take particular precautionary measures in terms of ensuring its security." He said as a sovereign state, Russia was free to deploy troops anywhere on its territory without restrictions. He denied allegations that the Russian military was interfering in events inside Ukraine territory. Full Story | Top |
| Sunken Korea ferry relatives give DNA swabs to help identify dead Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 04:06 AM PDT  By Ju-min Park and Jungmin Jang JINDO/MOKPO, South Korea (Reuters) - Some relatives of the more than 200 children missing in a sunken South Korean ferry offered DNA swabs on Saturday to help identify the dead as the rescue turned into a mission to recover the vessel and the bodies of those on board. The Sewol, carrying 476 passengers and crew, capsized on Wednesday on a journey from the port of Incheon to the southern holiday island of Jeju. The 69-year-old captain, Lee Joon-seok, was arrested in the early hours of Saturday on charges of negligence along with two other crew members, including the third mate who was steering at the time of the capsize. Full Story | Top |
| UPDATE 4-Tennis-Nadal's claycourt streak ended by bold Ferrer Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 03:30 AM PDT  Rafael Nadal's 30-match claycourt winning streak ended on Friday when the world number one was stunned 7-6(1) 6-4 by fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals. Sixth seed Ferrer, who had beaten Nadal on clay only once 10 years ago and was brushed aside by the muscular left-hander in the French Open final last year, relied on his devastating forehand to prevail in over two hours. Nadal, who made an uncharacteristic string of unforced errors, was looking to recapture his Monte Carlo crown after Serb Novak Djokovic ended his eight-year reign in last year's final - his last defeat on the slow surface. Former world number one Roger Federer, seeded fourth, got off to a sluggish start but saw off local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6 7-6(6) 6-1 to set up a meeting with second seed Djokovic who rallied to beat unheralded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia Lopez 4-6 6-3 6-1. Full Story | Top |
| Motor racing-Hamilton on pole for Mercedes in wet China Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 03:21 AM PDT  By Abhishek Takle SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton will line up on pole position for Sunday's Chinese Formula One Grand Prix after putting in a storming lap in treacherous conditions to maintain Mercedes' qualifying stranglehold. The Briton's best time of one minute 53.860 seconds through rain and spray was a hefty 0.595 of a second quicker than Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who joined him on the front row. "It is so slippery out there, the conditions - trying to find the grip, not making mistakes on your lap and really putting it together," said Hamilton, who will be chasing his third win in a row on Sunday. Red Bull's quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel was third fastest, but more than a second slower than Hamilton and outqualified by team mate Ricciardo for the third time in four races. Full Story | Top |
| Madagascar names Razafindravonona as finance minister Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 02:43 AM PDT  Madagascar has named Jean Razafindravonona finance and budget minister, making him part of a 31-member cabinet crucial to ending a political crisis on the Indian Ocean island state. President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who took office in January, has pledged to woo foreign investors and tourists back to Madagascar, which is famed for its exotic wildlife and also boasts nickel, cobalt, coal, iron ore and uranium deposits. Analysts said Razafindravonona has a good grasp of the management of public finances, earned during a long stint as the director of the budget office in the finance ministry. "The question is whether he will be able to put in place good financial governance and stable institutions which investors can have confidence in," said Hugues Rajaonson, an economist. Full Story | Top |
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