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| 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 |
| France's oldest nuclear plant shut down after incident but no danger posed - EDF Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 10:43 AM PDT France's oldest nuclear power plant, Fessenheim, was shut down on Saturday following an incident at the facility away from the reactor which did not pose any danger, operator EDF said. The accidental closing of a valve controlling the steam supply to the turbine generator automatically shut down Fessenheim's reactor 2. Technicians were working on the issue and a restart date had yet to be determined, an EDF spokeswoman told Reuters. Fessenheim's reactor 1, the oldest in France, has been inactive since April 9 when a leak was detected in a water supply pipe. 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 |
| Algeria's ailing Bouteflika wins re-election Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 02:42 AM PDT  By Patrick Markey and Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the independence veteran in power for 15 years, won re-election on Friday with more than 80 percent of a vote opponents dismissed as fraud to keep an ailing leader in power. Bouteflika had cast his vote sitting in a wheelchair on Thursday in what was a rare public appearance since suffering a stroke last year that raised questions about stability in the North African OPEC oil-exporting state. The Algerian leader, 77, was already widely expected to win with the backing of the powerful ruling Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) party, which has dominated the political system since independence from France in 1962. Preliminary official results showed Bouteflika had won with 81.53 percent of the vote, Interior Minister Tayeb Belaiz told a news conference. Full Story | Top |
| France denies veto threat looms over Western Sahara negotiations Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 01:54 AM PDT  By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - France's U.N. envoy on Friday vehemently denied threatening to use its Security Council veto power to block any proposals to have U.N. peacekeepers in Western Sahara monitor the human rights situation in the disputed North African territory. The denial from French Ambassador Gerard Araud came after the United States circulated a draft resolution that would renew the U.N. mission in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, but without asking for sustained U.N. human rights monitoring as demanded by rights advocates. Full Story | Top |
| Putin welcomes new NATO head, says better ties with West possible Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 01:05 AM PDT Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed NATO's selection of former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as its new head, saying on Saturday the pair had "very good relations" but that it was up to the West to improve ties. Relations between Russia and the NATO military alliance are at their worst since the Cold War following Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, a move Putin said on Thursday was partly influenced by NATO's expansion into eastern Europe. In a sign of his strained ties with current NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Putin repeated an accusation that the former Danish prime minister had secretly taped and leaked a private conversation between them, a charge Rasmussen has denied. Putin said there was no reason why relations between Russia and the West can not improve, but that it was up to the West to make that happen. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. further delays final decision on Keystone XL pipeline Friday, Apr 18, 2014 04:01 PM PDT  By Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration further delayed its decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project on Friday, with no conclusion now likely until after the U.S. mid-term elections in November. President Barack Obama has said he will have the final say on whether to allow the pipeline connecting Canada's oil sands region to Texas refiners, and several government agencies had been given until May to weigh in. But the State Department said on Friday it was extending that agency comment period, citing a need to wait until the Nebraska Supreme Court settles a dispute over what path the $5.4 billion TransCanada Corp project should take. "That pipeline route is central to the environmental analysis for the project and if there are changes to the route it could have implications," a senior State Department official told reporters. Full Story | Top |
| SpaceX rocket lifts off for space station cargo run Friday, Apr 18, 2014 03:45 PM PDT By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday to deliver a cargo capsule to the International Space Station for NASA. The 208-foot-tall (63-meter-tall) rocket, built and operated by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, bolted off its seaside launch pad at 3:25 p.m. EDT, darting through overcast skies as it headed toward orbit. The Dragon cargo ship, which is loaded with about 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of equipment, science experiments and supplies, is due to reach the station on Sunday. "The rocket flight was perfect as far as we could tell," SpaceX chief executive and founder Elon Musk told reporters at a news conference after launch. Full Story | Top |
| TransCanada CEO 'disappointed' with Keystone XL pipeline delay Friday, Apr 18, 2014 01:55 PM PDT (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp Chief Executive Russ Girling said on Friday he was "extremely disappointed and frustrated" with yet another delay in making a decision on a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The statement followed the decision by the U.S. State Department to extend the government comment period on the Keystone XL pipeline, a move that likely postpones a final decision on the controversial project until after the November 4 mid-term elections. By linking Canadian fields to refiners on the Gulf Coast, the 1,200-mile (1,900-km) Keystone XL pipeline would be a boon to an energy patch where oil sands are abundant but that produce more carbon pollution than many other forms of crude. Keystone opponents say that burning fossil fuels to wrench oil sands crude from the ground will worsen climate change, and that the $5.4 billion pipeline, which could carry up to 830,000 barrels per day, would only spur more production. Full Story | Top |
| Supreme Court denies Teva stay in Copaxone patent fight Friday, Apr 18, 2014 01:49 PM PDT  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday denied a request by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to stay a lower-court ruling in a patent case that favored the developers of generic versions of Teva's top-selling multiple sclerosis drug. The decision could help pave the way for generic competitors of Teva's Copaxone drug to go on the market as soon as next month. Teva had sought to prevent the lower-court ruling from going into effect while the Supreme Court considers its appeal in the patent fight. At issue is a July 2013 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in favor of two teams developing cheaper generic forms of Copaxone: one comprising Novartis AG's Sandoz Inc and Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc, and the other comprising Mylan Inc and Natco Pharma Ltd. In his decision on Friday, Roberts, in a brief opinion, wrote that he was not convinced Teva had shown the "likelihood of irreparable harm" if the application was denied, because if Teva wins the Supreme Court case it can seek damages from the generic companies for past infringement on its patents. Full Story | Top |
| Landslide gains speed, threatens Wyoming resort homes Friday, Apr 18, 2014 01:37 PM PDT  A slow-moving landslide threatening the affluent Wyoming community of Jackson is picking up speed, and efforts to stabilize the area were called off because of safety concerns, city officials said on Friday. The mass movement has displaced residents of several homes and two apartment buildings that sit near the base of the East Gros Ventre Butte which geologists said was slumping at a rate that this week increased to a foot a day from four inches. "The fractured mass wants to slide down and gravity is pulling it down," Peter Ward, a retired geologic hazards expert with the U.S. Geological Survey, said on Friday at a town meeting. Full Story | Top |
| East Ukraine separatists stay put despite diplomatic deal Friday, Apr 18, 2014 01:35 PM PDT  By Pavel Polityuk and Thomas Grove KIEV/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Armed pro-Russian separatists were still holding public buildings in eastern Ukraine on Friday, saying they needed more assurances about their security before they comply with an international deal ordering them to disarm. The agreement, brokered by the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union in Geneva on Thursday offered the best hope to date of defusing a stand-off in Ukraine that has dragged East-West relations to their lowest level since the Cold War. Enacting the agreement on the ground though will be difficult, because of the deep mistrust between the pro-Russian groups and the Western-backed government in Kiev, which this week flared into violent clashes that killed several people. Full Story | Top |
| Lawmakers, green groups weigh in on Keystone XL delay Friday, Apr 18, 2014 01:14 PM PDT (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Friday it would extend the period of time for federal agencies to weigh in on the Keystone XL oil pipeline, giving no new deadline. The move, which likely delays a final decision beyond November mid-term elections, angered Republican and some Democrat lawmakers who have urged President Barack Obama to make the final decision on TransCanada's project after more than five years of government reviews. Here is a selection of key comments from various groups: LAWMAKERS: Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate: "It is crystal clear that the Obama administration is simply not serious about American energy and American jobs. At a time of high unemployment in the Obama economy, it's a shame that the administration has delayed the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline for years. Full Story | Top |
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