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| Al Qaeda kills 14 Algerian soldiers in ambush Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 12:52 PM PDT By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Islamist militants killed at least 14 Algerian soldiers in an ambush in mountains east of the capital Algiers at the weekend in one of the deadliest attacks on the military in years. The troops were in the Tizi Ouzou region, 120 km (75 miles) east of Algiers, when they were attacked by al Qaeda's north African branch, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), state news agency APS and a security source said on Sunday. The attack on Saturday night came just days after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 77, was re-elected for a fourth term following a campaign that portrayed the ageing leader as the key to continued security for the North African OPEC state. Since the end of its 1990s war with armed Islamists, attacks have been rarer in Algeria. Full Story | Top |
| Barclays planning exit of some commodities markets: FT Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 12:08 PM PDT  (Reuters) - Barclays is planning to withdraw from parts of the metals, agricultural and energy markets, echoing moves by other major players like JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley away from the commodities business, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The UK bank is expected to announce the changes on Tuesday, which include heavy cuts to its global commodities trading staff, the newspaper reported. The FT said Barclays is making the move because conditions in the commodities markets have grown unfavorable recently. Barclays declined to comment. Full Story | Top |
| Technical problems delay reopening of Libya's Zueitina oil port: minister Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 11:31 AM PDT By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Technical problems have delayed the reopening of Libya's eastern Zueitina oil export terminal after the government reached a deal with rebels to end an eight-month blockade of the port, a minister said on Sunday. Under the plan, the Hariga and Zueitina ports were due to open immediately while the larger Ras Lanuf and Es Sider terminals would resume oil exports within a month. But justice minister Salah al-Merghani said Hariga port located in Tobruk in the far east would be the only one to start operations due to technical problems at Zueitina. He declined to give a date for the resumption of oil exports from the 70,000 barrels-per-day port or for the Ras Lanuf and Es Sider ports. Full Story | Top |
| Brazil´s president also responsible for refinery deal: ex CEO Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 11:21 AM PDT  Brazil´s President Dilma Rousseff must assume her share of responsibility for the controversial purchase of a refinery in Texas by Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the former chief executive of the state-run oil company said in an interview published on Sunday. Rousseff chaired the board of Petrobras in 2006 when it approved the purchase of Pasadena Refining System Inc, near Houston. Its high cost and losses later incurred at the refinery have put Petrobras at the center of a growing political scandal that began with bribery accusations and was fanned by the arrest of a former director in connection with a money-laundering case. The fall-out could complicate a re-election bid in October by Rousseff, who has said she was not informed of two clauses in the refinery contract that made it an onerous deal for Petrobras. Full Story | Top |
| 'Easter Dragon' makes delivery to International Space Station Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 10:40 AM PDT  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A cargo ship owned by Space Exploration Technologies arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, with a delivery of supplies and science experiments for the crew and a pair of legs for the experimental humanoid robot aboard that one day may be used in a spacewalk. Station commander Koichi Wakata used the outpost's 58-foot (18-meter) robotic crane to snare the Dragon capsule from orbit at 7:14 a.m. (1114 GMT), ending its 36-hour journey. "The Easter Dragon is knocking at the door," astronaut Randy Bresnik radioed to the crew from Mission Control in Houston. Space Exploration, known as SpaceX, had planned to launch its Dragon cargo ship in March, but was delayed by technical problems, including a two-week hold to replace a damaged U.S. Air Force radar tracking system. Full Story | Top |
| Deadly gun attack in eastern Ukraine shakes fragile Geneva accord Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 09:49 AM PDT  By Aleksandar Vasovic SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict. The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine's western-backed government with each questioning the other's compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in Geneva, to end a crisis that has made Russia's ties with the West more fraught than at any time since the Cold War. The separatists said armed men from Ukraine's Right Sector nationalist group had attacked them. Failure of the Geneva agreement could bring more bloodshed in eastern Ukraine, but may also prompt the United States to impose tougher sanctions on the Kremlin - with far-reaching consequences for many economies and importers of Russian energy. Full Story | Top |
| Pfizer considers $100 billion bid for AstraZeneca: report Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 07:04 AM PDT  U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has approached British rival AstraZeneca to propose a 60 billion pound ($101 billion) takeover, Britain's Sunday Times reported. The paper cited senior investment bankers and industry sources saying that informal conversations about a deal had taken place between the two but that no talks were currently under way after AstraZeneca resisted the approach. Pfizer and AstraZeneca both declined to comment on the report to Reuters. AstraZeneca, Britain's second-biggest pharmaceuticals group, has been frequently touted as a potential takeover target as it wrestles with patents expiring on a number of best-selling drugs, leaving future growth uncertain. Full Story | Top |
| Pipeline delay gives boost to Obama's political base Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 07:03 AM PDT  By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The latest delay to a final decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline will reinforce a White House strategy to energize President Barack Obama's liberal-leaning base before fall elections in which Democrats risk losing control of the U.S. Senate. Environmentalists, worried about the project's effect on climate change, have put enormous pressure on the president to reject the pipeline from Canada's oil sands, staging demonstrations outside the White House and protests in states where he travels. A decision to approve it now could have prompted that vocal group, which was instrumental in electing Obama in 2008 and 2012, to sit out the November 4 congressional elections. The State Department's announcement on Friday that it would give government agencies more time to study the project was seen by strategists from both parties as a move to prevent that and boost Obama in the eyes of his supporters. Full Story | Top |
| Militants kill 11 Algerian soldiers in ambush Sunday, Apr 20, 2014 06:09 AM PDT By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) - Islamic militants killed at least 11 Algerian soldiers in an ambush on a patrol in mountains east of the capital Algiers, a security source said on Sunday, in one of the deadliest attacks on the military in years. The troops were searching for militants in the Tizi Ouzou region, 120 km (75 miles) east of Algiers, when they were attacked by fighters from al Qaeda's north African branch, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the source told Reuters. Another 11 soldiers were wounded, the source said. The attack came just days after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 77, was re-elected for a fourth term following a campaign that portrayed the aging leader as key to continued security for the North African OPEC state. Full Story | Top |
| Daimler to sell DENZA electric car in China with local subsidy Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 11:33 PM PDT  Daimler said its DENZA electric car will be eligible for local subsidies in China when it goes on sale there in September priced at 369,000 renminbi ($60,000). DENZA, a local Chinese brand jointly developed with Chinese partner BYD , forms part of the German auto maker's push to expand its footprint in the world's largest car market, and to boost economies of scale for electric cars. Speaking at Auto China, the car show held in Beijing on Sunday, Thomas Weber, Daimler's head of research and development, said: "DENZA is the first complete vehicle that Daimler has developed together with BYD outside of Germany." The 5-seater car will be produced by Shenzen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd, and will have an operating range of 300 km (190 miles), Daimler said. Full Story | Top |
| Slow-moving landslide in Wyoming resort town destroys home Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 09:04 PM PDT  A slow-moving landslide claimed a house in Jackson, Wyoming as crews scrambled to prevent a water main from rupturing and flooding the affluent resort town with two million gallons of water, a city manager said Saturday. The landslide, which has prompted the evacuations of homes, apartment buildings and businesses, has picked up speed, doubling its acceleration since early April and speeding significantly in recent days, the town of Jackson said at the weekend. A house at the highest point of a residential development on the hill's east face was torn in two late Friday as the ground beneath it dropped an estimated 20 feet, said Roxanne Robinson, the town's assistant manager. Full Story | Top |
| Germany's Steinmeier urges focus on de-escalation with Russia, not sanctions Saturday, Apr 19, 2014 03:27 PM PDT German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he wished as much emphasis would be placed on preventing an escalation of tensions with Russia over Ukraine as there is at the moment in threatening economic sanctions. In an interview to appear in Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday, Steinmeier appeared to be referring to threats from the United States as well as from within Germany about the need for economic sanctions against Russia. "I sometimes wish that the same engagement being used for the debate about sanctions would also exist when it comes to avoiding a further escalation," Steinmeier told the Sunday newspaper, according to excerpts released before publication. "We've already exhaustively discussed the sanctions issue," he added, in comments the newspaper said were addressed at German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, who has called for economic sanctions against Russia. Full Story | Top |
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