All posts published in April 2015
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military accused pro-Russian rebels on Monday of using heavy weapons that were meant to have been withdrawn under a ceasefire deal, after one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and six wounded in rebel-held territories. With fighting in... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will establish a national population database linked to ID information and credit records, state media reported late on Monday, as part of a larger push to beef up surveillance and security in response to violent unrest. China has alr... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – German novelist Guenter Grass, the Nobel Prize-winning author of “The Tin Drum”, an epic treatment of the Nazi era, died on Monday at the age of 87, his publishers said. A broad-shouldered man with a drooping mustache, Grass spurned the Germ... More »
TOKYO/SYDNEY (Reuters) – The euro brushed a fresh two-year low against a broadly firmer yen on Tuesday, as the Japanese currency doggedly held on to gains made in the previous session. Analysts and market participants said the trigger for investors to unwind t... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said it had a range of measures to fight counterfeits on its websites – remarks that come after a trade group requested U.S. government help in prodding the Chinese e-commerce giant into action against fake goods. ... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea lifted a travel ban on a Japanese journalist on trial for a charge of defaming South Korean President Park Geun-hye, a prosecution official said on Tuesday, removing what has been an irritant in bilateral relations. South Korean p... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil investors who amassed a $6 billion long position in exchange traded funds, occupying as much as a third of the U.S. futures market, are now racing for the exit at a near record pace. Outflows from four of the largest oil-specific excha... More »
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Two Islamic parties have proposed legislation that would ban all consumption of alcoholic drinks and bring jail terms of up to two years for offenders in Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population. It was not immediately clear... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Several high-ranking bankers have left their jobs at major investment banks in the last 13 months amid a surge in U.S. healthcare deal activity to seek better compensation at boutique investment banks as well as to participate in the growt... More »
NORTH CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) – Labor union officials say they could postpone a vote seeking to organize 3,000 workers at Boeing Co’s factory here in South Carolina if their campaign fails to gain enough traction against fierce opposition from the... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU.O), the fifth biggest U.S. airline by passengers carried, consistently cancels flights sooner than rivals when storms pummel the U.S. Northeast, a tactic that may help its customers reach destinations more reliab... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. senators scrambled to shore up bipartisan support for a controversial Iran nuclear bill before a committee meeting on Tuesday that could determine whether the legislation will survive President Barack Obama’s promised veto. The Sena... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – By one estimate U.S. online political advertising could quadruple to nearly $1 billion in the 2016 election, creating huge opportunities for digital strategy firms eager to capitalize on a shift from traditional mediums like television. Th... More »
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro said on Monday night there was no recovery in oil prices forecast this year, stressing the OPEC country’s dwindling dollar income should be “correctly” administered. “This year there’s no recovery in oil p... More »
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), the world’s biggest automaker, will spend $1 billion to build a car factory in Mexico and plans to announce the investment on Wednesday, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The 200,000-cars-... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retired physician Ben Carson, considered a potential Republican presidential contender, plans a major announcement on May 4 in Detroit, CNN reported on Monday, citing his spokeswoman. “He will make an announcement. But he’s still very mu... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told skeptical Republicans and Democrats on Monday that the U.S. Congress should give him another two and a half months to secure a final nuclear deal with Iran. In a closed briefing with the full House... More »
MIAMI (Reuters) – Republican Marco Rubio presented himself as the leader of a new political generation and the most viable alternative to Democrat Hillary Clinton as he entered the 2016 White House race on Monday and drew a contrast with his mentor and expecte... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday he will tell G20 finance leaders that Japan’s economy is turning for the better as the group is likely to discuss the uneven nature of global growth at this week’s gathering on the sidelines of IMF me... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Tuesday he will not comment on foreign exchange levels, after a prominent adviser to the prime minister said it is appropriate for the yen to trade around 105 per dollar. Amari, speaking to repo... More »
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The yen hovered just below a two-year peak against the euro early on Tuesday and was broadly firmer versus other major currencies as investors shed bearish positions overnight. Analysts said the move was triggered by comments from Koichi Ham... More »
MIAMI (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida urged voters on Monday to make a “generational choice” for new leadership that is not mired in the policies of the past, as the Republican announced he will enter the 2016 race for the White House. Rubio, 4... More »
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK/DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Hillary Clinton, under pressure from the left wing of her Democratic Party to aggressively campaign against income inequality, voiced concern about the hefty paychecks of some corporate executives in an email to... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Business associations from the United States, Japan and Europe told Chinese officials on Monday they still have “strong concerns” about bank information technology rules and urged Beijing to formally suspend them. The joint letter, from ... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A key witness in the hit-and-run murder case against Marion “Suge” Knight told a Los Angeles judge on Monday he was reluctant to “snitch” against the one-time rap music mogul, declining even to positively identify him in open court. Cle... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Golf wunderkind Jordan Spieth’s resounding win at the Masters golf tournament on Sunday not only will boost his personal sponsorship deals but could give the sport a much-needed jolt. Spieth had already amassed an impressive list of endors... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – In a night of vagina jokes, naughty humor and a crotch-grab at the irreverent MTV Movie Awards, teen cancer romance “The Fault In Our Stars” walked away the big winner while “Iron Man” Robert Downey Jr. delivered wise words for the yout... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Finland’s Nokia Oyj is close to a deal to buy Alcatel-Lucent’s mobile networks unit to boost its core business especially in the United States and China, Les Echos newspaper reported on Monday. The French business daily said an announcement c... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama will next month visit South Dakota, the only state he has not visited since taking office in 2009, to deliver the commencement speech at a technical institute, KSFY television reported on Monday. Obama told th... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – International Business Machines Corp, deepening its partnership with Apple Inc to make use of health information gathered by millions of Apple devices, is creating a unit dedicated to providing data analytics to the healthcare sector. Its n... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – The launch of an unmanned SpaceX rocket – and an innovative attempt to land it on an ocean barge – were postponed on Monday due to poor weather at the Florida launch site, officials said. The rocket, carrying a Dragon cargo shi... More »
FALL RIVER, Mass. (Reuters) – The jury in the murder trial of former National Football League player Aaron Hernandez ended its fifth day of deliberations on Monday without reaching a verdict on whether he is guilty of killing an acquaintance in 2013. Hernandez... More »
BASEL (Reuters) – Roche aims to have an immunotherapy cancer drug in 11 late-stage trials by the end of the year, the Swiss drugmaker’s head of medical affairs for oncology, Nico Andre, said at a conference on Monday. The Basel-based company’s MPDL3280A, which... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – In a quick visit to Jerusalem, American reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West had their toddler daughter, North West, baptized on Monday at a 12th century Armenian church in the old walled city. Dozens of fans mobbed an SUV... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Young gun Jordan Spieth, evoking memories of Tiger Woods at Augusta National 18 years ago, added his name to golf’s record books with a stunning wire-to-wire victory by four shots at the Masters on Sunday. Ice-cool whenever he face... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Jordan Spieth’s sublime putting on some of the most treacherous greens in golf, which set up his Masters victory on Sunday, was underpinned by his imaginative touch, says putting maestro Ben Crenshaw. While Crenshaw is acknowledged... More »
VANCOUVER (Reuters) – A 52-year-old Vancouver area photographer was arrested for last week’s hit-and-run of actor Ryan Reynolds, who was not seriously injured in the incident, local police said on Monday. Reynolds, who is in the Canadian city to shoot the Marv... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – The lords of the Masters are dedicated to putting on an ideal golf tournament, and most of the competitors and thousands of patrons judge it to be just about perfect. An on-course bank of tablets by the 15th hole is used for feedba... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – High-wire walker Nik Wallenda said on Monday he will attempt to walk atop a spinning observation wheel in Orlando, Florida, a stunt made particularly difficult because the wheel will be moving, he said. Wallenda plans to tackle the 400-foo... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – When hundreds of U.S. college faculty members rated junior scientists based on scholarly record, job interview performance and other information with an eye toward which should be hired, they preferred women over identically qualified men ... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Jordan Spieth’s remarkable victory at the 79th Masters not only confirmed the greatness for which he has long been earmarked but offered a glimpse into the likely pattern at majors for the next decade. Spieth, aged 21, claimed his ... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Activist investor Jeffrey Smith, head of Starboard Value LP, said Staples Inc’s (SPLS.O) deal to buy Office Depot Inc (ODP.O) would likely be approved by regulators. “We believe that it’s likely that it goes through,” Smith told cable tele... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – A German musical celebrating 20 of the top hits from pop star Udo Juergens has become the show to see in Berlin after the German-speaking world’s answer to Frank Sinatra died at the age of 80 late last year. The musical “Ich war noch niemals... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Activist hedge fund manager Barry Rosenstein said on Monday he wants the share price of chip maker Qualcomm (QCOM.O) to climb and his hedge fund, Jana Partners, plans to work collaboratively with management to find ways to boost it. “We th... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Nico Rosberg may not have lost the plot, as some suggested in the wake of his outburst against Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton at Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix, but he is feeling the heat. The German’s accusation that the world champion had ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Paris took a decisive step toward a 2024 Summer Olympic bid on Monday when the City Hall backed the French aspirations to bring the Games back to the capital after a 100-year hiatus. The city council voted in favor of a bid and it is now up t... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s finance ministry dismissed on Sunday a report by a German newspaper which said that euro zone officials were shocked at Greece’s failure to outline plans for structural reforms at last week’s talks in Brussels. The mood between Gree... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Even if it survives the next three months teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Greece may have blown its best chance of a long-term debt deal by alienating its euro zone partners when it most needed their support. Prime Minister Alexis Ts... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Euro zone officials were shocked at Greece’s failure to outline plans for structural reforms at last week’s talks in Brussels, a German newspaper on Saturday cited participants as saying, adding the Greek representative behaved like a “taxi ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA), with cash to spend after selling a chunk of its business, has no plans to bid for smaller rival Lagardere (LAGA.PA). Earlier this week, a source familiar with the matter had told Reuters Vivendi had made a... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – “This is the short and the long of it,” as William Shakespeare wrote in “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” A play called “Double Falsehood” published in 1728 by a man who claimed it was based on a lost Shakespeare play but has long been dismi... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Always the bride, never the bridesmaid. A New York City woman accused of being married to eight men at the same time pleaded not guilty in state court in the Bronx on Friday to two counts of felony fraud that prosecutors say stemmed from a... More »
BRUSSELS/ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece made a crucial payment to the International Monetary Fund and won extra emergency lending for its banks on Thursday but it remained unclear whether Athens can satisfy skeptical creditors on economic reforms before it runs out... More »
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Home improvement chain Lowe’s Cos Inc will stop selling a type of pesticide suspected of causing a decline in honeybee populations needed to pollinate key American crops, following a few U.S. retailers who have taken similar steps last year... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It is one of science’s enduring mysteries: what caused the worst mass extinction in Earth’s history. And, no, it is not the one that wiped out the dinosaurs. Scientists said on Thursday that huge amounts of carbon dioxide spewed from col... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The most extensive genetic analysis of mountain gorillas ever conducted has found the critically endangered apes burdened with severe inbreeding and at risk of extinction but the researchers still see reasons for optimism about their sur... More »
GAZA (Reuters) – Palestinian police confiscated from a Gaza graffiti artist on Thursday a bombed-out doorway bearing a Banksy painting after the original owner complained of being swindled into selling it cheap. The artist Belal Khaled had paid 700 shekels ($1... More »
OSAN, South Korea (Reuters) – North Korea has fired two surface-to-air missiles off its west coast, South Korea said on Thursday, with the latest in a string of short-range firings by the North coming shortly before the U.S. defense secretary arrived in the re... More »
ADEN (Reuters) – Houthi fighters, backed by supporters of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh entered the provincial capital of the mainly Sunni Shabwa province in eastern Yemen on Thursday, residents said, despite intense Saudi-led air strikes against ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Lufthansa and the German aviation authority have agreed that correct procedures were followed when Andreas Lubitz was awarded his pilot’s license, the authority said on Thursday. Investigators believe that Lubitz deliberately crashed the Ger... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s main state broadcaster, CCTV, will investigate one of its anchors after a video of him insulting the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, went viral on social media sites. Mao, who died in 1976, remains a divisive figure. His image ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rallied more than 2 percent on Thursday, clawing back part of a 6 percent slump triggered by a jump in U.S. crude inventories and record Saudi output, although analysts said sentiment remained bearish. A 10.95-million-barrel surge... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will “coordinate itself” to accommodate Iran’s return to oil markets without causing a price crash, Bijan Zanganeh, Iran’s oil minister, told Reuters on Thursday, during a visit to Be... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve could still hike interest rates in June despite weak recent U.S. data and investor skepticism, two influential officials with the central bank said on Wednesday, putting the spotlight squarely on the economy’s performan... More »
BOSTON (Reuters) – Some of the biggest dollar bulls in the global bond fund sector have reversed course in recent weeks, cutting exposure to the greenback amid concern the U.S. Federal Reserve will delay a widely-anticipated interest rate hike. The shift comes... More »
SHINGAVE NAIK, India (Reuters) – Gold demand in the world’s biggest consumer India risks falling for a second straight year in 2015, as millions of Indian farmers hit by erratic weather and falling commodity prices trim gold purchases. Nearly two-thirds of Ind... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – French broadcaster TV5Monde was working on Thursday to regain control over its 11 channels and websites after an “extremely powerful” cyber attack claimed by the supporters of the Islamic State, its director said. The attack began around 10 p... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s goods trade deficit widened more than expected to a seven-month high in February as the value of exports fell to its lowest level in more than four years, according to official data on Thursday. The figures also showed January’s in... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Paris is set to go ahead with a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, the French capital’s deputy mayor in charge of sports told Reuters. The Paris City Council will vote on Monday to decide whether to make a bid for the 2024 Games — 100... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) and its finance affiliate accelerated a drive to be a full-fledged Chinese online financial network, with the launch on Thursday of an e-commerce tracking stock index and plans for a June start of... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – World stocks marched higher again on Thursday, drawing support from European auto sales and German trade data, while expectations that the first U.S. interest rate increase will come in the latter part of the year continue to grow. Investors... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy probably cooled further to grow 7 percent in the first three months of the year, a Reuters poll showed, which would be the weakest pace in six years and raise pressure on policymakers to do more to bolster growth. A poll of ... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Euro zone deputy finance ministers gave Athens a six working day deadline to come up with revised reform proposals to enable a deal to be reached at a Eurogroup meeting on April 24 to unlock bailout aid, Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Lafarge (LAFP.PA) and Holcim (HOLN.VX) have appointed long-time Lafarge executive Eric Olsen as the chief executive of their combined company once their merger is completed, the two groups said in a statement on Thursday. The post was a key s... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece confirmed it will pay a 450 million euro ($485 million) loan installment to the International Monetary Fund on Thursday, a government official told Reuters. “The payment has been scheduled and will go out later today,” the official sa... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) expects record shipments for its new Galaxy S6 smartphones and said it will struggle to meet demand for the curved-edged version due to production constraints, adding to hopes for a turnaround in mobile ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyoites will get a chance to zip around town on Toyota Motor Corp’s three-wheeled electric car-motorbike from Friday, in a trial aimed at crafting a global business model to reduce gridlock and pollution. The world’s top-selling automaker w... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A majority of Americans believe businesses should not be allowed to refuse services based on their religious beliefs in the wake of controversies in Indiana and Arkansas over gay rights and religious freedom, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found o... More »
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) – President Barack Obama arrived in Jamaica on Wednesday to attend a Caribbean summit seeking to reassert U.S. leadership in the region at time when oil-producing Venezuela’s economic clout may be receding. As the first U.S. preside... More »
KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) – Double Olympic sprint silver medalist Yohan Blake is targeting a podium finish at this year’s world championships in Beijing after recovering from hamstring surgery, though his management team still have no definite date for his r... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight on Wednesday fired his attorney in a robbery case at a hearing in Los Angeles, and also complained to a judge about being taken to court in a wheelchair. The Death Row Records founder, 49, is accused of st... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Tiger Woods, his girlfriend and a boy band star turned some heads at the Masters Par-3 contest on Wednesday, but Jack Nicklaus stole the show with a hole-in-one. Nicklaus has never had a hole-in-one in 163 rounds on the Augusta Nat... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – This week’s Masters is one of the most intriguing ever with the prospect of a career grand slam for Rory McIlroy and uncertainty over the state of Tiger Woods’ game heading a plethora of compelling storylines. Northern Irish world ... More »
AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) – Bitterly disappointed to miss out on last year’s Masters because of a declining world ranking, Padraig Harrington feels revived in ending his absence from Augusta National. The Irishman has been warmly welcomed by his peers and, fo... More »
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court appeared skeptical on Wednesday toward Google Inc’s bid to charge Microsoft Corp a high royalty rate to use some of the Internet search provider’s Motorola Mobility patents. Microsoft sued Motorola in 2010, allegi... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Shares of digital video and surveillance technology firm Digital Ally rose on Wednesday in heavier-than-average trading, after a white police officer was caught on video fatally shooting a 50-year-old black man in South Carolina. While the... More »
