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In Colorado, same-sex marriage remains a hot issue
Minutes after President Barack Obama announced he supported gay marriage, the Democratic governor of Colorado choked back tears in Denver as he ordered state lawmakers to reconsider a civil-unions measure that Republicans had defeated the day before.
Obama: More teeth needed for Wall Street reforms
President Barack Obama says the big trading loss at JPMorgan Chase shows the need for Congress to put more teeth into Wall Street reforms intended to prevent the practices that led to the 2008 financial meltdown.
Gay marriage spawns big spike in online videos
President Barack Obama's May 9 announcement that he favors same sex marriage led to a huge spike on YouTube, according to data assembled by the popular video sharing site.
G8 making progress on euro zone crisis, oil prices: UK
CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Maryland (Reuters) - Leaders of the Group of Eight major economies are making progress on addressing the two biggest threats to their economies - the euro zone crisis and very high oil prices, British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday. After an early morning bilateral meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Cameron said he detected a "growing sense of urgency that action needs to be taken" on the euro zone crisis. ...
Political vulnerabilities in Sen. Rubio's past
For freshman Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP figure seen as a possible Mitt Romney running mate, there are questions about whether potential vulnerabilities in his personal and political background might hold him back.
Bomb at Italian school kills teenager, wounds seven
BRINDISI, Italy (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in front of a girls' school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16-year-old girl and wounding seven others, suspicion quickly falling on the local Mafia. The explosion, near the entrance of a school named after the wife of murdered anti-Mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, occurred as girls were arriving for the start of the school day, which in Italy includes Saturdays. ...
Qatar, UAE urge citizens to stay away from Lebanon
DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar and the United Arab Emirates urged their citizens to stay away from Lebanon, citing security concerns in a country where fighting prompted by sectarian tensions in neighboring Syria has unsettled areas near a northern port. The two Gulf states' Foreign Ministries urged all those already in Lebanon - a favorite destination for wealthy Gulf tourists - to leave because of the "security situation" in the country, the official news agencies QNA and WAM reported. Heavy fighting has rocked Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli in the past week. ...
Yemen says air strikes, troops kills seven militants
ADEN, Yemen (Reuters) - Five suspected al Qaeda militants were killed in air raids in Yemen, and troops killed another two insurgents on Saturday, officials said, in a new U.S.-backed offensive aimed at reasserting control in the south of the country. An air strike destroyed a vehicle used by militants, killing its two passengers, in the southern province of Bayda, the provincial governor, Mohammed al-Ameri, told a Defence Ministry website. ...
Syria bomb kills 9, Damascus blames foreign plot
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb blew up at a Syrian intelligence post in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, killing up to nine people, activists and state media said. State television said the attack was the latest evidence that Syria is facing a foreign-sponsored Sunni Islamist conspiracy rather than a broad popular uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The official SANA news agency said the blast had killed nine and wounded about 100, including guards, at what it called military installations. It said residences had been damaged. ...
Blind Chinese activist leaves Beijing for U.S.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China allowed a blind legal activist, Chen Guangcheng, to leave a hospital in Beijing on Saturday and board a plane bound for the United States, a move that could signal the end of a diplomatic standoff between the two countries. Chen's escape from house arrest in northeastern China last month and subsequent stay in the U.S. embassy caused huge embarrassment for China and led to a diplomatic rift while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Beijing for talks to improve ties between the world's two biggest economies. The U.S. ...
Sean Penn opens wallets for Haiti at Cannes gala
CANNES (Reuters) - The Cannes film festival took time out from the movies to raise money for Haiti on Friday night, with Sean Penn at the helm pleading the humanitarian cause at a celebrity gala. "Okay, room. Haiti is watching us tonight like you cannot believe," Penn told the black-tie crowd who had paid up to $100,000 for a table at the "Carnival in Cannes", just steps from the famous red carpet. ...
Italy's PM Monti vows to fight crime after school bombing
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, in the United States for a Group of Eight summit, said the government was determined to fight crime and prevent a return to the country's "subversive tendencies" after a school bombing killed a 16-year-old girl and wounded at least seven others. Monti, in a written statement, said the government would fight "all types of crime" and that it would seek to prevent a return to Italy's violent and "subversive" past, marked by Mafia car bombings and politically motivated murders. ...
Murdoch denies planning to spin off UK newspapers
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch has denied reports that News Corp is considering spinning off its British newspapers to protect the rest of his media empire from a phone hacking scandal. The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times newspapers said executives at the company were looking into ways to split off the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times, published by its News International unit. ...
Obama: More teeth needed for Wall Street reforms
President Barack Obama says the big trading loss at JPMorgan Chase shows the need for Congress to put more teeth into Wall Street reforms intended to prevent the practices that led to the 2008 financial meltdown.
Egypt army beat, tortured protesters: rights group
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian soldiers beat and tortured protesters they had arrested at a demonstration near the Defence Ministry this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday, citing victims and lawyers. The New York-based group said soldiers arrested at least 350 protesters, including 10 children and 16 women, on May 4 amid violence over a sit-in begun a week earlier in protest at the exclusion from Egypt's presidential race of Hazem Abu Ismail. ...
Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage. China rejected the report as irresponsible, saying the United States was spreading a "China military threat" theory. ...
Murdoch denies planning to spin off UK newspapers
LONDON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch has denied reports that News Corp is considering spinning off its British newspapers to protect the rest of his media empire from a phone hacking scandal. The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times newspapers said executives at the company were looking into ways to split off the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times, published by its News International unit. ...
Obama Administration Declares Myanmar Open For Business
The Obama administration’s announcement that it is suspending sanctions on Myanmar, allowing American companies to invest in the formerly rogue nation, has received praise from the business community and skepticism from human rights groups. Under Myamnar’s current president Thein Sein, the country once considered one...
Seven charged in major roundup of Irish militant suspects
LISBURN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Seven Irish nationalists have been charged in Northern Ireland of involvement in militant activity, three under a rarely used law against "directing terrorism," in one of the highest profile roundups of its kind in the province in recent years. Five were charged on Friday and two more on Saturday of offences including conspiracy to murder and cause explosions and the preparation of terrorist acts, police said, following a joint operation with security services. ...
Chinese dissident Chen has left for U.S.: State Dept
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left China on board a flight to the United States, the U.S. State Department said on Saturday. "We can confirm that Chen Guangcheng, his wife and two children have departed China and are en route to the United States so he can pursue studies at an American university," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. "We are looking forward to his arrival in the United States later today. We also express our appreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve this matter and to support Mr. ...
UAE urges citizens to stay away from Lebanon
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates urged its citizens to stay away from Lebanon on Saturday, citing security concerns in a country where fighting prompted by sectarian tensions in neighboring Syria has unsettled areas near a northern port. A UAE Foreign Ministry official urged all those already in Lebanon - a favorite destination for wealthy Gulf tourists - to leave because of the "tense security situation" in the country, the official news agency WAM reported. Heavy fighting has rocked Lebanon's northern port of Tripoli in the past week. ...
Blind Chinese activist "has applied to study in U.S.": Xinhua
BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng has applied to study in the United States "via normal channels in line with the law", state news agency Xinhua reported. The brief report, citing sources from relevant departments, was the first official confirmation of Chen's activities. It did not mention whether Chen has left the country, though he appeared to have been checked into a flight bound for the United States. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ron Popeski)
Turkish civilian killed in attack by Kurdish rebels
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A construction worker was killed and three people were wounded when Kurdish militants attacked a military outpost in southeastern Turkey near the Iraqi border, security sources said on Saturday. Fevzi Altunc was killed late on Friday when gunmen from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) opened fire on the outpost in a remote area in Hakkari province, the sources said. The three wounded workers were being treated in hospital on Saturday, they said. They had been building the station in the wooded, mountainous area near the village of Yesilova. ...
Syrian TV: Suicide bomber carried out Deir al-Zor attack
BEIRUT (Reuters) - A suicide bomber carried out a car bombing in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday, state television said. In a bulletin flashed over its regular programming, it said the bombing was the work of a "suicide terrorist". (Writing by Joseph Logan; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Blind Chinese activist appears to have left for U.S
BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng's baggage has been checked into a flight bound for the United States, an official at Beijing airport said on Saturday, though there was no visual confirmation that Chen was on board. A woman at the United Airlines counter in the Beijing airport told Reuters that Chen Guangcheng's baggage "is already checked in" on a flight heading for Newark in New Jersey. The plane departed around 5.50 pm (0950 GMT), but there was no visual confirmation that Chen was on it. ...
Obama touts reforms after bank's $2 billion loss
President Barack Obama on Saturday pointed again to the multi-billion-dollar trading loss at JPMorgan Chase as a reason Congress should retain and continue to implement Wall Street reforms to prevent the kinds of practices that he says led to the financial meltdown in 2008.
Greece confirms June 17 election date
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece confirmed on Saturday that it would a hold a repeat general election on June 17, after party leaders failed to form a coalition government following an inconclusive election. "We are calling a general election for June 17. The new parliament will convene on June 28, Thursday," said a statement from the parliament's press office. The statement said President Karolos Papoulias had dissolved the parliament elected on May 6, two days after it was convened. The date of the new election was released last week but was not official until Papoulias issued Saturday's decree. ...
Obama's Weekly Address - Implementing Wall St Reform
In the wake of JP Morgan Chase’s staggering trading loss, President Obama is urging Republicans to “keep moving forward” and finish implementing Wall Street reform. “We can’t afford to go back to an era of weak regulation and little oversight, where excessive risk-taking on Wall...
Official denies death of second girl in Italy bombing
ROME (Reuters) - A second girl who was injured by a bomb blast in southern Italy on Saturday was in "very serious" condition after surgery, a civil protection official said, denying an earlier news report that she had died. A 16-year-old girl was confirmed killed in the explosion. Fabiano Amati, the region's civil protection representative, said that a second girl's condition was stable though grave after surgery. Six others suffered less serious injuries, Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri said in an interview with SkyTG24. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Plane carrying Chinese blind activist and family departs for the United States.
In Colorado, same-sex marriage remains a hot issue
Minutes after President Barack Obama announced he supported gay marriage, the Democratic governor of Colorado choked back tears in Denver as he ordered state lawmakers to reconsider a civil-unions measure that Republicans had defeated the day before.
Rubio's past includes political vulnerabilities
Sen. Marco Rubio has close ties to a colleague accused of questionable financial dealings. The freshman senator also once was enmeshed in a controversy over the use of the state party's credit card for his personal expenses. And he has faced increased scrutiny over his personal background since bursting onto the national political scene, including conflicting details of his parents' immigration from Cuba and his recently disclosed ties to the Mormon faith.
Blind Chinese activist Chen says is at Beijing airport
BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Saturday he had left a hospital in Beijing and was at the airport where he expected to be departing for the United States, a move that would signal the end of a diplomatic crisis between the two country. Chen, who has been in hospital for the past three weeks since he sought refuge in the U.S. embassy, said he believed he would be headed on a flight to the United States, but added he was still uncertain of it. The U.S. embassy was not immediately available for comment. ...
