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Thursday, March 21, 2013

Cypriot government proposes "Solidarity Fund" to parliament

Cypriot government proposes "Solidarity Fund" to parliament

Cypriot government proposes "Solidarity Fund" to parliament

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:38 PM PDT

NICOSIA (Reuters) - The Cypriot government proposed to parliament on Thursday the creation of a "Solidarity Fund" based on revenues from hydrocarbon exploitation, bonds and other assets to help it raise billions of euros to clinch an EU bailout. The bill, seen by Reuters, did not specify how much the state hopes to gain from the fund. Parliament was due to debate a number of bills on Thursday evening, including one that would impose capital controls on banks. (Writing by Matt Robinson; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Brother of hedge fund founder indicted in NYC

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:32 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The brother of a jailed one-time billionaire hedge fund boss has been charged with conspiring with his brother to cheat on Wall Street and earn nearly $1.2 million illegally, federal authorities announced Thursday.

Syria: 42 killed in Damascus mosque bombing

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:28 PM PDT

In this undated photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old cleric known to all Syrians as a religious scholar, speaks at a press conference. Al-Buti, a top Sunni Muslim preacher and longtime supporter of President Bashar Assad was killed in a suicide bombing in the Eman Mosque, at the Mazraa district, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 21, 2013, state TV reported . (AP Photo/SANA)BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian state TV says 42 people have been killed and 84 wounded in a suicide bomb attack inside a mosque in Damascus that also killed a top Sunni Muslim preacher and longtime supporter of President Bashar Assad.

Gun control forces push for background checks

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:25 PM PDT

Elvin Daniel, right, whose sister Zina was killed by her husband last October at a Brookfield spa, said the tragedy could have been avoided if the law required background checks for private transactions of guns during a news conference with law enforcement officials and some Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Jon Richards, left, Thursday, March 21, in Madison, Wis. Democrats have a new proposal that would make it illegal to purchase or transfer guns without running background checks. (AP Photo/Kevin Wang)WASHINGTON (AP) — Gun control advocates are pressing Democrats to broaden background checks for firearms purchases in the gun bill the Senate debates next month, saying it is the strongest step lawmakers can take to produce meaningful legislation.

Saturday mail cutback still being debated

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The new spending bill passed by Congress continues the requirement for six-day mail delivery, but some lawmakers and postal officials say plans to cut Saturday service should proceed.

Cyprus seeks banks overhaul as bailout clock ticks

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT

People wait to use the ATM of a closed branch of Laiki Bank in southern port city of Limassol, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus' troubled banks in place at least until Monday but will have to cut it off after that unless an international rescue program is drawn up. (AP Photo/Pavlos Vrionides)NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cypriot politicians moved Thursday to restructure the country's most troubled bank as part of a broader bailout plan that must be in place by Monday to avoid financial ruin. Concerned customers rushed to get cash from ATMs as bank employees protested.

Marines killed in training were young, lives ahead

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:22 PM PDT

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — Lance Cpl. Mason Vanderwork loved going to the beach and cruising in his Mustang convertible. He and his wife, Taylor, married the day after she graduated high school and hoped to start a family.

Euro zone ready to discuss new bailout proposal from Cyprus

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:19 PM PDT

ATHENS (Reuters) - The euro zone is ready to discuss a new draft proposal from Cyprus that it expects to receive soon, the bloc's finance ministers said in a statement after a conference call on Thursday to discuss the crisis in the island nation. Euro zone ministers reaffirmed the importance of fully guaranteeing bank deposits below 100,000 euros in the European Union, the Eurogroup statement said. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Deepa Babington)

No Powerball winner? Officials watch $320M jackpot

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:18 PM PDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — No Powerball winner? It just means a bigger jackpot for the rest of us.

Officials: Okla. teen had history of running away

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PDT

This photo provided by the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Department shows Kenneth Chaffin. Two heavily armed teenage friends from Oklahoma drove hundreds of miles in a stolen pickup to a small town near Dallas where they were fatally shot during an apparent home invasion, a sheriff's official said Thursday, March 21, 2013. Chaffin, 17, and Dillon King, 18, both of Bethel Acres in Pottawatomie County, Okla., died Wednesday afternoon after exchanging gunfire with the owner of the property in Maypearl, Texas, Pottawatomie County Undersheriff J.T. Palmer said. They may have died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, Palmer said. (AP Photo/Pottawatomie County Sheriif's Department)MAYPEARL, Texas (AP) — A Texas sheriff said Thursday that he does not expect any charges will be filed against a man who opened fire on two heavily armed Oklahoma teenagers during an attempted home invasion on his ranch.

Raj Rajaratnam brother charged with insider trading

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PDT

By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A younger brother of Raj Rajaratnam was charged with insider trading on Thursday, nearly two years after the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund was convicted of that crime. Prosecutors said Rengan Rajaratnam, 42, conspired with his brother to trade on non-public information concerning Clearwire Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc in 2008. Rengan Rajaratnam was a portfolio manager at Galleon, and the trades for which he was charged resulted in nearly $1.2 million of illegal profit, according to U.S. ...

S&P downgrades Cyprus credit rating to CCC from CCC-plus

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:13 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's cut the sovereign long-term foreign currency credit rating on Cyprus deeper into junk status on Thursday, lowering the rating to CCC from CCC-plus as the country struggles with a banking crisis. The European Union gave Cyprus until Monday to raise the billions of euros it needs to secure an international bailout or face a collapse of its financial system that could push it out of the euro currency bloc. (Reporting by Daniel Bases, Luciana Lopez and Pam Niimi; editing by G Crosse)

Syria: bombing kills top pro-Assad Sunni preacher

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:09 PM PDT

In this undated photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Sheikh Mohammad Said Ramadan al-Buti, an 84-year-old cleric known to all Syrians as a religious scholar, speaks at a press conference. Al-Buti, a top Sunni Muslim preacher and longtime supporter of President Bashar Assad was killed in a suicide bombing in the Eman Mosque, at the Mazraa district, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 21, 2013, state TV reported . (AP Photo/SANA)BEIRUT (AP) — A suicide bombing tore through a mosque in the Syrian capital Thursday, killing a top Sunni Muslim preacher and longtime supporter of President Bashar Assad along with at least 13 other people.

Shivs, more on display at historic Philly prison

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:08 PM PDT

In this Tuesday, March 12, 2013 photo, shown examples of shanks made by inmates at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The defunct and decayed prison that serves as one of Philadelphia's quirkiest tourist attractions, plans to displaying dozens of never-before-seen artifacts for 10 days only in a "pop-up museum." (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A mounted wooden fish. Dog figurines. Colorful soap carvings of clowns and Santa. A wallet made of interwoven cigarette packs. It sounds like a bad garage sale — until you get to the shivs. And the century-old mug shot book. And the inmate death ledger.

WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Up close, Obama the tourist

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:08 PM PDT

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, removes his Israeli Medal of Distinction, which he received at the State Dinner at President's residence in Jerusalem, Israel, Thursday, March 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)JERUSALEM (AP) — President Barack Obama has permitted TV crews with live microphones to accompany him at virtually every stop in Israel, giving a rare and fascinating glimpse at the joking and small talk that takes place on the sidelines of official visits.

Mob kills alleged thief in Egypt vigilante attack

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:06 PM PDT

This image made from video, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting shows a man, bound by his feet, surrounded by villagers as he asks to be taken to a hospital, before he was beaten and then tied to a tree until he died in the northern Sharqiya province in Egypt, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Egyptian witnesses and officials say villagers beat the man to death after catching him trying to steal a car in a new case of vigilante violence. A number of recent lynchings or attempted lynchings have raised worries over an increasing breakdown of security, adding a new challenge to Egypt's government. A security official says dozens of villagers in Ezbat el-Gindy in the northern Sharqiya province caught the man trying to steal a car at gunpoint Thursday.(AP Photo)CAIRO (AP) — Villagers in Egypt's Nile Delta killed a man suspected of trying to steal a car Thursday in the country's latest incident of vigilante violence, dragging him half-naked and bloody as they kicked and hit him with sticks and fists before tying him to a tree to bleed to death, witnesses and officials said.

Ga. lawmakers OK crackdown on so-called pill mills

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:40 PM PDT

ATLANTA (AP) — As Southern states cracked down on so-called pill mills, Georgia's lax regulation made it a magnet for clinics known for prescribing powerful painkillers to drug dealers and addicts for an illicit high.

Town poised to be 1st in Ariz. to OK civil unions

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:04 PM PDT

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) — A former mining community in rural southern Arizona that has shifted over the years into a liberal artists' haven and tourist destination is poised to become the first city in this conservative state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.

Bassett drawn to action flick because of director

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 01:04 PM PDT

FILE - This Jan. 12, 2012 file photo shows actress Angela Bassett at Sardi's restaurant in New York. Bassett co-stars in the action flick, NEW YORK (AP) — The idea of working with director Antoine Fuqua was enough for Angela Bassett to appear in the action flick, "Olympus Has Fallen." But things got better for the Oscar-nominated actress when she found out she'd share most of her scenes with Morgan Freeman.

Exclusive: Looming divorce could threaten U.S. oil baron's empire

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:58 PM PDT

Handout photo of Continental Resources Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Harold HammBy Brian Grow and Joshua Schneyer ATLANTA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Continental Resources chief executive Harold Hamm, one of America's wealthiest and most influential businessmen, is embroiled in a contentious divorce that could lead to a record financial settlement and threaten his control of America's fastest-growing oil company. Sue Ann Hamm, Harold Hamm's second wife and a former executive at Continental, filed for divorce on May 19, 2012, Oklahoma court records show. Documents in the case are sealed. ...

Cypriot Finance Minister declines to comment on deal with Russia

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:56 PM PDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris declined to comment late on Thursday on whether he managed to secure a deal with Moscow after two-days-long talks. "No comment," Sarris said when asked in his hotel lobby if a deal with Russia was secured. Sarris was meeting Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Thursday, after falling to agree on a deal on Wednesday. Sarris was in Moscow for a second day to seek investments in Cyprus' banks and energy resources to reduce its debt burden, as well as an extension to an existing Russian bailout loan. ...

Bobby Brown released from jail for DUI conviction

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:56 PM PDT

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2012 file photo, singer Bobby Brown, former husband of the late Whitney Houston performs at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. Brown is scheduled to turn himself in today, March 20,2013 to begin serving a 55-day jail sentence for DUI. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin, File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bobby Brown has been released from jail after serving less than a day of his 55-day jail sentence for a driving under the influence conviction.

U.S. intelligence agencies haven't determined Syria chemical weapons use

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating whether chemical weapons were used this week in Syria but have not made a determination yet, a U.S. intelligence official said on Thursday. "The intelligence community has not made an assessment at this point," the intelligence official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "The information has not pushed us far enough in one direction for us to make an assessment yet. ...

Russia searches hundreds of rights groups, NGOs

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT

Oleg Orlov, member of Russian human rights group Memorial, talks to the media in his office in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, March 21, 2013, as prosecutors search for documents pertaining to all of its activities. The media arrived at the offices after social media alerted them to the search, but were not able to view the search happening. Russian prosecutors are searching the offices of Memorial, one of the country's oldest and most respected rights nongovernmental organizations NGOs, which used to be funded from the U.S. Agency for International Development USAID, but funding dried up after Russia kicked USAID out of the country last year. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)MOSCOW (AP) — Russian prosecutors are conducting wide-ranging checks of hundreds of nongovernmental organizations, as part of what rights activists say are President Vladimir Putin's efforts to stifle dissent and shield the nation from perceived Western influence.

Maine man gets 20 days in Zumba paid-sex case

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT

Mark Strong Sr., his wife Julie and their son Bradley hug during a recess in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court in Portland, Maine, on Thursday, March 21, 2013. Julie Strong was overcome with emotion while addressing Justice Nancy Mills so Mills called for a recess to allow Strong to compose herself. Mark Strong was sentenced to 20 days in jail and ordered to pay $3,000 in fines. In the background at right is Sarah Churchill, attorney for Alexis Wright. (AP Photo/Portland Press Herald, Gregory Rec, Pool)PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An insurance agent who helped run a prostitution operation out of his mistress's Zumba studio and watched sex videos made with a hidden camera will serve 20 days in jail for a scandal that rocked a seaside community better known for its beaches and sea captains' homes than for crime.

3rd-seeded Michigan State beats No. 14 Valpo 65-54

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:53 PM PDT

Michigan State guard Denzel Valentine (45) grabs a rebound over Valparaiso guard Matt Kenney (23) in the first half of a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Auburn Hills, Mich., Thursday March 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Derrick Nix got a pass down low, backed up his beefy body to put an opponent on his back and scored.

Kurdish rebel leader calls for historic truce

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:50 PM PDT

Some thousands of supporters demonstrate waving various PKK flags and images of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, in southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Ocalan called Thursday for an immediate cease-fire and for thousands of his fighters to withdraw from Turkish territory, a major step toward ending the fighting for self-rule for Kurds in southeastern Turkey, one of the world's bloodiest insurgencies lasting nearly 30-years and costing tens of thousands of lives.(AP Photo)ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — In a major step toward ending one of the world's longest, bloodiest insurgencies, the Kurds' jailed rebel leader called Thursday for a "new era" of peace that includes an immediate cease-fire and the withdrawal of thousands of his fighters from Turkey.

Italy to return marine murder suspects to India

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:50 PM PDT

ROME (AP) — The Italian government said on Thursday that it will return to India two marines facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen, reversing an earlier decision that had escalated diplomatic tensions between the nations.

Oil prices slip as Cyprus uncertainty continues

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:46 PM PDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil fell 1 percent Thursday as the financial crisis in Cyprus overhung the market.

Passing reference in 'Argo' rankles New Zealand

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:46 PM PDT

An image of a U.S. State Dept. document provided by the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, crediting four embassies, Canadians, Britian, Swedish and New Zealand, with aiding in the protection and escape of six Americans from Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. There is only a brief mention of New Zealand in the Oscar-winning movie "Argo,", that seems to suggest that New Zealanders turned away the group of Americans, and that is rankling New Zealanders five months after the film was released in the South Pacific nation. Even Parliament has expressed its dismay, passing a motion stating that Ben Affleck, who also directed the movie, "saw fit to mislead the world about what actually happened." (AP Photo/Jimmy Carter Library and Museum)WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Thirteen minutes into the Oscar-winning movie "Argo," CIA agent Tony Mendez asks supervisor Jack O'Donnell what happened to a group of Americans when the U.S. Embassy was stormed in Tehran.

AP source: Chemical weapons unlikely in attack

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:45 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has strong indications that chemical weapons were not used in the attack in Syria's Aleppo province on Tuesday, a U.S. administration official said Thursday.

Egypt: Libya demands handover of ex-regime members

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:45 PM PDT

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian security official says a Libyan intelligence delegation has arrived in Egypt to negotiate the handover of wanted members of the former dictator Moammar Gadhafi's regime.

Senate Gang of 8 finalizing immigration deal

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:44 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators is nearing agreement on a comprehensive immigration bill that would put illegal immigrants on a 13-year path to citizenship

Beechcraft sues over lost US Air Force contract

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:42 PM PDT

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Beechcraft is contesting the U.S. Air Force's decision to award a contract for a light air support plane to Sierra Nevada Corp.

EU gives Cyprus bailout ultimatum, risks euro exit

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:42 PM PDT

A protester holds a placard during a rally by employees of Cyprus Popular Bank outside the parliament in NicosiaBy Michele Kambas and Matt Robinson NICOSIA (Reuters) - The European Union gave Cyprus till Monday to raise the billions of euros it needs to secure an international bailout or face a collapse of its financial system that could push it out of the euro currency zone. In a sign it was at least preparing for the worst, the Cypriot government sought powers on Thursday to impose capital controls to stem a flood of funds leaving the island if there is no deal before banks reopen following this week's shutdown. ...

Study finds nearly 2 in 3 hate crimes unreported

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:38 PM PDT

Police Foundation President Jim Bueermann, poses for a photograph in his office in Washington, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Despite growing awareness of hate crimes, the share of those crimes reported to police has fallen in recent years as more victims of violent attacks express doubt that police can or will help. Nearly 2 of 3 hate crimes go unreported to police, the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Thursday. For the years 2003-06, 46 percent of hate crimes were reported to police. But more recently, for 2007-11, just 35 percent were reported. Bueermann says there is an increased sensitivity on the part of police to the devastating nature of hate crime. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite growing awareness of hate crimes, the share of those crimes reported to police has fallen in recent years as more victims of violent attacks express doubt that police can or will help.

Koppel: NBC hasn't done Williams any favors

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:38 PM PDT

This undated image released by NBC shows newsman Ted Koppel in New York. Koppel, who has a report on juvenile justice on Friday's "Rock Center," says NBC hasn't done the newsmagazine any favors by bouncing it around the schedule. (AP Photo/NBC, Art Streiber)NEW YORK (AP) — Veteran newsman Ted Koppel, who reports on Friday's "Rock Center" about young offenders in adult prisons, said NBC hasn't done Brian Williams and his young newsmagazine any favors with its scheduling shuffles.

Defense Department says it will delay furloughs

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:36 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department will delay furlough notices for its civilian employees for about two weeks while officials analyze the impact of a new spending bill on planned budget cuts, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Obama touches hearts, changes few minds in Middle East

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:35 PM PDT

By Maayan Lubell and Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM (Reuters) - President Barack Obama was given a rapturous reception by Israeli students on Thursday as he made a rousing call for peace with the Palestinians, but his lofty oratory got lower marks beyond the conference hall. Urging the younger generation to push politicians for change, Obama said a concerted effort must be made to secure an independent Palestinian state alongside a secure Israel. ...

Judge frees man convicted of killing NY rabbi

Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:34 PM PDT

In this Nov. 1, 1989, photo provided by vosizneias.com, courtesy of Isaac Abraham, Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger, center right, attends a wedding in the Williamsburg section of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Werzberger was killed in 1990 during a botched diamond robbery attempt and a man was convicted and sent to prison. On Thursday, March 21, 2013, the murder conviction of David Ranta, 58, was vacated by a Brooklyn judge based on a review that determined Ranta probably did not kill Werzberger and concluded detectives had mishandled aspects of the investigation. At center left is Rabbi Yisrael Chaim Menashe Friedman. (AP Photo/ vosizneias.com, courtesy of Isaac Abraham) MANDATORY CREDITNEW YORK (AP) — A man who spent more than two decades behind bars was freed by a judge on Thursday after a reinvestigation of his case cast serious doubt on evidence used to convict him in the cold-blooded shooting of a Brooklyn rabbi.
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