Reuters: Top News

Obama sees G8 climate progress, U.N. says not enough

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:02:19 -0400

L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the world had made "important strides" toward arresting climate change by agreeing to limit warming, but U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said it was simply not enough.

Jobless claims drop, data skewed by auto jobs

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:13:58 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since January, but the seasonally adjusted data was distorted by an unusual pattern of layoffs in the automotive industry.

Iranian police fire in air to disperse protesters

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:02:37 -0400

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Riot police fired in the air to disperse pro-reform demonstrators in central Tehran on Thursday, nearly four weeks after a disputed election triggered mass protests across Iran, a witness said.

More Web attacks, North Korea suspected

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:03:08 -0400

SEOUL (Reuters) - A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed U.S. and South Korean websites this week hit more targets on Thursday, a Web security firm said, while the South's spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea.

U.S. seeks "full partnership" with Russia on missiles

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:27:51 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is seeking "full partnership" with Moscow to bridge ballistic missile-defense differences that have strained U.S.-Russian ties for years, the head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said Thursday.

Madoff will not appeal 150-year sentence: lawyer

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:43:49 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Arch swindler Bernard Madoff will not appeal the 150-year prison sentence he received for masterminding a global multibillion-dollar investment fraud, his main lawyer said on Thursday.

China's Hu says maintaining stability paramount

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:58:56 -0400

URUMQI, China (Reuters) - Chinese President Hu Jintao, forced to abandon a G8 summit in Italy by ethnic violence in restive Xinjiang, said that maintaining social stability in the energy-rich region was the "most urgent task," state television reported on Thursday.

Parts of Britain "near an H1N1 epidemic"; 14 dead

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:30:08 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - Fourteen Britons who had contracted H1N1 flu have died and the rapid spread of infection in two areas of the country is close to epidemic level, health officials said on Thursday.

For many Americans, health cover is key to a job

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:07:36 -0400

SOUTHLAKE, Texas (Reuters) - Real estate agent Lisa DeWaal serves coffee at a Starbucks outlet for four hours every morning before she goes to the office to start her "day job."

Bombs kill 50 in Iraq as violence flares

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:00:47 -0400

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Bombs in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed at least 50 people on Thursday, police said, underscoring doubts about local forces' ability to keep Iraqis safe after U.S. troops pulled out of city centers.