Reuters: Top News

Mexican opposition dispute goes public, threatening reforms

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:09:22 GMT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Divisions within Mexico's main conservative opposition party have erupted into a bitter public dispute that threatens to undermine the reform agenda of President Enrique Pena Nieto.

Gay marriage law strains UK Cameron's leadership, government

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:54:34 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's flagship gay marriage policy is set to deepen a rift in his own party on Monday with many of his own lawmakers preparing to defy him in a sign of growing strains on his leadership and his coalition government.

Yahoo buying Tumblr for $1.1 billion, vows not to screw it up

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:46:36 GMT

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc said it is buying blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, giving the struggling Internet pioneer a much-needed platform in social media to reach a younger generation of users.

Hezbollah suffers big losses in Syria battle: activists

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:31:10 GMT

AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - About 30 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been killed in the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair, Syrian activists said on Monday.

Dagestan bombs kill three, two dead in shootout near Moscow

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:13:40 GMT

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least three people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency.

Nigeria eases curfew in northeast, fights on against Boko Haram

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:04:28 GMT

MAIDUGURI (Reuters) - Nigeria relaxed a curfew on Monday in parts of the northeast where its troops are mounting their biggest offensive yet against militants from the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Powerful tornadoes strike in four central U.S. states

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:41:54 GMT

(Reuters) - A massive storm front swept north through the central United States on Sunday, hammering the region with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City. News reports said at least one person had died.

Bulgarian Socialists vow to help poor, look to form coalition

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:24:06 GMT

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's Socialists revealed a plan on Monday to speed payments to business and boost support for the poorest in a bid to win support for a technocrat government and end a political deadlock after an inconclusive election.

Car bombs target Shi'ites in Iraq, killing more than 60

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:11:05 GMT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than 60 people were killed in a series of car bomb explosions targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, part of the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops pulled out in December 2011.

Britain denies bail to radical cleric who faces deportation

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:59:31 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan to face trial on terrorism charges within weeks, a British court heard on Monday, and it ruled he should remain in jail in the meantime to prevent him from absconding.

Israel calls off UNESCO Jerusalem tour, blaming Palestinians

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:41:52 GMT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Monday it had canceled a visit by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to Jerusalem's Old City, saying the Palestinians had sought to politicize a conservation mission.

China offers India a 'handshake across the Himalayas'

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:39:14 GMT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and China will study new ways to ease tensions on their ill-defined border after an army standoff in the Himalayas, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday on his first official foreign trip.

Pakistan's MQM denounces Imran Khan in Karachi protest

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:08:23 GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Supporters of an influential Pakistani political party took to the streets of Karachi on Monday to protest against cricket-hero-turned-politician Imran Khan, who has accused it of killing one of his senior staff a week after a general election.

Iran electoral watchdog hints at Rafsanjani rejection

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:13:39 GMT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's electoral watchdog said on Monday it would bar physically feeble candidates from running for president, in an apparent hint that it could disqualify 78-year-old former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from the race.

Thirty Hezbollah fighters killed in Syrian town: activists

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:30:30 GMT

AMMAN (Reuters) - About 30 fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were killed in heavy fighting with rebels in the town of Qusair, Syrian activists said on Monday.

Former Pakistani dictator Musharraf granted bail

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:33:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf who has been under house arrest on charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination.

Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens more strikes

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:19:26 GMT

AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail.

Japan upgrades economic outlook as Abe's policies take hold

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:10:54 GMT

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government upgraded its assessment of the economy on Monday, as emerging signs of an upturn in exports and factory output added to growing evidence that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's aggressive polices are beginning to reignite growth.

North Korea fires sixth missile in three days

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:40:14 GMT

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Monday, making six launches in three days, and it condemned South Korea for criticizing what it said were its legitimate military drills.

Analysis: Shrinking deficit reduces pressure for budget deal

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:15:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chances of a deal between Democratic and Republican lawmakers that would overhaul the tax system, trim government spending and reform safety net spending programs appear to be fading.

Insight: The road to a greener America is littered with road-kill

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:05:55 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In October 2004, then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled up to a pioneering fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport in a hydrogen-powered metallic blue Hummer loaned to him by General Motors Corp.

Insight: The fight for North Dakota's fracking-water market

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:48:39 GMT

WATFORD CITY, North Dakota (Reuters) - In towns across North Dakota, the wellhead of the North American energy boom, the locals have taken to quoting the adage: "Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting."

Analysis: At margins of shale oil boom, a tempered euphoria

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:09:43 GMT

HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - For the past three years, the boom in the U.S. shale oil industry has outstripped all expectations. Production surged far faster than any forecasts; drillers raced to secure space in new pipelines to get their crude to market.

Venezuela says taking steps to restore U.S. diplomatic ties

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:00:51 GMT

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's recent designation of an acting head of its diplomatic mission in the United States shows the OPEC nation's desire to restore full diplomatic relations, the foreign minister said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Obama to discuss al Qaeda, drones, Guantanamo Bay in Thursday speech

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:53:36 GMT

ATLANTA (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, under fire for security lapses at a U.S. mission in Libya, will in a speech on Thursday lay out his wide-ranging counter-terrorism policy, from the controversial use of drones to efforts to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.