Friday, May 24th, 2013

World

Obama shifts US from 'perpetual war-footing'

President shifts the US away from a 'boundless global war on terror' and restricting deadly drone strikes abroad and signalling that America's long struggle against al Qaeda will one day end.

Search for China's missing children goes online

BEIJING (AFP) - It took dozens of volunteers half a year searching old Chinese maps and villages, but finally the online-organised group helped Luo Gang find where he was kidnapped 23 years ago -- and his birth family.
22 minutes ago
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Italian tax police seize assets of steel magnate Riva

BARI, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's tax police have seized assets worth 8.1 billion euros belonging to the Riva family, owners of the Italian steel group ILVA, in connection with allegations of environmen...
9 minutes ago
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RLPC-Royal Mail sounds out market for 1.5 billion pounds IPO loan

By Tessa Walsh
LONDON (Reuters) - Banks have been asked to gauge by the end of this week the appetite for a 1.5 billion-pound syndicated loan to back the planned privatisation of Britai...
28 minutes ago
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Insight - Luxury brands position for U.S. boom

By Astrid Wendlandt and Phil Wahba
PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most men might balk at spending $600 (396.83 pounds) on a pair of Dior sneakers but for U.S. shoppers like Ephraim, an upbe...
30 minutes ago
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EU watchdog seeks powers over cross-border insurers

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - EU insurance watchdog EIOPA on Friday set out a wish list of new powers it is seeking, including stepped-up supervision rights over the bloc's big insurers.
The Eu...
37 minutes ago
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China solar companies shun home market in pursuit of margins

By Swetha Gopinath and Thyagaraju Adinarayan
(Reuters) - Chinese solar panel makers are shunning their overcrowded home market in favor of lucrative exports, a switch that has helped to...
43 minutes ago
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N. Korean envoy meets China president: state media

BEIJING (AFP) - A North Korean envoy met China's President Xi Jinping on Friday and handed him a letter from leader Kim Jong-Un, Chinese state media reported, in a sign Pyongyang may be backing away from confrontation with the international community.
46 minutes ago

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Taliban launch attack in downtown Kabul

KABUL (AFP) - Explosions and gunfire rocked central Kabul Friday as the Taliban launched an attack close to an Afghan intelligence facility and the headquarters of a government force that protects foreign firms.
59 minutes ago
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RAF probes Pakistani plane emergency

An RAF Typhoon jet has been launched to investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft in UK airspace.
1 hour, 16 minutes ago
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U.S. durable goods orders rise, point to factory resilience

By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose more than expected in April, a hopeful sign that a contraction in factory output could soon ru...
1 hour, 25 minutes ago
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UK fighters escort Pakistan plane to airport, two arrests

By Rhys Jones and Peter Griffiths
LONDON (Reuters) - British fighter jets escorted a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane to Stansted Airport near London on Friday, where pol...
1 hour, 28 minutes ago

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News Corp's publishing business to initiate stock buyback

(Reuters) - News Corp set the distribution ratios for the spinoff of its publishing business and said the spinoff may start buying back stock right away.
The board of the...
1 hour, 31 minutes ago
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HSBC Chairman urges acceleration of bank reform

By Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham
LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC's <0005.HK> Chairman Douglas Flint called for an acceleration in the speed of reform within the industry a...
1 hour, 35 minutes ago

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Japan mayor apologises to 'comfort women'

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) - A Japanese politician on Friday apologised to women forcibly drafted into military brothels during World War II after his comments about them being a military necessity sparked outrage.
May 24, 2013, 8:15 pm

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Taliban attack U.N. compound in Afghan capital - police

By Amie Ferris-Rotman and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban militants launched a coordinated attack on a U.N. compound in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday sett...
May 24, 2013, 8:03 pm

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Analysis - German economy to pick up but fall short of traditional pace

By Sarah Marsh
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's economy will recover from a bout of winter weakness but fall well short of the dynamic growth rates of previous years as euro zone recession ...
May 24, 2013, 7:55 pm

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Italian firms tap debt market as bank lending dries up

By Francesca Landini
MILAN (Reuters) - More Italian companies are set to tap the debt market for the first time this year, hoping to attract yield-hungry investors and find alternative ...
May 24, 2013, 7:47 pm
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EU risks 'too big to cooperate' bank supervision

By Martin Santa and Huw Jones
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - The role of the European Banking Authority must be beefed up beyond current plans to ensure that regulation of Europe's banks d...
May 24, 2013, 7:39 pm
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UK spy services under scrutiny over death

Security services in Britain are under pressure to explain how two suspected Islamist fanatics, suspected of hacking a soldier to death, went undetected.
May 24, 2013, 7:31 pm

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3i grows infrastructure arm with Barclays fund purchase

LONDON (Reuters) - 3i Group PLC is to buy the European infrastructure fund management business of British bank Barclays as part of a drive to boost its fee income from pub...
May 24, 2013, 7:27 pm
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