Blind Chinese activist appears to have left for U.S.

Sat, 19 May 2012 07:34:47 -0400

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.

Nine killed by Syria car bomb, 100 wounded: agency

Sat, 19 May 2012 06:19:42 -0400

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A car bomb that rocked the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on Saturday killed nine people and wounded about 100, the official SANA news agency said.

G8 leaders broadly united on Iran and Syria: U.S. official

Sat, 19 May 2012 01:04:56 -0400

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - Group of Eight leaders agreed in their initial discussions at Camp David on Friday that Iran needs to disclose more about its nuclear ambitions and that it was time to focus on a political transition in Syria, a U.S. official said.

Possible engine problem delays U.S. rocket launch

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:27:42 -0400

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The launch of a privately owned Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was delayed on Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket's engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said.

Obama pledges tough enforcement of Wall Street reforms

Sat, 19 May 2012 06:01:38 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday called on the U.S. Congress to back his efforts for tough new financial industry oversight, saying a $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan underscored the need for such regulation.

Europe's economic woes dominate G8 gathering

Sat, 19 May 2012 05:14:19 -0400

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will press European leaders to ease up on fiscal austerity and focus on economic growth at a summit on Saturday that will discuss ways to stem turmoil in the euro zone and head off the risk of global contagion.

Bomb at south Italy school kills teenager, wounds six

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:37:50 -0400

ROME (Reuters) - A bomb exploded in front of a school in southern Italy on Saturday, killing a 16 year-old girl and wounding at least six others, two seriously, authorities said on Saturday.

Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies: Pentagon

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:03:19 -0400

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.

Historic Facebook debut falls flat

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:53:38 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The historic initial public offering of Facebook Inc did not go as planned on Friday, as the social networking company's sky-high valuation combined with trading glitches left the stock languishing near its offering price at the market close.

Exclusive: Did White House "spin" tip a covert op?

Fri, 18 May 2012 12:46:31 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House efforts to soft-pedal the danger from a new "underwear bomb" plot emanating from Yemen may have inadvertently broken the news they needed most to contain.