Senate panel backs $631 billion in defense spending

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Top News Stories

By David Alexander WASHINGTON | Thu May 24, 2012 10:45pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Senate panel voted on Thursday to authorize $631.4 billion in defense spending for the 2013 fiscal year, blocking plans to cut the Air Force and … Continue reading →


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Activist Chen urges China to prosecute "lawless officials"

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Top News Stories

By Maxim Duncan NEW YORK | Thu May 24, 2012 10:28pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng urged authorities in Beijing on Thursday to prosecute “lawless” officials who harassed and abused the self-taught lawyer, his family … Continue reading →


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Alibaba.com says 83.8 percent of shareholders back privatization

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Business News

HONG KONG | Thu May 24, 2012 10:11pm EDT HONG KONG (Reuters) – Alibaba.com Ltd (1688.HK), Hong Kong-listed unit of China’s Alibaba Group ALIAB.UL, said on Friday that 83.8 percent of its shareholders have approved a $2.5 billion buyout offer … Continue reading →


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Moody’s cuts ratings for three Nordic banks

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Business News

STOCKHOLM | Fri May 25, 2012 2:04am EDT STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Moody’s cut ratings for DNB (DNB.OL), Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST) and Nordea (NDA.ST) on Friday in an expected move, pointing to vulnerability in terms of the Nordic banks funding and asset … Continue reading →


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Chinese Estates head to be prosecuted in Macau over bribery

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Business News

By Alex Frew McMillan HONG KONG | Fri May 25, 2012 12:15am EDT HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau, who heads developer Chinese Estates Holdings (0127.HK), will face prosecution over bribery and money laundering in a land … Continue reading →


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Email, wiretaps, at trial link Gupta to Rajaratnam

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - Business News

By Grant McCool NEW YORK | Thu May 24, 2012 7:00pm EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) – Using FBI wiretaps, email, phone records and the testimony of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) director, U.S. prosecutors drew a picture for jurors … Continue reading →


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Man confesses to killing missing New York boy

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - World News

A man has confessed to strangling to death a boy who vanished on his way to school in 1979 New York police say. Pedro Hernandez of Maple Shade, told police he choked Etan Patz to death and left his body … Continue reading →


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More talks planned on Iran nuclear issue

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - World News

Iran and world powers will meet in Moscow next month for more talks to try solve a longstanding dispute about Iran’s nuclear energy programme, Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign-policy chief, has said. Speaking in Baghdad on Thursday, the last of two … Continue reading →


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US cuts Pakistan aid for jailing CIA helper

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - World News

US senators scandalised by Pakistan’s jailing of a doctor for helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden have voted to cut aid to Islamabad by $33mn – one million for each year in the doctor’s sentence. “It’s arbitrary, but … Continue reading →


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Counting under way in Egypt election

Written on May 24, 2012 by Editor - World News

Ballot counting has begun in Egypt after two days of historic voting to choose the country’s first democratically elected president, with the Muslim Brotherhood claiming lead. Early on Friday morning, the Brotherhood, the country’s most powerful political force, announced that its … Continue reading →


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