Head of the IMF Christine Lagarde, gets off a car as she arrives at the French Republic Justice Court, on May 23, 2013 in Paris. French prosecutors will grill Lagarde for a second day after being heard ... More »IMF chief grilled in Paris court over 2007 payout scandal
UN chief Ban Ki-moon pledged Thursday that UN troops will be in place within "one or two months" to battle armed rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo's volatile east, as he toured the flashpoint city of Goma. More »UN combat troops in DR Congo in 'one or two months': Ban
By Michael Holden and Peter Graff LONDON (Reuters) - In the lurid scene of the red-handed knifeman describing his motives for hacking to death a British soldier in broad daylight, perhaps the most chilling aspect for many Londoners was the man's unmistakably familiar accent. Michael Adebolajo, 28, who was filmed wielding a bloody meat cleaver and butcher's knife as the soldier lay dead on the road behind him, was not a maladjusted immigrant like Boston bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, but a true Londoner born and bred. ... More »Insight - In attacker's argot, Londoners shocked to hear one of their own
By Chine Labbé PARIS (Reuters) - IMF chief Christine Lagarde was questioned in court by French magistrates on Thursday over her role in a 285-million-euro (242 million pounds) arbitration payment made to a supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy. Lagarde, in court the entire day, risks being placed under formal investigation when the hearing wraps up on Friday for her 2007 decision as Sarkozy's finance minister to use arbitration to settle a court battle between the state and businessman Bernard Tapie. ... More »IMF's Lagarde questioned over French arbitration case
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy on Thursday, President Barack Obama defended his administration's use of drones to kill terrorists abroad, and in a nod to concerns, outlined plans to limit the use of such strikes. As described in a White House statement, the key elements of the president's policy for the use of force in counterterrorism operations outside the United States and outside a war zone are as follows: * The United States will not use lethal force when it is possible to capture a terrorist. ... More »Factbox - Obama outlines rules for armed drone strikes
Sprint Nextel headquarters on April 15, 2013 in Overland Park, Kansas. Amid a heated takeover battle for US wireless carrier Sprint, Japan's Softbank has taken unusual steps to allay national security ... More »Softbank yields to US security concerns on Sprint
By Jonny Hogg and Anna Yukhananov GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Eastern Congo has the best chance in years to secure a lasting peace but the United Nations stands ready to pacify the region by force if need be, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday. Fighting that erupted on Monday near Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's largest city, has killed at least 20 people and ended an uneasy six-month calm between the army and fighters from the M23 rebel group. ... More »Congo has chance for peace, U.N. ready to enforce - Ban
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Goldman Sachs banker Neil Morrison agreed to pay $100,000 to settle charges for his role in a pay-to-play scheme involving a Massachusetts gubernatorial campaign, the largest such penalty paid by an individual, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday. Morrison also was barred from the securities industry for five years in the first industry ban for violating municipal bond market rules on "pay-to-play," or the making of campaign donations in exchange for political favours, the SEC said. ... More »Goldman Sachs banker settles SEC 'pay-to-play' charges
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Police killed two suspected Islamic militants on Thursday after one of them threw a grenade at a group of officers and two others died in a separate shootout in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region, Interfax reported. Both incidents took place in Dagestan province, which has become the epicentre of violence for militants seeking to establish an Islamic state in the North Caucasus, near where Russia plans to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics. ... More »Violence in Russia's North Caucasus kills four
CONAKRY (Reuters) - One person was killed and around 10 injured when security forces and supporters of Guinea's president clashed with protesters marching in the capital on Thursday against planned legislative elections. President Alpha Conde's opponents say he plans to rig the long-delayed polls due to take place on June 30. Conde took office in 2010 following the first democratic transfer of power in the mineral-rich nation since independence in 1958. ... More »One dead, around 10 injured in Guinea opposition protest
By Michelle Sierra NEW YORK (Reuters) - Activist investor Carl Icahn and Southeastern Asset Management Inc have initiated talks with banks and asset managers to line up commitments for as much as $7 billion (4.6 billion pounds) in bridge loans to back their leveraged recapitalization proposal for Dell Inc, banking sources told Thomson Reuters LPC on Thursday. Jefferies & Co is leading the deal. Icahn and Southeastern are looking to lock in the financing before Dell shareholders meet in July to vote on a rival take-private offer from CEO Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners. ... More »Icahn seeks up to $7 billion for Dell bid
PARIS (Reuters) - Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann said on Thursday that euro zone states needed to ensure they had solid public finances in order for the European Central Bank to be able to do its job. "We need solid public finances to protect the ECB, to allow us to do our job," Weidmann told a conference in Paris, adding that insolvency must still be an option for countries unable to repay debt. Weidmann also said that it could not be a policy goal to have equal interest rates for businesses across the bloc. (Reporting by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Catherine Bremer) More »ECB needs solid euro zone public finances to do its job - Weidmann
By Ulf Laessing KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese insurgents are obstructing a deal to deliver much-needed aid into areas under their control in two Sudanese states where almost a million people have been forced from their homes, the U.N. aid chief said on Thursday. The United Nations has been trying to get aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, where Sudan's army has been fighting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-North) for almost two years. ... More »U.N. aid chief says Sudanese rebels obstructing aid deal
Syria's main opposition group met for key talks in Istanbul on Thursday to debate whether to join a new US-Russian peace initiative to end the two-year civil war, while the regime vowed to crush the insurgency. More »Syria opposition in key talks on peace initiative
By Aaron Maasho and Richard Lough ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Kenya has asked other African countries to urge the International Criminal Court (ICC) to drop crimes-against-humanity charges against its new president and his deputy, according to an African Union document seen on Thursday. Uhuru Kenyatta became the second sitting African leader facing trial at the war-crimes tribunal when he won an election in March with an absolute majority in a ballot that saw huge voter turnout. ... More »Kenya seeks African help to drop Hague charges against Kenyatta
By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - The man made famous for putting down his Big Mac to help free three women held captive for about a decade in a Cleveland house will never have to buy a hamburger in his hometown again. More than two weeks after Charles Ramsey became an instant folk hero after telling his story to television reporters, Cleveland food blogger Michelle Venorsky said on Thursday that 15 restaurants are offering him a free hamburger, whenever he wants it. Venorsky floated the idea to her followers after seeing Ramsey's first interview on TV. "He was so entertaining... ... More »Hamburgers for life reward to man who helped Ohio kidnap victims
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will not hastily withdraw its policy stimulus for the U.S. economy, a senior U.S. central banker said on Thursday, while another stressed that it could adjust the pace of bond purchases both up or down according to the data. Seeking to temper investor concerns that the Fed was quickly moving to end its ultra-easy monetary policy, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in London that he did not think the Fed was "that close" to taking any such decision. ... More »Fed officials stress no rush to exit, not on 'autopilot'
By Danilo Masoni MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia has pushed to the end of the month a decision on whether to spin off its fixed-line access network, which is proving more complex than expected due to political and regulatory considerations. In a statement issued after a board meeting on Thursday, Italy's biggest phone operator said it would continue to examine the feasibility of the spin-off. Its board planned to reconvene on May 30 "to take a final decision," the group added. ... More »Telecom Italia puts off network decision to May 30
By Hereward Holland JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir said on Thursday his country would never become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying it appeared to be preoccupied with prosecuting African leaders. "It seems that this thing has been meant for African leaders, that they have to be humiliated...we never accept it," Kiir told reporters, referring to the Hague-based tribunal. ... More »South Sudan says war crimes court persecutes Africans
By Arshad Mohammed JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held separate talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials on Thursday and acknowledged there was considerable scepticism that the two sides would resume peace negotiations. There were no signs of any breakthrough as Kerry visited Israel for the fourth time in his four months in office to try to revive a peace process that has been moribund for more than two years. ... More »Kerry meets Israelis, Palestinians in bid to revive talks
Iceland's new Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson took office on Thursday, heading up a coalition government composed entirely of newcomers who have never served in a cabinet. More »Iceland's new government takes office
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's largest union on Thursday recommended its members back a revised public sector pay deal in a boost to the government which needs to secure approval to meet budget targets and maintain industrial peace. Ireland's government agreed draft proposals with trade unions on Tuesday to implement budget cuts after workers last month rejected initial proposals to extend a three-year-old pay deal. "We recommend acceptance of the new proposals," SIPTU, whose members account for around 25 percent of all workers, said in a statement. ... More »Ireland's largest union backs public sector pay deal
LONDON (Reuters) - A middle-aged cub scout mistress who gave two bloodied knifemen a stern talking to as a British soldier lay dead on the street was hailed as a hero for embodying the "spirit of London". And as some in the capital complained about immigrants after a killing blamed on British Muslim converts with Nigerian roots, it turned out the woman held up as the new face of civic pride in Europe's multi-ethnic metropolis was herself born in France. Named by the prime minister from the steps of No. ... More »Scout mistress who berated knifemen hailed for "spirit of London"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he condemned "in the strongest terms" the attack in London on a British service member. "The United States stands resolute with the United Kingdom, our ally and friend, against violent extremism and terror," he said in a statement. (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Eric Walsh) More »Obama condemns attack on British service member
LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Thursday they had arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of conspiracy to murder over the killing of a soldier on the streets of east London. Detectives said they had arrested a man and woman, both aged 29, over the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby who was hacked to death in Woolwich on Wednesday. Two men of Nigerian descent, aged 22 and 28, shot by police at the scene of the killing, have been arrested and are being treated at separate London hospitals. Their condition is not life-threatening. ... More »Police arrest two over soldier killing