By Julie Gordon and Cameron French TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, a target of criticism for his often unconventional conduct, on Friday denied media allegations that he had been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. "Absolutely not true," Ford told reporters gathered outside his west Toronto house, before driving off in his SUV. ... More »Toronto mayor denies smoking crack cocaine
By Diane Bartz and Erwin Seba WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. refiner Tesoro Corp. has received formal approval from antitrust regulators in Washington and Sacramento on Friday to buy BP Plc's refinery and other assets in southern California for more than $2 billion (1.3 billion pounds). Tesoro will not have to sell any of the assets anti-trust regulators said, but California officials demanded the company upgrade the refinery it was buying. Californians regularly pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation. ... More »Tesoro wins U.S. antitrust OK to buy California BP refinery
By Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in state-backed Lloyds Banking Group rose above the level which the government sees as its break-even price after its 20.5 billion pound rescue of the bank, raising hopes of a sale this year. Lloyds shares, the top performer in the FTSE-100 last year, rose 2.5 percent to reach 62.5 pence at 13:00 p.m. on Friday, their highest for over two years and passing the 61.2 pence break-even price. ... More »Shares in Lloyds hit government break-even price
By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer on Friday condemned Russia's shipment of advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria, saying it could embolden President Bashar al-Assad's forces to keep fighting a bloody civil war. "It's at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering," General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon when asked about the weapons shipment. "So it's ill-timed and very unfortunate," he said. ... More »Russian missiles to Syria could embolden Assad - U.S. general warns
By Alice Baghdjian ZUG, Switzerland (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd shareholders voted out Chairman Michael Talbert at the annual meeting on Friday and backed a nominee of activist investor Carl Icahn to replace him on the board of the world's largest offshore drilling contractor. But shareholders rejected Icahn's proposed $4-per-share dividend and opted instead for the board-supported payout of $2.24 per share, the Switzerland-based company said. Transocean shares closed down 1.3 percent to $54.03 on the New York Stock Exchange. The Swiss shares closed 1.4 percent higher. ... More »Transocean chairman voted out
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican chairman of a congressional oversight committee on Friday ordered the leader of the investigation into the September 11, 2012, Benghazi attacks to sit for a private interview next week. As Republicans and Democrats wage a political battle over the attacks in which four Americans were killed, U.S. Representative Darrell Issa issued a subpoena ordering retired Ambassador Thomas Pickering to appear for a taped deposition on Thursday to answer questions about the Accountability Review Board report he prepared on the incident. ... More »U.S. House panel demands deposition from Benghazi investigator
LONDON (Reuters) - Four more people in China have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing the death toll from the H7N9 virus to 36 from 131 confirmed cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. The United Nations health agency said the four deaths were from cases that had already been identified in laboratories. Since May 8, there have been no new cases of infection with H7N9, it added. ... More »Death toll from new bird flu in China rises to 36 - WHO
By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian warplanes struck militant camps in the northeast on Friday in a major push against an Islamist insurgency, drawing a sharp warning from the United States to respect human rights and not harm civilians. Troops used jets and helicopters to bombard targets in their biggest offensive since the Boko Haram group launched a revolt almost four years ago to establish a breakaway Islamic state and one military source said at least 30 militants had been killed. ... More »Nigeria bombs Islamists, U.S. sounds alarm
By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar soared against major currencies on Friday on growing speculation that the Federal Reserve could soon begin to rein in its bond-buying program and after data showed U.S. consumer sentiment hit an almost six-year high in early May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 stock index surged to new closing highs in a rally that has pushed both indices this year up 17 percent. ... More »U.S. dollar soars, stocks set new highs on Fed QE exit talk
By Jim Finkle and Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - The Financial Times' website and Twitter feeds were hacked on Friday, renewing questions about whether the popular social media service has done enough to tighten security as cyber-attacks on the news media intensify. The Syrian Electronic Army, an online group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was behind the incident which followed a phishing attack on the company's email accounts, FT reported on its website. The attack is the latest in which hackers commandeered the Twitter account of a prominent news organization to push their ... More »Syria government supporters hack Financial Times
Peru's president signed a new law Thursday designed to reduce child obesity by encouraging healthier eating habits in schools. More »Peru cracks down on junk food in schools
By Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal BALTIMORE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday sought to turn the spotlight from controversies threatening to swamp his agenda back to his top priority - the economy - and announced he will try to cut in half the time it takes to get federal approval for large job-creating projects. Obama travelled to Baltimore, a short helicopter ride from the White House, to talk about steps he is taking to streamline permits for infrastructure, early childhood education, and positive signs in the economy. ... More »After tough week, Obama tries to change the subject to jobs
By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's government on Friday barred the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia from staging a weekend rally in the central city of Kairouan, saying the organisation, which openly supports al Qaeda, posed a "threat to public security." But the group, under fugitive leader Saif-Allah Benahssine, has said it would defy the order and go ahead with its annual gathering on Sunday, which it expects to attract some 40,000 supporters. The standoff comes as the army pursues dozens of suspected al Qaeda-linked militants near the western border with Algeria. ... More »Tunisia, hardline Islamists in standoff over Sunday gathering
One quarter of British lawmakers believe there is an "unhealthy" drinking culture in the Houses of Parliament, according to a survey published on Friday. More »British MPs concerned about parliamentary boozing
By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's long-delayed inquest into the death by radioactive poisoning of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko could be abandoned after the coroner partly upheld a British government request to withhold crucial evidence. Robert Owen, a senior judge acting as coroner, said on Friday keeping some of the evidence secret would make it impossible to hold a "full, fair and fearless inquiry" into the death of the vocal critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. ... More »UK inquest into ex-Russian spy's death may be scrapped
Unemployed people wait outside the Cypriot government's Labour office on May 14, 2013 in the Aglangia district of Nicosia. Cyprus should return to growth in 2015 after three years of deep recession, the ... More »IMF sees Cyprus growth in 2015, warns of pitfalls
(Reuters) - Yahoo Japan Corp said on Friday night it suspected that up to 22 million of its user IDs may have been "leaked" and it detected an unauthorized attempt to access the administrative system of its web portal Yahoo Japan, the Kyodo news agency reported. The leaked information does not include passwords and data necessary for identity verification to reset passwords, the agency said. The company detected the access attempt at around 9 pm on Thursday, Kyodo reported. Yahoo Japan checked its system after severing access and found traces of an attempt to steal user IDs, according to ... More »Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million user IDs leaked - Kyodo
By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - David Beckham could return to the United States as owner of a new club and his advisors have already held talks with Major League Soccer. Beckham announced his retirement from professional football on Thursday but has been tight-lipped about his future plans after ending the season with French club Paris St Germain. The former England captain's contract with MLS, signed when he joined the L.A. Galaxy in 2007, included an option to purchase an 'expansion franchise'. ... More »Beckham talking to MLS about owning a new team
BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Two bombs exploded outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in the Iraqi city of Baquba as worshippers left Friday prayers, killing at least 43 people in one of the deadliest attacks in a month-long surge in sectarian violence. Several other bombings claimed lives around the country - with 19 killed near a commercial complex in the west of Baghdad, as mounting violence intensified fears of a return to all-out civil conflict. Attacks on Sunni and Shi'ite mosques, security forces and tribal leaders have mounted since troops raided a Sunni protest camp near Kirkuk a month ago. ... More »Two blasts at Iraqi Sunni mosque kill 43
The United States and European nations should take "decisive sanctions" against Iran over its controversial nuclear program, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Friday. More »France wants 'decisive sanctions' against Iran
By Margarita Antidze and Liza Dobkina TBILISI/ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Large crowds of anti-gay protesters broke up homosexual rights rallies in Georgia and Russia on Friday, underlining deep hostility in the former Soviet bloc. Priests and thousands of Georgians pushed their way through police barriers protecting around 50 people marking International Day Against Homophobia in a square in capital Tblisi. Waving banners marked with the slogans "Stop Homosexual Propaganda in Georgia" and "Not in our city", they forced the small groups of campaigners to flee in buses. ... More »Crowds break up gay rights rallies in Georgia, Russia
LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is due to meet Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday as a participant of an advisory group just days after MPs lambasted the Internet company's tax affairs. The meeting is a routine one and has been long-planned, will include other high-profile business people, and tax evasion is not on the agenda, a government source told Reuters. ... More »Google's Schmidt to meet Cameron as tax row rages
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian shipment of anti-ship missiles to Syria could embolden President Bashar al-Assad's forces and prolong the conflict, the top U.S. military officer said on Friday. "It's at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering, so it's ill-timed and very unfortunate," General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon. Dempsey said he was referring specifically to the anti-ship missiles, which Reuters reported earlier on Friday had been sent by Russia to Syria. ... More »U.S. says Russian missiles may embolden Syria's Assad
By Hereward Holland JUBA (Reuters) - Sudan's foreign minister said on Friday neighbour South Sudan had promised him it would not let rebels operate across their shared border, defusing a row that had threatened a key oil deal. The countries, which fought one of Africa's longest civil before a 2005 peace deal, agreed in March to resume cross-border crude exports and defuse tensions that have plagued them since South Sudan's secession in 2011. ... More »Sudans defuse row over rebel support, promise more talks
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nineteen people were killed on Friday when a roadside bomb exploded near a commercial complex in the Amiriya district in the west of Baghdad, police and medics said. Earlier on Friday, two bombs went off outside a Sunni Muslim mosque in Baquba as worshippers left Friday prayers, killing at least 43 people in one of the deadliest attacks in a month-long surge in sectarian violence. (Writing by Mike Collett-White; Editing by JOn Hemming) More »Roadside bomb kills 19 in west Baghdad - police, medics