Monday, April 20, 2015
By Nelson Acosta HAVANA (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC guerrillas pledged on Monday to maintain their unilateral ceasefire despite an attack by the rebels last week that killed 11 government soldiers, saying peace talks with the government should not be broken for any reason. The Colombian government and Marxist rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been engaged in peace talks in Havana for nearly two and a half years.
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By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Jeb Bush will visit three U.S. allies, Germany, Poland and Estonia, in early June to get a first-hand view of European economic and security challenges as he explores a run for his party's U.S. presidential nomination in 2016, a Bush aide said on Monday. Foreign policy has been growing in importance in the battle to determine President Barack Obama's successor, with Republicans questioning Obama's handling of the threat from Islamic State and Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Bush’s visit gives him a chance to lay out his differences with Obama, a Democrat, particularly when it comes to NATO, with alliance members Poland and Estonia both watching events in Ukraine with alarm.
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An air strike on a Scud missile base in the Houthi rebel controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa triggered a big explosion that blew out windows in homes, killing at least fifteen people and wounding dozens on Monday, medical sources said. Saudi Arabia has led an alliance of Sunni Arab countries in air strikes against the Iran-allied Shi'ite Houthi group and army units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Yemen's state news agency Saba, run by the Houthi movement, said the bombing resulted in "dozens of martyrs and hundreds of wounded", citing a city official. Resident Adel Mansour said it was the largest explosion in more than three weeks of bombing by the Saudi-led coalition.
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A Moroccan-Dutch entrepreneur wants to open a sex shop in the Muslim holy city of Mecca to cater to Saudi couples that want to spice things up in the bedroom. "It is not true that Muslim women are seen only in the kitchen and seen only wearing the veil. Aouragh said that the store was fully Shariah-compliant and that he had consulted a Saudi Arabian cleric who was fully supportive of the plan.
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South Korea's prime minister, who has denied an allegation that he took illegal funds from a businessman who committed suicide, has offered to resign, Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday. In a scandal that threatens to weaken President Park Geun-hye, Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo has denied he received 30 million won ($27,000) in campaign funds from businessman Sung Wan-jong. Park is in the third year of a single five-year term and her Saenuri Party faces a parliamentary general election next year for control of the 300-seat assembly. "We have confirmed that Prime Minister Lee has conveyed his will to resign," Yonhap quoted a presidential Blue House official who is travelling with Park in Peru as saying.
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By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sweatworking, the growing practice of meeting clients for a walk, a run or a fitness class, is elbowing networking out of bars and restaurants and into boutique fitness studios. “Sweatworking was born out of a desire to connect with clients on a deeper level that wasn’t so sales-y,” said Sarah Siciliano, 32, an advertising executive who has been entertaining clients with workouts. “A lot of sales jobs revolve around drinking.” Siciliano, who is based in New York City, considers taking her mostly female clients, who range in age from 22 to 52, to yoga, spinning, bootcamp and dance studios a great tool to develop relationships. “If you can knock out a client event and your workout at the same time, why not?” Sweatworking began in the advertising world, but has spread to more traditionally conservative professions such as law and banking, according to Alexia Brue, co-founder of the wellness media company Well+Good.
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The European Union will launch a legal attack on Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) this week, ramping up tensions with Moscow, when antitrust agents will accuse it of overcharging buyers in eastern Europe, EU sources told Reuters on Monday. The state-controlled company, a vital supplier of energy to Europe despite frequent political disputes, could receive a full charge sheet from European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday, one source said. More than two years after Brussels started investigating Gazprom, the move comes just a week after the new EU antitrust chief charged U.S. tech giant Google (GOOGL.O) with abusing its market power after five years of hesitation by her predecessor. The sources said Vestager was likely to send the charge sheet, known as a statement of objections, to Gazprom once she returns from a trip to the United States, where she arrived within hours of charging Google.
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A federal appeals court on Monday rejected the fugitive Paul Ceglia's efforts to revive his civil lawsuit against Facebook Inc and founder Mark Zuckerberg seeking a big stake in the social media company, and to halt a related criminal prosecution for fraud. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said "overwhelming forensic evidence" demonstrated that a 2003 "Work for Hire" contract that Ceglia claimed entitled him to a 50 percent Facebook stake was forged. Calling Ceglia "an individual who has repeatedly demonstrated total disregard for our judicial system," the appeals court also said he did not show it was necessary or justified to dismiss the government's criminal case accusing him of trying to extort Facebook and Zuckerberg. A lawyer for Facebook and Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to similar requests.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has criticized calls from within his own opposition party for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, whose second term in office has been buffeted by a corruption scandal at the state-run oil giant.
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U.S. arms maker Raytheon Co is buying network security provider Websense Inc from private equity firm Vista Equity Partners LLC in a $1.9 billion deal, the latest in the fast-growing cybersecurity market. Several companies, including Sony Corp, Staples Inc, Home Depot Inc and Target Corp, have been targets of high-profile data thefts over the past two years. "We're seeing an exponential increase in the number of attacks by ultra-sophisticated attackers," Raytheon Chief Executive Thomas Kennedy told Reuters.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates to discuss top issues for the Gulf region, particularly the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen, Islamic State militants and negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
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By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Monday defended Pope Francis's decision to canonise Junipero Serra, the 18th-century Spanish Franciscan priest who founded missions in California, against accusations that he brutalised Native Americans. Francis is due to declare Serra a saint on Sept. 23 at the National Shrine in Washington during a trip to the United States that will also include stops in New York and Philadelphia. Critics say Serra, who arrived in what is now California in the 1760s, beat and imprisoned Native Americans, suppressed their cultures, and facilitated the spread of diseases that decimated the population.
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The Sana'a neighbourhood hit by a Saudi air strikes on 20 April was a scene of total devastation as buildings continued to smoulder hours later and debris covered large areas. The air strike hit a scud missile base causing a massive explosion that destroyed entire buildings, blew out windows and killed at least several civilians. Yemen's state news agency Saba, run by the Houthi movement which controls the capital, said the bombing resulted in "dozens of martyrs and hundreds of wounded", citing a government official. The explosion also damaged the headquarters of a television station, Yemen Today, which is owned by ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, knocking its signal off air and wounding several people, employees said.
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