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Hollande names new French cabinet, Aubry out

2012-05-16T18:23:43Z

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande named a government dominated by moderate left-wingers on Wednesday after Socialist Party boss Martine Aubry, overlooked for the post of prime minister, said she no longer wanted to be part of the new cabinet. Hollande, sworn in a day earlier as France's first Socialist president in 17 years, named Pierre Moscovici as finance minister and Laurent Fabius as foreign minister, key posts under prime minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, a social democrat like them. ...

Paralyzed woman uses her mind to control robot arm

2012-05-16T18:20:39Z

Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

Fed keeps bond-buying door open: minutes

2012-05-16T18:18:10Z

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers kept the door open to a fresh round of monetary stimulus, citing downside risks to a moderately expanding economy, according to minutes for the central bank's April meeting. Several members of the Fed's policy-setting committee "indicated that additional monetary policy accommodation could be necessary if the economic recovery lost momentum or the downside risks to the forecast became great enough," minutes from the April 24-25 meeting said. Minutes from the Fed's March meeting had said "a couple" members thought more stimulus might be needed. ...

Anger, drama at Ratko Mladic's genocide trial

2012-05-16T18:12:59Z

Ratko Mladic was a shadow of the swaggering general who once "held Sarajevo in the palm of his hand" during Bosnia's 1992-95 war as his long-awaited genocide trial opened Wednesday. Yet he still managed to inflame Bosnia's festering war wounds with the flick of his hand.

MLB announces Mets as 2013 All-Star host

2012-05-16T18:12:40Z

Major League Baseball finally announced Wednesday that the 2013 All-Star game will be hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field on July 16.

Biden attacks Romney tenure as venture capitalist

2012-05-16T18:11:33Z

Vice President Joe Biden has criticized the background of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during a speech in swing state Ohio.

Defense rests without calling Edwards, mistress

2012-05-16T18:10:02Z

John Edwards' defense team rested Wednesday without calling the two-time Democratic presidential candidate or his one-time mistress to the witness stand, a sign of confidence after presenting little more than two days of testimony and evidence.

Skechers agrees to $40M settlement over shoe ads

2012-05-16T18:08:42Z

The government wants you to know that simply sporting a pair of Skechers' fitness shoes is not going to get you Kim Kardashian's curves or Brooke Burke's toned tush.

Cannes' female-free directors line-up criticized

2012-05-16T18:08:13Z

At this year's Cannes Film Festival, there are directors in their 30s and their 80s, directors from Europe and North America, directors from Asia and the Middle East — but no women.

Group: Congo general recruiting children again

2012-05-16T18:08:13Z

A Congolese general already sought on an international arrest warrant for his alleged use of child soldiers during an earlier conflict has forcibly recruited another 149 boys and teenagers since April, according to a Human Rights Watch investigation published Wednesday.

Pacers' Larry Bird is NBA Executive of the Year

2012-05-16T18:05:58Z

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird has been voted the NBA's Executive of the Year, becoming the first person to win that award, plus the league's MVP and Coach of the Year honors.

GI killed in Cambodia clash to get Medal of Honor

2012-05-16T18:05:49Z

President Barack Obama is awarding the Medal of Honor to a Pennsylvania Army specialist killed in combat in 1970 while serving as a rifleman in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

France unveils Hollande's new government

2012-05-16T18:03:33Z

France unveiled President Francois Hollande's new government on Wednesday, with former prime minister Laurent Fabius, 65, named foreign minister and Pierre Moscovici, 54, finance minister.

Fed: Several members could support further easing

2012-05-16T18:02:40Z

Federal Reserve policymakers are open to further efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy if growth falters or threats escalate.

Sri Lanka could free jailed ex-army chief 'within days'

2012-05-16T18:02:25Z

Sarath Fonseka could be free "within days" after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks on Wednesday with the jailed former army chief's political party, officials said.

US lowers cutoff for lead poisoning in young kids

2012-05-16T18:01:41Z

For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

Obama warns against political disruption in Yemen

2012-05-16T18:00:58Z

President Barack Obama served notice Wednesday to those seeking to disrupt Yemen's political transition that he would sanction individuals and entities who undermine stability in the strategically important Middle Eastern nation.

Greece gets caretaker PM until next vote in June

2012-05-16T17:59:31Z

A senior judge was sworn in Wednesday to head Greece's caretaker government for a month as it lurches through a political crisis that threatens its membership in the 17-nation eurozone.

House voting on violence bill, draws veto threat

2012-05-16T17:57:16Z

House Republicans are pushing ahead with their bill to renew the Violence Against Women Act, despite opposition from President Barack Obama and hundreds of advocacy groups who say the measure doesn't go far enough to protect battered illegal immigrants, Native Americans or gays.

French prime minister announces new Cabinet

2012-05-16T17:56:18Z

French Socialist Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has completed his first task on the job and named the new Cabinet.

McNamee: Clemens, Canseco had steroids talk

2012-05-16T17:55:22Z

Brian McNamee conceded that the first time Roger Clemens asked for help with a "booty shot," the pitcher did not specifically use the word "steroids."

Exclusive: ECB stops operations with some Greek banks

2012-05-16T17:52:16Z

BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalized, the ECB said on Wednesday, confirming news earlier reported exclusively by Reuters. The news sent the euro lower against the dollar, fanning concerns among investors and in Greece that the country may have to leave the euro zone. ...

Crossroads announcing $25 million ad push

2012-05-16T17:50:30Z

An independent group favoring Republican Mitt Romney is launching a $25 million, monthlong advertising campaign against President Barack Obama in 10 states, further escalating an expensive TV ad war in presidential battleground states less than six months before Election Day.

NKorea nuclear reactor construction progressing

2012-05-16T17:49:34Z

A U.S.-based institute said Wednesday new satellite imagery shows that North Korea has resumed building work on a reactor after months of inactivity.

Romney giving up on home state of Massachusetts

2012-05-16T17:49:31Z

Don't bet on Mitt Romney winning his home state. Or even trying.

Palestinian PM reshuffles Cabinet in West Bank

2012-05-16T17:43:18Z

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad replaced almost half of his West Bank-based Cabinet on Wednesday, a clear sign that efforts to end the Palestinian political split are stuck.

New scrutiny for CA nuke plant, as restart looms

2012-05-16T17:43:08Z

The idled San Onofre nuclear power plant is facing new scrutiny from Congress as the utility that operates it moves closer to proposing a fix to get the twin reactors back in service.

Nomads, locals clash in Libya desert town: officials

2012-05-16T17:42:50Z

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Armed nomads clashed with residents of a Libyan town on the border with Algeria on Wednesday, officials said, underlining the insecurity that continues to plague the country one month before elections. Fighting erupted over control of a checkpoint on the edge of Ghadames on a desert route often used for smuggling, the officials told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Tensions has been building for days between locals and Tuareg tribesmen - nomads who roam the desert spanning the borders of Libya and its neighbours, said an officer at Ghadames local council. ...

Arafat's moneyman targeted in corruption probe

2012-05-16T17:39:16Z

The late Yasser Arafat's powerful moneyman is the target of the highest-profile Palestinian corruption probe to date, facing allegations he syphoned off millions of dollars in public funds, the chief investigator said Wednesday.

AP: Killer of 3 says he considers requesting death

2012-05-16T17:37:47Z

A man on Connecticut's death row for the murder of a suburban mother and her two daughters says he believes the only way he will be put to death is if he volunteers for lethal injection.

US tuna labelling 'inconsistent' with trade rules: WTO

2012-05-16T17:36:50Z

US requirements on "dolphin friendly" tuna labelling breach trade rules by affording less favourable treatment to Mexican-caught tuna, the WTO's appeal body said on Wednesday.

Kenyan police arrest suspect in Mombasa grenade attack

2012-05-16T17:34:57Z

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A man has been arrested after a grenade attack killed a woman and wounded several people outside a night club in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, police said on Wednesday. The attack on Tuesday at the Bella Vista sports bar in the heart of Mombasa, a popular holiday destination for Kenyans and foreigners, was the latest in a string of attacks since Kenya sent troops into Somalia to crush Islamist militants. ...

Syria's Assad: Nations who "sow chaos" will suffer

2012-05-16T17:32:53Z

AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power. Assad's remarks, to a Russian TV channel, came after U.N. staff monitoring an increasingly shaky ceasefire were caught up in an attack that killed at least 21 people, and had to spend a night with rebel forces. ...

Will Smith meets UK Olympic hopefuls

2012-05-16T17:32:47Z

Hollywood star Will Smith took time out of his promotional schedule for "Men in Black III" to try his hand at Olympic sports in London.

Thousands flee to Uganda as Congo hunts renegade commander

2012-05-16T17:30:45Z

KISORO, Uganda (Reuters) - It was the six rebel soldiers who hacked down the door of Elias Ngahaga's house one night two weeks ago in Kesaha, eastern Congo, who led him and his family to flee to Uganda from his village, where government troops and rebels are fighting. "We were frightened. They had guns and pangas (machetes)," said Ngahaga, 20, sheltering from the rain in an abandoned building on the edge of a temporary refugee camp in western Uganda. "They took clothes, potatoes, sheets, goats and money. ...

Ex-Syracuse hoops coach's wife: Life is ruined

2012-05-16T17:28:48Z

The wife of fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine claimed Wednesday that ESPN maliciously trampled her reputation by broadcasting salacious stories about her and about claims that her husband molested ball boys.

Egypt economy on the edge ahead of presidential vote

2012-05-16T17:26:38Z

CAIRO (Reuters) - Wasfy Amin's jewelry shops in the heart of Islamic Cairo ran into trouble when a street revolt scared away tourists last year. Part of his business is growing again, but not a part that inspires optimism in Egypt's flailing economy. His factory on the capital's desert outskirts now melts bangles, rings and necklaces - heirlooms sold by impoverished families - into rough ingots of gold and silver that are sold to banks for refining in Switzerland. "There are many people with no work now in Egypt, or with work but no salaries. ...

NY judge grants class action status to frisk suit

2012-05-16T17:26:34Z

Finding the city's attitude "deeply troubling," a judge granted class action status Wednesday to a 2008 lawsuit accusing the New York Police Department of discriminating against blacks and Hispanics with its stop-and-frisk policies aimed at reducing crime.

In Egypt's vote, revolutionaries lack a candidate

2012-05-16T17:26:25Z

A black smoke covered Cairo's Tahrir Square. Around a dozen protesters who had been holding a weekslong sit-in demanding an end to military rule had come to the conclusion their gathering was useless. So over the weekend, they splashed gas on their tents and banners, burned them to ashes and left.

Ex-Houston cop not guilty in teen suspect beating

2012-05-16T17:26:06Z

A former Houston police officer was found not guilty Wednesday of official oppression in the videotaped beating of a 15-year-old burglary suspect, prompting an outraged response from black community leaders.