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Euro zone row gets fat pay rise for German workers

BERLIN (Reuters) - A record-breaking pay deal will give millions of German workers their biggest rise in wages in two decades, boost consumption in Europe's biggest economy and help towards adjusting the regional imbalances that have caused severe tensions within the euro zone, analysts said on Sunday. Germany's largest industrial union IG Metall agreed to a 4.3-percent pay rise from employers just before dawn on Saturday -- giving the 3.6 million car and engineering industry workers their biggest wage increase since a 5.4 percent deal in 1992. The eye-catching 4. ...

U.N. seeks Iran nuclear deal before Baghdad talks

VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear supervisor flies to Tehran on Sunday looking for a deal to inspect suspected weapons sites - a potential breakthrough that Iran may hope could persuade the West to start lifting sanctions and deflect threats of war. But though IAEA chief Yukiya Amano scheduled Monday's talks with Iran at such short notice that diplomats said agreement on new inspections may be near, few see Tehran convincing Western governments to ease back swiftly on punitive measures when its negotiators meet big power officials in Baghdad on Wednesday. Amano, director general of the U.N. ...

Sudan releases four foreigners arrested in border area

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan has released four foreigners who were detained three weeks ago near the border with South Sudan following weeks of heavy clashes between the two African neighbors, officials said on Sunday. Sudan accused the four - a Briton, a Norwegian, a South African and a South Sudanese - of entering an oil-producing border area illegally to spy for South Sudan. South Sudanese officials had denied Sudan's allegations, saying the men were working with the United Nations and aid groups clearing mines, and had got lost in the remote territory. ...

Italy quake kills five, damages historic buildings

A Carabinieri paramilitary officer stands near a damaged car after a strong aftershock struck Finale EmiliaSANT' AGOSTINO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake in northern Italy killed five people, injured dozens and damaged historic buildings including a famed mediaeval castle early on Sunday, waking terrified citizens and sending thousands running into the streets. The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at magnitude 6.0, struck at 4:04 a.m. (0204 GMT) and was followed by a series of jolting aftershocks. At least two of them reached magnitude 5.1, sowing fresh panic, further damaging already weakened buildings and causing more structures to collapse. ...


Tropical Storm Alberto not seen to gain strength, forecasters say

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alberto churned slowly toward the South Carolina coast on Sunday where heavy rain and dangerous surf are expected from the beach resort of Myrtle Beach south to Savannah, Georgia, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Bringing an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto rose to tropical storm strength on Saturday and by Sunday morning was about 95 miles south-southeast of Charleston, according to the latest update by the hurricane center in Miami. It carried maximum sustained winds near 50 miles per hour. ...

Tropical Storm Alberto not seen to gain strength, forecasters say

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Alberto churned slowly toward the South Carolina coast on Sunday where heavy rain and dangerous surf are expected from the beach resort of Myrtle Beach south to Savannah, Georgia, forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Bringing an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, Alberto rose to tropical storm strength on Saturday and by Sunday morning was about 95 miles south-southeast of Charleston, according to the latest update by the hurricane center in Miami. It carried maximum sustained winds near 50 miles per hour. ...

Lebanese soldiers kill two anti-Assad activists

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers shot dead two members of an alliance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in northern Lebanon on Sunday, security sources said, in the latest incident to raise fears Syria's turmoil was spilling over the border into its neighbor. Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahid, a Sunni Muslim cleric, and Khaled Miraib, both members of the Lebanon-based March 14 political alliance, were shot in their car as they sped through a Lebanese army checkpoint without stopping, the sources said. Residents of the northern region of Akkar blocked off roads to protest against the deaths. ...

Family of Hamas figure seeks to block Israel movie

FILE - In this May 1, 2012 file photo, Israeli model Bar Refaeli plays a seductress with actor Tomer Sisley on a set of a film made about the assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Eilat, southern Israel. The family of al- Mabhouh says it wants to block the release of a movie being made about his 2010 assassination in a Dubai hotel. The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was widely blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Files)Relatives of a slain Hamas operative seek to block the release of a movie being made in Israel about his 2010 assassination in a Dubai luxury hotel, a family member said Sunday.


NATO leaders map strategy for Afghanistan exit

Canada's PM Harper and Britain's PM Cameron wave in Chicago, ahead of the NATO SummitCHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders gathered in Chicago on Sunday to chart a path out of Afghanistan as war-weary Western nations seek to fend off dissent in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw. President Barack Obama hosts the summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after leaders of major industrialized nations tackled Europe's debt crisis, backing keeping Greece in the euro zone and vowing to take steps necessary to revitalize the world economy. ...


NATO leaders map strategy for Afghanistan exit

Canada's PM Harper and Britain's PM Cameron wave in Chicago, ahead of the NATO SummitCHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders gathered in Chicago on Sunday to chart a path out of Afghanistan as war-weary Western nations seek to fend off dissent in their alliance and ensure Afghanistan can hold a still-potent Taliban at bay when foreign troops withdraw. President Barack Obama hosts the summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after leaders of major industrialized nations tackled Europe's debt crisis, backing keeping Greece in the euro zone and vowing to take steps necessary to revitalize the world economy. ...


Jailed Israeli president freed briefly

A prison spokeswoman says Israel's jailed former president has been freed for a few hours to attend his son's wedding.

Wall Street Week Ahead: Market is oversold, but major signs say "sell"

The U.S. flag hangs outside the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) - Normally a big decline would set up Wall Street for a technical rebound. But that may not be the case this week, even after the market posted its worst weekly loss for the year and the S&P fell for six straight sessions. With the corporate earnings season drawing to an end and recent U.S. economic data raising doubts about the pace of growth, the S&P 500, which is down 7.3 percent so far in May, could decline further this week as concerns about the financial health of Europe persist. ...


Egypt presidential candidate joins hunger strike

An Egypt presidential candidate has joined dozens of activists on hunger strike to protest the continued detention of more than 300 people who face possible military prosecution.

Syrian army shelling kills 16 in Hama: rights groups

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian army shelling killed 16 people, including children, on Sunday in the town of Souran in the central province of Hama, the British-based rights group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. "The army shelled the town and then stormed it," the head of the rights group Rami Abdelrahman told Reuters, citing residents. Hama has been a focal point of Syria's 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Bahraini activist granted bail but not released

Bahrian's Human Rights Activits, Nabeel Rajab, gives a victory sign during an anti-government protest held in downtown ManamaDUBAI (Reuters) - A Bahraini court granted bail on Sunday to leading activist Nabeel Rajab, who is charged with insulting authorities in the Gulf Arab state, but he is still being held pending trial for a different case, his lawyer said. Bahrain has been in turmoil since a democracy protest movement led by majority Shi'ites erupted last year following successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. The government has rejected opposition calls for an elected government and protests and clashes with police continue weekly. ...


Lockerbie bomber Megrahi has died in Libya: brother

File photo of convicted Lockerbie bomber Megrahi speaking during an exclusive interview with Reuters TV at his home in TripoliTRIPOLI (Reuters) - The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people has died, his brother said on Sunday. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, released from a Scottish prison in 2009 and returned to Libya because he was suffering from terminal cancer, had been in and out of hospital for weeks and was taken for an emergency blood transfusion in April. Megrahi's health had deteriorated quickly overnight, his brother Abdulhakim told Reuters. "He was surrounded by his family and died in his house," he said. He was 60. ...


Yemen troops clash with al-Qaida in south; 17 dead

Fresh clashes between al-Qaida fighters and government forces in Yemen left 17 dead on Sunday, military officials said, as the army pushed on with an offensive to regain a key town in the county's south that fell to the militants more than a year ago.

French Le Pen to lose to leftist in assembly vote: poll

PARIS (Reuters) - An opinion poll published on Sunday showed that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen would lose to far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon in her home district in parliamentary elections next month. The Ifop-Fiducial poll showed that Le Pen would win the June 10 first round with 34 percent of the votes against 29 percent for Melenchon but would be beaten 55-45 percent by Melenchon in the June 17 second round. Not winning the parliamentary seat in her political backyard, the northern working-class town of Henin-Beaumont, would be a humiliation for Le Pen, who won 17. ...

Pakistan blocks Twitter over contentious tweets

Pakistan blocked the social networking website Twitter on Sunday because it refused to remove tweets considered offensive to Islam, said one of the country's top telecommunications officials.

Egypt's would-be "president of the poor" touts past

QALYUB, Egypt (Reuters) - The motorcade of Hamdeen Sabahy, a dark horse in Egypt's presidential race, inched over the bumpy roads of this Egyptian town led by a car booming 1960s nationalist music in homage to his hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser. The smiling leftist politician has a long history of opposition, first to Nasser's successor Anwar Sadat and then to Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in last year's popular uprising. ...

Bomb explodes near UN observers' chief in Syria

In this citizen journalism image provided by Sham News Network SNN, an anti-Syrian regime protester, holds up a Cross and Crescent painted with colors of the Syrian revolution flag during a demonstration against Syrian President Bashar Assad, at the Damascus suburb of Yabroud, Syria, Friday, May 18, 2012. Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands rallying Friday in Aleppo in what activists said was the largest protest yet in a city that has largely remained loyal to President Bashar Assad during the country's 15-month uprising. (AP Photo/Sham News Network, SNN)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS HANDOUT PHOTOA roadside bomb exploded in a restive suburb of the Syrian capital as senior U.N. officials toured the area on Sunday, blowing off the front of a parked vehicle but causing no casualties.


Chelsea and City triumphs could signal new era

MUNICH (Reuters) - Chelsea's late surge to glory, which saw them crowned European champions on Saturday, means that two of the richest clubs in England achieved breakthrough triumphs within a week of each other, suggesting soccer's balance of power could well be shifting. The weekend after Manchester City, enriched by Arab oil money since 2009, took the Premier League title, Chelsea, bankrolled ...

Powerful quake kills at least 4 in northern Italy

Elderly evacuated from their homes, sit in a classroom of a kindergarten in Mirabello, Italy, Sunday, May 20. 2012. A magnitude-5.9 earthquake shook northern Italy early Sunday, killing at least three people and toppling some buildings, emergency services and news reports said. The quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)One of the worst quakes to hit northeast Italy in hundreds of years rattled the region around Bologna early Sunday, killing at least four people, collapsing factories and sending residents running out into the streets, emergency services said.


City: De-watering lagoon a concern

The city writes letters to Coastal Commission and state officials about concerns over the lagoon ahead of a June 1 restoration project.

Weaker euro zone nations need more support from core: UK

LONDON (Reuters) - The euro zone can protect its currency if its stronger countries provide more support for the weaker to help them deal with their problems, British finance minister George Osborne said in a newspaper on Sunday. The future of Europe's 17-country single currency bloc is under threat from a political stalemate in Greece, which could lead to its departure from the monetary union at unknown costs to the financial system and global economic stability. ...

Lawyers for fugitive Iraqi VP quit case in protest

Iraq's vice president Tariq al-Hashemi arrives to speak to the the Associated Press in Istanbul, Turkey, late Thursday, May 17, 2012. Al-Hashemi says former bodyguards who are testifying against him in a terror trial in Baghdad might have been drugged or blackmailed. The trial in absentia of Tariq al-Hashemi, who is in Turkey, started this week when agents who used to protect him said they were ordered to kill security officials and plant roadside bombs. Interpol has issued a so-called Lawyers for Iraq's fugitive Sunni vice president charged with running death squads that targeted Shiite officials and pilgrims quit the case on Sunday in protest after judges would not let them present evidence at the trial.


China's premier calls for efforts to spur growth

Premier Wen Jiabao called for more priority to be given to boosting China's slowing economic growth, a state news agency reported Sunday, after unusually weak industrial activity in April prompted alarm about the world's second-largest economy.

Manchester City's Barry describes season as 'best ever'

The Citizens' midfielder believes this campaign has been the pinnacle of his career, and he has also been happy with the amount of football he has managed to play

Spain's 'indignants' have huge support: poll

The movement has since inspired similar protests, from Britain to the United States' Occupy Wall StreetSpain's "indignant" protest movement against economic inequality and spending cuts continues to enjoy widespread support a year after it was launched, a poll published on Sunday showed.


China's Wen urges more support for growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's premier called for additional efforts to support growth on Sunday, signaling Beijing's willingness to take action after a recent series of economic indicators suggested that the world's second-biggest economy will slow further in the second quarter. "We should continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy while giving more priority to maintaining growth," Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments reported by state news agency Xinhua. Chinese exports rose by 4. ...

Ex-president seeks comeback in Dominican Republic

In this combo of two photographs, Danilo Medina, left, presidential candidate of the ruling Dominican Liberation Party, speaks during an interview on May 15, 2012, and Hipolito Mejia, former president and candidate of the opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party, listens to a question on May 17, 2012, both in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Medina and Mejia are the two leading candidates for the Sunday presidential elections. (AP Photo/Manuel Diaz)A former president whose term ended with the worst economic crisis in the modern history of the Dominican Republic will seek to make a comeback Sunday as he faces an old rival in a race to lead the Caribbean's top tourist destination.


ANALYSIS: Post-war Ivory Coast nurtures second "miracle"

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realise we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

Analysis: Post-war Ivory Coast nurtures second "miracle"

Workers are seen at the construction site of Abidjan's third bridge, in Cocody-Golf, AbidjanABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...


China state-run businesses to invest 350 billion yuan in Chongqing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Thirty of China's biggest state-owned businesses have signed contracts worth about 350 billion yuan ($55.3 billion) with the southwestern municipality Chongqing, Chinese media reported on Sunday, in a sign of Beijing's determination to bolster confidence in the city formerly run by ousted leader Bo Xilai. Since the fall of the once high-flying Chinese official, media reports and some investors have questioned whether Chongqing's debt-laden economy is also headed for trouble. ...

Serbians vote for president under threat of protest

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic and rightist Tomislav Nikolic went head to head on Sunday in a tense run-off election for Serbian president and the right to lead the struggling nation into talks on joining the European Union. Despite economic stagnation and rising unemployment, Tadic is tipped to defeat Nikolic for the third time since 2004 as Serbia slowly sheds the legacy of a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic. A Tadic victory would keep power firmly in the hands of his Democratic Party. ...

Chicago braces for largest anti-NATO protest

Protesters holding an American flag march over a bridge during an anti-NATO protest march in ChicagoCHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago police trying to keep the peace during the NATO summit may face their biggest test on Sunday when thousands of demonstrators were expected to march near the site where leaders of the military alliance begin a two-day meeting. Previous protests in the runup to the summit Sunday and Monday have been lively but peaceful, resulting in fewer than two dozen arrests over the past six days, according to the Chicago Police Department. ...


Chicago braces for largest anti-NATO protest

Protesters holding an American flag march over a bridge during an anti-NATO protest march in ChicagoCHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago police trying to keep the peace during the NATO summit may face their biggest test on Sunday when thousands of demonstrators were expected to march near the site where leaders of the military alliance begin a two-day meeting. Previous protests in the runup to the summit Sunday and Monday have been lively but peaceful, resulting in fewer than two dozen arrests over the past six days, according to the Chicago Police Department. ...


Obama sees 'emerging consensus' on economic fix

President Barack Obama briefs journalists following the G-8 Summit Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Camp David, Md. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.


Obama sees 'emerging consensus' on economic fix

President Barack Obama briefs journalists following the G-8 Summit Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Camp David, Md. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.


U.S. marks 150th anniversary of Homestead Act offering free land

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday marks the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Homestead Act, the law that gave away 270 million acres of land and transformed the vast American interior. Representatives from 30 states will take part in a ceremony at the National Monument of America in the Nebraska town of Beatrice, representing the states where nearly 2 million people each received 160 acres of free land under the program. ...

U.S. marks 150th anniversary of Homestead Act offering free land

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday marks the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln signing the Homestead Act, the law that gave away 270 million acres of land and transformed the vast American interior. Representatives from 30 states will take part in a ceremony at the National Monument of America in the Nebraska town of Beatrice, representing the states where nearly 2 million people each received 160 acres of free land under the program. ...

Putin's economic plan: 'great leap' into the unknown

Putin is acutely aware that a major eurozone crisis would severely wound Russian exportersNewly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin has set hugely ambitious targets to catapult the Russian economy into the modern era but their realism remains in doubt despite a benign short-term outlook.


City Happy With First Day; Big Crowds Expected Today

City officials said Saturday they were happy with the first day of the Ironman and IronKids competitions and have hopes for them to come back to Lake Eva Park for years to come — at least five, the term of its contract with the city.

City manager's departure hasn't saved Keller all that much money

An official with a $176,000 salary leaves, saving the city $55,000. Huh?

Climber dies in 1,100-foot fall on Alaska's Mount McKinley

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A climber on Alaska's Mount McKinley died in a 1,100-foot fall that started with an effort to retrieve a sliding backpack during an attempt to ascend North America's tallest peak, the National Park Service said on Saturday. The Friday afternoon fall was the first serious accident in this year's climbing season, the service said. The climber - who was not from the United States - was in a three-person party that was not roped together. At the time of the accident, the group was heading up from the 16,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot mountain, officials said. ...

Climber dies in 1,100-foot fall on Alaska's Mount McKinley

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - A climber on Alaska's Mount McKinley died in a 1,100-foot fall that started with an effort to retrieve a sliding backpack during an attempt to ascend North America's tallest peak, the National Park Service said on Saturday. The Friday afternoon fall was the first serious accident in this year's climbing season, the service said. The climber - who was not from the United States - was in a three-person party that was not roped together. At the time of the accident, the group was heading up from the 16,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot mountain, officials said. ...

Civil rights group NAACP endorses gay marriage

(Reuters) - The nation's largest civil rights group, the NAACP, endorsed gay marriage on Saturday, giving a boost to the movement to legalize same-sex nuptials despite reservations expressed by some black ministers. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People passed the resolution at its board meeting in Miami "as a continuation of its historic commitment to equal protection under the law," the organization said. "Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. ...

Civil rights group NAACP endorses gay marriage

(Reuters) - The nation's largest civil rights group, the NAACP, endorsed gay marriage on Saturday, giving a boost to the movement to legalize same-sex nuptials despite reservations expressed by some black ministers. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People passed the resolution at its board meeting in Miami "as a continuation of its historic commitment to equal protection under the law," the organization said. "Civil marriage is a civil right and a matter of civil law. ...

Weather helps battle against Southwest wildfires

Firefighters prepare to use a helicopter to survey the Gladiator Fire in CleatorPHOENIX (Reuters) - Improving weather helped firefighters in Arizona make progress on Saturday against wildfires that have charred more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest and forced the evacuation of several small towns. More than 2,000 firefighters were battling five blazes in Arizona and Colorado from the ground and air. Meanwhile, a small blaze in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness area ballooned in size as wind whipped the flames. ...


Weather helps battle against Southwest wildfires

Firefighters prepare to use a helicopter to survey the Gladiator Fire in CleatorPHOENIX (Reuters) - Improving weather helped firefighters in Arizona make progress on Saturday against wildfires that have charred more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest and forced the evacuation of several small towns. More than 2,000 firefighters were battling five blazes in Arizona and Colorado from the ground and air. Meanwhile, a small blaze in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness area ballooned in size as wind whipped the flames. ...


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