Archive for February, 2009
Combative Obama vows to fight for his budget
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A combative President Barack Obama warned on Saturday he was bracing for a fight against powerful lobbyists and special interests who sought to pick apart the $3.55 trillion budget he wants to advance his agenda of reform.
Pakistan closes in on militants in tribal regions
KHAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistani forces expect to clear militants out of part of lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border by the end of the year, the commander of a paramilitary force involved in the campaign said on Saturday.
At least 37 still missing in Australia fires: army
SYDNEY (Reuters) – At least 37 people are still missing three weeks after devastating bushfires killed at least 210 in Australia’s southern state of Victoria, a senior army officer said on Saturday.
U.S. looks to China for support on Afghanistan: Pentagon
BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States is looking to stronger Chinese cooperation on Afghanistan, piracy, and other international troubles, a Pentagon official said on Saturday after talks that he said also addressed strains over Taiwan.
China premier says financial crisis not bottomed out
BEIJING (Reuters) – The global financial crisis has not bottomed out yet and its impact is still spreading, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told an online forum on Saturday.
U.S. charges Stanford with massive Ponzi scheme
HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. securities regulators on Friday accused Texas billionaire Allen Stanford, his college roommate and three of their companies of carrying out a “massive Ponzi scheme” over at least a decade and misappropriating at least $1.6 billion of investors’ money.
In hard times, more U.S. women try to sell their eggs
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Drawn by payments of up to $10,000, an increasing number of women are offering to sell their eggs at U.S. fertility clinics as a way to make money amid the financial crisis.
Suspected al Qaeda operative charged in U.S. court
WASHINGTON/PEORIA, Illinois (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday ordered suspected al Qaeda operative Ali al-Marri transferred to the U.S. court system to face newly filed criminal charges after 5-1/2 years in a military prison in South Carolina.
Stanford exec to walk free after posting bail
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Laura Pendergest-Holt, the first person arrested in the $8 billion Allen Stanford fraud investigation, can walk free once she posts $300,000 bond, a Houston judge ruled on Friday.
Citigroup gets new rescue, U.S. may own 36 percent
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government will boost its equity stake in Citigroup Inc to as much as 36 percent, bolstering the bank’s capital base in the latest emergency effort to save the banking giant.