ROME (Reuters) - A court in Rome has summoned Bank of Italy officials for questioning on the state bailout of Monte dei Paschi, as scandal spread over the trading that plunged the world's oldest bank into trouble. The Lazio regional administrative court said in a statement on Wednesday that it had called Deputy Governor Fabrizio Saccomanni and Luigi Federico Signorini, the official in charge of bank supervision, to a hearing on Saturday. The central bank said they would not attend, but would be represented by counsel. ...
ROME (Reuters) - The Bank of Italy made no effort to stop the re-appointment of former Monte dei Paschi chairman Giuseppe Mussari as head of the Italian Banking Association last year despite turmoil surrounding the troubled lender, the new head of the association said on Thursday. The comment to Reuters by Antonio Patuelli, confirmed as new head of ABI on Thursday, underlines the growing question over why the Italian central bank did not take tougher action against the former management of Monte Paschi despite being aware of serious problems at the bank. ...
The odds should favor Senate confirmation of Chuck Hagel as President Barack Obama's next defense secretary despite strong Republican criticism at Thursday's Senate confirmation hearing.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers in a demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel were unable to verify a Syrian complaint that Israeli planes had flown over the Golan Heights area, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday. "UNDOF (the peacekeeping mission) did not observe any planes flying over the area of separation and therefore was not able to confirm the incident. UNDOF also reported bad weather conditions," U.N. spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Sandra Maler)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ongoing civil war in Syria will be a primary focus when Vice President Joe Biden embarks on a three-country swing through Europe.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Virtually any kind of illegal drug can be bought on the Internet and delivered by post to users who no longer need to make direct contact with dealers, an EU study published on Thursday said. It gave no statistics on online drug sales, which are normally conducted on so-called "darknets", or anonymous computer networks. The report, compiled by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, the pan-European police agency, said increased globalization and communication technology made it harder to track drug routes. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday filed a lawsuit to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev's proposed $20.1 billion purchase of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which would unite the ownership of popular beers like Budweiser and Corona.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The military's top leaders are warning Congress that automatic spending cuts looming in March would force the Pentagon to slash operating budgets, weakening the armed forces and possibly forcing furloughs of 800,000 civilian employees.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said on Thursday Israel and its allies bore responsibility for the results of the Israeli air raid near Damascus and said it had the right to defend its sovereignty. "Syria holds Israel and those who are protecting it at the Security Council responsible for the results of the attack and confirms its right to defend its land and sovereignty," state television quoted a letter from the Foreign Ministry to the United Nations as say saying. (Reporting by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Alison Williams)
VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - The Russian city of Volgograd will bear Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's name again on Saturday when it marks the 70th anniversary of the epic battle that turned the tide in World War Two. Local lawmakers adopted a decision to use the name Hero City Stalingrad at events commemorating the 1942-1943 battle on Saturday and on four other days every year including May 9, when Russia marks the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev SA from buying the half of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo that it does not already own, saying the $20.1 billion deal would lessen competition in the U.S. beer market. Trading in Constellation Brands , which would have become sole owner of the company that distributes Modelo's Corona beer in the United States if the transaction had been approved, was halted after it dropped 23.8 percent. AB InBev shares dropped as much as 8. ...
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authoritarianism rose to levels unprecedented in recent history in 2012, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, assessing what it called the harshest crackdown on political freedoms in the country since the Soviet era. Russia introduced restrictive laws, harassed activists and interfered with non-governmental organizations during the year, which saw Vladimir Putin return to the Kremlin and former President Dmitry Medvedev appointed prime minister, the New York-based rights group said. "Since Putin's return ... ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers on Thursday asked bank regulators to turn over documents related to the $8.5 billion settlement that ended a government-mandated review of crisis-era foreclosures, saying transparency was needed to boost confidence in the settlement. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Elijah Cummings, both Democrats, said the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) must address concerns that financial institutions have not been held accountable for misdeeds during the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis. ...
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Kurdish militants said on Thursday media reports that its fighters had agreed to withdraw from Turkey as part of a peace pact to end their 28-year-old insurgency were lies and part of a psychological war. The Sabah newspaper on Thursday said Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas had agreed to withdraw to northern Iraq, where the group is based, by March 21 as part of peace talks with the PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan which started late last year. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Several Republican lawmakers on Thursday introduced legislation to stop a labor board and consumer watchdog from enforcing regulations, after an appeals court questioned the legitimacy of recent White House appointments at both agencies. The bill prohibits the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from enforcing or implementing decisions and regulations without a constitutionally confirmed board or director. A federal appeals court in Washington last week found that President Barack Obama violated the U.S. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday it is disbanding President Barack Obama's jobs council, a group of high-profile chief executives who gave advice on how to boost hiring at a time of high unemployment. The White House said it has made progress on the council's recommendations and will begin a new, expanded effort to work with the business community to advance policy priorities promoted by the panel. "The expanded effort to build on progress made by the jobs council fits into a broad and aggressive engagement strategy that has already begun," a White House official said. ...
