LOS ANGELES, Calif. – CBS dropped its lawsuit Friday against ABC over its reality series “The Glass House,” citing the show’s low viewership numbers as a reason it is no longer interested in the case.
Infiltration or bad blood behind Afghan attacks?
The U.S. military trainers handed the new recruit, Mohammad Ismail, his AK-47 to defend his remote Afghan village. He turned around and immediately used it, spraying the Americans with bullets and killing two -- the latest of nine U.S. service personnel gunned down in two weeks by their supposed Afghan allies.
State analysts decrease Hawaii's projected economic growth despite strong tourism industry
HONOLULU, Hawaii – A state report says Hawaii’s economy is expected to see only modest growth for the rest of 2012 and 2013, despite a strong tourism industry.
Strategic Hotels reaches deal to buy NYC's Essex House Hotel for about $362.3M
CHICAGO – Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. said Friday that it reached a deal to buy New York City’s Essex House Hotel from the Dubai Investment Group for about $362.3 million.
American Airlines renews push to void pilot contracts
(Reuters) – The parent of American Airlines on Friday renewed its push to void its collective bargaining agreement with its pilots’ union, two days after a federal bankruptcy judge rejected an earlier effort. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane in Manhattan, who oversees the Chapter 11 proceedings of American Airlines’ parent AMR Corp , had objected to what he called the carrier’s proposed “unfettered discretion” under its earlier proposal to temporarily lay off pilots and engage in code-sharing. …
American Airlines goes back to bankruptcy court in bid to cancel contract with union pilots
DALLAS – American Airlines is going back to court to throw out its contract with union pilots after making changes to satisfy the bankruptcy judge.
South Sudan says China to help build new airport in Juba
JUBA (Reuters) – South Sudan said on Friday China would help build a new airport in the capital Juba, completing a project that has highlighted the government’s struggle to execute infrastructure projects. South Sudan has been trying to build up efficient state institutions and start development despite netting in billions of dollars in oil revenues since a 2005 peace agreement with Sudan. The government had planned to have a new airport terminal ready for independence celebrations in July 2011 but works have been hampered for years by funding problems and poor planning. …
Israel strike on Iran would be disaster: Netanyahu's ex-deputy
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A former deputy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday a pre-emptive military strike against Iran over its nuclear program could embroil Israel in a “disastrous war”. Shaul Mofaz, a parliamentary opposition leader who quit Netanyahu’s cabinet last month where he served as vice premier, said on Israeli television he thought Israel was “planning a hasty, irresponsible event”. …
New Syrian envoy 'humbled' by appointment
The new peace envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, says talking about a military option is akin to admitting diplomatic failure.
World No.1 copper mine Escondida H1 output up 18 percent
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Output from the world’s largest copper mine, Chile’s Escondida, jumped 18 percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period of 2011, to 533,242 tonnes on higher ore grades, mine activity and cathode output, the mine said on Friday. Escondida, which is majority-owned by global miner BHP Billiton and extracts about 7 percent of the world’s copper, this year has increased its copper output every month compared to the previous month, according to Chile’s state copper commission Cochilco. …
Rare wildfires threaten Canadian polar bear habitat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Wildfires sparked by lightning near Canada's Hudson Bay are threatening the habitat of polar bears, encroaching on the old tree roots and frozen soil where females make their dens, a conservation expert on the big, white bears said on Thursday. Polar bears are more typically threatened by the melting of sea ice, which they use as platforms for hunting seals, their main prey. But those who live near Hudson Bay spend their summers resting up on shore when the bay thaws, living in dens dug in the frozen soil among the roots of stunted spruce trees. … Silvercorp's legal attack on hedge fund dismissed
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York state judge threw out a lawsuit filed by Vancouver-based Silvercorp Metals Inc against investors who raised questions of potential accounting fraud and misstatements of assets. New York state Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead dismissed a defamation complaint brought by Silvercorp , a China-focused mining company, against New York-based hedge fund Anthion Management, court documents showed on Friday. The case relates to a 14-page dossier sent anonymously to Canadian securities regulators and select news organizations, including Reuters, on August 29, 2011. …
Spain complains to Britain in Gibraltar fishing row
Spain made a formal complaint to Britain Friday in a simmering dispute over fishing off the territory of Gibraltar. Baseball star Eddie Murray settles SEC insider trading charges
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday announced insider trading charges against retired baseball player Eddie Murray and two others for buying shares of the California medical device company Advanced Medical Optics ahead of a public takeover bid by Abbott Laboratories. The SEC also filed charges against James V. Mazzo, who was the CEO of Advanced Medical Optics at the time of the bid, and a Utah businessman David Parker, according to an SEC statement. Murray agreed to settle the charges. The cases against Mazzo and Parker remain open, according to the statement. …
Caisse generates positive returns in first half of year
TORONTO (Reuters) – Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which manages major pension plans in the mostly French-speaking Canadian province, said on Friday it generated positive returns in the first half of 2012 despite turbulent markets and global economic malaise. Montreal-based Caisse’s net assets were C$165.7 billion ($165.7 billion) as of June 30, up from C$159 billion on December 31, 2011. During the six months, Caisse earned a 3.5 percent weighted average return on depositor funds. Depositors made a net contribution of C$1.4 billion in the period. …
Gaza Salafists slam Hamas for post-Sinai attack crackdown
A Salafist official accused Gaza's Hamas rulers on Friday of arresting an activist wounded in an Israeli air raid as part of a crackdown since the deadly Sinai attack on August 5. Israel finds rocket shrapnel near Egypt border
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli forces discovered the remnants of a rocket on Friday near the border with Egypt, two days after two explosions shook the area in a suspected cross-border shooting. A military spokesman said “the remains of a rocket were found in the hills near Eilat”, a southern Red Sea resort town wedged between Jordan and Egypt. The site where the shrapnel was found was closer to the Egyptian frontier, which has grown tense with a rise in rocket strikes and other violence since Israel’s ally, Hosni Mubarak, was toppled by a popular revolt last year. …
Analysis: Natgas writedowns signal bank squeeze on spending
(Reuters) – Huge writedowns on natural gas fields point to cuts to come in oil and gas producers’ reserves from untapped fields at the end of this year, which will constrain their ability to borrow and may herald more asset sales. Bank loans are a lifeline for the many smaller U.S. exploration and production (E&P) companies that rely on debt to cover their drilling costs. Several indebted producers, under pressure from low gas prices, took writedowns on the value of gas still underground because prices are down by a third from last year. Ultra Petroleum Corp took a writedown of $1. …
Somali president hits back against U.N. graft charges
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia's president dismissed a U.N. report that accused senior leaders of corruption and defended his record as he campaigned for re-election in a landmark vote. Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who took over as head of a Western-backed transitional government in 2009, also promised he would step down if he lost – in an apparent answer to some critics who are concerned he could be planning to cling on to power. … 
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