WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes surged to their highest level in 4-1/2 years in January and the month's supply of houses on the market was the smallest since March 2005, further evidence the housing sector recovery is gaining muscle. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday sales jumped 15.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000 units, the highest level since July 2008 when the economy was in the throes of a recession. The percentage gain was the largest since April 1993. … US new-home sales soar nearly 16 pct. in January to highest level in 4 1/2 years
WASHINGTON – U.S. new-home sales jumped in January from the previous month to the highest level since July 2008, a sign that the housing recovery is accelerating.
Blue Jays to decide on Dickey catcher after World Baseball Classic
DUNEDIN, Fla. – The Toronto Blue Jays will decide who catches knuckleballer R.A. Dickey after the World Baseball Classic, says manager John Gibbons.
Litvinenko lawyer accuses UK, Russia of cover-up
LONDON (AP) -- A lawyer for the family of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko accused the British and Russian governments Tuesday of trying to stymie a long-delayed inquest into his poisoning death. Insurers seek to head off criticism over annuities
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s insurers have pledged to help pension savers find the best deal for their retirement, following criticism they have not always done so in the past and the launch of a review by regulators. The Association of British Insurers (ABI), whose 350 members run some of Britain’s biggest pension schemes, said on Tuesday its members had all signed up to the new “ABI Code of Conduct on Retirement Choices”. The code requires insurers to spell out options for buying an annuity – which converts pension savings into retirement income – up to two years before an individual …
Pope to be called 'emeritus pope,' will wear white
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI will be known as "emeritus pope" in his retirement and will continue to wear a white cassock, the Vatican announced Tuesda y, again fueling concerns about potential conflicts arising from having both a reigning and a retired pope. Donkey, buffalo found in South African meat products
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Donkey, water buffalo and other unconventional ingredients have been found in almost two thirds of hamburgers and sausages tested in South Africa, a study released on Tuesday showed. The tests by the University of Stellenbosch were planned before a scandal broke out in Europe over horsemeat labelled as beef that raised concerns worldwide over the risks to human health from a complex and nebulous meat supply chain. …
Strauss-Kahn: Leave me and my love life in peace
PARIS (AP) -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn says he’s sick of people trying to exploit his private life to make money.
Shoppers steer clear of frozen burgers - Kantar
LONDON (Reuters) – Grocers have seen sales of frozen burgers and ready meals plummet in the wake of a scandal over the discovery of horsemeat in beef products, acc ording to industry data published on Tuesday. Market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said in the four weeks ending February 17, frozen burger sales were down 43 percent year-on-year and sales of frozen ready meals declined by 13 percent. The issue, which broke on January 15, has only affected the products consumers buy rather than where they actually do their shopping, said Edward Garner, director at Kantar Worldpanel. … Horse meat sold in beef products in Hungary - watchdog
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Horse meat labelled as beef has been sold in Hungary, the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nebih) said on Tuesday. Gyorgy Pleva, director of Nebih told television channel TV2 that the authorities were looking into three separate cases of suspected horse meat found at the retail and wholesale level. “Horse meat certainly got into (shops),” he said, adding that all the shipments investigated by the authority took place last year. Horse meat has been found in beef products across Europe in recent weeks, damaging confidence in the continent’s vast and complex food industry. …
Litvinenko lawyer accuses UK of cover up to help Russia ties
LONDON (Reuters) – The lawyer for the family of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered in Lon don in 2006, accused Britain and Russia on Tuesday of colluding to try and shut down an inquiry into his death for the sake of trade links. Litvinenko, who had been granted British citizenship and become a vocal critic of the Kremlin, died after someone slipped polonium-210, a rare radioactive isotope, into his cup of tea at a London hotel. The fallout from his death has beleaguered diplomatic relations between London and Moscow ever since. … Judge warns of delays in agent poisoning inquest
LONDON (AP) -- A long-delayed inquest into the poisoning death of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko will likely not start on schedule, the British judge overseeing the case said Tuesday. Dutch court: Jews must also carry ID cards
AMSTERDAM (AP) -- A Dutch appeals court has upheld a EUR60 ($90) fine against an Orthodox Jew who refused to show police an identity card, citing religious reasons.
Ex jailed for Tamara Ecclestone blackmail plot
LONDON (AP) -- A former boyfriend of British socialite Tamara Ecclestone has been sentenced to four years in prison for plotting to blackmail her for 200,000 pounds ($303,000).
Dutch court rejects terror suspect's injunction
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- A court has rejected a Dutch-Pakistani terror suspect’s final attempt to use the Dutch legal system to block his extradition to the United States, where he is wanted for allegedly plotting a suicide attack on an American military base in Afghanistan.
Kerry regales Berliners with tales of divided city
BERLIN (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told young Germans on Tuesday of his adventures as a 12-year-old son of an American diplomat in divided postwar Berlin, and urged them to be true to their ideals and values as Europe struggles to emerge from economic doldrums and deal with the threat of terrorism. UK CBI February retail sales index weakest since September
LONDON (Reuters) – Retail sales rose this month compared to a year ago at the slowest pace since September, a survey by the Confederation of British Industry showed on Tuesday. The reported sales balance in CBI's monthly distributive trades survey d ropped to +8 versus economists' forecasts of a dip to +16. The expected sales balance for March fell to +9, also the weakest since September. However, in the CBI's quarterly survey, the business situation balance rose to +12 – the strongest reading since August 2011. … French finance minister - "Worrying" Italy vote shows Europe needs growth
PARIS (Reuters) – Italy's inconclusive election shows Europe's leaders must give voters across the region hope of stronger growth to offset painful austerity, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said on Tuesday. France's Socialist government, which last week acknowledged it will not hit its 2013 deficit-cutting target, has long insisted that efforts to rein in debt across the euro zone must be counter-balanced by measures to bolster its sickly economies. Germany and others are less keen on that view. … Media challenge secrecy bid over dead Russian spy
LONDON (AP) -- British media organizations are challenging a government secrecy bid for parts of an inquest into the death of a former Russian intelligence agent poisoned in London.
Close encounters with the popes over 3 decades
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Middle East Airlines jetliner had barely taken off from Beirut when I was escorted down the aisle to the first-class section and seated beside Pope Benedict XVI. He had just ended a delicate two-day visit to Lebanon as civil war raged in neighboring Syria, and he looked and sounded weary. 
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