SAN JOSE, Calif. – Canada’s Milos Raonic had a more pressing concern than tennis to think about Friday.
Osborne: Don't use currencies for economic warfare
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, said on Saturday that the Group of 20 would state its opposition to competitive currency devaluations. "The G7 made a very clear statement this week. I think you'll see the G20 echo what was said, and say that currencies should not be used as a tool of competitive devaluation," the chancellor of the exchequer told a briefing in Moscow. "Countries shouldn't make the mistake of the past of using currencies as a tool of economic warfare." (Reporting by Jason Bush; Writing by Douglas Busvine) 
(Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Friday it had been the target of an unidentified hacker group, but it found no evidence that user data was compromised. "Last month, Facebook security discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack," the company said in a blog post posted on Friday afternoon, just before the three-day Presidents Day weekend. "The attack occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised. … 
BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korea has told its key ally, China, that it is prepared to stage one or even two more nuclear tests this year in an effort to force the United States into diplomatic talks, said a source with direct knowledge of the message. Further tests could also be accompanied this year by another rocket launch, said the source, who has direct access to the top levels of government in both Beijing and Pyongyang. North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday, drawing global condemnation and a stern warning from the United States that it was a threat and a provocation. … 
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) -- Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who won world acclaim by competing in last summer's Olympics, broke into loud sobs on Friday after prosecutors announced a charge of premeditated murder against him in the shooting death of his model girlfriend. 
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron will arrive in India on Monday to tr y to win new trade and investment in the face of fierce global competition, hoping New Delhi may change its mind and choose the Eurofighter over France's rival Rafale jet. Making his second visit to India as prime minister, Cameron's trip comes days after a similar trade promotion mission by French President Francois Hollande, underlining how Europe's debt-stricken states are competing with one another to tap into one of the world's fastest-growing economies. The timing of Cameron's trip is not ideal. … 
(Reuters) – Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc fell 3 percent on Friday after Bloomberg quoted a mid-level executive's email as saying the world's largest retailer had the worst sales start to any month in seven y ears in February. Wal-Mart executives blamed the poor sales performance on increased payroll taxes as well as delayed tax returns, Bloomberg said. Higher payroll taxes this year are seen as a potential problem for Wal-Mart and other discount retailers that try to attract lower-income customers who have less disposable income. … 
MOSCOW (AP) -- With a blinding flash and a booming shock wave, a meteor blazed across the sky over Russia's Ural Mountains region Friday and exploded with the force of an atomic bomb, injuring more than 1,000 people as it blasted out windows and spread panic in a city of 1 million. 
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chadian President Idriss Deby fired two ministers in charge of security after his suspension last week of the central African nation's entire nearly 6,000-member police force followi ng allegations of graft, favoritism and abuse. In an announcement read over state radio late on Thursday, Deby sacked Public Security Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir, and Bachar Ali Souleymane, minister of territorial administration. The dismissals followed the firing of Chad's police chief on February 6, two days after the suspension of the force itself. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party called on Thursday for a tax on expensive homes to fund a new lower-income tax band to help the country's lowest earners. Setting out some of the first concrete ideas of what his party would offer voters at the next election, which is expected in 2015, Ed Miliband said a Labour government would introduce a tax on houses worth over 2 million pounds ($3.1 million). … 
(Reuters) – A passenger from the stricken Triumph cruise ship sued Carnival Corp on Friday over "horrifying" conditions, including being forced to wa de through human faeces from overflowing toilets after power was knocked out by a fire. The lawsuit by Cassie Terry of Brazoria County, Texas, alleged Carnival failed to provide a seaworthy vessel and sanitary conditions, according to court documents. Terry suffered physical and emotional harm, including anxiety, nervousness and the loss of the enjoyment of life, according to the complaint filed in federal court in Miami. … 
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan military investigators said on Friday that the army did not shell civilians as it crushed a Tamil rebellion, refuting international allegations of human rights at rocities. Rights groups say the Sri Lankan military killed thousands of ethnic minority Tamil civilians in the shrinking territory held by rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) just before their defeat in May 2009. An expert panel set up by U.N. … 
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Kenyan defense officials said o n Friday they would not negotiate with Somali militants linked to al Qaeda who said they executed a Kenyan army private at midnight on Thursday. The al Shabaab militants, who want to impose a strict version of sharia, or Islamic law, said they killed the soldier after the expiry of an ultimatum for the release of Muslims held by Kenya on terror charges. The rebels also postponed the execution deadline by 72 hours for five other hostages, including two government workers. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket chain, has responded to the scandal of horseme at being sold as beef with a pledge to offer customers insight into its global supply chain. Regulators and companies in the food industry have been rushing to deal with issues thrown up by the crisis and ease consumer concerns about food quality. In a blog on Friday, Tesco Chief Executive Philip Clarke promised to provide customers with a window to the workings of its suppliers, providing visibility and transparency to restore confidence in the provenance of its food. … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for talks in Washington on February 22, the White House said on Friday. "The president looks forward to in-depth discussions with Prime Minister Abe on a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance, economic and trade issues, and deepening bilateral cooperation," Obama's press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. It will be the first meeting of the two leaders since Abe led his party back to power in December. … 
MOSCOW (AP) -- A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb Friday, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring about 1,100 people. 
MILAN (Reuters) – Corruption probes at three major companies have hurt corporate Italy's image with investors and revived memories, just a week before an election, of the scandals that devastated Italian p olitics in the 1990s. Defense firm Finmeccanica, oil group Eni and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world's oldest bank and Italy's third largest, all face judicial probes into crimes ranging from bribing foreign officials to accounting fraud. "We're facing something very like Tangentopoli," outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Friday, referring to the "Bribesville" scandals 20 years … 
CAIRO (Reuters) – Thousands of Islamists protested in Cairo on Friday against violence that has marred anti-government demonstration s, showing support for President Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood politician elected head of state last year. The "Together against Violence" rally was called by a hardline Salafi Islamist group that waged an armed revolt against the state in the 1990s. Al-Gama'a al-Islamiya, whose leadership renounced violence more than a decade ago, has entered mainstream politics since autocratic president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown in 2011. … 
A meteor streaked across the sky and exploded over Russia's Ural Mountains with the power of an atomic bomb Friday, its sonic blasts shattering countless windows and injuring nearly 1,000 people. The spectacle deeply frightened many Russians, with some declaring that the world was coming to an end. Many of the injured were cut by flying glass as they flocked to windows to see what the source was for such an intense flash of light. 
LONDON (AP) -- The European Union agreed Friday to begin random DNA checks on meat products in a bid to put a lid on a spreading scandal over horsemeat, while British authorities announced traces of horse had been found in school meals, restaurant dishes and hospital food, as well as supermarket p roducts. 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Rogers Communications Inc , Canada's largest wireless company, posted a 30 percent rise in adjusted quarterly profit, increased its dividend and said its chief executive would leave the company early next year. A successor was not named for CEO Nadir Mohamed, who will retire in January 2014. He has led the company since the death of Ted Rogers, the broadcast and telecommunications company's founder, four years ago. Shares of the company jumped more than 5 percent to C$47. … 
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba's best-known dissident, blogger Yoani Sanchez, says she plans to make good use of "my victory" wh en she leaves on an 80-day-tour of more than a dozen countries on Sunday. Sanchez, under Cuba's sweeping migration reform that went into effect this year, was given her passport two weeks ago, after being denied permission to travel more than 20 times over the past five years. … 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers on Friday at a rally outside an Israeli prison in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian medical officials said two protesters were wounded by live gunfire in the demonstration, which was mounted as a show of solidarity with Palestinians being held in the nearby Ofer prison. A crowd of about 300 Palestinians threw stones at troops, who used riot dispersal equipment to break up the protest, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. "The soldiers, feeling immediate danger, fired in the air," she said. … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Major powers plan to offer to ease sanctions barring trade in gold and other precious metals with Iran in return for Iranian st eps to shut down the nation's newly expanded Fordow uranium enrichment plant, Western officials said on Friday. The officials said the offer is to be presented to Iran at February 26 talks in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and they acknowledged that it represents a relatively modest update to proposals that the six major powers put forward last year. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – A forensic report commissioned by Reuters said on Friday that a suspect in the assassin ation of a Hamas commander in Dubai and a deceased Australian immigrant, reported to have been an Israeli spy, were not the same man. Israel has released few details on the case of Melbourne-born Ben Zygier, reported to have been a Mossad recruit found dead in an isolated prison cell in 2010. The silence has led to widespread speculation about the man's secret arrest and alleged crime. … 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Consumer sentiment improved in February, buoyed by signs of increased hiring, though worries heightened about a decline in future income, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment rose to 76.3 from 73.8 in January, topping economists' forecasts of 74.8. The barometer of current economic conditions rose to 88 from 85, while the gauge of consumer expectations rose to 68.7 from 66.6. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil company Royal Dutch/Shell has asked the British government to raise the subject of a tax dispute w ith India during Prime Minister David Cameron's visit there next week, according to a source familiar with the request. The dispute blew up earlier this month when tax authorities revalued by $2.7 billion (1.7 billion pounds) a 2009 transaction by Shell with a wholly-owned subsidiary, and claimed a tax payment was due. It comes as India faces a potential seeks to balance the need to shore up its finances by raising tax receipts with its desire to encourage foreign … 
CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government will publish photographs of Hugo Chavez on Friday, the information minister said, in what would be th e first view of the president since he had cancer surgery in Cuba on December 11. Information Minister Ernesto Villegas made the announcement on Twitter, adding that a communique on the 58-year-old socialist leader's condition would also be read shortly. Chavez has not been seen in public since he went to Havana for the operation on December 11, his fourth surgery in 18 months for cancer that was first diagnosed in mid-2011. … 
ROME (AP) -- At 5:45 a.m. on Nov. 4, 2011, when early risers would have been sipping espressos and buttering toast, a man dressed in black disembarked at Milan's Malpensa Airport after a 13-hour trip from Asia aboard a Singapore Airlines flight. 
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) -- Thousands of anti-government marchers jammed a major highway Friday as clashes broke out for a second day between security forces and protesters marking the anniversary of their uprising in the strategic Gulf nation. 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Sales of existing homes in Canada rose in January from December, but dropped year over year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Friday, in a report that adds to recent sig ns showing the country's post-recession real estate boom has stalled. The industry group for Canadian real estate agents said sales activity was up 1.3 percent in January from December. Actual sales for January, not seasonally adjusted, were down 5.2 percent from a year earlier. CREA's Home Price Index rose 3.1 percent in January from a year earlier, the smallest gain since April 2011. … 
LONDON (AP) -- Tests have found horsemeat in school meals, hospital food and restaurant dishes in Britain, officials said Friday, as the scandal over adulterated meat spread beyond frozen supermarket products. 
ISLAMABAD/JAMMU, India (Reuters) – A Pakistani was killed after crossing into the Indian side of Kashmir, officials on both sides said on Friday, but their competing accounts indica ted that tension remains high a month after the worst outbreak of violence in years in the disputed region. The Pakistani army said one of its soldiers on Thursday inadvertently strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) dividing the mountain territory. … 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India is seeking to cancel a $750 million order for a dozen helicopters from Italian defense group Finmeccanica, the defense ministry said on Friday, escalating its response to kickback allegations. Indi a has frozen payments for the AgustaWestland helicopters pending an inquiry, after Italian police arrested the head of Finmeccanica, Giuseppe Orsi, in connection with the case earlier this week. Orsi, who has denied any wrongdoing, formally resigned on Friday. … 
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Pro-autonomy leaders in eastern Libya urged followers to cancel planned rallies against central authorities on Friday for fear they could ignite violence as the country marks two years since the start of its revolution. Various opposition and interest groups in Benghazi, fount of the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Muammar Gaddafi, have prepared mass demonstrations later in the day to demand better security and investment for Libya's second biggest city. … 
(Reuters) – Canadian stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Friday after Toronto's main stock index hit a one-week low on Thursday, with investors focused on results from major companies like Rogers Communications, Telus and Goldcorp. (Reporting by Chandrashekha r Modi; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson) 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Relatives of an Australian immigrant to Israel who killed himself in 2010 while secretly jailed o n charges of violating national security are seeking compensation from the state, a source briefed on the affair said on Friday. The source said the talks were preliminary as Israel had not formally faulted its prison authorities in the death of Ben Zygier, which was made public this week by an Australian television expose that described him as a Mossad officer. … 
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian manufacturing sales recorded the biggest decline in about 3-1/2 years in December, due mainly to weaker auto production but also on lower sales across most other industries, Statistics Canada said on Friday. Factory sales tumbled 3.1 percent in the month, the sharpest fall since May 2009 in seasonally-adjusted terms, compared with market forecasts for a 0.8 percent decline. The setback more than erased the 1.9 percent gain in November, revised from 1.7 percent previously. Excluding the auto sector, sales fell 1. …