A woman looks at a Center for Disease Control (CDC) health advisory sign about the dangers of the Zika virus as she lines up for a security screening at Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, U.S., May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Florida health officials on Tuesday said they were investigating three new Zika virus cases likely stemming from local mosquito bites in Miami-Dade County, including two cases outside of the known areas of active transmission.
The new infections bring the state's total of non-travel-related cases to 46, according to the Florida Department of Health. Only one of Tuesday's three new cases was linked to Miami Beach, which is known to be an active area for local Zika transmission.
The health department said it was investigating the other two cases to determine where they occurred, but cautioned, "One case does not mean ongoing active transmission is taking place."
The department said it believes ongoing transmission is only taking place in parts of Miami Beach and the trendy Miami neighborhood of Wynwood, the site of the first local Zika transmission in the United States.
Zika infections have been mounting in popular tourist areas and may have caused concern among wary vacationers. Travelers have booked fewer hotel rooms in downtown Miami, and leisure airfares to the greater Miami area have inched down in the weeks since the Zika virus was detected there.
Florida health department workers have been going door-to-door in Pinellas, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties to talk to residents about the virus and offer voluntary tests.
The Zika virus was first detected in Brazil last year and has since spread across the Americas. The virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth defects, including microcephaly. It has been linked to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in Brazil.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Three new cases of local Zika transmission in Florida: officials


Florida health officials on Tuesday said they were investigating three new Zika virus cases likely stemming from local mosquito bites in Miami-Dade County, including two cases outside of the known areas of active transmission.


A man is reflected in a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
SYDNEY Asian shares bounced on Tuesday as doubts the Federal Reserve really would hike rates as soon as September undermined the dollar, while investors continued to count on more policy stimulus elsewhere in the world.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.4 percent, recouping around half of Monday's loss. Stocks in South Korea .KS11 and Australia both rose around 0.6 percent.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.1 percent as the yen turned around and starting nudging higher once more.
A raft of Japanese data, from unemployment to retail sales, mostly beat analysts forecasts but did nothing to change expectations the Bank of Japan would eventually have to ease further.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday said the case for a rate increase was strengthening, but provided little detail on when the Fed would next move. Vice Chair Stanley Fischer suggested a hike as soon as next month was possible.
Yet while the initial market reaction was to push up the probability of a September hike to 44 percent, investors quickly had second thoughts and early Tuesday the implied chance was back at 36 percent <0#FF:>.
On Wall Street, the Dow .DJI ended Monday up 0.58 percent, while the S&P 500 .SPX added 0.52 percent and the Nasdaq .IXIC 0.26 percent.
Financials .SPSY was the best performer on the S&P 500, with Wells Fargo (WFC.N) up 2.2 percent.
The sector typically rises with talk of higher rates, on the expectation that banks' income could rise as they charge more for loans. However, the correlation is not direct as it requires the yield curve to steepen and, so far, it is not obliging.
Indeed, longer-term yields fell further than the short end on Monday, in part because much of the market suspects any Fed tightening would lead to even lower inflation over the long run.
Figures out Monday showed the Fed preferred measure of core inflation stuck at 1.6 percent for a fifth straight month.
The San Francisco Fed underlined the subdued outlook for inflation and rates in a research note.
The "natural" rate of interest - the real rate consistent with full use of economic resources and steady inflation near the Fed's target level - was near zero and would rise to only 1 percent over the next decade.
"If these projections are accurate, then a monetary policy designed to track the rise in r-star (natural rate) would imply a very gradual normalization of the federal funds rate," the note said.
The retreat in Treasury yields undid some of the dollar's gains and its index edged back to 95.575 from a two-week top of 95.834 .DXY.
The dollar likewise ebbed to 101.82 yen JPY= from a peak of 102.39, while the euro steadied at $1.1184 EUR=.
In commodity markets, oil steadied after falling by around 1 percent on Monday. Oversupply remained a major concern with U.S. crude stockpiles forecast to have risen by 1.3 million barrels last week, a Reuters poll showed. [O/R]
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 6 cents at $49.32 a barrel, while U.S. crude CLc1 added 9 cents to $47.0.

Asia stocks bounce, dollar dips on Fed hike doubts


Asian shares bounced on Tuesday as doubts the Federal Reserve really would hike rates as soon as September undermined the dollar, while investors continued to count on more policy stimulus elsewhere in the world.


Swiss drugmaker Roche's logo is seen at their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland January 28, 2016. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
ZURICH Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.S) said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its test for the Zika virus.
"The LightMix Zika test is an easy-to-use molecular diagnostic test that enables healthcare professionals to quickly detect the virus," said Uwe Oberlaender, the head of molecular diagnostics at Basel-based Roche.
The virus has been associated with microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an unusually small head and potential developmental problems.
(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Roche says U.S. FDA issues Emergency Use Authorization for Zika test


Swiss drugmaker Roche (ROG.S) said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its test for the Zika virus.


A 3D printed Whatsapp logo is seen in front of a displayed stock graph in this illustration taken April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Britain's data privacy regulator said on Friday it would monitor how popular messaging service WhatsApp shares data with parent Facebook Inc under a new privacy policy.
The Information Commission's Office (ICO) said while some users may be concerned by the lack of control provided by the updated privacy policy, others may consider it a positive.
WhatsApp, which has more than a billion users, said on Thursday it would start sharing users' phone numbers with Facebook, allowing for more relevant advertisements and friend recommendations on the social media network.
However, the ICO does not have the power to block such a move.
"Organizations do not need to get prior approval from the ICO to change their approaches, but they do need to stay within data protection laws," said Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham.
WhatsApp has said users could choose not to share account information with Facebook.
The company said the change was part of its plan to explore ways for businesses to send messages using its platform.
WhatsApp said earlier this year that it was experimenting making businesses pay to reach their customers through the service.
(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

UK regulator to monitor WhatsApp's data sharing with Facebook


Britain's data privacy regulator said on Friday it would monitor how popular messaging service WhatsApp shares data with parent Facebook Inc under a new privacy policy.


Las Vegas Strip casinos are seen from the 550 foot-tall (167.6 m) High Roller observation wheel, the tallest in the world, in Las Vegas, Nevada April 9, 2014. REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus
CHICAGO Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR.O) must face lawsuits from bondholders seeking some $11 billion in claims, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday in a decision the casino company had warned could plunge it into bankruptcy alongside its operating unit.
Shares of the Nevada-based gaming company fell 12 percent after-hours.
Caesars Entertainment Operating Co (CEOC), which filed for Chapter 11 protection in January 2015, was asking for a third court shield from lawsuits against its parent to protect a multibillion-dollar contribution to its reorganization plan.
The high-stakes CEOC bankruptcy has been plagued by a complex web of litigation pitting some of the most aggressive investors on Wall Street against each other.
A current injunction expires on Aug. 29, a day before Caesars faces a potential ruling in New York on lawsuits from bondholders alleging it reneged on guarantees from bonds issued by CEOC prior to the unit's $18 billion bankruptcy.
CEOC had argued that another halt to a decision on those lawsuits was critical to securing a settlement with holdout creditors before its reorganization plan heads to a confirmation trial in January.
"I can't find that an injunction is likely to enhance the prospects for negotiation," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar in Chicago said in his courtroom ruling.
Bitter creditors accuse Caesars and its private equity sponsors Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) and TPG Capital Management LP [TPG.UL] of stripping the unit of choice assets such as the LINQ Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and leaving it bankrupt.
Caesars, Apollo and TPG have denied any wrongdoing, though a court-appointed examiner found they could be on the hook for up to $5.1 billion in claims.
To settle the allegations Caesars has offered to pitch about $4 billion into CEOC's reorganization in exchange for releases from the claims. Goldgar asked on Friday why Apollo and TPG were not also contributing, saying the injunctions to date had provided them "a comfortable free ride" on CEOC's "coattails".
Both Caesars and CEOC said they were disappointed by the decision. The court's refusal to extend the shield puts Caesars' "substantial contribution" to CEOC's reorganization plan "at serious risk," a Caesars spokesman said in an email.
CEOC lawyers said they planned to appeal the ruling.
"It would be hard to reverse Goldgar without dramatically expanding the availability of third-party releases, something that would be out of step with the standards in other circuits," said Douglas Baird, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
(Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Matthew Lewis)

Caesars must face $11 billion in lawsuits: U.S. judge


Caesars Entertainment Corp (CZR.O) must face lawsuits from bondholders seeking some $11 billion in claims, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday in a decision the casino company had warned could plunge it into bankruptcy alongside its operating unit.


A padlock is displayed at the Alert Logic booth during the 2016 Black Hat cyber-security conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. August 3, 2016. REUTERS/David Becker
WASHINGTON The FBI is urging U.S. election officials to increase computer security after it uncovered evidence that hackers have targeted two state election databases in recent weeks, according to a confidential advisory.
The warning was in an Aug. 18 flash alert from the FBI's Cyber Division. Reuters obtained a copy of the document.
Yahoo News first reported the story Monday, citing unnamed law enforcement officials who said they believed foreign hackers caused the intrusions.
U.S. intelligence officials have become increasingly worried that hackers sponsored by Russia or other countries may attempt to disrupt the November presidential election.
Officials and cyber security experts say recent breaches at the Democratic National Committee and elsewhere in the Democratic Party were likely carried out by people within the Russian government. Kremlin officials have denied the allegations of Moscow's involvement.
Concerns about election computer security prompted Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to convene a conference call with state election officials earlier this month, when he offered the department's help in making their voting systems more secure.
The FBI warning did not identify the two states targeted by cyber intruders, but Yahoo News said sources familiar with the document said it referred to Arizona and Illinois, whose voter registration systems were penetrated.
Citing a state election board official, Yahoo News said the Illinois voter registration system was shut down for 10 days in late July after hackers downloaded personal data on up to 200,000 voters.
The Arizona attack was more limited and involved introducing malicious software into the voter registration system, Yahoo News quoted a state official as saying. No data was removed in that attack, the official said.
(Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

FBI detects breaches against two state voter systems


The FBI is urging U.S. election officials to increase computer security after it uncovered evidence that hackers have targeted two state election databases in recent weeks, according to a confidential advisory.


U.S. President Barack Obama walks from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S. before his departure to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama shortened the prison sentences of 111 convicts serving time for drug-related offenses in his second round of clemency grants this month, the White House said on Tuesday.
Obama has now granted a total of 673 commutations during his presidency, more than the number granted by the 10 previous presidents combined, as he seeks to reform the criminal justice system, it said.
For some of the convicts, the commutations mean they will serve only half of their original prison sentences. For instance, Sly Stallone Aikens of South Carolina, serving a sentence of 360 months for using and carrying a gun during a drug trafficking crime, will now serve only 180 months.
More than one-third of the 673 convicts had been serving life sentences.
Obama has made reducing the number of people serving long sentences for nonviolent drug offenses a priority. It is one of the rare issues where the president gets support from Republican lawmakers.
He launched the clemency program in 2014, inviting thousands of drug offenders and others to seek early release. It was the most ambitious such program in 40 years, but it has struggled under a flood of thousands of unprocessed cases.
The White House counsel, Neil Eggleston, said he expects Obama will continue to grant commutations through the end of his presidency, which ends on Jan. 20. But only legislation passed by Congress can "achieve the broader reforms needed to ensure our federal sentencing system operates more fairly and effectively," Eggleston said.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Jonathan Oatis)

Obama shortens prison sentences of 111 convicts: White House


U.S. President Barack Obama shortened the prison sentences of 111 convicts serving time for drug-related offenses in his second round of clemency grants this month, the White House said on Tuesday.


A Boeing 787-9 jet ready for delivery to ANA Holdings Ltd is seen at Boeing's delivery center in Everett, Washington, U.S. August 17, 2016. REUTERS/Alwyn Scott
TOKYO Japanese carrier ANA Holdings Inc (9202.T) said on Tuesday it could take two to three years to replace engine parts for its Boeing (BA.N) 787 models with new ones.
ANA said last week it needed to replace damaged compressor blades in the Rolls-Royce (RR.L) engines powering its 787s, forcing it to cancel some Dreamliner flights over the coming weeks.
Rolls-Royce was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Maki Shiraki; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Japan's ANA says replacing 787 aircraft engine parts could take two to three years


Japanese carrier ANA Holdings Inc (9202.T) said on Tuesday it could take two to three years to replace engine parts for its Boeing (BA.N) 787 models with new ones.


Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, in this October 20, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin/ Files
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with a Cuban news agency in this handout picture provided by SANA on July 21, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
A Civil Defence member carries a damaged canister in Ibleen village from what activists said was a chlorine gas attack, on Kansafra, Ibleen and Josef villages, Idlib countryside May 3, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
A man inspects a site targeted by what activists said was a poison gas attack in the village of Sarmin in Idlib province March 17, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Bayoush
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault arrives to attend a defence council at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, a day after a priest was killed with a knife and another hostage seriously wounded in an attack on a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray carried out by assailants linked to Islamic State, July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
PARIS A U.N. report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria is a chance to push Russia to accept a resolution condemning the Syrian regime and resume political negotiations, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.
A joint investigation by the United Nations and the global chemical weapons watchdog OPCW found that Syrian government troops were responsible for two toxic gas attacks and Islamic State militants used sulfur mustard gas.
"We are working with our partners in the U.N. Security Council, notably the United States and Britain, on a resolution condemning the attacks under Chapter 7," Ayrault told France's Le Monde newspaper in a interview published on Saturday.
"This means sanctions against the perpetrators of these crimes and those responsible for these abominations," he said.
The Security Council is due to discuss the report next week.
The inquiry found there was sufficient information to conclude that Syrian Arab Air Force helicopters dropped devices that then released toxic substances in Talmenes on April 21, 2014 and Sarmin on March 16, 2015, both in Idlib province. Both cases involved the use of chlorine.
It has set the stage for a Security Council showdown between the five veto-wielding powers, likely pitting Russia and China against the United States, Britain and France over whether sanctions should be imposed in the wake of the inquiry.
Ayrault said France's goal was to obtain a condemnation by the Security Council and create the conditions for resuming political dialogue.
"We must use this opportunity to tell Russia: You now have a opportunity to head back to the political track and get out of the military quagmire you walked into," Ayrault said.
Russia said on Thursday it was prepared to work with the United States on a response to the U.N. report.
Le Monde quoted Ayrault as saying: "Russia says it wants a political solution and resuming talks in Geneva? I tell them then: condemn the Syrian regime and stop the bombings."
(Reporting by Bate Felix and John Irish; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

France's Ayrault urges Russia to back U.N. resolution on Syria


A U.N. report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria is a chance to push Russia to accept a resolution condemning the Syrian regime and resume political negotiations, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.


Three storm systems are shown (L TO R) Tropical Depression Nine to the southeast of Florida, Tropical Depression Eight just off the coast of the Carolinas and Hurricane Gaston in the central Atlantic Ocean are shown in this GOES East satellite image captured August 29, 2016.... REUTERS
Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning on Wednesday for the Florida Gulf Coast, where preparations were being made for life-threatening flooding and fierce winds, while residents of Hawaii's Big Island were warned of an encroaching hurricane.
Some local governments in Florida have begun distributing sandbags as the unnamed tropical depression heads toward the state's Gulf Coast where as much as 15 inches of rain could fall from Indian Pass on the panhandle along the Gulf of Mexico to north of Tampa, the National Hurricane Center said in an early morning advisory.
"Persons located within these areas should be prepared to take all necessary actions to protect life and property from rising water," the center said.
The center also issued a hurricane watch for the coast, saying the system, which is currently packing 35 mph (55 kph) with higher gusts, is expected to strengthen as it heads east.
Flooding, storm surge, fierce winds and tornadoes were all threats to the region, which could begin feeling the storm late on Wednesday, Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a statement.
On its current path, the system could make landfall on Florida's north-central Gulf Coast on Thursday, bringing storms into Georgia and the eastern Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida raised the activation status of its State Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday to begin preparing.
Another unnamed tropical depression was turning out to sea on Wednesday after threatening the North Carolina coast, according to the hurricane center.
On Hawaii's Big Island, residents were warned on Tuesday of an encroaching hurricane expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains.
The National Weather Service (NWS) tracked Hurricane Madeline swirling about 235 miles (380 km) east of the town of Hilo around 11 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The storm was forecast to "pass dangerously close" on Wednesday, prompting the NWS to issue a hurricane warning for the island.
Madeline was ranked as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph), the weather service said.
The County of Hawaii sent residents an alert about the hurricane's dangers, including heavy rains that could lead to mudslides, as well as possibly damaging ocean swells.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by nightfall today," the alert said.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Storm bears down on Florida, hurricane threatens Hawaii


Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning on Wednesday for the Florida Gulf Coast, where preparations were being made for life-threatening flooding and fierce winds, while residents of Hawaii's Big Island were warned of an encroaching hurricane.


LONDON Two United Airlines pilots were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol in Scotland on Saturday as they were about to fly to the United States, police and the airline said.
Police Scotland said the two men, aged 35 and 45 years, were detained under a section of the Railways and Transport Safety Act which covers carrying out pilot function or activity whilst exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol.
The men are expected to appear in court in Paisley, near Glasgow, on Monday.
The flight from Glasgow to Newark Airport, New Jersey, carrying 141 passengers, eventually took off nearly 10 hours late on Saturday evening with a new crew, the airline said.
United said two pilots had been removed from service and their flying duties.
"We're collaborating with the authorities and will conduct our own investigation," said spokeswoman Erin Benson.
"The safety of our customers is our highest priority."
The pilots were arrested in the cockpit shortly before the 0800 GMT flight to the New Jersey airport was due to depart, the BBC reported.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle in London and Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Two United Airlines pilots held on alcohol charge in Scotland


Two United Airlines pilots were arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol in Scotland on Saturday as they were about to fly to the United States, police and the airline said.


The ticker and trading information for St. Jude Medical is displayed where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Medical device manufacturer St. Jude Medical Inc (STJ.N) said on Friday that a report by short-selling firm Muddy Waters and a cyber-security researcher alleging its heart devices were riddled with bugs was "false and misleading."
The report, which caused St Jude shares to decline after its release on Thursday, alleged there were significant security bugs in the company's Merlin@home device for monitoring implanted heart devices.
St. Jude initially responded on Thursday with a terse statement from its chief technology officer, Phil Ebeling, who said "the allegations are absolutely untrue." But he did not provide specific examples of errors.
St. Jude on Friday issued a longer analysis, saying the majority of the observations in the report applied to older versions of its Merlin@home devices, which had not been patched with security upgrades that the company automatically pushes out to customers.
"We want to reassure our patients that our systems meet the highest international security requirements, as required by regulatory authorities and international standards organizations," St Jude said.
Muddy Waters founder Carson Block and MedSec executives could not be reached for comment, but Block told CNBC cable television network: "If the deal were to break, I think that we could be $55 or lower," implying a drop of more than 27 percent from St. Jude's current share price.
A spokeswoman for Muddy Waters said he had no immediate response to St Jude's claim that the testing was done on older versions of its devices with unpatched software.
He said his only comment was that "We continue to stand by the report and are pleased the company has actually decided to respond to the allegations."
St Jude shares were little changed at $77.80 after the company released its statement following a halt in trading. Earlier they had traded as low as $75.34 in heavy trade.
Block said on Thursday he decided to short the stock after MedSec approached Muddy Waters about three months ago with results of research it had conducted into its medical device security.
The two struck a deal under which Block agreed to hire the cyber security firm as a consultant, pay it a licensing fee for the research and a percentage of any profits from the investment, Block said.
In its rebuttal on Friday, St Jude said the researchers used a "flawed test methodology on outdated software," demonstrating "lack of understanding of medical device technology."
(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Toronto; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and James Dalgleish)

St. Jude says report by short sellers 'false and misleading'


Medical device manufacturer St. Jude Medical Inc (STJ.N) said on Friday that a report by short-selling firm Muddy Waters and a cyber-security researcher alleging its heart devices were riddled with bugs was "false and misleading."


GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares ease, taking cue from Wall Street, oil slips
TOKYO, Aug 31 Asian shares eased on Wednesday following modest losses on Wall Street, but were still on track for a monthly rise as investors waited to see if upcoming job data could prod the Federal Reserve into raising interest rates as soon as September.

BRIEF-Clubcorp holdings acquires heritage golf club


The ticker and trading information for St. Jude Medical is displayed where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
University of Michigan researchers on Tuesday said their own experiments undermine recent allegations of security flaws in St. Jude Medical Inc's pacemakers and other implantable medical devices.
Shares of St. Jude fell 5 percent on Thursday after short-selling firm Muddy Waters and its business partner, cyber security company MedSec Holdings Inc, alleged finding significant security bugs in the company's Merlin@home device for monitoring implanted heart devices. They said the flaws could potentially enable others to remotely speed up the heart devices or drain their power.
The university said its researchers came "to strikingly different conclusions" after generating the conditions reported by Muddy Waters and not finding a security issue.
The team consisted of several leading medical device security researchers and a cardiologist from the university, it said in a release.
Muddy Waters founder Carson Block had shorted St. Jude shares after MedSec recently approached him with results of research it had conducted into the company's medical device security, he said. In an unusual deal, Block said he hired the cyber security firm as a consultant and agreed to pay it a licensing fee for the research and a percentage of any profits from the investment.
The University of Michigan's team reproduced error messages, or signs of a problem, which Muddy Waters cited as evidence of a successful "crash attack" into a home-monitored implantable heart device. But the messages are the same set of errors that display if the device is not properly plugged in, the university said.
"We're not saying the (Muddy Waters) report is false; we're saying it's inconclusive because the evidence does not support their conclusions," said Kevin Fu, University of Michigan associate professor of computer science and engineering and director of the Archimedes Center for Medical Device Security.
St. Jude has called the Muddy Waters report "false and misleading," saying most of the observations applied to older versions of its Merlin@home devices that had not been patched with security upgrades.
Officials at Muddy Waters could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Frances Kerry)

University study finds flaws in criticism of St. Jude cyber security


University of Michigan researchers on Tuesday said their own experiments undermine recent allegations of security flaws in St. Jude Medical Inc's pacemakers and other implantable medical devices.


U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testifies before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Monday that he directed his advisory council to evaluate whether the agency should continue to contract with private prison companies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of DHS, currently uses private prison groups like Corrections Corporation of America to run some of its detention facilities for migrants.
The announcement follows the Justice Department's decision to phase out its contracts with private prisons on Aug. 18.
(Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security evaluating use of private prison companies


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Monday that he directed his advisory council to evaluate whether the agency should continue to contract with private prison companies.


Israeli border policemen stand guard at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli soldiers inspect the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli border policemen stand guard at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
Israeli troops gather at the scene where a Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank village of Silwad near Ramallah August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
JERUSALEM Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed an apparently unarmed Palestinian who ran toward their position in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and the incident was under review, a military spokeswoman said.
A Palestinian official said the 38-year-old man suffered from mental illness, and several unsourced Israeli news websites reported that no weapons were found on his body.
"(Israeli) forces identified a suspect running toward an IDF (Israel Defence Forces) post in Silwad," the military spokeswoman said. "Upon the suspect's advance, the forces shot the suspect, resulting in his death. The incident is currently being reviewed."
Asked whether the Palestinian had been armed, she said that "the details are still being checked."
Since October, Palestinians, many of them acting alone and with rudimentary weapons, have killed at least 33 Israelis and two visiting Americans. At least 209 Palestinians have been killed, 141 of whom Israel said were assailants. Others died during clashes and protests.
Palestinian leaders say assailants have acted out of desperation over the collapse of peace talks in 2014 and Israeli settlement expansion in Israeli-occupied territory that Palestinians seek for an independent state. Most countries view the settlements as illegal. Israel disputes this.
Israel says incitement in the Palestinian media and personal problems at home have been important factors that have spurred assailants, often teenagers, to carry out attacks.
On Wednesday, an Israeli soldier fatally shot a Palestinian motorist who the army said had stabbed him and thrown rocks from his car at a military vehicle in the West Bank.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Heller and Ali Sawafta; Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Larry King)

Israeli troops kill Palestinian who ran toward them, army says


Israeli soldiers on Friday shot and killed an apparently unarmed Palestinian who ran toward their position in a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, and the incident was under review, a military spokeswoman said.


U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson testifies before a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. July 14, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Monday that he directed his advisory council to evaluate whether the agency should continue to contract with private prisons, news that hit shares of private prison operators.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of DHS, currently uses private prison groups like Corrections Corp of America and The GEO Group to run some detention facilities for migrants.
Corrections Corp of America's stock slid 9.4 percent and The GEO Group's stock fell 6 percent immediately after news of the review broke.
The announcement followed the U.S. Justice Department's decision to phase out the Bureau of Prison's contracts with private prisons on Aug. 18.
Johnson said he directed DHS's Homeland Security Advisory Council on Friday "to evaluate whether the immigration detention operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement should move in the same direction" as the Bureau of Prisons.
Corrections Corp of America gained $689 million from ICE contracts since, 23 percent of its total revenue from federal contracts, according to the website SmartProcure that tracks government contracts. The company currently manages a facility for Central American women and children in Dilley, Texas.
The GEO Group has earned $1.18 billion from contracts with ICE since 2008, about 60 percent of its total revenue from federal contracts, according SmartProcure data.
Both companies also contract with state and local prison systems.
The GEO Group said in a statement that it welcomed the review by DHS.
"GEO's facilities under contract with ICE are highly rated and provide high-quality, cost-effective services in safe, secure, and humane residential environments pursuant to strict
contractual requirements and the federal government's national standards," the statement said.
Corrections Corp of America could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Reporting by Julia Edwards, additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)

U.S. immigration agency to review private prison deals; shares slide


Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Monday that he directed his advisory council to evaluate whether the agency should continue to contract with private prisons, news that hit shares of private prison operators.


A cartoon by Ali, an Iranian refugee held at Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention centre whose pen name is Eaten Fish, is seen in this image supplied to Reuters on August 27, 2016. Eaten Fish/Handout via REUTERS
A cartoon by Ali, an Iranian refugee held at Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention centre whose pen name is Eaten Fish, is seen in this image supplied to Reuters on August 27, 2016. Eaten Fish/Handout via REUTERS
A cartoon by Ali, an Iranian refugee held at Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention centre whose pen name is Eaten Fish, is seen in this image supplied to Reuters on August 27, 2016. Eaten Fish/Handout via REUTERS
A cartoon by Ali, an Iranian refugee held at Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention centre whose pen name is Eaten Fish, is seen in this image supplied to Reuters on August 27, 2016. Eaten Fish/Handout via REUTERS
A cartoon by Ali, an Iranian refugee held at Papua New Guinea's Manus Island detention centre whose pen name is Eaten Fish, is seen in this image supplied to Reuters on August 27, 2016. Eaten Fish/Handout via REUTERS
SYDNEY An Iranian refugee held at an Australian-funded detention center in Papua New Guinea has won a political cartooning award for his work depicting life inside the camp.
Ali, a 25-year-old whose pen name is Eaten Fish, has chronicled his three-year detention on Manus Island as he struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and debilitating panic attacks.
Under Australia's hardline immigration policy, anyone intercepted trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps on Manus or Nauru in the South Pacific. They are not eligible to be resettled in Australia.
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) said Ali was recognized for his courage in documenting life under Australia's offshore detention program - which drew thousands of protesters onto streets across the country on Saturday calling for its closure.
"Eaten Fish has been able to keep up a stream of cartoons documenting the unspeakable abuses and excesses of the guards and administrators of the camp," Joel Pett, president of CRNI's board of directors, said in a statement on Friday.
"For this he has been the subject of beatings, deprivation of food, and even worse degrading treatment by the guards."
Ali’s Australian-based advocate, Janet Galbraith, said the award meant a lot to the young cartoonist - whose work has been published in The Guardian newspaper - but it was also an indictment of Australia’s detention program.
Previous winners have included cartoonists jailed or disappeared for their work.
Galbraith said Ali, who fled Iran due to fears of government persecution, was sick and needed specialist medical assistance.
Australia's Department of Immigration and Border Protection denied the claims made by CRNI and defended the care provided at the facility.
"The department currently has no evidence that any of these allegations are true," a spokesman said in an email to Reuters.
Australia and Papua New Guinea said earlier this month the Manus center would be shut but they gave no date for the closure, leaving the fate of about 800 refugees unclear.
(Reporting by Harry Pearl; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Iranian refugee detained in Papua New Guinea wins cartooning award


An Iranian refugee held at an Australian-funded detention center in Papua New Guinea has won a political cartooning award for his work depicting life inside the camp.


Pacific trade pact remains top issue for Obama administration
WASHINGTON, Aug 30 The successful conclusion of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade talks remains the top legislative item for the United States, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.

BRIEF-Kewaunee Scientific Q1 earnings per share $0.48


DES MOINES, Iowa U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offered fresh details of how he would tackle illegal immigration on Saturday, saying he would crack down on those who overstay their visas as he sought to quiet criticism from conservatives.
In a campaign speech in Des Moines, Iowa, Trump also cited the shooting death of a cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade to urge African-American voters to rally behind him, calling it an example of violence that has to be addressed.
Trump, speaking on the Iowa State Fairgrounds with hay bales stacked behind him, sought to clarify his views on how to overhaul the U.S. immigration system after saying earlier in the week that he was softening on his plan to deport all 11 million illegal immigrants.
That stance drew fire from conservatives who wanted him to stand fast after he won the Republican presidential nomination in large part by a hardline stance that would include building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
In his speech, Trump said he would seek to institute a tracking system to ensure illegal immigrants who overstay their visas are quickly removed, and would propose an e-verify system to prevent the illegal community from gaining access to welfare and other benefits.
"If we don’t enforce visa expiration dates, then we have an open border – it’s as simple as that," he said.
In outlining his views, Trump said addressing illegal immigration is important to helping Americans find jobs.
"Every time an African-American citizen, or any citizen, loses their job to an illegal immigrant, the rights of that American citizen have been violated," he said. "Equal protection under the law must include the consistent application of our immigration laws."
Trump said his first priority upon taking office next January would be the immediate deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants who remain in the United States despite having committed crimes.
"These international gangs and cartels will be a thing of the past. Their reign of terror will be over. In this task, we will always err on the side of protecting the American people – we will use immigration law to prevent crimes, and will not wait until some innocent American has been harmed or killed before taking action," he said.
He did not explain how his plan would affect many of the illegal community who have been in the United States for decades and obeyed U.S. laws.
Trump said the death in Chicago of Wade cousin Nykea Aldridge, 32, a mother of four, was an example of turmoil in U.S. inner cities. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former chief of staff to Democratic President Barack Obama, has struggled in particular to contain violence in his city.
The incident permitted Trump to bring up again his desire to be a "law and order" president and underscore his drive to appeal to African-American voters who traditionally vote Democratic and overwhelmingly support Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
"It breaks all of our hearts to see it, it’s horrible," Trump said. "And it's only getting worse. This shouldn’t happen in our country. This shouldn’t happen in America. We send our thoughts and our prayers to the family, and we also promise to fight for a much, much better tomorrow."
Trump raised the subject after sending out tweets earlier in the day that prompted charges of insensitivity to the death and accusations he sought to exploit it for political purposes.
The New York businessman was the headline speaker at "Joni Ernst's Roast and Ride," a charity event for military veterans run by U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican.
Ernst and most other speakers offered praise for Trump, a rarity at a time when many Republican political leaders have distanced themselves from his candidacy due to his incendiary rhetoric. Trump is running neck and neck with Clinton in polls in the state with 72 days until the Nov. 8 election.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis)

Trump vows crackdown on immigrants who overstay visas if elected


U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump offered fresh details of how he would tackle illegal immigration on Saturday, saying he would crack down on those who overstay their visas as he sought to quiet criticism from conservatives.


BRIEF-Aleris to be acquired by Zhongwang USA LLC
* Aggregate value of Aleris amounts to $2.33 billion, comprising $1.11 billion in cash for equity to be paid by Zhongwang USA, plus $1.22 billion in net debt

BRIEF-WGE Holdings to buy interest in Philippines gold mining operation


An employee ties threads on a kite, with portraits of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and U.S. President Barack Obama, ahead of Obama's visit, in Mumbai January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
WASHINGTON The United States and India have signed an agreement to share military logistics, they said in a joint statement on Monday, a step toward building defense ties as both countries seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.
The accord allows the two militaries to use each other's land, air and naval bases for resupplies, repairs and rest.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar reached an agreement "in principle" in April, but had yet to finalize the details.
(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by Alan Crosby)

U.S., India sign military logistics agreement


The United States and India have signed an agreement to share military logistics, they said in a joint statement on Monday, a step toward building defense ties as both countries seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China.


EpiPen auto-injection epinephrine pens manufactured by Mylan NV pharmaceutical company for use by severe allergy sufferers are seen in Washington, U.S. August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo
WASHINGTON Democrat Elizabeth Warren and 19 other U.S. senators voiced concern to the chief executive of Mylan NV (MYL.O) about the high cost of its EpiPen on Tuesday, calling the device used in the case of life-threatening allergies "exorbitantly expensive."
Mylan has been under fire for steadily raising the price of the device from about $100 in 2008 to about $600 currently.
In a letter to Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, the daughter of Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the lawmakers asked the company to spell out the company's programs to provide some people with lower cost EpiPens.
Such discount programs are often an "industry tactic to keep costs high through a complex shell game," the letter said.
"Insurance companies, the government and employers still bear the burden of these excessive prices. In turn, those costs are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums," the senators wrote.
Mylan said this week it would launch the first generic version of its allergy auto-injector EpiPen for $300, half the price of the branded product, the drugmaker's second step in less than a week to counter the backlash over the product's steep price. It also reduced the out-of-pocket costs of EpiPen for some patients last week.
EpiPen has a 94 percent market share for auto-injector devices, which jab a dose of the drug epinephrine into the thigh to counter dangerous allergic reactions such as to peanuts, other foods and bee stings.
Asked about the letter, Mylan spokeswoman Lauren Kashtan said in an email statement: "We have acknowledged receipt of letters from congressional offices and intend to respond to them."
Mylan has defended EpiPen's high price, saying it spent hundreds of millions of dollars to improve the product since acquiring it in 2007. It has also said it recoups less than half the list price for EpiPens.
In their letter, the lawmakers asked Mylan how much insurers paid for the EpiPen in 2009 and how much they pay now. They also asked how many EpiPens Mylan provided to low income, uninsured consumers and how many schools purchased EpiPens versus how many received them for free.
In addition to Warren, other signatories included Senators Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee; Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat; Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat; Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both Democrats from Rhode Island and Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Tom Brown)

Senators press Mylan on 'exorbitantly expensive' EpiPen


Democrat Elizabeth Warren and 19 other U.S. senators voiced concern to the chief executive of Mylan NV (MYL.O) about the high cost of its EpiPen on Tuesday, calling the device used in the case of life-threatening allergies "exorbitantly expensive."


A drone photo shows the damages following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 25, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano De Nicolo
Members of a Chinese rescue team are seen following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A collapsed house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A coffee toy kit is seen on debris outside a damaged house, following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A woman stands next to a firefighter as he takes out belongings from her house following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A man sits on the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Rescue workers take a rest following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A car covered by debris is seen near a collapsed house following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
A car covered by debris is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The partially collapsed school is seen following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
A road sign is seen in front of a collapsed house following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
Friars talk with a survivor in a tent camp set up as temporary shelter following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Collapsed houses are seen following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Two survivors hug at a tent camp set up as temporary shelter following an earthquake in Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
The interior of a damaged house is seen following an earthquake at Pescara del Tronto, central Italy, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Max Rossi
PESCARA DEL TRONTO, Italy Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.
Sniffer dogs and emergency crews continued to scour piles of rubble in Amatrice, a picturesque town popular with tourists which was leveled by Wednesday's quake and where 207 bodies have been retrieved so far.
But in nearby villages, such as Pescara del Tronto, rescuers pulled out after all the missing had been accounted for.
Italy plans to hold a state funeral for around 40 of the victims on Saturday, which will be held in the nearby city of Ascoli Piceno.
A day of national mourning was announced, with flags due to fly at half mast around the country for the dead, who include a number of foreigners.
The civil protection department in Rome said nearly 400 people were being treated for injuries in hospitals, 40 of them in critical condition. An estimated 2,500 people were left homeless by the most deadly quake in Italy since 2009.
Survivors with nowhere else to go are sleeping in neat rows of blue tents set up by emergency services close to their flattened communities.
"It was quite a tough night because you have a significant change in temperature here. During the day, it is very, very hot and at night it is very, very cold," said Anna Maria Ciuccarelli of Arquata del Tronto.
"There are still aftershocks preceded by booms and, for those of us who have just lived through an earthquake, it has a great effect, particularly psychologically," she said.
More than 920 aftershocks have hit the area since the original 6.2 magnitude quake struck early Wednesday.
"We have removed the last bodies that we knew about," said Paolo Cortelli, a member of the Alpine Rescue national service who helped to recover about 30 bodies from Pescara del Tronto.
"We don't know, and we might never know, if the number of missing that we knew about actually corresponds to the people who were actually under the rubble."
The foreigners who died in the disaster included six Romanians, a Spanish woman, a Canadian and an Albanian. The British embassy in Rome declined to comment on reports that three Britons, including a 14-year-old boy had died.
The area is popular with holidaymakers and local authorities were struggling to pin down how many visitors were present when the quake hit. The Romanian Foreign Ministry said 17 Romanians were still missing.
Italy has a large Romanian community, and some of the victims were resident in the country.
FUNERAL
The first funeral of a victim was held in Rome on Friday, for Marco Santarelli, the 28-year-old son of a senior state official, who died in the family's holiday home in Amatrice.
"I cannot find the words to describe the grief of a father who outlives his own children. Perhaps there are no words," Marco's father, Filippo Santarelli, told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Hardly a single building was left unscathed in Amatrice, which was last year voted one of the most beautiful old towns in Italy and is famous for its local cuisine.
"Amatrice will have to be razed to the ground," said mayor Sergio Pirozzi.
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has declared a state of emergency for the region, allowing the government to release an immediate 50 million euros ($56 million) for the relief work.
He has promised to rebuild the shattered homes and said he would also renew efforts to bolster Italy's flimsy defenses against earthquakes that regularly batter the country.
"We want those communities to have the chance of a future and not just memories," he told reporters in Rome on Thursday.
Italy has a poor record of rebuilding after quakes. About 8,300 people who were forced to leave their homes after a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila in 2009 are still living in temporary accommodation.
Renzi declined to predict when the homeless might be rehoused. "This is not about setting challenges and making promises. We need the pace of a marathon runner," he said.
Most of the buildings in the area were built hundreds of years ago, long before any anti-seismic building norms were introduced, helping to explain the widespread destruction.
Cultural Minister Dario Franceschini said all 293 culturally important sites, many of them churches, had either collapsed or been seriously damaged.
Italy sits on two fault lines, making it one of the most seismically active countries in Europe. Almost 30 people died in earthquakes in northern Italy in 2012 while more than 300 died in the L'Aquila disaster.
($1 = 0.8857 euros)
(This version of the story has been refiled to edit headline)
(Writing by Crispian Balmer and Philip Pullella, editing by David Stamp)

Italy quake death toll hits 267, state funeral planned


Hopes of finding more survivors faded on Friday three days after a powerful earthquake hit central Italy, with the death toll rising to 267 and the rescue operation in some of the stricken areas called off.


LPC: Private equity firms put more capital, less debt into LBOs
NEW YORK, Aug 26 Higher company valuations and lenders wary of risky investments are pushing private equity firms to increase the size of equity contributions, or checks, for leveraged buyouts near historic highs in the face of fierce competition from cash-rich corporate buyers.

BRIEF-PPL Corp sets quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share


U.S. tries to stop feuding allies from unraveling Syria strategy
WASHINGTON The United States scrambled on Monday to get its feuding allies, Turkey and Kurdish YPG militia, to focus their firepower on Islamic State instead of each other after clashes that have threatened to unravel America's war strategy in Syria.

Several dead, wounded in blast at Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan: Interfax


An explosion around the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan killed and wounded several people, Interfax news agency cited a local emergency ministry's representative as saying on Tuesday.


A Bitcoin (virtual currency) paper wallet with QR codes and a coin are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
NEW YORK When hackers penetrated a secure authentication system at a bitcoin exchange called Bitfinex earlier this month, they stole about $70 million worth of the virtual currency.
The cyber theft -- the second largest by an exchange since hackers took roughly $350 million in bitcoins at Tokyo's MtGox exchange in early 2014 -- is hardly a rare occurrence in the emerging world of crypto-currencies.
New data disclosed to Reuters shows a third of bitcoin trading platforms have been hacked, and nearly half have closed in the half dozen years since they burst on the scene.
This rising risk for bitcoin holders is compounded by the fact there is no depositor's insurance to absorb the loss, even though many exchanges act like virtual banks.
Not only does that approach cast the cyber security risk in stark relief, but it also exposes the fact that bitcoin investors have little choice but to do business with under-capitalized exchanges that may not have the capital buffer to absorb these losses the way a traditional and regulated bank or exchange would.
"There is a general sense in the bitcoin community that any centralized repository is at risk," said a U.S.-based professional trader who lost about $1,000 in bitcoins when Bitfinex was hacked. He declined to be named for this article.
"So when investing, you always have that expectation at the back of your head. I lost a small amount compared to the others, but I know of traders who lost millions of dollars worth of bitcoins," the trader said.
The security challenge for the bitcoin world does not appear to be letting up, according to experts in the currency.
"I am skeptical there's going to be any technological silver bullet that's going to solve security breach problems. No technology, crypto-currency, or financial mechanism can be made safe from hacks," said Tyler Moore, assistant professor of cyber security at the University of Tulsa's Tandy School of Computer Science who will soon publish the new research on the vulnerability of bitcoin exchanges.
His study, funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and shared with Reuters, shows that since bitcoin's creation in 2009 to March 2015, 33 percent of all bitcoin exchanges operational during that period were hacked. The figure represents one of the first estimates of the extent of security breaches in the bitcoin world.
In contrast, data from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a non-profit organization, showed that of the 6,000 operational U.S. banks, only 67 banks experienced a publicly-disclosed data breach between 2009 and 2015. That's roughly 1 percent of U.S. banks.
Among the world's stock exchanges, however, security breaches are much higher, with hackers attracted to the large pools of cash moving in and out of these trading venues. The latest survey of 46 securities exchanges released three years ago by the International Organization of Securities Commissions and World Federation of Exchanges found that more than half had experienced a cyber attack.
Moore collaborated on the research with Nicolas Christin, associate research professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Janos Szurdi, a Ph.D. student also at Carnegie.
In 2013, Moore and Christin wrote a research paper on security risks surrounding bitcoin exchanges when Moore was still a professor at Southern Methodist University. That research entitled “Beware of the Middleman: Empirical Analysis of Bitcoin Exchange Risk” was peer-reviewed and presented at the 17th International Financial Cryptography and Data Security Conference in Okinawa, Japan in 2013.
In the most recent study, the rate of closure for bitcoin exchanges in Moore's research edged up to 48 percent among those operating from 2009 to March 2015. Hacking did not necessarily trigger the closure in each case.
"A 48 percent closure is not acceptable, but not surprising given that bitcoin is a new technology," said Richard Johnson, vice president of market structure and technology at Greenwich Associates. Johnson has written reports on risk and security issues in the crypto-currency world.
Profitability is a big problem for bitcoin exchanges, with many of them unable to generate enough volume to keep afloat.
Bitcoin exchanges overall could be launched for as low as $100,000 up to $1 million, said Erik Voorhees, founder and chief executive officer of digital currency exchange ShapeShift. That is a fraction of what U.S. forex exchanges' are required to put up.
Retail FX trading platform FXCM, for instance, is required by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have at least $25 million in capital at all times.
RECOVERING LOSSES
A key factor tied to the risk posed by exchanges is whether customers are reimbursed after closure or after the loss of bitcoins following a hack. Each closure and breach have been handled differently, but Tandy's Moore said the risk of losing funds stored in exchanges are real.
In the case of Bitfinex, which is now up and running after the hack August 2, customers lost 36 percent of the assets they had on the platform and were compensated for the losses with tokens of credit that would be converted into equity in the parent company.
At Tokyo's MtGox, customers have yet to recover their investments more than two years after closure.
Experts say trading venues acting like banks such as Bitfinex will remain vulnerable. These exchanges act as custodial wallets in which they control users' digital currencies like banks control customer deposits.
"The big exchanges that hold customer deposits are a big target for hackers," said ShapeShift's Voorhees, "and unfortunately most bitcoin exchanges store user funds."
When customers' checking accounts are hacked, there is always a third party at the bank that can step in to deal with the theft.
Not so with bitcoin, said Seattle-based Darin Stanchfield, chief executive officer at KeepKey, a hardware wallet provider. He expects more of these attacks to happen despite efforts to improve security at bitcoin exchanges.
"Unfortunately because of its irreversible nature, bitcoin requires near perfect security."
(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Edward Tobin)

Cyber threat grows for bitcoin exchanges


BRIEF-RTW Investments reports 5.02 pct passive stake in Biocryst


The Kansas City area was flooded late Friday after a three-day downpour, forcing emergency services to conduct about 10 water rescues in Missouri's largest city, officials said.
News photos showed vehicles stopped or abandoned as flood waters swelled across streets. No injuries nor fatalities were reported.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency notice to the Kansas City area for the first time ever on Friday night that went into Saturday morning.
The flooding had receded within the urban center later on Saturday, but rivers in more rural regions north of the city were still overflowing, said Dan Hawblitzel, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Kansas City.
Rains and some thunderstorms were forecast in parts of the region on Saturday, but were not expected to cause further flooding, Hawblitzel said.
Widespread precipitation in the region had brought anywhere from 3 to 8 inches of rainfall to the city since Wednesday, causing waterways in the region including the Missouri River to overflow, Hawblitzel said.
"Some parts of the city received more rain last night than they had seen all summer long," he said in a phone interview, noting it was the first time the weather service had issued a flash flood emergency for the region since it began such notices in the past decade.
Kansas City's Fire Chief Paul Berardi posted the emergency warning on Twitter late Friday, adding the department was conducting water rescues in three parts of the city.
A spokeswoman for the Johnson County Emergency Management office on Saturday said they had received reports of approximately 10 water rescues and had no reports of injuries or fatalities.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Bernard Orr)

Kansas City area hit by floods after three days of downpour


The Kansas City area was flooded late Friday after a three-day downpour, forcing emergency services to conduct about 10 water rescues in Missouri's largest city, officials said.


U.S. President Barack Obama takes his jacket off as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S. after visiting the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Laos' Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith (L) and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi hold a news conference after a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Rolex Dela Pena/Pool/File Photo
VIENTIANE The secretive communist government of Laos, a country with a population of less than 7 million, rarely causes a ripple on the diplomatic circuit. And yet its sleepy capital will spring to life next week when global leaders arrive for an Asian summit.
Barack Obama will be among them, making the last push of his presidency to 'rebalance' Washington's foreign policy toward Asia, a strategy widely seen as a response to China's economic and military muscle-flexing across the region.
The might of Laos' giant neighbor to the north is hard to miss in Vientiane: wealthy Chinese driving SUVs overtake tuk-tuks sputtering along the roads and Chinese-backed hotels sprout from noisy construction sites in one of Asia's most low-rise cities.
But diplomats say Obama could be pushing on an open door in Laos, thanks to a change of government there in April.
They say the country's new leaders appear ready to tilt away from Beijing and lean more closely toward another neighbor, Vietnam, whose dispute with China over the South China Sea has pushed it into a deepening alliance with the United States.
"The new government is more influenced by the Vietnamese than the Chinese," said a Western diplomat in Southeast Asia." "It's never too late for a U.S. president to visit."
Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit landlocked Laos, where the United States waged a "secret war" while fighting in Vietnam, dropping an estimated two million tonnes of bombs on the country. About 30 percent of the ordnance failed to explode, leaving a dangerous and costly legacy.
Laos has strategic importance to both Vietnam and China. Vietnam has a long land border with Laos that gives it access to markets in Thailand and beyond. For China, Laos is a key gateway to Southeast Asia in its "new Silk Road" trade strategy.
Laos, which is developing a series of hydro power plants along one of the world's longest rivers, the Mekong, aims to become "the battery of Asia" by selling power to its neighbors.
SHIFTING POLICY
It is difficult to read policy in Laos because its leaders are so uncommunicative, but Western diplomats have detected some shifts.
First, deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad - who ran the steering panel for a $7 billion Chinese rail project - retired. The project is now believed to be on hold because Laos is unhappy with the terms of the deal.
Officials of Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith's new government, many of them educated in Vietnam, have visited Hanoi en masse in recent weeks, their first foreign trip.
At two of the past meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is currently chaired by Laos, Vientiane has taken a more nuanced stance on Beijing than neighboring Cambodia, which is increasingly seen as a Chinese satellite.
"The U.S. strategic interest in Laos is to see the country be able to exert a certain degree of strategic autonomy because you don't want ... (to) have something akin to the relationship between China and Cambodia," said Phuong Nguyen of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank.
A defense official in Washington did not comment on wider strategic issues but described Laos as "an important partner."
A China foreign ministry spokesman said "we welcome any country, including those inside and outside this region, developing constructive relations, as long as these ties are really beneficial to regional peace, stability and prosperity."
LONG-TERM BATTLE
Beijing has invested around $1 billion annually in Laos in 2014 and 2015, a step up from the $4.5 billion invested historically before 2014, according to figures from China's Ministry of Commerce and state-run media.
For the United States, impoverished Laos is not a strong investment draw.
"In Laos, we bring 7-8 companies to the table compared with 30-40 companies that Vietnam brings. But China- that's a totally different ball game," said Anthony Nelson, director of the U.S.-ASEAN business council.
"So there's no coincidence that the countries with the lowest levels of development, Laos and Cambodia, are the most willing to advocate for China's position in international discussions."
But the Lao are closer culturally to Vietnam than they are to China. Their businesses use Lao language signs and mixed Lao-Vietnamese families incorporate local customs, while Lao-Chinese families tend to be isolated.
"We are a bit frustrated with (China). They create their own eco-system," a Lao businessman said.
(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Idrees Ali, Michael Martina and Ben Blanchard.; Editing by John Chalmers and Bill Tarrant)

As Obama heads to Laos, signs of a tilt away from China


The secretive communist government of Laos, a country with a population of less than 7 million, rarely causes a ripple on the diplomatic circuit. And yet its sleepy capital will spring to life next week when global leaders arrive for an Asian summit.


Singer Prince performs in a surprise appearance on the 'American Idol' television show finale at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California in this May 24, 2006. REUTERS/Chris Pizzello/Files
U.S. music superstar Prince fan, Mona Shelton, 42, of Bloomington, Minnesota, and an unidentified employee (L) of Prince's estate Paisley Park place flowers on a fence in Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S. April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Craig Lassig/File Photo
A sheriff's car leaves Paisley Park, U.S. music superstar Prince's estate, in Chanhassen, Minnesota, U.S. April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Craig Lassig/File photo
Paisley Park, the suburban Minneapolis estate and studio of late rock musician Prince, will be opened for public tours starting on Oct. 6, the administrator of the singer's estate said.
Prince, 57, collapsed and died at the 65,000-square-foot (6,040-square-meter) estate in April after an accidental overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl.
“Opening Paisley Park is something that Prince always wanted to do and was actively working on," Tyka Nelson, his sister, said in a statement on Wednesday from Bremer Trust, which is administering his unresolved multi-million-dollar estate.
“Only a few hundred people have had the rare opportunity to tour the estate during his lifetime. Now, fans from around the world will be able to experience Prince’s world for
the first time as we open the doors to this incredible place.”
An application for development review and a business plan have been submitted to Chanhassen officials, the statement said.
Guided tours will include the main floor of Paisley Park,
including recording and mixing studios. Visitors also will be able to see video editing suites, rehearsal rooms, the private NPG Music Club, a soundstage and concert hall, and items from Prince's personal archives.
Tickets will go on sale at 2 p.m. CDT (1900 GMT) on Friday for tours starting Oct. 6. Information on tickets and tours is available at OfficialPaisleyPark.com.
Media reports on Monday said that pills containing fentanyl were seized from Prince's home after his death but they were mislabeled hydrocodone.
Prince's hits included "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry."
(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott)

Home, studio of late U.S. rocker Prince to be opened to public


Paisley Park, the suburban Minneapolis estate and studio of late rock musician Prince, will be opened for public tours starting on Oct. 6, the administrator of the singer's estate said.


A rescue worker and a dog search among debris following an earthquake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca
AMATRICE, Italy Rescuers believe they have located more bodies in the ruined town of Amatrice, five days after a devastating earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 290 people.
Residents of the hill town said up to 10 people were still missing and emergency services said they might have located three corpses in Amatrice's Hotel Roma, which, like much of the historic center, was wrecked by Wednesday's quake.
"I am certain there is one more person (in the hotel), because it is my uncle," said Deputy Mayor Gianluca Carloni.
"It is absolutely vital to finish as soon as possible this initial (search) phase to make sure that there are no more bodies under the rubble," he said.
The Civil Protection Department lowered the official death toll on Sunday to 290 from a previously given 291. A number of foreigners were among the dead, including 11 Romanians, the foreign ministry in Bucharest said.
Many Romanians work in Italy and Bucharest said 14 of its nationals were still unaccounted for.
Museums across Italy will donate proceeds from Sunday's ticket sales to help the rebuilding effort and soccer teams will hold a minute's silence before their weekend matches out of respect for the victims.
Pope Francis led prayers for the dead in his weekly address in Rome, saying he wanted to go to the earthquake zone to bring comfort to the survivors.
"Dear brothers and sisters, as soon as it is possible, I hope to come and visit you," he said.
Italy has promised to rebuild the shattered communities and has said it will learn from the mistakes of the reconstruction following a similar earthquake in the nearby city of L'Aquila in 2009, where much of the center is still out of bounds.
"The government isn't going to tell you what should be done. You will decide what needs doing," Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told relatives of the dead on Saturday at a state funeral for 35 of the victims.
(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

More bodies located beneath rubble in Italy quake zone


Rescuers believe they have located more bodies in the ruined town of Amatrice, five days after a devastating earthquake struck central Italy, killing at least 290 people.


Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California September 27, 2015. Picture taken February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
ROME Facebook Inc. will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform.
An increasing number of users are turning to social media networks, such as Facebook (FB.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N), to find their news, but Zuckerberg said his firm had no ambitions to become a content provider.
"No, we are a tech company, not a media company," said Zuckerberg, after a young Italian asked him whether Facebook intended to become a news editor.
While acknowledging the role Facebook has in supplying users with news through their connections and stressing the advantages of obtaining information from different parts of the world, Zuckerberg said Facebook was "a technology company, we build the tools, we do not produce any content".
"The world needs news companies, but also technology platforms, like what we do, and we take our role in this very seriously," he said, speaking from Rome's Luiss university.
Earlier on Monday, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan had a private audience with Pope Francis. It was the latest in a string of meetings the pontiff has held with Silicon Valley leaders, including Apple (AAPL.O) CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) boss Eric Schmidt.
Zuckerberg said he gave the Argentine pontiff a model of Aquila, Facebook's lightweight solar-powered drone aimed at beaming lasers to extend internet access to places that have yet to be connected.
"We ... discussed the importance of connecting people, especially in parts of the world without internet access," Zuckerberg posted on his personal Facebook profile after the meeting.
Zuckerberg also on Monday met Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who is pushing to upgrade Italy's limited internet infrastructure.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

Facebook CEO says group will not become a media company


Facebook Inc. will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform.


UPDATE 1-Gulf of Mexico oil, gas operations affected by storm
HOUSTON, Aug 30 Some U.S. oil and gas producers in the eastern parts of the Gulf of Mexico have shut production on nine platforms, moved drilling rigs and evacuated non-essential workers as Tropical Depression Nine disrupts operations.


Global ride-hailing service UberTechnologies Inc said it had hired Jeff Jones, chiefmarketing officer at Target Corp, to be president of itsflagship ride-sharing business.


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attends a news conference after a meeting on Syria with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy
DHAKA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Bangladesh on Monday to discuss security cooperation after a series of killings by Islamist militants, as well as economic development and human rights.
Kerry will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, opposition and civic leaders during the one-day visit, his first to Bangladesh as secretary of state.
While security cooperation between the United States and Bangladesh is not new, the Bangladeshi government has insisted the latest attacks, including the recent killings at a cafe that targeted non-Muslims and foreigners, are the work of homegrown groups.
Washington believes the killings carry the hallmarks of Islamic State and al Qaeda, and worries that such attacks could drive away investment in a country fighting widespread poverty.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the July 1 attack on the cafe in the capital Dhaka in which 22 people were killed, mostly non-Muslims and foreigners, including one American. It was the worst militant attack in the country's history.
Bangladesh police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was involved in organizing that attack.
On Saturday, security forces killed three Islamist militants, including a Bangladeshi-born Canadian citizen called Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury who was accused of masterminding the assault on cafe.
"In the past several months there has been an intensification of the dialogue" on security, a senior State Department official said ahead of the visit.
"We are deepening that partnership and engaging with both civilian law enforcement bodies and with the military," the official added.
Michael Kugelman of The Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank, said the U.S administration has not paid enough attention to the growing terror threats in Bangladesh, which is now impacting Americans.
"It has arguably taken its eye off the ball even as this threat has begun to directly affect Americans," he said.
"One of Kerry's core intentions in Dhaka will simply be to emphasize the importance that the U.S. accords to security problems in Bangladesh, and Washington's strong desire to help the government there address them," he added.
(Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Simon Cameron-Moore)

Kerry in Bangladesh for talks on security, human rights


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Bangladesh on Monday to discuss security cooperation after a series of killings by Islamist militants, as well as economic development and human rights.


Tropical storm Madeline has formed in the northern Pacific ocean, well east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory on Friday.
The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), is about 1,235 miles (1,990 km) east-southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.
There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect as the storm headed west at 12 miles per hour (19 km per hour), the NHC said.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Tropical Storm Madeline forms east-southeast of Hawaiian: NHC


Tropical storm Madeline has formed in the northern Pacific ocean, well east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an advisory on Friday.


The buildings of a conference centre, where the G20 summit will be held, is pictured in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, August 3, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
A man rides an electronic bike past a billboard for the upcoming G20 summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, July 29, 2016. Picture taken July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Aly Song
BEIJING China is hoping to cement its standing as a global power when it hosts leaders from the world's biggest economies this weekend, but suspects the West and its allies will try to deny Beijing what it sees as its rightful place on the international stage.
Ensuring that this does not happen will be one of President Xi Jinping's priorities, and a key mark of how successful China will judge the G20 summit to be.
Beijing wants to use the Sept 4-5 meeting in the tourist hub of Hangzhou to lay out a broad strategy for global growth, but talks are likely to be overshadowed by arguments over everything from territorial disputes to protectionism, diplomats said.
"From where China sits, it looks like the Americans are trying to encircle them," said a senior Western envoy, describing conversations with Chinese officials ahead of G20 as being dominated by the South China Sea row and an advanced U.S. anti-missile system to be deployed in South Korea.
In recent months, China has been incensed by a ruling against its claims in the South China Sea by an international court, a case initiated by Manila but blamed by Beijing on Washington.
While China wants to make sure its highest profile event of the year goes off successfully, Xi will be under pressure at home to ensure he is strong in the face of challenges to his authority on issues like the South China Sea, going by reports in state media.
China has already made clear it does not want such matters overshadowing the meeting, which will be attended by U.S. President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and other world leaders.
State media has given great play to the idea that G20 is for China to show leadership in shaping global governance rules and forging ahead with sustainable global growth, with the official People's Daily saying this could be one of the G20's most fruitful ever get-togethers.
"Let's make cooperation ever higher," it wrote in a commentary last week.
But the state-run Study Times wrote in mid-August that Western countries were trying to deliberately exclude a rising China and deny it a proper voice on the world stage with schemes like the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"Trying to get back their right to global governance, they are forging a new 'sacred alliance', striving to establish new rules," the influential paper, published twice a week by the Central Party School, wrote in a G20 commentary.
"These new rules will exclude China."
ANGERED BY BRITAIN, AUSTRALIA
Overseas, China has been angered by questions raised by Britain and Australia over strategic Chinese investments in their countries, saying it smacks of protectionism and paranoia.
Australia has blocked the A$10 billion ($7.7 billion) sale of the country's biggest energy grid to Chinese bidders, while Britain has delayed a $24 billion Chinese-invested nuclear project.
But Western officials have their own concerns about access for their companies in China and are increasingly not afraid to talk about it.
Joerg Wuttke, the President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said there has been a change in tone as European officials having been expressing more dissatisfaction with China's overcapacity problems and a lack of reciprocal market access for European companies. "It has reached the point where people are not afraid to speak up any more. They feel like they have to be tougher in front of their own constituencies," Wuttke told Reuters.
A European official involved in trade issues with China expressed exasperation at China's attitude on protectionism.
"The Chinese would shut you down at once if you said you wanted to buy one of their grids. You wouldn't get to the end of the sentence," the official added.
None of this will make for plain sailing at G20.
"China is angry with almost everyone at the moment," said a second Beijing-based Western diplomat familiar with the summit.
To be sure, China does want G20 to go smoothly, said a third Western diplomat.
"It's very important from the stance of national pride," said the diplomat, pointing out it was not uncommon for G20s to be hijacked by issues other than economics.
"It's a minefield for China."
JAPAN WORRIES
Then there is Japan, a country with which China has been embroiled in disputes for much of the last decade over their wartime past and a spat over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
Last week, China's top diplomat called on Japan to be "constructive" at G20, with the deeper fear in Beijing that Japan is angling to become involved in the South China Sea dispute as well, at the behest of its ally the United States.
Wang Youming, the head of the developing countries program at the Foreign Ministry-backed China Institute of International Studies, wrote in the widely-read Chinese tabloid the Global Times that the closer G20 got, the more Japan was trying to cause trouble.
"Japan is getting entangled in the South and East China Sea issues, cozying up to the Philippines, and urging China to respect the result of the so-called 'arbitration' case," Wang wrote.
"Japan is up to its old tricks, and it's hard not to think they are trying to mess things up."
(Additional reporting by Gao Liangping and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

China wants a successful G20 but suspects West may derail agenda


China is hoping to cement its standing as a global power when it hosts leaders from the world's biggest economies this weekend, but suspects the West and its allies will try to deny Beijing what it sees as its rightful place on the international stage.


Actor and author Gene Wilder poses as he autographs his new book 'The Woman Who Wouldn't' during a book signing session in New York March 26, 2008. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Actor Gene Wilder and his wife Karen Boyer watch the match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Mikhail Youzhny of Russia during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 11, 2010. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
American actor Gene Wilder (L) performs alongside compatriot Rolf Saxon, October 2, during the rehearsal of a scene from Neil Simon's 'Laughter on the 23rd Floor'.
LOS ANGELES Gene Wilder, whose kinky curls and startling blue eyes brought a frantic air to roles in the movies "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles," died on Monday at the age of 83, his family said.
Wilder, whose best work came in collaborations with director-writer Mel Brooks and actor Richard Pryor, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer's disease, the family said in a statement.
Wilder's nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, said the actor had chosen to keep his illness secret so that children who knew him as Willy Wonka would not equate the whimsical character with an adult disease.
Wilder's barely contained hysteria made him a go-to lead for director-writer Mel Brooks, who cast him in "Blazing Saddles," "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers" in the 1960s and '70s.
Besides his classic collaborations with Brooks, Wilder paired memorably with comedian Richard Pryor in hits "Silver Streak" and "Stir Crazy."
Wilder also was active in promoting ovarian cancer awareness and treatment after his wife, "Saturday Night Live" comedienne Gilda Radner, whom he married in 1984, died of the disease in 1989.
He helped found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founded Gilda's Club, a support organization that has branches throughout the United States.
Brooks noted Wilder's death by tweeting, "Gene Wilder-One of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship."
Born Jerome Silberman to Russian immigrants in Milwaukee, Wilder studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre in Bristol, England, and then studied method acting at the Actors Studio.
A leading role in a play that also starred Anne Bancroft, who was dating her future husband Brooks, led to Wilder becoming a top member of Brooks' stock company of crazies, some of whom branched out with Wilder into other film ventures.
Wilder's first movie role was a small part as a terrified undertaker who was abducted by Bonnie and Clyde in Arthur Penn's 1967 film of the same name.
The following year he was panic-stricken Leo Bloom to Zero Mostel's conniving Max Bialystock in Brooks' "The Producers," picking up an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
While it initially got a tepid response, the movie with its over-the-top song "Springtime for Hitler," went on to become a cult favorite and, years later with a different cast, a monster hit on Broadway.
Wilder was a last-minute fill-in as the "Waco Kid" in Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" in 1974, and with Brooks wrote the screenplay for "Young Frankenstein" released later that year, also to big box office returns.
The two were nominated for best screenplay Oscars, but lost to Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo for "The Godfather Part II."
With Brooks alumni Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman, Wilder made his directorial debut with 1975's "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother," and directed several other movies with uneven results.
Wilder's title role in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 1971, and he was nominated again in that category in 1976 for "Silver Streak."
He won an Emmy in 2003 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for appearances on "Will and Grace."
Wilder's memoir, "Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art," was released in 2005 and he collaborated with oncologist Steven Piver on the book "Gilda's Disease" in 1998.
He was hospitalized in 1999 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma but was said to be in complete remission in 2005.
Wilder lived in Stamford in a house built in 1734 that he had shared with Radner, writing and painting watercolors with his wife Karen Boyer, whom he married in 1991.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bill Trott and James Dalgleish)

Gene Wilder, star of 'Willy Wonka,' 'Blazing Saddles,' dead at 83


Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Everett, Washington, U.S., August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
EVERETT, Washington Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday night called Democrats the "party of slavery" and praised what he called the millions of African Americans with career success, as he tries to revamp his outreach to minority voters.
Trump has made much-maligned efforts to appeal to black and Hispanic voters, groups that generally support Democrats and are expected to vote heavily for Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.
"The Republican Party is the party of Abraham Lincoln," Trump said at a rally in Everett, Washington.
"It is the Democratic Party that is the party of slavery, the party of Jim Crow and the party of opposition," he said, referring to racial segregation laws that once existed in the American South.
The Republican nominee has said Democrats failed minority voters with economic policies that have not improved their job prospects, but his attempts have been criticized for painting a bleak view of the lives of all black and Hispanic Americans.
Clinton last week released an ad mocking Trump’s attempts to reach those groups and showing headlines about a racial discrimination lawsuit the New York real estate mogul faced in the 1970s.
A prominent supporter of Trump’s apologized on Tuesday for sending out a tweet that showed a cartoon image of Clinton in blackface.
Trump sought to correct course in Washington state on Tuesday, saying millions of black Americans "have succeeded greatly" in art, science, sports and other endeavors.
"But we must also talk about those who have been left behind, the millions suffering in disastrous conditions in so many of our inner cities," he said.
(Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Trump calls Democrats 'party of slavery' in minority outreach effort


Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday night called Democrats the "party of slavery" and praised what he called the millions of African Americans with career success, as he tries to revamp his outreach to minority voters.


An illustration picture shows the logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone next to the picture of an official German taxi sign September 15, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/Illustration/File Photo
ABU DHABI Ride-hailing services Uber [UBER.UL] and Careem have suspended services in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, since Saturday and did not know when they could resume operations, they said on Sunday.
“This is a temporary suspension and we will let you know of any further updates,” an Uber spokesman in Dubai said via email. He did not respond to a question on the reason for the suspension.
Christian Eid, vice-president of marketing and communications for Careem, a Dubai-based company, said many of its drivers were being stopped by authorities in Abu Dhabi, apparently over licensing issues, and as a result had become nervous and were staying off the roads. This had forced Careem to halt services there, he said.
The Abu Dhabi government's Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars, which manages the taxi and transport sector, did not respond to queries. The center oversees about seven taxi operators and 18 limousine operators, some of which are partly government owned.
Uber and Careem said they had not suspended operations in neighboring Dubai, the commercial and tourist hub of the UAE.
Uber, which launched services in Abu Dhabi in 2013, said last year the Middle East and North Africa contained some of its fastest-growing markets and that it planned to invest $250 million to expand in the region.
(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho and Celine Aswad; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Susan Thomas)

Uber, Careem suspend services in UAE capital


Ride-hailing services Uber [UBER.UL] and Careem have suspended services in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, since Saturday and did not know when they could resume operations, they said on Sunday.


A 3D-printed logo for Twitter is seen in this picture illustration made in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Twitter Inc said it would share some of the advertising revenue on videos created by its individual users in the United States as part of an expanded video advertising program.
The microblogging service provider's Amplify Publisher Program is currently restricted to large companies such as CBS Corp's CBS News and organizations such as the National Football League and Major League Baseball.
A user has to check a box prior to tweeting videos, after which ads will run on the video before it starts. "A portion of the ad revenue is then shared back with creator," Twitter said in a blog post on Tuesday. (bit.ly/2c8qoDx)
Twitter will share 70 percent of the revenue with the video creator, technology website Recode reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Google's YouTube shares 55 percent of the ad revenue, Recode said. Twitter's terms for individual video creators will be the same as those for its Amplify partners, the website reported. (on.recode.net/2coLtxB)
Twitter said individual users would also be allowed to share their videos on other platforms.
Under Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, the company has made a significant push into video, signing deals with several media companies and sports organizations to stream major events.
Twitter shares down slightly at $18.45 in noon trading.
(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)

Twitter to share ad revenue on videos by U.S. individual users


Twitter Inc said it would share some of the advertising revenue on videos created by its individual users in the United States as part of an expanded video advertising program.


UPDATE 1-Truck carrying Takata air bag inflators explodes in U.S., killing one
Aug 29 A truck that was transporting Takata Corp air bag inflators and propellants at the centre of a global recall exploded in Texas last week, killing one woman and injuring four other people, the auto parts supplier said on Monday.

BRIEF-Rite Aid says Naloxone is now available for purchase without prescriptions at 13 states