Deadlock On Gst

Recovery teams comb charred ruins of California warehouse, 10th victim reported | Reuters

By Rory Carroll | OAKLAND, Calif. OAKLAND, Calif

Greece needs reforms, not debt relief: Germany's Schaeuble | Reuters

BERLIN Greece must carry out structural reforms instead of receiving further debt relief if it wants to achieve sustainable growth and stay in the euro zone, Germany's finance minister said on Sunday.Wolfgang Schaeuble's comments to Bild am Sonntag came ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday to discuss short-term measures to lighten Greece's debt burden and assess progress in reforms set out in its third bailout program.Asked whether it might be time to tell German voters that a debt forgiveness for Greece was inevitable, Schaeuble told the newspaper in an interview: "That would not help Greece.""Athens must finally implement the needed reforms. If Greece wants to stay in the euro, there is no way around it - in fact completely regardless of the debt level."Schaeuble, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, said the Greek budget was hardly burdened by debt repayment after its European partners had already shaved interest rates and prolonged maturities for granted aid loans.His comments reflect growing unease in the German government that budgetary discipline and willingness to reform are decreasing in other euro zone countries. Germany is heading into an election year in 2017 and Merkel's conservatives face a tough challenge from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is likely to enter the national parliament for the first time.An Emnid poll published on Sunday put support for Merkel's conservatives up two points at 37 percent, the highest level since January in that survey

Rebels tell U.S. they won't leave Aleppo; army sees operation over in weeks | Reuters

By Tom Perry | BEIRUT BEIRUT Rebels in Aleppo have told the United States they will not leave their besieged enclave in the city after Moscow called for talks with Washington over their withdrawal, signalling they will fight on even as their top commander was wounded.A Syrian military source said the army aimed to take full control of Aleppo within weeks, after seizing swathes of the city's rebel-held east in an advance poised to deal a major blow to the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.With more than 30,000 people uprooted by the latest fighting, residents who fled eastern Aleppo for government-held areas early in the war began returning to the Hanano district recently captured from the rebels to inspect their homes.Under relentless attack, the rebels may have no choice but to negotiate a withdrawal from their shrinking, besieged enclave in eastern Aleppo, where tens of thousands of civilians are thought to be sheltering.The Western and regional states that have backed the rebellion appear unwilling or unable to do anything to prevent a major defeat for the opposition fighting to topple Assad.Restoring full control over Aleppo would mark the biggest triumph yet for Assad in a war that spiralled from protests against his rule in 2011. The campaign waged by the Syrian army and its allies in Aleppo is one of the most ferocious of the war, with hundreds reported killed in recent weeks alone.Russia, whose air force has helped the government close in on eastern Aleppo this year, said on Saturday it was ready for talks with the United States over a full withdrawal of rebels from Aleppo.Speaking to Reuters from Turkey, senior rebel official Zakaria Malahifji said groups fighting in Aleppo told U.S. officials on Saturday they would not leave the city.The U.S

Fidel Castro laid to rest in Cuba, ending nine days of mourning | Reuters

By Sarah Marsh and Diego Oré | SANTIAGO, Cuba SANTIAGO, Cuba Fidel Castro's ashes were laid to rest on Sunday, capping nine days of official mourning when hundreds of thousands of Cubans said farewell with a combination of tears, Castro-like defiance and choruses of "I am Fidel!"A private ceremony was held at Santiago's Santa Ifigenia Cemetery, state media reported. Castro's cremated remains were due to be placed a few steps from the mausoleum of independence hero Jose Marti, another towering figure of Cuban history who Castro long admired.Castro, who had been out of power for a decade but never far from the center of public life, died on Nov.

MH370 families want investigation to focus more on debris from plane | Reuters

By Aislinn Laing | ANTANANARIVO ANTANANARIVO Family members of those lost aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight that went missing in 2014 criticised Malaysian investigators on Sunday for not doing enough to find debris, which could give more clues about what happened.Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, sparking a search in the southern Indian Ocean that continues.Grace Nathan, who lost her mother, said families wanted authorities to focus more on finding debris from the plane.

Brazil mourns Chapecoense crash victims at packed stadium wake | Reuters

By Brad Haynes | CHAPECO, Brazil CHAPECO, Brazil A downpour drenched thousands of mourners in this Brazilian city on Saturday as they grieved over 50 caskets flown overnight to the stadium of the local Chapecoense soccer team, which was all but wiped out in an air crash Monday in Colombia.An arena filled with banners and team faithful donning its green and white colors served as an open-air wake for locals. Just a week ago, they were braced to celebrate the plucky squad, which had ascended from minor leagues in recent years to reach the final of a major South American tournament. Instead, they looked on as Air Force troops, after unloading the bodies from cargo aircraft, ferried the caskets to makeshift tents erected on the team's soggy home turf, where victims' families sat in sorrow.President Michel Temer, who flew in from Brazil's capital at dawn to receive the caskets at a Chapeco airfield, bestowed posthumous honors on the deceased athletes."This event, as you know, shook the whole country," Temer told reporters in brief comments before making the short drive to the stadium, where he remained silent for the rest of the emotional tribute