National News

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungarian prosecutors on Tuesday charged a 98-year-old former police officer, who was stripped of his Canadian citizenship, with torturing Jews and assisting in their deportation to Nazi death camps.

By Keith Weir HERZOGENAURACH, Germany (Reuters) - German sportswear maker Adidas AG forecast record sales for its soccer business in 2014, aiming to retain market leadership in the sport ahead of U.S. rival Nike Inc in a soccer World Cup year. Adidas and Nike dominate a market for soccer kit - replica shirts, balls and boots - estimated to be worth around 5 billion euros ($6.7 billion) annually. "It is a battle between us and Nike, not only in Brazil but the whole football world," Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer told reporters at a news conference at the company's headquarters in southern Germany. ...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar rose and U.S. and European equity markets pushed higher on Tuesday as investors fixed their attention on the future of U.S. monetary policy ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting. The U.S. central bank kicks off a two-day gathering on Tuesday, with global markets across asset classes on high alert for any guidance on when and how quickly it may wind down its bond buying program. The central bank issues its policy statement on Wednesday, which will be followed by a news conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke. ...

Premier Kathy Dunderdale stressed the importance of more exploration at an oil industry conference Tuesday.

Moncton City Council took two big steps towards building a downtown sport and entertainment centre on Monday night.

VANCOUVER - The federal government says a man allowed into Canada 17 years ago should be kicked out of the country because there is ample evidence that he was part of an Asian crime gang.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Los Angeles police say Justin Bieber struck a pedestrian with his car in Hollywood, but there was no crime and the injuries aren't life-threatening.

Fire crews are trying to find the cause of a fire in the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie district this morning that forced a dozen people from their homes.

A group of fishermen, angry over the low price of lobster and the P.E.I. government's response to it, have signed a petition demanding the resignation of Fisheries Minister Ron MacKinley.

MARONDERA, Zimbabwe - William Mukurazita's deposit at the bank has four legs and moos.

By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - U.S.-based Royalty Pharma has dropped a hostile bid worth up to $8 billion for Elan , leaving the Irish drug maker free to seek other suitors having put itself up for sale last week. Royalty on Tuesday withdrew its appeal against a ruling by Ireland's regulator on takeovers, meaning the offer automatically lapses and bringing an end to a bitter, four-month battle that involved court hearings, injunctions and a war of words between the two sides. ...

A St. John's resident will pay close to $4,000 so she can finally enjoy her house in peace and quiet.

ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland - Russia: G-8 declaration on Syria will not mention whether Assad must step down from power.

MILAN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena , Italy's third-largest lender, has sent a restructuring plan to the European Commission and will release details of the plan after the Commission has approved it, the bank said on Tuesday. The plan, approved by the bank's board on June 13 and sent to the Commission on Monday, is a necessary step to win the European Union's approval for loans from the Italian state. A spokesman for the European Commission said it would examine whether the plan complies with EU rules, but declined to give any details including on timing. ...

Dollar, shares subdued as Fed keeps markets on edge LONDON (Reuters) - Global markets mostly stuck to tight ranges on Tuesday, with uncertainty about the future of the U.S. monetary stimulus program keeping investors on edge as the Federal Reserve prepared to meet. The U.S. central bank kicks off a two-day meeting later in the day and markets are on alert for guidance on when and how quickly it will look to wind down its bond buying program. ...

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German lender Commerzbank will shed more than 5,000 jobs, 10 percent of its workforce, under a preliminary deal with staff representatives to cut costs, a person close to the company told Reuters on Tuesday. While two people familiar with the negotiations said the two sides have in principle agreed the extent of the cutbacks, a labor source dismissed the number of more than 5,000 jobs as "clearly too high". Commerzbank declined to comment while a spokeswoman for trade union Verdi described the number of jobs affected as "inexplicable". ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's fraud prosecutor on Tuesday charged former UBS trader Tom Hayes with eight counts of conspiracy to defraud, as part of a global investigation into the manipulation of benchmark interest rates. Hayes, 33, was arrested by police and the Serious Fraud Office last December as part of an inquiry stretching from the U.S. to Japan. He was charged by U.S. prosecutors last year. ...

(Reuters) - Hong Kong's de facto central bank said on Tuesday that its investigation into possible benchmark rate manipulation has been extended to include HSBC and a number of other banks. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced in December that it was investigating UBS about possible misconduct relating to its submissions for the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor). ...

By Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater LONDON (Reuters) - British bank Lloyds said there had been no political pressure on it to sell hundreds of branches to the Co-operative Group , but a rival bidder said he thought there was political influence. "What the board looked at was financial and the ability to execute (the sale). Those were the only two things we looked at, no political (pressure)," Lloyds Chairman Win Bischoff told a committee of lawmakers on Tuesday. ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - European car sales last month plunged to the lowest level in two decades for May, further eroding manufacturers' hopes for a recovery this year. Germany, France and Italy, accounting for about half of the embattled region's sales, suffered declines at or near double-digit percentage levels. Registrations across the 27-nation European Union dropped 5.9 percent to 1.04 million cars from 1.11 million a year ago, the lowest since May 1993 when sales fell below 1 million, the Association of European Carmakers said on Tuesday. ...