Yemen's main oil pipeline attacked, pumping stopped

SANAA (Reuters) – Attackers blew up Yemen’s main oil export pipeline on Friday, halting the flow of crude, the government and industry sources said. “Subversive elements” in Serwah in central Maarib province had blown up the pipeline, which leads to the Red Sea, at dawn on Friday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The Arabian Peninsula state, which relies on crude exports to replenish its reserves and finance up to 70 percent of budget spending, has suffered frequent bombings of its main oil pipeline since an uprising broke out in 2011. …

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Large blast heard in center of Afghan capital

KABUL (Reuters) – A large blast was heard in the center of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday with a Reuters witness hearing heavy shooting directly afterwards. The explosion occurred at about 4 p.m. (11:30 GMT) in the downtown district of Borj-e Sharahah, a Kabul police spokesman said. There was no word on any casualties. (Reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman and Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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EU risks "too big to cooperate" bank supervision

Former Bank of France and IMF director Jacques de Larosiere reacts to the G20 Pittsburgh summit outcome during an interview with Reuters in ParisBy Martin Santa and Huw Jones BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – The role of the European Banking Authority must be beefed up beyond current plans to ensure that regulation of Europe's banks does not fragment into two competing systems, one of the architects of the reforms told a public hearing on Friday. Jacques de Larosiere, former head of the Bank of France and IMF, said the European Central Bank's role in a European Banking Union to supervise euro zone lenders risked creating a “duopoly” that would split the bloc's single market next year. …

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Analysis: German economy to pick up but fall short of traditional pace

File photo of people walk past a luxury goods department store at Friedrichstrasse boulevard in BerlinBy Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany's economy will recover from a bout of winter weakness but fall well short of the dynamic growth rates of previous years as euro zone recession and global slowdown stunt exports and investment. There are homegrown problems too. What hue of government will result from September elections is injecting uncertainty and foreign investors cite worries about over-regulation and Germany's future energy mix after Chancellor Angela Merkel turned her back on nuclear power. …

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U.S.casts doubt on credibility of Iranian election

U.S. Secretary of State Kerry speaks at a news conference in Tel AvivTEL AVIV (Reuters) – The United States on Friday called into question the credibility of Iran's presidential election next month, criticizing the disqualification of candidates and accusing the government of disrupting Internet access. Iran's Guardian Council, the state body that vets all candidates, had struck former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and others from the roster in the June 14 ballot. “The Council narrowed a list of almost seven hundred potential candidates down to the sort of…officials of their choice, based solely on who represents the regime's interests,” U.S. …

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How Celibate Gay Christians Deal With Desire

How Celibate Gay Christians Deal With DesireBetween the faction of gay Christians who are happy with their sexual identity and “ex-gays,” who say they've removed their homosexual yearnings, is a third group that gets little attention. These so-called Side B Christians identify as gay and believe it's not sinful to do so. But because they see acting on their orientation as ungodly, they commit to a life of celibacy.

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Futures slip, Wall Street set for weekly decline

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock ExchangeNEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock futures fell on Friday, setting up Wall Street for its first weekly decline since mid April, amid concern the central bank may scale back its support to the economy. Trading has been choppy in the second half of the week as market participants assess the Federal Reserve's evolving stance towards markets. Fed support has been instrumental in a rally that has boosted U.S. stocks to record highs this year. Procter & Gamble shares rose 2.9 percent in premarket trading, a day after the world's largest household products maker brought back A.G. …

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