Car bomb kills 11 in Shi’ite Baghdad neighborhood: police, medics
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A car bomb exploded in a mostly Shi’ite Muslim neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 11 people, police and hospital sources said.
Eyeing 2015 vote, British PM Cameron pledges 7 billion pounds in tax cuts
BIRMINGHAM England (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron promised to hand almost half the British population a tax cut if re-elected next year, a pledge he hopes will win over millions of voters and refocus debate away from a schism inside his party…
News UK ends bid to recoup Brooks’ phone-hacking trial costs
LONDON (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper arm dropped its claim on Wednesday to be reimbursed for the multi-million dollar legal bills amassed during the phone-hacking trial of its former boss Rebekah Brooks.
Bolivia’s Morales on course for re-election in first round: poll
LA PAZ (Reuters) – President Evo Morales is cruising to an outright first-round victory in Bolivia’s Oct. 12 presidential election, with his nearest rival trailing by 46 percentage points, a new opinion poll showed on Wednesday.
European Commission extends probe into Gibraltar’s corporate tax regime
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has extended the scope of its investigation into whether Gibraltar’s corporate tax regime favors certain companies, in breach of EU state aid rules.
New NATO leader says alliance would defend Turkey if it was attacked
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO must be very clear that it would come to Turkey’s aid if Turkey was attacked, the alliance’s new Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
Turkey’s Erdogan says new constitution priority after 2015 election
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday forging a new constitution after a parliamentary election next year would be a priority for Turkey, signaling no let-up in his drive to create an executive presidency.
Nobel Laureates condemn South Africa visa denial to Dalai Lama
DHARAMSALA India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams and Shirin Ebadi on Wednesday slammed South Africa’s refusal to give fellow laureate and Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a visa to attend a peace conference a…
German defense crisis puts potential Merkel successor in hot seat
BERLIN (Reuters) – Ursula von der Leyen, whose ambitions of succeeding Angela Merkel are too transparent for German taste, is finding out the hard way why her job as defense minister is considered the most dangerous in the cabinet, nicknamed the ‘eject…
Kenya sentences two Iranians for using fake Israeli passports
NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Wednesday ordered two Iranians held under anti-terrorism laws to serve two years in jail or pay a hefty fine after they pleaded guilty to using fake Israeli passports to enter the East African country last month.