French far-right pulls ahead in local election
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s far-right National Front (FN) knocked out left-wing rivals and won twice as many votes as the center-right UMP in the first round of a local election in southern France, a sign of growing popularity for the anti-immigrant par…
Exclusive: India to stick with austerity despite looming election
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government will have to rein in spending and cut subsidies to meet its fiscal deficit target, the country’s finance minister said on Monday, underlining that an austerity drive will not be blown off course by an electio…
Chile presidential favorite Bachelet vows tax reform in first 100 days
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chilean presidential front-runner Michelle Bachelet promised on Monday to tackle tax reform within the first 100 days of taking office, aiming to increase corporate taxes to pay for an education overhaul.
Grenades fired in Cairo, troops killed near Suez Canal after protesters die
CAIRO (Reuters) – Suspected militants killed six Egyptian soldiers near the Suez Canal and fired rocket-propelled grenades at a state satellite station in Cairo on Monday, suggesting an Islamist insurgency was gathering pace three months after an army …
Prosecutors say Romanian deputy PM abused power in 2012 vote
BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Romanian prosecutors charged Deputy Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea on Monday with orchestrating a campaign of bribery, threats and fraud to try to swing a vote to impeach President Traian Basescu.
Japan, China leaders shake hands again but no talks on islands
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands during an APEC regional summit in Bali on Monday but had no talks on a territorial island dispute, Japanese officials said.
Syria makes ‘excellent’ start on chemical disarmament
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria won foreign praise on Monday for starting to destroy its chemical arsenal, although an opposition activist said the world was merely giving President Bashar al-Assad time to kill more people with conventional weapons.
Colombia’s No. 2 oil pipeline shut after bomb attacks: Ecopetrol
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s second most important oil pipeline, the Cano Limon-Covenas, has been temporarily shut down after three bomb attacks, state oil company Ecopetrol said on Monday, explosions the security forces attributed to leftist guerrill…
NATO head expresses concern about Turkey’s Chinese missile deal
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The head of NATO expressed concern on Monday over Turkey’s decision to co-produce a missile defense system with a Chinese firm, saying he expected Ankara to choose a system that was compatible with those of other allies.
Israelis, Palestinians intensify talks despite skepticism
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held a new round of talks on Monday, picking up the tempo of their meetings at the request of the United States in the face of widespread skepticism that they will ever reach a deal.
