Italian political crisis threatens to split Berlusconi camp
ROME (Reuters) – Silvio Berlusconi’s bid to push Italy into new elections faces a test on Monday when he meets lawmakers from his center-right party who have shown growing unease over his shock decision to pull support from Prime Minister Enrico Letta’…
Portuguese punish ruling party for bailout pain in local polls
LISBON (Reuters) – Portuguese voters punished the ruling Social Democrats for painful austerity under an EU/IMF bailout, boosting opposition and independent candidates in municipal elections on Sunday.
UK finance minister to court voters with tough welfare rules
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – British finance minister George Osborne will propose tougher new welfare rules and a reduction in taxes on Monday in a bid to win over voters grappling with declining spending power ahead of the 2015 election, while prom…
Amid rare unity, U.N. Security Council mulls action on Syria aid
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – After adopting a hard-fought, Russian-backed resolution to rid Syria of chemical weapons, the U.N. Security Council is now turning its attention to the country’s dire humanitarian crisis, putting to the test its fragile conse…
Italian president hopes to solve political crisis without new vote
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s president began talks on Sunday to pull the country out of a new political crisis, attempting to undercut a move by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to bring down the government and force new elections seven months after…
Market bombing kill 33 in Pakistan’s Peshawar: police
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – Twin blasts in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed 33 people and wounded 70 on Sunday, a week after bombings at a church there killed scores, police and hospital authorities said.
Rare bomb attack in Iraqi Kurdish capital kills six
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) – Militants launched a coordinated suicide and car bomb attack on the headquarters of the security services in the capital of Iraq’s usually peaceful Kurdistan region on Sunday, killing six people in the first major assault there …
Kerry sees potential for quick Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State John Kerry said a deal on Iran’s nuclear weapons program could be reached relatively quickly, and it would have the potential to dramatically improve the relationship between the two countries.
Schaeuble and taxes at stake in German coalition talks
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel will be asked to break an election pledge not to raise taxes in talks this week on a ‘grand coalition’ with the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) which could also threaten her influential finance minister.
Sudanese protest again against Bashir in Khartoum
KHARTOUM (Reuters) – About 1,000 Sudanese staged another protest in Khartoum on Sunday to demand President Omar Hassan al-Bashir resign, a witness said, as the government moved to raise salaries to soften the impact of unpopular austerity measures.
