Swedish government woos voters with pre-election tax cuts
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden’s center-right government bet on a new round of income tax cuts in its 2014 budget on Wednesday to boost growth and win it a third term in office in elections next year.
Syrian artists find refuge and acclaim in neighbouring Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Splashes of color on a canvas painted by Imad Habbab depict the moment of an explosion in Syria’s civil war.
Iran sees ‘opening’ on nuclear diplomacy: official
DUBAI (Reuters) – An Iranian official said on Wednesday that he saw an “opening” in Iran’s nuclear dispute with the West, a news agency reported, in the latest signal that Tehran expects fresh movement to break a decade-old deadlock.
Senegal-born chemist hopes to be first black German MP
HALLE, Germany (Reuters) – More than two decades after two far-right youths attacked him there and smashed his glasses, Karamba Diaby hopes to represent the economically ailing east German city of Halle as the first black member of Germany’s parliament…
Hong Kong couple jailed for torturing maid who was ‘forced to wear diaper’
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong couple were jailed on Wednesday for torturing, beating and abusing their Indonesian maid, who said they once dressed her in a diaper and tied her to a chair for five days while they went on holiday.
Merkel’s center-right could fall short of majority: poll
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel’s center-right coalition slipped behind Germany’s combined center-left opposition parties in a poll published on Wednesday, indicating her conservatives would be unable to form a majority with their Free Democrat partne…
World Bank chief urges China to better manage urbanization
BEIJING (Reuters) – China must plan its massive urbanization better to limit environmental damage and to ensure that millions of migrants benefit more from the process, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said on Wednesday.
Parliamentary election to test if Austria “going to the dogs”
VIENNA (Reuters) – A business leader’s offhand pre-election comment that Austria is “going to the dogs” has galvanized a debate about whether the nation’s enviable prosperity will wither away.
Israeli Arab killed fighting for Syrian rebels: family
MUSHIRFA, Israel (Reuters) – An Israeli Arab has been killed fighting for Syria’s rebels, his father said on Wednesday, the first such case for the Jewish state which has largely kept out of the 2-1/2-year-old civil war next door.
Greek tourist surge continues in July, boosts payments balance
ATHENS (Reuters) – Strong spending by foreign visitors widened Greece’s current account surplus in July, confirming expectations that a bumper tourism season will help ease the debt-laden country’s recession this year.
