Car bombs kill 54 in Shi’ite districts of Baghdad
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Car bombs killed at least 54 people in mostly Shi’ite Muslim areas of Baghdad on Monday as suspected Sunni Muslim militants pursued a campaign to plunge Iraq back into sectarian strife.
Competition between Islamist militants may fuel big attacks
LONDON (Reuters) – The assault on Kenya’s Westgate shopping mall has brought into sharp relief a pattern likely to complicate efforts to counter Islamist militants – competition among jihadis can increase the risk of a major attack.
U.N. chemical weapons inspectors leave Syria
BEIRUT (Reuters) – U.N. chemical weapons inspectors investigating allegations of chemical and biological weapons use during Syria’s civil war left Damascus on Monday after their second mission in two months, witnesses said.
Merkel plans to talk with SPD and Greens on coalition
BERLIN (Reuters) – Angela Merkel will hold preliminary coalition talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday and also plans to meet with the Greens, as she tries to play her potential partners off against each other at the start of a tough horse-tr…
Austerity clobbers Portugal’s ruling party in local votes
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s ruling Social Democrats took a heavy beating in local elections on Sunday as voters passed their verdict on the austerity measures that accompanied the 2011 international bailout.
South African woman killed after police shoot at protesters
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A South African woman was killed and another injured on Monday after police fired into a crowd of protesters who had attacked a police vehicle, a spokesman said.
UK finance minister courts voters with tougher welfare rules
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – British finance minister George Osborne proposed tougher new welfare rules on Monday to try to win over working voters who are grappling with depleted spending power ahead of the 2015 election.
Investors fret over Italian political uncertainty
MILAN (Reuters) – Investors shunned Italian government bonds and shares on Monday after Silvio Berlusconi pulled the rug from under Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s frail coalition government by ordering five center-right ministers to quit.
Analysis: From Syria to South China Sea, navies cruise back into vogue
LONDON (Reuters) – After a quarter century of Middle Eastern land wars and a sharp fall in big powers’ naval spending after the Cold War, sea power is back in vogue in response to the rise of China and Western reluctance to deploy ground troops in conf…
UK’s Osborne slams Labour over power freeze plan
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – British finance minister George Osborne criticized proposals by the opposition Labour party to cap utility bills, saying they would prompt companies to raise prices before any limit was imposed and hit investment over th…
