Australia opposition plans to cut aid, public sector jobs
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s conservative opposition, widely expected to win Saturday’s election, said on Thursday it plans to cut spending on foreign aid and axe public sector jobs to help pay for new roads, a parental leave scheme and the removal o…
U.S. stimulus withdrawal to have global impact: China
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The withdrawal of U.S. monetary stimulus will have a significant global effect, China said on Thursday, putting the ‘taper’ of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve at the center of the economy debate at a Group of 20 summi…
China’s ex-security chief helping probe, not target: sources
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, one of the country’s most powerful politicians of the last decade, is helping authorities in a corruption probe and, contrary to media reports, is not currently the target of the…
Analysis: Mexico’s president lines up reform blitz, legacy at stake
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto has only been in charge nine months, but the success of his presidency depends largely on how he steers divisive economic reforms through Congress with the opposition by the end of this year.
Analysis: Surprise or not, U.S. strikes can still hurt Assad
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It would hardly be a surprise to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or his military if American missiles start hitting Syria soon.
U.S. resolution on Syria strike passes first hurdle in Senate
WASHINGTON/AMMAN (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama’s effort to win legislative backing for military strikes against Syria passed its first hurdle on Wednesday when a Senate committee voted in favor, but the narrow margin of victory showed the dep…
Colombian president’s popularity hits low after unrest
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ public approval rating has plunged to its lowest level since he took office in 2010, a poll released on Wednesday showed, due to a farmers’ strike marred by violence and scant progress in peace…
Codelco workers to strike at small Chilean copper mine: union
SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Workers at the Salvador copper mine, owned by Chile’s state-run Codelco, are due to begin a strike on Thursday after contract negotiations broke down, a union leader said.
Australia’s Abbott set to inherit economy others would envy
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s presumptive prime minister, Tony Abbott, is set to inherit a slowing economy, rising unemployment and a budget in the red. Yet look out to a three-year election horizon, and the view is a lot better.
Sri Lanka hits back at U.N. rights chief after visit
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s government criticized the U.N.’s top human rights official on Wednesday for calling attention to accusations that police and soldiers had harassed people who met her during a visit to the country’s former war zones.