Britain urges all Syrian opposition to join peace talks
LONDON (Reuters) – British Foreign Secretary William Hague said it was vital that all elements of Syria’s opposition join peace talks tentatively scheduled for Geneva next month if there was to be an end to the 31-month-old conflict.
Kurdish rebels threaten new fight in Turkey as Syria clashes intensify
QANDIL MOUNTAINS, Iraq (Reuters) – Kurdish rebels are ready to re-enter Turkey from northern Iraq, the head of the group’s political wing said at his mountain hideout, threatening to rekindle an insurgency unless Ankara resuscitates their peace process…
Without chemical arms, Syrian weaponry still fearsome
LONDON (Reuters) – On Sunday, September 29, President Bashar al-Assad declared to the world, via an interview on Italian television, his resolve to clear Syria of chemical weapons – accepting a Russian-brokered deal to avert punitive U.S. action.
China says Tibet policy ‘correct’, no turning back
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has no intention of altering its “correct” policies in the restive region of Tibet as they have brought unprecedented achievements, a government white paper said on Tuesday, slamming the romanticized notion Tibet was once an i…
Insight: Ireland’s bailout report: Good, now fix public debt
DUBLIN (Reuters) – At the height of the euro zone’s debt crisis in July 2011, Ireland’s bailout looked doomed. Its credit rating had been cut to junk and borrowing costs hiked to an eye-watering 15 percent.
Afghan businessman accused of channeling aid money to insurgency
KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. inspectors are on the trail of a successful Afghan businessman they believe has channeled millions of dollars in aid to the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, one of the deadliest insurgent groups in Afghanistan, but still has dono…
Luxembourg PM Juncker under threat as opponents seek coalition
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was facing the end of a 19-year run in power on Tuesday after the centre-right Democratic Party (DP) said it would begin coalition talks with would-be partners, the Socialists and the…
Australia firefighters prepare for worst as hot weather returns
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian firefighters worked desperately on Tuesday to contain massive wildfires burning in mountains west of Sydney, but with forecasts of high winds and dangerously hot weather, authorities fear more houses and lives will be lost…
Osborne’s star rises along with Britain’s economy
LONDON (Reuters) – With no apparent end in sight to Britain’s economic stagnation and his 2012 budget slated as a shambles, George Osborne spent much of last year holed up behind the cream limestone walls of his finance ministry.
Bosnian soccer success sets example for healing ethnic divide
SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Bosnia’s international footballers have offered their political leaders a valuable lesson: see what you can achieve when you set aside your ethnic divisions.
