Yemen launches assault on al Qaeda, several killed
ADEN (Reuters) – At least nine people were killed on Wednesday when Yemeni troops launched an offensive on an eastern city, targeting al Qaeda-linked fighters who have declared they aim to set up an Islamist state there, officials and residents said.
Latvia gets EU green light to adopt euro currency
By Aija Braslina RIGA (Reuters) – Latvia got the go-ahead on Wednesday to adopt the euro from 2014, crowning its emergence from an economic crisis and signaling to investors that the euro zone is set to expand rather than disintegrate.
Gunmen ambush bus, kill 15 passengers in Iraqi desert
ANBAR, Iraq (Reuters) – Gunmen ambushed a bus and killed 15 passengers in the Iraqi desert on Wednesday, security officials said, as growing sectarian violence raises fears of a return to civil war.
Civil war memories, oil wealth smooth Algeria politics
BOUMERDES, Algeria (Reuters) – With its president in a French hospital for over a month and the surrounding region in turmoil, Algeria looks from the outside to be on course for a period of unrest.
Egypt prosecutor orders trial for leading activists
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s public prosecutor ordered a group of political activists to stand trial on Wednesday on charges they incited violence near the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in March, a case that has hardened rights activists’ fears of a c…
French will accept pain for reform gain: survey
PARIS (Reuters) – Nearly three-quarters of French want President Francois Hollande to push further ahead with economic reforms and are ready to make personal sacrifices as long the pain is fairly distributed, a survey by pollster BVA found on Wednesday…
Advancing Malian army clashes with Tuareg rebels
BAMAKO (Reuters) – Malian troops seized a village after heavy fighting with Tuareg separatists on Wednesday and are advancing towards the town of Kidal, the last rebel stronghold, the army said.
Felled ex-Beijing mayor, supporter of 1989 crackdown, dies
BEIJING (Reuters) – A former Beijing mayor, instrumental in the government crackdown on student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and later jailed for corruption, has died of cancer, state media reported on Wednesday. He was 83.
North Korea accuses South of bid to kidnap nine youths sent home
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea accused South Korean activists on Wednesday of trying to kidnap nine young people who the United Nations and South Korea believe were forced back to their homeland by China last week.
Swiss lawmakers put U.S. tax deal vote on ice
BERN/ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s parliament halted a bill on Wednesday that would let Swiss banks hand over client information to the U.S. authorities as part of a clampdown on tax evasion, saying it needed to know more about what the deal involve…
