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.
Southern violence a thorn in side of Philippines’ booming economy
MANILA (Reuters) – A commercial hub besieged by heavily armed guerrillas, hundreds of houses gutted by fire, helicopters raining rockets on rebel positions. The images from the Philippines this past week sit uncomfortably with its new-found reputation …
Israeli general says Assad could survive in Syria for years
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could cling to power for years despite having lost overall control of his country, according to Israel’s top commander on the frontier with Syria.
China crackdown on online rumors seen as ploy to nail critics
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crackdown on online “rumor-mongering”, widely seen as a tool to halt criticism of the ruling Communist Party, has chilled political discourse, with high-profile bloggers saying they have reined in sensitive posts for fear of…
China to seal ousted politician Bo’s fate on Sunday
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese court will announce its verdict on ousted former senior politician Bo Xilai on Sunday following his trial last month on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
China crackdown on online rumors seen as ploy to nail critics
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s crackdown on online “rumor-mongering”, widely seen as a tool to halt criticism of the ruling Communist Party, has chilled political discourse, with high-profile bloggers saying they have reined in sensitive posts for fear of…
Bahrain opposition no. 2 held for 30 days on charge of inciting terrorism
BAHRAIN (Reuters) – The deputy leader of Bahrain’s largest opposition party will be held for 30 days while being investigated for inciting terrorism in a series of speeches, the public prosecutor of the Gulf Arab kingdom said.
China to announce verdict for ousted politician Bo on September 22
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese court will announce the verdict on Sept 22 for ousted former senior politician Bo Xilai, it said on Wednesday, following his trial last month on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
Taliban kill election commission head in Afghanistan’s north
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban gunmen shot and killed the head of the Independent Election Commission in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province on Wednesday, a day after he warned that deteriorating security threatened next year’s presidential…
Greek state workers strike against firings before troika visit
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek workers shut schools and forced hospitals to work on emergency staff on Wednesday at the start of a 48-hour strike against the government’s latest plans to fire thousands of public sector staff.
