Israel’s Netanyahu to make statement amid election talk
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will issue a statement on Tuesday evening, his office said, amid speculation that he would call an early national election that polls suggest he can win comfortably.
Merkel tells irate Greeks painful reforms will pay off
ATHENS (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of angry Greek protesters filled the streets of Athens on Tuesday to greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered sympathy but no promise of further aid on her first visit since the euro crisis erupted three y…
Mexico Marines say kill top Zetas drug lord, body snatched
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico has killed the leader of the brutal Zetas drug gang, the most powerful kingpin to fall in Mexico’s 6-year-old battle against cartels, but his body was snatched from the funeral home by armed men, the Marines said Tuesday….
Ministers try to limit impact of defense cuts on NATO
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – NATO ministers wrestled on Tuesday with how to prevent austerity-driven defense cuts in many member countries from undermining the power of the 63-year-old Western alliance.
China to send deputy finance minister to IMF Tokyo meeting amid island spat
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s delegation to the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Tokyo will not be led by its most senior finance officials, a report from state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday, in what looked like a deliberate snub of …
Syria clashes intensify near Turkey border
HACIPASA, Turkey (Reuters) – NATO said on Tuesday it had drawn up plans to defend Turkey if necessary against any further spillover of violence from Syria’s border areas where rebels and government forces are fighting for control.
Huge ammunition explosion rocks Russian city
MOSCOW (Reuters) – An explosion at a weapons disposal site in central Russia on Tuesday blew windows shut in a city 30 kilometers away but preliminary reports indicated no one was hurt, according to the government and witnesses.
Iran budget under pressure, Ahmadinejad says
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s state budget is under pressure and the government has cut spending in some areas, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying as the country struggles to cope with Western economic sanctions.
U.S. will "do what we must" on Iran, U.N.’s Ban opposes threats
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will say on Tuesday the United States will “do what we must” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned against threatening attacks whose consequences w…
Fearful Alawites pay sectarian militias in battered Homs
(The identity of the journalist has been withheld for security reasons)