France delays contentious overhaul of entrepreneur status
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s government on Wednesday postponed a parliament debate on a draft law that curtails tax breaks and other advantages for small-scale entrepreneurs, angering business owners who say the delay creates legal confusion.
Syrians retrieve ‘sleeping’ dead after alleged chemical attack
BEIRUT (Reuters) – The men, women and children lying undisturbed in their beds had looked so peaceful they might have been just sleeping, Abu Nidal thought, as he and other rescuers dragged their bodies into the street.
U.S., Britain, France to seek UN probe of Syria attack: diplomats
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States, Britain and France will officially ask U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday to open a U.N. investigation into an alleged gas attack in Syria, U.N. diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
Mubarak, Egypt’s ‘Pharaoh’, ordered freed from jail
CAIRO (Reuters) – When President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a 2011 revolt and later jailed, Egyptians who rose up against him hoped he would be a convict for life, or executed.
Yemeni government apologizes for wars waged by former president
SANAA (Reuters) – The Yemeni government on Wednesday issued a public apology to southern separatists and northern Shi’ite Muslim rebels for wars waged against them during former President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule.
White House calls for U.N. probe of alleged Syria gas attack
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House expressed alarm on Wednesday about reports that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in an attack on civilians and called for a United Nations investigation into the incident.
U.N. Security Council to meet on Wednesday on alleged Syria gas attack
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting at 3 p.m. EDT (3:00 p.m. EDT) to discuss an alleged deadly gas attack in Syria that, if confirmed, would be the world’s worst chemical weapons attack in decades, diplom…
Russia says rebels may have staged alleged Syrian chemical attack
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry called for a thorough investigation on Wednesday into reports that Syrian government forces had launched a chemical attack, suggesting that rebels could have staged the assault to provoke international actio…
Tunisian union head mediates in political standoff
TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisia’s powerful UGTT trade union federation sought to mediate in the country’s political crisis on Wednesday, consulting the secular opposition on its proposals for new elections before meeting with the ruling Islamists on Thursday…
Britain, France to officially request U.N. probe of Syria attack: diplomat
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Britain and France will send a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later on Wednesday to officially request a U.N. investigation into an alleged gas attack in Syria, a U.N. diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
