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G8 leaders look to head off euro zone crisis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Leaders of major industrial economies meet this weekend to try to tackle a full-blown crisis in Europe where fears are growing that Greece could leave the euro zone bloc, threatening the future of the common currency. President Barack Obama, the G8 host, has urged European leaders repeatedly to do more to stimulate growth, fearing contagion from the euro crisis that could hurt the U.S. economy and his chances of re-election in November. ...
Iran may seek "tactical gain" with U.N. nuclear deal
VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and the U.N. nuclear watchdog are making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about its atomic activity, diplomats say, a potential bargaining chip for Tehran in next week's negotiations with world powers. Iran says such an agreement is needed before it can consider a request by U.N. inspectors to visit the Parchin military site where they believe explosives tests relevant for developing nuclear weapons may have been carried out. ...
Analysis: In India, muddled leadership leaves economy adrift
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - "Dear God," wrote economist Rajeev Malik as he called on the Almighty to help India's "rudderless" government in a biting critique that underscored a growing frustration at home and abroad with the stewardship of Asia's third-largest economy. Writing in India's Business Standard newspaper, the well-respected Malik echoed the exasperation of Indian and foreign business groups pressing for the government to swiftly implement major economic reforms and formulate a coherent strategy to deal with its mounting problems. ...
Exclusive: Drugmakers weigh emergency supply plan for Greece
LONDON (Reuters) - International drugmakers are working with European authorities on emergency plans to keep medicines flowing into Greece if the country crashes out of the euro. Discussions have intensified in recent days, according to industry sources, and manufacturers are looking closely at the experience of Argentina's collapse in 2002, when some firms agreed to continue to supply medicines without payment for a period of time. ...
Banks' rising bad loans add to Spanish troubles
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish bank bad loans rose in March to their highest in 18 years, figures from the Bank of Spain showed on Friday, underscoring the problems facing the government as it attempts to clean up the sector and get its economy back on track. The Bank of Spain said bad loans rose to 8.37 percent of the banks' outstanding loans, the highest since August 1994 and up from 8.3 percent in February, which was also revised higher. The data came as Spain was set to name independent auditors to assess how much cash its banks are likely to need to rebuild their balance sheets. ...
Spat with Iraq bares Turk plunge into regional power game
ANKARA (Reuters) - A bitter rift with Iraq has exposed Turkey's role in a wider Middle East power struggle, with Ankara acting to protect its stability and prosperity from an Iranian-Iraqi "Shi'ite axis" it fears in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq. Turkey, a Sunni Muslim but secular regional power bordering Iraq, Iran and Syria, long tried to play regional mediator as Shi'ite Muslim giant Iran and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia jostled for sway in a region now undergoing political upheaval. But the fall-out wrought by Arab Spring uprisings and the U.S. ...
Small-town don makes awkward ally for Serb liberals
JAGODINA, Serbia (Reuters) - There's a fluffy toy tiger in the office of Jagodina's mayor, another cast in gold on his desk, and at least one more in his trophy cabinet. When Dragan Markovic, known by his nickname Palma (palm tree), opened a zoo five years ago in the central Serbian town he runs, he called it Tiger Zoo, a bit like his kick-boxing club, Palma's Tigers. ...
U.S. firms eye Myanmar as sanctions suspended
WASHINGTON/HONG KONG (Reuters) - The suspension of U.S. sanctions barring investment in Myanmar in response to political reforms in the poor Southeast Asian state opens the door to U.S. firms queuing to scout for business in one of the last frontier markets. U.S. firms are expected to join those from Asia and Europe that have already moved into a market of up to 60 million people in the former British colony. Analysts and experts have said there will be opportunities for foreign companies across the industrial landscape - from energy, mining and construction to agriculture, finance and ...
Poll shows Greece electing pro-bailout government
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek voters are returning to the establishment parties that negotiated its bailout, a poll showed on Thursday, offering potential salvation for European leaders who say a snap Greek election next month will decide whether it must quit the euro. The poll, the first conducted since talks to form a government collapsed and a new election was called for June 17, showed the conservative New Democracy party in first place, several points ahead of the radical leftist SYRIZA which has pledged to tear up the bailout. ...
Syria's Assad: Nations that sow chaos will suffer
AMMAN (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to "sow chaos" in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power. Assad's remarks, to a Russian TV channel, came after U.N. staff monitoring an increasingly shaky ceasefire were caught up in an attack that killed at least 21 people, and had to spend a night with rebel forces. ...
UK surveillance could yield window into lives
British officials have given their word: "We won't read your emails."
Largest protests yet in Syrian city of Aleppo
Syrian security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands rallying Friday in the northern city of Aleppo, which activists said saw the largest turnout since the start of the uprising against President Bashar Assad in March 2011.
Putin gives top job to tank factory worker
President Vladimir Putin on Friday gave a senior government post to a tank factory worker who had offered to come to Moscow with fellow laborers to disperse opposition protests.
Rockets kill 2 NATO troops, 3 Afghan civilians
Rockets crashed into a U.S. base and a house Friday in a remote area of northeast Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, killing two NATO service members and three civilians, officials said.
Top Israel court tightens enforcement of equal pay
Israeli feminists on Friday welcomed a Supreme Court ruling they say will help enforce equal pay laws for men and women.
French leader faces likely NATO ire on Afghanistan
For President Barack Obama's relationship with France, it's out with "Sarkozy the American" and in with Francois Hollande the Socialist.
French autistic kids mostly get psychotherapy
In most developed countries, children with autism are usually sent to school where they get special education classes. But in France, they are more often sent to a psychiatrist where they get talk therapy meant for people with psychological or emotional problems.
Peru's famed hostage raid investigated
Peruvians traumatized by years of guerrilla violence cheered in 1997 when government troops raided the Japanese ambassador's residence to rescue hostages held for 126 days by leftist rebels.
Divided but peaceful 2 years after Thai violence
Just two years ago, Thailand was at war with itself. Rifle shots and exploding grenades rang out in Bangkok as troops crushed through barricades to disperse a nine-week-old insurrection. A retired nurse was the last to capitulate.
Filipino Christian group protests Lady Gaga shows
Scores of Christian youths in the Philippines chanted "Stop the Lady Gaga concerts" at a rally Friday calling for the pop diva's shows here to be canceled despite assurances from authorities that they won't allow nudity and lewd acts.