MOSCOW – The bloodiest attack on Moscow in at least six years has confounded Russia’s attempt to cauterize an Islamist insurgency spreading across the North Caucasus region.
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GATINEAU, Quebec – The world’s leading industrial nations called yesterday for stronger action against Iran over its nuclear program and the United States said it was confident China would agree on the need for sanctions.
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said yesterday that he would not be dissuaded from taking on new economic challenges after his healthcare reform victory, despite the prospect for continued Republican opposition.
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MARJAH, Afghanistan – From the litany of requests made to Mike Mullen yesterday — from asphalt for roads to fertiliser for fields — one might think he was a visiting aid worker, not the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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TOKYO – The European Union’s aid deal for Greece involving the International Monetary Fund is positive for the country but longer-term questions remain over whether Athens can stick to its austerity plans, Fitch Ratings said yesterday.
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ISLAMABAD – A top Pakistan government official was detained yesterday on the orders of the Supreme Court, the first official to face legal action over revived corruption charges after a controversial amnesty was thrown out.
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ANKARA – Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned his own supporters in government yesterday to be careful as they sent to parliament a disputed constitutional reform package that strikes at the heart of the secular elite.
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ROME – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made gains in Italian regional elections, wresting four regions from the opposition while the anti-immigration Northern League emerged as a powerhouse in his centre-right coalition.
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CANBERRA/BEIJING – China warned Australia not to make “irresponsible” comments about the trial of four employees of mining firm Rio Tinto after Canberra said the trial had left questions about China’s legal system.
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OSLO – A goal to limit global warming to “below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) is opening a new rift for 2010 talks on a U.N. climate treaty as developing nations say it means the rich must deepen cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
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GENEVA – Physicists smashed sub-atomic particles into each other with record energy yesterday, creating thousands of mini-Big Bangs like the primeval explosion that gave birth to the universe 13.7 billion years ago.
