PARIS/BERLIN – British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened yesterday to obstruct a Franco-German drive for swift change to the European Union’s treaty, a sign of the difficulty leaders will face transforming Europe to save the euro.
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CAIRO – More than eight million Egyptians voted in the opening round of their first free vote in six decades in what the election chief said yesterday was a turnout of 62 percent, far higher than in the rigged polls of deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
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TEHRAN/LONDON – All Iranian diplomats left Britain yesterday, expelled in response to protesters storming the British embassy in Tehran, hardening a confrontation between Tehran and the West over its nuclear programme.
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GENEVA – The United Nations top human rights forum strongly condemned Syria yesterday for “gross and systematic” violations by its forces, including executions, and set the stage for possible action by U.N. political bodies in New York.
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ROCK HILL – Herman Cain, battling allegations of infidelities, is expected to announce today in Atlanta whether he is continuing his bid for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination.
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama yesterday pledged an aggressive push to pass an extension to the payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, saying lawmakers must not leave for their holiday break without taking action on it.
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ST PETERSBURG, Russia – Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged voters and politicians yesterday to unite behind the government and prevent Russian politics turning into a “circus” after tomorrow’s parliamentary election.
