WASHINGTON – The United States has signaled to North Korea’s new leaders it hopes for progress on the nuclear issue and has pushed ahead with discussions on resuming food aid despite the death of leader Kim Jong-il, U.S. officials said yesterday.
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CAIRO – Egyptian police and soldiers fired guns and teargas to try to clear protesters from Cairo’s Tahrir Square on the fifth day of clashes that have killed 13 people and drawn a stinging rebuke from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama demanded yesterday that Republicans in the House of Representatives pass a short-term extension of a payroll tax cut, showing an unwillingness to back down in a fight that could result in higher taxes for 160 million Americans.
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ROME – Diplomats from the United States, the European Union and other allies agreed yesterday to step up pressure on Iran to force it to resume talks over its nuclear programme, an Italian diplomatic source said.
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ILIGAN, Philippines – Philippine President Benigno Aquino ordered an investigation yesterday into flash floods and landslides that sent mud and logs crashing down on residents, killing about 1,000 people on a southern island.
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OTTUMWA, Iowa – Slipping in polls under an onslaught of attacks, Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich promises to wage a sharper and more aggressive campaign in the final two weeks before Iowa kicks off the party’s nominating race.
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ROME – The Moroccan-born woman at the centre of a major sex scandal and trial involving former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had a baby yesterday by her nightclub-owner boyfriend.
