BEIRUT – In what would be the most high-profile defection from the inner circle of the Syrian leadership, Manaf Tlas, a friend of President Bashar al-Assad and a brigadier in his Republican Guard, was reported yesterday to have fled to Turkey.
– – – –
BEIJING/FRANKFURT – China, the euro zone and Britain loosened monetary policy in the space of less than an hour yesterday, signalling a growing level of alarm about the world economy, although suggestions of coordinated action were played down.
– – – –
TRIPOLI – Libyans will vote in their first free national poll in more than half a century tomorrow amid fears that violence could taint an election meant to usher in a temporary national assembly and draw a line under Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year autocratic reign.
– – – –
SINGAPORE/TOKYO – Iran will see its July oil exports more than halved from regular levels seen last year because tough new Western sanctions are stifling flows and costing Tehran more than $3 billion in lost revenue per month.
– – – –
MAUMEE, Ohio – President Barack Obama took a shot at China and Republican rival Mitt Romney yesterday, complaining to the World Trade Organization that Beijing is abusing trade laws by imposing more than $3 billion in duties on U.S. automobile exports.
– – – –
TOKYO – Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis was a preventable disaster resulting from “collusion” among the government, regulators and the plant operator, an expert panel said yesterday, wrapping up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.
– – – –
MEXICO CITY – In the two days after Enrique Pena Nieto smiled under confetti to celebrate his presidential election win in Mexico, a car bomb killed two policemen, assailants opened fire on a wake near the U.S. border and rival gunmen left 10 dead near the capital.
– – – –
SEOUL – The daughter of slain South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee is to launch a bid to become the first woman to lead this Asian economic powerhouse on July 10 and is likely to pledge to broaden welfare and offer to mend relations with a bellicose North Korea.
– – – –
ISLAMABAD – A pair of trucks carrying NATO supplies crossed into Afghanistan yesterday, Pakistani customs officials said, the first time in over seven months that Pakistan has permitted Western nations to use its roads to supply troops in Afghanistan.
– – – –
PANAMA CITY – South Korea’s proposal to resume whaling for scientific research has angered other Asian countries and conservationists who said the practice would skirt a global ban on whale hunting.
