CAIRO – Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has driven back the biggest challenge to civilian rule by dismissing top generals and tearing up their legal attempt to curb his power in a bold bid to end 60 years of military leadership.
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SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle — the man seen as the power behind the young and untested dictator — went to Beijing on Monday in the latest signal that the reclusive state is looking seriously at ways to revive its broken economy.
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WASHINGTON – Republican Mitt Romney received no immediate boost to his White House bid by naming U.S. Representative Paul Ryan as vice presidential running mate, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday.
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ALEPPO, Syria – A Syrian warplane crashed in flames in eastern Syria in disputed circumstances on Monday as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces pursued their drive to quell rebels in Aleppo and elsewhere.
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LONDON – London looked back on the Olympics on Monday with satisfaction and sorrow, confident it had hosted a successful Games yet aware that the 17-day party was over and it was back to the reality of economic recession and painful spending cuts.
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DUBAI – Iran’s government faced criticism on Monday over its response to two earthquakes that killed 306 people, with complaints of a lack of tents and about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision to go ahead with an overseas trip.
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VATICAN CITY – The Vatican on Monday ordered Pope Benedict’s former butler to stand trial for leaking documents alleging corruption in the Holy See, revealing the involvement of a second Vatican employee and details of secret nocturnal meetings with a reporter.
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PARIS/LONDON – Leading members of the Group of 20 nations are prepared to trigger an emergency meeting to address soaring grain prices caused by the worst U.S. drought in more than half a century and poor crops from the Black Sea bread basket.
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JERUSALEM – For Israel to carry out a long-threatened strike on Iranian nuclear sites, it would have to overcome dissent within its governing coalition reflecting public fear of igniting an unprecedented missile war.
