BEIRUT – Rebels battled to hold onto Syria’s main north-south highway yesterday as government forces fought insurgents on several fronts across the country.
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WASHINGTON – Joe Biden’s spirited performance in Thursday’s vice presidential debate had Republicans criticizing him for snide grins and a comment on Libya, but it set the stage for President Barack Obama to try to regain his footing in a rematch with challenger Mitt Romney next Tuesday.
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TOKYO – Germany held firm yesterday in insisting it was too soon to say Greece deserved more time to meet its deficit-cutting goals even as the head of the International Monetary Fund laid out the case for leniency.
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CAIRO – Opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi clashed in Cairo yesterday in the first street violence between rival factions since the Islamist leader took office.
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BAGHDAD/PRAGUE – Iraq has agreed to buy 28 combat planes from the Czech Republic for about $1 billion as part of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s programme to rebuild the country’s air force and control its vulnerable airspace.
