Divided Greece hurtles towards new elections
ATHENS - After inconclusive elections and fruitless political horse-trading, debt-laden Greece will finally name a government Thursday, but only to hold the fort until fresh polls next month.
A caretaker government of technocrats and retired [...]
Violence hits Bangladesh as opposition leaders denied bail
DHAKA – Demonstrators torched vehicles and fought police in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka after a court Wednesday denied bail to 33 opposition figures over charges stemming from an anti-government protest last month.
The main opposition [...]
Germany pledges post-withdrawal cash for Afghanistan
BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Hamid Karzai hailed Wednesday a “milestone” in their relations as Germany pledged 150 million euros ($190 million) a year after international forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
Signing [...]
Sri Lanka could free jailed ex-army chief ‘within days’
COLOMBO – Sarath Fonseka could be free “within days” after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse held talks on Wednesday with the jailed former army chief’s political party, officials said.
Fonseka fell out with the [...]
Bangladesh to probe Grameen Bank and linked firms
DHAKA – Bangladesh on Wednesday set up a commission on the future of pioneering microfinance institution Grameen Bank and 54 related businesses headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Yunus was sacked as the head of Grameen Bank last [...]
Afghanistan to pump oil in five months: official
KABUL – Afghanistan will start pumping oil for the first time within five months, an official said Wednesday, as part of the nation’s efforts to tap underground treasures estimated to be worth billions.
China’s National [...]
France’s Hollande unveils moderate new cabinet
PARIS – French President Francois Hollande unveiled a government of mainly moderate Socialists and longtime allies Wednesday as his new prime minister vowed to work quickly to put the country back on its feet.
He also met his promise [...]
FBI confirms JPMorgan Chase probe
WASHINGTON – FBI chief Robert Mueller confirmed Wednesday that his agency had opened a “preliminary” probe into JPMorgan Chase’s multibillion-dollar trading loss.
“All I can say is that we have opened a preliminary [...]
Syrian Activists: Government Attacks Kill 9
Syrian activists say government shelling and gunfire killed at least nine people across the country on Wednesday, most of them in a region where U.N. military observers were caught up in a deadly shooting and bomb blast the day before.
The Britain-based [...]
Obama Order Targets People Threatening Yemen Transition
WHITE HOUSE – President Barack Obama on Wednesday issued an executive order freezing U.S. assets of anyone considered to be threatening the success of the U.S.-backed political transition in Yemen.
In the order, Mr. Obama declares a national [...]
