MOSCOW – The bloodiest attack on Moscow in at least six  years has confounded Russia’s attempt to cauterize an Islamist  insurgency spreading across the North Caucasus region.

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GATINEAU, Quebec – The world’s leading industrial nations  called yesterday for stronger action against Iran over its  nuclear program and the United States said it was confident  China would agree on the need for sanctions.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said yesterday that he  would not be dissuaded from taking on new economic challenges  after his healthcare reform victory, despite the prospect for  continued Republican opposition.

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MARJAH, Afghanistan – From the litany of requests made to  Mike Mullen yesterday — from asphalt for roads to fertiliser  for fields — one might think he was a visiting aid worker, not  the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

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TOKYO – The European Union’s aid deal for Greece involving  the International Monetary Fund is positive for the country but  longer-term questions remain over whether Athens can stick to  its austerity plans, Fitch Ratings said yesterday.

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ISLAMABAD – A top Pakistan government official was detained  yesterday on the orders of the Supreme Court, the first  official to face legal action over revived corruption charges  after a controversial amnesty was thrown out.

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ANKARA – Turkish President Abdullah Gul warned his own  supporters in government yesterday to be careful as they sent  to parliament a disputed constitutional reform package that  strikes at the heart of the secular elite.

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ROME – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made gains in  Italian regional elections, wresting four regions from the  opposition while the anti-immigration Northern League emerged as  a powerhouse in his centre-right coalition.

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CANBERRA/BEIJING – China warned Australia not to make  “irresponsible” comments about the trial of four employees of  mining firm Rio Tinto after Canberra said the trial had left  questions about China’s legal system.

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OSLO – A goal to limit global warming to “below” 2 degrees  Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) is opening a new rift for 2010 talks on  a U.N. climate treaty as developing nations say it means the  rich must deepen cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

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GENEVA – Physicists smashed sub-atomic particles into each  other with record energy yesterday, creating thousands of  mini-Big Bangs like the primeval explosion that gave birth to  the universe 13.7 billion years ago.