(Reuters) – WASHINGTON – U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Beijing must play fair in international trade and vowed to keep pressing China to clean up its human rights record.
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BANGKOK – An Iranian man was seriously wounded in Bangkok on Tuesday when a bomb he was carrying exploded and blew one of his legs off and Israel said the incident was an attempted terrorist attack by Iran.
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BRUSSELS/ATHENS – Euro zone finance ministers dropped plans on Tuesday for a special face-to-face meeting on Greece’s new international bailout, as the cabinet in Athens argued up to the last minute on plugging a 325 million euro ($427 million)gap in its austerity plan.
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CARACAS – President Hugo Chavez’s allies are bombarding Venezuela’s newly anointed opposition leader with attacks ranging from the legitimacy of the primary vote to his sexuality and Jewish roots.
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MANAMA – Armoured vehicles patrolled Bahrain’s capital on Tuesday in a security clampdown to deter protesters after overnight clashes outside Manama on the first anniversary of a forcibly suppressed pro-democracy uprising.
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DUBAI – Millions of Iranians have suffered serious disruption recently in accessing email and Internet social networking sites, raising concerns authorities are stepping up censorship of opposition supporters ahead of parliamentary elections next month.
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PARIS – Nicolas Sarkozy is set to formally enter France’s 2012 presidential race on Wednesday, kicking off a rapid-fire re-election campaign with the odds stacked in favour of Socialist challenger Francois Hollande.
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ROME – Maria Grazia Fera was looking forward to getting back to work after her first child was born. But three months into her maternity leave, her temporary contract as a teacher for the disabled expired and suddenly, her job was gone.
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CAIRO – After a bruising meeting in a five-star Cairo hotel, Arab foreign ministers led by Gulf states hinted to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that unless he halts his violent crackdown, some Arab League members might arm his opponents.
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BERLIN – German analyst and investor sentiment leapt to its highest level in 10 months in February, reinforcing signs that Europe’s largest economy is returning to growth as the rest of the euro zone faces a mild recession.
