World

MOSCOW,  (Reuters) – A dancer at Russia’s Bolshoi ballet who made his name playing villains has confessed to ordering the acid attack that nearly blinded its director, angry that his lover was being kept out of leading roles.

DUBAI,  (Reuters) – Iran declared a day of national mourning today after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who shared the Islamic Republic’s loathing for U.S.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – President Hugo Chavez died Tuesday after a two-year battle with cancer, ending 14 years of tumultuous and divisive rule that won him passionate support among the poor but hatred from business leaders and wealthy Venezuelans.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new rulers will focus on consumer-led growth to narrow the gap between rich and poor while taking steps to curb pollution and graft, the government said today, tackling the main triggers for social unrest in the giant nation Outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao, speaking at the opening of the annual session of parliament, also announced record government spending in 2013 that will sustain growth and maintain the ruling Communist Party’s grip on power through an enhanced budget for internal security.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – The Dow Jones industrial average today hit the highest level ever as it broke the previous intraday record of 14,164.53 set on Oct.

CHICAGO,  (Reuters) – A baby girl in Mississippi who was born with HIV has been cured after very early treatment with standard HIV drugs, U.S.

LONDON (Reuters) – A referendum on the fate of the Falkland Islands is a publicity stunt with no legal status, Argentina’s ambassador to Britain said yesterday, warning that oil exploitation around the territory was impossible without better regional ties.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Uhuru Kenyatta opened an early lead as Kenya continued the count today in a presidential election that brought out millions of voters despite pockets of violence that killed at least 15 people.

WASHINGTON  (Reuters) – Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano yesterday cautioned airline passengers to get to the airport extra early because US spending cuts have already led to long lines at some security checkpoints, and said the coming furloughs will only make the situation worse.

By Shaukat Aziz Shaukat Aziz was  Prime Minister of Pakistan, 2004-2007.

OSLO (Reuters) – A Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls’ education is a wild card entry for this year’s Nobel Peace prize, with the leaders of Colombia and Myanmar among likely candidates for the award.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Republicans announced a plan yesterday to avoid a government shutdown later this month, seeking to calm the waters after months of budget fights that ended in a failure last week to halt damaging spending cuts.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – An Australian mining services company has fired up to 15 workers who performed an underground version of the Harlem Shake and posted it online, in a second incident of the Internet dance craze sparking safety concerns.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – The conversations with Brazil’s top business leaders often last two hours, and up to four.

NAIROBI/MOMBASA, Kenya,  (Reuters) – At least 15 people were killed in attacks by machete-wielding gangs today as Kenyans queued to vote in a presidential election they hope will rebuild the nation’s image after a disputed 2007 poll unleashed weeks of tribal bloodshed.

KUALA LUMPUR,  (Reuters) – Gunmen have killed five policemen in Malaysia’s Sabah state where members of an armed faction from the Philippines are staking an ancient claim to the remote corner of Borneo island and have been facing off with security forces.

KARACHI,  (Reuters) – A suspected suicide bomber attacked Shi’ite Muslims as they were leaving a mosque in Pakistan’s commercial capital yesterday, killing at least 45 people, in another signal Sunni militants are escalating sectarian attacks.

WARSAW, (Reuters) – Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa has provoked outrage among liberal Poles by suggesting homosexuals in parliament should sit behind a wall.

CHICAGO,  (Reuters) – A baby girl in Mississippi who was born with HIV has been cured after very early treatment with standard drug therapy, U.S.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth went into hospital in London today with symptoms of gastroenteritis, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.