World

PARIS/BAMAKO,  (Reuters) – Malian government troops drove back Islamist rebels from a strategic central town after France intervened yesterday with air strikes to halt advances by the militants controlling the country’s desert north.

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blockaded the main entrance to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office yesterday and some native groups threatened economic disruption as part of a campaign to force Ottawa to address native grievances.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai agreed yesterday to speed up the handover of combat operations in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, raising the prospect of an accelerated U.S.

(Reuters) – Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the U.S.

(Reuters) – The US Department of Homeland Security urged computer users to disable Oracle Corp’s Java software, amplifying security experts’ prior warnings to hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses that use it to surf the Web.

(Reuters) – Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the U.S.

PARIS/BAMAKO,  (Reuters) – France would intervene to stop any further drive southward by Islamist rebels in Mali, President Francois Hollande said today, as Malian soldiers launched a counter-offensive to wrest back a key town captured by militants this week.

BEVERLY HILLS, (Reuters) – Steven Spielberg’s tale of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s battle to end slavery emerged as the front-runner for Oscar glory yesterday, after Academy Awards voters snubbed four major filmmakers for the coveted best director trophy.

BERLIN, (Reuters) – A daughter of the late Klaus Kinski, the German actor with the haunted face who starred in epic films like “Fitzcarraldo”, has accused him of raping her as a child, over a period of 14 years, in her new book.

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar (Reuters) Ashok Kohli’s “Rajdhani Express” is one of those films which will force you to answer some existential questions.

QUETTA, Pakistan  (Reuters) – At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities yesterday in one of the country’s bloodiest days in recent years, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in Quetta.

BAMAKO,  (Reuters) – Mali asked for military help from France after residents of the strategic northern town of Konna said Islamist rebels drove out the Malian army yesterday, the fiercest fighting since militants took control of the country’s north nine months ago.

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Native Canadians are so angry that they could resort to blocking resource development and bring the economy “to its knees” unless the Conservative government addresses their grievances, an influential chief said yesterday.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Two U.S. drug enforcement agents “facilitated a sexual encounter” between a prostitute and a Secret Service agent before an international summit in Colombia last April, NBC News reported yesterday, citing a Justice Department investigation.

QUETTA, Pakistan  (Reuters) – At least 101 people were killed in bombings in two Pakistani cities today in one of the country’s bloodiest days in recent years, officials said, with most casualties caused by sectarian attacks in Quetta.

OTTAWA, (Reuters) – A Canadian native leader said today that anger among the country’s aboriginals is such that they could block resource development and bring the economy “to its knees” unless the Conservative government addresses a series of grievances.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuela’s top court endorsed the postponement of Hugo Chavez’s inauguration this week and ruled yesterday that the cancer-stricken president and his deputy would continue in their roles, despite a cacophony of opposition complaints.

BRASILIA,  (Reuters) – Brazil’s top prosecutor will look into allegations that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was involved in a vote-buying scheme in Congress that led to the conviction of several of his closest aides for corruption.

CAIRO/BEIRUT, (Reuters) – The U.N. peace envoy for Syria said yesterday that Bashar al-Assad could have no place in a transitional government to end civil war, the closest he has come to calling directly for the embattled president to quit.

CAIRO/GAZA,  (Reuters) – An Egyptian official said the leaders of the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions had agreed at talks in Cairo yesterday to implement a long-delayed reconciliation pact, although it was unclear if the deal would extend beyond holding more talks.