World

ASUNCION (Reuters) – Paraguay’s new centre-right president swore in his cabinet yesterday as neighbouring nations intensified diplomatic pressure over the sudden impeachment of his leftist predecessor, Fernando Lugo.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao asked leaders of South American trade bloc Mercosur to look into the possibility of a free-trade deal with the Asian nation, a key market for its commodities exports.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s first freely elected president whose powers have already been curbed by the army, began work on a coalition yesterday after touring his new palace, once home of Hosni Mubarak who banned his movement for three decades.

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) – The United States has agreed to freeze an arbitration panel with Guatemala in order to informally settle accusations that the Central American nation has failed to protect workers’ rights, Guatemala’s economy minister said yesterday.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Three federal police officers died in a shootout with suspected drug traffickers a t Mexico City’s airport yesterday, as panicked travellers scrambled to take cover amid the latest sign of encroaching violence in the country’s capital.

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait’s cabinet submitted its resignation to the Gulf state’s ruler yesterday in a move some parliamentarians believe could be a first step out of the latest crisis that has stalled legislation and blocked reforms in the major oil producer.

By Naomi Wolf OXFORD (Reuters) – Two years ago, frustrated by the powerlessness citizens expressed to me about the political process, moved by their transpartisan worries about the state of US democracy, I began an experiment on Facebook: I sought to train “ordinary” people from all walks of life as reporters and opinion writers.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Islamist Mohamed Morsy was declared Egypt’s first freely elected president yesterday, sparking joy among his Muslim Brotherhood supporters on the streets who vowed to wrest more power from armed forces reluctant to cede ultimate control.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has accused Syria of shooting down one of its military reconnaissance jets in international airspace without warning and summoned a NATO meeting for tomorrow to agree a response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Trinidad Express Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Friday night described Jack Warner as a man of action and expressed confidence that as the new National Security minister, he would be the best crime-buster.

ASUNCION (Reuters) – Paraguay’s new president said he believes South American leaders will come to see the legitimacy of a fast impeachment trial that ousted his predecessor from office in two days and prompted criticism in the region and beyond.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Fourteen mutilated corpses and a threatening message aimed at a drug cartel were found inside a truck in the parking lot of a supermarket in a northern Mexico city, local media reported yesterday.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican, stung by communications blunders and mired in a leaks scandal, has hired an American journalist from Fox News and member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei to help improve its relations with the media.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Five hundred days after they overthrew Hosni Mubarak, Egyptians will finally have a new president today, the first they have chosen freely and who may well be from the Muslim Brotherhood, which Mubarak and fellow generals spent a lifetime fighting.

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu phoned world powers yesterday to brief them about the downing of one of Ankara’s planes by Syria as a joint search for the airmen, who were shot down over the Mediterranean, tried to locate them.

RIO DE JANEIRO, (Reuters) – Global leaders ended a U.N. development summit yesterday with what was widely considered a lackluster agreement, leaving many attendees convinced that individuals and companies, rather than governments, must lead efforts to improve the environment.

ASUNCION (Reuters) – Paraguay’s Congress removed President Fernando Lugo from office after a lightning-quick impeachment trial yesterday that he said was tantamount to a coup but pledged to accept.

ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria shot down a Turkish warplane over the Mediterranean yesterday and Ankara warned it would respond decisively to the incident that threatened to open a new international dimension in the 16-month revolt against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

DUBLIN, (Reuters) – Former Irish Republican Army (IRA) commander and current deputy first minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness will meet Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for the first time next week, marking a milestone in the province’s peace process.

HARARE, (Reuters) – Forty-four members of Zimbabwe’s parliament were circumcised yesterday as part of a national HIV/AIDS awareness campaign.