World

LIMA (Reuters) – President Ollanta Humala replaced his prime minister yesterday with a former army officer who was his instructor in the military in an unexpected cabinet shakeup that stunned Peru.

DURBAN (Reuters) – The chairwoman of UN climate talks urged delegates to approve a compromise deal on fighting global warming in the interests of the planet, but a deal remained elusive as rich and poor states traded barbs over the limited scope of the package.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban dissidents said yesterday that about 200 people were temporarily detained by the Communist-run island’s security services in the days leading up to an international human rights celebration.

KINSHASA (Reuters) – Gunfire erupted in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday, with reports of police firing live ammunition and crowds ransacking shops, a day after election authorities declared President Joseph Kabila re-elected.

KOLKATA, India, (Reuters) – A fire tore through  a seven-storey private hospital in the eastern Indian city of  Kolkata before dawn yesterday, killing at least 84 people, most  of them intensive care patients who were asleep and suffocated  in the fumes.

DURBAN, (Reuters) – Developing states most at  risk from global warming rebelled against a proposed deal at  U.N.

KINSHASA, (Reuters) – The main challenger in  Democratic Republic of Congo’s election declared himself  president yesterday and poured scorn on provisional official  results handing victory to the incumbent, Joseph Kabila.

HAVANA (Reuters) – French-Cuban trade should  take off next year, rising more than 66 percent to 250 million  euros ($334 million) from 2011, the European nation’s trade  minister said on Friday, following a political rapprochement.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – British singer Adele made  Billboard history yesterday when she became the first female  singer to be named top artist, have the top album, “21,” and  score the top single, “Rolling in the Deep,” all in one year.

BANI GALA, Pakistan, (Reuters) – The road to  Imran Khan’s palatial spread in the hills above Pakistan’s  capital is a perfect metaphor for his vision of his political  career: twisty and pot-holed, but ending in a grand estate.

DURBAN, South Africa, (Reuters) – Support grew  yesterday for an EU plan to agree a global climate change pact  with binding targets by 2015, after poor nations vulnerable to  climate change forged alliances with developed countries.

BRASILIA, (Reuters) – Brazil’s trade and industry  minister faced pressure yesterday to explain his personal  wealth, becoming the latest and one of the most high-profile  members of President Dilma Rousseff’s cabinet to be targeted by  the media over alleged ethics breaches.

BRUSSELS – European Union leaders agreed on new fiscal rules  enshrining tougher budget discipline yesterday, an EU official  said, after the European Central Bank doused hopes of dramatic  action on its part to arrest the euro area’s debt crisis.

KINSHASA,  (Reuters) – Election authorities in  Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday delayed the  announcement of a winner in the country’s presidential election  for the second time this week, citing the need to cross-check  results.

NASHVILLE, Tenn, (Reuters) – Grammy winning country  singer Kenny Rogers says he feels like he gets to celebrate  Christmas for more than a month, as opposed to just a day or  two for most everyone else.

CHICAGO, (Reuters) – Former Illinois Governor  Rod Blagojevich yesterday was sentenced to 14 years in  federal prison for political corruption including attempting to  sell the U.S.

PARIS – France and Germany are to sound out conservative  European leaders today about their plan to defuse the euro  zone’s debt crisis, eager to rally support before a high-stakes  EU summit.

(Reuters) – The U.S. health secretary  overruled government scientists and refused to bring  the controversial morning-after pill from behind the pharmacy  counter and onto drugstore shelves.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico uncovered and stopped  an international plot to smuggle late Libyan leader Muammar  Gaddafi’s son Saadi into the country using fake names and false  papers, authorities said yesterday.

NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Former U.N. chief Kofi  Annan has urged Kenya to respect the judiciary’s independence,  after political leaders condemned a Nairobi court ruling calling  for the arrest of Sudan’s president.