World

LONDON, (Reuters) – The U.N.-backed carbon  offset market needs an overhaul as it lacks transparency and is  vulnerable to bribery and collusion that threaten efforts to  help developing nations cut their growing carbon emissions,  researchers in Britain said.

PARIS/ROME, (Reuters) – France came under heavy  fire on global markets yesterday, reflecting fears that the  euro zone’s second biggest economy is being sucked into a  spiralling debt crisis.

(Reuters) – Doctors and nutritionists have long  recommended avoiding all animal fats to trim cholesterol, but  Danish researchers say cheese may not be so bad, and probably  shouldn’t be placed in the same category as butter.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A sharp slowdown in world growth would increase the risk of recession in poorer countries, whose budgets have barely recovered from the last economic slump just two years ago, the IMF said yesterday.

MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Reuters) – After three decades of occupation, civil war, Taliban rule and a NATO-led military campaign, ordinary Afghans remain powerless and without a unified voice.

ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti concludes consultations today to form a new government, one he hopes will last until 2013 and sort out Italy’s deep economic problems.

SANAA (Reuters) – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said yesterday he was ready to step down within 90 days of reaching a deal on a formal process for implementing a Gulf initiative aimed at ending the nine-month-old crisis in his country.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Jordan’s King Abdullah told Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad yesterday he should step down and the European Union added pressure with more sanctions after the Arab League’s surprise suspension of Damascus for its violent crackdown on protests.

(Reuters) – One in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2030, posing a huge challenge to healthcare systems around the world, according to a report yesterday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers spoke out in favour of tougher sanctions against Iran yesterday, but decided to wait until their next meeting on Dec 1 before taking further action.

HONOLULU, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack  Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao presented duelling trade  agendas at a Pacific summit on Saturday that underscored growing  tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

HONOLULU, (Reuters) – Canada will try to sell more  of its energy products to Asia after Washington delayed a  decision on whether to approve the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas  oil pipeline project, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

ROME, (Reuters) – Italy’s president appointed  former European Commissioner Mario Monti yesterday to head a new  government charged with implementing urgent reforms to end a  crisis that has endangered the whole euro zone.

CAIRO (Reuters) – The Arab League suspended Syria and called on its army to stop killing civilians in a surprise move yesterday that some Western leaders said should prompt tougher international action against President Bashar al-Assad.

HONOLULU (Reuters) – President Hu Jintao sought to soothe the nerves of foreign businesses over market conditions in China  yesterday and vowed to boost his country’s global role amid growing uncertainty and trade protectionism.

(Reuters) – US oil giant Chevron halted drilling of a well off the coast of Brazil as it looks into the possible causes of an oil spill in the region.

ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned yesterday, ending one of the most scandal-plagued eras in recent Italian history amid the jeers of thousands of protesters gathered in central Rome to celebrate his departure.

TEHRAN (Reuters) – A massive explosion at a military arms depot near the Iranian capital Tehran yesterday killed 17 Revolutionary Guards and wounded 15, a spokesman for the elite fighting force told the semi-official Fars news agency.

ATHENS, (Reuters) – Technocrat Prime Minister  Lucas Papademos took office on Friday to save Greece from  bankruptcy, heading a coalition cabinet filled with many of the  same politicians who led the nation into crisis and pushed the  euro zone to the brink of collapse.

SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Cuba is seeking a credit of  $200 million from Brazil to import agricultural machinery and  technology in hopes of increasing food output and reducing its  reliance on imports, a Brazilian official said yesterday.