World

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Emily formed near  the Caribbean’s Lesser Antilles islands yetserday, far from oil  and gas-production facilities in the U.S.

HAVANA, (Reuters) – Cuba will revise its travel and  immigration rules as part of a broader reform of its economic  and social policies, Cuban President Raul Castro said yesterday.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The Obama administration yesterday sued to block enforcement of Alabama’s new immigration  law, widely considered to be the toughest measure in the United  States to try to crack down on illegal immigrants.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez  appeared on television yesterday with his head closely shaved  and bald patches from hair loss caused by chemotherapy for a  cancer that has slowed him ahead of a re-election bid.

BOGOTA, (Reuters) – Leftist Colombian rebels still  have a presence in neighbouring Venezuela, the head of  Colombia’s armed forces said yesterday in a statement that  could cause renewed friction with the OPEC nation.

CARACAS, (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez  yesterday read excerpts of a letter sent to him by Libya’s  Muammar Gaddafi expressing gratitude for strong support during  the NATO-backed rebellion against his government.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – President Barack Obama yesterday announced a last-minute deal to raise the U.S.

AMMAN, (Reuters) – Syrians began the Muslim Ramadan  fast in sombre mood today after troops stormed into Hama,  scene of a 1982 massacre, in one of the bloodiest days of a  five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

KABUL,  (Reuters) – The top U.S. military officer  said on Sunday Afghan militants of the anti-American Haqqani  network were finding it harder to move into Afghanistan but  warned that their safe havens in Pakistan still posed a risk to  the decade-old war effort.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – The chief minister of a  southern Indian state ruled by the country’s main opposition  party resigned yesterday after an  independent probe implicated  the politician and several others in a $3.6 billion illegal iron  ore mining scandal.

AUSTIN, Texas,  (Reuters) – Another front is opening  in the divisive U.S.

LONDON/DAKAR, (Reuters) – Pirate attacks on ships in  the Gulf of Guinea are threatening one of the world’s emerging  trade hubs and are likely to intensify unless the region’s weak  naval and coastguard defences are beefed up soon.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – For Turkey’s political leaders it was business as usual yesterday, denying any crisis, or simply not mentioning the resignation of the country’s four top military commanders.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top Republicans in the US Senate and House of Representatives said  yesterday that after a week of stalemate they are now in serious talks with President Barack Obama to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a looming default.

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba will broaden private retail service beyond beauty parlours and barbers in October to include everything from coffee shops to locksmiths, and may even rent space on busy streets, an official told parliament.

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels say the gunmen who shot dead their military chief were militiamen allied in their struggle to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi, raising questions over divisions and lawlessness within rebel ranks.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican police have arrested an alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel’s armed wing linked to a deadly car bomb last year, local media reported yesterday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to protest against the high cost of living and demand Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu undertake swee-ping economic reforms.

EDINBURGH (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter Zara Phillips married fellow athlete Mike Tindall yesterday in a private ceremony in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers opened the  way yesterday for a last-ditch bid for a possible bipartisan  compromise to avert a crippling national default just four days  before the deadline to raise the country’s debt ceiling.