World

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – President Felipe Calderon  apologized to victims of Mexico’s war on drugs in an emotional  meeting with bereaved families yesterday that sought to try  and quell rising anger over violence sweeping the nation.

DAKAR, (Reuters) – Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade  backed down on a proposed change to the election rules yesterday, completely withdrawing a bill that sparked violent  clashes between riot police and protesters in the capital.

OSLO,  (Reuters) – Norway backed Indonesia’s drive to  slow deforestation yesterday under a $1 billion deal with Oslo  even though Jakarta said it faced a “maze” of reforms and lacks  maps to pin down exact conservation areas.

AMMAN, (Reuters)  – The United States is concerned by reports  that Syria is massing troops near the border with Turkey, which  could escalate the crisis in the region, and is discussing the  issue with Turkish officials, U.S.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – A former top Bolivian anti-drug  official pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of conspiring to  smuggle cocaine into the United States in a case that has  proved a major embarrassment for Bolivia’s President Evo  Morales.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Barack Obama  announced a plan yesterday to start withdrawing U.S.

MANAMA, (Reuters) – Bahrain sentenced eight  prominent Shi’ite Muslim activists and opposition leaders to  life in prison yesterday on charges of plotting a coup during  protests in the Gulf island kingdom earlier this year.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters Life!) – “Rhinestone Cowboy”  singer Glen Campbell says he is in the early stages of  Alzheimer’s disease, and has recorded one last album as a  farewell to his fans.

BEIJING,  (Reuters) – The dissident Chinese artist Ai  Weiwei, whose detention in April ignited an international  uproar, was released on bail yesterday under conditions  likely to keep the outspoken critic of Communist Party controls  silent for now.

ATHENS, (Reuters) – Greece’s embattled government  survived a confidence vote on Wednesday that was crucial to  avoiding a sovereign default, as thousands of protesters chanted  insults outside parliament.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – British police arrested a  19-year-old man in England on suspicions that he was linked to  cyber attacks on the CIA, Britain’s anti-organized crime agency  and Sony Corp.

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – The 192-nation U.N.  General Assembly yesterday unanimously approved a second  five-year term for U.N.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – India’s consul general in New  York and his family treated a former maid like a slave, paying  her $300 a month, confiscating her passport and sexually  harassing her, a lawsuit against the family said.      

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) – Argentine President  Cristina Fernandez said yesterday she will run for a second  term in an Oct.

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexican police captured  the suspected leader of a cult-like drug cartel yesterday in  the latest blow to a gang that was until recently one of the  most notorious in the country.

GENEVA, (Reuters) – The United Nations urged all  governments yesterday to refrain from sending back Haitians to  their country, which is still reeling from an earthquake 18  months ago.

TUNIS (Reuters) – A Tunisian court sentenced former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in absentia yesterday to 35 years in jail, six months after his overthrow in a revolution helped to inspire the “Arab Spring”.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak is suffering from cancer, his defence lawyer said yesterday, citing a medical report to assess whether the former leader is fit enough to face trial.

LONDON (Reuters) – More investment in midwifery could save many of the millions of babies and hundreds of thousands of women who still die every year because of a lack of skilled healthcare during childbirth, the United Nations said yesterday.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – An eight-year-old Pakistani girl was kidnapped by Islamist militants who forced her to wear a suicide vest to attack security forces, police said yesterday.