Syrian forces press anti-rebel assault in Idlib
By AFP DAMASCUS: Syrian troops Tuesday pressed an assault on rebel strongholds in the Turkish border region, as the opposition urged foreign military intervention after dozens of women and children…
Iran dismisses claims of military site clean-up
By Farhad Pouladi / AFP TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday dismissed claims it was clearing away traces of suspected nuclear weapons research activities from a closed military site, saying the allegations were…
Afghan officials attacked at scene of US killings
By Mamoon Durrani / AFP KANDAHAR: Gunmen attacked Afghan officials at a service on Tuesday for 16 villagers killed by a US soldier, wounding at least one policeman and underlining anger…
Ten years on, world war crimes court makes waves
By Marie-Laure Michel / AFP THE HAGUE: A decade after it was set up to try the world's worst war crimes, the International Criminal Court evokes strong responses with some hailing…
Saudi Arabia and Russia: Settling old scores in Syria
By Madawi Al-Rasheed LONDON: Defeating Russia in the Arab world was a priority for Saudi Arabia even before it became a fully-fledged commitment in Afghanistan in the 1980s. The current Syrian…
NATO’s Libyan lessons
By John Podesta and Ken Gude WASHINGTON, DC: NATO’s intervention in Libya one year ago helped to avert a humanitarian catastrophe and created the conditions for Libya’s citizens to end Colonel…
Weigh more, pay more
By Peter Singer MELBOURNE: We are getting fatter. In Australia, the United States, and many other countries, it has become commonplace to see people so fat that they waddle rather than…
Debt spreads tightest in 7 months
By Philip Baillie / Reuters LONDON: Emerging debt spreads narrowed to their tightest in seven months and stocks rose 1 percent on Tuesday as European Central Bank liquidity continued to draw…
Europe’s trust deficit
By Barry Eichengreen BERKELEY: There is no shortage of talk nowadays about Europe’s deficits and the need to correct them. Critics point to governments’ gaping budget deficits. They cite the southern…
Russia slays Georgian ‘monsters’ in Kremlin-backed film
By Anna Malpas / AFP A lone heroine fights off giant monsters and sinister masked warriors in "August 8," a Kremlin-funded blockbuster that gives the Russian view of the country's 2008…