AMMAN, Jordan (AP) -- A Jordanian official says a nighttime riot at a Syrian refugee camp close to the Jordan-Syria border has left two Syrian refugees and a Jordanian policeman hurt.
Canada's housing affordability improves in fourth quarter: RBC
TORONTO (Reuters) – Small declines in home prices and mortgage rates made Canadian home ownership slightly more affordable in the fourth quarter of 2012, the second straight improvement, and soft home buyer demand may help continue the trend in 2013, according to a report by RBC Economics released on Monday. RBC, Canada’s largest bank and a huge mortgage lender, measures affordability as the percentage of monthly pre-tax income for a household needed to cover the typical costs of owning a home, including mortgage payments, utilities and property taxes. …
Fire raises doubts about Daw Mill coal mine
(Reuters) – A fire has closed UK Coal’s underground Daw Mill Colliery in Warwickshire, raising more doubts about the future of a mine already under threat of closure. Shares in Coalfield Resources, which shares ownership of UK Coal with the UK Coal Employee Benefit Trust, fell 9.4 percent. Even before Friday’s fire, UK Coal was demanding more efficiency to keep open Daw Mill, one of the last few remaining deep pit mines in Britain. …
China's Xi to tread peaceful, patient path on Taiwan
BEIJING (Reuters) – China's Communist Party chief Xi Jinping pledged peaceful ties on Monday during a meeting with a Taiwan delegation, suggesting that the mainland's policy towards the self-ruled island will not shift dramatically when he becomes China's president. Peaceful development of cross-Strait ties is the duty of the Chinese Communist Party's new leaders, Xi told Lien Chan, honorary chairman of Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party, whose four-day trip to China is seen as offering an early look at how Xi will handle relations between the political rivals. … Poet jailed for life in Qatar insult trial has term cut to 15 years
DOHA (Reuters) – A Qatari poet jailed for life for criticizing the emir and attempting to incite rev olt had his sentence cut to 15 years on Monday, in a case human rights groups said showed hypocrisy by the Gulf state, which has supported Arab uprisings abroad. In his verses, Muhammad Ibn al-Dheeb al-Ajami praised the Arab Spring revolts that toppled four dictators, often with the help of money and other support from Qatar, a close U.S. ally which also backs rebels in Syria. But the poet also criticized Qatar's absolute monarch and spoke, for example, of "sheikhs playing on their … Iran scoffs at Oscar-winning 'Argo'
TEHRA N, Iran (AP) -- Iran's state TV dismissed the Oscar-winning film "Argo" on Monday as an "advertisement for the CIA" and some Iranians called the award a political statement by America for its unflattering portrayal of the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Syrian government says ready to talk to armed opposition: agency
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Syrian Foreign Minist er Walid al-Moualem said on Monday Damascus was ready to talk to the country's armed opposition, Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported. "We are ready for dialogue with everyone who wants it … Even with those who have weapons in their hands. Because we believe that reforms will not come through bloodshed but only through dialogue," he said before talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. … SKorea's 1st female leader yet to hire many women
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The country with the developed world's biggest gender income gap now has its first female president, but Park Geun-hye already has South Koreans wondering whether she'll improve the status of women in a society still dominated by men. Apple signals emerging-market rethink with India push
NEW DELHI/BANGALORE (Reuters) – As BlackBerry launches the first smartphone from its make-or-break BB10 line in India, one of its most loyal markets, the company faces new competition from a formidable rival that has long had a minimal presence in the country. More than four years after it started selling iPhones in India, Apple Inc is now aggressively pushing the iconic device through installment payment plans that make it more affordable, a new distribution model and heavy marketing blitz. … Trudeau not the only millionaire in the Liberal leadership race
OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau isn’t the only millionaire in the Liberal leadership race.
Kerry opens first official overseas trip in London
LONDON (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has kicked off his first official overseas trip by meeting with British leaders in London on the first leg of a hectic nine-day dash through Europe and the Middle East. Quebec education summit kicks off with tuition rates front and centre
MONTREAL – Quebec’s long-awaited education summit is set to kick off today, a year after a dispute over proposed tuition hikes led to a months-long protest movement.
Indonesian MPs air doubts over president's nominee for central bank
JAKARTA (Reuters) – The Indonesian president's candidate to become the next central bank chief ran into opposition on Monday, as one member of a parliamentary panel that has the last word on selection doubted his integrity and another doubted his grasp of macroeconomics. Late on Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono unexpectedly nominated Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo to replace Darmin Nasution, whose term as Bank Indonesia (BI) governor ends in May. … Putin signs law to curb smoking, tobacco sales in Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will ban smoking in most public places and restrict cigarette sales in t he world's second-largest tobacco market after China. The law will ban smoking in some public places such as subways and schools from June 1, and come into force a year later in other places including restaurants and cafes. It will also ban sales of tobacco products at street kiosks from June 1, 2014, restrict advertising and set minimum prices for cigarettes which now cost 50 to 60 roubles a pack (less than $2). … 
No comments:
Post a Comment