LONDON – Ecuador has asked the UK to help an investigation over alleged spying at its embassy in London where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is living.Ecuador named a British company it claimed planted a listening device in their ambassador’s office but this was denied. Mr Assange has been staying at the embassy to avoid extradition…
AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard has resigned, after the Australian Labour Party voted her out of its leadership yesterday. She had called for the vote herself after months of inner-party friction ahead of a general election in September. Her rival, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, takes her place as party leader, after winning the internal…
MILAN – A Milan court sentenced Italian former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday to seven years in prison after convicting him of paying for sex with a minor but he will not have to serve any jail time before he has exhausted appeals. With two appeals possible, it could be years before a verdict…
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf should face trial for high treason. Mr Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile earlier this year, is currently under house arrest. He is fighting a series of charges relating to his time in power, which began with…
IRELAND – World leaders are gathering in Northern Ireland for a G8 summit set to be dominated by the conflict in Syria. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the G8 nations would focus on “common ground” on the issue of bringing peace to Syria. But Russia, Syria’s key ally, opposes US plans to…
MOSCOW – Russians reeled on June 6 from the shock announcement by President Vladimir Putin that his 30-year marriage was over, a break-up that was long an open secret but few imagined would ever be made public. In a highly choreographed joint interview with state television after attending a ballet performance together, Putin’s wife Lyudmila…
TAICHUNG – Taiwan’s imprisoned former President Chen Shui-bian has tried to take his own life, the justice ministry says. In a statement the ministry said the attempt was made on Sunday night in Taichung prison in central Taiwan. The statement added that he had used a towel in the attempt but was stopped by guards…
DAMASCUS – Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has warned Israel that it will respond in kind to any future air strikes. Mr Assad told a Lebanese TV channel a Russian contract to supply it with air defence missiles was being implemented – but did not confirm any deliveries. Israel has warned it will attack if the…
PARIS – IMF chief Christine Lagarde has arrived at a court in Paris for questioning over a payout to a controversial tycoon during her time as finance minister. She is being asked to explain her handling of a row in 2007 which resulted in some 400m euros (£342m; $516m) being paid to Bernard Tapie. She…
OKLAHOMA – At least one person has died and several others were injured in a series of tornadoes that have torn through the US state of Oklahoma. The worst damage was caused by a twister near the town of Shawnee, 35 miles (55km) from Oklahoma City, local media report. A mobile home park near Shawnee…
