UNITED NATIONS — Russia and China vetoed yesterday an Arab- and Western-backed resolution at the UN Security Council calling for Syrian President Bashar al Assad to step down over his action on a popular uprising. The setback in diplomatic efforts to defuse the revolt peacefully came after world lea

CAIRO — Police fired tear gas and birdshot at protesters yesterday in a third day of deadly clashes in Cairo, as anger at Egypt’s ruling military boiled over after 74 people died in football-related violence. The police responded after dozens of protesters threw stones at officers guarding the inter

ADEN — Armed clashes between supporters and opponents of a presidential election in Yemen left dozens of people wounded in the main southern city of Aden, activists from both sides said yesterday. The violence erupted late on Friday when supporters of the Southern Movement, a separatist group, attac

MONTREAL — A Canadian engineering firm, which oversaw billions of dollars worth of projects in Libya, has been loosely linked to a failed plot to smuggle a son of ex-Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi into Mexico. Mexican officials said in December they had uncovered an elaborate plan, at the height of

JUBA — A shoot-out among South Sudanese security forces using truck-mounted machine-guns has killed 37 people and injured a United Nations policeman, UN and government officials say. The shooting broke out when the commissioner for Rumbek North County interrupted a meeting about recent cattle raidin

TEHRAN — Iran’s oil minister said the nation would not retreat from its nuclear programme even if its crude oil exports grind to a halt, the official Irna news agency reported yesterday. But he also called on the European Union, which accounted for a quarter of Iranian crude oil sales in the third q

ROME — Hundreds of people were rescued yesterday after a ferry caught in a snow storm hit a breakwater off Italy, as a vicious cold snap that has claimed over 260 lives across Europe maintained its grip. Ukraine has suffered the heaviest toll of 122 deaths, including many people who froze to death i

MOSCOW — Tens of thousands of Russians defied bitter cold in Moscow yesterday to demand fair elections in a march against Vladimir Putin’s 12-year rule, and thousands of others staged a rally supporting the prime minister. Protesters also organised smaller protests in other cities across the vast co

PARIS — France’s far-right is pushing a nationalistic economic platform for April’s presidential elections, but 70 per cent of voters believe its financial programme lacks credibility, including the flagship policy to leave the euro, a poll published yesterday showed. Marine Le Pen, who replaced her

WASHINGTON — Some 150 “Occupy” movement protesters who have been camped at a park near the White House since October peacefully removed gear yesterday after police moved in at dawn to enforce a no-camping rule. The US Park Police said there had been no arrests of the protesters, who are targeting t