- Row over leaked EU deficit report
(AFP)
AFP - The Labour government on Tuesday came under fire from opposition Conservatives as a leaked European Commission report suggested that its huge public deficit needs cutting faster than anticipated.
- Most US forces in Afghanistan to be under NATO
(AP)
AP - A major reorganization of allied forces in Afghanistan will centralize both American and other foreign troops under the direct command of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the senior U.S. and NATO commander in the theater.
- Ukraine to pass law scrapping NATO ambitions
(AP)
AP - Ukraine's new governing coalition in parliament said Tuesday it will pass a law against joining military alliances such as NATO, a move that is sure to please Russia while tilting Ukraine away from its previous pro-Western course.
- Greece failed to arrest Georgian mafia head: prosecutor
(AFP)
AFP - The head of a Georgian mafia ring smashed by police from several European nations escaped arrest due to a lack of cooperation from Greek police, Spain?s anti-corruption prosecutor said Tuesday.
- 'Only rumours' that Iran making nuclear weapons: Turkish PM
(AFP)
AFP - Turkey's prime minister said Tuesday it was "only rumours" that Iran was making nuclear weapons, stressing the Islamic republic's right to develop civilian atomic power.
- Russian prosecutors say priest's killer slain
(Reuters)
Reuters - Prosecutors claimed Tuesday to have solved the high-profile slaying of a Russian Orthodox priest in Moscow, saying a man shot dead by police in the Dagestan province was carrying the gun used to kill the priest.
- German bishop surprised at number of abuse cases
(AP)
AP - The Roman Catholic bishops in Pope Benedict XVI's native Bavaria sought Tuesday to deal with a sexual abuse scandal whose ever-widening scope has left church leaders baffled.
- Tuna ban: EU squabbling, China opposed
(AFP)
AFP - A bid to ban catches of bluefin tuna in two major fisheries ran into problems on Tuesday as European Union (EU) countries squabbled over the proposal while China was reported to be opposed to it.
- Beckham 'positive' after Achilles surgery
(AFP)
AFP - Former England captain David Beckham said on Tuesday that an operation to fix his ruptured Achilles tendon had been a "success" and that he was focused on "getting back to full fitness."
- FTSE 100 posts solid gains
(AFP)
AFP - FTSE 100 shares posted solid gains on Tuesday ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy decision on interest rates, widely expected to remain at record lows.
- First post-op images of Egyptian president appear
(AP)
AP - Egypt's president appeared on state television talking with his doctors Tuesday in his first appearance since an operation in Germany 10 days earlier, quelling speculation over the state of his health.
- Defense seeks end to trial of ex-SS man
(AP)
AP - The defense attorney for a former member of the Nazi SS who has confessed to killing three Dutch civilians during World War II says the case against him should be thrown out because he has already been tried in the Netherlands for the same crimes.
- Vatican completes probe of Legionaries scandal
(AP)
AP - Vatican investigators have completed their probe into the Legionaries of Christ, the conservative order that was once hailed by Rome but fell into scandal after it revealed that its founder had fathered a child and had molested seminarians.
- Britain retreats on mandatory dog insurance plan
(AP)
AP - It seems the British government's bark is worse than its bite.
- Witness statement questioned at Demjanjuk trial
(AP)
AP - An expert witness called into question Tuesday the worth of a statement being used against John Demjanjuk, testifying that it came from a KGB interrogation in which the prisoner may have been physically abused.
- Pope to visit England, Scotland in September
(AP)
AP - Pope Benedict XVI will visit Scotland and England in September in a four-day visit combining preaching and diplomacy, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday.
- UN climate envoy expects dual-track negotiations
(AP)
AP - Talks on a new global climate change accord, bogged down for years in contested negotiations among nearly 200 countries, will increasingly move outside the sluggish U.N. framework and focus on a streamlined group of countries, special U.N. envoy Gro Harlem Brundtland said Tuesday.
- London Jewish Museum reopens after major facelift
(AP)
AP - A museum tracing the history of Britain's 300,000-strong Jewish community is reopening after a 10 million pound ($15 million) expansion.
- French rail co. falsely announces train explosion
(AP)
AP - France's railway operator says an "internal error" caused it to post a false statement on its Web site saying a train explosion had killed 102 people.
- Former friend of Kampusch kidnapper faces charges
(AP)
AP - Prosecutors say they will charge a former friend of a notorious Austrian kidnapper with aiding his escape in the hours after his victim fled.