Afghan government to shun U.S. talks with Taliban
KABUL/WASHINGTON - Revived Afghan peace talks hit their first roadblock on Wednesday, a day after they were announced, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai said his government would not join U.S. talks with the Taliban and would halt negotiations with Washington on a post-2014 troop pact. Full Article | Video
Asia assets hammered on China fears, Fed upset
TOKYO/SYDNEY - Asian markets buckled badly on Thursday after the Federal Reserve heralded an eventual end to free money and China turned the screw on credit even as factory activity in the world's second largest economy hit a nine-month low.
Bernanke: Fed may trim bond buying this year
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year. Full Article
Brazil's protests: Not quite a 'Tropical Spring'
SAO PAULO - Brazil's blossoming protest movement is a coming-of-age for what had been one of Latin America's most politically disengaged youth populations, but does not appear to constitute a major threat to governability. Full Analysis
Constitution likely to dash Suu Kyi's hopes
YANGON - Her adoring compatriots believe democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi is destined to become Myanmar's next president. But don't bet on it. Full Article
Obama seeks deeper nuclear cuts from Russia
BERLIN - U.S. President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear weapons, offering to cut deployed nuclear arsenals by a third, but Moscow immediately poured scorn on his proposal. Full Article
Euro ministers to decide direct bank rules
BRUSSELS - Euro zone finance ministers will decide on Thursday when and how their bailout fund can invest in a bank to save it from failure, laying a cornerstone of the banking union seen as vital to restore economic growth. Full Article
Child sex suspect held in Mexico
June 20 - A U.S. former university professor just added to the FBI's most-wanted list is detained in Mexico. Paul Chapman reports.
Latest Headlines
Meredith Whitney on America’s future
Forget the coasts. Meredith Whitney, author of the new book “Fate of the States," tells Breakingviews' Rob Cox that America’s interior states are the future growth engines of the U.S. economy. Video
The new Iranian president’s restrained power
When President Hassan Rohani takes office in August, he will have the potential to bring about meaningful changes within the confines of Iran's usual restrictions. Commentary
Rohani: A survivor in the snakepit of Tehran
Rohani is the Beria of the Islamic Republic: He knows how to negotiate the pit of vipers that is Iranian politics. Commentary
David Cameron takes on the tax havens
There is nothing more likely to spark anger than an unfair tax regime. That puts Britain's prime minister David Cameron, who like most conservatives believes in low taxes, in a bind. Commentary
Trusting in our new security state
To adapt to our new surveillance status quo we have to trust the state, the government, the politicians, the businesses, the bureaucracies, the police, the security forces, the journalists and, yes, ourselves. Commentary
The price of ignoring climate change
Climate change endangers much of the world economy. Economists calculate that a 3.5-degree Fahrenheit rise in global temperature would reduce global gross domestic product by 1 percent. Commentary
Rate rigging costs more than money
In cash terms, the manipulation of supposedly objective reference rates and prices is a petty crime: relatively small gains for a few and microscopic losses for many. Ethically, though, the tolerance of untrustworthy behaviour makes the industry look particularly bad. Full Article
















