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Egyptians vote for Mubarak successor

Egyptians voted Wednesday in the country’s first free presidential elections, with Islamists and secularists vying for power with competing visions of an Egypt liberated of ousted president Hosni Mubarak’s iron grip. Long queues of people, many in a festive... Full story

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Syria troops fire on Aleppo demo, sparking clashes: NGO

Troops opened fire on protesters after about 1,500 people took to the streets of Syria’s second city of Aleppo for an anti-regime rally on Wednesday, triggering armed clashes, a watchdog said. Full story

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France to curtail Sarkozy pension reform

France’s new socialist prime minister Jean-March Ayrault laid out his employment policy on Wednesday, including a partial repeal of former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s unpopular pension reform. Full story

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Afghan girls poisoned in 2nd anti-school attack

More than 120 schoolgirls and three teachers have been poisoned in the second attack in as many months blamed on conservative radicals in the country’s north, Afghan police and education officials said on Wednesday. Full story

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South Korean smokers finally start to feel heat

After decades of indifference, big businesses and the government are turning up the heat on smokers in South Korea, a nation with one of the developed world’s highest male smoking rates. Full story

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Suu Kyi to address UK parliament on June 21

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to address parliament on June 21 during her landmark visit to Britain, it was announced Wednesday. The 66-year-old democracy icon spent much of the last... Full story

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Nine killed in Karachi violence

At least nine people were killed as violence erupted in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi on Tuesday after unknown gunmen opened fire on a rally, police said. Gunmen and arsonists went on the rampage... Full story

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Five aid workers kidnapped in Afghanistan

Five aid workers, including two Western women doctors, have been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in northeastern Afghanistan, the police and the provincial governor’s office said on Wednesday. Full story

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US missiles kill four in Pakistan

US missiles killed four militants in a Taliban stronghold of Pakistan on Wednesday, officials said, amid increasing strains with the West over a six-month blockade on NATO supplies into Afghanistan. Full story

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28 die in army attack on Yemeni militants

Six Yemeni soldiers and 22 militants died on Wednesday as the army pressed an offensive against bastions of the jihadist network in south Yemen into a 12th day, a security official and locals said. Full story

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Chavez reappears, leads cabinet meeting

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez reappeared on Tuesday in a live television broadcast, the first time he has been seen in public view since returning from cancer treatment in Cuba almost two weeks ago. Full story

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Demonstration in Spain against education cuts

Tens of thousand of striking teachers and students and their supporters demonstrated across Spain on Tuesday to protest deep government cuts to education spending. Full story

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Powers offer new nuclear package to Iran

World powers sought Wednesday to pave the way to ending the decade-old and escalating Iran nuclear crisis by laying out a new package of proposals they said would be ‘of interest’ to Tehran. Full story

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AU forces intensify attack on Somali rebels

African Union and Somali government troops stepped up their assault on al Shabaab militants in the capital’s northern outskirts on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of families to flee their makeshift homes... Full story

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Kyoto Protocol architect ‘frustrated’ by climate dialogue

UN climate talks are going nowhere, as politicians dither or bicker while the pace of warming dangerously speeds up, one of the architects of the Kyoto Protocol said. ‘It seems to me that negotiations... Full story

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Romney sweeps primaries in Arkansas, Kentucky

Republican Mitt Romney won primary votes Tuesday in the southern states of Arkansas and Kentucky, bringing him within arm’s reach of scoring the delegates needed for his party’s formal White House nomination. Full story

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G Bissau army to return to barracks

Guinea-Bissau’s armed forces vowed on Wednesday to return to their barracks after transitional authorities formed a new government that includes an army officer who participated in the country’s April 12 coup. Full story

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Top Philippine judge in hospital after court drama

The Philippines’ top judge, who walked out of an appearance at his own impeachment trial, was later rushed to hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack, his spokesman said Wednesday. Full story

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Russia tests new missile after NATO summit

Russia on Wednesday staged the first successful test-launch of a new intercontinental missile designed to penetrate the defence system now being deployed by NATO despite Moscow’s fierce complaints. Full story

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Britain ‘mulling role in any Iran-Israel conflict’

Britain’s leaders are discussing how the country would respond to any military confrontation between Israel and Iran, including the possible involvement of its navy, the BBC reported Wednesday. Full story

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