Pakistan says 29 nationals beaten by Afghans

Afghan officials say they are investigating allegations by neighboring Pakistan that Afghan forces severely beat Pakistani nationals. The Saturday protest note from Islamabad's Foreign Office provided no details other than to say that all 29 had valid travel documents. Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai says he has no information about the allegations, but Kabul will try to investigate...

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Bombing at political rally kills 8 in Pakistan

 Pakistani police say a suicide bomber attacked a political rally in the country's northwest, killing eight people. Police officer Arfan Khan says the bombing Saturday in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, also wounded more than 20 people. Khan says the rally was being held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. A provincial...

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Bombing at political rally kills 9 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held Saturday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said. The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban. Among the dead was Bashir Bilour, the...

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Gang rape protesters clash with Indian police

Police in India's capital used tear gas and water cannons for a second day Sunday in a high-security zone to break up protests by thousands of people demonstrating against the gang rape and beating of a 23-year-old student on a bus. Police chased angry protesters with batons some of whom fought pitched battles with steel rods and rocks as they tried to get past steel barricades and a wall created...

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In Afghan Taliban birthplace, US troops step back

President Barak Obama will decide in the coming weeks how many American troops to send home from Afghanistan next year. A major factor in his decision will be the question of how successful U.S. troops have been in preparing the Afghans to secure their country at bases like this one, located in one of the country's most violent areas — the birthplace of the Taliban. There have been calls in Congress...

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Italy dissolves parliament, Monti mulls future

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's head of state dissolved parliament on Saturday and opened the way to a February election, with doubts growing over whether outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti will participate in what promises to be a bitter campaign.Monti resigned on Friday a couple of months ahead of the end of his term of office, after his technocrat government lost the support of Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right...

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Analysis: Stop-gap fix most likely outcome of "fiscal cliff" talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The "fiscal cliff" deadline is days away and the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama have left town for Christmas.But even if they were still here, it wouldn't have mattered, according to Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. He says they were going nowhere to resolving the disagreement over how to fix the nation's fiscal problems.Last...

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Effect of looming 'fiscal cliff' tax increases

A big package of tax cuts first enacted a decade ago are set to expire at the end the year, unless Congress and the White House reach a deal to extend them. How the looming tax increases would affect households at different income levels.___Annual income: $20,000 to $30,000.Average tax increase: $1,064.___Annual income: $30,000 to $40,000.Average tax increase: $1,417.___Annual income: $40,000 to $50,000.Average...

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Florida governor asks Obama to block possible ports strike

 Florida's Republican governor wants President Barack Obama to invoke federal law and order a cooling-off period if nearly 15,000 longshoremen walk off the job in a looming strike that would be a big blow to the state's economy, according to a letter he sent the president this week.The International Longshoremen's Association union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance grouping of shippers and ports...

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Egypt president appoints upper house of parliament members

 Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi announced names of 90 new members he appointed to the upper house of parliament, state media reported, and a presidential official said the list was mainly liberals and other non-Islamists.Two thirds of the 270-member upper house were elected in a vote early this year, with one third appointed by the president. Mursi, elected in June, had not named them till...

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