Financial News Forum

A restive district of the Syrian capital that has been a hotbed of dissent against President Bashar Assad was rocked by fighting overnight between government forces and army defectors, opposition groups said Sunday.

A bomb blast outside a high school in southern Italy that killed a 16-year-old student has stirred memories of the dark days decades ago when terrorists, anarchists and organized crime carried out dozens of bloody attacks.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

BONDENO, Italy (Reuters) - A strong earthquake rocked a large swathe of northern Italy early on Sunday, killing at least three people and causing serious damage to the area's cultural heritage. The 6.0 magnitude quake struck at 22:04 EDT (0204 GMT) while most people were sleeping, and thousands ran into the streets in their night clothes in panic. "I ran out in my underwear," one man told Italian television. ...

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the early release from jail of his highest-profile political rival Sarath Fonseka, the president's spokesman said on Sunday, in an apparent bid to quell international criticism of the government's human rights record. The authorisation for Fonseka's release will be sent to the justice ministry on Monday, spokesman Bandula Jayasekara said. The former general is expected to be free soon afterwards, but will not be able to leave the country. ...

The Group of Eight world leaders has warned North Korea that it faces more sanctions if it continues to threaten the stability of the region with provocative acts such as its failed long-range rocket launch in April.

Sri Lanka's president has ordered authorities to free the country's jailed former army chief, a man credited with ending the country's long civil war but who later was imprisoned after challenging the president in elections.

A Myanmar negotiator says ethnic Shan rebels have agreed in a second round of talks to end fighting with army troops in the country's east, the latest reported deal between the new reformist government and various ethnic separatist movements.

Taiwan's president began his second term Sunday and signaled he will maintain a China policy that has reduced tensions between the sides, offering Beijing little early hope of realizing its long-term goal of unification.