June 9, 2013
North and South Korea agree to government-level meeting
Officials from North and South Korea have agreed to hold the first high-level meeting since 2007, the South Korean Yonhap news agency says. It follows hours of preliminary talks in the truce village of Panmunjom aimed at rebuilding trust between…
June 9, 2013
Barack Obama defends US surveillance tactics
President Barack Obama has defended newly revealed US government phone and internet surveillance programmes, saying they are closely overseen by Congress and the courts. Mr Obama said his administration had struck "the right balance" between…
June 9, 2013
Google says the government has ‘no access’ to servers
Google has issued a strong denial that it allows the US government to access its servers. The internet giant said the government has no access, "not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box". The Guardian claims the UK's eavesdropping…
June 9, 2013
US economy adds 175,000 jobs in May
US employment rose by slightly more than economists had predicted during May. The latest US non-farm payrolls show that 175,000 jobs were created last month. But the unemployment rate increased slightly to 7.6%. Shares had mostly fallen in the…
June 9, 2013
UBS under formal investigation in France over tax evasion
French authorities are formally investigating UBS for allegedly helping wealthy clients open undeclared bank accounts in Switzerland. The Swiss bank is suspected of "complicity in illegal sales practices", an official at the Paris prosecutor's…
June 9, 2013
German central bank cuts growth forecasts for 2013 and 2014
Germany's central bank has cut its growth forecast for the country, but says the outlook for the economy has "become brighter". The Bundesbank expects the economy to grow by 0.3% this year, down from an earlier forecast of 0.4%. In 2014, it expects…
June 9, 2013
Drone Strike Kills 3 in Yemen
Yemeni security and tribal sources say an apparent U.S. drone strike has killed at least three suspected al-Qaida militants in the north of the country.The sources said several drone-fired missiles struck at least one vehicle carrying the militants…
June 9, 2013
Iraq’s Maliki Makes Rare Visit to Kurdish Area to Ease Tensions
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has made a rare visit to his country's autonomous Kurdish region to try to ease long-running disputes that have threatened national unity. Mr. Maliki flew to Iraqi Kurdistan's regional capital of Irbil Sunday in…
June 9, 2013
Gunfire Kills Anti-Hezbollah Protester in Beirut
Lebanese security sources say gunfire has erupted at a demonstration in Beirut, killing a man who was protesting against the involvement of Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah in the Syrian civil war.It was not clear who killed the man at Sunday's…
June 9, 2013
Attacks in Pakistan Kill 4
Bomb attacks in a restive tribal region of Pakistan have killed two soldiers, while gunmen in the country's south have killed two police officers.Authorities say at least two roadside bombs exploded in North Waziristan Sunday, killing the soldiers…