Ambassadors withdrawn from Syria
Turkey backs effort to force Assad to end violence, saying it could not stay silent after ‘fiasco’ of Russian and Chinese UN veto
Rousseff starts Brazil on road to assertiveness
President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil has adopted an ambivalent tone on human rights as part of a more mature stance built on growing economic success
Greece misses bail-out deadline amid haggling
Delay over agreeing €3bn of extra spending cuts fuels fears that Athens may be forced into a messy default next month
Iran election candidates choose discretion
Next month’s poll will reveal the winner of a power struggle between those who support the president and those who back the supreme leader
Congress hopes state poll will revive party
Gandhi identifies success in month-long elections in Uttar Pradesh as key to re-energising premier Manmohan Singh’s stalled administration
Turkish leader attacks US writer amid plot claims
Prime minister criticises Paul Auster and senior AK party member says the novelist is part of a conspiracy to destabilise the government
National Front hopes to oust Sarkozy
Le Pen has seen poll ratings of up to a fifth of electorate, suggesting at least possibility of knocking out incumbent in presidential poll
Cuban blogger riles with her weapon of words
Technology challenges the philologist’s due to a state information monopoly, giving 2 per cent of Cubans internet access
Obama backs down on super-Pac funding
US president gives his reluctant blessing to funds from external groups as super-Pacs become increasingly influential in election campaign