UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly is set to vote on Wednesday on a draft resolution that condemns Syrian authorities and accepts the opposition Syrian National Coalition as party to a potential political transition.
- - - -
BRUSSELS/BERLIN - Germany's economy crept back into growth at the start of the year but not by enough to stop the euro zone from contracting for a sixth straight quarter, and France slid into recession.
- - - -
NEW YORK - Wal-Mart Stores Inc stepped up Bangladesh factory inspections while U.S. and European retailers pursued separate accords to try to prevent another disaster in a garment industry where more than 1,200 workers have died in the past six months.
- - - -
UNITED NATIONS - Increasingly tough financial sanctions, an arms embargo and other international restrictions on trade with North Korea have significantly delayed expansion of Pyongyang's illicit nuclear arms program, according to a confidential report by a U.N. panel of experts seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
- - - -
MOSCOW - Russian state-run media revelled on Wednesday in embarrassing the United States over a botched attempt to recruit one of its intelligence agents but both countries signalled they wanted to prevent the episode harming efforts to improve relations.
- - - -
VIENNA/ISTANBUL - Iran faces international pressure over its nuclear programme in two separate meetings on Wednesday, but no breakthrough is expected with the Islamic state focused on next month's presidential election.
- - - -
MUMBAI/BANGALORE - A breach of security at two payment card processing companies in India that led to heists at cash machines around the world has reopened questions on the risks of outsourcing sensitive financial services to the Asian nation.
- - - -
MAIDUGURI/YOLA, Nigeria - Nigeria launched a military campaign on Wednesday to flush Islamist militants out of bases in its border areas after President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeast.
- - - -
TOKYO - Experts judged on Wednesday that a reactor on Japan's west coast is located on ground at high risk of an earthquake, setting in motion a process that will likely lead to the first permanent shutdown of a nuclear plant since the 2011 Fukushima crisis.
- - - -
WASHINGTON - Over 80 percent of the world's major oil and gas-producing and mining countries fail to meet "satisfactory standards" for managing their natural resources, according to a report that tracks resource mismanagement and corruption.
- - - -
CANNES, France - The Cannes film festival may get some of its swagger back on Wednesday when it opens with Baz Luhrmann's lavish 3D period drama "The Great Gatsby", an opportunity to shed the caution of recent years overshadowed by broader economic gloom.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
