Nation/World Roundup
Ontario court tosses out key sex trade laws: An Ontario court has struck down key provisions in Canada's prostitution laws in a case that could set a precedent for the country. Prostitution itself is not illegal in Canada, but the court struck down three provisions that criminalized most aspects of it. Communicating for the purposes of prostitution, pimping and operating a brothel were decriminalized under the court's ruling.
UN summit ends with call to action beyond rhetoric: World leaders wrapped up an annual rite of global diplomacy Wednesday, pledging to try to do more despite many of them feeling that they have less in their pockets to contribute. At the U.N. General Assembly's annual high-level gathering, which lasted almost two weeks, presidents and ministers vowed to extract tens of billions more from their financially hard-hit nations to grapple with poverty, disease and climate change, and to prop up peace as hopes wear thin from Sudan to Somalia to the Middle East.
Terror plot in Europe prompted drone strikes: Police increased their guard around Buckingham Palace and other landmarks Wednesday as security officials monitored what they described as a fledgling terror plot to wage Mumbai-style shooting sprees or other attacks on Britain, France or Germany. At least some of the recent CIA strikes in Pakistan were aimed at al-Qaida operatives suspected in the plot, U.S. officials said. European officials said the plot was still in its early stages and not considered serious enough to raise the terror threat level.
UN lifts arms embargo on Sierra Leone: The U.N. Security Council is lifting a 13-year-old arms embargo against the small west African nation of Sierra Leone after being assured that the nation is sufficiently stable following the civil war that ended in 2002. The 15-member council said Wednesday that it was removing the last U.N. sanctions on the country because the government had fully re-established control over its territory and former fighters had been successfully disarmed and demobilized.
Kremlin fires defiant Moscow mayor after 18 years: Russia's president fired defiant Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov on Tuesday, ousting the man who gave the crumbling capital a modern facelift but was maligned for his wife's hold on construction projects and for staying on vacation while forest fires choked his city. President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree relieving the 74-year-old mayor of his duties due to a "loss of confidence" in him, according to the Kremlin. With the long-awaited move, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Medvedev sent a powerful signal that no regional leader is indispensable. Luzhkov had been in the position for 18 years.
US should help break government deadlock: Iraq's foreign minister urged the United States on Monday to take a more active role in breaking the deadlock over formation of a new government, saying the nearly seven-month election stalemate has not only left the country in limbo but has also hurt its economy.