Todays News 

Major economic reforms announced as Cuba looks to deregulate state companies

Cuba will begin to deregulate the its state-run companies next year as part of sweeping reforms to its Soviet-modeled economy, freeing money for investment and wage increases, as well as granting management greater autonomy. Marino Murillo, the country’s reform czar, told Cuba’s parliament on Saturday that the economic plan for 2014 will see “the transformation of companies,” which include the state’s nickel producer Cubaniquel and oil company Cubapetroleo. The reforms proposed for large state enterprises mean that Cuba may no longer support unprofitable interests, and follow the freeing of 124 small-to-medium state businesses this month -- including produce markets, transportation and construction -- to private cooperatives, which by and large operate on principles of supply and demand. Hundreds more businesses are expected to be deregulated in the coming years as the Cuban state moves out of economic activity such as retail and farming. With Murillo’s latest announcements, the island nation will begin to lessen state oversight over communications, energy and mining, shipping, as well as foreign and domestic trade. Under reforms initiated by President Raul Castro, who took over from his ailing brother Fidel in 2008, Cuba began laying off hundreds of thousands of state workers while deregulating small retail services, reports Reuters.

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Quebec train explosion death toll rises to 15

Canadian police confirmed Tuesday that the number of people killed in the Saturday Quebec train explosion has risen to 15. About 35 others remain unaccounted for as emergency crews continue to sweep the small town of Lac-Megantic, Quebec. At least five cars of a runaway oil train exploded on Saturday, destroying nearly 30 buildings and forcing over 2,000 residents to evacuate, although most returned to their homes by Tuesday. Over a dozen Transportation Safety Board investigators have been on the scene examining the events leading up to the derailment. Police announced Tuesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the matter after finding evidence the locomotive was tampered with, although they ruled out terrorism as a possibility.

Israeli troops find remains of rocket fired from Egypt

Israeli troops found the remains of the first rocket Tuesday to be fired from Egypt since the overthrow of the Islamist government of Mohamed Morsi on July 3rd. Israelis reported hearing several explosions near the city of Eliat in the south of the country last Thursday. Israeli troops did not find any evidence of any cross border shooting, said an official speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity.

​Most residents of Quebec town allowed to go home after train disaster

Authorities in the Quebec town of Lac-Megantic said that some residents could start returning home Tuesday - three days after a runaway train derailed and exploded. Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche announced that around 1,200 of the 2,000 people who were evacuated after the disaster could return to their residences. Fifty nearby factories and businesses would remain shut, Roy-Laroche added. Around 50 people are among the dead and missing. According to the Quebec coroner’s office, it could be days, weeks, or even years before all of the victims are identified among the ashes, Postmedia News reported.

5.1 magnitude earthquake rattles India

A 5.1 magnitude quake has struck India, according to US Geology Survey. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The epicenter was recorded at 111km east of Kyelang, the administrative center of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Netanyahu appoints his adviser Dermer as next ambassador to US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed his longtime adviser Ron Dermer to be Israel’s next ambassador to the US. American-born Dermer, 42, has been Netanyahu’s top diplomatic adviser for the last four years. Dermer, a former Republican activist, was behind Netanyahu’s perceived preference of Republican Mitt Romney in last year’s US election, according to Israeli media. The former envoy, Michael Oren, recently stepped down.

Colombia extradites major drug suspect Barrera to US

Colombian authorities say they have extradited a major drug trafficking suspect to the US. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has called Daniel Barrera “the last of the great capos.” National Police Director Jose Roberto Leon says Tuesday’s extradition of ‘El Loc’ - Spanish for ‘The Madman’ – “shows other criminals they'd be best off to turn themselves in.” Barrera is wanted in two New York federal court districts on charges related to drug trafficking and also faces charges in Florida. He was arrested last September in Venezuela, which shipped him back to Colombia.

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17 people killed in Afghanistan roadside bombing

A motorcycle pulling a trailer packed with people hit a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan, killing 17, Afghan officials say. Police Lt. Sher Agha said Taliban militants fleeing a patrol of Afghan security forces Tuesday afternoon apparently placed the roadside bomb in an attempt to kill the troops. But the bomb went off next to the makeshift vehicle carrying 12 women, four children and one man between two villages, killing all of them.

Latvia gets green light from ECOFIN to become 18th eurozone member

Latvia received the green light from its European partners Tuesday to become the 18th member of the eurozone from next year. The ECOFIN council - made up of the economy and finance ministers of the EU’s 28 member states - gave formal approval to the country’s euro membership. “We are joining the euro as of January 1 next year,” Latvia’s Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis said, as quoted by AFP. Despite the eurozone’s current troubles, he cited the benefits of membership, including lower interest rates, lower currency conversion costs and increased foreign investment.

Iran foils suspected suicide attack – report

Iranian security forces on Tuesday killed a man suspected of wanting to carry out a suicide bombing on a police headquarters in the city of Chabahar in southeastern Iran, the Mehr news agency said. Around 9am (04:30 GMT) this morning, the suicide operative “wanted to enter the police headquarters and commit a terrorist act while wearing a suicide vest and carrying a grenade,” the governor of Chabahar, Iraj Heydari, said. Located in Sistan-Baluchistan, Chabahar is an impoverished region bordering Pakistan whose mainly Sunni Muslim population says it suffers discrimination from Iran’s Shiite authorities.