Reuters

By Lucy Papachristou

LONDON (Reuters) - Roberto Carnero, an Italian literature professor at the University of Bologna, was shocked when he received a call from his Italian publisher in March about the Russian translation of his new book.

The Russian publisher, AST, would agree to publish his critical essay on the openly gay Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini only with severe cuts.

When the book hit the shelves in... (continue reading...)

DUBAI (Reuters) - An attack by gunmen on a humanitarian convoy of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan's South Darfur killed two drivers and injured three other staff on Thursday, the ICRC said in a statement.

The team was on its way back from Layba to assess the humanitarian situation of communities affected by armed violence in the region when the incident occurred, the ICRC said.

More than a year of war between Sudan's... (continue reading...)

OSLO (Reuters) -Norway's central bank kept interest rates on hold at 4.50% on Friday, as unanimously expected by analysts, and said a tight monetary policy stance may be needed for somewhat longer than planned in order to curb inflation.

The central bank said in March it could start cutting rates in September from the current 16-year high.

The Norwegian crown strengthened to 11.74 against the euro at 0818 GMT, from 11.77 just before the... (continue reading...)

BERLIN (Reuters) -German consumer goods company Henkel slightly raised its guidance for 2024 on Friday, saying strong performance in the first quarter had boosted its sales and earnings outlook.

The group raised its guidance for full-year organic sales growth, now expecting an increase of 2.5% to 4.5% compared with a previous target of 2.0% to 4.0%.

It now sees an adjusted return on sales (EBIT margin) in a range of 13.0% to 14.0%, having... (continue reading...)

By Mushtaq Ali

PESHAWAR (Reuters) - A bus veered into a ravine in Pakistan's far north early on Friday, a local government spokesman said, killing 20 passengers, while 21 injured were rescued and taken to hospital.

The bus was headed to the mountainous northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan from the garrison city of Rawalpindi in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, when the accident happened in the early hours.

"The bus was... (continue reading...)