Showing Archived Posts

S. Korean Activists Launch More Leaflets Across DMZ

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
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South Korean activists have floated leaflets attached to balloons into North Korea, calling for the overthrow of North Korean leader Kim Jong-IL. The activists, from a North Korean defector group, say they launched 10 gas-filled balloons carrying 200,000 leaflets from a mountain in a suburb west of Seoul. The group, known as Fighters for Free […]

Female Suicide Bomber, Roadside Blast Kill 7 in Pakistan

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
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A female suicide bomber has targeted police at the scene of another bombing earlier Thursday in northwest Pakistan, with both blasts killing seven people. In the first incident, a remote-controlled bomb exploded in a cart as a police vehicle drove by the Lahori area of the city of Peshawar. Five police officers and a child […]

Tags: , , , Posted in South Asia

New US Jobless Claims Fall to Four-month Low

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
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First-time claims for jobless benefits in the United States have fallen to a four-month low, an indication companies are laying off fewer workers. The U.S. government reported Thursday that 395,000 unemployed workers made their initial claim for financial assistance last week, a decline of 7,000 from the previous week. It was the fewest number of […]

Tags: , Posted in Economy, US

Italy’s Finance Minister Urges Balanced Budget Amendment

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
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Italy’s finance minister says tough economic measures will be needed to balance the budget by 2013, and urged a bipartisan meeting of parliament to make a balanced budget amendment part of the country’s constitution. Speaking to a joint session of the budget and constitutional affairs committees of Italy’s lower house and Senate, Giulio Tremonti described […]

Tags: , Posted in Economy, Europe

European Markets Fall Again on Banks/Debt Concerns

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 9:00 am (UTC-5)
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European stock markets dropped again Thursday as investors sold bank shares because of concerns about the sector’s exposure to indebted European governments. Asian markets fell earlier in the day. U.S. stock futures were also lower, indicating a possible drop in share prices when the market opens. On Wednesday the U.S. markets saw another major sell-off, […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy, Europe, US

Five Killed in Syrian Government Raids

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 8:35 am (UTC-5)
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At least five people have been killed as Syrian security forces stormed into two towns as part of the government’s widening crackdown on dissent. Rights groups says the deaths occurred in the central Homs region Thursday when columns of tanks pushed into a town in the area. They say a second raid took place in […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

South Sudan Gets Own Internet Domain

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
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The new nation of South Sudan has been assigned its own Internet domain code. Websites in the country will feature the suffix “.ss”. The code, known as the alpha-2 code, was assigned by the International Organization for Standardization, which helps set standards for the Internet and other technical fields. The code for Sudan remains “.sd”. […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

European Stocks Mixed in Midday Trading

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
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European stock prices are mixed in midday trading Thursday. London’s Financial Times index is up just over one-quarter of one percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is down just over three-quarters of one percent, and trading on the DAX index in Frankfurt is virtually unchanged from Wednesday’s close. In New York, the S&P futures contract is […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy

Lebanon Tribunal Head Urges Hariri Murder Suspects to Appear

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
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The head of the U.N.-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has urged the four suspects in the case to appear before the tribunal, and stressed the proceedings will be conducted fairly. Judge Antonio Cassese issued a statement Thursday saying it may be possible for the four men to […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Burmese Activist Issues Irrawaddy Appeal

Posted August 11th, 2011 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
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Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says a joint Burma-China hydro-electric project is impeding water flow on Burma’s largest river, the Irrawaddy, threatening rice production in a country that relies on the grain as a staple food and as a major export. In an appeal issued Thursday, the Nobel laureate pins large-scale environmental problems […]