Pakistani officials say an avalanche has killed at least nine soldiers and civilians at a remote outpost in the mountainous Kashmir region. Authorities say the avalanche happened Friday. Local officials say a rescue operation in underway to search for additional bodies, including members of a rescue party who were hit by a second slide. Avalanches […]
9 Killed in Avalanche in Pakistan’s Kashmir Region
Somali Pirates Release 4 South Korean Sailors
South Korean officials say Somali pirates have released four commercial seamen they had held for 19 months, after the payment of a ransom. A South Korean foreign ministry official said Saturday the ministry had assisted in ransom talks between the ship’s owner and the pirates, but declined to say how much had been paid for […]
Kuwait Opens Boycott-Hit Voting
Polls in Kuwait are open for a parliamentary election boycotted by opposition groups. The opposition says Saturday’s election, held under a new electoral law, favors supporters of the Western-backed emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The long-ruling al-Sabah family already controls the Kuwaiti Cabinet. Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Kuwait […]
North Korea Announces Planned Rocket Launch in December
North Korea’s official news agency says the Stalinist state plans to launch a long-range rocket later this month. In a statement carried Saturday by the Korean Central News Agency, the Korean Committee for Space Technology said it plans to send a working satellite into orbit between December 10 and 22. The statement said scientists had […]
Senate Reaffirms US Support for Japan in Land Dispute With China
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved an amendment that reaffirms Washington’s commitment to Japan in its territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. The measure was attached Thursday to the National Defense Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2012, which is still being debated in the Senate – the upper body of […]
Clinton: Israel Settlement Expansion ‘Sets Back’ Peace Bid
The United States has criticized Israel’s announcement that it intends to build 3,000 settler homes in in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, following the Palestinian Authority’s successful United Nations recognition bid. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday the Obama administration, like previous administrations, has been “very clear with Israel that these […]