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Slow Growth Hurts US Job Market

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 9:10 am (UTC-5)
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Sluggish economic growth appears to be slowing U.S. job creation. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday private companies added only 38,000 jobs in May. ADP also said fewer private sector jobs had been created in April than previously thought. Many economists look at the ADP report as an indicator of what the more comprehensive government-issued employment […]

Tags: , Posted in Americas, Economy, US

Iranian Parliament to Challenge President’s Oil Role in Court

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 9:10 am (UTC-5)
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Iran’s parliament says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad acted illegally when he declared himself the caretaker oil minister and the assembly has voted to take him to court. Iranian media reports said Wednesday that lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to refer the president’s “violations” to the judiciary. The country’s constitutional watchdog body has already ruled that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s takeover […]

Tags: , Posted in Middle East

Ethiopia Commutes Death Sentences of Mengistu Officers

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 9:00 am (UTC-5)
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Ethiopia has commuted death sentences given to 23 former officials for crimes committed during the rule of dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam. Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis announced Wednesday that he had reduced the officials’ sentences to life in prison. The action follows an appeal for leniency by a group of religious leaders. The officials were convicted […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

Israeli Company Embroiled in Controversy Over Iran Trade Allegations

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 8:40 am (UTC-5)
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An Israeli company is embroiled in controversy after it was blacklisted by the U.S. State Department last week for allegedly trading with Iran. Ofer Brothers Group, which is owned by Israel’s wealthiest family, was sanctioned because one of its subsidiaries sold an oil tanker to Iran. The U.S. and allies have imposed sanctions against trade […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

North Sudan Proposes Solution to Abyei Crisis

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 8:30 am (UTC-5)
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North Sudan’s government has laid out proposals for resolving its dispute with the south over the oil-rich Abyei region. North Sudanese forces occupied Abyei on May 21, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee the area, and raising fears the north and south could return to civil war. The government now says northern and […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa

Report: Possible ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ in Syria

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
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Human Rights Watch says it has reports of recent killings and torture by Syrian troops that may qualify as crimes against humanity. The New York-based group released a report Wednesday based on more than 50 interviews with victims and witnesses of the violence. The report centers on the southern city of Daraa, where Syrian forces […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Germany Reports More Bacteria Victims, But Cause Still a Mystery

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
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Germany says the number of its people sickened by a mysterious killer bacteria is growing rapidly. The country’s national disease control center Wednesday said the number of confirmed cases of people sickened by the food-borne bacterial outbreak jumped from 373 on Tuesday to 470 a day later. Fifteen people have died in Germany from the […]

Tags: , , Posted in Europe

North Korea Claims South Secretly Offered Series of Summits

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
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North Korea says it has turned down a secret proposal from its southern neighbor for a series of three summit meetings to be held over the next 10 months. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported the offer Wednesday, saying it was made on May 9 at a previously undisclosed meeting in Beijing. It […]

Tags: , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

European Stocks Lower in Midday Trading

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 7:40 am (UTC-5)
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European stock prices are lower in midday trading Wednesday. London’s Financial Times index is down more than one-quarter of one percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is down nearly one-quarter of one percent, and trading on the DAX index in Frankfurt is down more than one-quarter of one percent. In New York, the S&P futures contract […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy

Report: Possible “Crimes Against Humanity” in Syria

Posted June 1st, 2011 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
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Rights group Human Rights Watch says it has reports of recent killings and torture by Syrian troops that may qualify as crimes against humanity. The New York-based group released a report Wednesday based on interviews with more than 50 interviews with victims and witnesses of the violence. The report centers on the southern city of […]

Tags: Posted in Middle East