Unrest is intensifying in Yemen, where a battle rages in the capital city and troops have fired on protesters in the southern city of Taiz. Reports Thursday said thousands of armed tribesmen are heading to the capital, Sana’a, to join the fight against government forces. Government forces are reported to be shelling the positions of […]
Day-long Attack Kills 23 in Northwestern Pakistan
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 5:55 am (UTC-5)
Officials in northwestern Pakistan say militants have killed at least 23 security personnel and three civilians in an attack on a checkpoint that lasted for more than a day. The attack began Wednesday in the town of Shaltalo, when police say about 200 militants crossed the border from Afghanistan’s Kunar province into Pakistan’s Dir tribal […]
Japan’s Nikkei Plunges
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 5:50 am (UTC-5)
Japanese markets closed lower Thursday, while the U.S. dollar is slightly lower against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped nearly one and three-quarter percent to finish at 9,555. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 80.90, a loss of one-fifth of a yen from Wednesday. Gold is trading at $1,540.89 an ounce.
Pakistani General Rules Out North Waziristan Offensive
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
Officials in northwestern Pakistan say militants have killed at least 23 security forces in an attack on a checkpoint that lasted for more than a day. The attack began Wednesday in the town of Shaltalo, when police say about 200 militants crossed the border from Afghanistan’s Kunar province into Pakistan’s Dir tribal area. Officials said […]
China, Google Clash Over Reported New Hacking Attack
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
Google is once more in conflict with China, this time over a new hacker attack affecting the e-mail accounts of hundreds of people, including senior U.S. officials, journalists, and Chinese political activists. The Internet giant says the scheme to steal user passwords from G-Mail accounts originated in Jinan in eastern China. It gave no details […]
US Senator Expected in Rangoon to Meet Aung San Suu Kyi
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
U.S. Senator John McCain was due in Rangoon Thursday for a meeting with Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. An opposition spokesman told VOA’s Burmese service the senator was also slated to see representatives of five small ethnic parties. His visit to Rangoon follows meetings Wednesday in the administrative capital, Naypyidaw, with Vice President […]
British Lawmakers Say Asylum Seekers Have Gotten ‘Amnesty’
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
A British parliamentary investigation has concluded that so many asylum seekers have been allowed to stay in the country that it amounted to an “amnesty” for them. In a scathing assessment Thursday of Britain’s immigration agency, the lawmakers found that “a very large number” of asylum seekers remain in the country “who either have no […]
NATO Says Forces Capture Bin Laden Associate in Afghanistan
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
NATO says Afghan and coalition troops have captured an al-Qaida facilitator who was a former associate of terror leader Osama bin Laden. In a statement Thursday, NATO said the man was captured in the Nahr-e Shahi area of northern Balkh province, but did not give his name. It said the Pakistan-based man planned attacks and […]
Asian Stocks Mostly Lower
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 am (UTC-5)
Asian stock markets closed mostly lower Thursday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped nearly one and three-quarter percent to finish at 9,555. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost just over one and one-half percent to finish the day’s trading at 23,254. Share prices were also lower in Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Wellington, but higher in Manila. In […]
Pyongyang Strips South Korean Firm of Tourist Mountain Monopoly
Posted June 2nd, 2011 at 4:25 am (UTC-5)
North Korea has unveiled a new law that would allow foreign investors to invest in a mountain resort once operated exclusively by a South Korean corporation. The law calls for transforming Mount Kumgang into a special zone for international tours. It also ends Hyundai Asan’s monopoly over the resort, which attracted scores of South Korean […]
