Three U.S. lawmakers are calling for stricter gun laws, in response to a report saying Mexican drug gangs are getting their firepower from the United States. The report – prepared for the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control – says 70 percent of the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and traced by authorities […]
Syria Widens Crackdown on Dissenters
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Syrian forces are widening a crackdown on dissenters in a region near the Turkish border, while the number of Syrians crossing into Turkey to flee the unrest continues to swell. Activists Tuesday said Syrian troops are pushing into the town of Maaret al-Numan. Over the past few days, security forces have swept through Jisr al-Shughour […]
North, South Sudan Try to Finalize Deal on Abyei
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Negotiators for north and south Sudan remain in talks to finalize a reported deal on the disputed Abyei region. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein says the presidents of north and south Sudan have left the talks in Ethiopia’s capital, but that meetings with lower-level officials continue. North Sudan’s army seized control of oil-rich Abyei last month, […]
IMF: Iran Cuts Inflation & Subsidies
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Officials of the International Monetary Fund say Iran has cut inflation in half and sharply reduced the money it spends subsidizing energy, wheat, transportation and other goods needed by consumers. After a visit to Teheran, IMF experts said Iran’s inflation rate has fallen to a bit over 12 percent. The government has also made deep […]
India’s Inflation Rate Rises
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Higher food and fuel costs pushed India’s inflation rate to 9.06 percent in May, increasing pressure on the country’s central bank to increase interest rates again. The country’s main inflation gauge — the wholesale price index — jumped more than half a point last month from 8.66 percent in April. The government on Tuesday also […]
Mexican Judge Orders Release of Former Mayor
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
A Mexican judge has ordered the release of former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, ruling that officials lack the evidence to charge him with possessing illegal weapons. Hank Rhon was arrested earlier this month after a raid on his house turned up dozens of weapons. He was mayor of Tijuana, across the border from San […]
UN Warns Against “Son Preference” in Asia
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
The United Nations is calling on governments to address sex selection favoring boys, saying it fuels a culture of discrimination and violence. Five U.N. agencies, including the World Health Organization and the U.N. Children’s Fund, said Tuesday there is huge pressure on women to produce sons. This pressure not only directly affects women’s reproductive decisions, […]
North, South Sudan Try to Finalize Deal on Abyei
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
Negotiators for north and south Sudan remain in talks to finalize a reported deal on the disputed Abe region. VOA correspondent Peter Heinlein says the presidents of north and south Sudan have left the talks in Ethiopia’s capital, but that meetings with lower-level officials continue. North Sudan’s army seized control of oil-rich Abe last month, […]
Bomb Kills Colonel in Yemen’s South
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
Yemeni security sources say a bomb blast in the country’s south has killed an army colonel, as Yemen’s Gulf Arab neighbors are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the nation’s political fate. Officials said Tuesday the explosion tore threw the car of Colonel Muti’a al-Sayani while he was driving Monday in Burayqa, near the southern […]
US Stocks Rise
Posted June 14th, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
U.S. stock market indexes rose in Tuesday’s early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced nine-tenths of one percent, and both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indexes gained about 1.1 percent. European stock markets were higher in afternoon trading. London’s Financial Times 100 index gained six-tenths of a percent, the CAC-40 in Paris moved up […]
