European stock prices are higher in midday trading Friday. London’s Financial Times index is up just over one-quarter of one percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is up slightly over one percent, and trading on the DAX index in Frankfurt is up more than one percent. In New York, the S&P futures contract is up 10 […]
Syrian Troops Move into Two Northern Cities
Syrian security forces have mounted new assaults in the country’s restive northwest, sending tanks and troops into two more cities. Rights activists and witnesses said Friday the Syrian military sent large numbers of soldiers into Maaret al-Numaan, a city of 100,000 on the highway linking the capital Damascus and the country’s largest city, Aleppo. Many […]
Somali Pirates Free German Cargo Ship
Officials say Somali pirates have freed a German cargo ship after receiving a multi-million dollar ransom. The MV Susan K and its crew of 10 had been held since April. Officials say it will now head to Djibouti. Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years and taken in hundreds of millions of […]
Asia Markets Close Mostly Higher
Major Asian stock markets closed mostly lower Friday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped more than one-half of one percent to finish at 9,351. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped well over one percent to finish the day’s trading at 21,695. Share prices were lower in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Wellington, but […]
Weather Disaster Worsens in China
At least 168 people are either dead or missing after two weeks of torrential rains and flash floods in various parts of China. The official China Daily newspaper says disaster relief teams have been dispatched to Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces, where waterways have overflowed their banks and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their […]
India, China to Resume Defense Contacts
Indian officials say they are sending a military delegation to China Sunday, marking a resumption of defense ties suspended for a year over a visa spat. The eight member Indian group will visit Beijing and the Xinjiang region that borders Kashmir on the six-day visit. India cut off defense contacts with China last year to […]
Some Saudi Women Drive Cars in Defiance of Ban
Some women in Saudi Arabia are driving cars on Friday as part of a defiant response to the kingdom’s traditional ban on women behind the wheel. Many Saudi women pledged on social media Internet sites to take part in the protest. It may be the largest such mass action since November 1990, when women demonstrators […]
Japan’s Nikkei Falls Again
Japanese markets closed lower Friday, while the U.S. dollar is lower against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped more than one-half of one percent to finish at 9,351. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 80.37, a loss of just over one-quarter of a yen from Thursday. Gold is trading at $1,525.78 an […]
Somali Pirates Free German Cargo
Officials say Somali pirates have freed a German cargo ship after recieving a multi-million dollar ransom. The MV Susan K and its crew of 10 had been held since April. Officials say it will now head to Djibouti. Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years and taken in hundreds of millions of […]
Explosion Guts Israeli Apartment Building, Killing Four
Israeli officials say they believe a gas leak caused a massive explosion that gutted an apartment building, killing four people and injuring dozens of others. Authorities said the blast occurred early Friday in the coastal city of Netanya. They describe the explosion as an accident. Investigators are trying to determine the exact cause of the […]