U.S. President Barack Obama says the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan will be conducted at a “steady pace” to make sure gains made there are sustained. Speaking to troops at Fort Drum in upstate New York Thursday, President Obama said the United States has “turned a corner in Afghanistan” and is not going to withdraw […]
Obama: US Withdrawal from Afghanistan Will Preserve Gains
New Drinking Age Law in India’s Maharashtra State Challenged
A top Bollywood actor has launched a campaign against a new law which raises the legal drinking age for hard liquor from 21 to 25 in India’s western Maharashtra state. The measure, which was passed earlier this month, includes fines for illegal drinking and a ban on serving alcohol at public functions. Additionally, the legal […]
Explosions Heard in Southern Somalia
Witnesses in southern Somalia say they heard huge explosions Thursday near the port town of Kismayo. The witnesses say the blasts took place south of the city, which is controlled by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. It is not clear what caused the explosions. Witnesses told the French News Agency that they also heard the […]
Petraeus Supports Obama’s Decison on Afghanistan
The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, says he supports President Barack Obama’s decision for withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan. General Petraeus testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Thursday, one day after Mr. Obama announced plans to pull out 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 2012. The […]
EU Commissioner: Serbia Needs progress on Kosovo Before Accession
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele says Serbia must make more progress in normalizing relations with Kosovo, but that recognizing its independence is not a condition for Serbia’s EU membership. Fuele met with Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic Thursday in Brussles to discuss Belgrade’s bid to start negotiations for Serbia’s accession to the 27-nation bloc. […]
New Study: Majority of Babies in US are Minorities
The U.S. government says for the first time, the majority of babies in the United States are minorities, a change likely to impact the country’s racial and ethnic makeup in the future. A Census Bureau study released Thursday shows that non-Hispanic whites make up less than half of all children under age three. In 1990, […]
Oil Prices Rise
Here are the prices of some key commodities traded in New York on Thursday: Crude oil prices lost more than $4 to close at $91.02 a barrel. Coffee futures rose 4 cents to finish at $2.48 per pound. Copper prices dropped 5 cents to end at $4.04 a pound. Cocoa futures lost $54 to end […]
US Stocks Mixed
U.S. stock market indexes were mixed in Thursday’s trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated half a percent to close at 12,050. The S&P 500 lost three-tenths of a percent to finish at 1,284 while the NASDAQ advanced seven-tenths of a percent to end at 2,687. European stock markets were lower at the close of […]
US Pushing for UN Troops in Sudan’s Abyei Region
The United States is pushing for the United Nations Security Council to approve a draft resolution that would send thousands of peacekeepers to Sudan’s disputed Abyei region. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, said Thursday the resolution would authorize the deployment of 4,200 Ethiopian troops to the region, which lies on the north-south […]
Oil Prices Rise
Here are the prices of some key commodities traded in New York on Thursday: Crude oil prices lost more than $4 to close at $91.02 a barrel. Coffee futures rose 4 cents to finish at $2.48 per pound. Copper prices dropped 5 cents to end at $4.04 a pound. Cocoa futures lost $54 to end […]