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Southern Sudan Asks US to Lift Oil Sanctions

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
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Southern Sudan, which will soon become an independent country, has asked the United States to lift oil sanctions on all of Sudan. The south’s vice president, Riek Machar, said Wednesday that the current sanctions will hurt the new country’s ability to export oil because it must rely on the north’s pipelines. South Sudan is set […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

Tropical Storm Arlene Approaches Mexican Coast

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
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Mexican authorities have issued a hurricane watch for the northeast coast from Tuxpan northward to La Cruz, as Tropical Storm Arlene, the season’s first powerful Atlantic storm, gradually gathers strength. Weather officials on Wednesday issued tropical storm warnings for the coastal area from Barra de Nautla northward to Bahia Algodones. The U.S. National Hurricane Center […]

Tags: , Posted in Americas

Burmese Pro-Democracy Party Asks Government to Discuss Warning

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
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The Burmese political movement headed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is asking for a meeting with authorities to discuss a government order directing the organization to halt all political activities. The request came Wednesday, just hours after the Home Affairs Ministry warned the Nobel laureate in a letter that her National League for […]

Tags: , , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Top Private US Bank Settles Over Sour Investments

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:25 am (UTC-5)
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The largest private bank in the United States will reimburse investors billions of dollars for investments that plunged in value when the housing market collapsed. Bank of America announced the $8.5 billion settlement Wednesday, saying the deal would minimize “future economic uncertainty.” A group of 22 investors, including several large financial firms, had been demanding […]

Tags: , Posted in Economy

IMF Urges US Congress To Raise Debt Limit

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
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Officials of the International Monetary Fund are urging the U.S. Congress to move promptly to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. An IMF report says inaction could bring sharply increased interest rates that could hurt the U.S. economy and cause problems on world financial markets. U.S. law requires Congress to approve borrowing more than the currently […]

Tags: , Posted in Economy

Report: Rights Violations Worsen in Pakistan’s Baluchistan

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
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A Pakistani human rights group says rights violations are rising in Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province as militants and security forces increasingly target civilians. In a report released Wednesday, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says at least 143 people have disappeared since 2009. The group says in these cases, there was evidence to substantiate the […]

Tags: , Posted in South Asia

Wildfire Threatens Area Around US National Nuclear Lab

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
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The U.S. national nuclear laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, is expected to remain closed until Thursday as a large wildfire threatens the area around the facility. The lab said in a statement it will be closed for all activities and that nonessential employees are expected to remain off-site. The lab and residents of the […]

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Kidnapped French Journalists Freed in Afghanistan

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
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Two French journalists who were kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2009 have been freed by their captors. The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday that reporters for France-3 television, Stephane Taponier and Herve Ghesquiere, have been released. Their Afghan translator, Reza Din, was also freed. The president’s office did not give further details. The […]

Greek Parliament Approves Austerity Plan

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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The Greek parliament has approved the first step in sweeping new austerity measures aimed at securing international financing for the debt-ridden nation. Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou won passage Wednesday of his $40 billion plan to increase taxes, cut spending and sell state-owned assets. The plan was approved on a 155-to-138 vote, a wider than […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Europe

1,000 Injured as Egyptian Police Clash with Protesters in Cairo

Posted June 29th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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Egypt’s health ministry says violent confrontations between police and protesters in central Cairo have injured more than a thousand people in the largest outbreak of unrest to hit the Egyptian capital in weeks. Witnesses say most of those injured in the protests that began late Tuesday and lasted into Wednesday suffered smoke inhalation from tear […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East