Activists say Syrian forces killed at least six people in clashes with protesters Friday as tens of thousands took to the streets nationwide against President Bashar al-Assad. Protesters gathered Friday near the Turkish border, as well as in central Syria and areas of the capital, Damascus. Rights groups say more than 1,400 people have been […]
Officials: Swiss Couple Kidnapped in Pakistan
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 2:05 pm (UTC-5)
Pakistani officials say a Swiss couple has been kidnapped while traveling in southwest Pakistan. The couple was reportedly traveling in the remote Loralai district of Baluchistan province when they were abducted. Provincial officials say the Swiss nationals arrived a police checkpoint Friday, and their car was later found abandoned in the area. No one has […]
Monaco’s Prince Albert Weds South Africa’s Charlene Wittstock
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 1:55 pm (UTC-5)
Monaco’s Prince Albert has wed South African Charlene Wittstock, turning the one-time Olympic swimmer into the Princess of Monaco. The pair wed in a civil ceremony Friday in Monaco’s medieval palace overlooking the tiny tax haven’s main marina. They later celebrated at a buffet reception and all of the principality’s more than 7,600 subjects were […]
US Stocks Rise
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 1:40 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. stock market indexes rose in Friday’s midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent while the NASDAQ gained 1.3 percent. European stock markets were higher at the close of trading. London’s Financial Times 100 index rose seven-tenths of a percent to end at 5,990. The CAC-40 in Paris […]
Strauss-Kahn Released from House Arrest, Charges Still Stand
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest and left a New York court without bail Friday, after prosecutors raised questions about the credibility of the hotel maid accusing him of sexual assault. Strauss-Kahn smiled as he left the courthouse after the judge agreed to return Strauss-Kahn’s bail and revoke pre-trial […]
Europe Moving Quickly to Disburse Greek Bailout Money
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
European officials are moving quickly to disburse more bailout money to Greece to keep the debt-ridden country from defaulting on its loans. Europe’s finance ministers agreed Friday to hold a video conference Saturday to release $17 billion to Greece, part of the $156 billion bailout it secured last year from the European Union and the […]
Severe Malnutrition Spiking in Horn of Africa
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:20 pm (UTC-5)
The number of children stricken by severe malnutrition is rising in the Horn of Africa at an alarming rate. The United Nations Children’s Fund estimated Friday that 480,000 children in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia will suffer from an acute lack of food and water this year, a 50 percent increase over 2010. UNICEF says the […]
US Budget Impasse Continues
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. Treasury officials have repeated their warning that Washington has until August 2 to raise the nation’s debt ceiling or face “catastrophic” economic consequences. Friday’s reiteration of the deadline follows news reports that the practical deadline is earlier, in late July, to give Congress time to debate and vote on the debt limit. The White […]
Moroccans Vote on Constitutional Reforms
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
Millions of Moroccans are heading to the polls to vote on King Mohammed’s controversial constitutional reforms he unveiled in response to his country’s pro-democracy uprising. Officials estimated that turnout by midday Friday was about 25 percent of the some 13 million eligible voters. Preliminary results are expected after polls close Friday evening. King Mohammed announced […]
Freed French Journalist Hints Ransom Paid to Taliban
Posted July 1st, 2011 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
A French journalist who was freed this week after being held hostage for 18 months in Afghanistan says money and prisoners may have been exchanged to secure his release from the Taliban. France-3 television reporter Herve Ghesquiere told BBC News that officially there was no ransom, but “of course, as he put it,”it was not […]
