About 100 people rallied in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, Sunday to protest China’s recent actions in disputed regional waters. Demonstrators shouted that the Spratly and Paracel islands belong to Vietnam, and they accused China of intending to invade Vietnam’s territory. Public protests are rare in communist Vietnam, but authorities have permitted the anti-China protests for a […]
Vietnamese Protesters Denounce China in Maritime Dispute
Burmese Diplomat Defects to U.S.
A top Burmese diplomat working in Washington has told VOA that he is defecting to the United States. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, dated July 4, Deputy Chief of Mission to the Burma embassy Kyaw Win requests political asylum, saying he fears prosecution if he returns to his homeland because of […]
FARC Leader Narrowly Escapes Colombian Troop Attack
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says the top leader of the FARC leftist rebel group narrowly escaped an attack by the country’s armed forces. The president says Alfonso Cano fled a rebel camp, on the border of Huila and Cauca provinces, no more than 12 hours before it was attacked by troops on Thursday. Mr. […]
Explosion Hits Egypt Gas Pipeline to Israel
Egyptian security officials say saboteurs have attacked a pipeline carrying natural gas into neighboring Israel and Jordan from the northern Sinai Peninsula. The attack took place early Monday near the town of Bir el-Abd when men with machine guns forced guards at a station along the pipeline to leave, then planted explosives which they activated […]
South Korea’s Ruling Party to Select New Leaders
South Korea’s ruling Grand National Party is holding its national convention Monday to elect a chairperson and members of its supreme council. The Yonhap news agency says seven candidates are competing for four council member positions. It says all seven are in their late 40s and early 50s. The report says there have been calls […]
Polls: PRI Takes Lead in Race for Mexico State Governors
Exit polls from three governor’s races in Mexico show candidates from the main opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party are winning in the country’s most populous state. Television polls show Eruviel Avila, PRI’s candidate in the state of Mexico, won an estimated 64 percent of the vote, while Alejandro Encinas, a member of the Democratic Revolution Party […]
Experts: Warming Oceans May Cause Faster Polar Ice Melt
While many scientists think warming air from climate change may speed the melting of polar ice glaciers, one group of researchers is keeping an eye on warming oceans beneath the glaciers. Experts from the University of Arizona say warm water under the ice in Greenland and Antarctica could mean polar ice will melt faster than […]
Explosion Hits Egypt Gas Pipeline to Israel
Egyptian security officials say a pipeline carrying natural gas into neighboring Israel and Jordan from the northern Sinai Peninsula has been hit by an explosion. There are no immediate reports of casualties from Monday’s blast. Armed gangs have attacked the pipeline twice since February, when an uprising toppled former president Hosni Mubarak and power was […]
Activists Reject Greek Offer to Send Flotilla Aid to Gaza
Organizers of a pro-Palestinian flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip have rejected a Greek government offer that would ferry humanitarian aid to Gaza using its own vessels under United Nations supervision. Activists late Sunday said they still are looking into ways to circumvent Greece’s order preventing ships docked in its ports from departing for the […]
Americans Celebrate 235th Independence Day
Monday is U.S. Independence Day — the holiday informally called the Fourth of July. Americans will celebrate the day the country’s Founding Fathers declared independence from Britain in 1776 with picnics, parades and concerts. Traditional fireworks will light up the nighttime skies over small towns and major cities, including Washington, New York and Philadelphia, where […]