U.S. President Barack Obama says he cannot guarantee that there will be money to pay millions of pension checks scheduled to go out on August 3, unless a deal can be made with opposition Republicans on difficult debt issues. He spoke in a television interview by CBS, which put some of his remarks on its […]
Obama Says Debt Deal Needed to Guarantee Pension Checks
Afghan President’s Brother Assassinated
Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s half brother – a powerful figure in the country’s south – has been assassinated at his home by a trusted bodyguard. Afghan officials say Ahmad Wali Karzai was shot and killed Tuesday by a senior member of his security detail in Kandahar city. The gunman, who was identified as Sardar Mohammad, […]
Polls Show Sinking Approval for Japanese Government
New opinion polls show support for Japan’s government has sunk to its lowest level since Prime Minister Naoto Kan came to power a year ago. In surveys released Tuesday by NHK television and the Asahi newspaper, approval of the Democratic Party of Japan cabinet stood at about 15 percent, down from the low- to mid-20s […]
Mexico Arrests US-Born Man Linked to Drug Cartel
Mexican federal police say they have captured a U.S.-born man tied to Mexico’s Arellano Felix drug cartel, also known as the Tijuana cartel. Officials say 33-year-old Armando Villarreal Heredia, known as “El Gordo” , was taken into custody Saturday in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora state. Authorities have accused the […]
US Stocks Fall
U.S. stock market indexes dropped in Tuesday’s trading as concerns about Europe’s debt crisis weighed on investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost half a percent to end at 12,447. The S&P 500 fell four-tenths of a percent to close at 1,314 and the NASDAQ slipped seven-tenths of a percent to finish at 2,782. European […]
US Military Chief Tours Chinese Bases
America’s top military officer will conclude his high-profile visit to China Wednesday with a trip to a naval base. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited two army bases on China’s east coast on Tuesday . China’s official Xinhua news agency says he will continue visiting military units on Wednesday, […]
Crude Oil Prices Rise
Here are the prices of some key commodities traded in New York on Tuesday: Crude oil prices rose more than $2 to to close at $97.43 a barrel. Coffee prices dropped 1 cent to end at $2.57 per pound. Copper prices advanced 2 cents to close at $4.38 per pound. Cocoa futures rose $18 to […]
US Trade Gap Widens on Pricey Oil Imports
Rising prices for imported oil have helped push the U.S. trade deficit to its highest level in three years. The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday the official trade gap hit $50.2 billion in May, a 15-percent increase over the previous month. The report cited the high cost of imported oil as the main factor. Oil […]