The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia, amid the worst drought to hit the country in more than 50 years. Speaking in Nairobi, U.N. spokesman Mark Bowden said famine exists in the Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a statement expressing deep concern […]
Asia Markets Close Mostly Higher
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 7:00 am (UTC-5)
Major Asian stock markets closed mostly higher Wednesday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index gained nearly one and one-quarter percent to finish at 10,006. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up nearly one-half of one percent to finish the day’s trading at 22,004. Share prices were higher in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei and […]
Serbia Arrests Last Remaining Fugitive Sought by UN Tribunal
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:55 am (UTC-5)
Serbian authorities say they have apprehended Goran Hadzic, the only remaining fugitive sought by the United Nations war crimes tribunal. Serbian President Boris Tadic confirmed that Hadzic was arrested Wednesday morning local time in the mountainous region of Fruska Gora. The leader of Croatia’s rebel Serbs during the country’s conflict in the 1990’s, Hadzic went […]
Clinton Urges India to Expand Asian Influence
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:50 am (UTC-5)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged India to expand its influence in Asia, particularly to the east, as she delivered an address Wednesday in India’s southeastern city of Chennai. Clinton spoke about the importance of U.S.-Indian economic ties, and was scheduled to meet with representatives of U.S. companies as she closes a two-day […]
Iran Says it Shot Down US Spy Plane
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:35 am (UTC-5)
An Iranian lawmaker says Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has shot down an unmanned U.S. spy plane that was attempting to collect information about an underground uranium enrichment site. Iran’s state TV-run Youth Journalists Club on Wednesday quotes MP Ali Aghazedah Dafsari as saying the elite military group shot down the aircraft as it was flying near […]
Pacific Hurricane Dora Strengthens Off Mexican Coast
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
U.S. weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Dora has become the fourth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season as it swirls in the open ocean off the coast of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Dora is about 360 kilometers south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, with winds of 130 kilometers per hour. It is expected […]
Thai Military Chopper Crashes Near Burmese Border
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:25 am (UTC-5)
A Thai military helicopter has crashed near the nation’s border with Burma. Thai military officials say the Black Hawk helicopter went down Tuesday morning in central Phetchburi province, with nine people on board. The aircraft was part of on an operation sent to locate the bodies of five soldiers killed in an earlier helicopter crash […]
Pacific Hurricane Dora Strengthens Off Mexican Coast
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:20 am (UTC-5)
U.S. weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Dora has became the fourth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season as it swirls in the open ocean off the coast of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center in Miami says Dora is about 360 kilometers south-southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, with winds of 130 kilometers per hour. It is expected […]
ASEAN, China Agree on Guidelines for China Sea Settlement
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:20 am (UTC-5)
Southeast Asian and Chinese officials say they have reached agreement on a set of guidelines that could lead eventually to a binding code of conduct for handling disputes in the South China Sea. The officials said the agreement was reached Wednesday and will be submitted Thursday for approval by foreign ministers of their respective countries. […]
Japan’s Nikkei Loses Ground
Posted July 20th, 2011 at 6:05 am (UTC-5)
Japanese markets closed higher Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar is lower against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index gained nearly one and one-quarter percent to finish at 10,006. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 78.92 yen, a loss of just over one-quarter of a yen from Tuesday. Gold is trading at $1,585.77 an […]
