An extremely rare handwritten manuscript of an unfinished novel by British author Jane Austen was sold for $1.6 million Thursday by Sotheby’s auction house in London. The unfinished draft of The Watsons is believed to be Austen’s earliest surviving manuscript. It was probably written around 1804, before her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, appeared. […]
Austen Manuscript Auctioned For $1.6 Million
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
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Italian Senate Approves Austerity Measures
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
Italy’s upper house of parliament has approved sharp budget cuts in a vote aimed at calming fears that Europe’s third largest economy could be consumed by the continent’s debt crisis. The Senate voted 161 to 135 on Thursday in favor of the four-year austerity plan worth at least $67 billion. Parliament’s lower house is expected […]
Afghan Officials Say NATO Kills 6 Civilians as War Casualties Rise
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
Afghan officials say six civilians have been killed during a NATO operation in eastern Afghanistan, as the United Nations reported that the number of Afghans killed in the war is up 15 percent this year compared to last. Hundreds of residents demonstrated Thursday in the city of Khost, where local officials said six civilians, including […]
China to Maintain Tight Controls on Property Market
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
China says it will take further steps to control prices on new home purchases, as part of a push to cool its overheated housing market in major cities. The State Council, the Chinese cabinet, said Thursday it will move to tighten existing property restrictions in cities that have seen “excessive” increases in housing prices. Beijing […]
South Sudan Becomes 193rd United Nations Member
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
The United Nations has admitted newly independent South Sudan to the world body. The U.N. General Assembly on Thursday admitted the country by acclamation, after a Security Council resolution recommending South Sudan for membership. The world’s newest nation declared independence on Saturday, splitting from Sudan. The two sides fought a bloody 21-year civil war that […]
Political Violence Kills 14 in Karachi
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
Fresh political violence in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi has killed 14 people, following inflammatory remarks by a senior member of the country’s ruling political party. Police said Thursday the violence overnight in Karachi erupted after Zulfiqar Mirza, the head of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party in Sindh province, criticized the rival Muttahida Quami […]
China Raises Quotas on Rare Earth Exports
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
China is doubling its export quotas for rare earths – 17 elements vital to producing modern electronics and batteries. The move comes days after the World Trade Organization ruled the country had violated trade rules by limiting shipments of raw materials. The Ministry of Commerce said Thursday on its website that the quota for the […]
Arab League Seeks UN Palestinian Statehood Recognition
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
The Arab League says it will ask the United Nations for recognition of an independent Palestinian state — a move opposed by Israel, the U.S. and some European Union nations. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby announced the decision on Thursday, following a meeting in Qatar. Elaraby did not say when the group would present its […]
US Monitoring Group Detects Suspected Mass Graves in Sudan
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
A U.S. satellite monitoring group has released images of suspected mass graves in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan state. The Satellite Sentinel Project says it has identified three excavated areas consistent with mass graves in Kadugli. According to the group, witnesses say Sudan’s armed forces and Arab militias have systematically killed suspected supporters of the newly independent […]
Airstrikes Kill 3 Islamist Militants in Southern Yemen
Posted July 14th, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Yemeni security officials say airstrikes on Islamist militants in the southern province of Abyan have killed at least three fighters. The officials say the airstrikes happened before dawn Thursday, hitting a police station seized by the militants earlier this year in the town of Wudiya. There were conflicting reports about whether U.S. or Yemeni warplanes […]
