Japanese markets closed lower Tuesday, while the U.S. dollar is higher against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped nearly one and one-quarter percent to finish at 9,845. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 77.38 yen, a gain of nearly two-tenths of a yen from Monday. Gold is trading at $1,625.50 an ounce.
Papua New Guinea Gets New Leader in Parliamentary Coup
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 5:05 am (UTC-5)
Papua New Guinea’s parliament has elected a new prime minister to replace the ailing independence leader Arthur Somare. The job has gone to former treasurer Peter O’Neal, who was elected on a vote of 70 to 24 after a number of government legislators joined the opposition in a parliamentary coup. Somare, 75, has been in […]
Bus Crash Kills 13 in Bangladesh
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:55 am (UTC-5)
Bangladeshi police say a head-on collision between two passenger buses has killed at least 11 people and injured more than 20 others. Police say the two buses were traveling early Tuesday on a major highway just outside the capital of Dhaka , when they collided with each other, instantly killing 11 passengers. Some of the […]
Bomb Attack Outside Iraqi Christian Church Wounds 14
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
Police in northern Iraq say a car bomb has exploded outside a Christian church in the ethnically-divided city of Kirkuk, wounding at least 14 people. Authorities said the blast Tuesday damaged the church as well as homes in the area. As many as 1.2 million Christians lived in Iraq before the 2003 invasion to oust […]
Asian Stocks Lower
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:35 am (UTC-5)
Asian stock markets closed lower Tuesday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index dropped nearly one and one-quarter percent to finish at 9,845. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell one percent to finish the day’s trading at 22,437. Share prices were also lower in Manila, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Wellington. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 77.37 […]
Cuban National Assembly Meets
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:20 am (UTC-5)
Cuban President Raul Castro discussed sweeping reforms when he addressed the National Assembly Monday in one of its twice-yearly sessions. Mr. Castro discussed possible migration reform. Officials said Cuba is considering the elimination of the “white card” – a form used for requesting permission to leave the island nation. The travel restrictions have been in […]
China Dismisses US Debt Deal as Short-Term Fix
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 4:05 am (UTC-5)
China’s state-controlled media say a last-minute deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling has merely postponed deeper problems that threaten the world economy. In a commentary Tuesday, the People’s Daily newspaper said that while the threat of default has been avoided, America’s debt problems are unresolved and likely to grow more serious. The newspaper is […]
Senate to Vote on US Debt Ceiling Bill Tuesday
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 3:55 am (UTC-5)
The U.S. Senate will vote Tuesday on a compromise bill to cut government spending and raise the nation’s borrowing limit, bringing a likely end to weeks of fear over a potential American debt default. The Senate is expected to vote on the deal at noon local time, just 12 hours before the government says it […]
Rights Group Says Syrian Forces Kill 24
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 3:45 am (UTC-5)
Human rights activists say Syrian forces have killed at least 24 civilians in attacks on several cities, as the U.N. Security Council met to discuss President Bashar al-Assad’s increasingly brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters. The activists said some of the attacks Monday came as people protested following evening prayers on the first day of the […]
Chinese National is Tried For New Zealand Murder on Native Soil
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 3:45 am (UTC-5)
A Chinese man has confessed in court to killing a New Zealand taxi driver in a case that breaks new legal ground for the two countries. Xiao Zhen was put on trial Tuesday in Shanghai for the stabbing death of Hiren Mohini in Auckland in January 2010. During the hearing, the 24-year-old Xiao admitted to […]
