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Sydney Police Free Teenager Trapped with Suspected Bomb

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Australian police say they have freed a teenager trapped inside an upscale Sydney home for nearly 10 hours with a suspected bomb strapped to her body. Police freed the young woman and reunited her with her parents, unhurt. A spokesman later confirmed that the there were no explosives in the device. Police say Madeleine Pulver […]

Tags: , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Obama Celebrates Birthday with Chicago Gala Fundraiser

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:40 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama is in his adopted hometown of Chicago for a gala celebration and fundraiser on the eve of his 50th birthday. Attendees Wednesday evening paid up to $35,800 for a ticket — money that will go towards the president’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee. The festivities include a concert featuring […]

Tags: , , , Posted in US

Foreigners in Uzbekistan to Pay for Air Travel in Foreign Currency

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:05 pm (UTC-5)
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Starting Friday, foreigners in Uzbekistan will have to pay for plane tickets for all domestic and international flights in foreign currency. The government of the central Asian country announced the new regulation Wednesday. Under the new regulation, foreigners purchasing airline tickets in Uzbekistan must pay for them with foreign currency instead of the Uzbek som. […]

Tags: , , Posted in Economy, Europe

UN Condemns Syria as Tanks Storm Central Hama

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 6:55 pm (UTC-5)
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The U.N. Security Council has condemned the Syrian government for attacks on civilians and widespread human rights violations in a widening crackdown on dissent, as President Bashar al-Assad for the first time sent tanks, troops and snipers into the flashpoint city of Hama. The Council’s presidential statement, issued Wednesday after more than three months of […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Shell Admits Responsibility for Two Devastating Oil Spills in Nigeria in 2008

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 6:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Shell Oil has accepted responsibility for two devastating spills in Nigeria in 2008, which destroyed the livelihoods of nearly 70,000 people. Lawyers representing the Bodo community of Nigeria’s Ogoniland region sued Shell in a British court. They say oil company could pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. The attorneys say the Bodo […]

Tags: , Posted in Africa

Obama: Debt Deal Averted ‘Disastrous’ Economic Blow

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama says the last-minute compromise deal to raise the country’s borrowing limit and cut spending averted a possible “disastrous blow” to the United States economy. But Mr. Obama said Wednesday before a Cabinet meeting it will be “challenging work” for Congress to find additional ways to lower the country’s deficit, as required […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy, US

3 NATO Troops Killed in Afghanistan

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
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NATO says three of its service members died Wednesday in two separate incidents in eastern Afghanistan. A NATO statement says two troops were killed in a bomb blast and the third died from a non-battle injury. The coalition did not provide any other details. In other violence, Afghan and coalition security forces killed or captured […]

Tags: , Posted in South Asia

HRW Calls for Investigation of Sri Lankan Aid Workers Massacre

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 5:00 pm (UTC-5)
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A leading human rights group has called for an international investigation into the execution-style killing of 17 aid workers in Sri Lanka five years ago. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Wednesday the Sri Lankan government’s failure to bring the killers to justice highlights what it called “a broader lack of will to prosecute soldiers […]

Tags: , , Posted in South Asia

NATO Deploys Additional Troops in Kosovo

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 4:50 pm (UTC-5)
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NATO has begun deploying additional forces to Kosovo where ethnic Serbs continue to block roads at border crossings with Serbia in retaliation for a government ban on Serbian imports. The first plane with fresh troops landed at Pristina airport Wednesday. The commander of NATO forces in Kosovo, Erhard Buehler, asked for additional 700 troops to […]

Tags: , Posted in Europe

US Stocks Close Higher

Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. stocks were higher at closing on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose one-quarter of one percent to end the day at slightly more than 11,896. The S&P 500 was up one-half of one percent to close at just above 1,260. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced nearly one percent to 2,693. European stock prices […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy