U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is defending the compromise deal to cut spending and raise the country’s borrowing limit, saying it gives government officials a chance to fix a broken system. Writing in Wednesday’s Washington Post, Geithner says the last-minute debt deal signed Tuesday takes away the threat of a default, which could cause interest […]
Egypt’s Mubarak Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ in Historic Trial
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
Egypt’s ex-president Hosni Mubarak, brought into court in a hospital bed, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he ordered the death of hundreds of anti-government protesters. The judge in the case adjourned the trial until August 15 after Wednesday’s dramatic session. News channels around the world broadcast the start of Mr. Mubarak’s historic. The […]
Protest in Indian Kashmir After Death in Police Custody
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 8:45 am (UTC-5)
Parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir were shut down Wednesday after separatists called a general strike to protest the death of a shopkeeper in police custody. Businesses and offices were closed as people took to the streets in the main city of Srinagar and other towns, including Sopore, where the 28-year-old man died last week shortly after […]
UN: Somali Refugees Top 860,000
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 8:35 am (UTC-5)
The United Nations says the number of Somali refugees in the Horn of Africa has topped 860,000, many of them forced out by the ongoing drought and famine. The U.N. refugee agency says another 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced, mostly in Somalia’s south-central region. A report issued Wednesday says many Somalis fled their homes […]
South Africa Offers Bailout to Swaziland
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 8:10 am (UTC-5)
South Africa has agreed to bail out its cash-strapped neighbor Swaziland. South Africa’s central bank said Wednesday that the loan is worth nearly $370 million, but did not provide further details on the package. Activists in Swaziland and labor unions in South Africa have said any economic bailout should be tied to political reforms by […]
Pakistan Boosts Security in Violence-Plagued Karachi
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 8:10 am (UTC-5)
Pakistan has deployed extra police and paramilitary troops in the southern port city of Karachi in an effort to end a wave of violence that killed at least 35 people this week. Authorities Wednesday said police had detained some suspects in raids in the city’s “troubled” areas. Karachi has a long history of ethnic, sectarian […]
Sydney Police Seek to Free Teenager From Suspected “Collar Bomb”
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
Australian police say bomb squad officers are working to dismantle a suspicious device strapped to a young woman in Sydney. Police declined to confirm local reports that a “collar bomb” has been strapped to the 18-year-old woman, who called police to a house in an exclusive Sydney neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. But a police spokesman has […]
European Stocks Lower in Midday Trading
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:40 am (UTC-5)
European stock prices are lower in midday trading Wednesday. London’s Financial Times index is down nearly one percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is down nearly one-third of one percent, and trading on the DAX index in Frankfurt is down nearly one percent. In New York, the S&P futures contract is up more than four points, […]
Sydney Police Seek to Free Teenager From Suspected “Collar Bomb”
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:25 am (UTC-5)
Australian police say bomb squad officers are working to dismantle a suspicious device strapped to a young woman. Police declined to confirm reports that a “collar bomb” has been strapped to the 18-year-old woman, who called police to a house in an exclusive Sydney neighborhood Wednesday afternoon. But a spokesman confirmed to the London newspaper […]
Britain Seizes Record Cocaine Haul
Posted August 3rd, 2011 at 7:20 am (UTC-5)
British officials said Wednesday they have seized more than one ton of cocaine in a record-setting drug bust on a yacht. Officials said the drugs are worth almost $500 million and were found in June. French authorities alerted British officials to the suspect yacht when it was sailing in the Caribbean in May. The yacht […]
