Cuba’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in March for crimes against the communist state. Cuban authorities arrested Gross in December 2009 for bringing communications equipment into the country. Gross was working for a private firm that was contracted by the […]
Cuba Rejects Appeal from Jailed US Contractor
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 1:35 pm (UTC-5)
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Turkey Stops Suspected Iranian Arms Shipment to Syria
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 1:05 pm (UTC-5)
Turkey’s foreign minister says the country’s authorities have intercepted an arms shipment from Iran that was destined for Syria. Ahmet Davutoglu Friday confirmed a German report that a truck containing weapons was stopped in the south-central city of Kilis, near the border with Syria. Davutoglu said an investigation is under way. He did not elaborate. […]
World Stock Indexes Continue to Fall
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:40 pm (UTC-5)
World stock indexes continued to fall on Friday. After rallying in early trading, U.S. stock indexes fell sharply, adding more losses for investors beyond Thursday’s steep declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.7 percent in midday trading. The broader S & P 500 index is off 2.2 percent, with the NASDAQ dropping by […]
Amnesty International Urges Georgia to Stop ‘Forced Evictions’ of Refugees
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:40 pm (UTC-5)
Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Georgia to stop “forced evictions” of internally displaced people and provide them with adequate housing. The evictions, which started last year, are part of a controversial government program to relocate thousands of refugees from temporary shelters in the capital, Tbilisi, to new homes in the provinces. The program […]
India’s Supreme Court Partially Lifts Mining Ban
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
India’s Supreme Court has partially lifted a ban on the mining of iron ore in the southern state of Karnataka. Last week, the court ordered a halt to all mining in the Bellary district, where roughly 80 percent of the state’s iron ore is produced, citing concerns about environmental degradation. On Friday, the court said […]
Government Reports Improved US Job Market
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:05 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. economy had a net gain of 117,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate declined slightly to hit 9.1 percent. Friday’s report from the Labor Department was better than economists had predicted. The data also show the unemployment rate declined because some unemployed people gave up their job hunt in the belief that […]
Ukraine Arrests Tymoshenko During Her Trial
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
A Kyiv court has placed former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko under arrest for violating court procedures during her abuse-of-office trial. Acting on Judge Rodion Kireyev’s orders, police arrested Ms. Tymoshenko Friday after the judge agreed with a prosecution motion for her arrest. During her trial, Ms. Tymoshenko has refused, as required, to stand up […]
World Stock Markets Still Sliding
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
Stock markets across the world continued their slide Friday as fears heightened that the global economy was headed to a new downturn. Asian stock markets dropped sharply, following Thursday’s steep sell-off in the United States. Later, European and U.S. markets also fell, although not as sharply as the day before. U.S. markets whipsawed in volatile […]
Obama Pushes for Companies to Hire Military Veterans
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on private companies in the United States to put the country’s unemployed military veterans back to work. Mr. Obama Friday unveiled a series of initiatives designed to encourage private employers to hire veterans. He told military personnel and veterans at the Washington Navy Yard “you fought for us and […]
China’s East Coast Braces for Powerful Typhoon
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
Residents of China’s eastern coast are bracing for one of the region’s most powerful typhoons in years. Typhoon Muifa, with winds up to 162 kilometers per hour, is expected to make landfall late Saturday or early Sunday near Shanghai. Authorities in that major commercial hub say the storm could be as powerful as Typhoon Matsa, […]
