Libyan rebels say they have seized the government’s last functioning oil refinery in a city west of Tripoli, as they continue to push towards the capital in a bid to force leader Moammar Gadhafi from power. The rebels said Thursday they were in control of the refinery in Zawiya, 50 kilometers west of Tripoli, a […]
Libya Rebels Claim Control of Last Oil Refinery
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 6:50 am (UTC-5)
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South Koreans Take to Emergency Shelters in Annual Drill
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 6:35 am (UTC-5)
South Korean residents rushed to emergency shelters Thursday as part of an annual military exercise with the United States that has prompted dire warnings from rival North Korea. Police and fire fighters directed residents to shelters throughout the capital, Seoul, while elsewhere U.S. troops joined more than half a million South Korean forces in the […]
Pope Visiting Spain as Protesters Decry Cost
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
Pope Benedict is in Spain for a Catholic youth festival that has sparked protests because of its high cost. Spain’s king and queen greeted the pope as he arrived at the airport in the capital, Madrid, Thursday. A throng of young people waving Vatican flags also was there to welcome him. More than one million […]
Indian Anti-Corruption Activist to Leave Prison, Hold Fast on Friday
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
Indian activist Anna Hazare says he will spend one last night in a New Delhi prison before holding a massive public hunger strike on Friday to demand tougher anti-corruption legislation. Early Thursday, the 74-year-old activist accepted an offer from police to leave jail and hold the 15-day public protest at an open-air New Delhi venue […]
UN Chief Expresses Alarm to Syrian President
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 5:55 am (UTC-5)
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that he is alarmed at reports of excessive use of force by government security forces against citizens and continued widespread violations of human rights. Mr. Ban spoke by telephone Wednesday with Mr. Assad, who said military and police operations had stopped. A spokesman for the […]
North Korea Sends Academics to Study Business in Canada
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
North Korea has sent six professors to a Canadian university to study free-market economics in the reclusive nation’s most extensive educational exchange to date. South Korean news outlets quote officials at the University of British Columbia confirming the six academics arrived in Vancouver last month to begin a six-month program. The professors will study international […]
Another Day of Losses for Japan’s Nikkei
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
Japanese markets closed lower Thursday, while the U.S. dollar is slightly higher against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost one and one-quarter percent to finish at 8,944. In currency trading, the dollar was selling at 76.62 yen, a gain of a fraction of a yen from Wednesday. Gold is trading at $1,794.15 an ounce.
Hanoi Officials Order Halt to Weekly Anti-China Protests
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 5:15 am (UTC-5)
Vietnamese authorities are demanding a halt to weekly demonstrations in the capital against China, saying unidentified “opposing forces” are using them to undermine social order and stability. The Hanoi People’s Committee ordered the halt in a broadcast Thursday, warning the government will apply “necessary measures” against those who fail to comply. Demonstrators have turned out […]
Pope Visiting Spain as Protesters Decry Cost
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 5:10 am (UTC-5)
Pope Benedict begins a visit to Spain Thursday for a Catholic youth festival that has sparked protests because of its high cost. Spain’s royal family is greeting the pope at the airport in the capital, Madrid, Thursday. The pope also will meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose government has promoted several […]
Cambodian Villagers Mimic Avatar Characters to Defend Forest
Posted August 18th, 2011 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
More than 100 Cambodian villagers dressed themselves as characters from the hit movie Avatar Thursday to protest what they say is the destruction of Southeast Asia’s largest remaining lowland evergreen forest. The villagers, wearing green and blue face paint, demonstrated in front of the royal palace in Phnom Penh and then spread across the city […]
