Palestinian police say Israeli troops arrested scores of Hamas members Sunday in the southern West Bank, just hours after the faction’s Gaza branch fired rockets into Israel. Israel says militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have fired more than 100 rockets into southern Israel in the past few days. Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Yoav […]
Pope Benedict Holds Huge Mass in Spain
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
Pope Benedict held the final Mass of his 4-day visit to Spain Sunday, urging some 1.5 million young people at the Roman Catholic Church’s youth festival to become active in their church and avoid trying to find faith on their own. Benedict told pilgrims from 193 nations to spread their faith even if they are […]
Flash Flooding Kills 4 People in US City
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 5:55 am (UTC-5)
Flash flooding in the U.S. northeastern city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has left four people dead. The victims include a mother and two young daughters found Friday drowned inside their car in 3 meters of water. Searchers found the fourth victim, an elderly woman, alongside the Allegheny River. Forecasters say Pittsburgh got 10 centimeters of rain […]
Tropical Storm Irene Prompts Warnings in US Island Territory
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
Weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Irene could become a hurricane by Monday, prompting the Dominican Republic to issue a hurricane warning. The U.S.-based National Hurricane Center said early Sunday Irene is near the Leeward Islands heading toward Haiti, Cuba and possibly the U.S. state of Florida. The storm Sunday has winds of 85 kilometers per […]
UN Human Rights Envoy Visits Burma
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
United Nations human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Burma on Sunday for a five-day visit to assess the human rights situation in the country. Quintana is scheduled to meet with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Rangoon on Wednesday. He last visited Burma 18 months ago, but was not allowed to see […]
Vietnam Breaks Up Anti-China Protest
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 4:20 am (UTC-5)
Vietnamese police have detained dozens of people who were taking part in an anti-China rally Sunday in the capital of Hanoi. Just minutes after the protest began, plainclothes agents moved in and forced at least 40 demonstrators onto waiting buses and drove them away. Thursday the Hanoi People’s Committee had ordered a halt to the […]
Syrian Leader to Appear on National Television, Crackdown Continues
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 4:10 am (UTC-5)
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is scheduled to appear on national television Sunday amid global pressure to end a crackdown on protesters. The Syrian leader has pushed ahead with his crackdown despite assurances to the U.N. chief that military operations have ended. The United States, the European Union and several other Western powers have said that […]
Police Officer Shot Outside Mexico Soccer Game
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 4:00 am (UTC-5)
Gunfire outside a northern Mexico soccer stadium wounded a police officer and sent fans and players running for cover. Officials say no one inside the stadium in Torreon was wounded Saturday. The Reuters news agency says the shooting began when armed men in three vehicles failed to stop at a military checkpoint, prompting an exchange […]
North Korea Leader Tours Russian Power Plant
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il visited a hydro power station in Russia’s far east Sunday during a secretive, week-long trip that began Saturday. Local officials say the Kremlin’s regional envoy met Mr. Kim’s special train and gave him a tour of the Bureiskaya hydro-electric station in the Amur region. Mr. Kim’s visit is shrouded […]
Libyan Rebels Attack Tripoli
Posted August 21st, 2011 at 3:45 am (UTC-5)
Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli overnight, as opponents of Moammar Gadhafi launched what they hope is their final push in the six-month-long rebellion to topple the long-time Libyan leader. In a live audio message carried on state television, Mr. Gadhafi urged his supporters Sunday to “march by the millions” and quash the uprising. He dismissed […]
