Iran has unveiled a series of new weapons and military equipment, including a cruise missile that it says has a range of 200 kilometers. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the development of the Iranian-made cruise missile on Tuesday. State-run media reports say he also unveiled a torpedo system that carries a 220-kilogram warhead and a marine […]
Oil Giants Look to Resume Libyan Production
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 10:15 am (UTC-5)
Major global oil companies say they are looking to soon reopen their Libyan oil fields if rebel forces complete their takeover of the country, but estimates vary widely on how easily or quickly that could occur. Before the Libyan uprising started in February, the North African nation produced as much as 1.8 million barrels of […]
Germany to Serbia: EU Candidacy Still in Doubt
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
Serbia’s aspirations to join the European Union have run into another complication. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday warned Serbia it must make progress in talks with Kosovo before it can become an EU candidate, possibly later this year. Ms. Merkel spoke after talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Boris Tadic. She said Serbia’s candidacy […]
Hurricane Brings Strong Wind, Rain to Dominican Republic, Haiti
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 10:01 am (UTC-5)
Forecasters say Hurricane Irene is bringing strong winds and rain to the northern coastlines of the Dominican Republic and Haiti as it continues to strengthen and take aim at the eastern United States. Irene’s center was passing just north of the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola on Tuesday, with maximum winds of […]
US Ambassador Makes Surprise Visit to Southern Syria
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
The U.S. ambassador to Syria has made a surprise visit to the southern Dara’a region that has been an epicenter of protests against President Bashar al-Assad. U.S. embassy officials say Ambassador Robert Ford traveled to the town of Jassem on Tuesday. The visit comes a month after Ford and French ambassador Eric Chevallier angered Syrian […]
UN Team Responds to New Influx of Somalis in Ethiopia
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 9:50 am (UTC-5)
The U.N. refugee agency says it has sent an emergency team to Ethiopia’s Gode area, where there is a new influx of Somalis fleeing their famine-hit country. The agency said Tuesday that about 18,000 Somalis have gathered in the area, located about 250 kilometers north of Somali refugee camps in the Dollo Ado area. The […]
NATO: Mission in Libya Not Over
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 9:45 am (UTC-5)
NATO says its mission in Libya is not over, as new fighting erupted near leader Moammar Gadhafi’s compound in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. A NATO spokeswoman, Oana Lungescu, told reporters in Brussels Tuesday that fighting is still under way in the capital. She said NATO will continue its operations until all attacks and threats of […]
Strauss-Kahn Expected to Go Free After Sex Case Collapses
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
A judge in New York is expected to dismiss sexual assault charges against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn Tuesday, after prosecutors moved to have them dropped. Strauss-Kahn was arrested in May on suspicion of raping a hotel maid in New York City. On Monday, prosecutors said the evidence did not prove that he […]
Rights Groups Denounce Malaysia for Deporting 11 Chinese Uighurs
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
Leading human rights groups are denouncing Malaysia’s decision to hand over a group of ethnic Uighurs to China rather than permitting them to appeal for asylum to a U.N. agency. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say the 11 Uighurs may be subject to harsh imprisonment or torture in China. Human Rights Watch is asking […]
Sudan Declares Two-Week Ceasefire in Southern Kordofan
Posted August 23rd, 2011 at 8:50 am (UTC-5)
Sudan’s president has called for a two-week, unilateral cease-fire in Southern Kordofan state, where government forces are accused of committing atrocities against civilians. President Omar al-Bashir declared the truce on Tuesday ahead of a fact-finding mission by United Nations agencies to assess the humanitarian situation in the region. Khartoum organized the mission after the U.N. […]
