Sales at the largest U.S. automaker increased nearly 8 percent in July, driven higher by demand for fuel efficient vehicles. General Motors said Tuesday it saw strong demand for its Chevrolet brand, especially the Chevrolet Cruze. The company said it also saw strong demand for its pick-up trucks and crossover vehicles . GM Vice President […]
Libyan Rebels Attempt Advance in Zlitan
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
Libyan troops and rebels are battling near Libya’s western town of Zlitan, where rebel fighters are trying to wrestle control of the area from government forces. Reports from the scene are scarce, but the French News Agency quotes a rebel military spokesman Tuesday as saying opposition fighters have advanced closer to the town’s center. But […]
US Consumer Spending Declines
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
U.S. consumers cut their spending in June, the first drop in this important part of the economy in two years. Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department says consumer spending was off by two-tenths of a percent. Some of the decline came from lower costs for energy and food. Economists watch consumer spending closely because consumer […]
British Police Make Another Arrest in Britain Phone-Hacking Scandal
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
(Updates with arrest of foam pie attacker, minor edit graf 5, new info grafs 6-8) Police in Britain have arrested a man in connection with the phone-hacking scandal involving journalists at the now-defunct British tabloid newspaper News of the World. The Metropolitan police said the 71-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning at a police station […]
South African Gold Miners End Strike
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
South African gold miners have ended a five-day strike after reaching a new wage deal with four mining firms. Unions say their workers will receive raises of between 7.5 and 10 percent under the two-year deal, announced Tuesday. More than 100,000 miners went on strike last Thursday after negotiations reached a stalemate. Solidarity, one of […]
US Stocks Decline
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
U.S. stock market indexes fell in Tuesday’s early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated half a percent, the S&P 500 fell seven-tenths of a percent, and the NASDAQ lost three-tenths of a percent. European stock markets were lower in afternoon trading. London’s Financial Times 100 index slid six-tenths of a percent, the CAC-40 in […]
Vietnam Upholds 7-Year Jail Term for Prominent Dissident
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
An appeals court in Vietnam has upheld the 7-year prison sentence for the dissident son of one of Vietnam’s founding revolutionaries. Defendant Cu Huy Ha Vu, a human rights lawyer educated in France, had argued that his calls for political pluralism were not intended to undermine Vietnam’s communist government. He said he only demanded a […]
Rights Group: Sri Lankan War Report Whitewashes Alleged Military Abuses
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
An international rights group says a Sri Lankan government report on the country’s recently-ended civil war “whitewashes” evidence of military atrocities against ethnic Tamils. New York-based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday the Sri Lankan report is “another feeble attempt” to convince the world that government troops committed no crimes in their 2009 defeat of Tamil […]
Russian Prosecutors Reopen Criminal Probe in Magnitsky Case
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Russian prosecutors have reopened a criminal investigation into imprisoned lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died while in detention after claiming to have uncovered a multimillion-dollar tax fraud. Russia’s General Prosecutor’s office reopened the case Tuesday. No reason was given for the decision. Magnitsky, who worked for a U.S.-owned investment fund in Russia, accused Russian police officials […]
Economists: US Must Do More To Cut Deficit & Debt
Posted August 2nd, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
Economists say the new agreement to cut some U.S. spending and allow the government to borrow more money is just the first of many steps needed to solve the debt and deficit issue. The agreement cuts around $1 trillion in spending over the next ten years and mandates a complex process intended to bring another […]
