Libya’s National Transitional Council says it will announce a framework for the country’s interim government within the next few days. NTC spokesman Abdel Hafiz Ghoga announced Friday that the interim government will include 22 ministries and a deputy prime minister. Meanwhile, the NTC says it is delaying an assault on Sirte — the hometown of […]
NTC To Announce Libyan Interim Government
Israel Heightens Security Ahead of Palestinian Statehood Appeal
Israel heightened security on Friday as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prepared to formally ask the United Nations for statehood recognition. Israeli police say they have deployed 22,000 security officers, in areas that include Jerusalem and the West Bank, to respond to possible unrest from planned Palestinian rallies. Mr. Abbas plans to appeal for the recognition […]
5 NATO Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan
Five NATO soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in Afghanistan. The coalition says a roadside bomb killed two of its service members in eastern Afghanistan on Friday. NATO did not release the soldiers’ nationalities. Also Friday, three Italian soldiers were killed in a road accident in Afghanistan’s western Herat province. Italian defense officials say […]
Pakistan Warns US It Risks Losing an Ally Over Afghan Accusations
Pakistani officials are warning the United States risks losing an ally if it continues to publicly accuse Islamabad of being involved in attacks on U.S. targets in Afghanistan. On Thursday, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, told U.S. lawmakers that the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani network, acting with support from Pakistan’s […]
Gunmen Kill 4 in Russia’s Dagestan
Russian authorities say gunmen killed a high-level law enforcement official and three other people in the violence-plagued Dagestan region. They say the gunmen early Friday opened fire on a car carrying the deputy chief of the federal prison service in Dagestan, Magomed Murtuzaliyev. He was killed along with his daughter, nephew and driver. The attack […]
Syrian Forces Kills Two, EU Heightens Sanctions
Syrian security forces shot dead at least two civilians Friday, as the European Union slapped new sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government. Syrian activists say the deaths happened in the Homs region as government forces cracked down on thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets around the country after Friday prayers. Meanwhile, EU Foreign […]
Obama to Revamp Federal School Education Law
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce plans Friday to exempt states from some provisions of the federal education law passed under his predecessor. The administration will grant waivers to a requirement that every student has to be completely knowledgeable in math and reading by 2014. In exchange for the waiver, states would have […]
Yemen’s President Returns, Calls for Truce
Hours after returning Friday, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for a truce and talks to end his country’s political crisis. The call was issued by his office after Mr. Saleh had spent three months in Saudi Arabia recovering from injuries sustained in an attack on his presidential compound in Sana’a. In his statement, Mr. […]
EU Bans Oil Investments in Syria
The European Union has imposed new sanctions on Syria, including a ban on oil investments in the country. In a statement Friday, EU Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton said the measure serves to reinforce an earlier ban on Syrian crude imports implemented on September 2. Ashton said the sanctions are designed to have a maximum […]
Pakistan Condemns US Comments About Spy Agency
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has described the U.S. relationship with Pakistan as fraught with difficulty. He spoke a day after the top U.S. military commander accused Islamabad of supporting extremist groups attacking American troops in Afghanistan. Of the U.S., Gilani said Friday, “they can’t live with us. They can’t live without us.” Gilani […]