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China’s Jiang Makes Rare Public Appearance

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 11:30 pm (UTC-5)
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Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin made a rare public appearance Sunday, months after speculation that he had died or was close to death. The 85-year-old Mr. Jiang appeared at a ceremony commemorating the 1911 revolution that overthrew imperial rule on the mainland and installed a nationalist government that was in turn overthrown by the communist […]

Tags: , Posted in East Asia Pacific

New Zealand Starts Oil Slick Clean-up

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 9:40 pm (UTC-5)
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New Zealand has begun a clean-up effort to remove an oil slick created by a cargo ship that struck a reef off the country’s North Island. Oil recovery teams began scooping up oil that has leaked from the ship and salvage crews arrived Sunday to perform the sensitive task of pumping fuel from a crippled […]

Tags: , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Yemen’s Leader Vows to Resign Soon

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 8:20 pm (UTC-5)
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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he is ready to give up power and will do so “in the coming days.” He made the announcement in a speech broadcast by state-run television on Saturday. Mr. Saleh, Yemen’s ruler for 33 years, said he does not want power and will relinquish it soon. In addition to […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Middle East

Cameroon Holds Presidential Election Sunday

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 8:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Voters in Cameroon head to the to the polls Sunday to elect a president for a new seven-year term. Incumbent Paul Biya is widely expected to extend his 29-year rule over the central African state because the opposition has again failed to solidify behind one strong candidate. In the last election in 2004, Mr. Biya […]

Tags: , Posted in Africa

South Sudan’s President Visits Khartoum

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
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South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir met Saturday with his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum. The two leaders discussed some of the unresolved bilateral issues since South Sudan became an independent state July 9. The two neighbors have yet to reach an agreement on the future of the contested oil-rich border region of Abyei. A […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa

Three Killed In Political Violence in Sri Lanka

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 4:25 pm (UTC-5)
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At least three people have been killed and dozens others wounded in an outbreak of election-related violence in Sri Lanka. Police said presidential aide Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and his bodyguard were among those killed Saturday in clashes between opposing factions of the governing party, the United People’s Freedom Alliance. Ruling party lawmaker Duminda Silva was […]

Tags: , Posted in South Asia

Hundreds Attend State Funeral of African Nobel Peace Laureate

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 4:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Kenyans paid their final respects to Africa’s first female Nobel Peace laureate Saturday in Nairobi. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki oversaw the state funeral for Wangari Maathai, making her the first woman and third Kenyan to ever receive the honor. Maathai died Sunday at the age of 71 after a lengthy battle with cancer. President Kibaki […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa

Dalai Lama Criticizes ‘Immoral’ Chinese Censorship

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 1:25 pm (UTC-5)
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The Dalai Lama sharply criticized censorship in China as “immoral” during a video chat with Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. The exiled Tibetan leader spoke with Tutu Saturday from Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lama had planned to visit his friend and fellow Nobel peace laureate in South Africa for Tutu’s 80th birthday this week, but the […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Africa

Japan’s PM Says He Will Visit North Korea to Discuss Kidnappings

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 1:25 pm (UTC-5)
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Japan’s prime minister says he plans to visit North Korea to try to deal with the issue of Japanese citizens kidnapped by North Korea over the past few decades. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met Saturday with the relatives of Japanese nationals that North Korea has admitted to kidnapping. Pyongyang says those kidnap victims have since […]

Tags: , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Five Killed By Syrian Forces

Posted October 8th, 2011 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Syrian security forces have fired into a crowd of mourners attending the funeral of a prominent Kurdish opposition leader, killing five people. Witnesses say the deadly shootings took place on Saturday in the town of Qamishli, where about 50,000 people had gathered to pay their last respects to Mashaal Tammo. Tammo was a founding member […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East