Economic reports published Thursday show a slight improvement in the U.S. job market, while the trade deficit was nearly unchanged. The Labor Department says the number of Americans signing up for unemployment compensation declined by 1,000 to a total of 404,000 last week. While that is an improvement, the nationwide total is still higher than […]
Activists Say Clashes in Northwestern Syria Kill 5
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
Syrian rights activists say clashes between government security forces and armed men believed to be army defectors have killed five people near the Turkish border. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the fighting Thursday came as government troops raided the northwestern town of Binnish in Idlib province. The activists say there were reports […]
Small Passenger Plane Crashes in Papua New Guinea, Some Fatalities
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
A small passenger plane has crashed in Papua New Guinea, killing some of the 32 people on board. The Airlines PNG Dash 8 aircraft crashed Thursday on a domestic flight from Lae to Madang on the island nation’s northern coast. Papua New Guinea’s Accident Investigation Commission said some people were killed, but it was not […]
Suspected US Drone Strike Kills Senior Haqqani Militant
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. drone strike in northwest Pakistan has killed a senior member of the militant Haqqani network. Thursday’s attack in North Waziristan reportedly killed Jalil Haqqani, a logistics coordinator for the al-Qaida-linked group. At least three other militants were also killed when an unmanned aircraft fired missiles at a compound near […]
Militants ‘Unconditionally’ Release Journalist in NW Pakistan
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
Militants in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt have released a local journalist they held hostage for more than two months. Officials in North Waziristan say masked gunmen kidnapped Rehmatullah Darpakhel on August 11 in Miranshah, the tribal agency’s main town. He was released Wednesday without conditions. While no one claimed responsibility for the journalist’s abduction, the […]
Israeli Soldier Could Be Free Within Days
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
Israeli and Palestinian officials say captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit could be freed as early as Tuesday under a prisoner swap deal under negotiation. News organizations on Thursday quoted officials on both sides as saying Shalit might initially be flown to Egypt to be released. The reports say nearly half of the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners […]
HRW: Malawi Should Arrest Sudan’s Bashir
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 8:45 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch has called on Malawi to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visits for a regional trade summit. The U.S.-based group said Mr. Bashir is expected to travel to Malawi for a meeting of the 19-member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa , which begins on Friday. Mr. Bashir is wanted […]
2 Aid Workers Kidnapped Near Kenya-Somalia Border
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 8:45 am (UTC-5)
Gunmen have kidnapped at least two international aid workers from a huge Somali refugee complex in northern Kenya. VOA’s Somali Service has learned the workers, from the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders, were seized Thursday at the Dadaab refugee complex. A journalist in Dadaab told VOA the two workers appear to be European and […]
Bhutan King Marries, Crowns Queen
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 8:45 am (UTC-5)
The king of the tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan has married a commoner, crowning his new queen during a colorful Buddhist ceremony. Thirty-one year old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the world’s youngest monarch, married 21-year-old Jetsun Pema Thursday at a 17th-century monastery fortress in Punakha, Bhutan’s ancient capital. During the ceremony, the king wore […]
European Stocks Lower in Midday Trading
Posted October 13th, 2011 at 8:35 am (UTC-5)
European stock prices are lower in midday trading Thursday. London’s Financial Times index and the CAC-40 in Paris are each down more than one percent, while the DAX index in Frankfurt is trading one and three-tenths percent lower. In New York, the S&P futures contract is down nearly five points, indicating a lower opening. Tokyo’s […]
