U.S. President Barack Obama this week will focus his attention on his jobs bill that is languishing in the Senate after being blocked by minority Republicans last week. The president will use a three-day bus tour of Virginia and North Carolina starting Monday to push lawmakers to pass every element of the bill piece by […]
Arab League Calls for Dialogue in Syria
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 5:00 pm (UTC-5)
The Arab League says it will bring together Syria’s government and opposition groups in an attempt to end the country’s ongoing violence. The league’s secretary general said the group aims to launch the dialogue within 15 days. He spoke Sunday after an emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin […]
Somali Militants Send IDPs Back to Famine Zones
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
A Somali doctor tells VOA that al-Qaida-linked militants have forcibly dismantled one of the biggest camps for displaced people near Mogadishu. The doctor said Sunday al-Shabab militants loaded more than 4,300 families into trucks and sent them back to the areas they had fled. The doctor said Al-Shabab had decided to dismantle the camp overnight […]
Aubry Concedes French Socialist Primary
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 3:55 pm (UTC-5)
Former French Labor Minister Martine Aubry has conceded defeat to Francois Hollande in the Socialist Party primary election to pick a challenger to President Nicolas Sarkozy. Aubry gave up Sunday when partial results gave her 44 percent of the vote compared to 56 percent for Hollande, who won last week’s first round. She congratulated her […]
Liberian Opposition Calls off Election Boycott
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 3:45 pm (UTC-5)
Liberia’s opposition parties say they will participate in a second-round presidential vote, despite rejecting the first-round results. Second-place candidate Winston Tubman and other members of the opposition said Sunday they will call off a boycott since the preliminary results show no candidate has won the outright majority needed to avoid a run-off. But they cautioned […]
3 Suicide Bombers Killed in Eastern Afghanistan
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 3:15 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan security forces killed three would-be suicide bombers who tried to storm a government office in eastern Paktia province Sunday. Officials said the heavily armed insurgents arrived in a car filled with explosives and attempted to enter the municipality building in the provincial capital, Gardez. The three were killed by police in an ensuing firefight. […]
World Food Program Raises Concern about Food Insecurity
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 3:00 pm (UTC-5)
The World Food Program of the United Nations says there are increasing concerns over the supply of food, especially in the developing world. The WFP is drawing attention to the latest report on the State of Food Security in the World, which says volatility in food costs and high, unpredictable prices are likely to continue. […]
Iraqi Kurds Protest Kurdish Flag Ban
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 2:50 pm (UTC-5)
Hundreds of Iraqi Kurds have protested in a disputed Iraqi city against an order banning Kurdish flags in official buildings. Kurdish protesters in the city of Khanaqin waved Kurdish flags, screamed anti-government slogans and chanted “Khanaqin is Kurdish.” The city, 140 kilometers north of Baghdad, is in Diyala province. The area is part of territory […]
Kenyan Troops Enter Southern Somalia
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 2:20 pm (UTC-5)
Reports from southern Somalia say Kenyan troops have entered the area, though Kenya’s defense minister denies the claim. An official with Ras Kamboni, a militia group allied with the Somali government, tells VOA that about 400 Kenyan soldiers crossed the border on Friday and were in the Lower Jubba region as of Sunday, assisting Somali […]
Iranian President Denies US Plot Claims
Posted October 16th, 2011 at 1:50 pm (UTC-5)
Iran’s president has denied U.S. allegations that Iran was involved in a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in the U.S. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday Iranians are civilized and do not need to resort to assassination. The highest-ranking U.S. Senator on intelligence matters, Diane Feinstein, told Fox News Sunday that U.S. authorities have collected ample […]
