Asian stock markets closed lower Tuesday. Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost just over one and one-half percent to finish at 8,742. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged nearly four and one-quarter percent to finish the day’s trading at 18,076. Share prices were also lower in Manila, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Wellington. In currency trading, the U.S. […]
Libyan Provisional Fighters Claim Control of Bani Walid
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 4:25 am (UTC-5)
Libyan provisional government fighters say they have captured the town of Bani Walid, one of the last remaining strongholds of loyalists to former leader Moammar Gadhafi. National Transitional Council officials said Monday the desert town was completely free of pro-Gadhafi fighters. NTC forces had launched a new assault Sunday on Bani Walid, about 170 kilometers […]
Ugandan Women Freed from Malaysian-Based Prostitution Ring
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 4:15 am (UTC-5)
Malaysian police say they have rescued 21 Ugandan women who were lured to the country on false pretenses and forced into prostitution. Investigators say the women, aged from 19 to 42, were freed last week from four apartment units on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. The women came to Malaysia via China, leaving their native […]
Syrian Forces Kill 25 in Opposition Stronghold
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 3:40 am (UTC-5)
Syrian security forces killed at least 25 people Monday in an attack on the opposition stronghold of Homs, while the United Nations called on the government to allow an investigation of possible human rights abuses. Residents and activists say tanks firing heavy machine guns swept into Sunni Muslim districts of Homs, which has been the […]
Televised Hit-and-Run Sparks Outrage Across China
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 3:35 am (UTC-5)
Chinese media are filled with soul-searching and recriminations over the case of a 2-year-old girl who was run over by a van and left bleeding in the street by bystanders until she was run over again. The child, identified as Wang Yue, is in a coma at a hospital in southern Guangdong province and doctors […]
Madagascar Prime Minister Resigns
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 3:20 am (UTC-5)
Madagascar’s prime minister and government have resigned, paving the way for the country to follow a planned transition to a new government and future elections. General Camille Vital stepped down as prime minister on Monday as part of the plan brokered last month by the Southern African Development Community. The agreement calls for a new […]
Israel, Hamas Begin Prisoner Exchange
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 3:05 am (UTC-5)
The Islamist Hamas movement has released Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for the freedom of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas transferred Shalit to Egyptian custody on Tuesday, and he will be handed over to Israel when the Jewish state begins to free the Palestinians held at various locations. The exchange deal calls for 477 […]
HRW Says Burmese Military Abusing Ethnic Civilians
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 3:05 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch is accusing Burmese soldiers of “serious abuses” against civilians in northern Kachin state, including enslavement and murder. The Burmese military launched an offensive against the rebel Kachin Independence Army in June. Human Rights Watch says soldiers attacked and occupied numerous villages in Kachin state, confiscating residents’ property and belongings. The rights group […]
Asia-Pacific Defense Chiefs Meet on Maritime Security
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 2:50 am (UTC-5)
Senior military leaders from 27 Asia-Pacific countries are meeting this week in Hawaii for talks dealing with issues raised by a growing dispute in the South China Sea. The U.S. Defense Department is hosting the annual conference, which began Monday and runs through Thursday. It said Australia, Japan and South Korea are among the 27 […]
Japan’s Nikkei Posts Huge Losses
Posted October 18th, 2011 at 2:50 am (UTC-5)
Japanese markets closed lower Tuesday, while the U.S. dollar is unchanged in trading against the Japanese yen. Tokyo’s Nikkei index lost just over one and one-half percent to finish at 8,742. The dollar was selling at 76.83 yen. The Taipei market closed at 7,359, a loss of over one and one-quarter percent .
