After 18 years of negotiations, Russia has removed what is believed to be the final obstacle to joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) by signing an agreement with Georgia in Geneva. The Swiss-brokered deal was reached Wednesday and includes independent monitoring of all trade between Russia and Georgia, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The issue […]
Russia On Track to Join WTO By Year’s End
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 4:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Afghan Officials: Up to 70 Taliban Killed in Base Attack
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 4:45 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan officials said Wednesday Afghan and NATO troops killed at least 70 Taliban militants who launched an attack on a base near the Pakistani border. A spokesman for the governor of eastern Paktika province said the combined force repelled the assault late Tuesday in the Barmal district. NATO said a large group of insurgents attacked […]
Rights Group: Syrian Forces Kill 17 People in Crackdown on Dissent
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
A Syrian rights group says government forces have carried out more deadly attacks on opposition protest hubs around the country, killing 17 people, six of them in the capital, Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights tells VOA that five people were killed Wednesday in the Damascus suburb of Barzeh, as they attended the funeral […]
Thousands Protest Tuition Fee Hikes in London
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 3:30 pm (UTC-5)
Thousands of students marched Wednesday through the streets of central London to protest cuts to university funding and increased tuition fees. Officials say more than 2,000 people participated in the march, but organizers estimate the totals at around 10,000. About 4,000 police officers were deployed across the protest route to prevent a repeat in violence […]
Debt Crisis Hits Markets in Europe, US
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 3:20 pm (UTC-5)
Major U.S. and European stock exchanges plunged Wednesday and Italy’s borrowing costs jumped, as the long shadow of the continent’s debt crisis consumed the Greek and Italian governments. Key stock markets in New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt all slid about two percent, in part due to the political uncertainty in Athens and Rome. Late […]
Papua Miners Threaten to Extend Labor Strike
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 3:00 pm (UTC-5)
Thousands of workers at a massive U.S.-owned gold and copper mine in eastern Indonesia are threatening to extend a crippling labor strike into December, if negotiators fail to reach a deal this week on worker pay. Workers at the Freeport-McMoRan mine in eastern Papua province have been on strike over pay since mid-September, slashing production […]
Debt Crisis Hits Markets in Europe, US
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
Major U.S. and European stock exchanges plunged Wednesday and Italy’s borrowing costs jumped, as the long shadow of the continent’s debt crisis consumed the Greek and Italian governments. Key stock markets in New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt all slid about two percent, in part due to the political uncertainty in Athens and Rome. Late […]
Rare ‘Sun-Drop’ Diamond to Sell for Up to $15 Million
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 2:50 pm (UTC-5)
A rare yellow diamond discovered in South Africa is expected to fetch up to $15 million when it goes to auction next week. Officials with Sotheby’s auction house say the pear-shaped diamond is believed to be the world’s largest vivid yellow diamond. The so-called Sun-Drop Diamond is just over 110 carats, or roughly the size […]
Obama to Meet with Indian PM at Summit
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama plans to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of an East Asia summit next week in Indonesia. A senior White House official, Ben Rhodes, says Mr. Obama will also hold talks with the leaders of Thailand and the Philippines while attending the summit in Bali. The United […]
American Lawmaker to Pakistan: US Aid in Jeopardy
Posted November 9th, 2011 at 2:15 pm (UTC-5)
An American lawmaker has warned Pakistan’s president that U.S. aid to the South Asian nation is in jeopardy. Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican from Texas, this week led a U.S. Congressional delegation to Pakistan, where he met with President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday. McCaul said he told Mr. Zardari the U.S. relationship with Pakistan […]
