Data published Wednesday show a mixed picture of the U.S. economy, with both unemployment claims and consumer spending posting slight gains. The Labor Department says the number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits edged up 2,000 last week to a nation-wide total of 393,000. It is the first time in two months that jobless […]
Profiles of Libya’s New Cabinet Ministers
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
Libya has named the interim Cabinet of a transitional government whose mission is to govern until next year, when the country plans to hold the first parliamentary elections of the post-Moammar Gadhafi era. Here are profiles of some of the leading Cabinet members appointed Tuesday, November 22. Defense Minister Osama al-Juwali Juwali is a militia […]
Turkish PM Apologizes for 1930s Killings of Kurds
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 10:25 am (UTC-5)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has apologized for the 1930s killings of nearly 14,000 people during a Kurdish rebellion — the government’s first public apology for the killings. Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party on Wednesday had demanded Turkey acknowledge its past actions. Between 1936 and 1939, the Turkish government killed […]
Bahrain Rights Report: Government Used Excessive Force
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 10:25 am (UTC-5)
The head of a special commission investigating Bahrain’s unrest says the government used “excessive force” and tortured detainees during its bloody crackdown on protesters earlier this year. Commission Chief Cherif Bassiouni announced Wednesday the findings of a much-anticipated report about the treatment of demonstrators in Shi’ite-led protests calling for democratic reform in the Sunni monarchy. […]
Pakistan Appoints New US Ambassador After Scandal
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 10:15 am (UTC-5)
Pakistan has a new ambassador to the United States after the previous one stepped down in the face of allegations that he sought U.S. help in reining in Pakistan’s powerful military. Officials said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appointed former information minister Sherry Rehman to the post Wednesday, a day after former ambassador Hussain Haqqani […]
Yemen’s President Set to Sign Exit Deal, Protests Continue
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is in Saudi Arabia where he is expected to sign a deal that calls for him to hand over power, but protests seeking his immediate ouster continue in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a. Mr. Saleh arrived in Riyadh on Wednesday to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council initiative that calls for him […]
Protests in Egypt, Despite Government Concessions
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
Egyptian security forces and protesters have clashed for a fifth day in Cairo, despite concessions from the ruling military that were designed to ease the unrest. Activists say the clashes the past week have left at least 35 people dead, including at least one person killed on Wednesday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi […]
Congo Opposition Lawmaker Killed Ahead of Vote
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
An opposition lawmaker in Congo’s capital has been killed, as the country prepares for national polls on Monday. Police say gunmen attacked Marius Gangale, a provincial assembly representative, in Kinshasa Tuesday night. The local official was inside a vehicle with his wife when the shooting took place. Police say they are investigating whether the shooting […]
Nigerian President Fires Anti-Corruption Chief
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 9:15 am (UTC-5)
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has fired the head of the country’s anti-corruption agency, who had been criticized for incompetence. A government statement Wednesday said Mr. Jonathan has relieved Farida Waziri of her post as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC. Waziri was replaced with Ibrahim Lamorde, who was previously the EFCC’s […]
South Korea Military Drill on Anniversary of Island Attack
Posted November 23rd, 2011 at 8:55 am (UTC-5)
The South Korean military conducted a large-scale exercise Wednesday on its tense maritime border with North Korea in a show of force to mark the one-year anniversary of the North’s deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong island. Helicopters, fighter jets and artillery were used in the drill, which was meant to simulate a response to a North […]
