The Fitch Ratings credit-ranking company is warning it may lower the United States’ credit rating if U.S. lawmakers fail to agree on a plan to reduce the country’s ballooning budget deficit next year. The credit agency said Monday the U.S. will keep it’s top-tier AAA credit rating for now. But the company lowered the outlook […]
Lana Peters, Stalin’s Only Daughter, Dies at 85
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
Lana Peters, the only daughter of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and a woman whose life reads like a classic Russian novel, has died at age 85 of cancer. Born Svetlana Stalina, Peters led a privileged life in Soviet Russia. But she wrote that her father’s treatment of her became brutal and tyrannical during World War […]
Somali Militants Ban 16 Aid Agencies
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 6:30 pm (UTC-5)
Rebels from the Somali militant group al-Shabab have banned 16 international aid organizations and raided their offices in central and southern Somalia. In a statement Monday, the al-Qaida-linked group accused the agencies of promoting secularism, immorality and what it described as “the degrading values of democracy in an Islamic country.” Among the forbidden agencies are […]
NATO Soldiers Wounded in Clash With Serb Protesters
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 6:10 pm (UTC-5)
Two NATO peacekeepers were shot and wounded during a clash with ethnic Serb civilians Monday in northern Kosovo. Fighting broke out when the peacekeepers started breaking down roadblocks near the Serbian-Kosovo border. NATO forces used rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons against the Serbs who opened fire on the soldiers. The conditions of the […]
International Pressure Mounts on Syria
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 5:50 pm (UTC-5)
The United States and the European Union on Monday urged Syria to “end violence immediately” and allow a peaceful and democratic transition of government. A joint statement, issued after the annual summit of U.S. and European leaders in Washington, also called on Damascus to allow human rights observers and foreign journalists into the country. A […]
Report: Prison Guards Beat Russian Lawyer Magnitsky to Death
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 5:35 pm (UTC-5)
An independent probe into the 2009 prison death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky says prison guards beat him to death with rubber batons and the government covered it up. The report was drawn up by William Browder, founder of the British-based investment fund, Hermitage Capital Management. Magnitsky worked for Hermitage before he was arrested on […]
Egypt’s Post-Mubarak Polls Peaceful; High Turnout Reported
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 5:05 pm (UTC-5)
Egyptians voted Monday in the first parliamentary elections since a popular uprising ended the 30-year rule of former president Hosni Mubarak in February. Voters lined up for hours to take part in the polls, suggesting a high turnout. Many said they were voting for the first time, while others expressed hope that this election, unlike […]
EU Leaders Pledge New Economic Integration
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 4:25 pm (UTC-5)
Key European leaders pledged at a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday that they will push for closer economic integration of the 17-nation eurozone to help resolve the continent’s burgeoning debt crisis. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for uniform, binding controls over government spending in […]
EU Leaders Pledge New Economic Integration
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 4:15 pm (UTC-5)
Key European leaders pledged at a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama Monday that they will push for closer economic integration of the 17-nation eurozone to help resolve the continent’s burgeoning debt crisis. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called for uniform, binding controls over government spending in […]
Incidents of Unrest, Violence Mar DR Congo Elections
Posted November 28th, 2011 at 3:40 pm (UTC-5)
Millions of Congolese voters cast ballots Monday in the country’s second multi-party elections since the end of a brutal civil war in 2003. There were reports of violence and accusations of fraud in some of Congo’s major cities, though voting appeared to come off peacefully in many areas. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns reports from the […]
