The head of the International Monetary Fund says that Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, needs to reduce its reliance on oil revenues and diversify its economy to keep it stable. The IMF’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, said Tuesday in Moscow that even though Russia has enacted fiscal reforms in recent years, it still faces […]
IMF: Russia Must Reduce Oil Dependence for Economic Diversity
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 1:35 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment
Japanese Farmers, Fishermen Protest Free Trade Deal
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 1:05 pm (UTC-5)
Thousands of Japanese farmers and fishermen have rallied in Tokyo to voice opposition to Japan’s proposed participation in an expanded Asia-Pacific free trade organization. Japanese media say more than 100 lawmakers joined Tuesday’s rally, with some 6,000 participants backing a new push to block the government from joining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations without clear reasons […]
Gunmen Kill 4 in Suspected Sectarian Attack in Pakistan
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
Gunmen shot and killed four people, including at least three Hindu doctors, in a remote region of southern Pakistan Monday in what officials fear could be an incident of sectarian violence. Authorities said Tuesday that the attack occurred at a clinic in Chak town some 400 kilometers north of Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. […]
Roadside Blast Kills 11 in Northern Afghanistan
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
Officials say a roadside bomb attack has killed at least 11 people in northwestern Afghanistan, just days after the Afghan Taliban leader urged his fighters to avoid killing civilians. Afghanistan’s interior ministry says a bomb exploded near a police vehicle in Badghis province late Monday, killing two police officers and nine members of the same […]
Berlusconi Wins Budget Vote, Loses Political Majority
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 12:30 pm (UTC-5)
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday won a crucial budget vote in parliament, but lost the support of a majority of lawmakers for his weakened government. While 308 lawmakers voted in favor of the budget bill, another 321 lawmakers abstained. No-one voted against. That meant that Mr. Berlusconi failed to gather the 316 votes […]
Suspected Militants Blow Up Another Pakistani School
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 11:55 am (UTC-5)
Suspected militants have destroyed another girls school in northwestern Pakistan. Officials say assailants blew up the school in the Mardan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa late Monday. Provincial Education Minister Sardar Hussain Babak told VOA last month that some 1,200 schools have been destroyed in Pakistan’s northwestern region in the last few years. The Taliban is active […]
Greece Has Interim PM; Italy’s Berlusconi Survives Vote
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 11:55 am (UTC-5)
State-run Greek television is reporting that economist Lucas Papademos will be the country’s interim prime minister as the debt-ridden country struggles to meet the demands of international creditors. Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou, who is resigning as the country’s leader, reached agreement Tuesday with opposition leader Antonis Samaras on a new coalition government to serve […]
Liberian President Poised for Re-Election
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is set to win a second term during a runoff poll on Tuesday boycotted by her rival and marred by deadly violence. The voter turnout appeared to be light in Monrovia and other parts of the country dominated by challenger Winston Tubman of the Congress for Democratic Change party. The […]
Berlusconi Wins Budget Vote Loses Political Majority
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday won a crucial budget vote in parliament which had been seen as a test of confidence in his political leadership. Although Mr. Berlusconi won the vote, the results showed his government lost its political majority. The opposition immediately called for the prime minister to resign. The debt crisis […]
Haiti Cholera Victims Demand UN Pay for Outbreak
Posted November 8th, 2011 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
A human rights group says it has submitted claims to the United Nations seeking damages on behalf of more than 5,000 Haitians affected by the nation’s deadly cholera outbreak. The petition filed by the U.S.-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti says the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions […]
