Human Rights Watch says Zambia’s president must ensure workers in the country’s Chinese-owned cooper mines are not subjected to unsafe conditions. The rights group says President Michael Sata has failed to make good on a campaign pledge to enforce and improve copper mining safety regulations. In a report Thursday, Human Rights Watch outlined poor safety […]
HRW Presses Zambia to Protect Workers In Chinese Owned Copper Mines
3 Killed in Syria Despite Peace Accord
Activists say Syrian security forces killed three people on Thursday, a day after the government agreed to a plan that calls for an end to violence against opposition demonstrators. The activists say the deaths took place in the flashpoint Homs region where there are also reports of heavy artillery fire. The accounts could not be […]
China Reports First Successful Space Docking
China says it has successfully carried out its first-ever rendezvous of two orbiting spacecraft. Officials say the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft docked with the experimental Tiangong-1 module Thursday morning about 340 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. The sophisticated procedure is a critical step in China’s ambitions to establish a manned space station by 2020. The official […]
Eurozone Crisis Talks to Dominate G20 Summit
U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Cannes, France for a two-day summit with leaders of the world’s leading 20 economies, a meeting expected to be dominated by the European debt crisis and Greece’s surprise move to put a proposed bailout deal to a popular vote. President Obama plans to hold separate meetings Thursday with […]
Suicide Bomber, Gunmen Attack Afghan Compound
Officials say a suicide bomber has struck outside a private company compound in Afghanistan’s western Herat province. Gunmen battled with Afghan security forces after the Thursday’s blast, which happened near a NATO base and Herat’s airport. There was no word on any casualties or who was behind the attack. In a similar attack Monday, a […]
Seoul Delays US Trade Pact Vote Amid Violence Fears
South Korea’s legislature has postponed a crucial session in which it was expected to take up ratification of a far-reaching trade pact with the United States. Officials said Thursday that the session now is not expected to take place until November 10 at the earliest. The delay comes amid fears that opposition lawmakers would resort […]
ADB Announces Funding for Laos Dam
The Asian Development Bank has announced more than $450 million in financial backing for a hydro-electric project in Laos. The bank said Thursday the project will generate more than $770 million of revenue for the impoverished country, of which more than $200 million will be earmarked for poverty reduction and environmental protection programs. The 220-meter-high […]
Eurozone Crisis Talks to Dominate G20 Summit
U.S. President Barack Obama has arrived in Cannes,France for a two-day summit with leaders of the world’s leading 20 economies, a meeting expected to be dominated by the European debt crisis and Greece’s surprise move to put a bailout deal to a popular vote. In an emergency meeting of European leaders ahead of the G20 […]
China’s Hu Says Europe Must Solve Debt Problems
Chinese leaders are warning their European counterparts not to rely on Beijing to bail them out of their continuing debt crisis. President Hu Jintao was quoted Wednesday telling French President Nicolas Sarkozy it is mainly up to Europe to solve the continent’s economic problems. At the same time, China’s official Xinhua news agency said Mr. […]
‘Occupy Oakland’ Protesters Force Shutdown of Major Port
Thousands of protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement have forced the temporary closure of the United States’ fifth largest port in the western Californian city of Oakland. Officials at the Port of Oakland said late Wednesday they suspended maritime operations and sent home main office employees in order “to ensure their safety” and the […]