Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says a car bomb explosion inside of Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone this week was an assassination attempt against him. In a Saturday interview with the Associated Press, Mr. Maliki said preliminary information indicated the blast was supposed to take place as he entered parliament. On Friday, Iraqi security officials also […]
Iraqi PM Call Blast Assassination Attempt
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
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Islamists Ahead in Egypt’s Elections
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
Preliminary results from Egypt’s first stage of voting in parliamentary elections show Islamist parties gained the most seats. Figures released Saturday indicate the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party came out on top in Monday and Tuesday’s polling. The conservative al-Nour Salafi Islamist group appears to be in second place. U.S.-based CNN says election officials […]
Syrian Troops, Army Defectors Clash in North
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
Activists say at least 18 people have been killed in anti-government unrest in Syria on Saturday, a day after the U.N.’s top human rights body voted to condemn Damascus for human rights violations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights say most of Saturday’s deaths occurred in the northern city of Idlib, where security forces have […]
Indian Protesters Mark Anniversary Of Bhopal Disaster
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 8:15 am (UTC-5)
Indian police have attacked protesters observing the 27th anniversary of the world’s worst industrial accident. Police armed with sticks attacked the demonstrators Saturday in Bhopal, where a Union Carbide pesticide plant leaked lethal gas in 1984, killing thousands of people and maiming thousands more. The protesters, who were attempting to block rail lines, pelted the […]
Guinea-Bissau President Hospitalized in Paris
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 8:00 am (UTC-5)
Guinea-Bissau President Malam Bacai Sanha has been hospitalized in Paris. Media reports say the leader of the West African country has been in France for several days after being transported from Senegal, where he underwent a check up for an undisclosed condition. President Sanha’s health has been a concern since taking office two years ago. […]
Russian Election ‘Watchdog’ Detained
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 7:50 am (UTC-5)
Members of Russia’s only independent election monitoring group say their leader was detained for 12 hours at a Moscow airport overnight, on the eve of Sunday’s parliamentary vote. Customs officials held Golos leader Lilya Shibanova at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after she refused to hand over her laptop to security officers who said they wanted to […]
ECOWAS Observers to Monitor Ivory Coast Elections
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 7:05 am (UTC-5)
The West African group ECOWAS says it will send 60 observers to Ivory Coast next week to oversee parliamentary elections. The Economic Community of West African States said Saturday, the election monitors are being sent at the request of the Ivorian government. More than 1,000 candidates representing three dozen political parties are vying for 255 […]
Syrian Troops, Army Defectors Clash in North
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 7:00 am (UTC-5)
Clashes between government troops and army defectors in northern Syria have left at least 15 people dead. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Saturday’s pre-dawn fighting in the city of Idlib, near the border with Turkey, killed seven government troops, five army defectors and three civilians. The latest deaths come just one day […]
Former SAF Police Commissioner to Begin Jail Sentence
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 2:35 am (UTC-5)
The former South African national police commissioner is set to begin a 15-year jail sentence after losing an appeal to his corruption conviction. The Supreme Court of Appeals in Johannesburg Friday said there was no evidence to nullify the verdict that Jackie Selebi had taken money from a convicted drug trafficker. Selebi, who collapsed after […]
Panetta to Israel: ‘Get to the Damn Table’ for Peace Talks
Posted December 3rd, 2011 at 1:05 am (UTC-5)
The top U.S. defense official is warning Israel it cannot afford to further isolate itself from Arab neighbors in the Middle East. During a forum in Washington late Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Israel needs to start by getting back “to the damn table” and negotiating peace with the Palestinians. He also called […]
