Syrian rights activists at least 11 people died in Monday’s violence, while Syria said it responded “positively” to an Arab League demand to let observers into the country. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA Monday security forces shot dead five civilians in Homs. Another person was killed near Daraa, while […]
11 Killed in Syria, Damascus Claims ‘Positive’ Response to Observer Demands
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
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Gap Between Rich and Poor Increases in Most Countries
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
The gap between rich and poor has grown in most of the world’s major economies, and now stands at its highest level in 30 years. A report Monday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a research and policy group that has 34 member countries, calls for governments to act quickly to address the […]
Thousands Flee DRC Fearing Post-Election Violence
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
Thousands of people are fleeing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, fearing that election results to be announced on Tuesday will spark violence. Police in the neighboring Congo Republic say at least 3,000 people have arrived in the capital Brazzaville since December 2. Authorities say most of the arrivals are from the DRC capital, Kinshasa, […]
Roadside Bomb Blast Kills Five Afghan Civilians
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
A vehicle travelling in southern Afghanistan struck a roadside bomb, causing an explosion that left five people dead. Local officials say one woman and four children were killed in Monday’s blast in the Chor district of Uruzgan province. Six others were injured in the blast. Roadside bombs are frequently planted by insurgents attempting to target […]
Majority Narrows for Putin’s Party in Russia Polls; OSCE: Violations Mar Vote
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling party has suffered surprisingly steep losses in parliamentary elections, giving the man who has dominated politics there for more than a decade a much reduced majority. With 96 percent of the vote counted, United Russia on Monday looked set to win 238 seats in the 450-seat State Duma, or […]
Merkel, Sarkozy Meet on Debt Crisis Proposal
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday they want a new European Union treaty to control spending, in an effort to end Europe’s debt crisis and save the continent’s euro currency. The two leaders held a working lunch in Paris and vowed to strengthen EU financial oversight over the budgets of […]
Ex-Leader: Khmer Rouge Not ‘Bad People’
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
The former number two leader of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime is denying responsibility for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people during the 1970s, insisting that he and his comrades were not “bad people.” Nuon Chea’s testimony came Monday in a packed courtroom in Phnom Penh, as a United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal […]
Former Ivory Coast Leader Faces ICC Judges
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 9:50 am (UTC-5)
Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court, where he faces four charges of crimes against humanity stemming from his role in deadly post-election violence. Mr. Gbagbo, the first former head of state to be brought to the global court since its inception in 2002, was read […]
Global Witness Quits Kimberley Process
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
Rights group Global Witness has quit the Kimberley Process, saying the program designed to stop the flow of so-called “blood diamonds” has failed. A founding director of Global Witness, Charmian Gooch, said Monday that after nearly nine years, consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds came from and whether they helped finance armed violence […]
China Sending Envoy to Mediate Sudanese Oil Dispute
Posted December 5th, 2011 at 8:50 am (UTC-5)
China is sending an envoy to Sudan and South Sudan to help resolve a dispute over oil exports, of which China is a major customer. The foreign ministry in Beijing said Monday that China’s special representative on African affairs, Liu Guijin, will visit the two countries in the coming days. Sudan blocked the landlocked south […]
