U.S. President Barack Obama has made a case for his re-election by setting himself apart from his Republican challengers. In an interview Sunday on American television (the CBS news show 60 Minutes), the president compared himself to a ship’s captain in stormy waters. He said he did not expect the American people to feel satisfied […]
Iraqi Prime Minister to Meet US President at White House
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 9:20 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at the White House Monday to discuss Iraq’s future, as U.S. forces complete their withdrawal from that Middle Eastern nation at the end of this month. The White House says the two leaders will hold talks on efforts to “start a new chapter” […]
US Military Vacates Pakistani Air Base
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 9:20 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. military vacated an air base in Pakistan’s southwest Sunday, meeting a December 11 deadline set by Islamabad in response to NATO’s November 26 air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani military said it took over the Shamsi base in Baluchistan province shortly after the last U.S. personnel departed. The Pakistani government ordered […]
Russia’s Medvedev Orders Probe Into Alleged Election Fraud
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 5:50 pm (UTC-5)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday ordered an investigation into the allegations of electoral fraud during last week’s parliamentary vote. The announcement came a day after tens of thousands of people rallied in Moscow and other cities to demand the December 4 polls won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party be annulled […]
Observers Say DRC Election Results Lack Credibility
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
A team of international election observers says the results of last month’s disputed presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo were “mismanaged” and lack credibility. The U.S.-based Carter Center said the vote, in which President Joseph Kabila was re-elected, was marred by wide variations in the quality of vote counting. In a statement issued […]
Indian Kashmir Minister Escapes Assassination Attempt
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
Police in India-controlled Kashmir say the region’s senior minister and ruling National Conference leader, Ali Muhammad Sagar, has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. Local authorities said Sagar, the state law minister, was attacked by unidentified gunmen Sunday evening in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir. Sagar was attending an engagement party for his niece […]
Defectors Fight Syrian Troops in South as General Strike Begins
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 3:30 pm (UTC-5)
Army defectors in southern Syria battled loyalist forces backed by tanks in a major armed confrontation Sunday near the Jordanian border, as up to 18 people were killed in nationwide violence. Residents and activists said government troops from Syria’s 12th Armored Brigade stormed the southern town of Busra al-Harir overnight. The British-based Syrian Observatory for […]
Cameron Ally: PM’s Opposition to EU Changes ‘Bad for Britain’
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 3:05 pm (UTC-5)
A top official in Britain’s ruling coalition says conservative Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to block European Union treaty changes aimed at protecting the euro currency is “bad for Britain.” Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Sunday on British television that he was “bitterly disappointed” by the outcome of last week’s EU summit, during which […]
Karzai: Death Toll in Attacks on Afghan Shi’ites Rises to 80
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 2:50 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says Tuesday’s rare sectarian attacks on minority Shi’ites in the country killed at least 80 people, significantly higher than the previously reported figure of 59. In a speech Sunday in Kabul, Mr. Karzai said he learned of the updated death toll earlier in the day and blamed the bombings on people […]
Polls are Open Sunday In Ivory Coast Parliamentary Elections
Posted December 11th, 2011 at 2:40 pm (UTC-5)
Citizens of the Ivory Coast voted Sunday in the country’s first parliamentary elections in more than a decade. Voter turnout was reportedly low and no incidents of violence were reported. Nearly 1,000 candidates vied for the National Assembly’s 255 legislative seats in the vote, which was boycotted by the party of former president Laurent Gbagbo. […]
