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Clinton Wraps Up Burma Trip With Pledge of U.S. Support

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has wrapped up a three-day visit to Burma after discussions with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a vow that the U.S. is prepared to support further democratic reform. The two women held hands as they spoke to reporters Friday from the veranda of Aung San Suu Kyi’s […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Kenya Says Sudan Ties Normal After Bashir Arrest Ruling

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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Kenya’s foreign minister says relations with Sudan are back to normal, four days after a Kenyan court ordered the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Minister Moses Wetangula said Friday that a high-level delegation that met with Sudanese leaders in Khartoum was able to resolve the dispute. Sudan had responded to Monday’s high court ruling […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Africa

Iranian Diplomats Leave London

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
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Expelled Iranian diplomats packed up Iran’s London embassy on Friday, as crowds staged new anti-Britain protests in Tehran. Embassy staff were to leave Britain by 1400 GMT on Friday — a deadline given by the British government after the ransacking of its embassy in Tehran earlier this week. The Iranian flag was still flying outside […]

Tags: , , Posted in Europe

Pakistan to Respond ‘Instantly’ to Any Border Aggression

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
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The head of Pakistan’s military has ordered his country’s forces to respond instantly to any future aggression along the border with Afghanistan without waiting for instructions from high command. Pakistani military sources confirmed to VOA Friday that General Ashfaq Kayani has told his soldiers to fully retaliate “irrespective of the cost and consequences” to any […]

Tags: , , , Posted in South Asia

US Unemployment Rate Drops Sharply

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
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The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level in more than two years in November. Friday’s report from the Labor Department says the jobless rate was 8.6 percent, a drop of four-tenths of a percent from the prior month. The data also show that the U.S. economy had a net gain of 120,000 jobs. […]

Tags: , Posted in Economy

Egypt to Announce Election Results Late Friday

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
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Egyptian officials say the results of the first round of voting in parliamentary elections will be announced Friday evening local time , after delaying the announcement twice this week. The results from Monday and Tuesday’s polling in Cairo, Alexandria and seven other provinces were originally set to be released on Wednesday. However, election officials said […]

Tags: Posted in Middle East

Unrest Erupts Near Syrian-Lebanese Border

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
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Witnesses and activists say there is heavy shelling in villages near Syria’s border with Lebanon. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA Friday that security forces opened fire on villagers who were trying to flee into Lebanon after forces launched raids in the region. The London-based group also says unidentified gunmen opened fire on […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

US: 2 Americans Kidnapped Off Nigeria Coast Freed

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
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The U.S. embassy in Nigeria says two Americans kidnapped off the country’s coast last month have been freed. The embassy confirmed the release Friday but gave no further details. Two Americans and one Mexican national were seized by armed men November 17 while working on a vessel contracted by U.S.-based oil giant Chevron. The embassy […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

ICC Requests Arrest Warrant for Sudanese Defense Minister

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
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The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has requested an arrest warrant for Sudan’s defense minister for alleged war crimes in the Darfur region. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said Friday that Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein helped to mastermind attacks against villages in Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004. A statement says the attacks followed a pattern in which […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

Rights Group: 18 Dead in Election-Related Violence in DRC

Posted December 2nd, 2011 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
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Human Rights Watch says election-related violence killed at least 18 civilians and seriously wounded 100 others in the run-up to this week’s parliamentary and presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The US-based human rights group said Friday that most of those killed were shot dead by Republican Guard soldiers in the capital of […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa