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Pachyderm Pageant Closes Out Nepal Elephant Festival

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
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The world has a new reigning beauty queen. Event organizers in Nepal declared 12-year-old “Beauty Kali” the winner of the beauty pageant at the eighth annual International Elephant Festival. “Beauty Kali” was the first runner up in last year’s competition. But her handlers spent hours drawing intricate designs on “Beauty Kali” and even painted her […]

Tags: , Posted in South Asia

Arab League Monitors Visit Flashpoint Syrian Cities

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
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Arab League observers are visiting three flashpoint cities in Syria on Wednesday as the government announced the release of hundreds of prisoners. A day after touring the restive Homs region, mission leader Sudanese General Mohammed Dabi said observers plan to travel to Hama, Idlib and Daraa. The regions have been hotspots for protests against the […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Bomb Wounds 7 at Nigerian Arabic School

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 10:15 am (UTC-5)
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Police in southern Nigeria say assailants have thrown a bomb into an Arabic school, wounding seven people days after a string of deadly church bombings across the country. Authorities in Delta state say the homemade bomb went off after it was thrown from a car late Tuesday. Six children were among the wounded. The attack […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Africa

Snow, Tears Capture Mood As North Korea Mourns Kim

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 9:30 am (UTC-5)
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North Korea’s harsh winter weather seemed to capture perfectly the somber mood of the nation as it mourned the loss of its late leader Kim Jong Il. The funeral procession began early Wednesday under gray skies. A light snowfall grew heavy as the morning progressed, covering the streets of Pyongyang with a blanket of fresh, […]

Egypt’s Mubarak Appears in Court After Three-Month Break

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 9:25 am (UTC-5)
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Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has appeared in court for the first time in three months on charges related to the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters early this year. Mr. Mubarak arrived at the Cairo court by ambulance on Wednesday, as he has done for previous appearances. He was wheeled inside on a hospital […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

China: Design Flaws, Lax Safety Standards to Blame for July Train Crash

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 9:20 am (UTC-5)
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Chinese officials have blamed lax safety standards and design flaws for the deadly crash of a bullet train in July. The accident sparked widespread anger over the condition of the country’s public transit system. Forty people were killed when the train traveling in the eastern province of Zhejiang crashed into another train that had stalled […]

Tags: , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Rights Group Says Syria Hid Prisoners Ahead of Observer Visit

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 8:20 am (UTC-5)
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A human rights group says Syria transferred prisoners to military facilities in order to hide them from Arab League observers now visiting the country, while state media has announced the release of hundreds of prisoners. New York-based Human Rights Watch said the Arab League should insist on gaining access to any detention site and must […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

Thai ‘Red Shirt’ Protest Leader Freed on Bail

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 7:55 am (UTC-5)
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A Thai court has granted bail to a top leader of Thailand’s “Red Shirt” protest movement who was being held on terrorism charges related to last year’s deadly opposition protests. Arisman Pongruangrong, who surrendered to authorities earlier this month to fight the charges, was freed Wednesday on $190,000 bail. Arisman narrowly escaped arrest in April […]

Kim Jong Il’s Funeral Held in Snowy Pyongyang

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC-5)
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Tens of thousands of weeping North Koreans bade a final farewell to longtime leader Kim Jong Il Wednesday as a black hearse carried his coffin through the capital Pyongyang. Snow filled the gray skies as the funeral procession began early Wednesday. A black limousine with a huge portrait of the late leader led the procession […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Bomb Wounds 7 at Nigerian Arabic School

Posted December 28th, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC-5)
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Police in southern Nigeria say assailants have thrown a bomb into an Arabic school in the south, wounding seven people days after a string of deadly church bombings across the country. Authorities said the blast happened late Tuesday in Delta state when the homemade bomb was thrown from a car. Six children were among the […]

Tags: , Posted in Africa