The United States says it is “seriously concerned” that more Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China, and says the actions represent deep frustration with Chinese government restrictions. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday the self-immolations show there is enormous anger over severe Chinese restrictions on human rights and religious freedoms. She […]
US Seriously Concerned Over Tibetan Self-Immolations
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 6:50 pm (UTC-5)
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Ex-Pakistan Envoy to US Denies Memo Link
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 6:40 pm (UTC-5)
Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States has denied any connection to a memo sent to Washington asking for U.S. help in preventing a purported army coup. In his first appearance before a Pakistani Supreme Court commission Monday, Husain Haqqani said he had “no role in creating, drafting and/or delivering” the memo to Admiral Mike […]
Former U.S. Soldier Charged with Trying to Aid Somali Militants
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
A former U.S. soldier has been charged with trying to join the Somali Islamist militant group al Shabab. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Monday Craig Baxam secretly converted to Islam shortly before leaving the army in July of last year. The statement says the 24-year-old flew to Kenya and paid for […]
VOA’s Deewa Radio Goes on Satellite TV to Pakistan
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 5:35 pm (UTC-5)
Deewa Radio, Voice of America’s popular Pashto language news service to the volatile border region of northwestern Pakistan, has launched a new television program that is now being broadcast on direct to home satellite TV. The first of the daily one-hour TV programs to the Federally Administered Tribal Area was broadcast Monday from the VOA […]
USUrges Iran to Free American Sentenced to Death for Spying
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 5:20 pm (UTC-5)
The United States on Monday urged Iran to free an American man sentenced to death by an Iranian court on charges of spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The White House and State Department said allegations that Amir Mirza Hekmati, an Iranian-American dual citizen, worked for or was sent to Iran by the CIA […]
Jonathan: Boko Haram Members in Nigerian Government
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 5:00 pm (UTC-5)
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says radical Islamist sect Boko Haram has infiltrated the government, complicating efforts to fight the group. At a speech Sunday in the capital, Abuja, Mr. Jonathan asserted that Boko Haram members are in the executive, parliamentary and judicial branches of government, and the armed forces. He said the situation is even […]
Burma Cancels Coal Plant Over Environmental Opposition
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
Burma’s government says it has decided to stop construction of a large coal-fired power plant because of environmental concerns. Burma’s electricity minister, Khin Maung Soe, told reporters Monday that the ministry will not move forward on the multi-billion-dollar project in the southern Dawei port because the plant could have a negative environmental impact. The Dawei […]
Bombs Kill 16 People in Baghdad
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 4:25 pm (UTC-5)
Three separate bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killed 16 people and wounded more than 40 others Monday. Iraqi officials said many of the victims were Shi’ite pilgrims traveling to the holy city of Karbala for an annual ritual. In the first attack, a roadside bomb killed two people in southern Baghdad. Hours later, eight […]
Bulgarian-Born Pianist Alexis Weissenberg Dies at 82
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC-5)
Bulgarian-born French pianist Alexis Weissenberg, whose passion for music saved him and his mother from a World War II concentration camp, has died at the age of 82. Weissenberg died Sunday in Lugano, Switzerland, where his family had settled. He had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for years. Bulgarian Culture Minister Vezhdi Rashidov described Weissenberg as […]
China Urges Peace on North Korean Peninsula
Posted January 9th, 2012 at 3:55 pm (UTC-5)
Chinese President Hu Jintao is pledging to make what he calls “unremitting efforts” to keep peace on the Korean peninsula during talks with South Korea’s president. China’s official Xinhua news agency said Mr. Hu told his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, in Beijing Monday that stability on the peninsula is his main concern. He said […]
