The Help, a movie about African American maids in the 1960s in Mississippi was the big winner at Sunday’s 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. The film won best ensemble, best actress for Viola Davis and best supporting actress for Octavia Spencer. In accepting her award Davis said the “stain of racism and sexism” is […]
Taliban, US Negotiators Meet in Qatar
Posted January 30th, 2012 at 1:15 am (UTC-5)
Taliban officials say Afghan Taliban negotiators are meeting with U.S. officials in Qatar for a series of discussions aimed at building trust between the two sides ahead of the upcoming peace talks. Maulavi Qalamuddin, who once led the group’s religious police, said Sunday the delegation includes several former officials, as well as a former secretary […]
Italian Officials: Removing Stricken Cruise Ship May Take Until End of Year
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 7:40 pm (UTC-5)
Italian officials say it may take until the end of the year before the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia can be removed. The officials said Sunday they cannot start to move the damaged vessel until all the fuel has been removed — a process that takes about a month. The ship then may have to […]
Egyptians Vote for Upper House Amid Low Turnout
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 7:30 pm (UTC-5)
Turnout was decidedly low as Egyptians voted Sunday for the upper house of parliament, with Islamist parties widely expected to build on their success from lower house elections in November, when voters turned out in record numbers. Few voters showed up to cast their ballots at polling stations in Cairo — one of 13 provinces […]
Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Dead at 93
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 7:10 pm (UTC-5)
Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who helped rewrite Italian politics after a devastating corruption scandal in the 1990s, has died at age 93. No cause of death was given. After working as a lawyer to help anti-Fascists jailed in World War II, Mr. Scalfaro entered politics and helped cobble together Italy’s first constitution as […]
Syrian Troops Defend Damascus, Storm Sububs
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 5:50 pm (UTC-5)
Syria’s embattled government defended its capital from rebel fighters Sunday, with security forces deployed across the city and around 2,000 troops backed by tanks and armored vehicles launching an assault to retake suburban areas. Sustained fighting rocked at least four districts around Damascus, the country’s largest city and seat of President Bashar al-Assad’s power. The […]
Sarkozy Outlines New Economic Plan
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 5:25 pm (UTC-5)
Embattled French President Nicolas Sarkozy outlined new economic proposals during a broadcast Sunday that observers say was aimed at boosting his poor standing with voters before the April election. Mr. Sarkozy has yet to announce his candidacy. But he is widely expected to seek a second six-year term against Socialist Francois Hollande, who leads public […]
Bangladesh, India Sign $1.5 Billion Power Plant Deal
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 4:45 pm (UTC-5)
State firms from Bangladesh and India have signed an agreement to build a coal-fired power plant in southern Bangladesh. The signing ceremony between Bangladesh’s Power Development Board and India’s National Thermal Power Corp. took place Sunday in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka. The 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power plant will cost approximately $1.5 billion to build. Bangladesh suffers […]
Moscow Drivers Cover Cars in White to Protest Putin
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 4:15 pm (UTC-5)
Russian motorists staged a new protest Sunday against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s likely return to the presidency by covering their cars in white and driving around Moscow. Organizers say as many as 3,000 cars with white balloons, ribbons or other decorations drove around the Garden Ring — a major highway circling the Russian capital. Those […]
Taliban, U.S. Negotiators Meet in Qatar
Posted January 29th, 2012 at 3:40 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan Taliban negotiators are meeting with U.S. officials in Qatar for a series of discussions aimed at building trust between the two sides ahead of the upcoming peace talks. Maulavi Qalamuddin, who once led the group’s religious police, said Sunday the delegation includes several former officials, as well as a former secretary to the Taliban’s […]
