Highlights of the U.S. Defense Department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013: -Billions of dollars in cuts: The Pentagon wants $525 billion for 2013, $6 billion less than this year’s request. For Afghanistan and other overseas operations, the department seeks another $88 billion, down from $115 billion this year. Overall, the plan aims to save […]
One Killed, Many Stranded in Heavy Snow in Eastern Europe
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
Parts of eastern and central Europe were hit hard by blizzards and frigid temperatures for a second day Thursday, which killed at least one person, and left many trapped in vehicles. Romania, Bulgaria and Kosovo were especially hard hit, with some areas being covered with about two meters of snow. Romania deployed army troops and […]
20 Militants Killed in NW Pakistan
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 3:55 pm (UTC-5)
Reports from Pakistan say security forces have killed at least 20 militants and wounded dozens of others after coming under attack in the country’s northwest. The reports say the fighting in the remote mountainous Kurram tribal region took place early Thursday, and that 22 troops were wounded in the attack. The death toll could not […]
EU Says Greece May Need More Eurozone Aid
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 3:05 pm (UTC-5)
The European Union’s top economic official says that Greece’s public creditors may have to hand it more financial aid to cut its staggering debt because a prospective deal with private lenders is not likely to be big enough. EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn said Thursday that he expects the Athens government will reach a deal […]
OSCE Sends Election Monitors to Russia
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
Voting monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have launched a mission in Russia ahead of the March 4 presidential election. Mission chief Heidi Tagliavini on Thursday pledged to evaluate the election process objectively. “I can assure you that we will do our work honestly and with an open mind. We will […]
Panetta Outlines US Defense Budget Decisions
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:45 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. Defense Department says the Obama administration will propose to Congress that U.S. ground forces be cut by 100,000 as part of nearly $500 billion in defense budget cuts during the next decade. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday that the administration will request a 2013 defense budget of […]
Italy Signs Deal to Provide Long-Term Aid to Afghanistan
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:30 pm (UTC-5)
Italy has agreed to a strategic partnership aimed at supporting Afghanistan after combat forces withdraw from the country in 2014. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti assured Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Italy “will not abandon Afghanistan,” as the two leaders signed the long-term agreement Thursday in Rome. The deal calls for Italy to assist Afghanistan […]
Yemen’s President Remains in Oman, Departure for US Uncertain
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
Outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains in the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman and it is unclear when his planned trip to the United States for medical treatment will take place. An official at the Yemeni embassy in Washington told VOA Thursday he has no information on when Mr. Saleh might arrive. Mohammed Albasha […]
Kazakhstan Charges Police, Opposition in Riot
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
Kazakh prosecutors are pressing charges against a newspaper editor, an opposition leader and three policemen in connection with deadly clashes last month in a western oil town. Kazakhstan’s National Security Service on Monday arrested the editor of the weekly Vzglyad newspaper (Igor Vinyavsky), as well as Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unregistered Alga party, on […]
President, Arizona Governor Clash Over Memoir
Posted January 26th, 2012 at 1:30 pm (UTC-5)
The Internet is buzzing over photos of an intense discussion between U.S. President Barack Obama and Arizona Governor Jan Brewer over what the governor said was something she wrote in a recent memoir. A pool report said the two officials traded words, out of earshot, when the governor greeted the president at a Phoenix airport […]
