An audio recording of an angry exchange between the Italian Coast Guard and the captain of a capsized cruise ship reveals that the captain refused orders to get back on his stricken boat. Coast Guard Captain Gregory De Falco demanded that Captain Francesco Schettino use a ladder to climb back onto the damaged Costa Condordia […]
Coast Guard: Captain Refused Orders to Return to Italian Cruise Ship
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 6:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Syrian Violence Spikes; West, Russia Spar Over Intervention
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 6:05 pm (UTC-5)
Violence has surged in Syria as Western members of the United Nations Security Council spar with Russia over how to stop the bloodshed from the 10-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian-based Local Coordination Committees said Mr. Assad’s security forces on Tuesday killed at least 30 people, 19 of them in the troubled central […]
Turkish Leaders, Turkish Cypriots Mourn Former Leader Denktash
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 5:25 pm (UTC-5)
Turkish leaders have joined thousands of residents of northern Cyprus to bid farewell to former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, who died Friday after a long illness at 87. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among mourners filing past Denktash’s coffin Tuesday at the presidential palace on the Turkish Cypriot […]
US, Japan, South Korea Discuss Restarting Six-Party Talks
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 4:55 pm (UTC-5)
Top officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan met Tuesday in Washington for talks focusing on restarting stalled six-party negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program. Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and special North Korea envoy Glyn Davies hosted Lim Sung Nam, South Korea’s top negotiator to the talks, and his Japanese […]
US, Jordan Vow Close Cooperation on Mideast Peace
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 4:50 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama met with Jordan’s King Abdullah at the White House Tuesday, and both leaders pledged to consult closely to try to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. President Obama said the U.S. and Jordan will encourage the two sides to come back to the table and negotiate in what he described as “a […]
India Urges Sri Lanka to Work on Reconciliation Efforts
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
India’s External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has urged the Sri Lankan government to forge ahead with political reconciliation steps recommended by a presidential inquiry into the final phase of the 25-year civil war that ended in 2009. Krishna met Tuesday with President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo. He noted the constructive recommendations of the Lessons Learnt […]
Burma Reaches Peace Deal With Shan Minority
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 4:35 pm (UTC-5)
Burmese media report that the government has signed a peace agreement with the armed ethnic group Shan as part of an effort at national reconciliation. Reports Tuesday say that representatives of Shan and the central government reached an 11-point peace agreement in the Shan state capital of Taunggyi. The signing of the deal was a […]
Syrian Violence Spikes; West, Russia Spar Over Intervention
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC-5)
Violence has surged in Syria, and Western members of the United Nations Security Council have sparred with Russia over how to stop the bloodshed from the 10-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. The activist group “Local Coordination Committees” say Syrian security forces killed at least 25 people Tuesday, 17 of them while attacking several areas […]
Owner of Capsized Ship Is World’s Largest Cruise Line
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm (UTC-5)
U.S.-based Carnival Corporation, the owner of the luxury cruise ship sinking off the Italian coast and th world’s largest cruise line, faces millions of dollars in losses from the accident and perhaps years of litigation over damage claims. Carnival is based in the southern city of Miami, Florida and annually attracts about half the world’s […]
Pakistani Taliban Claims Responsibility for Killing VOA Reporter
Posted January 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm (UTC-5)
The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for killing a local reporter working for the Voice of America. The Associated Press quotes the group’s spokesman as saying they killed Mukarram Khan Aatif, who also worked for the private Pakistani Dunya TV, because he ignored multiple warnings to stop anti-Taliban reporting. Pakistani officials said Aatif was shot […]
