United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging North Korea to heed the call of the international community by canceling an upcoming rocket launch. Mr. Ban spoke Thursday in Geneva, as North Korean engineers prepared to launch a rocket that Pyongyang says will carry a weather satellite into space. Western nations and regional neighbors accuse the […]
UN Chief Repeats Warning to North Korea on Rocket Launch
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
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US Unemployment Claims Rise
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC-5)
The number of people signing up for unemployment assistance rose by 13,000 in the United States last week. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department says a total of 380,000 newly-laid off people asked for compensation for the first time, pushing the number of jobless claims to its highest level in two months. Analysts interviewed by […]
Mali Swears in Interim President
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 9:35 am (UTC-5)
Mali has sworn in an interim president tasked with organizing new elections and fighting Tuareg rebels and Islamist militants. After his swearing in Thursday in the capital, Bamako, President Dioncounda Traore warned the rebels and al-Qaida-linked group Ansar Dine to retreat or face war. The former parliament speaker added, “We prefer peace, but if war […]
Uneasy Cease-Fire in Syria
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 9:00 am (UTC-5)
Amid international skepticism, a U.N.-backed cease-fire took an uneasy hold in Syria on Thursday, and there are scattered reports of violence. Syrian state media say a roadside bomb in the city of Aleppo killed one soldier and wounded 24 officers and cadets on Thursday. Rights activists one civilian was shot dead in Hama province by […]
South Sudan Says No Withdrawal from Disputed Town
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 8:50 am (UTC-5)
South Sudan’s president has refused to pull back troops who seized a disputed border town from Sudan this week. Addressing parliament Thursday, Salva Kiir said he will not order the withdrawal of southern forces from the town of Heglig, despite calls from the African Union and United Nations to do so. He also said South […]
Afghanistan’s Karzai Considers Early Elections
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 8:40 am (UTC-5)
Afghanistan could be headed for early presidential elections to ensure Afghans are not going to the polls at the same time foreign troops are pulling out. Afghan President Hamid Karzai raised the possibility of holding a vote next year – and not in 2014 – during a news conference Thursday with NATO Secretary General Anders […]
Indian Maoist Rebels Free Italian Tour Guide
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
Indian Maoist rebels have released an Italian tour guide who was abducted a month ago in the eastern state of Orissa. Paolo Basusco told reporters in the state capital, Bhubaneshwar, Thursday that he was feeling strong and healthy and that he loves Orissa. Rebels kidnapped Bosusco and another Italian, Claudio Colangelo, on March 14 while […]
Zimmerman Charged with Murder in Florida Shooting of Black Teen
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
The man charged in the shooting death of an African-American teenager is expected to make his first appearance in a Florida courtroom Thursday, in a case that has ignited a national debate about racial tensions in the United States. The attorney representing George Zimmerman says his client will plead not guilty to second-degree murder at […]
Philippines, China Naval Standoff Enters Third Day
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
The Philippines has withdrawn its biggest warship from a disputed area in the South China Sea, in an apparent attempt to lessen tensions with China over a naval standoff in the disputed waters. Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Thursday that a smaller coast guard boat will replace the warship at the Scarborough Shoal, […]
Karzai Considering Early Elections
Posted April 12th, 2012 at 6:40 am (UTC-5)
Afghanistan could be headed for early presidential elections to ensure Afghans are not going to the polls at the same time foreign troops are pulling out. Afghan President Hamid Karzai raised the possibility of holding the election next year – and not in 2014 – during a news conference Thursday with NATO Secretary General Anders […]
