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Obama Campaign Fundraising Drops to $43.6 Million in April

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 12:20 pm (UTC-5)
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U.S. President Barack Obama raised $43.6 million last month for his campaign and the Democratic Party, as he pushes for re-election against likely Republican rival Mitt Romney. The April fundraising total is less than the $53 million the president and the Democratic National Committee collected in March, but he has still been able to bring […]

Tags: , Posted in US

Moscow Police Disperse Protesters at Anti-Putin Sit-in

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 11:55 am (UTC-5)
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Russian police have broken up an opposition protest camp in a central Moscow park, dispersing dozens and taking several people into custody. The early Wednesday raid brought an abrupt end to the country’s first Occupy-style demonstration, which was launched in response to President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration last week. A court on Tuesday ordered police to […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe

Chinese Dissident Submits Passport Application

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 11:55 am (UTC-5)
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Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng says he and his family have filled out passport application forms, and says Chinese authorities tell him travel documents should be issued by the end of the month. Chen spoke Wednesday to VOA’s Mandarin service from a hospital room in Beijing, where he has been recovering for the past two […]

Tags: , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Greece to Hold Repeat Elections June 17

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
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Greece has set June 17 as the date for the country’s repeat elections, after major political parties failed to form a coalition government on Tuesday following several attempts to broker a deal. The date was announced Wednesday after Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with party leaders to create a caretaker government. State television announced that […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe

Charles Taylor Speaks at War Crimes Trial Sentencing

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
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Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has said he has “deepest sympathies” for those who suffered during Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war — but stopped short of apologizing for atrocities committed by rebels he armed in exchange for diamonds. Instead, Taylor told judges in The Hague Wednesday that his actions during the bloody conflict were “done […]

Tags: , , , , , Posted in Africa

Moscow Police Disperse Protesters at Anti-Putin Sit-in

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 10:25 am (UTC-5)
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Russian police have broken up an opposition protest camp in a central Moscow park, dispersing dozens and taking several people into custody. Wednesday’s early morning raid brought an abrupt end to the country’s first Occupy-style demonstration, which was launched in response to President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration last week. A court on Tuesday ordered police to […]

Tags: , , Posted in Europe

Defiant Mladic Goes on Trial at The Hague

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC-5)
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Prosecutors are making their case against the infamous military commander blamed for helping engineer genocide two decades ago in Bosnia-Herzegovina Former Bosnian-Serb Army Commander General Ratko Mladic gave a thumbs-up and clapped his hands as he entered the courtroom at The Hague. The defiant 70-year-old taunted survivors, looking at one Muslim woman and running his […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe

Facebook Offers More Shares in Stock Debut

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
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Social media giant Facebook says it is boosting the number of shares of company stock it will offer for sale to the public later this week, due to strong investor interest. Facebook said Wednesday it will now offer 421 million shares for sale — a 25 percent increase. The privately owned social network Internet site […]

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Bangladesh to Probe Grameen Bank and Affiliates

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 8:55 am (UTC-5)
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Bangladesh has ordered a probe into Grameen Bank and the 54 businesses associated with the microfinace institution founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. The country’s finance ministry on Wednesday set up a commission that is tasked with determining how Grameen and its affiliated companies should be regulated. The move comes less than two weeks after […]

Tags: , Posted in South Asia

Gunfire, Shelling Leave 9 Dead in Syria

Posted May 16th, 2012 at 8:45 am (UTC-5)
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Activists say government shelling and gunfire killed at least nine people across Syria on Wednesday, most of them in the Idlib province region where violence erupted this week. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least five people were killed after security forces launched raids in the province’s town of Khan Sheikhoun, where a […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Middle East