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 […]
Mladic: Bosnian Serb Army Chief
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 7:45 am (UTC-5)
Former Bosnian-Serb Army Commander, General Ratko Mladic, is facing 11 charges, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the trial that starts Wednesday at a United Nations tribunal in The Hague. The 70-year-old former commander, referred to by his critics as the “butcher of Bosnia,” is accused of ordering the massacre of about […]
Major Cuts in US Nuclear Arms Urged
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 7:10 am (UTC-5)
A nuclear arms control advocacy group is calling on the United States to drastically reduce its stockpile of nuclear weapons. A special panel convened by the group Global Zero has issued a report urging the U.S. to cut its current nuclear arsenal to 900 total warheads, well below the 5,000 nuclear warheads currently in service. […]
Charles Taylor Takes Stand in Sentencing Phase of War Crimes Trial
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 6:25 am (UTC-5)
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has taken the stand in his own defense at a U.N.-backed tribunal, as judges heard oral arguments Wednesday in the sentencing phase of his war crimes trial. Taylor said the Hague-based court “did not have the full contextual picture” of his case when it found him guilty last month on […]
Chinese Dissident Concerned About Relatives, China Responds
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 6:10 am (UTC-5)
China pushed back Wednesday against accusations made by blind dissident Chen Guangcheng, after he pleaded his case to a U.S. congressional hearing for the second time in less than two weeks. Chen told U.S. lawmakers via telephone from his Beijing hospital on Tuesday that he is concerned about the safety of his family, saying both […]
Gunfire in Central Syria Following Tuesday’s Mass Shootings
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
Syrian activists have reported fresh gunfire on Wednesday in the same region of Hama where at least 20 mourners were shot and killed on Tuesday shortly before a roadside bomb exploded near U.N. observers. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights tells VOA the gunfire erupted in the central Khan Sheikhoun region, but it is unclear […]
GM Plans to Pull Ads from Facebook
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 5:20 am (UTC-5)
U.S.-based General Motors says it will stop all of its paid advertising on Facebook, raising doubts about the viability of the popular social network ahead of its eagerly awaited debut as a publicly traded company. A spokesman for the world’s largest automaker says it decided to pull its ads off Facebook because they have not […]
U.N.: Maternal Deaths Cut By Half in Last 20 Years
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 5:10 am (UTC-5)
A U.N. report says the global mortality rate for women giving birth has been cut in nearly half over the past two decades. The report released Wednesday by the Geneva-based World Health Organization said maternal deaths declined from 540,000 in 1990 to 287,000 in 2010. However, the report showed that one woman still dies from […]
China Chastises UK for Hosting Dalai Lama
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 4:30 am (UTC-5)
Chinese state media on Wednesday warned of diplomatic retaliation against Britain after Prime Minister David Cameron held a private meeting with the Dalai Lama in London. An editorial in the official Xinhua news agency called the Monday meeting a “dark moment in China-Britain relations” and said it amounted to “blatant interference in China’s domestic affairs.” […]
Mladic Trial Opens at The Hague
Posted May 16th, 2012 at 4:00 am (UTC-5)
The trial of former Bosnian-Serb Army Commander General Ratko Mladic has started at a United Nations tribunal in the Hague, 20 years after the Bosnian war began. Prosecutor Dermot Groome said Wednesday the army chief’s goal was to ethnically cleanse parts of Bosnia of non-Serbs. Mladic is facing 11 charges, including genocide, war crimes and […]
