Burmese opposition groups say police broke up a demonstration and detained several protesters after they defied police warnings and took to the streets demanding an end to electricity blackouts. A spokesperson for the National League for Democracy said police dispersed the protest of at least 100 people Thursday in the town of Pyay, about 260 […]
Burmese Police Disperse Protest over Power Blackouts
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 6:25 am (UTC-5)
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UN Panel Blames Syrian Government, Militants for Recent Violence
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
A United Nations panel says both the Syrian government and armed rebels have committed serious human rights violations since March of this year, as violence continues despite a shaky ceasefire. In a report released Thursday, the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria said the army and security forces were responsible for most of the rights […]
Russian Opposition Leader Released From Jail
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 5:45 am (UTC-5)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is calling for more demonstrations following his release from jail Thursday for protesting after President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration. Navalny was greeted by cheering supporters after spending 15 days behind bars. His fellow opposition leader, Sergei Udaltsov, got a similar reception earlier on Thursday. Media reports say Navalny is calling for […]
Blind Chinese Activist’s Brother Flees Guarded Home
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 5:15 am (UTC-5)
The brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is reported to have fled his tightly guarded village in northeast China to seek legal advice on how to protect his son from what he says are retaliatory criminal charges. Media reports say Chen Guangfu met with a lawyer in Beijing Thursday after sneaking out of his […]
Private Spacecraft to Fly Near ISS
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 5:10 am (UTC-5)
The privately-built Dragon space capsule has begun a series of maneuvers around the International Space Station to prepare for Friday’s scheduled rendezvous and docking with the orbital outpost. The U.S. space agency NASA says the unmanned Dragon capsule will fly to within 2.5. kilometers of the ISS as it conducts several procedures to test the […]
Malian Interim Government Focused on Transition Goals
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
A Malian government spokesman says the transitional authority remains focused on organizing elections and resolving the Tuareg rebellion in the north, after the country’s interim president was attacked earlier this week. Hamadoune Toure told VOA the government is committed to a deal between interim president Dioncounda Traore, coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo and the Economic […]
Aung San Suu Kyi to Address Economic Forum in Thailand
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 4:00 am (UTC-5)
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside the country next week for the first time in more than two decades to attend an economic forum in Thailand. A spokesperson for the Nobel laureate’s National League for Democracy said Thursday that Aung San Suu Kyi will deliver a speech in Bangkok at the […]
Voting Resumes in Egypt’s Historic Presidential Election
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 3:25 am (UTC-5)
Voting has resumed in Egypt in a historic presidential election that broadly pits Islamist candidates against secularists rooted in former President Hosni Mubarak’s old guard. The government declared Thursday a holiday to give people more time to cast ballots. But VOA correspondent Elizabeth Arrott says turnout in the Cairo area appears to be weaker Thursday, […]
Asian Governments Stifled Dissent Amid Arab Spring Protests: Amnesty
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 3:15 am (UTC-5)
Amnesty International says several governments in the Asia-Pacific region heightened their crackdown on political dissent in 2011, in an attempt to tighten their grip on power following uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. The group’s 50th annual report on global human rights said Thursday that activists and journalists in Asia were inspired by […]
Amnesty Says Rights Abuses Continue in Burma, Despite Reforms
Posted May 24th, 2012 at 1:50 am (UTC-5)
Amnesty International says human rights abuses in Burma’s ethnic minority areas have increased in the past year, despite recent political and economic reform in the Southeast Asian nation. In an annual report released Thursday, the Britain-based rights watchdog documented cases of extra-judicial executions, torture, and forced labor by Burma’s military in the country’s ethnic conflict […]
