Syrian state media say gunmen have stormed the headquarters of a pro-government television station, killing seven employees, while United Nations investigators are accusing President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of committing rights violations on “an alarming scale.” Wednesday’s pre-dawn attack on the al-Ikbariya satellite channel near Damascus killed three journalists and four security guards. The station is […]
Gunmen Attack Pro-Assad Syrian TV Station
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 10:20 am (UTC-5)
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Tuareg Rebels, Islamist Militants Clash in Northern Mali
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 8:15 am (UTC-5)
Witnesses in a restive northern Mali town say fighting has broken out between Taureg rebels and Islamist militants. Residents say gunfire erupted in the center of Gao on Wednesday between the Tuareg separatist MNLA and the MUJAO militant group. A VOA reporter says residents took shelter in their homes as the two sides fire heavy […]
Handshake Between Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Ex-IRA Leader
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 7:25 am (UTC-5)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has engaged in an historic handshake with a former leader of the separatist group that waged a bloody decades-long fight for Northern Ireland’s independence from British rule. The handshake between the monarch and Martin McGuinness, a former leader of the Irish Republican Army-turned deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, took place Wednesday […]
125 Rescued from Capsized Refugee Boat Off Australian Coast
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 7:20 am (UTC-5)
Australian authorities have rescued most of the people on board a crowded refugee boat that overturned Wednesday in the Indian Ocean. Rescuers saved 125 people from where the ship capsized, about 200 kilometers north of Australia’s remote Christmas Island. Authorities say one body has been recovered, and as many as 20 people could still be […]
Top US Afghan General to Visit Pakistan Amid Tensions
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 7:00 am (UTC-5)
The head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan is visiting Pakistan Wednesday to urge Pakistani officials to crack down on militants who launch cross-border attacks into Afghanistan. U.S. General John Allen is holding talks with Pakistani army chief General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani. The United States has repeatedly called on Pakistan to go after the […]
UN: Fighting in Syria Escalated ‘Dramatically’ Since February
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 6:40 am (UTC-5)
United Nations investigators say fighting in Syria has “escalated dramatically” despite a commitment by both the government and opposition forces to halt violence under international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan. In a report Wednesday to the U.N. Human Rights Council, the investigators said the situation in Syria is “dangerously and quickly deteriorating.” The report said […]
Cambodia: Court Frees Land Eviction Protesters
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
A Cambodian court has ordered the release of 13 women who were imprisoned after protesting in support of families whose homes were destroyed during forced evictions. The women were sentenced last month to two and a half years in prison, following a brief trial that rights groups described as hasty and unfair. Judge Seng Sivutha […]
Humorist, Screenwriter Nora Ephron Dies at 71
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 5:45 am (UTC-5)
American writer Nora Ephron, who wrote the screenplays for popular romantic comedies along with a series of memorable humorous essays, has died in New York City at the age of 71. Her family says Ephron passed away Tuesday after a battle with leukemia. The daughter of Hollywood screenwriters, Ephron gained fame for such romantic comedies […]
South Korea Bans Imports of 35 Japanese Seafood Products
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
South Korea has placed a temporary import ban on 35 Japanese seafood products because of fears of lingering radiation contamination from last year’s devastating nuclear disaster. Seoul’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries says the ban is a temporary measure meant to protect South Korean citizens from products originating from the waters near the […]
Veteran US Lawmakers Defeat Party Challengers
Posted June 27th, 2012 at 3:50 am (UTC-5)
Two veteran U.S. congressional lawmakers have survived strong challengers in their respective primary elections. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah defeated former state senator Dan Liljenquist in Tuesday’s primary vote. Liljenquist, who was backed by the conservative Tea Party movement, won enough votes at the state Republican nomination convention to face Hatch in the primary. […]
