Armed Malian Islamists are destroying shrines and mausoleums in Timbuktu. Witnesses told VOA Saturday that members of the Ansar Dine Islamist group are attacking the historic sites with axes and other instruments. Witnesses say the mausoleum of a revered Muslim saint, Sidi Mahmoud, has been destroyed. Timbuktu has been listed by UNESCO as an endangered […]
UNHCR: Refugee Status Ends for Angolans and Liberians
Posted June 30th, 2012 at 7:10 am (UTC-5)
The U.N. refugee agency says Angolans and Liberian refugees who live abroad are no longer regarded as refugees. The UNHCR says their refugee status came to an end Saturday because both countries have “enjoyed many years of peace and stability after bitter civil wars.” Adrian Edwards, a UNHCR spokesman, said the agency is working with […]
World Powers Begin Talks on Syria
Posted June 30th, 2012 at 6:40 am (UTC-5)
World and regional powers have begun closed-door talks aimed at salvaging international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan to end the bloody violence in Syria and find a political solution to the crisis. Officials from the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – gathered Saturday […]
World Powers to Hold Talks Saturday on Syria
Posted June 30th, 2012 at 4:50 am (UTC-5)
World and regional powers gather Saturday for a meeting called by international peace envoy Kofi Annan, who wants an agreement on new ideas for dealing with the Syrian conflict. As he arrived for the meeting in Geneva, British Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Russia and China to agree with Western powers on a political transition […]
World Powers to Hold Talks Saturday on Syria
Posted June 30th, 2012 at 3:05 am (UTC-5)
World and regional powers plan to gather Saturday for a meeting called by international peace envoy Kofi Annan, who wants an agreement on new ideas for dealing with the Syrian conflict. The meeting in Geneva will come a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to agree […]
17 Injured in China Quake
Posted June 29th, 2012 at 11:15 pm (UTC-5)
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck a remote region of western China, injuring at least 17 people. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit Saturday morning in China’s northern Xinjiang region, at a shallow depth of 18 kilometers. The USGS said a 6.3 quake is capable of causing severe damage, but it hit in […]
US Urges Albania to Heed EU Recommendations for Improvement
Posted June 29th, 2012 at 8:00 pm (UTC-5)
A senior U.S. official has urged Albania to heed European Union recommendations on the improvements needed to be in place in the Balkan country before it can start negotiations for a membership in the regional bloc. Philip Reeker, deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, has told the VOA Albanian Service that the […]
President Obama Visits Fire-Ravaged Colorado
Posted June 29th, 2012 at 5:25 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama has surveyed the devastation caused by a massive wildfire in Colorado, calling the damage “enormous.” The president Friday saw charred homes and cars melted by fire in Colorado Springs, the state’s second largest city. The Waldo Canyon fire has killed at least one person, destroyed 346 homes and forced the evacuation […]
US, Russia Remain Divided Over Syria
Posted June 29th, 2012 at 5:05 pm (UTC-5)
Top U.S. and Russian diplomats have failed to reach an agreement on how to deal with the rising violence across Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held talks with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov Friday in St. Petersburg, ahead of an international conference on the Syrian crisis. U.S. officials said the two failed to […]
U.S. Congressman Confident to Pass Ban Restricting Lobbying for Foreign Governments
Posted June 29th, 2012 at 3:35 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf has expressed confidence that an amendment restricting former U.S. government officials from lobbying on behalf of certain foreign nations will soon become law. Wolf told VOA Friday that countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Iran, among others, need to be reminded that their government policies, or illegal human rights abuses, […]
