French President Francois Hollande’s Socialist party and its allies have won the largest bloc of seats in the first round of voting for the country’s lower house of parliament. Official results for Sunday’s vote show the left wing parties with about 46 percent of the vote in the 577-seat National Assembly. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s […]
French Socialists Lead in Parliamentary Election
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 6:15 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment
3 Killed in Pakistan Blast
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 5:45 am (UTC-5)
Pakistani officials say a bomb blast struck a bus Monday in restive Baluchistan province, killing at least three passengers and injuring 30. Local media report the bomb was affixed to a motor bike and detonated by remote control. Oil-and-gas-rich Baluchistan has been in the grip of a regional insurgency for years as separatist militants fight […]
World Markets Surge After Spanish Bank Rescue
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 5:25 am (UTC-5)
Investors have pushed stock markets across Asia and Europe higher following an agreement by eurozone countries to provide up to $125 billion to rescue Spain’s ailing banks. Markets in Britain, Germany and France were all up about 2 percent in early trading Monday, while shares in Spain — led by financial stocks — surged nearly […]
Russian Police Raid Opposition Leaders’ Homes Ahead of Protest
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 4:30 am (UTC-5)
Russian police and investigators have raided the homes of several opposition leaders on the eve of a planned protest in Moscow. The Federal Investigative Committee said in a statement Monday the searches targeted the organizers of an earlier rally, held last month to protest against President Vladimir Putin. The statement named Alexei Navalny and Sergei […]
ECOWAS Losing Patience with Rebels in Northern Mali
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 2:55 am (UTC-5)
An official with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) says the regional bloc is running out of patience for rebels in northern Mali to relinquish control of key areas. Abdel Fatau Musah, ECOWAS director for external communications, told VOA it will employ “all other measures, including the use of force” if rebels fail […]
Burma Declares State of Emergency
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 2:40 am (UTC-5)
Burma’s president declared a state of emergency Sunday night for a riot-hit western state, wracked by deadly sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims. Thein Sein warned in a televised address to the nation that if the violence in Rakhine state spreads further, it could put the country’s moves toward democracy in danger. He invoked the […]
Libya Switches Vote to July, UN Welcomes Delay
Posted June 11th, 2012 at 1:20 am (UTC-5)
Libya has postponed a landmark election until next month to give the nation more time to prepare for its first vote since last year’s ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in an armed rebellion. The U.N. mission in Libya praised the decision to switch the election for a national assembly from the original date of […]
ICC Team in Libya After Delegation Detained
Posted June 10th, 2012 at 10:40 pm (UTC-5)
Libyan officials say a team of representatives of the International Criminal Court arrived in Tripoli Sunday to secure the release of four of its staffers detained while visiting Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the imprisoned son of deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi. They say the four-member delegation, including Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor, was detained last Thursday and is […]
Burma’s Leader: Unrest Threatens Stability, Democracy
Posted June 10th, 2012 at 7:30 pm (UTC-5)
Burmese President Thein Sein warned Sunday that if sectarian violence in the western Rakhine state spreads further, it could put the country’s moves toward democracy in danger. The president made the comment in an address to the nation, following three days of violence in Rakhine state between Buddhists and members of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic […]
Exit Polls: French Socialists Lead in Parliamentary Election
Posted June 10th, 2012 at 5:15 pm (UTC-5)
Exit polls from France’s first round of parliamentary elections show President Francois Hollande’s Socialist party and its allies winning the largest bloc of seats in the lower house. Early poll results show the left wing parties winning more than 40 percent of seats in the 577-seat National Assembly. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative UMP party […]
