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African Union Sets 2013 Budget

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
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Leaders at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa have approved a new $280 million budget to finance the AU’s operations for the upcoming year. An AU official says 96 percent of the AU’s program budget will be financed by the institution’s global partners, which he says come with certain restrictions that hamper its work. […]

Tags: , Posted in Africa

Spanish Workers Protesting Austerity Measures

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 10:40 am (UTC-5)
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Spanish workers are protesting in the streets against government plans to impose new austerity measures that will cut their wages. Thousands of people poured into the streets of Madrid Sunday night in a spontaneous protest sparked by calls on Internet social networking sites. A smaller group of firefighters, police and other government workers marched again […]

Tags: , , Posted in Economy

Egypt’s Mubarak Ordered Back to Prison

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
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Egypt’s official news agency says the prosecutor general has ordered former president Hosni Mubarak be moved from a military hospital back to prison, now that his health has improved. Prosecutor General Abdel Maguid Mahmoud’s decision means the 84-year-old former leader could be back in prison later Monday. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison for […]

Tags: , Posted in Middle East

UN Report: Somali Gov’t Deeply Corrupt

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 10:00 am (UTC-5)
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A United Nations report obtained by VOA says Somalia’s transitional government is so deeply corrupt that it is essentially ruled by a popular Somali phrase – “What’s in it for me?” The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea suggests rampant theft of public funds is behind efforts by some political leaders to “hijack or […]

Tags: , , Posted in Africa

Police Kill 2 Burqa-Clad Militants in NW Pakistan

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
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Police officials in northwestern Pakistan say they have killed two militants disguised in burqas who attacked a police station on the border with the North Waziristan tribal agency. District Police Chief Waqar Khan tells VOA that two attackers armed with suicide vests and guns stormed the building in Bannu Monday and tried to take hostages. […]

Tags: , , Posted in South Asia

Clinton in Israel for Talks on Middle East Upheaval

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Israel to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on their peace process, the political upheavals in Syria and Egypt, and Iran’s potential nuclear threat. Clinton on Monday met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. She said she was in Israel “at […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Middle East

Peace Process, Regional Concerns Lead Clinton Talks in Israel

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 9:10 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with Israeli and Palestinian officials Monday for talks focused on their peace process, as well as developments in Egypt, Syria and Iran. Clinton met with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and she is holding talks with Israeli leaders about letters the two sides recently exchanged as the […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Middle East

Piracy Drops in First Half of 2012

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
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The number of pirate attacks reported in the first half of 2012 has declined sharply, led by drop in Somalia piracy activity. In a new report, the International Maritime Bureau said there were 177 piracy incidents reported in the first six months of this year, compared to 266 incidents for the corresponding period in 2011. […]

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Thousands Protest Nuclear Power in Japan

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 8:50 am (UTC-5)
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Tens of thousands of people rallied in Tokyo to protest the use of nuclear power, highlighting the growing opposition to atomic energy in Japan since the crisis at the Fukushima power plant. The protest Monday comes as Japan prepares to restart another reactor shut down after last year’s March tsunami and earthquake set off multiple […]

Tags: , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Syrian Fighting Reaches Capital

Posted July 16th, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC-5)
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Syria moved armored vehicles into the capital Damascus as opposition fighters battled Syrian government forces in what residents described as the fiercest fighting yet inside the capital. Activists said Monday the fighting had spread to several neighborhoods and in the center of the city. The spread of fighting came as U.N. peace mediator Kofi Annan […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East