The U.S. women’s gymnastics team has won an Olympic gold medal for the first time since 1996. In the fourth day of the London games Tuesday, the U.S. team lived up to its potential with a score of 183.596, five points ahead of silver-medal winner Russia. Romania took the bronze. The win provided some consolation […]
India Starting to Emerge from Blackout
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC-5)
The lights are flickering back on in New Delhi and other parts of India, hours after a massive power grid failure plunged much of the country into darkness. Indian media reports power was restored in most of the Indian capital late Tuesday, allowing train service to resume and for traffic lights to come back to […]
German Rider Makes History at London Olympics
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
A German athlete has made equestrian history on the fourth day of competition at the London Olympics. Michael Jung jumped his way to a gold medal Tuesday to become the first rider to hold European, world and Olympic individual titles. In canoe, slalom-singles competition, France’s Tony Estanguet moved through choppy waters to win his third […]
Syrian Activists Report Continued Fighting
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 12:35 pm (UTC-5)
Syrian opposition activists have reported widespread clashes, including continued fighting in the country’s largest city, Aleppo. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government forces were shelling several neighborhoods in Aleppo, and soldiers were clashing with rebels in the city. The Observatory, whose reports from witnesses inside the country cannot be confirmed because of […]
Buddhist Protesters Greet UN Rights Expert in Western Burma
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
A U.N. human rights expert has traveled to several Burmese towns in the country’s west where deadly riots erupted between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims last month. A local monk told VOA’s Burmese service that about 100 Buddhists staged a peaceful protest in the town of Maungdaw as Tomas Ojea Quintana visited Burma’s Rakhine state, near […]
UN Renews Darfur Mission, Shrinks Force
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 12:05 pm (UTC-5)
The U.N. Security Council has extended the mandate of peacekeepers in Sudan’s Darfur region but is slightly cutting the size of the force. The Security Council adopted a resolution Tuesday extending the joint U.N.-African Union mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, through July 31 of next year. The measure lowers the number of troops in […]
Eurozone Unemployment Hits New High
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
Unemployment in Europe’s 17-nation euro currency zone has hit a new high. The European Union said Tuesday that nearly 18 million people were jobless in June, the highest level since the eurozone was formed in 1999. The EU pegged the unemployment rate at a record 11.2 percent, equaling the revised figure for May. At the […]
Pakistan, US Sign NATO Supply Deal
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
Pakistan and the United States have signed an agreement outlining the movement of NATO supply convoys through Pakistan and into Afghanistan through the end of 2015. The deal signed Tuesday formalizes an arrangement that has allowed the U.S. to supply its troops that have been fighting in the Afghan war for over a decade. It […]
Russian Opposition Activist Faces Theft Charges
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 10:10 am (UTC-5)
Russian authorities have charged prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny with theft — the latest development as the Kremlin cracks down on dissent. Investigators said in a statement Tuesday they suspect Navalny played a part in a scheme to steal assets from a state timber company — totalling about $500,000 — while he was advising a […]
Syrian Activists Report Continued Fighting
Posted July 31st, 2012 at 10:00 am (UTC-5)
Syrian opposition activists have reported widespread clashes Tuesday, including continued fighting in the country’s largest city, Aleppo. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces were shelling several neighborhoods in Aleppo, and soldiers were clashing with rebels in the city. The Observatory, whose reports from witnesses inside the country cannot be confirmed because […]
