Representatives of nearly 120 nations, including dozens of heads-of-state, will convene in Tehran next week for a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement. Some leaders will attend the summit even as they help enforce the sanctions that are crippling Iran’s economy. Analysts will be watching to see whether the meeting improves Iran’s position in global diplomacy. […]
Iran Hosts Non-Aligned Summit Despite Sanctions
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 11:20 pm (UTC-5)
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US To Expand Missile Defense In Asia
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. defense officials say the United States is planning to expand its missile defenses in Asia, in response to threats from North Korea and aggressive moves by China. News reports Thursday quoted officials as saying the buildup could include a new radar in southern Japan and possibly another one in Southeast Asia. The X-band radars […]
Egyptian President Orders Journalist Freed from Jail
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 5:55 pm (UTC-5)
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has ordered a newspaper editor accused of insulting him freed from jail. Mr. Morsi Thursday decreed that no journalist shall be jailed for such alleged publishing-related crimes as libel and slander. It was his first presidential decree since taking law-making powers away from the military earlier this month. The president’s decision […]
Researchers Find Rare Photo of Westerner Killed by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
A Cambodian-led research team has uncovered a rare photograph of one of the few Westerners to be killed at a notorious Khmer Rouge prison in the 1970s. The Documentation Center for Cambodia sent the photograph of French embassy worker Andres Gaston Courtigne to VOA’s Khmer Service Thursday. Chief archivist Chhang Youk said his team found […]
Syrian Forces Carry Out Assault on Damascus
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
Syrian government forces intensified efforts Thursday to seize control of parts of the capital and its surrounding areas from rebel fighters. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the military bombed Daraya, on the edge of Damascus, and nearby Moadamiyeh. The London-based group also reported house-to-house raids in Daraya and fierce clashes in the Hajar […]
Heavy Fighting in Syrian Capital
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 1:05 pm (UTC-5)
Parts of Syria’s capital were under siege Thursday, with pitched fighting reported between Syrian government forces and rebels. Activists reported shelling and house-to-house raids in Daraya, on the edge of Damascus, as well as clashes in the city’s Hajar al-Aswad district. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebel fighters killed or wounded 10 […]
Mali’s Ansar Dine Defends Punishments, Strict Sharia
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 12:30 pm (UTC-5)
A spokesman for an al-Qaida-linked militant group in northern Mali says its members are “ready to die” in order to enforce what the group considers Islamic law. In an interview with VOA , the spokesman for extremist group Ansar Dine defended actions such as amputating the hands of thieves, destroying historic sites and silencing all […]
Pakistan Summons US Diplomat on Drone Strikes
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
Pakistan has summoned a senior U.S. diplomat to protest against drone strikes on Pakistani soil. Three separate attacks in the last week have killed at least 16 suspected militants in the North Waziristan tribal agency, a known hub for al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Thursday the American diplomat was informed that the […]
Heavy Rain, Floods Kill 26 in Pakistan
Posted August 23rd, 2012 at 10:30 am (UTC-5)
Authorities in northern Pakistan say heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 26 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. In Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, disaster management official Raja Sajjad Khan told VOA 1,000 families have been affected by the flooding and moved to higher ground. He says 750 homes have been damaged. At least nine of […]
