Egypt’s president says Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must learn from “recent history” and step down before it is too late, while the Turkish prime minister said Syria has become a “terrorist state” carrying out massacres against its own people. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo Wednesday that a […]
Official: Hundreds of Afghan Soldiers Detained in Insider Attack Probe
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 6:50 am (UTC-5)
Afghan officials say they have detained or expelled hundreds of Afghan soldiers as part of a probe into the recent string of insider attacks. At least 45 international troops have been killed this year after Afghan security forces turned their weapons on their coalition counterparts. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi said Wednesday the […]
Deadly Blast Hits Indian Fireworks Factory
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 6:20 am (UTC-5)
An explosion at a fireworks factory has killed at least 20 people in southern India. Officials say Wednesday’s blast triggered a massive blaze that swept through the fireworks plant in Tamil Nadu state. Witnesses said huge plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the factory in the town of Sivakasi. Authorities were pulling bodies […]
Amnesty: Maldives’ Rights Abuses Contrasts Paradise Image
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 6:00 am (UTC-5)
Amnesty International is urging the international community to not ignore what it says is a growing human rights crisis in the Maldives. The London-based rights group released a report late Tuesday documenting targeted attacks by police on opposition supporters as well as bystanders at protests that were held earlier this year. Maldives’ first democratically elected […]
Swedish Retailer H&M Urges Higher Wages for Bangladeshi Workers
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 5:30 am (UTC-5)
Swedish clothing retailer H&M is urging Bangladesh’s government to raise textile workers’ minimum wage. H&M said Wednesday that its CEO, Karl-Johan Persson, made the request during a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka earlier this week. The fashion giant says it is urging Bangladesh to consider an annual review of the local […]
Syrian Forces Shell Aleppo, 19 Killed
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 5:15 am (UTC-5)
Activists say Syrian forces have killed at least 19 people, including seven children, when they shelled rebel-controlled areas of the commercial capital, Aleppo. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday that 1 civilians were killed in the southern neighborhood of Bustan al-Qasr while a total of nine bodies, including those of the children, […]
Reports: Japan to Buy Disputed East China Sea Islands
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
Japan’s government has agreed to buy a group of East China Sea islands at the center of a heated territorial dispute with China. Japanese media reported Wednesday that the central government will pay private Japanese landowners $26 million for the three main islands in the chain, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. […]
Afghan Soldiers Detained in Connection With Insider Attacks
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
Afghan officials say they have detained or expelled several Afghan soldiers as part of a probe into the recent string of insider attacks. At least 45 international troops have been killed this year after Afghan security forces turned their weapons on their coalition counterparts. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zaher Azimi told reporters in Kabul […]
Clinton Renews Call for Code of Conduct Between China, ASEAN
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 4:35 am (UTC-5)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has renewed her call for China to agree on a code of conduct for managing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. At a Wednesday news conference in Beijing, Clinton told reporters it is in “everyone’s interest” for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to agree on […]
Chinese Men Charged with Trying to Buy U.S. Trade Secrets
Posted September 5th, 2012 at 4:15 am (UTC-5)
Two Chinese nationals have been charged in the U.S. with trying to steal trade secrets from an American manufacturer of insulation so they could start a competing plant in China. Ji Li Huang and Xiao Guang Qi appeared in a federal court in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday. They are accused of trying to pay […]
