Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has failed to appear for a scheduled meeting with a visiting foreign dignitary for the third time in a week, fueling speculation about his health as Chinese leaders prepare for a transition of power. China’s foreign ministry said last week that Xi would meet Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt in […]
Chinese Vice President Fails to Greet Visiting Dignitary for 3rd Time in Week
HRW Faults DRC Rebels
Human Rights Watch says a rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has committed widespread war crimes, including rapes, killings and torture, abduction and recruitment of children as soldiers. In a report issued Monday, the U.S.-based rights organization says the group March 23 Movement, known as M23, is committing a horrific trail of new […]
Somali Lawmakers Elect New President
Somali lawmakers have elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the country’s new president. The relative newcomer to politics defeated incumbent leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a third round run-off vote Monday, winning support from lawmakers who wanted a change in leadership. Speaker of parliament Mohamed Sheikh Osman said the new president won in a landslide. […]
Syrian Rebel Video Appears to Show 20 Executed Soldiers
Syrian rebels have posted an Internet video that appears to show the bodies of 20 soldiers whom they executed in the northern city of Aleppo. In the video published Monday, the bodies of men dressed in military fatigues can be seen lined up on a pavement with their heads bloodied. The men were blindfolded and […]
38 Killed in Kenya’s Ethnic Clashes
Clashes between farmers and herders in southeastern Kenya escalated Monday when 38 people were killed, including children and police officers. The Red Cross said more than 150 homes were burned during a morning attack by farmers on their livestock herding neighbors in Kenya’s Tana Delta coastal region. One villager described the attackers as wearing green […]
Iraq’s Sunni VP: Shi’ite PM is Behind My Death Sentence
Iraq’s fugitive Sunni vice president has denounced an Iraqi court’s death sentence against him as an act of political retribution by the country’s Shi’ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Speaking from exile in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Monday, Tariq al-Hashemi accused the Iraqi prime minister of manipulating the court to oppress him. In a ruling Sunday, […]
Car Bomb Kills 12 Shi’ites in Pakistan
A car bomb has exploded at a market in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 12 people. The explosion Monday also wounded 45 others. Officials said the victims all were Shi’ite Muslims. Pakistan is dominated by Sunni Muslims, but also is home to a sizeable minority of Shiites, a separate sect of Islam. Sunni extremists have […]
US Transfers Bagram Prison to Afghanistan
The United States has formally handed over control of a controversial prison to the Afghan government, despite concerns about the fate of some of its inmates. A small ceremony at Bagram prison outside Kabul Monday marked the handover of more than 3,000 prisoners from U.S. to Afghan authorities. About 600 remain in U.S. custody. Colonel […]
Somali Lawmakers Elect New President
Somali lawmakers have elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the country’s new president. Mr. Mohamud defeated incumbent leader Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in a third round run-off vote Monday. Speaker of parliament Mohamed Sheikh Osman said the new president won in a landslide. “Sharif Sheikh Amed got 79 votes. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud got 190 votes.” Another […]
Obama Edges Ahead of Romney in Latest Surveys
New political surveys show that President Barack Obama has a small lead over his Republican rival Mitt Romney, as the two candidates enter the final eight weeks of the U.S. presidential election campaign. The Gallup and Rasmussen Reports polls Monday showed President Obama ahead of Mr. Romney by 5 percent following last week’s Democratic National […]