West African defense chiefs will open a two-day meeting Friday to finalize the deployment of a standby force for military assistance and support requested by Mali. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mission would play a support role in Mali, providing logistical and air support to Malian forces working to retake control of […]
West Africa Defense Chiefs to Finalize Mali Assistance Mission
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 5:50 am (UTC-5)
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Pakistani Police Pursue Murder Charges in Deadly Fire
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 5:20 am (UTC-5)
Police in Pakistan have filed murder charges against the owners of a factory where nearly 300 people died in a fire. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed Thursday that 264 people were killed when a blaze ripped through a garment factory in the southern port city of Karachi. Officials had earlier put the death toll […]
US, Libya Pledge Cooperation in Attack Probe
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
The United States and Libya have agreed to cooperate closely in investigating the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi by suspected Islamist militants that killed the American ambassador to Libya and three members of his staff. The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama called the president of Libya’s National Assembly, Mohamed Magarief, […]
U.S. Martian Rover Nearing First Major Drive
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 5:00 am (UTC-5)
The Mars rover Curiosity will undergo a final round of mechanical checks Thursday before making its first lengthy drive across the surface of the Red Planet. Engineers with the U.S. space agency NASA have kept Curiosity parked in one spot for the past week while testing its sophisticated instruments, including a high-resolution camera and a […]
Rights Watchdog Slams Thai Refugee Policies
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
Human Rights Watch is blasting what it calls Thailand’s “arbitrary” policies toward refugees that it says leave thousands vulnerable to arrest and deportation. In a report Thursday, the rights monitoring group documented Thailand’s treatment of the estimated 140,000 refugees bunched in camps along Thailand’s border with Burma. The report said refugees living within the remote […]
American Kidnapped in Pakistan Urges Israeli Help
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 3:40 am (UTC-5)
An American kidnapped in Pakistan last year is appealing to Israel’s prime minister to help secure his release. Gunmen kidnapped 71-year-old Warren Weinstein from his home in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore in August of 2011, just days before he was scheduled to return to the United States. In a video posted on the […]
Pol Pot’s Sister-in-Law Deemed Unfit to Stand Trial, Released
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 2:50 am (UTC-5)
Cambodia’s United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal has ordered the release of Ieng Thirith, the aging sister-in-law of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. On Thursday, the court said the 80-year-old – once dubbed the “First Lady” of the Khmer Rouge – is unfit to stand trial for genocide because of a degenerative illness, likely Alzheimer’s […]
Peace Envoy to Make First Syria Visit
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 2:30 am (UTC-5)
The new United Nations-Arab League envoy for Syria travels to Damascus Thursday in his first official visit to try to revive efforts to halt the country’s persistent violence. Lakhdar Brahimi is expected to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the trip. On Wednesday, Brahimi was in Cairo for talks with Arab League officials about […]
Chinese State Media Mention Xi, as Rumors Continue
Posted September 13th, 2012 at 1:35 am (UTC-5)
Chinese state media have mentioned leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping for the first time since he mysteriously disappeared from public life 12 days ago. The official Guangxi Daily said Wednesday that Xi, currently vice president, joined other top leaders in expressing condolences to the family of a Communist Party official who died last week. The article did […]
