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Pentagon: Last of Surge Troops Out of Afghanistan

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 8:45 pm (UTC-5)
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The Pentagon says the last of the 33,000 troops sent to Afghanistan in what was called the “surge” more than two years ago have pulled out. U.S. troops levels in Afghanistan are now back down to 68,000 — the pre-surge number. President Barack Obama ordered the extra forces to Afghanistan in late 2009 to push […]

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Aung San Suu Kyi Seeks Support From Burmese Diaspora

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 8:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Burma’s democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on the Burmese community in the United States to support the democratic movement in their native land. Speaking mostly in Burmese, the Nobel Laureate on Thursday addressed her compatriots, including a group of Buddhist monks, at American University in Washington. But she reiterated in English that […]

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Obama Uses Pakistani Television to Denounce Anti-Islam Film

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 7:55 pm (UTC-5)
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The U.S. embassy in Pakistan is airing a public service advertisement on Pakistani television that features President Barack Obama denouncing an anti-Islam video that has sparked protests across the Muslim world. The U.S. State Department said the embassy spent $70,000 to run the 30-second announcement, which features the president talking about America’s history of religious […]

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Report: Substance Abuse in US Military a ‘Public Health Crisis’

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 4:10 pm (UTC-5)
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A medical study requested by the U.S. Defense Department says abuse of alcohol and drugs in the U.S. military has become a public health crisis, and says Pentagon efforts to deal with the upturn are out of date. A study by the congressional-chartered non-profit Institute of Medicine says about one in four military personnel who […]

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Taiwan Firm Fined $500 Million in US Price-Fixing Case

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 3:45 pm (UTC-5)
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A U.S. judge has fined a Taiwanese electronics firm $500 million in a conspiracy to fix prices for liquid-crystal-display panels, in one of the largest penalties ever in an American anti-trust case. Judge Susan Illston imposed the sentence Thursday in San Francisco against the AU Optronics company. She also sentenced two of its former executives, […]

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Georgian Official Steps Down Over Prison Abuse

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
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Georgia’s interior minister has resigned, amid continuing protests over alleged prisoner abuse that was filmed and aired on Georgian television this week. Bacho Akhalaia said in a statement Thursday that he is resigning because he feels personal responsibility that he failed to eradicate what he called the “horrible” practice of torture in prisons. Before taking […]

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Blast Kills At Least 30 in Syria’s North

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 2:15 pm (UTC-5)
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A Syrian rights group says a blast in northeast Syria has killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens of others. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quotes witnesses as saying the blast occurred when an air strike hit a fuel station in al-Raqqa province. The group’s director says witnesses told him they saw […]

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Aung San Suu Kyi Seeks Support for Political Prisoners

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi is urging human-rights activists to work to end the plight of political prisoners. The opposition leader told members of the Amnesty International rights group and other supporters in Washington that hatred and fear often prompt officials to detain individuals with different viewpoints. “Prisoners become prisoners out of the fear of […]

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Investors Reimbursed $2.5 Billion in US Fraud Case

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
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Nearly $2.5 billion has been sent this week to victims of a massive fraud case in the U.S. Court authorities said Thursday they mailed checks averaging about $2 million to 1,230 investors who were defrauded by one-time financial manager Bernard Madoff. The investors were victims of Madoff’s long-running Ponzi scheme in which he collected more […]

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Top Burmese Official to VOA: Future Will Be More Peaceful

Posted September 20th, 2012 at 1:55 pm (UTC-5)
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A high-ranking Burmese official says the government will do more to end fighting with ethnic groups and help refugees return to their lands. In an interview with VOA’s Burmese Service , Minister for the President’s Office U Aung Min says the Burmese goverment will make good on pledges to end ongoing skirmishes, especially in Kachin […]

Tags: , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific