With exactly one month to go until the U.S. presidential election, polls show the race between President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney essentially tied. The Pew Research Center gives Mr. Romney a four percentage point lead while Gallup puts the president in front by three points. Mr. Romney closed the gap in the polls […]
French Police Fire Tear Gas at Labor Protesters in Paris
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 5:00 pm (UTC-5)
French riot police fired tear gas Tuesday at hundreds of protesters trying to storm a Paris auto show, during nationwide protests over mounting job losses in a moribund economy with 10 percent unemployment. Thousands of other demonstrators marched in Lyon, while operations the ports of Le Havre and Marseille were disrupted. The protests, organized by […]
Death Toll Rises in US Meningitis Outbreak
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. federal health officials say 11 people have now died from a rare fungal meningitis outbreak linked to steroid injections. Updating its figures Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 119 cases of meningitis associated with the deadly outbreak. The CDC says 13,000 people in 23 states may have been injected with the […]
French Police Fire Tear Gas at Labor Protesters in Paris
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC-5)
French riot police fired tear gas Tuesday at hundreds of protesters trying to storm a Paris auto show, during nationwide protests over mounting job losses in a moribund economy with 10 percent unemployment. Thousands of other demonstrators marched in Lyon, while operations the ports of Le Havre and Marseille were disrupted. The protests, organized by […]
Netanyahu Orders Early Elections in Israel
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 3:55 pm (UTC-5)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ordering early parliamentary elections to be held as soon as possible. Mr. Netanyahu said Tuesday he was being forced to form a new government because the current coalition was not able to agree on a budget for 2013. The next elections were scheduled for next October, but will now […]
NATO Ready to Defend Turkey, But No Action Planned
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 3:50 pm (UTC-5)
NATO’s secretary general says the alliance is prepared to defend Turkey against attacks from Syria if necessary. VOA’s Al Pessin reports from Brussels. Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is prepared to act, but he hopes it will not have to do so. “We have all plans in place to protect and defend […]
Taliban Gunmen Shoot Pakistani Teen Activist
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 3:15 pm (UTC-5)
Taliban gunmen in Pakistan have shot and wounded a 14-year-old child activist who became famous for speaking out against the militant group. Malala Yousufzai was shot twice while boarding her school bus Tuesday in Swat Valley. Witnesses said gunmen who came to the school asked for Yousufzai by name before opening fire. She was shot […]
Austrian Skydiver Postpones Supersonic Jump
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
An Austrian man who had hoped to become the first person to break the sound barrier in a skydive scrubbed his attempt shortly before his planned launch. Organizers of Felix Baumgartner’s skydive cited gusty winds as they called off Tuesday’s attempt above the New Mexico desert. There was no immediate word on whether the team […]
More South African Miners Fired After Strikes
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 2:30 pm (UTC-5)
Nearly 3,600 South African mineworkers were fired Tuesday as labor unrest continues to roil the country’s mining industry. Atlatsa Resources said it had dismissed 2,160 workers who have been striking at its Bokoni platinum mines since October 1. It said employees have until the end of the day Wednesday to appeal. Earlier, Gold One International […]
North Korea Says Its Rockets Could Hit Continental US
Posted October 9th, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
North Korea is warning that its rockets are capable of striking the continental United States, two days after Seoul said it signed a deal with Washington to allow South Korea to extend the range of its ballistic missiles. A spokesperson for the North’s National Defense Commission said in state media Tuesday Pyongyang has “strategic rocket […]
