Hurricane Sandy slammed into Jamaica Wednesday, pounding the Caribbean island with heavy rains and powerful winds. The streets of the capital, Kingston, are empty. Both international airports are closed, and cruise ships are staying away. Sandy is a Category One storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, but still dangerous with 130 kilometer-per-hour […]
Terrorist Sentenced to 37-Year prison Term in ‘Millennium’ Bomb Plot
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
A U.S. federal court has sentenced convicted Algerian terrorist Ahmed Ressam to a 37-year-prison term for the 1999 New Year’s Eve plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport. The court in Seattle, Washington imposed the sentence Wednesday, after prosecutors appealed an earlier 22-year sentence as too lenient. Prosecutors pushed for stiffer penalties, arguing Ressam continues […]
AU Lifts Mali Suspension
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 4:40 pm (UTC-5)
The African Union has lifted its suspension of Mali as it works on plans to send a military force to the West African nation. AU officials say Mali is again allowed to participate in all the organization’s activities and meetings. The AU suspended Mali in March after a group of soldiers staged a coup just […]
Tunisian Man Held In Connection With Attack On US Embassy In Libya
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
Tunisia’s government says it has arrested one of its nationals believed to be linked to the September-11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. Interior Ministry spokesman Tarrouch Khaled said Wednesday that 28-year-old Ali Harzi was in custody in Tunis. He gave no other details. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died in the […]
Washington Accuses Bank of America of Fraud
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 1:35 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. government is suing the Bank of America, seeking more than one billion dollars for alleged fraud in the sale of home mortgages. The Bank of America is a private company and the second-largest bank in the United States. The bank bought Countrywide mortgage company, which is accused of selling thousands of fraudulent loans […]
Georgia’s Next PM Says Will Quit in 18 Months
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 12:00 pm (UTC-5)
Georgia’s future prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, says he plans to quit politics in 18 months. The billionaire politician made the announcement to opposition lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday. Mr. Ivanishvili, who has previously said he has no long-term political aspirations, says he will stick to his election promises but leave politics after a year-and-a-half. He […]
Somali Journalist Killed; 16th This Year
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
Gunmen have shot dead a Somali television reporter, the 16th journalist killed this year in Somalia. The National Union of Somali Journalists says Ahmed Farah Ilyas, a reporter for Universal TV, was gunned down late Tuesday in Las Anod district of Somalia’s Sool region. It says the 27-year-old was heading home when unidentified men opened […]
Detained Russian Activist Details Abduction from Ukraine
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
A jailed Russian opposition activist charged with planning mass riots has given details on how he was allegedly abducted from Ukraine by Russian special forces and tortured into confessing. Leonid Razvozzhayev, an assistant deputy of the opposition Just Russia party, told human rights activists visiting him Wednesday in detention that he was dragged into a […]
Rockets Slam Southern Israel, Israeli Strikes Back
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 9:30 am (UTC-5)
Dozens of rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, wounding several people, while Israeli warplanes have killed four Gaza militants in an escalation of a long-simmering conflict. The Israeli military said at least 68 rockets and mortars struck southern Israel on Wednesday, damaging homes and wounding several foreign laborers working in […]
Pope Names 6 Non-European Cardinals
Posted October 24th, 2012 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
Pope Benedict has named six new cardinals from around the world to serve in an elite group of prelates who will one day select a new pope. The six newest members of the Vatican’s College of Cardinals hail from the United States, Lebanon, India, Nigeria, Colombia and the Philippines. The Roman Catholic Church leader announced […]
