Greek lawmakers have approved the country’s 2013 budget, which cuts spending and raises taxes in a bid to prevent the country from going bankrupt. Next year’s austerity budget reportedly includes $12 billion in pension, wage and spending cuts. Its approval comes days after parliament narrowly voted to proceed with other austerity measures. The lawmakers are […]
Moderate Syrian Cleric to Lead Opposition
Syrian opposition groups have elected a moderate cleric, Maath al-Khatib, as the first leader of a new coalition that unites the disparate factions fighting to end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Businessman Riad Seif, who proposed the U.S.-backed initiative to establish an umbrella organization of Syrian- and external-based opposition, was elected vice president on […]
West African Leaders Approve Military Plan for Mali
West African leaders have approved a military strategy to help Mali retake control of the north of the country from Islamist rebels. Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) agreed on an African force made up of some 3,000 troops with a one-year mandate. The majority of the troops would come […]
Thousands Protest in Greece as Budget Vote Looms
Thousands of protesters gathered outside of Greece’s parliament as lawmakers prepared to vote on the annual budget which is expected to cut spending and raise taxes as part of a plan to secure foreign aid. More than 13,000 people marched through the streets of the capital, Athens, Sunday, in demonstrations ending at the city’s main […]
Obama Pledges to Improve US Veterans’ Access to Education, Benefits
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to serve American military veterans by improving their access to education and medical benefits. In a speech Sunday marking the annual Veterans Day holiday, Mr. Obama said his administration is helping veterans to obtain a college education and “pursue their dreams.” Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, he […]
West African Leaders Meet, Discuss Military Plan for Mali
West African leaders met in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to discuss a military strategy to help Mali retake control of the north of the country from Islamist rebels. Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States gathered in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, Sunday to approve the blueprint, which was drawn up by African […]
NATO Soldier, 11 Afghans Killed in Separate Attacks
A gunman wearing an Afghan army uniform has shot and killed a member of the U.S.-led coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan, the latest in a spate of insider attacks that are fracturing the trust between NATO and Afghan forces. ISAF Joint Command said Sunday the service member was killed in the south. His identity and […]
Burma Quake Kills at Least 13 People, Collapses Bridge
Burmese officials and witnesses say a strong earthquake has killed at least 13 people and injured many others in the center of the country. The 6.8 magnitude tremor struck an area about 110 kilometers north of the Burmese city of Mandalay at 7:42 a.m local time on Sunday. Several aftershocks followed, one of them with […]
Syria Opposition Signs Unity Deal
Syrian delegates at opposition talks in Qatar say they have signed a hard-fought agreement to form a new coalition of forces fighting to end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Leading dissident Riad Seif said the groups “signed a 12-point agreement to establish a coalition.” Seif had drawn up the U.S.-backed reform proposals on which […]
Israel Fires Warning Shots into Syria
Israeli troops fired warning shots into Syria after stray munitions from fighting between Syrian troops and rebels landed in Israel’s Golan Heights area. The military said in a statement Sunday that a mortar shell landed near an Israeli army post in the Golan Heights. It says that Israeli soldiers fired warning shots in response. The […]