A controversial Islamist-dominated panel writing Egypt’s new constitution has convened to begin voting on the document’s final draft, a move likely to stoke a widening political crisis over decrees giving President Mohamed Morsi near absolute powers. Egyptian television said it would broadcast Thursday’s vote live in the assembly – a body that has been boycotted […]
Egypt Panel Convenes to Vote on Constitution
Group Says China Fueling Global Illegal Timber Trade
A top environmental group says China is fueling the global illegal timber trade as it tries to power its rapidly growing economy. A report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency said China’s “insatiable appetite for raw material” is also “effectively exporting deforestation around the world.” It said China, the world’s second largest economy, is the […]
Suicide Bomber Attacks Militant Commander in NW Pakistan
A suicide bomber attacked a prominent militant commander in northwest Pakistan Thursday, wounding him and killing at least six people. Officials say Maulvi Nazir was one of at least 12 people hurt in the Thursday’s blast in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal agency. Nazir is the main militant commander in South […]
Roadside Bomb Kills 10 Afghan Civilians
Authorities say a roadside bomb has killed ten people in southern Afghanistan, most of them women and children. The bomb ripped through a van as it traveled in the Deh Rawood district of Uruzgan province. Provincial officials say at least eight people were wounded in the blast. The families were said to be on their […]
Iraq Bombings Kill 38
Iraqi officials say bombings have killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 100 others. Authorities say back-to-back explosions rocked the city of Hillah, while another bomb blast erupted in the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Karbala. Thursday’s bombings come just two days after car bombs targeted a Shi’ite procession in Baghdad, killing 12 […]
Suicide Bombing Kills 6, Wounds Militant Commander in NW Pakistan
A suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan has wounded a militant commander and killed at least six people. Officials say Maulvi Nazir was one of at least 12 people wounded in the blast Thursday in Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal region. He is the most prominent militant commander in South Waziristan, with […]
Iraq Bombings Kill 30
Iraq officials say bombings have killed at least 30 people and wounded at least 65 others. Authorities say back-to-back explosions rocked the city of Hillah, while another bomb blast erupted in the Shi’ite Muslim holy city of Karbala. Thursday’s bombings come just two days after car bombs targeted a Shi’ite procession in Baghdad, killing 12 […]
China Border Patrols to Search, Expel ‘Illegal’ Foreign Ships
China will soon allow border police to board and search foreign ships that enter what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea. In a move likely to raise regional tensions, state media say police in the southern island province of Hainan will soon be authorized to “land on, check, seize, and […]
UN War Crimes Tribunal Acquits Former Kosovo PM
A United Nations tribunal has acquitted former Kosovo prime minister Ramush Haradinaj and two associates of war crimes. Prosecutors had alleged that during the fighting in Kosovo in the late 1990s, the men were part of a joint enterprise that abducted and tortured 16 civilians, and ultimately killed eight of them. Haradinaj was a former […]
N.Korea Replaces Defense Minister in Military Shakeup
North Korea has replaced its defense chief with a hardline general believed to have masterminded deadly 2010 attacks on South Korea. South Korean officials said Thursday that Kim Kyok Sik was named to the post of Armed Forces Minister. He is is believed to have orchestrated the sinking of a South Korean warship and an […]