The U.N. climate talks in Doha were extended into Saturday because delegates remain divided over how to stop climate change and how to pay for it, and how to deal with their differences. The talks were due to end Friday, but negotiators struggled to agree even on more modest issues. Developing countries want to extend […]
Syrian Rebels Set Sights on Damascus Airport
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
Syrian rebels say they plan to seize Damascus International Airport, declaring it a legitimate target in their fight to topple President Bashar al-Assad. A rebel commander said Friday attacks on the airport are justified because it is being used as a military zone. He said civilians should avoid the area. It was unclear just how […]
US High Court To Rule on Gay Marriage Cases
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 5:00 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. Supreme Court says it will rule on two same-sex marriage cases next year challenging state and federal laws that limit the definition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman. The High Court said Friday it will review a federal appeals court ruling that struck down Proposition 8 — the […]
Greek Economy Still Plunging
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 3:40 pm (UTC-5)
The economy in debt-ridden Greece is continuing its freefall, contracting 6.9 percent in the July-to-September period compared to a year ago. The Athens government said Friday the third quarter drop was a slight improvement from an earlier forecast. But the Greek economy is expected to contract another 4.5 percent next year, which would be its […]
Nurse Fooled by Prank on Royal Family Found Dead
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 2:20 pm (UTC-5)
London hospital officials say a nurse who mistakenly accepted a prank phone call for Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge this week has been found dead. Authorities at the King Edward VII Hospital on Friday confirmed the death of Jacintha Saldanha and said she had been the first recipient of the prank call for the Duchess, […]
Russian PM Defends Raid on Filmmaker’s Home
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 1:15 pm (UTC-5)
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has defended a police raid on the home of a filmmaker working on a documentary about modern Russian politics and political protest. Speaking in an interview with a group of broadcasters Friday, Mr. Medvedev said the police who conducted the raid on the home of Pavel Kostomarov earlier that morning […]
China Rejects US View on Rights in Tibet
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
China has lashed out at the United States for remarks by a U.S. official blaming China’s restrictive policies in Tibet for a rise in self-immolation protests. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Friday called the remarks “disgusting” and said the Tibet issue has nothing to do with human rights, ethnicity or religion. Hong repeated […]
Troops Surround Syrian Capital’s Southern Suburbs
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
Syrian activists say the army has bombed two Damascus suburbs and poured in military reinforcements in an effort to try to reclaim territory controlled by rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday the army fired rockets at the rebel-held Daraya and Moadamiah suburbs southwest of the capital. The group said it feared that […]
Egyptian Protesters Converge on Presidential Palace
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 9:50 am (UTC-5)
Opponents and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi have taken to the streets of Cairo, converging on the presidential palace in another day of demonstrations that have gripped the capital. VOA’s correspondent in Cairo, Elizabeth Arrott, says anti-Morsi crowds participating in Friday’s demonstrations are furious that the Egyptian leader has refused to call off a […]
Earthquake, Tsunami Hits Japan
Posted December 7th, 2012 at 9:30 am (UTC-5)
A powerful undersea earthquake has shaken Japan’s northeastern coast, triggering a small tsunami and causing buildings to sway as far away as Tokyo. A one-meter high tsunami swept ashore Friday in Ishinomaki, in Miyagi prefecture, the same region that was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. No deaths have been reported from Friday’s […]
