Showing Archived Posts

Obama Calls on Congress to Act on Gun Control

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

U.S. President Barack Obama has called on Congress to act on reinstating an assault weapons ban and closing the gun show loophole that allows guns to be purchased from private dealers without background checks. At the White House Wednesday, President Obama said he has named his vice president, Joe Biden, to lead an effort to […]

Tags: , , , , , Posted in US

South Korea Elects 1st Woman President, Dictator Park’s Daughter

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 12:20 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Park Geun-hye [pronounced: park goon-‘HEH] has been elected to become South Korea’s first female head of state. Ms. Park, a conservative five-term lawmaker, won the election Wednesday with 51.6 percent of the vote to 48 percent for her opponent Moon Jae-in, with more than 90 percent of the votes counted. Moon conceded the race shortly […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Swiss Bank UBS Fined $1.5 Billion for Interest Rate Manipulation

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Switzerland’s giant UBS bank is paying $1.5 billion in fines to international regulators after admitting its fraudulent role in rigging a key global interest rate for loans. UBS agreed Wednesday to pay the fines to U.S., British and Swiss authorities, along with pleading guilty to a fraud charge in the United States. Last June, American […]

Tags: , , , Posted in Economy

White House Threatens to Veto Republican Budget Plan

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

The White House says U.S. President Barack Obama would veto the Republican “Plan B” tax proposal that is designed to avert the “fiscal cliff,” saying the plan places too large a burden on the middle class without balancing spending cuts and tax increases. White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer says the Republican plan does not […]

Tags: , , Posted in US

Russian Parliament Passes Measure Banning US Adoptions

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Russia’s parliament has approved a measure banning Americans from adopting Russian children. Lawmakers from Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved the bill after a second reading Wednesday. To become law, the bill must pass a third reading, then clear the upper house before going to President Vladimir Putin for his signature. Mr. […]

Tags: , , Posted in Europe

Obama is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 10:45 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Time magazine has named U.S. President Barack Obama its “Person of the Year.” The magazine says the president’s historic reelection was symbolic of the country’s changing demographics. It also called him the “symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America.” This is Mr. Obama’s second time receiving the accolade; Obama, a Democrat […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in US

US to Wind Down Its General Motors Stake

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

The U.S. is winding down its stake in the country’s biggest auto maker, General Motors. GM said Wednesday it would pay $5.5 billion for 200 million shares of stock held by the government, with the United States likely to sell its remaining 300 million shares over the next 12 to 15 months. The U.S. rescued […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in Economy

South Korea Elects 1st Woman President, Dictator Park’s Daughter

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 10:00 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Park Geun-hye [pronounced: park goon-‘HEH] has won Wednesday’s presidential election in South Korea and will become the country’s first female head of state. Her rival, Moon Jae-in, conceded the race shortly after the National Election Commission was quoted as saying the conservative Ms. Park was a certain winner. Ms. Park, 60 years old, is a […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific

Germany to Treat Ailing Iraqi President

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Iraqi officials say President Jalal Talabani is showing signs of improvement and responding to treatment after being hospitalized for a stroke. Doctors in Baghdad say he will be transferred to Germany within a day for treatment. Deputy Health Minister Issam Namiq said Wednesday that medical teams from Germany and Iran have arrived to help with […]

Tags: , , Posted in Middle East

S.Korean Media Project Park as Next President

Posted December 19th, 2012 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

South Korean media are projecting that conservative candidate Park Geun-hye has won Wednesday’s election, which would make her the first ever female president in the country’s history. With partial returns counted, at least three major South Korean media outlets are projecting a narrow victory for Park, the five-term lawmaker and 60-year-old daughter of South Korean […]

Tags: , , , , Posted in East Asia Pacific