Gunmen have shot and killed a Somali journalist working for an independent media outlet in the capital, Mogadishu. The Shabelle Media Network says broadcast journalist Abdihared Osman Adan was shot several times as he was leaving for work early Friday. He is the first journalist to be killed in 2013 in Somalia, Africa’s deadliest country […]
Gunmen Kill Somali Journalist in Mogadishu
Ballet Director Subject to Acid Attack
The artistic director of Russia’s famed Bolshoi Ballet troupe was injured in an acid attack late Thursday by an unknown assailant. A spokeswoman for the Bolshoi told reporters Sergei Filin suffered severe burns to his face and eyes after a masked attacker splashed concentrated acid on him as he approached his home late at night. […]
IAEA, Iran Fail to Reach Deal on Nuclear Inspections
The chief United Nations nuclear inspector says no deal has been reached with Iran to investigate that nation’s controversial nuclear program, but that a meeting will take place next month on the issue. International Atomic Energy Agency team leader Herman Nackaerts said Friday that two days of “intensive discussions” in Tehran failed to produce an […]
China Reveals Economic Gap Between Rich and Poor
China has released statistics on the income gap between rich and poor after keeping the figures secret since 2000. Ma Jiantang, chief of the National Bureau of Statistics, told a news conference Friday that figures from 2003 to the present showed “the income gap was rather big.” The NBS used the “Gini coefficient” – a […]
US Sundance Festival Showcases International Film, Documentaries
The annual Sundance Film Festival has opened in Park City, Utah, bringing 119 films from 32 different countries to a snow-covered ski town, in what has become known as Hollywood’s winter vacation. This 35-year-old festival was started by actor and director Robert Redford as a way to help independent filmmakers promote their work. Now, it […]
China Breaks Decline in Economic Growth
Chinese officials say the country’s economic growth rose to 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, ending seven straight quarters of slowing down. The National Bureau of Statistics Friday said the growth rate for the period October through December was up from 7.4 percent the previous quarter. It said this brought the growth rate […]