Thousands of Pakistanis are converging on the capital for a protest march led by a cleric who has called for political change. Tahirul Qadri, who recently returned home from Canada, had promised to bring a million demonstrators to the streets of Islamabad Monday in his call for electoral reform, but early estimates say he will […]
Thousands of Demonstrators Gather in Islamabad
Posted January 14th, 2013 at 12:45 pm (UTC-5)
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Switerland Leads Effort to Refer Syria to ICC
Posted January 13th, 2013 at 10:25 pm (UTC-5)
More than 50 countries, led by Switzerland, will ask the United Nations Security Council Monday to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, a move that would pave the way for war crimes prosecutions. A letter obtained by the Associated Press cites the findings of a U.N. expert panel documenting torture, sexual violence and summary […]
Ashraf Meets With Shi’ites Refusing to Bury Their Dead
Posted January 13th, 2013 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
Pakistan’s prime minister has flown to the southwestern city of Quetta to meet with the Shi’ite families holding a protest alongside the coffins containing the bodies of family members killed in one of the country’s worst sectarian attacks. Raja Pervez Ashraf flew to Quetta Sunday, the third day of protests, following the bomb blasts Thursday […]
Tibetan Dies in First 2013 Immolation Protest
Posted January 12th, 2013 at 10:35 am (UTC-5)
A Tibetan man has died after setting himself on fire Saturday to protest Chinese rule in ethnic Tibetan areas. The man, named Tsebey, was in his early twenties. Authorities say he died at the protest site in the Sangchu region of eastern Tibet. Tibetan activists say it was the first self-immolation of 2013. Since 2009, […]
French Hostage Killed in Rescue Attempt in Somalia
Posted January 12th, 2013 at 7:15 am (UTC-5)
French officials say a military agent held hostage in Somalia since 2009 is believed to have been killed during an overnight raid by French troops trying to rescue him. The French Defense Ministry said Saturday Denis Allex was apparently killed during a rescue attempt, along with a French soldier. Another soldier is missing. The Ministry […]
US Senator Rockefeller Announces Retirement
Posted January 11th, 2013 at 6:10 pm (UTC-5)
Five-term U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the great-grandson of a famous 19th century American oil tycoon, says he will not seek a sixth term in 2014. Rockefeller, a 75-year-old liberal Democrat, announced his decision Friday in his home state of West Virginia. He described 2014 as “the right time to find new ways to fight” for […]
US Weekly Oil Production Hits 7 Million Barrels a Day
Posted January 9th, 2013 at 6:35 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. Department of Energy says U.S. oil production for the week ending January 4 exceeded 7 million barrels a day for the first time in two decades. The report, released Wednesday, said the weekly average output is a 1.16 million barrel increase from the same week last year. The jump is attributed to improved […]
Indian Rape Hearing Closed to the Public
Posted January 7th, 2013 at 6:45 am (UTC-5)
The magistrate in India’s capital hearing the case of five of the six suspects in a brutal gang rape cleared the packed courtroom Monday, and said the proceedings will be closed to the public. She announced the closure shortly after the suspects arrived at a fast-track court Monday morning in New Delhi, saying noisy protests […]
Canadian Who Sheltered Americans During Iran Hostage Crisis Dies
Posted January 6th, 2013 at 7:30 am (UTC-5)
(corrects year in graph 5 to 1979) John Sheardown, a former Canadian diplomat who sheltered fugitive American Embassy staffers in his Tehran home during the Iran hostage crisis more than three decades ago, has died. He was 88 years old. Sheardown had been treated for Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments before his death December 30 […]
Global Markets Higher As US Congress Averts Fiscal Cliff
Posted January 2nd, 2013 at 6:25 am (UTC-5)
World markets are opening 2013 on a high note, after the U.S. Congress reached a deal to end the so-called “fiscal cliff” crisis that threatened to send the world’s largest economy into recession. Asian stock markets welcomed the development in the first trading of the new year, with Hong Kong jumping 2.9 percent, Sydney gaining […]
