The world’s population hit 7 billion on Monday amid celebrations and concerns about how the growing number of people will impact the earth’s resources. The United Nations chose October 31 to mark the milestone. Although it is impossible to pinpoint the arrival of the world’s 7 billionth baby, the Philippines was the first country to […]
Kyrgyzstan PM Leads Presidential Vote
Posted October 31st, 2011 at 7:40 am (UTC-5)
Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev is poised to become president after taking a commanding lead in the country’s first presidential election since last year’s bloody uprising ousted the government. With nearly all of the first-round votes counted, official results have the Moscow-backed Mr. Atambayev far ahead of 15 other candidates, with 63 percent of the […]
4 Killed in Afghan Suicide Blast
Posted October 31st, 2011 at 4:25 am (UTC-5)
Afghan officials say a suicide car bomb blast has killed four people near the offices of a non-government organization in the southern city of Kandahar. Authorities say at least four people were wounded in the Monday morning blast. After the explosion, armed insurgents rushed into the area and seized control of an animal clinic. Afghan […]
Arab League Awaits Syria’s Reply on Ending Crackdown
Posted October 30th, 2011 at 8:00 pm (UTC-5)
Arab League states say they have presented Syrian officials with a concrete plan that would end the country’s deadly crackdown on an opposition uprising, and that they expect Damascus to respond on Monday. Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani led Sunday’s talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. He said a “positive” and “serious” proposal […]
Kyrgyz PM Holds Big Lead in Presidential Poll
Posted October 30th, 2011 at 6:55 pm (UTC-5)
Kyrgyzstan’s prime minister Almazbek Atambayev has taken a commanding lead in the country’s first presidential election since last year’s bloody uprising ousted the government. With most of the votes counted, official results give Mr. Atambayev about 65 percent of the vote — far ahead of 15 other candidates. They include former boxer Kachimbek Tashiyev, whose […]
More Israeli Airstrikes, Palestinian Rockets
Posted October 30th, 2011 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
Israeli aircraft attacked a group of Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip Sunday, killing one person, hours after militants fired rockets into southern Israel for a second day. Medics say the Palestinian was killed Sunday afternoon in an Israeli airstrike along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt. Israel says it struck militants who were preparing a […]
Israeli Air Strike in Gaza Kills 7 Militants
Posted October 29th, 2011 at 6:00 pm (UTC-5)
Israeli air strikes on an Islamic Jihad base in the southern Gaza Strip killed seven militants Saturday. Islamic Jihad said a commander of the Palestinian militant group was among those killed in the attacks. The air raids prompted a retaliatory rocket fire by Palestinian militants in which at least four Israeli civilians were wounded. Israeli […]
Deadly Attacks Hit Afghanistan
Posted October 29th, 2011 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber has attacked a convoy of foreign troops in the capital, Kabul, killing as many as 10 people. Authorities say the bomber targeted a NATO bus Saturday in the Darulaman area. An interior ministry spokesman said the dead included three civilians and a police officer. A NATO statement says […]
Mass Exodus From Bangkok Ahead of Floodwaters
Posted October 28th, 2011 at 6:35 pm (UTC-5)
Tens of thousands of people are pouring out of Bangkok, attempting to escape floodwaters that are slowly swallowing the city. Bangkok residents are flocking to airports as well as train and bus stations, while others are trying to drive their way out, taking advantage of a government-issued five-day holiday. Many headed south to areas of […]
DR Congo Candidates Urged to Avoid Hate Speeches
Posted October 28th, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
Political candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being urged to avoid hate speech as they campaign for upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. Campaigning for the November 28 poll opened on Friday. Human Rights Watch told VOA that since March, the organization has documented dozens of cases of “apparent ethnic hate speech and incitement […]
