The slumping U.S. labor market added a meager 96,000 jobs last month, but the country’s unemployment rate declined as more Americans abandoned their search for work. The government reported Friday that the August jobless rate was 8.1 percent, down from 8.3 percent in July. It was the 43rd straight month that the figure has been […]
US Labor Market Slumping, Even as Jobless Rate Falls
US to Designate Pakistan’s Haqqani Network as Terror Group
The U.S. has moved to designate the Pakistan-based Haqqani network as a terrorist organization, a decision that could pave the way for tough financial sanctions against the militant group. A senior State Department official says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a report to Congress Friday that says the group meets the criteria for a […]
Pakistani Judge Grants Baill to Girl Accused of Blasphemy
A Pakistani judge has granted bail to a Christian girl accused of blasphemy. Rimsha Masih was arrested last month in Islamabad after angry neighbors accused her of burning pages from the Quran. During a hearing on Friday, a Judge Judge Mohammad Azam Khan ordered Masih’s release after hearing arguments from lawyers on both sides. She […]
Earthquake Kills 43, Damages 40,000 Homes in Southwest China
Chinese state media say a series of earthquakes in southwestern China has killed at least 43 people and injured scores of others. The official Xinhua news agency says the 5.7-magnitude quake and several subsequent tremors hit Yunnan and Guizhou provinces Friday, damaging about 40,000 homes in the area. At least 16 aftershocks have been reported. […]
Clinton Heads For APEC Summit in Russia
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has wrapped up her six-nation tour of Asia and is heading for a meeting of Asia-Pacific nations in Vladivostok, Russia. A territorial dispute in the South China Sea is high on the agenda at the gathering of officials and economic leaders from more than 20 nations. China claims sovereignty […]
Putin: Moscow Won’t Change Position on Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that Moscow is not ready to shift its stance on supporting Syria, and suggested that Western nations are relying on militant groups like al-Qaida to help topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Speaking on Russia Today television, Mr. Putin called this a “dangerous and very shortsighted” policy, but he did […]
European Central Bank to Buy Government Bonds
The European Central Bank says it is going to buy the bonds of the debt-ridden countries in the euro currency union in hopes of easing their borrowing costs. The bank set no limit Thursday on the volume of the bonds it plans to buy, Europe’s latest effort to resolve the three-year debt crisis. The bank […]
Obama To Sketch Economic Vision During Acceptance Speech
U.S. President Barack Obama will use Thursday’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention to explain his economic vision for the country and attempt to woo undecided voters. Mr. Obama’s adviser David Plouffe told ABC television Thursday that, after the address, voters would have a “very clear sense” of where the president believes the country […]
60 Dead After Boat Capsizes Off Turkish Shore
Turkish officials say at least 60 people have drowned, about half of them children, after a boat carrying illegal immigrants sank in waters off western Turkey. The provincial government of Izmir said Thursday that 31 of the victims were children, and most of the others were women. The boat is believed to have been bound […]
Egypt, Turkey Criticize Syria’s Assad
Egypt’s president says Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad must learn from “recent history” and step down before it is too late, while Turkey’s prime minister said Syria has become a “terrorist state” carrying out massacres against its own people. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi told a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo Wednesday that a resolution […]