NATO’s chief says coalition members have begun outlining their future commitments to Afghanistan after international combat troops leave the country and transfer security responsibility to local forces by a 2014 deadline. NATO Secretary-General Anders-Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that a number of member-states put forward planned financial contributions to Afghan security forces during Wednesday’s meeting of […]
NATO Finalizing Long-Term Commitment in Afghanistan
Posted April 18th, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
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New Photos Show US Soldiers Posing with Afghan Insurgent Remains
Posted April 18th, 2012 at 1:40 pm (UTC-5)
Photographs showing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan posing with the remains of suicide bombers are drawing condemnation from top U.S. and NATO officials. The photos from 2010 obtained by the Los Angeles Times show members of the United States Army posing with the bodies of insurgents who killed themselves in suicide attacks. The Times published two […]
Syrian Cease-fire Teeters as Government, Rebels Report Fresh Attacks
Posted April 18th, 2012 at 9:05 am (UTC-5)
Syria’s nearly week-old cease-fire continued to deteriorate Wednesday as a bombing killed six Syrian law enforcement officers and government forces renewed shelling in the flashpoint Homs region. The state-run SANA news agency says an “armed terrorist group” detonated an explosive device planted on a road in the northern Idlib province. It also says a sniper […]
Nuclear Authority Says Visit to North Korea Now ‘Unlikely’
Posted April 17th, 2012 at 5:10 pm (UTC-5)
The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is now unlikely that it will send a delegation to North Korea, after Pyongyang stated it is no longer bound by an agreement with the United States not to test missiles and nuclear devices. Spokeswoman Gill Tudor made the announcement late Tuesday, ending hopes for the visit for […]
Guinea-Bissau Junta Seeks New “Constitutional Arrangements”
Posted April 17th, 2012 at 11:15 am (UTC-5)
Guinea-Bissau’s military junta says it wants to work out a new “constitutional arrangement” for the country, defying international demands for the current constitution to be restored. A spokesman for the junta, Lieutenant Colonel Dahba Na Walma spoke by phone to VOA on Tuesday. He said junta leaders are in consultation with opposition parties, trying to […]
Afghanistan’s Karzai Wants $2 Billion a Year From US
Posted April 17th, 2012 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he wants the United States to provide $2 billion a year to fund Afghan security forces once international combat troops leave the country in 2014. President Karzai said Tuesday a U.S.-Afghan strategic partnership agreement that is being negotiated should include a written guarantee that Washington will provide at least $2 […]
Guinea-Bissau Coup Leaders Close Air, Sea Borders
Posted April 16th, 2012 at 8:20 pm (UTC-5)
Leaders of last week’s coup in Guinea-Bissau have closed the country’s air and sea borders amid rising pressure on them to give up power. It is not yet clear if the closure announced Monday will affect a delegation from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS. The group is expected in Bissau to meet with the […]
World Bank Chooses US Candidate Kim as Next President
Posted April 16th, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC-5)
The directors of the World Bank have named another American, Jim Yong Kim, to be the president of the global development agency. Dr. Kim is a physician, anthropologist, and president of Dartmouth College. Previously, he ran United Nations’ efforts to fight AIDS, created a non-governmental organization to promote health care for impoverished nations, and taught […]
Pakistani Authorities Search for Escaped Prisoners
Posted April 16th, 2012 at 12:55 pm (UTC-5)
Authorities in northwest Pakistan are looking for more than 300 inmates who escaped from a prison after Taliban militants raided the facility on Sunday. Four senior officials at the prison in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province were suspended after about 150 insurgents, armed with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, stormed the prison, freeing 388 prisoners. The Taliban claimed responsibility […]
Pentagon: Haqqani Network Behind 18-Hour Afghan Assault
Posted April 16th, 2012 at 11:45 am (UTC-5)
The Pentagon says the militant Haqqani network, based in Pakistan, is likely behind the coordinated attacks carried out throughout Afghanistan. Nearly 18 hours of fighting in the capital and parts of three provinces ended early Monday, when Afghan troops backed by NATO helicopters attacked a building in Kabul where the last militants were hiding. Witnesses […]
