Global financial markets dropped sharply Monday in reaction to an unprecedented downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating and continued concerns about government debt problems in Europe. U.S. stock markets opened with a drop of more than 2 percent Monday. Major indexes across Asia closed between 2 percent and nearly 4 percent lower, and European […]
Fighting at Site of US Helicopter Crash in Central Afghanistan Continues
Posted August 7th, 2011 at 6:05 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan and U.S. forces battled insurgents in central Wardak province Sunday, near the site where a U.S. army helicopter went down a day earlier, killing 30 U.S. troops, including special force Navy SEALs, eight Afghan commandos and an interpreter. The fighting was ongoing as NATO teams tried to recover the wreckage of the twin rotor […]
U.S. Treasury Secretary Will Stay On
Posted August 7th, 2011 at 5:05 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told President Barack Obama he will stay on the job despite economic turmoil and pressure from some Republicans to resign. The Treasury Department said Sunday Geithner looks forward to the important work ahead on the challenges that face the country. A White House spokesman says President Obama is pleased […]
Rights Groups: Syrian Troops Kill 53 People in Raids on Towns
Posted August 7th, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
Syrian rights groups say government troops backed by armored vehicles have killed at least 53 people in assaults on two towns where civilians have protested President Bashar al-Assad’s autocratic rule. The rights groups say at least 42 people were killed Sunday after Syrian forces launched a pre-dawn raid on the eastern town of Deir el-Zour. […]
S&P Defends US Credit Downgrade
Posted August 6th, 2011 at 9:15 pm (UTC-5)
Standard & Poor’s is standing firm on its decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating amid criticism from U.S. officials that the downgrade was hasty and based on false information. S&P officials on Saturday defended their decision to drop the credit rating from the top rank of triple-A to double A-plus. They blamed Congress for […]
UN’s Ban to Assad: Stop Military Force Against Civilians Immediately
Posted August 6th, 2011 at 8:25 pm (UTC-5)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to immediately stop using military force against civilians taking part in a four-month-old anti-government uprising. The U.N. press office says Mr. Ban conveyed the message in a rare telephone call with the Syrian president on Saturday. It says the U.N. Secretary-General also expressed “strong […]
Al-Shabab Militants Withdraw From Somali Capital
Posted August 6th, 2011 at 2:55 pm (UTC-5)
Somalia’s U.N.-backed federal government is hailing the news that al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants have begun pulling out of Mogadishu. In a statement Saturday, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said it is a “tremendous step forward” towards a more stable Somalia. He said the al-Shabab retreat was the result of military operations earlier in the week by […]
Karzai: 31 US Special Forces Killed in Afghan Helicopter Crash
Posted August 6th, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says 31 members of U.S. special forces and seven members of an Afghan special unit have died in a helicopter crash in the eastern part of the country. Officials say the crash in Wardak province represents the biggest death toll in a single incident for international forces in Afghanistan since the […]
Supporters of Former Ukrainian PM Protest Her Arrest
Posted August 6th, 2011 at 10:00 am (UTC-5)
Supporters of former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko have started a sit-in outside the Kyiv courthouse to protest her arrest. At least 100 supporters, including some members of the Ukraine parliament, pitched 30 tents Saturday and said they would maintain a vigil until authorities released the 50-year-old former leader. Ms. Tymoshenko was arrested in the […]
S&P Downgrades US Credit Rating for First Time
Posted August 5th, 2011 at 9:00 pm (UTC-5)
The credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time ever from the country’s elite triple-A status to double-A-plus. In a statement late Friday, S&P said it made the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the […]
