Syrian rights activists say violence across the country Wednesday has killed at least 53 people, after the head of a United Nations monitoring mission says his team is committed to staying in the war-torn country. Rami Abdelrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told VOA that he fears Syria will become […]
Activist Fears Syria Will Become ‘New Somalia’
Posted June 20th, 2012 at 11:05 am (UTC-5)
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Egypt’s Mubarak on Life Support as Protests Swell
Posted June 19th, 2012 at 8:25 pm (UTC-5)
Egyptian security sources say ousted President Hosni Mubarak is unconscious and on a respirator after he was rushed from prison to a military hospital following a stroke. Earlier reports by the state news agency MENA said Mubarak’s doctors had declared the former leader “clinically dead” when he arrived at Maadi Hospital in southern Cairo after […]
Chief Monitor: UN Team Repeatedly Targeted in Syria
Posted June 19th, 2012 at 7:40 pm (UTC-5)
The head of the U.N. monitoring mission in Syria, General Robert Mood of Norway, told the Security Council Tuesday his team was repeatedly targeted by gunfire before his decision to suspend operations in the country. U.N. diplomats present at the briefing on Syria said General Mood told the 15-member council that his 300-strong unarmed team […]
Pakistan Top Court Disqualifies PM from Office
Posted June 19th, 2012 at 2:10 pm (UTC-5)
Pakistan’s highest court has declared Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ineligible for office, throwing the country into a new round of political turmoil. On April 26, the Supreme Court found Mr. Gilani guilty of contempt for refusing to ask Swiss authorities to reopen their corruption investigation into President Asif Ali Zardari. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry […]
Obama Says Tensions With Russia Can Be Worked Out
Posted June 18th, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC-5)
U.S. President Barack Obama says tensions with Russia can be worked out following talks with the Russian president spanning a range of topics, including Syria, Iran and trade. During a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Mexico Monday, Mr. Obama said he and President Vladimir Putin agree on the need to seek […]
Iran Nuclear Talks Show Little Progress
Posted June 18th, 2012 at 4:15 pm (UTC-5)
A tense first day of talks between Iran and six world powers in Moscow made little progress Monday on how to end a decade-long dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program. Diplomats said the Islamic Republic asked the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany to discuss rolling back tough European Union and U.S. […]
Conservative Leader Gets Three Days to Form Greek Coalition Government
Posted June 18th, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC-5)
Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras will have three days to form a coalition government, after his pro-bailout party won the most seats in Sunday’s parliamentary elections. The conservative New Democracy party won 30 percent of the vote to take 129 of the 300 seats in parliament, including the 50-seat bonus given to the party with […]
European Stocks Fail to Sustain Rally After Greek Election
Posted June 18th, 2012 at 9:55 am (UTC-5)
Stocks in Europe gave up their initial gains Monday, failing to continue a rally seen in Asia after pro-bailout parties won enough votes in Greece’s parliamentary elections to form a government. Greece’s stock exchange was the exception, holding a 6-percent advance hours into trading. But elsewhere in Europe, fears about other struggling economies — especially […]
Egypt Polls Close, Military Asserts Power
Posted June 17th, 2012 at 5:45 pm (UTC-5)
Polls have closed in the final day of Egypt’s presidential runoff as the military leadership issued an interim “constitutional declaration” expected to formally hand the generals legislative authority following the dissolution of the Islamist-led parliament. Egyptian state television reported late Sunday that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces would explain the widely anticipated declaration […]
French Socialists Win Majority in Parliamentary Vote
Posted June 17th, 2012 at 4:20 pm (UTC-5)
French President Francois Hollande’s Socialist Party has taken a solid majority in Sunday’s runoff parliamentary elections. Partial polling results show the Socialists’ bloc taking up to 320 seats in the 577-member National Assembly, well above the 289 needed for a majority. The conservative UMP party of former president Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to win at […]
