Kofi Annan resigns as Syria peace envoy
Kofi Annan, the special envoy to the United Nations and Arab League, submitted his resignation, after months of unsuccessful attempts to resolve the Syrian conflict, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday. In a statement, Ban said Annan informed him “of his intention not to renew his mandate” when it expires at the end of August. Annan tried to achieve a basic cease-fire in the conflict that began as a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad 17 months ago, but [...]
620M in dark as world’s biggest blackout in India worsens
In India, New Delhi’s Metro shut down and hundreds of coal miners were trapped underground after three Indian electric grids collapsed in a cascade on Tuesday, cutting power to 620 million people, half the population, in the world’s largest blackout. Hospitals, factories, and airports switched automatically to their diesel generators during the blackout that reached half of India. Some homes relied on backup systems powered by truck batteries, while hundreds of millions of India’s poorest had no electricity to lose. [...]
Syrian rebels hold government supporters in prisons in former school
In a classroom in a former school this week, at least 40 adult men sat barefoot on cushions on the crowded floor in front of the teacher’s chalkboard. They bore shaven heads and hid their faces as armed men showed visiting journalists the room. “They are shabiha,” said one of the armed men, referring to Syria’s much-feared pro-government militia.
Syrian rebels from the Tawheed (Unity) Brigade converted the school, which houses at least 112 detainees, into a makeshift detention months [...]
Newspaper office in Mexico attacked for second time
A prominent Mexican newspaper office was set on fire on Sunday by two masked men, the second similar attack on the daily this month. According to the newspaper, the armed men walked into the Sierra Madre office of the El Norte newspaper in the northern city of Monterrey, threatened a security guard, poured gasoline out of canisters, and lit the building on fire.
The 15 people that were in the building were not injured, the paper said. Although no group [...]
London welcomes the world for opening ceremony of Olympic Games
On Friday night, one of the biggest secrets in London will finally be revealed as nearly a billion people witness the extravaganza created by Danny Boyle, best known for the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionare.” Friday morning in Great Britain began with bells ringing around the country, including London’s famous Big Ben, which sounded for three minutes. The Olympic torch, which has journeyed around the United Kingdom for 70 days, boarded the royal barge Gloriana. Rowers will propel the barge, which [...]
Murder charges filed in Chinese political scandal
The wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai and a family aide have been charged on Thursday with the murder of a British businessman, according to the government, pushing ahead a case at the center of a chaotic political scandal that uncovered divisions in China’s leadership. According to Xinhua News Agency, Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had a dispute with Briton Neil Heywood over money and worried that it would threaten her and their son’s safety. Gu and the family aide, [...]
North Korea’s young leader Kim Jong Un gets married
The youthful leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, married a woman identified as Ri Sol-Ju, North Korean state TV reported on Wednesday, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry. Kim, who remains a mystery to the rest of the world, became the third generation of his family to lead his isolated country when he assumed power following his father’s death in December 2011.
His father, Kim Jong Il, known as “Dear Leader,” ruled for 17 years after he inherited power from [...]
Ghana swears in new president, hours after leader’s death
Officials in Ghana swore in a new president on Tuesday, hours after the death of the West African nation’s leader. John Evans Atta Mills died unexpectedly at a military hospital on Tuesday afternoon a few hours after he became ill, according to a statement from Chief of Staff John Henry Martey Newman. Mills was 68.
In a ceremony broadcast on state television, John Dramani Mahama, Ghana’s former vice president, became the country’s new president and ordered that flags be flown [...]
Andy Coulson, Rebekah Brooks, others charged in Murdoch empire hacking scandal
British prosecutors say they’re charging Prime Minister David Cameron’s ex-top aide, a former protégé of Rupert Murdoch, and six others in Britain’s swelling investigation into the media empire’s phone hacking scandal. According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Andy Coulson and former London-based News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks are among those who will be charged over their roles in the hacking scandal.
Brooks issued a statement after the charges were announced, declaring her innocence and promising to defend herself [...]
Syrian officials threaten to use chemical or biological weapons
The Syrian regime, for the first time on Monday, acknowledged that it possessed stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons and said it will only use them in case of a foreign attack, but never internally against its own citizens. Syria is believed to have nerve agents as well as mustard gas, Scud missiles capable of delivering lethal chemicals and a variety of advanced conventional arms, including anti-tank rockets and late-model portable anti-aircraft missiles. Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said the [...]
At least 100 killed in attacks in Iraq, reports say
A series of deadly attacks hit across Iraq early on Monday, killing at least 100 people and wounding dozens more, becoming the deadliest attack this year in Iraq, reports said. According to Ministry of Interior officials, the deadliest attack was at an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad when militants armed with mortars and small arms struck, killing at least 15 soldiers. Fifty miles north of Baghdad, at least three people, according to the officials, were wounded in the brazen [...]
Syrian rebels vitalized after assassinations
A daring assassination has shaken the inner circle of family and enforcers that has kept President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship in power during a 17-month rebellion. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Syria, with its escalating violence, is spinning out of control. It was a bomb, planted inside the daily meeting of al-Assad’s security chiefs, which exploded and killed its highest officials. Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and al-Assad’s brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat, feared former head of military intelligence, were killed, along with [...]