WASHINGTON - U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey assumes his post Friday as President Barack Obama’s choice for the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
General Martin Dempsey comes from the trenches, a veteran of two wars in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
He takes over as the nations’ top military officer at a time when […]
SANAA - Yemen’s Defense Ministry says radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki has been killed.
Awlaki, who is linked to al-Qaida forces in the country, was killed along with several other suspected militants, ministry officials said.
No additional information on the circumstances of his death was released.
But tribal sources and security officials say the U.S.-born cleric was killed […]
JERUSALEM - The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, comes at a turbulent time for Israel.
Israelis are observing Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the High Holy Days and a time of reflection and prayer. There are 10 days of repentance leading up to the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur or the Day of […]
WASHINGTON - U.S. housing prices fell more than 4 percent during the 12-month period ending in July.
Tuesday’s report from a business research group shows declines in most of the 20 cities where it tracks prices.
Comparing July with the previous month, home prices rose slightly, but analysts say the annual figures give a clearer picture of […]
LOS ANGELES - The attorney for the doctor charged in connection with the June 2009 death of U.S. pop star Michael Jackson says the singer’s own actions led to his death.
Doctor Conrad Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson the powerful anesthetic propofol and then failing to properly monitor the singer’s health. But […]
CAIRO - Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has granted Saudi women the right to vote and run in nationwide local elections, four years from now.
The king’s announcement Sunday applies to elections set for 2015. The kingdom holds its next local elections on Thursday, but women are not allowed to vote or run in those.
King Abdullah also […]
SANAA - Yemeni officials say anti-government tribesman have attacked troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, killing a commander and capturing 30 soldiers.
The defense ministry said in a statement that Monday’s attack on a base north of the capital, Sana’a, killed Ali al-Keleibi, a commander in the elite Republican Guard. Officials said four tribesman were […]
TRIPOLI - Libya’s interim rulers say they have found a mass grave believed to hold the remains of 1,270 inmates killed by Moammar Gadhafi’s security forces in a notorious 1996 massacre.
Investigators used information obtained from witnesses and former Gadhafi officials to find the field scattered with bone fragments at Tripoli’s Abu Salim prison. Authorities believe […]
NEW YORK - The U.N. Security Council is set to discuss the Palestinian bid for statehood Monday, as Israeli leaders continue to call for a return to peace talks.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas submitted an application for full recognition of a Palestinian state Friday, and received a hero’s welcome Sunday as he returned to the West […]
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to shore up his support among blacks, telling them to stop complaining and stay with him as he pushes for more jobs and opportunities for American workers.
Mr. Obama spoke Saturday at the annual awards dinner of the Congressional Black Caucus, saying he needs their help to accomplish […]
MOSCOW - Russia’s President and Prime Minister have unveiled a plan to switch jobs next year.
Ending months of intense speculation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Saturday that he would run for a third term as President next March. Putin previously served as Russian president from 2000 to 2008. Given Kremlin control of the media and […]
TOKYO - Japanese officials say they have found elevated radiation levels in rice growing near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan’s farm ministry said late Friday that it is ordering more intensive testing of rice crops in the region of the Fukushima Number One nuclear power plant. The facility spewed radioactive cesium after it was […]
NEW YORK - The long-awaited and controversial move by the Palestinians culminated in a 10-minute meeting at the United Nations, at which Abbas formally submitted the written statehood application to U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-moon.
A half-hour later the Palestinian Authority chief, addressing the U.N. General Assembly and greeted by loud ovations, appealed for international support […]
KITWE - Long-time Zambian opposition leader Michael Sata is scheduled to be sworn in as the country’s next president on Friday, in what will be the country’s second democratic transition of power since its independence from Britain.
Zambia’s Electoral Commission announced early Friday that the 74-year-old populist leader defeated incumbent candidate Rupiah Banda following a tight […]
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has warned the United States it risks losing an ally if the U.S. continues to accuse Pakistan’s intelligence agency of supporting extremist attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was responding to comments by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, who said Thursday Pakistan’s military spy […]
WASHINGTON - Palestinian officials say they will continue their pursuit of full U.N. membership despite diplomatic efforts to persuade them to drop the bid in favor of renewed peace talks with Israel.
U.S. President Barack Obama has told his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, that United Nations action will not achieve a Palestinian state. White House officials […]
NEW YORK - U.S. President Barack Obama told the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday there can be “no shortcut” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Obama said he is frustrated by delays in the peace process, but continues to believe the dispute must be solved through negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and not at the United Nations. […]
CAIRO - Iran has released two American men convicted of espionage, ending a case that had worsened U.S.-Iranian relations for more than two years.
The two Americans, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, were first handed over to Swiss authorities Wednesday afternoon under arrangements that are said to include a combined one million dollars in bail.
The men […]
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama is holding separate meetings in New York Wednesday with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid a push to head off a diplomatic clash at the United Nations.
Abbas is moving ahead with a campaign for full U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, despite efforts […]
WASHINGTON - How to rein in America’s $14.7 trillion national debt remains as contentious as ever, one day after President Barack Obama called for raising taxes on wealthier Americans, ending tax breaks for corporations and trimming federal spending. The president aims to slash federal budget deficits by $3 trillion during the next decade. Mr. Obama’s […]
NEW YORK - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is holding meetings Tuesday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Foreign Secretary William Hague as he presses the Palestinian bid in New York for United Nations recognition.
There was no public Palestinian reply to an offer from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called Monday on the Palestinian […]
KABUL - Afghan police say a suicide attack has killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, the country’s former president tasked with leading peace efforts with the Taliban.
The blast occurred late Tuesday at the Rabbani’s home in the capital, Kabul. One of President Hamid Karzai’s advisors, Masoom Stanekzai, was wounded in the attack.
Mr. Rabbani led Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, […]
WASHINGTON - Presenting his second major set of economic proposals in 10 days, President Barack Obama has unveiled a plan for more than $3 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade, saying all Americans, and specifically the wealthy, will be asked to share the burden of fixing the economy.
Republicans already are criticizing the proposals.
In […]
NEW DELHI - Heavy rain hampered the search Monday for survivors of a 6.9 earthquake that has killed at least 53 people in an isolated Himalayan region straddling India, Nepal and China.
The epicenter of the quake was in the Indian state of Sikkim, about 60 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Gangtok. Officials in Sikkim […]
