Posts Tagged World News
New deficit projections pose risks to Obama’s agenda
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s domestic policy proposals will face the reality of skyrocketing deficits on Tuesday when officials release two government reports projecting huge budget shortfalls over the next decade.
The White House budget office and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a non-partisan arm of Congress, release updated economic forecasts and deficit estimates on [...]
Obama to visit China in mid November: new U.S. ambassador
BEIJING, U.S. President Barack Obama will pay his first visit to China in mid November, the U.S. ambassador to China said on Saturday.
“Much is happening in U.S.-China relations this year. President Obama is going to be visiting in the middle of November,” Washington’s new China ambassador Jon Huntsman told journalists on [...]
Lutherans to allow sexually active gays as clergy
MINNEAPOLIS – The nation’s largest Lutheran denomination took openly gay clergy more fully into its fold Friday, as leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to lift a ban that prohibited sexually active gays and lesbians from serving as ministers.
Under the new policy, individual ELCA congregations will be allowed to hire homosexuals in [...]
Tribune finalizes sale of Cubs to Ricketts family
CHICAGO – Media conglomerate Tribune Co. announced a definitive agreement Friday to sell all but a 5 percent stake in the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field to the billionaire Ricketts family, capping a tortuous process that began nearly 2 1/2 years ago.
Tribune valued the transaction at about $845 million.
“Our family is thrilled to have reached [...]
Senate negotiators aim to cut costs in health bill
WASHINGTON – Bipartisan health care negotiators are aiming to cut the costs of their bill after getting an earful from voters, a participant in the closed-door talks said Friday.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, a moderate whose support could be crucial if President Barack Obama is to realize his goal of a comprehensive health care overhaul, said [...]
ETA weapons stashes networks found in southern France
PARIS, French police found a large network of weapons and explosives stashes belonging to Basque separatists ETA in southern France Friday, AFP reported.
Italian authorities continue search for remains of immigrants at sea
ROME, Italian coastal patrols on Friday continued their search for the remains of 73 migrants reported to have died aboard a boat which ran out of fuel while crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
Hungarian president calls Slovak entry ban “unprecedented”
BUDAPEST, Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom called a ban on him from entering Slovakia on a private visit “unprecedented, inexplicable in the relationship between two allied countries and unforgivable,” local wire service MTI reported on Friday.
Death toll from Russian power plant accident rises to 47
MOSCOW, The death toll from an accident at Russia’s largest hydroelectric plant rose to 47, with 28 others still missing, Russian news agencies reported Friday.
Italian FM says voting in Afghanistan successful
ROME, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Friday that the presidential elections in Afghanistan represented “a sure sign of the Afghan people’s desire to move towards democracy.”
Hungarian police arrest 6 for Roma killings
BUDAPEST Hungarian police early on Friday apprehended six men suspected of being involved with murdering ethnic Roma (Gypsies). Four of the six were placed in preliminary detention, local wire service MTI reported.
ADB assists China in financial planning for agriculture sector
MANILA, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is assisting China in reviewing government spending in the agriculture sector to further improve productivity and ensure food security.
Indian gov’t plans to hold peace talks with Kashmiri separatists
NEW DELHI, The Indian government will invite separatists in India-controlled Kashmir for peace talks for the first time in three years, reported local newspaper Hindustan Times on Saturday.
Tonga officially ends air, sea search for sunken ferry
WELLINGTON, The air and sea search for the sunken ferry in Tonga was officially ended on Friday and the New Zealand Navy divers have left the country after finding and filming the wreck of the ferry Princess Ashika, according to local media on Saturday.
Unaligned voters favor Japan’s DPJ in election: Asahi Shimbun survey
TOKYO, More than half of unaffiliated voters plan to vote for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the proportional representation portion of the Aug. 30 Lower House election, according to an Asahi Shimbun study released Saturday.
Indonesia’s former health minister detained for graft case
JAKARTA– Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Friday detained former Health Minister Achmad Sujudi for graft case, the Kompas daily reported on Saturday.
DPRK delegation requests meeting with S Korean president
SEOUL, A DPRK delegation, paying a condolatory visit to Seoul for late President Kim Dae-jung, requested on Saturday a meeting with S. Korean President Lee Myung-bak, saying it has brought a message from DPRK leader Kim Jong IL, local media reported.
Major temblor jolts Indonesia’s West Sumatra
JAKARTA, Aftershock quakes measuring 5.0 and 5.1 on the Richter scale jolted the Sipura Mantawai region in Indonesia’s West Sumatra province at midnight and 1.48 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, the Antara news agency reported on Saturday.
Indonesia to obtain $2.7 bln funds from IMF
JAKARTA, Indonesia to receive a grant formed in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) worth SDR 1.74 billion, or equals to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars, from the International Monetary Funds (IMF), the Detik.com newsportal reported.
S Korean Unification Minister meets DPRK counterpart
SEOUL, South Korea’s unification minister Hyun In-taek met with his counterpart from Pyongyang on Saturday in the first high-level cross-border contact in nearly two years.
Philippine police nabs militant leader wanted for terrorist attacks
MANILA, Philippine police on Friday captured an alleged militant leader whose group was blamed for a series of plots to bomb high-profile targets in the country over the past few years.
