DAMASCUS – The newly minted U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria vowed Thursday during his first visit to Damascus to “spare no effort” to help end that country’s civil war. Lakhdar Brahimi, who replaced Kofi Annan as the international community’s point man for the conflict, held “candid and comprehensive” talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem,…
WASHINGTON – The United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens, was killed in a rocket attack on the American Consulate in the city of Benghazi on Tuesday, a contractor working at the mission said Wednesday after seeing Stevens’ body. Three American security staff were also killed, said the contractor, who asked not to be…
HARARE – Strengthening auditing standards and efficacy of corporate boards, among other measures, could improve the medium-term outlook of Zimbabwe’s financial sector, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said. Damoni Kitabire, an economist with AfDB’s Zimbabwe office, said there is need for government to address protection of minority shareholders, prevalence of trade barriers and the issue…
NORTH CAROLINA – A Democratic National Convention vital to President Barack Obama’s re-election bid will hear from former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday after the first lady and other opening night speakers urged supporters to fight for a man they portrayed as a strong leader committed to equal opportunity for all. Cheering delegates also heard…
DAMASCUS – More than 100,000 Syrians fled their country in August, the UN says – the highest monthly number of refugees since the conflict began in March 2011. In one month, the UN refugee agency says the total number of people to have left almost doubled to 235,200. “This is a significant escalation in refugee…
DAMASCUS – Heavy clashes erupted across Syria on Saturday while government forces battled opposition fighters in various cities. At least 162 people died across Syria on Saturday, including 55 in and around Damascus, opposition activists said. Several political activists reported that regime forces raided a hospital in the Damascus suburb of Kafar Batna, killed medical…
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heading to Asia on Thursday for a wide-ranging trip that will take her from the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean to China and Russia farther north. The State Department says the week-and-a-half-long trip is intended to emphasize a strong, long-term U.S. focus on the entire…
DAMASCUS – Egypt’s president has told a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) that the Syrian uprising is a “revolution against an oppressive regime”. Mohammed Mursi, making the first visit to Iran by an Egyptian leader since 1979, said the movement had an “ethical duty” to support the uprising. His comments sparked a walkout by…
KOGELO – Waving her walking cane and smiling broadly, the step-grandmother of Barack Obama celebrated yesterday as the tiny western Kenyan village danced and rejoiced after the United States president won four more years in the White House. Kogelo, a dirt-road town where children play soccer in bare feet, was the home of Barack Obama’s…
HARARE – Zanu PF has hailed “democratic” America, with party officials claiming Barack Obama’s win over Republican nominee Mitt Romney is a victory against racists. Having suffered major attacks by the United States Republican regime led by George Bush (Junior) which slapped sanctions on many top Zanu PF officials, President Robert Mugabe’s party had been…
