Iraq’s long-suppressed Shia majority is in the ascendancy. Thousands of pilgrims flocked to a Baghdad shrine this week in a vibrant expression of religious identity that would not have been tolerated under the ruler of former dictator Saddam Hussein.
The International Monetary Fund was conceived 67 years ago, during World War II, in an effort to oversee the international monetary system after the war. This report by the U.S. government-funded Voice of America looks into the institution’s history and the challenges that lie ahead.
The UN-backed trial of the top surviving members of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime has finally gotten under way in Phnom Penh. The four defendants include the now 84-year-old Nuon Chea, or Brother Number 2, the chief ideologist behind Pol Pot’s “Killing Fields” revolution.
Turkish riot police used tear gas to break up a rally by thousands in Istanbul, demonstrating over court rulings banning newly-elected pro-Kurdish MPs from taking their seats.
Senegal’s president has blinked in the face of riots in the capital city of Dakar and withdrawn a proposed change to the country’s electoral law.
Charlie Rose discusses U.S. President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan troop withdrawal with Joe Klein of Time and David Ignatius of The Washington Post.
Syrian troops and vehicles are apparently sweeping through Khirbet Al Jouz, a village near the Turkish border. Witnesses say the military is looking for anti government protesters.
Muammar Gadhafi’s forces have shelled the Libyan rebel stronghold of Misrata. The damage to property, livestock and morale shook residents who believed the siege was over.
Nationalists and unionists clash in a second night of violence in Northern Ireland.
A corruption scandal rocking one of Argentina’s leading human rights organisation is now tainting the country’s president, Christina Kirchner.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson says Greece should be allowed to default on its loans.
Swathes of settlements on Syria’s northern border now appear to be little more than ghost towns. The Syrian army is reportedly sweeping through the region, as it tries to stamp out widespread anti-government dissent.
The purchase and sale of carbon credits are relatively new concepts in Africa, accounting for less than three percent of the $144 billion global carbon credit trade. The system is designed to reduce carbon emissions worldwide by allowing projects that that produce low carbon emissions to sell credits to projects that want to reduce their carbon emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Tax and customs fees collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority are supposed to be used to pay wages. However, according to this report by the Russian government-owned news network Russia Today, Israel has refused to hand over the cash on several occasions, saying it could be used to fund terrorist attacks.
Ayman al-Zawahiri takes over the terror network from Osama bin Laden.
Chinese factories are struggling as the export growth-rate slows down. Tough domestic conditions are also hitting their profits. They are facing high borrowing costs and high inflation. And this summer power is in short supply, with blackouts frequently interrupting their operations.
Russia is building the world’s first floating nuclear power plant for mass production. The plant is designed to create enough electricity for 45,000 people and will have the added ability to purify sea water into fresh water.