PARIS — The United Nations’ cultural agency decided Monday to give the Palestinians full membership of the body, a vote that will boost their bid for recognition as a state at the United Nations. UNESCO is the first U.N. agency the Palestinians have joined as a full member since President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the […]
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Archive | October, 2011
Palestine joins UNESCO as full member
October 31, 2011 
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BETHLEHEM — The UN’s cultural agency voted to admit Palestine as a full member on Monday, weeks before the Security Council is due to report on Palestine’s bid for full membership of the United Nations. Palestine overcame US and Israeli opposition to join the cultural body, with UNESCO saying that 107 member states voted […]
Read morePhotostream : Chinese President Hu Jintao meets Austrian President Heinz Fischer
October 31, 2011 Comments Off
Sources: Hamas Leader Khaled Meshaal to visit Jordan before Eid
October 31, 2011 Comments Off
Amman — The political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Meshaal is to visit Amman soon for a series of meetings with Jordanian officials topped by King Abdullah II, a well-informed Jordanian source told the PIC on Sunday. He said that the visit would signal the return of political relations between Hamas and Jordan, adding […]
Read moreRussia thanks Switzerland for WTO mediation
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
MOSCOW — Russia said Sunday it’s close to a deal in talks with Georgia that would open the way for Moscow to be approved as a member of the World Trade Organization by the end of the year. Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev thanked visiting Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey for Swiss mediation of the talks. Calmy-Rey voiced hope that her nation’s efforts will help Russia […]
Read morePope prays for flood victims
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying for the victims of recent flooding in Thailand and Italy. Benedict began his greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday by recalling the devastation caused by heavy rains in the two countries. Thailand’s worst flooding in half a century has claimed 381 lives over the last three […]
Read morePhotostream : Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa meets Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
Chinese President Hu Jintao leaves for Austria, to attend G20 summit
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
BEIJING — Chinese President Hu Jintao left Beijing Sunday afternoon to pay a state visit to Austria and attend the sixth Group of Twenty (G20) summit, which is scheduled to be held in the southern French city of Cannes from Nov. 3 to 4. Hu was invited by both Austrian Federal President Heinz Fischer […]
Read moreFukushima pollution much larger says French report
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
French researchers say the amount of radioactive cesium that has leaked from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean is 20 times larger than the plant operator estimated. The French government’s nuclear research institute, IRSN, released its contamination report on Saturday. It calculates that 27.1 thousand terabecquerels of radioactive cesium 137 […]
Read morePrince Turki of Saudi Arabia : Global community accepts Palestine as a state
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
WASHINGTON — Prince Turki Al-Faisal extolled Americans to follow the legacy of their US constitution and stand up for the rights of Palestinians. He was given a standing ovation from the US audience when he made this statement at the 20th annual National Council on US-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) on Friday. He also said America […]
Read moreCrown Prince Naif : Most successful fighter against terror
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
JEDDAH — With Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and interior minister, next to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, residents and expatriates of Saudi Arabia can be rest assured that terrorist forces will never dare to roil the security in the Kingdom. It is because Naif is arguably the most successful leader […]
Read moreNew Saudi crown prince says Kingdom to remain stable
October 30, 2011 Comments Off
DUBAI —- Prince Nayef, the new heir to Saudi Arabia’sKing Abdullah, said on Saturday the oil-rich kingdom would remain stable despite the turbulence afflicting the Middle East. “Let’s take the reality, we are living in such conditions in the region where there is turbulence from all sides,” he said in his first remarks to Saudi state television […]
Read morePakistan rejects US claims on border fire
October 28, 2011 Comments Off
PAKISTAN — Pakistan on Friday rejected US accusations that Pakistani armed forces allow insurgents to fire on American troops across the border in Afghanistan. “I completely reject this, this is wrong and baseless,” military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP. US officials have reported a sharp rise in cross-border attacks against its forces in eastern Afghanistan as relations deteriorated […]
Read moreHillary Clinton defends US policy on Pakistan
October 28, 2011 Comments Off
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has defended the government’s policy of maintaining cooperative ties with Pakistan in the war on terrorism. Clinton testified about the war in Afghanistan at the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday. She admitted that the US is increasingly concerned about militants being given safe haven in Pakistan. But […]
Read moreSaudi King Names Interior Minister Crown Prince
October 28, 2011 Comments Off
RIYADH — Saudi King Abdullah late Thursday named his conservative half brother and interior minister, Prince Nayef, as the crown prince following the recent death of the heir-apparent to the kingdom’s throne. Prince Nayef is one of the most powerful princes in the world’s top oil-producing nation. He became the crown prince after a special […]
Read moreChinese President Hu Jintao to visit Austria, attend G20 summit
October 28, 2011 Comments Off
BEIJING — Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Austria and attend the G20 summit, which is scheduled to be held in Cannes, France, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4. President Hu was invited by both Austrian Federal President Heinz Fischer and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which is taking the […]
Read moreRainbow of religious leaders join Pope for peace
October 27, 2011 Comments Off
ASSISI, Italy— Buddhist monks, Muslim imams, Yoruba leaders and a handful of agnostics traveled with Pope Benedict XVIto the Umbrian hilltown of Assisi on Thursday to make a communal call for peace and insist that religion must not be used as a pretext for war. The event was designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a […]
Read moreLeon Panetta says U.S. won’t cut troops in S. Korea
October 27, 2011 Comments Off
SEOUL — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday that Washington will not cut its troops in South Korea, reassuring the ally against the threat of provocations by North Korea despite intense budget woes at home. Panetta, on his first trip to South Korea as Pentagon chief, made the remark to a Yonhap News […]
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