World News on Comcast.net | World Headlines | International News | War News

• 
  Indonesian passenger ferry sinks with 242 aboard

  An Indonesian passenger ferry with almost 250 people aboard sank in rough waters off Sumatra island Sunday, killing at least one, police said, while a second ferry ran aground in nearby waters.

• Top Iran reformer sentenced to 6 years in jail

  A top reformer has been sentenced to six years in jail after he stood trial on charges of fomenting unrest to topple the Iranian regime, his lawyer said Sunday.

• 
  2 bomb blasts leave 7 dead, 52 wounded in India

  Suspected militants set off two bombs outside a police station in India's restive northeast on Sunday, killing seven people and wounding more than 50, police said.

• 
  Romanians vote for president amid political crisis

  Romanians were voting for a new president on Sunday in an election that could help end a leadership crisis that has threatened an international loan aimed at stopping the country's painful recession.

• 
  China coal mine blast death toll jumps to 87

  Rescuers worked in frigid cold to reach 21 miners trapped underground Sunday as the death toll from a huge gas explosion in a northern Chinese mine jumped to 87 — the deadliest blast to hit the beleaguered industry in nearly two years.

• 5 Afghan border security guards killed in south

  A roadside bomb killed five Afghan border security guards traveling on a heavily used road in southern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan on Sunday.

• Officials: 4 dead in attacks around Iraq

  Iraqi security officials say four people have been killed in attacks in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul.

• 
  Pope and Anglican leader agree on closer relations

  After offering a home in his church to disaffected Anglicans, Pope Benedict XVI assured the archbishop of Canterbury on Saturday that he is still committed to seeking closer relations between Catholics and Anglicans.

• Israeli aircraft strike tunnels, arms factories

  The Israeli military says its aircraft have attacked two weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip.

• 
  Mumbai still vulnerable 1 year after terror attack

  The walls that the rockets blew out have not been repaired, and the plaster is a dense scattershot of bullet holes. Dozens of holes, blasted by grenades, pockmark the linoleum floors.

• 
  China mine explosion death toll reaches 87

  The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster reached 87 as hopes dimmed on Sunday that more survivors would be found a day after a gas blast at a colliery in the country's far northeast.

• 
  Iran to hold war games to protect nuclear facilities

  Iran's military said it will begin large-scale air defense drills on Sunday, and a cleric in the Revolutionary Guards warned that the Islamic Republic would fire missiles at "the heart of Tel Aviv" if attacked.

• Overloaded Indonesian ferry sinks; 4 dead, most survive

  An overloaded ferry sank in bad weather off Indonesia's Riau islands on Sunday, killing four while nearly 300 passengers survived the accident, officials said.

• 
  Colombia's Uribe seeks to ease Venezuela tensions

  Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Saturday ruled out any military retaliation against Venezuela after Venezuelan troops dynamited two cross-border footbridges.

• 
  Top Iranian reformer jailed for six years - reports

  A reformist former vice president, who was arrested after Iran's disputed presidential election in June, has been sentenced to six years in jail, Iranian newspapers reported on Sunday.

• Bomb blasts kill six, wound 40 in India's northeast

  At least six people were killed and 40 wounded in two bomb blasts in northeast India's troubled Assam state on Sunday, police said.

• 
  NATO takes command of Afghan army, police training

  NATO took command of the training of the Afghan army and police on Saturday to consolidate efforts on building an effective security force, a vital precondition for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

• Israeli planes strike targets in Gaza

  Israeli planes carried out air strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, Palestinian medical workers said.

• Pressure for progress at talks on rebel Karabakh

  Azerbaijan and Armenia hold talks on Sunday on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with Azeri ally Turkey pressing for progress before it seals an historic rapprochement with neighboring Armenia.

• Sri Lanka to open refugee camps ahead of polls

  Sri Lanka said on Saturday it will allow greater freedom of movement to refugees held in military-guarded camps from next month, after facing pressure to speed up resettlement of thousands of Tamils displaced by war.

• Blair Out of Running as Europe Picks Top 2 Posts

  Leaders of the European Union seemed to be pulling away from naming a widely known figure in Europe’s presidential post, as Britain made a pitch for the new foreign policy job.

• Iraq Sentences Sunni Leader to Death

  A leader of the Sunni Awakening Council was sentenced to death for the murder of a girl, sparking charges that the Shiite-dominated government was targeting Sunnis.

• Russia Angry Over Ukraine Warnings on Gas Supply

  A dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas supplies escalated on Thursday, with an aide to the Russian president calling Ukraine’s warnings of a possible gas crisis “political blackmail.”

• Pirates Off Africa Adapt to Survive

  Pirate attacks on shipping lanes around the Horn of Africa show no sign of relenting as the nations policing the seas struggle to find solutions to an increasingly long-term mission.

• No Cheering, No Parade

  This was not the inauguration of a popular president.

• Europe Haggles Over Filling Two Top Posts

  Facing a vote Thursday to finally pick a slate of new and more powerful leaders, the E.U. is falling back on old-fashioned deal-making that critics say may produce lackluster choices.

• 
  Suicide Attack Is Pakistani City’s 7th in 2 Weeks

  Militants killed 17 outside a courthouse in Peshawar on Thursday, the seventh attack in two weeks in the city.

• News Analysis: A Small Step to Bridging the Taiwan Strait

  The final details were minor compared with the substance of the financial cooperation deal between China and Taiwan, but carried significance of their own.

• On Assignment: Asia in the Blink of an Eye

  Stephen Crowley of The Times has found that just one frame is not enough to convey the cascading incongruities and harmonies of a presidential tour.

• 
  Karzai Sworn In for Second Term as Afghan President

  In his inaugural address, President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that the Afghan Army should assume full control of the country’s security within five years.

more

• Obama's healthcare bill clears first Senate hurdle

  Motion to allow debate on reform to commence passes as two wavering Democrats vote in favourBarack Obama's healthcare reform bill cleared a crucial hurdle last night when the Democrats secured the 60votes needed in the US Senate allowing debate to begin on 30 November.

• Obama ready to offer target for cutting greenhouse emissions

  President Barack Obama is considering setting a provisional target for cutting America's huge greenhouse gas emissions, removing the greatest single obstacle to a landmark global agreement to fight cimate change.

• 
  Sri Lanka vows to free 130,000 refugees

  Colombo government bows to international pressure to close internment camps that have held civilians since end of civil war with Tamil TigersSri Lanka today bowed to international pressure and announced plans to close the internment camps that are home to more than 130,000 people locked up since th...

• 
  Celebrities quit Church of Scientology

  Hollywood figures quit 'rip-off' church as Australian prime minister threatens parliamentary inquiry into its activitiesThe security at the red-brick and glass-walled horseshoe of the John Joseph Moaley courthouse on Boston's waterfront was unusually tight.

• 
  Tourism damaging Kalahari delta

  Villagers say visitors to delta are a threat to wildlife and their fishing industryMusic, dancing and smiling platitudes greeted the royal guest in the fishing village of Samochima, northern Botswana. But cutting through the convivial mood was a cry of anguish – and a plea for a way of life threate...

• Panic over hundreds of flu deaths exploited by Ukraine's politicians

  A flu pandemic in Ukraine that has triggered a nationwide panic is worsening this weekend with up to 400 deaths already reported.The arrival of the virus, suspected by the World Health Organisation to be swine flu but possibly a combination of the H1N1 strain and a respiratory illness, has paralyse...

• 
  Germans back in love with 'old romantic'

  Film and biographies mark 250th anniversary of passionate 'Ode to Joy' poetHe is the "rebel from Arcadia", the author of the lyrics to the modern European anthem, Ode to Joy, and a passionate champio of free spirits.

• 
  Shocking rise of 'new slavery' in America

  In the Midwestern heartland, police are encountering a new social evil: trafficking, often involving women and children who are forced to work as prostitutes or unpaid labour; and the outcomes can bebrutal.

• 
  Life sentence demand for Knox

  Italian prosecutor demands 30 years in jail for alleged killers of UK studentA prosecutor in Italy yesterday demanded that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito serve life sentences for the murder and sxual assault of British exchange student Meredith Kercher.

• 
  TV puppet satire torments Kenyan elite

  African version of Spitting Image has delighted big audiences by ridiculing corrupt politiciansA rapping president describes himself as "a real bad dude"; a prime minister and vice-president fight ovr lavatories; and a set of parliamentarians suffer from a brain disease called "corruptophaelia".

more

• 'Guilty plea' in balloon boy case

  The US parents of a six-year-old boy who was believed to be adrift in a balloon are to admit charges, their lawyer says.

• Ferguson hit with FA fine and ban

  Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley's fitness.

• Back to the future

  Obama returns to Asia to reassure allies and China

• Spanish bomb plot trial under way

  Eleven alleged Islamist extremists go on trial in Spain, accused of plotting suicide attacks in Barcelona.

• Iraq probes 'Blackwater bribes'

  Iraq orders an investigation into whether the US security firm Blackwater paid bribes to officials after the deaths of 17 people.

• Mexican purge axes corrupt police

  Almost a quarter of all traffic police in the Mexican city of Monterrey are fired for failing corruption and competence tests.

• US envoy opposed to Afghan surge

  The US ambassador in Kabul warns against sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan, in a dramatic intervention.

• Trigger-happy?

  Shoot-to-kill policy leaves South Africa police exposed

• Cambodia and Thailand expel staff

  Cambodia and Thailand each expel a top diplomat in a row over former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

• Palestinian poll delay urged

  Presidential elections due in January should be postponed, the Palestinian Authority's electoral commission recommends.

more

• U.S. ambassador warns against Afghanistan troop buildup

  In classified cables, he warns that Hamid Karzai's government is too corrupt and ineffective, senior officials say. The envoy's dissent comes as President Obama is poised to announce his decision. I an unexpected dissent at a critical moment, the U.

• 
  Brazil's frayed wires finally short out

  Experts say the power outage that affected tens of millions was inevitable given the aging infrastructure. Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil -- The power outage in Brazil that left as many as 60 million people in darkness was the inevitable result of the country's failure to i...

• U.S. envoy reportedly warns against Afghanistan troop buildup

  The U.S. envoy in Kabul has cabled against send more U.S. troops because of the Afghan government's corruption and weakness, U.S. officials say. The reported dissent comes at a critical moment. In a unexpected dissent at a critical moment, the U.

• South Korea goes into its annual cone of silence

  As 650,000 high school seniors take the exam that will determine which college they go to and perhaps their social standing from now on, the country steps out of their way and stays very quiet. Testproctor Chae Su-beom knows the drill.

• In Mexico, tying the city in knots is a capital idea

  Tens of thousands of protesters angry over a utility's shutdown bring traffic to a halt. So what else is new? Take world-class traffic congestion. Add protesters, tens of thousands of them, until steets become a thick, impenetrable mass.

• Brazil power outage doesn't surprise experts

  They say Tuesday's massive blackout was inevitable given the nation's infrastructure woes. As many as 60 million people were left in the dark. Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil -- The power outage in Brazil that left as many as 60 million people in darkness was the inevitable ...

• New dinosaur species may be a missing link

  Fossils of the lumbering Aardonyx celestae found in South Africa may explain why dinosaurs evolved from bipeds to quadrupeds. Before the dig started, it looked like any other patch of dinosaur dirt:gray soil, a few brownish fossilized bones exposed by erosion.

• Iran's Ahmadinejad calls for nuclear cooperation

  The president's conciliatory tone in a TV speech suggests Iran could still accept a U.N.-backed uranium deal. Iran's president today called for international cooperation on nuclear technology in a prime-time television appearance filled with conciliatory language toward the world community, in sta...

• One of two missing U.S. soldiers found dead in Afghan river

  A military diving team has found the body of an American soldier, one of two who went missing last week, in a river in western Afghanistan, NATO-led forces and the U.S. military said today.

• An Iranian couple's revolution

  Both were members of the Basiji elite, the hard-line Iranian militia. Over time, they took different paths, one embracing feminism and the other mellowing, then turning back to the use of force. Onenight he came home covered with blood.

more

• What to Read on Nuclear Proliferation

  November 12, 2009 Few topics in international politics consistently attract as much academic and policy interest as nuclear proliferation. The literature on the subject tends to focus on four central questions: Why do states seek nuclear weapons? How do they acquire the components necessary to b...

• Foreign Affairs Live: Zbigniew Brzezinski

  November 10, 2009 Click here to download the audio. Click here to watch the video. Summary -- A discussion with Zbigniew Brzezinski on the future of NATO and other foreign policy challenge facing the Obama administration.

• Always Salute, Never Resign

  How Resignation Threatens Military Professionalism and National Security November 10, 2009 When news reports suggested that if the Obama administration did not follow General Stanley McChrystal's recommendations for the war in Afghanistan, the general might quit, McChrystal immediately sla...

• The World Next Week Podcast: November 6, 2009

  November 6, 2009 Foreign Affairs Managing Editor Gideon Rose and CFR.org Editor Robert McMahon preview major world events in the week ahead. In this week's podcast: the world marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall; President Obama attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation...

• Our Man in Kabul

  What Hamid Karzai’s Rise to Power Means For How He Will Govern Now November 4, 2009 Abdullah Abdullah was the first Afghan to suggest Hamid Karzai should become president of Afghanistan. It was one day in mid-November 2001, and we were in the cockpit of a CIA transport plane heading from T...

• What to Read on Communism

  November 4, 2009 Communism fused ideas (of a new world superior to capitalism) with power (monopoly over politics and the economy) -- a heady mix that held awesome sway, but then disintegrated wit uncanny velocity.

• Know Thine Enemy

  Why the Taliban Cannot Be Flipped November 2, 2009 General Stanley McChrystal s proposal for substantial U.S. troop increases in Afghanistan has triggered a major debate about U.S. policy toard the conflict there, both within the Obama administration and without.

• Africa: Unity, Sovereignty, and Sorrow

  November 1, 2009 Africa is home to several states that have either collapsed entirely or become so weak that they are unable to undertake most of the tasks associated with statehood. And yet, rathr strikingly, these states endure.

• China Into Africa: Trade, Aid, and Influence

  November 1, 2009 China's evolving relationship with Africa has generated a great deal of hyperbole. This collection of essays separates the facts from the myths. Several chapters remind the reader that China is nowhere close to supplanting Africa's traditional diplomatic, aid, and trading partne...

• U.S. Africa Policy Beyond the Bush Years: Critical Challenges for the Obama Administration

  November 1, 2009 The ten contributions in this collection assess different dimensions of George W. Bush's Africa policy and offer advice to Barack Obama. The contributors give a useful glimpse int discussions about current U.

more