A global recession and the hijacking of international aid are among factors behind a potentially “life-threatening” humanitarian funding crisis facing Somalia as aid funds dwindle, according to the United Nations’ top envoy to Somalia.
Eighteen people were rescued — but as many as 21 others were missing — after a boat sank late Sunday in remote seas off Australia’s Cocos Islands, according to Australian Customs and Border Protection Service officials.
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Thursday that Iraq is making enough progress to stay on track for withdrawing all American troops by the end of next year.
Iraq’s foreign minister asked for details about three American citizens arrested in Iran during a meeting with Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad last week, Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A top Taliban leader has been arrested in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, a senior Pakistani military official told CNN.
Rupert Murdoch’s News International, which plans to begin charging for online content, said Thursday it was close its free London newspaper as part of cost-cutting measures.
Chile marks three days of mourning starting Sunday, with every house authorized to hang the national flag in memory of those who perished in a massive earthquake a week ago.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first day in India began on a solemn note as she signed a condolence book at a Mumbai luxury hotel ravaged last year by terrorists.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela is celebrating his 91st birthday Saturday — as his wife reveals he is struggling to deal with the indignities of aging. Graca Machel says Mandela was finding it difficult to come to terms with the limitations of age but is fighting to carry on working with his charities.
Another strong earthquake rocked Indonesia early Thursday as the country was reeling from an earlier jolt that killed more than 400 people and caused widespread destruction.
A powerful snowstorm pounded the nation’s capital and other mid-Atlantic states early Saturday, snarling down traffic and bringing travel to a virtual standstill.
At least 41 people died when a centuries-old minaret collapsed at a mosque in Morocco on Friday, the country’s official news agency reported on Saturday.
A snowstorm smacked the nation’s capital and mid-Atlantic states on Friday, while a father and son were killed in Virginia when they stopped to help another motorist.
In a dramatic policy shift, the Obama administration says it is willing to engage directly with North Korea as a way to bring the reclusive regime back to six-nation talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the goal of direct talks would be “to encourage the North to come back to the six-party process” and take “affirmative steps towards denuclearization.”
Haiti’s capital is increasingly desperate two days after a devastating earthquake, with bodies in the streets and modern aspects of life, such as electricity, mostly missing.
The Iraqi parliament has passed an amended election law, but doubts remain over nationwide elections that are constitutionally required in January.