Report: Congo Mutiny Using Child Soldiers

NAIROBI — Human Rights Watch states a renegade general is forcibly recruiting child soldiers to support his mutiny in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. HRW’s new report states at least 149 boys and young men between the ages of 12 and 20 have been forcibly recruited to fight alongside soldiers loyal to Bosco Ntaganda, a former rebel leader who is already wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting kids as a deputy commander in the Union of Congolese ...

Submited at Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 at 3:59 pm by Alina

US Investigates JPMorgan’s $2 Billion Loss

News media in the United States are reporting that the federal government has opened a criminal investigation into the more than $2 billion trading loss sustained by the JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment bank. Sources told various news outlets on Tuesday that the Justice Department probe is at an early stage. The investigation is being started only days after JPMorgan’s chairman and chief executive, Jamie Dimon, disclosed the loss that stemmed from complex trading transactions in the London office of ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 8:59 pm by Gillan

Reports: US Aids Yemen al-Qaida Strikes

CAIRO – With U.S. troops reportedly guiding air raids from a nearby base for the first time, Yemeni jets attacked positions of al-Qaida insurgents Tuesday in southern Yemen’s Abyan province. Yemeni officials stated a “four-pronged assault” on the militants was being waged on the ground, backed by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, and that U.S. troops stationed at al-Annad air base in Lahj province were providing logistical support. The reported participation of U.S. forces in directing Yemeni fighter jets would ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 8:00 pm by Alina

Roadside Blast Hits UN Conoy; 20 Killed at Syrian Funeral

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations states a roadside blast hit a convoy carrying a group of its unarmed observers near the Syrian city of Hama on Tuesday, damaging their vehicles but not injuring the monitors. Meanwhile, Syrian activists have accused the government of killing at least 20 mourners at a funeral in the same area.   The U.N. mission in Syria states a convoy of four of its vehicles was struck by a blast from an improvised explosive device ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 6:59 pm by Alina

Eurozone Economic Growth Stalled in Early 2012

The European Union states that economic growth in the 17-nation euro currency bloc stalled in the early months this year. Earlier projections in recent weeks signaled that the eurozone had fallen into a recession in the January-to-March period this year, after contracting three-tenths of a percent in the last three months of 2011. But the region’s economic powerhouse, Germany, unexpectedly advanced by half a percentage point in the first quarter, enough to lift the rest of the currency union’s economy ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 6:00 pm by hilman

WFP: Sahel in Urgent Need of Aid

The U.N. World Food Program stated time is running out to prevent the full impact of the food crisis in Africa’s Sahel region. It stated a donor funding shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars could soon affect emergency aid programs. WFP West Africa spokesman Malik Triki stated food crises in the Sahel have become more frequent in recent years – but not like this. “This current food crisis in the Sahel is one of the most complex and widest ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 5:00 pm by admin

NATO Invites Pakistan to Upcoming Afghan Summit

NATO has invited Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to the alliance’s summit in Chicago, a day after the country’s prime minister proposed reopening ground supply routes to international troops in Afghanistan. Zardari’s spokesman stated the president was considering the invitation, which he described as “unconditional” and not linked to the opening of supply lines “or to any other issue.” Islamabad closed the supply routes to NATO almost six months ago to protest U.S. airstrikes that mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani troops ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 3:59 pm by ethan

North Korea Tries to Drum up Investment in Southeast Asia

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – Kim Yong-nam, North Korea’s second-highest ranking official, is on a three-day trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he is reportedly drumming up support for foreign investment in one of the world’s most isolated countries. Kate Lamb reports from Jakarta. While most nations shun North Korea, Indonesia has maintained good relations with the country since 1961. When North Korea and Indonesia were both part of the non-aligned movement, the only trip the enigmatic Kim Jong-il ever took by plane ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 3:00 pm by robert

Seoul: Burma to Comply with UN Resolutions on Pyongyang

South Korean officials state Burma has concurred to comply with U.N. resolutions aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The move was announced Tuesday by a spokesperson for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who is finishing up his landmark two-day visit to Burma. President Thein Sein acknowledged during meetings with Mr. Lee that Burma has made past deals with North Korea for conventional weapons. But he denied any nuclear connections with Pyongyang, an issue that long been of ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 1:00 pm by madison

EU Naval Force Strikes Pirate Base on Somali Coast

The European Union’s anti-piracy naval force has carried out its first air attacks against a pirate base on the Somali coast. EU NAVFOR stated in a statement Tuesday that initial reports show no Somalis were injured in what was described as the “focused, precise and proportionate” attack against “known pirate supplies” on the Somali shoreline. The exact location of the strike or nature of the target was not provided. The airstrike is the first by the EU naval force since ...

Submited at Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 12:00 pm by chuck