Diplomats: Nuclear agency chief to visit Tehran
BY The Guardian
PUBLISHED 18:19, May 18, 2012
The U.N. nuclear agency chief will fly to Tehran over the weekend to sign a deal meant to allow his organization to resume probing Iran’s disputed nuclear program, the agency and diplomats said Friday. An International Atomic Energy Agency statement announcing the Sunday trip said only that Yukiya Amano would “discuss issues of mutual interest with high Iranian officials” during... [Full article]
‘Thousands’ protest in northern Syrian city of Aleppo
BY BBC News | PHOTO AFP
PUBLISHED 18:31, May 18, 2012
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, activists say, in the biggest protests there since the revolt began. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several people were injured by tear gas and live ammunition. Protests were reported elsewhere, a day after activists called for rallies in solidarity with students in Aleppo. Observers say anti-government sentiment is rising there, after security forces killed students in a raid in early May. Videos posted by activists show hundreds of people taking part in anti-government rallies in various parts of Aleppo. Syria’s second city has... [Full article]
US suspends ban on Burma investment, but sanctions remain
BY France 24
PUBLISHED 18:34, May 18, 2012
In an effort to encourage further democratic reform in Burma, the US on Thursday suspended a ban on US investment and named its first ambassador to the country in 22 years, but maintained wider sanctions as a means against possible “backsliding”. President Barack Obama Thursday eased investment sanctions on Myanmar and named the first US ambassador to the country in... [Full article]
Brazil’s Supreme Court confirms university quota system for Afro-descendents
BY MercoPress
PUBLISHED 18:28, May 18, 2012
Brazil’s Supreme Court voted unanimously to permit a quota system that would favour Afro-descendants in entering universities, ending an eight-year legal battle. Brazil has the largest black population in the world outside of Africa, but years of marginalization and exclusion in the 124 years since the country outlawed slavery has kept this population on the sidelines. The 10-judge court was... [Full article]
First ECOWAS troops arrive in Guinea-Bissau
BY Deutsche Welle | PHOTO PICTURE ALLIANCE
PUBLISHED 18:25, May 18, 2012
The first security personnel tasked by ECOWAS with safeguarding the transition back to civilian rule in Guinea-Bissau have arrived. The advance guard of the 600 strong West African force to oversee the transition back to civilian rule in Guinea-Bissau has arrived. An army coup toppled... [Full article]
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Florida Steps Up Effort Against Illegal Voters
BY The New York Times
PUBLISHED 18:22, May 18, 2012
In an attempt to clear the voter rolls of noncitizens, a move that had set off criticism and a threatened lawsuit, Florida election officials decided on Thursday to use information from a federal database to check a list of 182,000 voters who they suspect are not citizens, officials said. Since last year, the Florida Division of Elections had sought access to the immigration database, which is maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, but the department said there were legal and technical difficulties in sharing the information. On Thursday, the elections division asked the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which oversees driver’s licenses and originally compiled the list of 182,000 names, to... [Full article]
Mexican generals detained over alleged drug gang links
BY The Guardian | PUBLISHED 08:18, May 17, 2012
Investigators are questioning Mexico’s former deputy defence minister and a top army general for suspected links to organised... [Full article]
North Korea resumes work on nuclear reactor: report
BY Reuters | PUBLISHED 08:16, May 17, 2012
(Reuters) – North Korea has resumed construction work on an experimental light water reactor (ELWR) in a move... [Full article]
Activist Chen Guangcheng says passport application done
BY BBC News | PUBLISHED 08:12, May 17, 2012
Dissident Chen Guangcheng says he and his family have completed passport applications and officials say they should be... [Full article]
Minority births are new majority- in demographic watershed for U.S., newborns among non-Hispanic whites are surpassed by others
BY WSJ Europe | PUBLISHED 08:06, May 17, 2012
For the first time in U.S. history, whites of European ancestry account for less than half of... [Full article]
Australia warns of ‘bespoke’ online child sex abuse
BY France 24 | PUBLISHED 07:59, May 17, 2012
AFP – Australian police warned Thursday that paedophiles were using Internet live-streaming sites to order “bespoke” child sex... [Full article]
Syria’s Assad says he will show foreign ‘mercenaries’ being held captive
BY Irish Times | PUBLISHED 07:56, May 17, 2012
Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has promised to display captured foreign “mercenaries” who have been fighting his regime and... [Full article]
US election: ‘When your name is Barack Hussein Obama, getting elected is difficult’
BY The Telegraph | PUBLISHED 07:43, May 16, 2012
Prejudice among some American voters will make it difficult for President Barack Obama to win re-election, he has... [Full article]
Japanese power-cut alert sparks fears of nuclear comeback
BY Irish Times | PUBLISHED 07:37, May 16, 2012
Millions of Japanese homes are bracing for a long, hot summer after Japan’s government warned a shortage of... [Full article]
Pakistan ‘likely to attend’ Nato talks on Afghanistan
BY BBC News | PUBLISHED 07:34, May 16, 2012
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari is set to be at this weekend’s Nato summit on Afghanistan. The Pakistani... [Full article]
Police disperse protesters at anti-Putin sit-in
BY Reuters | PUBLISHED 07:33, May 16, 2012
Russian riot police broke up an Occupy-style protest against President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, forcing dozens of people... [Full article]