BAMAKO, Mali – The Red Cross says armed men attacked one of its trucks in northern Mali, killing the driver and wounding a passenger. In a statement, the International Committee of the Red Cross said the truck was heading to neighboring Niger on Monday to pick up medical supplies when …
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WARSAW, Poland – An official says that Jozef Oleksy, a communist-era party leader who in the democratic era served as a left-wing prime minister until he was forced to resign over accusations of spying for Russia, has died. He was 68. An official at Oleksy’s Democratic Left Alliance, Krzysztof Gawkowski …
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WARSAW, Poland – A group of Ukrainian citizens of Polish descent and their families have been evacuated from war-torn eastern Ukraine to Poland, with government aid. Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna was present when 178 people, mostly young couples with children, were arriving by military planes at the northern airport …
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TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s foreign ministry says U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart discussed the case of a Washington Post journalist who has been indicted and will stand trial in Iran. Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham is quoted Friday by the official IRNA news agency as saying …
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BERLIN – Germany’s top human rights official has urged Israel to cooperate with the International Criminal Court probe into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. After the investigation was announced last week, Israel’s government immediately said it would not work with The Hague-based court and called for its funding …
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HONG KONG – China’s manufacturing shrank for a second month in January, further evidence that momentum in the world’s second-biggest economy remains weak after posting its slowest growth in more than two decades. HSBC said Friday its preliminary index of manufacturing activity, based on a survey of factory purchasing managers, …
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FRANKFURT, Germany – Industrial machinery maker Siemens AG says net profit fell 25 percent in its most recent quarter as revalued financial derivatives and lower earnings at its key power and gas business weighed on the bottom line. Net income fell to 1.095 billion ($2.184 billion) in the October-December quarter, …
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HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam’s military has temporarily grounded Vietnam War-era U.S.-built helicopters after a crash killed four personnel. The UH-1 “Huey” chopper crashed in farmland on Wednesday soon after taking off from Ho Chi Minh City on a training flight. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan …
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BANGKOK – Thai police say they have arrested six people accused of being part of a conspiracy to slander the country’s monarchy on the Internet. Police say the six belong to a group called the Banpodj Network which allegedly spread anti-monarchy propaganda over social media. A police statement on Tuesday …
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UNITED NATIONS – A North Korean defector whose memoir describes his meeting with Kim Jong Il says the world’s intense focus on the regime’s human rights record fails to see the full scope of its inhumanity to its people. Jang Jin-sung, who says he tossed away his once-cherished lapel pin …
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