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Politics
Defying US, Russia grants whistleblower Snowden temporary asylum
Defying the United States, Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum on Thursday, allowing the National Security Agency leaker to slip out of the Moscow airport where he has been holed up for weeks in hopes of evading espionage charges back home. The 30-year-old former NSA contractor now has plenty of…
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South Asia
Pakistani PM Sharif asks US Secretary of State Kerry to stop drone strikes
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (R) meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the Prime Minister’s House in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan. Pakistan on Thursday asked the visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to stop drone strikes in the country’s tribal regions. ISLAMABAD, Aug. 1, 2013 <Xinhua/NEWSis> Secretary of…
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West Asia
UN experts to investigate three alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria
U.N. experts will travel to Syria as soon as possible to investigate three alleged incidents of chemical weapons attacks, the United Nations announced Wednesday. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said the green light for the investigation followed “the understanding reached with the government of Syria” during last week’s visit to Damascus…
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West Asia
Israel-Palestine negotiators shake hands as peace talks resume in Washington
Why does it matter? Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would remove a major source of instability in the Middle East, reduce the risk of war there and improve U.S. ties with the Arab and Muslim world. A peace deal, to be endorsed by 57 Muslim and Arab nations, would end Israel’s…
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Politics
Obama-Hillary’s private dine at White House sparks 2016 presidential race
President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shared a meal Monday. While only that much is known for sure, the political speculation machine nevertheless went into overdrive, highlighting how closely both are being watched for signs of their intentions in the 2016 presidential race. For Clinton,…
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West Asia
Israel-Palestine resume peace talks in Washington on July 29, US says
The Israelis and the Palestinians are set to resume their peace talks in Washington D.C. on Monday, the U.S. State Department said on Sunday. Secretary of State John Kerry extended his invitation to both sides in his phone talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,…
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Politics
Tunisian people protest against assassination of leftist opposition leader
Angry anti-government demonstrations broke out Thursday across Tunisia after gunmen killed the leader of a leftist opposition party, raising fears of new chaos on the difficult road to democracy in the cradle of the Arab Spring. Just five months after a similar assassination plunged the country into crisis, two gunmen…
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West Asia
The number of people dead in Syria’s civil war passes 100,000, UN chief says
The number of dead in Syria’s civil war has passed 100,000, the U.N. chief said Thursday, calling for urgent talks on ending 2{ years of violence even as President Bashar Assad’s government blasted the United States as an unsuitable peace broker. In the latest example of the relentless carnage, a…
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South East Asia
Vietnamese President Sang visits US to discuss ‘comprehensive partnership’
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang on Thursday spoke of a “comprehensive partnership” between their countries aiming for even greater cooperation. After his talks with Truong Tan Sang, the second Vietnamese head of state to visit the White House since the normalization of relations in…
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Central Asia
Snowden still stuck in Sheremetyevo airport as his asylum status not resolved
Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena speaks to the media after visiting US National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden at Sheremetyevo airport outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 24, 2013. Kucherena who is advising Snowden says his asylum status has not been resolved and that he is going to stay at the Moscow…
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