Woman, 114, Enters Guinness Book of Records
JIJI PRESS/AFP/Getty Images(TOKYO) — She was born in the midst of the Spanish-American War. The year she was born, China leased Hong Kong’s territories to the British. Now, 114 years later, Japanese super centenarian Misao Okawa is still going s…
John Kerry and Russian Counterpart Discuss Syrian Conflict
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(BERLIN) — Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday regarding the conflict in Syria.Washington and Moscow have long been at odds at how to best end the two-year…
Super Powers Make Their Offer to Iran
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ALMATY, Kazakhstan) — Six super powers known as the P5+1 resumed talks on Tuesday with Iranian officials over Tehran’s rogue nuclear program. The discussions, the first since last June, are taking place in Almaty, Kazakhst…
Al-Assad Shows Willingness to Talk Directly with Armed Opposition
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — There were a couple of key developments on Monday that could finally put Syria on the path to ending the bloody two-year conflict that has cost more than 70,000 lives and threatens to further destabilize the Midd…
Iran Might Catch a Break at Nuclear Program Talks
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ALMATY, Kazakhstan) — World powers confronting Iran about its rogue nuclear ambitions on Tuesday are suggesting some easing of sanctions might be possible if Tehran demonstrates a good-faith effort to ease international concerns…
US Denies Allegations of Torture by Afghanistan
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/Released(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The U.S. is denying insinuations by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that its Special Forces were part of a series of tortures and other serious misconduct in Afgha…
Japan Rattled by 6.2 Magnitude Quake, No Tsunami Warning Issued
Zoonar/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Japan on Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The quake hit at 4:23 p.m. local time in northern Tochigi Prefecture and was 10 kilometers deep. It registered 5 on the Japan…
Iran Seeks Upper Hand Before Talks with World Powers
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TEHRAN, Iran) — Iran issued a flurry of news over the weekend related to its nuclear program that international observers say was intended to put Tehran in a stronger bargaining position ahead of its meeting on Tuesday with the …
Main Syria Exile Group Won’t Take Part in Talks to End Conflict
Scott Peterson/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Syria’s main exile opposition group is angry that the international community has not spoken up about government Scud missile strikes on civilians in the northern city of Aleppo.The U.S. State Department …
Dozens Killed, Scores Injured in Syrian Capital Bomb Attack
LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — What was believed to be an enormous car bomb explosion on Thursday left dozens dead and more than 235 people wounded in Syria’s capital of Damascus.Most of those killed, according to Syria’s official n…
New Centrifuges Could Help Iran Speed Up Nuclear Fuel Production
IIPA via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Iran seems determined to hasten the process of producing nuclear fuel, according to United Nation inspectors.The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog group, the International Atomic Energy Agency, says that Iran has installed a ne…
Pakistanis Wants Afghans to Return Taliban Commander
George Doyle/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) — Pakistan wants Afghanistan to hand over a senior Taliban commander its forces apprehended earlier in this week.The capture of Maulvi Faqir Mohammad along with some bodyguards in southeastern Afghanistan is consider…
Multiple Explosions Rock Syrian Capital
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(DAMASCUS, Syria) — A car bomb exploded early Thursday afternoon in Syria’s capital city of Damascus, killing at least 31 people, according to activists.Video from the scene shows burning cars and several charred bodies, bu…
Moscow Seeks Dialogue to End Syrian Conflict
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Russia’s top diplomat said on Wednesday that Syria’s warring sides run the risk of “mutual destruction” if they don’t soon reach a settlement to end their conflict that began in March 2011.After talks with …
International Powers and Iran to Resume Nuclear Talks Next Week
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Iran will be presented with a new offer from the international group known as the P5+1 in yet another effort to get Tehran to give up its rogue nuclear program.A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, …
US Flew More Drone Missions in Afghanistan in 2012 than Ever Before
JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — As the U.S. military began pulling back on the ground in Afghanistan in 2012, it greatly upped the number of drone strikes.The United Nations reported on Tuesday that more than 500 weapons were fired from unmann…
Syrian President Sees Political Solution to End Conflict
Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(BEIRUT) — At least one person thinks a political solution can be reached to end the two-year conflict in Syria. That’s Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Lebanon’s The Daily Star reported on Tuesday that al-Assad, who …
Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan Down for First Time in Six Years
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — The number of civilians who died in Afghanistan has dropped for the first time in six years, according to the latest findings from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).The U.N. repor…
Pakistan Tests Short Range Nuclear-Capable Missile
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(ISLAMABAD) — Pakistan says it has once again successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile.In a statement, the country’s military said it test fired the Hatf II (Abdali) ballistic missile on Friday “as part of the process of val…
Top Iranian General Killed in Syria
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TEHRAN, Iran) — Iran says one of its senior commanders of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard was killed on Thursday while attempting to enter Lebanon from Syria.The Iranian semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a Revolution…