By Tom Rivers London 03 March 2008 Britain's largest bank, HSBC, has written off $17.2 billion in bad debt after the U.S. housing market slide hit the value of its loans in 2007. The annual loss is the largest reported amongst Britain's big five mort...
By Naomi Schwarz Dakar 03 March 2008 Chad's government has created an official inquiry to look into the events surrounding a rebel attack on Chad's capital, N'Djamena, a month ago. But human rights activists say the inquiry will not be independent. F...
By Terry FitzPatrick Cape Town 03 March 2008 South African officials are proposing that children recite a pledge of allegiance in school, to promote a sense of history and civic responsibility. But instead of bringing the country together, the South...
By Peter Fedynsky Moscow 03 March 2008 With all but half a percent of the ballots counted from Sunday's presidential election in Russia, Kremlin candidate Dmitri Medvedev has garnered more than all of his opponents, combined. Now, Medvedev is indicat...
By Alisha Ryu Nairobi 03 March 2008 In Somalia, several dozen residents of Dobley town, near the Kenyan border, are reportedly trying to cross into Kenya following a U.S. military air strike that was aimed at terror suspects in the area. VOA Correspo...
By Claudia Blume Hong Kong 03 March 2008 Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto, niece of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, says last month's elections in Pakistan were not a victory for democracy, but rather a continuation of dynastic polit...
By Peter Heinlein Addis Ababa 03 March 2008 Ethiopian agriculture is about to take a giant step forward from the age of the donkey cart to the digital age. At least that is the hope of a group of visionaries who are launching a revolution in how Ethi...
By Steve Mort Laredo, Texas 03 March 2008 A plan to build a fence along the U.S. - Mexico border has been one of the hottest controversies in Texas for some time. U.S. President George Bush signed a bill in 2006 authorizing the construction of more t...
By Zulima Palacio Washington 03 March 2008 A major new survey about the U.S. religious landscape finds Americans are increasingly exploring different faiths from their childhood. The report details how religious affiliation has become very fluid in o...
By Ravi Khanna Washington 28 February 2008 Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte says US looks forward to working with new Pakistani leaders...
By Cathy Majtenyi Somaliland 03 March 2008 Female genital mutilation, or FGM, is a traditional practice that is performed throughout the Horn of Africa and other parts of the continent. The procedure is often called female circumcision, and it is ill...
By Carolyn Weaver New York 03 March 2008 A new play, Betrayed, has again drawn attention to the plight of Iraqis who have worked for the U.S. in Iraq. The play by author and journalist George Packer grew out of an article he published last year in th...
By Mohamed Elshinnawi Washington 03 March 2008 The Gallup World Pollrecently released details of a massive survey of more than 50,000 Muslims, reflecting the views of more than one billion Muslims in more than 35 countries. It is said to be the large...
By Michael Bowman Washington 02 March 2008 Amid a weakening U.S. economy, America's foreign-trade policy has become a contentious issue in the presidential race. Both major Democratic Party candidates say free-trade pacts have harmed American workers...
By Robert Berger Jerusalem 02 March 2008 The Palestinians have suspended peace negotiations with Israel in response to a deadly incursion into the Gaza Strip. More than 100 Palestinians, including many civilians, have been killed during the past two...
