Bangladesh: Owners' many failings led to collapse
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The defects and errors that led to the world's deadliest garment-industry accident extend from the swampy ground the doomed Rana Plaza was built on, to "extremely poor quality" construction materials, to the massive, vibrating equipment operating when the eight-story building collapsed, a committee appointed by Bangladesh's government concluded.
Globovision owners hint at toned-down news stance
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
CARACAS, Venezuela — The new owners of Venezuela's only television channel to take critical stands against the government say they will, in their words, "contribute to a climate of peace and not of conflict."
Lawyer: Malaysian accused of rape married the girl
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Prosecutors in Malaysia are pursuing rape charges against a 40-year-old man who allegedly had sex with a 13-year-old girl and then married her.
U.S. for first time acknowledges role in deaths of Americans in drone strikes
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration confirmed for the first time on Wednesday that four Americans have died in U.S. drone strikes since 2009, but it sought to justify the killing of only one – a senior leader of al Qaida’s Yemen-based affiliate – and said nothing about the other three except to acknowledge indirectly that they’d been killed by accident.
Boxes of cash seized in Mexico corruption probe
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities on Wednesday seized five boxes filled with cash as part of an investigation into alleged embezzlement by a former governor of southern Tabasco state, in what could become the latest test for President Enrique Pena Nieto to act against corruption.
Most of Montreal told to boil drinking water
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
MONTREAL — More than one million Montreal residents are being told to boil their drinking water after a malfunction at Canada's second-biggest filtration plant.
Embattled Toronto mayor fires chief of staff
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
TORONTO — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, caught up in a scandal over a video purportedly showing him smoking crack cocaine, fired his chief of staff on Thursday.
Canada sets new aid for Peru linked to mining
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
LIMA, Peru — Canada's prime minister has announced a new package of development aid for Peru that environmentalists are viewing warily because it is closely tied to Canadian mining investments in the South American country.
Argentine leader raises cash handouts 35 percent
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina's president announced a $3.2 billion annual increase in cash handouts for the poor, students and pregnant women Wednesday, saying the programs will reach nearly 700,000 additional children, pay their families 35 percent more and encourage consumer spending in what is an election year.
Puerto Rico legislator targets parents of dropouts
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A legislator in Puerto Rico has submitted a bill that would increase fines and jail time for parents whose children skip classes or drop out of school.
Little done in Brazil to improve safety after fire
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
BRASILIA, Brazil — Little has been done to improve the safety of public gathering places since a nightclub fire killed 242 people earlier this year in southern Brazil, relatives of the victims said Wednesday.
Puerto Rico's Culebra awaits new hospital, school
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico's tiny island of Culebra has been forever dependent on the U.S. territory for food, jobs and health care, but the territory's governor is cutting some of those strings.
Egyptian soldiers kidnapped in Sinai released after talks
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
CAIRO — Seven soldiers kidnapped last week by suspected Islamist militants in the restive Sinai were freed after a six-hour negotiation between local tribesmen and the kidnappers, the Egyptian government announcement Wednesday.
New Paraguay leaders promise more free milk
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
ASUNCION, Paraguay — Paraguay exports enough soy, wheat and corn to feed 80 million people, more than 10 times its population, and its rivers provide abundant fresh water. But 14 percent of its children suffer chronic malnutrition, and many others lack clean drinking water.
4-nation Pacific Alliance trade bloc forges ahead
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
BOGOTA, Colombia — The presidents of Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico meet in the western city of Cali on Thursday in hopes of completing a nascent trade bloc that looks to the European Union as a model and aims to further open their trade with Asia.
Pickering agrees to be questioned over State Department’s Benghazi probe
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
WASHINGTON — The retired U.S. diplomat who co-chaired an internal State Department review of the 2012 terrorist attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on Wednesday ended his refusal to submit to a closed-door interview with a Republican-led House committee that is investigating the assault.
U.S., U.N. urge Gulf states to donate more for Syrian refugees
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
WASHINGTON — With its neat rows of carpeted cabins, security monitors and on-site hospital and school, the Mrigb al Fuhud camp in Jordan is opulent compared with the squalid tent cities that house other Syrian refugees.
Argentine Indians ask president for their lands
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina's Qom Indians have asked President Cristina Fernandez for help in recovering some of their ancestral land.
France boosting security at facilities abroad
|Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
PARIS — France's Foreign Ministry says it is strengthening security measures, hiring more guards and buying new equipment to help protect French facilities abroad amid shifting threats.
Am. Samoa to keep flier miles of govt travelers
| |Wednesday, May. 22, 2013
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — American Samoa plans to take away frequent flier miles from government workers who travel on behalf of the U.S. territory and use the loyalty points to help medical patients and students travel off the islands when necessary.
