Browsing: News

Marijuana users celebrated Wednesday as Colorado became the first US state to allow retail cannabis sales, putting it in the vanguard of efforts across the country to legalize the drug. The western state famous for its ski resorts and breathtaking mountain…

Pope Francis on Wednesday called for greater solidarity in the world in his first New Year blessing as pontiff in front of crowds of pilgrims on St Peter’s Square. “We all have a responsibility to act so that the world may be a community of brothers…

Violence in Iraq surged in 2013 to its worst level in five years, fuelled by widespread discontent among the Sunni Arab minority and Syria’s civil war, figures released Wednesday showed. Bombs tore through markets, cafes, football fields and mosques…

South Sudan’s warring parties were on Wednesday due to start talks aimed at ending more than two weeks of bloodshed but rebel leader Riek Machar has warned his forces will keep fighting until a ceasefire deal is reached. Machar has rejected face-to-…

The banned Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram on Wednesday said it had released a French Roman Catholic priest on compassionate grounds but insisted that no ransom had been paid. The militants, considered a terrorist organisation by the United States…

Thousands marched in Hong Kong Wednesday to demand a greater say in how their future leaders will be chosen, expressing fears that China will limit long-awaited political reforms. “Democracy will prevail” read some banners as protesters sang and shouted…

Thousands of revellers got to taste the New Year celebrations in London when edible peach snow and strawberry mist descended on partygoers watching the midnight pyrotechnics. Around 50,000 people took part in what was dubbed the “world’s first multi…

2014: OUR YEAR OF STABILITY AND GROWTH New Years Day Broadcast 2014 by Dr. Kayode FAYEMI Governor, Ekiti State, Nigeria…

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has expressed sadness on the death of Dr. Iyetade Soyinka, daughter of Nobel laureate, Prof.…

31 December 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today welcomed the presidential pardon granted in Myanmar to political…

31 December 2013 – Concerned about ongoing protests in Cambodia which have virtually shut down the garment industry, the United…

31 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the staff of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone…

31 December 2013 – The United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) today voiced grave concern over mounting evidence…

31 December 2013 – United Nations agencies today warned of possible famine and severe malnutrition in the Central African Republic…

31 December 2013 – The top United Nations envoy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has deplored the…

Utah appealed to the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend a judge’s ruling allowing same-sex marriage in the western state, prosecutors said. Its attorney general’s office filed an emergency request to stay a decision by judge Robert J. Shelby of…

Talks led by former US diplomat Richard Haass aimed at ending disputes on flashpoint issues hampering peace in Northern Ireland broke up Tuesday without agreement. Haass was called on in September to help the main political parties end arguments over…

Sydney kicked off New Year celebrations with a dazzling fireworks display, the first in a wave of pyrotechnics to usher in 2014 from Hong Kong to world record-chasing Dubai. Seven tonnes of explosives lit up Australia’s biggest city, with fireworks…

A French Roman Catholic priest freed Tuesday after being held captive for seven weeks by Islamic militants in Cameroon said he was “in great shape” and thanked those who helped secure his release. Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, was kidnapped on November…

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita wished 15 million Malians “peace, nothing but peace” as he delivered a New Year greeting Tuesday at the end of one of the most turbulent years in the west African nation’s history. “I only want peace, nothing but peace…