BEIJING – China’s education minister has issued a stern warning against threats to communist ideological purity in higher education, saying Western values must never be permitted to infiltrate the classroom. Yuan Guiren reiterated the need for strict ruling Communist Party control over education and said educators must ensure that teaching …
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TORONTO – A prosecutor says two men charged with plotting to attack a passenger train travelling between Canada and the U.S. were motivated by Islamic extremism and spent months plotting to kill as many people as they could. Raed Jaser and Chiheb Esseghaier face multiple charges in the alleged plot …
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UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. secretary-general is asking for more than 1,000 additional peacekeepers for the Central African Republic to help bring violence between Christians and Muslims under control. A letter from Ban Ki-moon to the U.N. Security Council president, circulated Thursday, says another 1,030 peacekeepers are needed to help …
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Professors and support staff at the main campus of Guyana’s biggest university have launched a strike to press for higher pay and better working conditions. The strike by hundreds of union employees at the University of Guyana was launched Monday after negotiations with administrators collapsed. Staffers at …
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BEIRUT – Activists say rapid advances by Syrian government forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters south of the capital Damascus have slowed because of a snowstorm hitting the region. Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist in the southern city of Daraa, said snow fell Thursday in some areas south of Damascus, …
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KINSHASA, Congo – Congo’s president is condemning a decision by the United Nations to withdraw its support from a military offensive against a rebel group. The U.N. announced recently that it could not take part in the effort because Congo’s military decided to have the campaign be directed by two …
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LONDON – Britain’s defense minister has said Russia poses a “real and present danger” to European security, as Royal Air Force jets were scrambled to escort Russian warplanes off the British coast. The Ministry of Defense said Thursday that RAF Typhoon jets escorted two Russian bombers away from British airspace …
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The Ethiopian mediator of the South Sudan peace talks says he is distressed by the violation of a truce signed earlier this month. Seyoum Mesfin of the regional bloc known as IGAD spoke during the resumption of peace talks in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, amid …
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SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni officials say the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council has visited President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in a show of support for the embattled leader against Shiite rebels who have seized the capital. Top aides to Hadi say GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani visited him Wednesday …
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MEXICO CITY – Environmental and animal rights groups in Mexico are training their sights on the growing number of “swim with dolphins” enclosures on the nation’s coasts. The movement scored its first victory Thursday, when federal regulator authorities said they had ordered a dolphinarium just south of the resort city …
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