RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. (AP) — Jury selection began Tuesday for a North Carolina church minister accused of beating a man to expel his “homosexual demons.” Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, is the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will … Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African prosecutors on Monday dropped fraud charges against the finance minister and two former tax officials, reversing a decision that was criticized by many South Africans and deepened concern about the country’s struggling economy and alleged government mismanagement. The turnaround came just two days before Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was due … Continue reading
PARIS (A P) — Iran’s foreign minister, making the rounds of European capitals to seek benefits from a nuclear accord, is holding a string of meetings in Paris which he hopes can maintain the momentum toward change. Mohammad Javad Zarif meets Wednesday, June 22, with President Francois Hollande and is paying visits to France’s foreign … Continue reading
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president said Wednesday that Abu Sayyaf militants may have plotted to kill him and kidnap boxing star Manny Pacquiao, disclosing previously unknown details about an extremist group blamed for the beheading of a Canadian hostage. President Benigno Aquino III said the Muslim militants also wanted to explode bombs in … Continue reading
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Jamaica defended its decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana. Iran said it seized 620 tons of different types of drugs last year and is helping protect the world from “the evils of addiction.” Cuba opposed the legalization of drugs or declaring them harmless. The first U.N. General Assembly special … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the face of mounting threats from North Korea, President Barack Obama on Thursday urged closer security ties among its chief allies in Asia and increased cooperation with strategic rival China to discourage Pyongyang from further advances in nuclear weapons. As world leaders gathered for a nuclear security summit, Obama first met … Continue reading
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — In an emotional televised address, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed Monday to hunt down and defeat the militants who have been carrying out attacks like the Easter bombing that targeted Christians and killed 72 people. “We will not allow them to play with the lives of the people of Pakistan,” Sharif … Continue reading
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday vowed to eliminate perpetrators of terror attacks such as the massive suicide bombing that targeted Christians gathered for Easter the previous day in the eastern city of Lahore, killing 70 people. The attack underscored both the militants’ ability to stage large-scale attacks despite a months-long government … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — In a single-party communist state one would expect the process of picking the country’s new leaders to be a smooth-sailing affair with no dramas. Not so this time. Despite the veil of secrecy that the party pulls around its inner workings, it is clear that the Communist Party’s eight-day Congress set to … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 