TheRepublic.com - International agreements News

Japan approves joining int'l child abduction pact

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:40:14 -0400

TOKYO - Japan's parliament on Wednesday approved joining an international child custody treaty amid foreign pressure for Tokyo to address concerns that Japanese mothers can take children away from foreign fathers without recourse.

Fighting for 2nd day between army, rebels in Congo

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:38:48 -0400

GOMA, Congo - Fighting between the M23 rebels and the army continued for a second day Tuesday near Congo's eastern provincial capital of Goma, in clashes that have so far killed 19 people, all of them either soldiers or rebels, officials said.

Trial begins in international custody case

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:24:06 -0400

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - A trial was to begin Tuesday in federal court that will determine what country will decide the fate of two 13-year-old twin boys at the center of an international custody battle that extends from Eastern Europe to Middle Tennessee.

Palestinians hold off on UN agency membership

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:36:03 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - The Palestinians have done all the legal work necessary to join 63 U.N. agencies, conventions and treaties but haven't applied yet mainly to give the latest U.S. peace effort a chance to succeed, the chief Palestinian negotiator said Monday.

Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:37:06 -0400

JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement.

Greek PM in China seeking investment, trade deals

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:13:05 -0400

BEIJING - Greece's prime minister is in China seeking investment and trade deals to help revive his country's recession-battered economy.

5 free things in South Dakota's Black Hills

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:39:07 -0400

RAPID CITY, South Dakota - Mount Rushmore National Memorial may be the most famous landmark in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but it's not the only one.

Slovenia govt' confirms union agreed wage cuts

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:58:11 -0400

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - Slovenia's government has formally approved an agreement it reached with trade unions to cut public sector wages by up to 4.8 percent as part of budget austerity measures the country needs to avoid an international bailout.

IOC to chart out India's return to Olympic fold

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:07:07 -0400

LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The IOC will issue a "roadmap" for India's return to the Olympic fold after both sides reached agreement Wednesday on the terms for lifting the country's suspension.

Critics assail Israeli silence on Arab peace plan

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:20:51 -0400

JERUSALEM - On the surface, the Arab League's improved peace initiative offers Israel everything it ever dreamed of - normal relations with an entire region that has long objected to the very existence of the Jewish state, and even the chance to keep some war-won land.

Senate group OKs Medicaid for Micronesian migrants

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:35:26 -0400

HONOLULU - The latest version of the U.S. Senate immigration reform bill restores Medicaid eligibility to migrants from three Pacific island nations in Micronesia.

Obama: UK should seek EU changes, not 'break' ties

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:05:46 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama waded into British politics Monday, suggesting that the United Kingdom seek to reform its relationship with the European Union before it decides to simply break away from it.

Europe at odds over next steps to banking union

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:43:30 -0400

BERLIN - European leaders are increasingly at odds over how to create a full-fledged banking union, the bloc's key project to stabilize its financial system and turn the tide in its stubborn debt crisis.

Top US, Afghan diplomats meet on security pact

Sat, 11 May 2013 08:43:35 -0400

KABUL, Afghanistan - Senior American and Afghan officials held talks Saturday to try to iron out the details of a key pact signed a year ago that defines the future of the United States' commitment to Afghanistan.

Nations agree to new chemical ban, export controls

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:51:09 -0400

GENEVA - A summit on chemicals and hazardous wastes ended Friday with an agreement to globally phase out a widely used flame retardant and to accept stricter requirements for disclosing information about exports of four other chemicals.

Kensett American Legion charter suspended

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:25:32 -0400

KENSETT, Arkansas - The American Legion charter in Kensett has been suspended indefinitely after a teenager was shot during a private graduation party at the facility over the weekend.

Lawyer: Abu Qatada's conditions to leave UK

Fri, 10 May 2013 05:40:17 -0400

LONDON - The lawyer for Abu Qatada says he will voluntarily leave Britain, which has been trying to deport the radical Muslim preacher for more than a decade, and go to Jordan if a new treaty on torture is ratified there.

Northern Ireland hopes to tear down 'peace lines'

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:06:02 -0400

DUBLIN - Northern Ireland hopes to tear down the so-called "peace lines" of Belfast - dozens of walls of brick, steel and barbed wire that divide Irish Catholic and British Protestant neighborhoods - within a decade, officials said Thursday. But in setting a deadline of 2023, it's a sign of how difficult the task will be.

Agricultural issues stalling Canada-EU trade deal

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:01:06 -0400

OTTAWA - A high-ranking European official says only agricultural issues stand in the way of a Canada-European Union trade deal.

Ivory Coast: Gbagbo fighters to return from Togo

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:45:29 -0400

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - About 200 fighters loyal to former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo will be repatriated from Togo after two years of exile following their country's 2010-11 postelection conflict, government spokesman Bruno Kone said.

Ukraine expects to sign cooperation accord with EU

Wed, 08 May 2013 02:14:38 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - Ukraine's foreign minister said he expects his country to sign a cooperation agreement with the European Union later this year despite the EU's objections to the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

$95 million yacht visits Annapolis Harbor

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:05:28 -0400

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland - Take off your shoes. Please.

Central America struggles to unite for Obama trip

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:11:04 -0400

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - President Barack Obama on Friday addressed a Central American region that continues to be plagued by violence, drug trafficking, corruption and poverty, despite the success of a seven-year trade agreement with the United States.

SAfrica: officials suspended over wedding scandal

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:47:17 -0400

JOHANNESBURG - Five South African officials, including police and military commanders, have been suspended after a chartered plane carrying about 200 guests from India to a lavish family wedding was allowed to land at a South African air force base, the government said Friday.

Nations at nuclear meeting say too many on alert

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:19:32 -0400

GENEVA - More than 100 nations concluding a round of global nuclear talks Friday expressed alarm that many nuclear weapons are kept at a high-alert level and are still being modernized, despite a promise to get rid of them.