North Korea Removed from US Terror List in Return for Nuclear Inspections
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US State Department announces details of agreement following day of intensified discussions between US with other countries involved in six-party talks
The United States Saturday removed North Korea from its list of state
sponsors of terrorism in exchange for a verification plan allowing the
U.S. and other parties to monitor the communist country's nuclear
disarmament.The U.S. State Department announced details of the
agreement this Saturday morning following a day of intensified
discussions between the U.S. with other countries involved in the six-party talks.The decision follows an agreement with Pyongyang in which North Korea agreed to all U.S. nuclear inspection demands.Under
terms of the new agreement, North Korea will allow monitoring of both
its plutonium and uranium development plans and any nuclear
proliferation activities.Experts from all six nations involved
in the deal and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be
allowed to participate in verification activities.North Korea
agreed earlier this year to disable its main nuclear plant at Yongbyon
in exchange for economic and energy aid. But six party talks stalled
when North Korea halted the process after Washington refused to remove
it from the terrorism list.The State Department said Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with foreign ministers from China,
Japan and South Korea on Friday. She was also planning to contact the
Russian foreign minister to discuss how to verify the North Korean
shutdown.The six parties involved in the nuclear disarmament
talks include North and South Korea, China, the United States, Japan
and Russia.
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Bush: Top Economic Powers Will Cooperate on Economic Crisis
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US president makes remarks at White House after meeting with heads of international financial institutions who are in Washington DC for gathering of G7 finance ministers
President Bush makes a statement after the House passed the $700 billion financial bailout bill at the White House in Washington, 03 Oct 2008U.S. President George Bush has emerged from a White House meeting with
the world's top economic powers, saying they have agreed to work
together to restore stability and growth to the global economy.Mr.
Bush made the remarks Saturday after meeting with finance ministers who
are in Washington D.C. for a gathering of Group of Seven.Mr.
Bush said that in an effort to resolve the situation, the actions of
one country should not undermine or contradict the actions of another.The president said financial officials have pledged to support key financial institutions and prevent their failure.President
Bush said ministers will work quickly to protect bank deposits and
bring liquidity to financial institutions to unfreeze the credit
market. He also said they agreed to ensure taxpayers are protected.Mr. Bush also tried to soothe fears about the economy during his weekly radio address Saturday.On Sunday, European leaders are to gather in Paris to draw up a joint plan to cope with the financial crisis.The
global economic crisis has sent stock indexes plunging around the
world. In the U.S., the Dow Jones had it worst week on record by again
closing sharply lower on Friday.
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Zimbabwean Opposition Says Power-Sharing Deal under Threat
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Opposition Movement for Democratic Change describes announcement of Cabinet list by official government newspaper as midnight ambush
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change says the publication of ministerial posts in an official government newspaper threatens the country's power sharing agreement. Tendai Maphosa has more from Harare.President Robert Mugabe, left, shares light moment with new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, right, at signing of power sharing deal in Harare, 15 Sep 2008 The Movement for Democratic Change describes the announcement of a Cabinet list by the state controlled newspaper The Herald as a midnight ambush. In a stinging statement, the MDC further says the announcement jeopardizes the power-sharing deal signed with President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party on September 15.The Herald announcement comes after the parties had acknowledged failure on reaching agreement on the allocation of Cabinet posts. They had agreed to refer the matter to former South African president Thabo Mbeki who brokered the power-sharing deal. The agreement says the president will allocate ministerial portfolios after consultation with the vice president, the prime minister and deputy prime ministers.The MDC statement says no agreement was reached on the heavily contested portfolios of Finance, Home Affairs, Local Government and Foreign Affairs when the leaders of the parties to the agreement met on Friday. The Herald list gives three of the posts to ZANU-PF adding that only Finance is disputed. The MDC insists it will reject what it calls attempts BY ZANU-PF to merely get it into office but without power.Constitutional expert Lovemore Madhuku tells VOA that while the announcement by the government may not be in the spirit of the power sharing agreement, it does not breach the letter of the deal.Under the agreement, ZANU-PF is to get 15 posts of the 31-member Cabinet while the main MDC party led by Morgan Tsvangirai gets 13. The remaining three go to a smaller faction of the MDC.
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Alaska Inquiry Concludes Palin Abused Power
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Report, released Friday by bi-partisan panel, found Governor Palin in violation of state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain
An Alaska state legislative panel has concluded that Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her power as state governor by pressuring officials to fire a state trooper who was once married to her sister. VOA's Purnell Murdock reports from Washington.Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin speaks during a rally in Ohio, 29 Sep 2008The report, released Friday by a bi-partisan panel that investigated the matter, found Governor Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.The report says that Palin allowed her husband, Todd Palin, to use the Alaska governor's office and its resources to pressure employees into finding a way to fire state trooper Mike Wooten.The investigation centered on the dismissal of Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he was fired for refusing to remove Wooten.The inquiry found that although Palin was within her rights to fire Monegan, she violated public trust by pressuring subordinates in a way that advanced her personal wishes.A spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, Meghan Stapleton, said the report showed Palin acted legally in her decision to dismiss Monegan. The campaign also characterized the inquiry as a partisan attack on the vice presidential candidate. Governor Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.The findings come amid a heated race for the presidency between Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama and his Republican rival Senator John McCain. Lanny Davis, a Democratic party strategist and former legal counsel to President Bill Clinton, said on CNN's "Larry King Live" show Friday the determination by the Alaska investigative board that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power is serious."The abuse of power finding is very serious for an elected executive," said Davis. "The Constitution and precedent suggest that abusing governmental power are grounds for impeaching a president. I suspect they would be grounds in Alaska. So the abuse of governmental power is a serious offense for an elected official."Though the charges are serious, the nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a criminal investigation. Commenting on CNN's "Larry King Live" show Friday, Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large of the conservative National Review On-Line, dismissed the inquiry as politically motivated."It sounds to me that this was a political enterprise that came up with a compromise where they basically said, 'She broke no laws but they don't want to seem like a whitewash, because we have Obama supporters on the investigating parties.' So what we're going to do is say she did something wrong, even though she broke no law," said Goldberg.No matter which side of the political divide they fall on, analysts agree the inquiry and its conclusions are a distraction the McCain campaign does not want as it fights a tough battle for the presidency.
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Russian Troops Withdraw from Georgia, But Is It Enough?
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During visit Friday to Georgian town of Gori, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner described withdrawal as first step
The European Union has welcomed the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgian territory as was stipulated by a cease-fire agreement between Moscow and Tbilisi, but views are mixed as to whether the Russians have fully complied with the conditions of that accord. VOA's Sonja Pace visited a Russian and Georgian checkpoint in Akhalgori Friday, on the boundary line between Georgia and the breakaway region of South Ossetia and here is her report from the scene. Russian soldiers still man the Akhalgori checkpoint - a half dozen men are visible behind concrete barriers - the Russian flag flies above a hut by the side of the road.They say they're not authorized to speak to reporters, but they say that so far they've received no orders to pull back further.Just 400 meters back down the road, a dozen Georgian police have their own checkpoint. They watch the Russians closely. On this occasion, a European Union monitoring patrol has pulled up. Russian peacekeeping forces gather supplies while dismantling Karaleti checkpoint, 08 Oct 2008Patrol leader Fredrik Nylyn talked with the Georgian commander about the situation. "We'll go over and speak to the Russian side as usual and maybe we'll drive over the bridge to the Russian watch-post on the other side as well."Nylyn is part of a European contingent sent to monitor the situation after an EU-backed cease-fire agreement halted clashes between Russian and Georgian forces in August. He said, "The Georgians [are] on one side with their checkpoint and we have a Russian checkpoint just 400 meters north of the place where we are standing right now."At the heart of the conflict are the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The war in August was sparked when Georgian forces launched an attack against South Ossetia's capital Tskhinvali to try to rein in Russian-backed separatists and regain control of the area. Russian forces responded quickly, driving the Georgians back, moving deep into Georgia and creating buffer zones around the breakaway regions.Under the cease-fire accord Moscow promised to withdraw by October 10th. In Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said monitors confirmed the Russian withdrawal and he welcomed the pull-out. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, center, during a visit to the town of Tkviavi in Georgia, 10 Oct 2008But during a visit Friday to the Georgian town of Gori, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was not so sure. He described the Russian withdrawal as a first step - it's not complete, he said.Kouchner also visited damaged homes in the buffer zone near South Ossetia including a police station that had been taken over by Russian and South Ossetian militias.
He said, "The Russians themselves or the militia [were here], and they destroyed everything." Georgia said Russia has not complied with the cease-fire accord because it still maintains forces inside South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia said it has complied because its forces pulled out of the buffer zones. These differing views are no surprise, said EU patrol leader Fredrik Nylyn. "It's one thing to draw a line on a map but it's another being out in the environment and trying to establish where is that line now. So, there is room for different interpretations there - for both sides actually," he said.Russia, which unilaterally recognized the independence of both breakaway republics says it will maintain troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to guard against future Georgian attacks.
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US, India Sign Civilian Nuclear Accord
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Accord reverses three-decade ban on US, India trade in nuclear fuel and technology
The United States and India Friday signed an accord allowing U.S. firms to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India, reversing a three-decade ban on such trade. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee signed the accord in Washington. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
Indian FM Mukherjee (left) signs nuclear accord with Secretary Rice, 10 Oct 2008Rice had hoped to sign the agreement on a visit to New Delhi a week ago, just after the accord was approved by the U.S. Congress.
But bureaucratic snags prevented a signing at that time, and Foreign Minister Mukherjee flew to Washington Friday to formally conclude an agreement both sides call historic.
Three years in the making, the agreement will give India access to U.S. nuclear fuel, reactors and technology, overturning a ban on such trade imposed after India's first nuclear test in 1974.
The agreement was controversial in both capitals with U.S. critics saying it weakens U.S. non-proliferation policy.
Indian opponents - who nearly brought down Prime Minister Monmohan Singh's government earlier this year - say it could limit the country's nuclear weapons program.
But at the signing ceremony, Secretary Rice said the accord puts an end to decades of distrust between the two countries and opens the door to vastly expanded cooperation far beyond the nuclear field. "India and the United States can do all of this and more together. There is so much that our two great nations will achieve in this century, and with conclusion of this civil nuclear agreement, our partnership will be limited only by our will and our imagination. India and the United States have taken on an extremely difficult challenge. We've met it, we've succeeded together," she said.
Foreign Minister Mukherjee for his part said India looks forward to working with U.S. companies eager to enter India's potential multi-billion dollar nuclear market. He said expanded civil nuclear power is central to the country's hopes for enviromentally safe economic growth.
"Nuclear power will directly boost industrial growth, rural development, and help us respond in every vital sector in our economy. It will also enable India to respond with our global partners to the challenges of climate and global warming, by strengthening her economic growth and sustainable development," he said.
President Bush earlier this week signed into law enabling legislation for the nuclear deal approved by the U.S. Congress.
It clears the way for U.S. nuclear assistance in exchange for India's agreement to open civilian, but not military, nuclear facilities to international inspection.
Casting the accord as a major foreign policy achievement, Bush administration officials say the partial opening of Indian nuclear facilities to outside scrutiny is a significant advance.
Opponents in U.S. arms control groups say rewarding India, which has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is a poor example at a time when the world community is trying to get Iran and North Korea to curb their nuclear programs.
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Economy Dominates in Canadian Election
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This is last weekend of campaigning before Canada's general election Tuesday
This is the last weekend of campaigning before Canada's general election Tuesday. As Craig McCulloch reports, the current world-wide financial crisis have made the economy the driving issue of the campaign.
Stephen Harper When campaigning started in early September, no issues were capturing headlines and opinion polls were showing the ruling Conservative party of Prime Minister Stephen Harper was headed for an easy re-election.
Canada follows the British parliamentary system. Voters in each of 308 constituencies select a Member of Parliament, or MP. The party with the most MPs usually forms the government and that party's leader becomes prime minister.
If the party wins less more than fifty percent of the constituencies, as was the case in the last election in January, 2006, it is considered a minority government.
Before the economic problems on Wall Street started to reverberate globally, the only question was whether Mr. Harper would get a minority or a majority government.
That has now changed, with opposition parties quickly gaining ground and the Conservatives weakening.
The most recent polls put only four percentage points between the Liberal Party, which is the official opposition, and the ruling Conservatives. The Socialist-oriented New Democratic Party is now close behind the Liberals.
It was not until the last week of the campaign that Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a 49 year-old economist from the Western city of Calgary, released the party's election platform.
This brought the usual heavy criticism from the opposition parties.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion, a former university professor from the predominately French-speaking province of Quebec, has seen his campaign revitalized and his poll numbers rising. His rallies are growing louder with more supporters.
At an event here in Vancouver, the Liberal Leader says the Conservative Party and its leader have been slow to react to the economic turmoil.
"Mr. Harper is coming too little, too late. With little help for the industry and the manufacturing sector and the aerospace industry. We have much more in our platform. We have much more in rich tax credit for Research and Development. For buying green machinery and equipment. To attract investments around the world to here in British Columbia and everywhere in Canada. Much more, but he is coming with this too little to late. His retail politics is not a vision."
Friday, the conservative government announced a plan to buy insured mortgage pools worth 25 billion dollars Canadian - more than 21 billion dollars U.S. -- to help the country's banks. But the government advocates strict limits on public spending as it deals with the economic crisis.
At a recent campaign event in Vancouver, Mr. Harper said the choice is simple, that Dion's Liberals will increase spending and taxes that will worsen the economic situation. "There will be one of two outcomes: There will either be a Prime Minister Dion who will tackle our economic problems by increasing spending that we can't afford and increasing taxes to pay for it. Or our government, which will keep spending under control and keep taxes going down. Those are the two choices to deal with the economic problems in front of us."
Coming in an increasingly close third place in national opinion polls is the New Democratic Party, or NDP. The party and its leader, Jack Layton, could possibly form coalition Government with the liberals.
Layton says the conservative prime minister is ignoring the crisis to the detriment of everyday Canadians. "There's a whole lot of families that are really struggling to make ends meet and they're watching their savings disappear in front of them. And they're very worried about their pensions and this, what, me worry? attitude that we have seen from Mr. Harper is wrong."
Two smaller political parties are also playing a role in this election.
For the first time, the Green Party and leader Elizabeth May got a place in the televised debate of party leaders earlier this month. They have been polling between 10 and 13 percent nationally.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois is only running candidates in the province of Quebec and is not expected to be a part of any prospective coalition government.
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Austrian Far Right Leader Killed in Car Crash
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Police say 58-year-old Haider died after suffering head and chest injuries when car he was driving veered off road in southern Austria
Joerg Haider (file photo)The Austrian Press Association says Joerg Haider, leader of a far right party and a provincial governor, was killed in a car crash early Saturday.Police say the 58-year-old Haider died after suffering head and chest injuries when the car he was driving veered off the road in southern Austria.Haider was a key figure in Austrian politics for more than 20 years. His work with the Freedom party saw it become a political force in the 1980s and 90s.His far right agenda and extremist views drew criticism from the EU, which imposed sanctions against Austria over Haider's party's role in Austria's government in 2000.
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UN Warns Against Neglecting Humanitarian Needs in Coping with Financial Crisis
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UNHCR says neglect could lead to disaster for refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has appealed to international donors not to cut back on humanitarian programs because of the financial crisis. He warns that neglecting the needs of refugees and other vulnerable people could lead to disaster. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from UNHCR headquarters in Geneva. The UNHCR has just wrapped up its annual refugee conference. The agency presented a $1.8 billion budget for 2009 to its members. And, it is concerned that all of its needs may not be met because of the global financial crisis. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres said he already sees concerns mounting in many countries about the deteriorating economic conditions. "My appeal is that this would not undermine the support to humanitarian action around the world. We are speaking of peanuts, if we compare humanitarian needs with, for instance, financial rescue packages. And, if those peanuts would be reduced, we would then face dramatic consequences."The United States Congress recently passed a $700 billion rescue package. Other countries around the world are bailing out banks and other financial institutions. Humanitarian agencies say they are afraid governments will economize by cutting funding for the poor. Eritrean refugees at Ethiopia's Shimelba camp. The UNHCR cares for 32 million refugees, internally displaced and stateless people. The U.N. World Food Program provides food aid to millions of people who otherwise would go hungry. Other agencies provide essential services to victims of conflict, disease and poverty.High Commissioner Guterres said the world is becoming a more dangerous place and refugees are the most vulnerable victims. He said conflicts are deepening and multiplying. He said the food crisis, the high cost of energy and climate change are adding to the difficulties.He said this is no time to neglect the world's most helpless people. "If in 2009, we would witness a situation in which we would have more refugees, more crises, more communities suffering extreme poverty or whose environment is destroyed by the impacts of climate change. And at the same time, less financial support to humanitarian aid, we would be facing a dramatic situation." Guterres said his appeal is not just for the UNHCR, but for all humanitarian agencies. He said it is in the self-interest of developed countries themselves to support people in need. He said addressing humanitarian problems around the world is important for peace and security. He said this will create a more harmonious relationship between the North and the South.
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Niger Delta Philanthropist Seeks Better Deal for Oil Communities
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Ebimiere Okrika says lack of education in region breeds ignorance, desperation and more violence
Nigerian rebels who have waged an increasingly bold campaign in the oil-rich Niger Delta say they feel cheated out of the oil wealth being pumped out of their land. Residents are equally disappointed by the near-absence of schools in the Delta. A philanthropist in the region says education holds the key to the Niger Delta's future. Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja.An unidentified woman lays clothes out to dry on an oil pipeline running through the Okrika neighborhood of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's oil-rich delta region (file photo)Nigeria is expected to earn more than $60 billion from oil sales this year alone. Since the 1970s, Nigeria, Africa's number one oil producer, has produced more than $300 billion worth of crude from the southern Delta region, according to estimates.In the polluted creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta, there is little evidence of petrodollars. High unemployment, environment degradation due to oil and gas extraction and a lack of basic resources such as fresh water and electricity have angered some of the region's youth and incited them to take up arms.In the midst of the chaos and turmoil, one woman seems determined on making education accessible to as many Delta residents as possible.Warri-based philanthropist, Ebimiere Okrika, says lack of education in the region breeds ignorance, desperation and more violence. Her charitable foundation has helped to set up schools in some of remote areas of the Nigeria, but more needs to be done as she told VOA."I have gone to places; I have gone to the interior villages where an engine boat cannot go," said Okrika. "We use hand pulley to go to those places. I have gone there and talked to them, they should release their children to come to school. And I'm sure this commission, SUPADEC, [state oil producing communities commission] has tried. In areas where there had been no schools, they have started building schools. There is a little hope that education will be done in the areas and I hope to add more to it."President Umaru Yar'Adua made the Niger Delta one of his priorities when he came to power 16 months ago. But it remains as violent and poverty stricken as when he arrived. Critics say the administration seems unwilling to pump billions of dollars of development funds into the province.Ms. Okrika says the region's difficult terrain cannot be an excuse for its marginalization. "It is not even the terrain," she said. "It is just that we are being neglected. They don't pay attention to us." "When you go to these oil-producing communities, there is no place where boats cannot go. But those that are taking the oil don't they go there? They will just build a house or so, they will stay there they will give them food and everything. So why is it that they cannot do the same thing for our people? They take our oil they take everything. So our resources' being taken without compensation is very bad," she added.The petroleum sector remains the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, accounting for about 20 percent of annual GDP, 80 percent of government revenues and at least 90 percent of all foreign exchange earnings.
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