Obama Leads McCain in Final Push for White House
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National polls show Obama with lead, but some key states very close
Obama (D-IL) speaks during a campaign rally at Parkview High School and McCain addresses a campaign rally in Perkasie, Pennsylvania, 01 Nov 2008Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his Republican rival John McCain are making their final push for votes, with rallies in highly contested states two days before the U.S. election.Senator McCain starts the day in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania with a rally near Philadelphia, while Senator Obama embarks on a series of campaign events in the midwestern state of Ohio.Ohio and Pennsylvania combined account for 15 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Under the U.S. system the president is chosen in a state-by-state race for electors who then officially elect the president. National polls indicate Obama continues to hold a lead, although several key states remain tight.One opinion poll by Reuters, C-Span and Zogby, released today shows Obama with a six-point lead over McCain, 50 percent to 44 percent, among likely voters. McCain Does Comedy
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain speaks at a rally at the Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, 01 Nov 2008On Saturday, McCain appeared on the comedy television show Saturday
Night Live, where he poked fun at his campaign and his latest plan to
win voters. He joked that he might resort to a "reverse maverick"
strategy and do whatever anyone tells him.Earlier, at rallies in Virginia and Pennsylvania, McCain promised
to keep taxes low, create jobs and strengthen the ailing economy.Obama,
appearing in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri, also focused on the
economy, vowing to cut taxes for working families and steer the country
back to financial health.Polls indicate the country's financial
turmoil has helped Obama pull ahead in the race. Surveys report that
the majority of respondents believe Obama is better able to handle the
economic crisis.
Obama Leads Polls Obama waves as he arrives at a rally in Henderson, Nevada, 01 Nov 2008Polls indicate the country's financial turmoil has helped Obama pull ahead in the race. Surveys report that the majority of respondents believe Obama is better able to handle the economic crisis.Nevada, Colorado and Missouri voted Republican in the last two presidential elections, but Obama has made significant gains in all three states.In Virginia, McCain is defending what has been a reliable Republican state. Pennsylvania has historically supported Democratic presidential candidates, but McCain needs that state to help win the race.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Pakistan
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Authorities say the attacker detonated the explosives-laden truck at a Frontier Corps checkpoint in South Waziristan, roughly 20 kilometers outside the main town of Wana
Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a paramilitary checkpoint in a tribal area near the Afghan border Sunday, killing eight troops.Authorities say the attacker detonated the explosives-laden truck at a Frontier Corps checkpoint in South Waziristan, roughly 20 kilometers outside the main town of Wana. Pakistan's tribal areas, in the northwest of the country, are considered to be Taliban and al-Qaida militant strongholds. Today's attack comes two days after suspected U.S. missile strikes in northwestern Pakistan. Intelligence officials say more than 20 people, including a mid-level al-Qaida leader, were killed in those strikes.In Islamabad Sunday the International Committee of the Red Cross issued an appeal for $7.8 million in emergency funding to help the victims of last week's earthquake in the southwest.Officials say Wednesday's quake in mountainous Baluchistan province killed about 300 people and left tens of thousands homeless. The Red Cross says the priority is to provide shelter for quake victims as winter sets in.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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20 Dead, 42 Missing in China Mudslide
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Xinhua news agency says that torrent of mud and rock hit near Chuxiong city in southwestern Yunnan province
China's official media say a mudslide in southwestern Yunnan province Sunday has killed at least 20 people and left about 42 missing.The official Xinhua news agency said that a torrent of mud and rocks hit near Chuxiong city in the afternoon. The agency quoted local officials who said the number of people killed is still uncertain.The mountainous Yunnan region has been pounded by heavy rains in recent days. The report said officials are still investigating the causes of the mudslide.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Israeli Security Chief Warns of Possible Assassination Attempt
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Head of Israel's Shin Bet security service has warned that Jewish extremists could try to assassinate an Israeli leader
An Israeli security chief has warned that politicians could again be targeted by Jewish militants. Robert Berger reports from the VOA bureau in Jerusalem.Head of the Shin Bet, Israel's Security Agency, Yuval Diskin (file)The head of Israel's Shin Bet security service has warned that Jewish extremists could try to assassinate an Israeli leader. Yuval Diskin told the Cabinet the aim would be to torpedo peace moves with the Palestinians. It is a sensitive issue-this week, Israel marks the 13th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish militant opposed to his peace policies.There has been growing tension between militant Jewish settlers in the West Bank and the Israeli government. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert lashed out at the settlers for recent attacks on Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians. Mr. Olmert told the Cabinet that most settlers are law-abiding citizens who love the people and Land of Israel. But he said there is also a group, that is not small, that is threatening the rule of law in the State of Israel. Mr. Olmert said it is intolerable. Defense Minister Ehud Barak concurred. "The settlers who are breaking the law are a threat to the state," he said." "This is a dangerous phenomenon" that will not be allowed.Militant settlers are angry over the government's peace talks with the Palestinians, which could lead to Israel relinquishing most of the West Bank and parts of Jerusalem. The settlers believe that violates God's command to settle all the biblical Land of Israel. So 13 years after the Rabin assassination, there are growing fears it could happen again.
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World Economic Forum Focuses on Global Cooperation
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Participants worried about economic conditions, but say they have reasons for cautious optimism
The World Economic Forum met in Turkey for a three-day meeting to come up with solutions to the global economic crisis. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.Two key messages came out of the gathering of the World Economic Forum: Tough times lie ahead for the world economy. But there are reasons for cautious optimism.There was a general consensus among participants at the meeting that the global economy would not recover from the slowdown for 18 months to three years. And, top economists and bankers warned the severity of that slowdown and its length was dependent on whether international cooperation between governments and financial and business institutions continued. There was a warning that companies in the developed world would succumb to public calls for protectionism and withdraw from emerging markets, causing more damage to their already struggling economies. Senior Adviser to French bank BNP Paribas, Jean Lemierre, said that European and U.S. politicians may find such pressure difficult to resist because of taxpayers recently coming to the rescue of failing banking institutions. "You have a new partner today, taxpayers, hundreds of millions of taxpayers in European and United states, they were not so much part of the debate, now they key part of the system because they have saved the system," he said.The three-day meeting, which ended Saturday, also played up some positive aspects of the crisis. Many focused on business opportunities that might arise from the economic slowdown and how Turkey could act as a bridge between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said there was an upside to possible future economic shocks, which could further weaken an already fragile international financial system. "I think this crisis made us realize we are living in a global village , that we are so close and so affected from each other. And we can act together in a meaningful way when there is a necessity," he said.This month, leaders of the countries with the most powerful developed and developing economies will meet in Washington in an effort to figure out what caused the global financial crisis and what they can do about it. President Bush will host the meeting of the Group of 20 - a meeting seen as important to maintaining the momentum of international cooperation.
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Rupiah Banda Sworn in as Zambian President
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Rupiah Banda takes the oath of office during a ceremony in the capital, Lusaka
In Zambia, Rupiah Banda has been sworn in as president after being declared the winner in Thursday's presidential election. Officials say Mr. Banda defeated opposition leader Michael Sata by a margin of two percentage points of the vote, but Sata's party is contesting. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our bureau in Dakar. Rupiah Banda is pictured as he is sworn in as Zambia's fourth president in Lusaka, 02 Nov 2008Rupiah Banda took the oath of office as Zambia's president, saying his administration would continue to welcome foreign investors and fight corruption. But he but added that its main focus would be the fight against poverty.
"We have come a long way these last seven years but there is still much to do. Too many Zambians have been left behind," said Banda. "They do not share in the economic prosperity of the Zambian economy."Mr. Banda also urged the opposition to set aside petty squabbles after a short, but intense, electoral campaign. He said he did not intend to govern a divided nation.Mr. Banda was sworn into office two hours after Zambia's Electoral Commission declared he won Thursday's presidential election with 40 percent of the vote, to opposition leader Michael Sata's 38 percent. Two other candidates divided the remaining votes. A burntout billboard from the riots protesting the victory of Rupiah Banda in Zambia, 02 Nov 2008 Sata had jumped to an early lead Friday as initial returns came in from his strongholds in urban areas and Zambia's mining zones. But Mr. Banda overtook him Saturday as late election results came in from rural areas where his support is greatest.The spokesman for Sata's Patriotic Front party, Given Lubinda, said the party would demand a recount because it had received evidence the poll was rigged."We do not and will not accept the election results that are being announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia," said Lubinda.He said the party would seek legal redress through the Zambian courts.But monitors from the Southern African Economic Community declared the elections free and transparent. The head of an observer group from the Electoral Institute for Southern Africa, Leshele Thoahlane, agreed."The stations that we went to, people were voting peacefully," said Thoahlane. "We did not see any acts of violence or acts of intimidation."The elections were called after President Levy Mwanawasa died from a stroke in August.Mr. Banda campaigned on pledges to continue Mr. Mwanawasa's pro-business policies which, along with a strong anti-corruption campaign, is credited with taming inflation and bringing five-percent annual economic growth.Sata campaigned on the need for change, saying that the economic gains had not reached the poor who make up two-thirds of the population.Voter turnout was less than 50 percent. Some observers say this was because of the short time available to prepare voters. Others say it was because the winner will only serve two years, the time remaining in Mr. Mwanawasa's term.
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Lord's Resistance Raids DRC Village
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United Nations says Sunday nine people have been killed in the battle between the LRA and Congolese government soldiers
Ugandan rebels attacked a northern Democratic Republic of Congo village Saturday. The United Nations said Sunday that nine people were killed in the battle between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Congolese government soldiers. A spokesperson for the U.N. mission in the DRC said between 30 to 50 LRA members raided the village of Dungu. The LRA attack on Dungu is separate from the conflict in eastern North Kivu province, where a Tutsi rebel offensive has displaced tens of thousands of civilians. The LRA has waged a 20-year war against the Ugandan government. In recent years, the group has become a regional threat, setting up bases and abducting civilians in the DRC, southern Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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UN Raps Congo on Human Rights Abuse
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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she is alarmed over killings and other human rights violations in DRC
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says she is alarmed over the increasing number of killings and other human-rights violations recorded during the past few days in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province. Escalating fighting between government and rebel forces has displaced tens of thousands of civilians. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, South African judge Navanethem (Navi) Pillay (File)Top U.N. human rights official Navi Pillay is calling on all parties to respect human rights international law. She says she fears a repeat of the same kind of horrendous human-rights violations that have occurred during previous outbreaks of fighting in this region.These she says have included large-scale summary and arbitrary executions, rapes, disappearances, torture, harassment, unlawful arrest and arbitrary detention. The High Commissioner's spokesman, Rupert Colville, says during the past few days, a number of fresh violations have been recorded by U.N. human rights staff in North Kivu."In the provincial capital Goma, looting, killings and rapes appear to have been carried out primarily by soldiers belonging to the national army known as the FARDC, many of whom fled the fighting further north," said Colville. "Other very serious abuses, including targeted killings, have been reported from areas held by forces of the National Congress for the Defense of the People, commanded by Laurent Nkunda."
Colville recounts a number of specific cases of abuse committed by Congolese government troops. He says U.N. human rights officers visited a number of houses. He says they gathered information about civilians, including children, who were murdered and wounded while soldiers were looting the premises. He says U.N. human-rights monitors have documented violations perpetrated by rebel troops or forces of the National Congress for the Defense of the People, known by the acronym CNDP."In rebel-held areas north of Goma, CNDP fighters are reported to have fired indiscriminately at a clinic into which government soldiers had fled, leading to civilian casualties, and later in the week a similar incident took place at a clinic in Rutshuru," said Colville. "Human-rights activists appear to be targeted. Activists in both Goma and rebel-held areas have told U. N. staff that they have been threatened or narrowly escaped being killed. There is fear of both forces, the army and CNDP." Colville says there is no figure on the total number of civilians killed.U.N. High Commissioner Pillay is calling for the government of Joseph Kabila to put in place radical institutional reforms. She says the country's security forces must be taught to fully respect the human rights of its citizens.She notes most violations in North Kivu's provincial capital, Goma should not have happened because they were committed by looting soldiers belonging to the government forces. She is urging the government to take swift and significant action to control its soldiers and to protect the civilian population.
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South Africa to Get New Political Party
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Co-convenor of convention and former premier of Gauteng Province, Mbhazima Shilowa received thunderous applause when he announced the decision
About 6,000 delegates at a national convention in South Africa have resolved to establish a new political party next month. But as VOA's Delia Robertson reports from the convention, the name of the new party will only be known next week.
Former Prime Minister of Gauteng Province, Mbazima Shilowa (file)The co-convenor of the convention and former premier of Gauteng Province, Mbhazima Shilowa received thunderous applause when he announced the decision.
"So we are no more debating whether or not there shall be a new political formation," Shilowa said. "We have taken that decision. "We are no more debating whether or not we are going to launch that party. We are going to launch it on the 16th [of December] in the Free State."
As other speakers before him noted, Shilowa said many delegates who resigned from the ruling African National Congress to join the new movement have paid a price for doing so.
"Many of you too have taken a conscious decision that says we are leaving the African national congress," Shilowa said. "Some of you have done it at great cost to yourselves - insults, vilification, name calling, disruption of your meetings, threats - but you said we have taken a decision, we have joined [the ANC] freely, we are going to leave freely, the constitution allows us to do so."
Organizers of the event had planned for four-thousand delegates, but demand was so high they registered more than six thousand. And despite their appeals that people should not arrive without a confirmed registration, thousands more came anyway, forcing organizers to set up large outdoor television screens in a sports stadium to accommodate the overflow.
Late Saturday, many of those were partying and celebrating in the streets of nearby suburbs.
The conference was billed as an event in support of democracy and most speakers referred to examples of how they see the ruling ANC subverting the institutions of democracy for personal gain. Even so, organizers urged delegates not to get bogged down with resentment and anger and instead focus on how they can change things in the future.
But it was clear they know it is the ANC they will have defeat in future elections, and Shilowa assured them it is possible.
"There are those who have said, a liberation movement as powerful as the African national congress cannot be taken on, I stand here today on behalf of this preparatory committee, to say not only do we intend to tackle it, we intend to win the next elections," Shilowa said.
But many analysts say Shilowa was being too ambitious - that it is most unlikely the new party will win the election next year. But they say it is clear this new party has the potential to become the ANC's most serious opponent.
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