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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-12-04T10:35:00.000-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Follow economic news on our Global Economic Turmoil page. And, VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

Rice Says Pakistan Committed to Mumbai Investigation

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US secretary of state meets with Pakistan's president, prime minister and other senior officials and calls her conversations 'quite satisfactory'
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Pakistan's leaders understand the importance of finding the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and are committed to fighting terrorism. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad, where the secretary held talks with Pakistani officials.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gestures as she talks to journalists during a press conference at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, 04 Dec 2008In recent days, senior U.S. officials have called for Pakistan to do more against militant extremists, following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. On her way to Islamabad, Secretary Rice said robust action is needed. But after meeting with Pakistan's president, prime minister and other senior officials, Rice called her conversations quite satisfactory and said leaders pledged to support the Mumbai investigation. She also downplayed speculation that India could launch military strikes against Pakistani targets associated with the Mumbai plot."Let me be very clear: I have heard nothing but reasonable discussion and responsible discussion in both India and Pakistan about the problem here - about the attack in Mumbai," she said.In a statement released after his meeting with the secretary, President Asif Zardari pledged strong action against any elements in his country that were involved in the strike. India has said there is information that a Pakistani militant group that formerly had ties to Pakistan's spy agency was involved in the attack. But Pakistani officials say they are still waiting to see evidence that backs up the allegations.When asked about the back and forth, the secretary said there is already a lot of information about the attacks. "There are many mechanisms through which to share information," she said. "And that information needs to be used now to get the perpetrators and prevent them from doing this again." Rice did not say if she discussed President Zardari's plan to try Pakistani suspects in the plot in Pakistani courts. India has demanded Pakistan turn over those believed to have links to the attack. Both Condoleezza Rice and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen have been visiting leaders in the two countries this week, trying to calm tensions aggravated by the Mumbai attack. As investigators continue to try to piece together who helped or planned the plot, Rice said the operation's complexity made it even more important to uncover who was behind it."It was a sophisticated attack at a level of sophistication that we have not seen here on the subcontinent before," said Rice. "That means there is urgency to getting to the bottom of it, there is urgency to bringing the perpetrators to justice and to use the information to disrupt and prevent further attacks."She said the United States and Britain are prepared to help investigators, but so far both India and Pakistan are committed to using their own capabilities to locate and prosecute those responsible.

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Mumbai's Children Cope With Terror Attacks

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Now that schools have opened, some children finding it difficult to focus on studies, but many are glad to be back to comfort of routines
With schools closed during the terror attacks in Mumbai, many of the city's children stayed indoors during the three-day siege, watching tragedy unfold on television. Now that schools have opened, some children are finding it difficult to focus on their studies, but many are glad to be back to the comfort of routines. Raymond Thibodeaux has this report from Mumbai.Girl in a bus on her way back home from school in Mumbai, 01 Dec 2008Here at the Bharada New High School, the classrooms are once again alive with the sound of children. There are about 1,500 students at this school. It is across the street from Mumbai's main railway station, where gunmen launched attacks that killed 174 people and wounded more than 230 others in the city's longest-running terror attack. Pooja Kumar, the school's principal, said, "Even the grownups are not feeling very normal. I also come by the [rail] station and, even as I was putting my foot down on the platform, there was some apprehension. A number of our children come that way. They must have also felt the same way I feel." "It is like I cannot concentrate on any of my work," said Shweta Singh, a 16-year-old senior at the school. "Now, I am feeling that I want to go home because that is the only safe places for us. God knows what will happen tomorrow."Fifteen-year-old Maiz Indorewala says he is finding comfort in the familiar routines of school. He says being back in school helps him cope by keeping him from dwelling on the attacks. He also says going back to school sends a message to those who carried out the attack against the city.Indian police officers run to a new position around the landmark Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, 29 Nov 2008"I was very afraid, with all the violence and bloodshed, that make our minds fearful right now. We have to show them that we are not afraid of them. We show them that we are back at work and at schools and offices," he said.As with many other principals at the more than 400 schools across the city, Kumar says she has been busier than usual, on the school's intercom, trying to maintain calm and to reassure the children that they are safe."My message to the children - I'm going to make an announcement to the children and ask them not to be afraid. Nothing is going to happen. Just be brave. Whatever has to happen will happen one day. Life has to go on. Children have to study. We have to earn our bread. Everyone has to go back to work," Kumar said. On a chalkboard on the entrance hall of the school, some of the day's news headlines are written out in white chalk, in perfect cursive script. One of them reads, "Police question the captured gunman." Another reads, "Mumbai back to life," punctuated by a smiley-face sun.

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European Banks Cut Interest Rates

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Officials of European Central Bank make biggest rate cut in the bank's history;
key rate now at 2.5 percent
Europe's two leading central banks are cutting key interest rates in an effort to ease the impact of the global financial crisis.President of the European Central Bank, ECB, Jean-Claude TrichetOfficials of the European Central Bank made the biggest rate cut in the bank's history Thursday, a three-quarters of one percent cut, putting the key rate at 2.5 percent. Meanwhile, the Bank of England slashed its interest rate by a full percentage point, putting the key rate at two percent - the lowest level since 1959. Lower interest rates make it cheaper for people to borrow money to pay for homes, businesses and other investments that fuel the economy.French President Nicolas Sarkozy has introduced a new plan to help stimulate his country's economy and save jobs. The $30 billion plan includes targeted investments in the auto industry and infrastructure projects.The U.S. government is considering steps to influence home loan rates, to help stabilize the U.S. housing market. Under the plan, the Treasury Department would buy investments linked to new home loans, under the condition that those loans are set at a low interest rate of 4.5 percent. The goal is to make it easier for consumers to borrow the money needed to buy homes. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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General Motors Worse Off Than Expected on Eve of Bailout Request

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Top executives of General Motors, Ford, Chrysler preparing to make their case to Congress Thursday, Friday
With congressional hearings set Thursday and Friday of this week in advance of a vote on lending money to the beleaguered U.S. auto industry, General Motors says it needs money almost immediately. VOA's Barry Wood has more on the controversy over government aid to America's ailing auto industry.

Chrysler is one of the US auto companies seeking a federal loanWith U.S. car sales at their lowest level in a quarter of a century, General Motors says it needs $4 billion before the end of this month. The largest of the so-called "Big Three" automakers, that also includes Ford and Chrysler, GM says its sales this year are down 22 percent, compared with an industry decline of 16 percent.

"GM, as many analysts point out, has very severe cash needs. They need the infusion as soon as possible," said Dennis Virag, who heads the Automobile Consulting Group.

Mike DiGiovanni, Director of Global Market Analysis at General Motors, says he is hopeful the industry will get its loans from Congress. He detects a spirit of cooperation between government, industry management and the auto workers union.

"I think it is doable with our partners. One of the positive things that has come out of this is a really good dialogue with the federal government and what our issues are, and some of the challenges we face," he said.

DiGiovanni and Virag spoke on Bloomberg Television.

Ron Gettlefinger, the head of the United Auto Workers, says his union is prepared to make concessions to cut industry costs.

"There's no question that we face some difficult challenges. Being honest, we've been saying for a long time that we're in a race to the bottom, a race to the bottom that workers in no country can win. Because there is always somebody else or somewhere else to go that pays less," he said.

The viability plans submitted by the carmakers are generally being well received and the companies are expected to receive government loans.

FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair (file)But Sheila Bair, who heads the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the agency charged with safeguarding U.S. bank deposits, wonders where to draw the line because the government cannot help all needy industries.

"Everybody is coming to Washington and wanting help. And picking winners and losers is a very difficult part of their [Congress and the Treasury Department's] job," she said.

But union leader Gettlefinger says the auto industry is different and more vital than most.

"I'm not sure where you draw the line. But let's just look at this. Let's look at the backbone of our economy, as Barack Obama describes it. Let's look at the millions of jobs that will be lost in this country if we lose this industry," he said.

Gettlefinger and the Big Three emphasize that American car companies, unlike banks and insurance companies, are seeking loans, not grants, and that their plight stems from the sudden, unpredicted decline in economic activity.

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Bangkok Airport Back in Operation, But Economic Pain May Linger

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Business leaders in Thailand say country's reputation badly damaged by airport occupation, which shut traffic for eight days
Bangkok's international airport is returning to normal, after protesters shut it down for eight days. But business experts say the economic damage caused by the country's political crisis may linger for some time. VOA's Kate Pound Dawson reports from Bangkok.Thai Airways planes parked at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, 04 Dec 2008Within a few days, cargo and passengers should be flowing normally through Bangkok's international airport. The anti-government protesters who occupied it began leaving Wednesday, after a court barred Thailand's prime minister and his party from politics.But business leaders in Thailand say the country's reputation has been badly damaged by the occupation, which shut traffic for eight days.John Koldowski, an executive with the Pacific Asia Travel Association in Bangkok, says that, although tourism has been most immediately affected, problems caused by the airport's closure spread around the country."I think the ripple effect is beginning to be felt now, because the freight's affected as well. So you're looking at produce that can't be shifted out of Thailand. You're looking at produce that can't come into Thailand for consumption. It's now starting to be felt right across the wider society," said Koldowski.Stranded passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, 26 Nov 2008Hotels struggled to accommodate stranded guests while the airport was closed. Now, they are looking ahead to see whether potential visitors have been scared away. Porntina Tangsajjavitoon - the communications director for the Accor Group, which has 20 hotels in Bangkok - says, so far, the damage is moderate for her company, in part because their rooms stayed filled with stranded tourists. She says only a few bookings for the upcoming Christmas holiday have been canceled. "It's not as bad as we thought. … However, the new reservations, we'll probably have to wait and see a little more. Of course, there are some cancellations as well," she said.However, other hotels are seeing a greater number of cancellations. Some report they may see fewer than half their rooms occupied, in the coming weeks - the heart of the peak tourism season. Business leaders worry that the damage could be long-lasting and they are concerned because it could be weeks before a new government is installed.Dusit Nontanakorn, the vice chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, says airport managers worked hard to get flights moving again, but more must be done now to help the business community, which already was suffering because of the global economic downturn. "The private sector and the government officials really have to join hands and work together. We cannot wait until the next government will be coming in," he said. Thai police man a checkpoint near the Suvarnabhumi airport compound Sunday 30 Nov. 2008 in Bangkok ThailandThere is considerable concern that Thailand's political crisis is just on hold and has not ended. Most members of parliament from the banned party have regrouped under another banner and they, along with coalition partners, still hold a majority of seats. If their choice for a new prime minister - expected next week - does not satisfy the anti-government group, protesters may well be back on the streets.Robert Broadfoot runs Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, a Hong Kong company that assesses business risks around Asia. "This is not the end of the crisis by any means, I don 't think. It's just moving on to the next chapter. There's still a large number of uncertainties. And, when it comes to businesses like tourism, this is going to be a disastrous high season," he said.Broadfoot says it will be hard to determine just how much damage the political crisis has done to the economy, compared with the damage caused by the global slump. Foreign investment is likely to shrink and demand for exports will be weak, because of the worldwide financial crisis.He says one way the Thai government can minimize the pain and help build a foundation for future economic growth is to focus on improving its infrastructure, such as roads and schools. Somchai Wongsawat, left, talks to reporters after court dissolves ruling party and bans him from politics, in Chiang Mai, 02 Dec 2008 "Probably the best that could happen now is if they get some sort of agreement in the political process, even if they're going to get revolving-door governments, where you can push ahead with major infrastructure and other programs, at least A., to create opportunities, and B., to create the impression that the economy's not just stuck in quicksand," he said.Broadfoot points out one advantage to focusing on infrastructure projects is that they are not dependent on foreign investment.The political uncertainty and the effects of the global economic crisis have factored into the decision by international credit rating agencies to downgrade ratings in Thailand. That means the government and businesses here will pay more to borrow money. However, Thailand's central bank may have eased some of the pain this week, when it surprised financial markets with its largest rate cut ever. The benchmark lending rate dropped a full percentage point, to 2.75 percent.

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ICC Prosecutor Warns of Possible Sudanese Reprisals if Bashir Arrest Warrant Issued

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Luis Moreno-Ocampo warns that UN Security Council should prepare for possible reprisals against peacekeepers and civilians
The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that the court might soon decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide in the war-torn Darfur region. Luis Moreno-Ocampo warned that the Security Council should prepare for possible reprisals against peacekeepers and civilians if a warrant is issued. From United Nations headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), addresses a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, 17 Jul 2008Moreno-Ocampo says more than 5,000 displaced persons continue to die each month in Darfur. He said continued attacks against ethnic groups, rapes in and around camps, and the obstruction of humanitarian efforts are only possible with the compliance of the Sudanese government, headed by President Bashir."Such acts have required the sustained mobilization of the Sudanese state apparatus, including the military, security and intelligence services, the integration of the militia/Janjaweed into the reserve forces, the coordination of the diplomatic and public information bureaucracies and the control of the judiciary," said Moreno-Ocampo said.The prosecutor asked the court in July to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. A decision is expected by early next year. Moreno-Ocampo said the evidence shows that in March 2003, President Bashir ordered brutal attacks on villages and camps inhabited by the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa tribes. "At least 35,000 persons have been killed, around 300,000 suffered a 'slow death,' thousands of women and girls are the victims of rape," he said. "2.5 million people in the camps today are subjected to conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction."The prosecutor said that in response to his request for an arrest warrant, President Bashir and some of his officials have made direct threats against peacekeepers and civilians."Such threats should be seen for what they are - a confirmation of criminal intentions," Moreno-Ocampo said.Moreno-Ocampo also charges that the president is protecting two other individuals for whom the court has already issued arrest warrants. One of them, Ahmad Harun, is a government minister. "The impunity afforded to Ahmad Harun is a direct message to all perpetrators of crimes in Darfur," he said. "That message is the president will protect those who are following his orders."Moreno-Ocampo said President Bashir could have disarmed the militias, stopped attacks on civilians and surrendered those with arrest warrants against them to the court, but that he has instead chosen to continue to implement his plans of genocide. He said the council must be ready to take united and consistent action to ensure the implementation of an arrest warrant if the court issues one.The U.N. Security Council originally referred the Darfur issue to the International Criminal Court, and has spoken in a united voice in demanding that Sudan end impunity. But there are some diffrences developing.Council members China, Russia and Libya are close to Khartoum. And the African Union and the Arab League have asked that the Council consider deferring the investigation of President Bashir, saying it is not helpful to the peace process.Costa Rica's U.N. Ambassador, Jorge Urbina, acknowledged differences exist among Security Council members on whether to invoke the Council's power to suspend the investigation for one year, and made clear that his country does not support such a move."We regret very much the pressure that has been put on the Council to defer the case from the court," he said. "We believe that this pressure should be put on the government of Sudan to comply with the decision of the court."Human rights groups are also calling on the Security Council to send a clear and united message to Khartoum that it must comply with the court's decision and that no retaliatory violence will be tolerated. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is also seeking arrest warrants against three rebel commanders for a 2007 attack on African Union peacekeepers in which 12 were killed.

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Blair Says Conditions Must Change for Israelis and Palestinians to Make Peace

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Former British prime minister says there cannot be a Palestinian state until situation in Gaza is resolved
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians will not succeed until the reality on the ground improves for both sides. Mr. Blair made the remarks during a speech in Washington and VOA correspondent Meredith Buel has details.

Tony Blair, 3 Dec 2008The same day Tony Blair resigned after 10 years as British Prime Minister he was appointed as representative of the Middle East Quartet to help the Palestinians build their institutions and economy.

The Quartet, which consists of the United Nations, European Union, Russia and the United States, has been trying to improve conditions for peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

But Mr. Blair says everyday realities must improve for both sides before any agreement is possible.

"The problem is that until now the reality on the ground for Israelis and Palestinians has not passed what I would call the minimum threshold of credibility for the political negotiation to succeed. Not for the Israelis on security, not for the Palestinians on lifting the occupation," he said.

Mr. Blair, who has been the Quartet's representative for the past 18 months, says there recently have been small improvements in the West Bank.

He says Palestinian security forces have successfully deployed in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Nablus and Hebron. Mr. Blair says the economy is improving and the unemployment rate is falling.

In his speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, the former British prime minister said conditions continue to deteriorate in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the militant group Hamas.

Mr. Blair says there cannot be a Palestinian state until the situation in Gaza is resolved.

"There can only be one Palestinian state. It will combine Gaza and the West Bank. However much we are tempted to set Gaza to one side because of the chaos it causes to Palestinian cohesion, it cannot be. But neither is its predicament inevitable. It can and it must be reversed," he said.

Mr. Blair says the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank must prove it can maintain security. He says Israel must also stop building Jewish settlements there.

Mr. Blair says ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains key to solving other problems in the region.

"Peace between Israelis and Palestinians would release forces of modernization across the region. It would pin back the forces of reaction and it does not inhabit an entirely separate sphere from issues like Iran or Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan or any of the other troubled parts of that region, which crowd in on our consciences and compete for our attention. It is integral to resolving them too," he said.

Mr. Blair says an effort by the Bush administration to boost peace talks during a conference in Annapolis, Maryland last year does provide a platform to build on even though the sides will not reach their goal of an agreement by the end of this year.

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S. Korean School Isolates N. Korean Defectors to Better Integrate Them

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Special school trys to level the playing field of opportunity for North Korean arrivals
There are about 15,000 North Korean defectors living in South Korea. That number is steadily growing. Most of them left the communist North to escape hunger, severe deprivation and political repression. Starting a new life in the advanced, capitalist South is daunting - especially when it comes to getting an education. VOA Seoul Correspondent Kurt Achin traveled to a special school that is trying to level the playing field of opportunity for North Korean arrivals.The bell rings and uniformed students hurry to their next lesson. It looks like a typical South Korean school day. But, here, there are some big differences.None of the students attending classes here were born in South Korea. All of them fled - at one point or another - from North Korea. They are among thousands of North Koreans who have arrived in South Korea after making an illegal border crossing into China - where they arranged passage here, often via travel brokers who operate in secret. The process is usually dangerous and traumatizing.Because of the communist North's isolation and poverty, they have enjoyed few if any of the learning opportunities South Korean children take for granted. Because of food shortages, they are noticeably smaller than South Koreans. Even using their native language is hard, because the South's version of Korean has borrowed so many words from other countries, over the decades.So here, at the Hankyoreh Middle and High School in the South Korean town, Anseong, they get special attention. The students eat, sleep and study on campus. Security is kept tight. It is South Korea's only publically-administered school exclusively for North Korean defectors. Principal Kwak Jong-moon says it is designed to meet every need - not just academics.He says the basic goal is to acclimate the North Koreans to the very different culture and society of South Korea. The school provides psychological counseling to help the students attain emotional stability. He says a range of medical treatment is also available.Most of the North Korean students have lost one or both parents or have left family members behind in the North. Kwak says the school does the best it can to fill that void.He says teachers live with students, in the dormitories, and become a reassuring presence, just like like mothers and fathers. He says they can sometimes even be better, because they can keep teaching the students after school, which many parents cannot do.The students' curriculum includes everything from history to English to digital-media technology. They also play sports - from badminton . . .. to traditional Asian swordplay.Students in a drama class have been rehearsing a play called "You Are Not Alone." Drama teacher Lee Do-ran says the young North Koreans appreciate the chance to act out the challenges of starting their new lives.She says the culture shock North Korean defectors experience, when they first arrive in the South, can sometimes lead to conflict. She says the play deals with that and with other problems faced by all young people.Back in the dormitories, at night, the North Korean students say they spend much of their free time talking about life back home and their hopes of returning, one day. Twenty-one-year-old student Kim Kyung-ha says her life at Hankyoreh has helped her see the South differently.She says, when she watched South Korean television in China, it looked as though everyone in the South was one big family. But she was disappointed to find that people here can be very cold. However, she says the teachers at this school are a big exception.Kim and most of the other students are not expected to graduate formally from Hankyoreh. Instead, they will transition to regular South Korean schools when their teachers feel they are emotionally and academically ready for that challenge.

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Miami Cuban-Americans Shifting Opinion on Cuba Embargo

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Latest Miami poll shows 55 percent of Cuban-Americans now oppose continuing embargo
A new U.S. public opinion poll shows long-time support for the U.S. embargo against Cuba is falling among the Cuban-American community in Miami. VOA's Brian Wagner reports from southern Florida the poll reflects a shift of opinion away from harsh policies toward Cuba. The question has been a staple in the yearly poll conducted by Florida International University since 1991. Cuban-Americans in the Miami area are asked whether they favor or oppose continuing the U.S. embargo of Cuba.For years, the majority of Cuban exiles supported the trade restrictions even while recognizing the embargo had little impact on the Communist government in Havana. But the latest poll shows the tide is shifting, and now 55 percent of people said they oppose continuing the embargo.Hugh Gladwin is director of the university's Institute for Public Opinion Research, which conducts the poll. "The biggest factor in the changing position on the embargo is the number of younger people who arrived more recently from Cuba has been increasing. And the number of people who arrived in the 1960s has been decreasing," he said.Fidel Castro (file photo)Recent arrivals tend to favor closer ties with Cuba, partly because they still have family and friends on the island, while those who fled Cuba decades ago have powerful feelings about the rise of former President Fidel Castro and his Communist government.Elsewhere in the United States, the embargo and U.S. policy toward Cuba receives little attention. Most Americans do not support the trade and economic restrictions, which were first imposed in 1962 and expanded in 1996. Another key question the poll asked was what should happen now, and what president-elect Barack Obama should do when he takes office next month. Gladwin said researchers are still studying the responses, which included people saying they expected Mr. Obama to make no real changes."But I would say much more frequently were responses like 'maybe now things will change.' The thing I noticed a lot is that people are just fed up with the situation," said Gladwin.Obama at an Independence Day Celebration at the Cuban American National Foundation, Miami, 23 May 2008During the campaign, president-elect Barack Obama tried to tap into frustrations about how U.S. policy has failed to weaken the Communist government in Havana. He did not promise to end the embargo, but the incoming president said he will review other U.S. restrictions and would be open to meeting Cuban leaders.The big question is whether Cuba policy and possible reforms will be high on the political agenda, once Mr. Obama takes office.

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South Africa Experiments With Houses Made of Sand

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MMA Architects will build 10 houses for low-income families bigger and better than the low-income homes South Africa has been building
Builders in South Africa have begun construction on a new type of housing for low-income families. The buildings look like conventional homes, but the walls are made with sandbags. Architects say their experimental design is quicker and easier to build. For VOA, Terry FitzPatrick reports from Cape Town.South Africa builds about 250,000 houses for the poor, every year. But ten homes going up in Freedom Park are a radical departure from standard construction practices.Construction of a sandbag home in South Africa"This is a drawing plan which we use for construction," said Luyanda Mpahlwa of MMA Architects, who was commissioned by a Cape Town foundation, called the Design Indaba, to develop new ideas for low-cost homes."We had to be creative, in terms of finding a different way of building. Because we're all comfortable to say this is how you build today and we don't challenge ourselves to find alternative methods," added Mpahlwa.The design team's first innovation was to move beyond the standard floor plan of a single-story home. The new layout has two floors. A living room, kitchen and bath are downstairs. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms and a balcony. Mpahlwa says the 581 square feet of living space is bigger and better than the low-income homes South Africa has been building."We are trying to introduce the element of dignity in low-cost housing. Now, as architects we've got the challenge to apply our trade to improve the lives of people. But, at the same time, we should provide good quality for the people, so that they have a decent house," said Mpahlwa.The building's most unusual innovation comes from a small factory, a few miles away. Frameworks for the homes are pre-fabricated at a company called Eco Beam and then shipped to the construction site. Mike Tremeer developed the wood-and metal framework design. "I think it makes it easy to build. It's extremely fast. It's ideal for situations where you have no infrastructure," said Tremeer. Once the frame goes up on site, the walls are filled-in with 3,500 sandbags. Tremeer says sandbags are strong and durable. And, to keep costs down, community members fill the bags, themselves, at the building location."It adds so much value to someone's property, if they've actually had an input in actually being able to help to build that house. And, this is an opportunity for people to actually do that. We can use extremely unskilled labor," said Tremeer. "Once the framework is up, it's just a matter of filling in the gaps."The ten experimental sandbag homes will be occupied by families who have been living in shacks. Construction is being financed by private donors. The project recently won the prestigious Curry Stone architectural award from the University of Kentucky, in the United States. But it is not clear if South African officials will adopt the sandbag concept for other housing developments. The architects estimate each home will cost about 10-thousand dollars to build. That is more than expected and is twice the price of a conventional low-income house in South Africa.

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Scotland Promotes Whiskey as a Weapon Against Polluted Water

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Scientists have conducted field tests around Britain and say a scotch by-product can cure contaminated groundwater
Scotch whiskey is said, by some, to have many magical qualities. Now, scientists in Scotland have discovered one more: it can be a weapon against polluted waste sites. A by-product of the spirit is 99.96 percent effective in cleaning contaminated ground water and scientists in Scotland are hoping to export their special clean whiskey to the world. VOA's Mandy Clark reports from Aberdeen. Scotchmen stand as they wear traditional dress behind the first bottles in the world of Scotch Whiskey Royal Salute 38 Years Old (File)A wee dram of whiskey - it is Scotland's national drink and locals say it cures the common cold.

But there is another Scottish DRAM that has even greater health implications. It is a water-cleaning technology invented by scientists at Aberdeen University. This DRAM is derived from a scotch by-product and it can cure contaminated groundwater. Its clever name, DRAM, stands for Device for the Remediation and Attenuation of Multiple pollutants. Soil toxicologist Graeme Paton says it can take chemically polluted water and make it clean. "We are making something that fish can survive in, that plants, that can be used for washing and irrigation, that is the objective of this project," said Paton.DRAM is far quicker and more cost effective than current clean-up techniques. It can remove multiple pollutants simultaneously, such as pesticides or heavy metals, making once-tainted water safe enough to go back into the environment. The scientists have conducted field tests around Britain, from toxic sites to water treatment facilities. The university research team considers the trials so successful it is keeping the by-product secret and Graeme Paton says they are contemplating setting up a company to exploit the commercial potential to a global market. "Part of our ambition is not just to deal with the West and developed world, but also other very under developed countries, like Pakistan and Bangladesh and West Africa, where much of our tanneries are carried out to produce our leather and the by-product that produces is horrifically toxic to local areas," added Paton. "We can actually deploy this as a very sustainable option to help those people as well. Water, clean water is the right of every human being that we should expect in the Western world." The inventors say it is also an environmentally friendly solution. Unlike current methods, DRAM does not use potent chemicals to clean the water - the pollutants simply get trapped in the organic DRAM material. Leigh Cassidy came up the idea of using the whiskey by-product as a groundwater cleaner. She credits her profound knowledge of Scotch. "I started doing a check list of the ideal properties, and as I ticked off the list I thought, 'Ohhh, I know what has got that in it," said Cassidy. Paton and Cassidy say they are thrilled with their scientific discovery of an environmentally friendly water-cleaning solution. Well, it is certainly a idea worth toasting.

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2008-12-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

Rice Calls on Pakistan to Cooperate With Mumbai Terror Probe

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During US Embassy press conference in India, secretary of state notes assault on commercial capital resembles type of attacks staged by al-Qaida
With tensions heightened between India and Pakistan, the top American envoy is calling for Islamabad to show its resolve and to join the international effort to find those responsible for the Mumbai terror attack. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Indian capital to meet with top government officials. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi. Condoleezza Rice talks to reporters during press conference in New Delhi, 03 Dec 2008Speaking to reporters at the American Embassy before her meetings with the Indian prime minister, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice directed much of her message towards Islamabad. "We have to act with urgency. We have to act with resolve," said Rice. "And, I have said that Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency and cooperate fully and transparently." Rice says that message will be delivered again to Pakistan. She is expected to fly to Islamabad Thursday, as part of her altered itinerary that saw her detour from Europe to South Asia, after last week's attack by terrorists on Mumbai. Although some U.S. officials suspect involvement of the Pakistan-based Lashkar e-Taiba, Secretary Rice says it is premature to draw any conclusions on who is responsible. But she notes the assault on India's commercial capital resembles the type of attacks staged by al Qaida."Where there is a direct al Qaida hand or not, this is clearly a kind of terrorism in which al Qaida participates," she said. India blames the attack on 10 gunmen who came by sea from Pakistan, heavily armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades. They killed about 175 people during a 60-hour siege. The United States and other countries are concerned that the attack could wreck the Indo-Pakistani peace process that has been underway in recent years. The nuclear-armed countries have gone to war against each other three times. A number of other prominent Americans have come to the region to hold talks with Indian and Pakistani officials. They include three senior American senators and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Speaking at an election campaign rally Thursday, the chairperson of India's governing United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi, issued a new warning to Islamabad about limits to India's patience, as it awaits a favorable from Pakistan. The widow of slain Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi says India's neighbors should not make the wrong assumption that its desire for friendly relations is a sign of weakness. Speaking in India-controlled Kashmir, the powerful Congress Party leader added India will not bow down to terrorists, but rather will demonstrate what she calls a "fitting reply." The rhetoric comes amid opposition party criticism that the government is soft on terrorism and failed to improve intelligence and security that could have prevented a wave of bombings this year, mostly blamed on Muslim militants.

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Many Indians Angry About Failure to Stop Terror Strikes

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Indians express disappointment at government inaction to stop, reduce threat of attacks
A week after coordinated terrorist strikes killed and injured hundreds of people in India's financial hub, Mumbai, public anger is mounting at what people see as the government's failure to reduce the threat of terror strikes. As Anjana Pasricha from New Delhi, terror attacks have devastated several Indian cities, in the last decade. Members of anti-terrorist squad take positions outside Chhatrapati Shivaji railroad station following rumor of terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, 28 Nov 2008The assault by about 10-15 gunmen who wrecked havoc in Mumbai, last week, is over. But the booming sound of gunshots and images of fires billowing at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai have been imprinted on the minds of people across the country.It was not the first time that an Indian city was devastated by a terror strike. This year, bomb attacks have ripped through busy markets in New Delhi, in the information-technology hub, Bangalore, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad, killing hundreds of people.But the attacks in Mumbai were the bloodiest and most brazen in the last decade. And, across the country, it has unleashed a wave of anger at the political establishment for not formulating an effective strategy to tackle terror, despite repeated attacks in Indian cities. Fingers are being pointed at not just the government, but all politicians. "Very angry, very, very angry at the government, the politicians, the bureaucrats, everybody," one person said. "They have been saying they will be doing things, but they have really not done anything.""The policy makers were not bothered," noted another. "Instead of working together, they are now opposite each other - rather than joining hands and finding a solution for the problem we are facing," another person said."Very disgusted, and a lot of anger inside. We must do something at least to protect ourselves," a fourth person said.The anger has been fueled by media reports that security agencies failed to share information and act on intelligence reports about a possible attack on luxury hotels in Mumbai.In recent days, two politicians who went to pay condolences to families of officers killed battling the gunmen in Mumbai were turned away. In Mumbai, crowds have been gathering near the Gateway of India, adjacent to the devastated Taj Hotel, after text messages called on people to come and "tell the politicians and leaders that we want our safety." In letters to newspapers, people are attacking what they say is "a weak political system."The call for accountability has been heard. Political heads have rolled. The federal interior minister has been replaced with former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. He is promising tough action to tackle terror. "We will respond with determination and resolve to the grave threat posed to the Indian nation," he said. "This is a threat to the very idea of India, to the very soul of India." Civic groups are debating what citizens can do to contribute to the fight against terror. Not all people are just blaming the politicians. Many young people, like college student Vaibhav, say ordinary people need to do more to ensure that governance is clean and honest. "Ultimately it is us who make them corrupt, it is we who pay them bribes," he said. "So it is necessary we take self initiatives and work towards it together, without forming any bias on the basis of caste, religion or whatever."Others, like Deepali Dalmia, say the repeated terror strikes in cities have made them fearful of being hit by another attack. "We are hardly stepping out - especially no five-star hotels - and being a little conservative about sending children to birthdays in public places, only to people's houses. It is just not a good feeling," Dalmia said. Observers say that, in a country that is no stranger to terror attacks, the level of concern and debate triggered by the Mumbai attacks is unprecedented . They say it could partly be because the attacks targeted the elite of India, who have not directly faced the threat so far.

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Obama to Announce Nominee for Commerce Secretary

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US President-elect Barack Obama expected to tap New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for key trade position
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is set to name another governor to his Cabinet Wednesday.New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (file photo)Mr. Obama has scheduled a news conference in the central city of Chicago to announce the nomination of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for commerce secretary.Richardson is a former Democratic presidential candidate who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration.As commerce secretary, Richardson would play a key role in promoting international trade and helping to strengthen the U.S. economy. Another governor, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, was nominated Monday to head the Department of Homeland Security. Also Wednesday, members of Mr. Obama's transition team are meeting with about a dozen retired generals and admirals. The former high-ranking military officials are urging the future Obama administration to ban the use of harsh interrogation techniques by the Central Intelligence Agency. President George Bush authorized the use of such techniques as part of U.S. efforts to get information from terrorism suspects. Harsh interrogation techniques have included waterboarding, which simulates drowning and that, in the past, had been classified as torture by the United States.Also, Vice President-elect Joe Biden is being briefed in Washington by a congressional commission on the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Biden will be joined by Obama's pick for homeland security chief, Governor Napolitano.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Britain Prioritizes Economy in Legislative Plan

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Queen Elizabeth II delivers annual address to House of Lords and Commons
The British government presented its legislative agenda to parliament Wednesday, and dealing with the financial crisis and stabilizing the economy are the top priorities. It's the government's program, but, as every year, it is Queen Elizabeth II, who delivered the message in a very formal and elaborate ceremony. VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.It's an age-old tradition, full of pomp and ceremony, as the Queen arrives in Parliament to address the House of Lords and Commons.Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks from the throne in the House of Lords, during the State Opening of Parliament in London, 03 Dec 2008The speech is drawn up by the government - the Queen delivers it, and thus marks the beginning of a new parliamentary session.There were no surprises - the financial crisis and what to do about the slumping economy tops the legislative agenda."My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My government's overriding priority is to ensure the stability of the British economy during the global economic downturn," said the Queen. "My government is committed to helping families and businesses through difficult times."The government has already outlined proposals to try to re-energize the economy - including a cut in the national sales tax and tax breaks and incentives for low income families and small businesses.And, Britain will host a summit of the G-20 group of industrialized and emerging economies in April, as the UK and governments around the world attempt to stem the economic downturn and stimulate their economies back into growth.Announcing the government's legislative agenda, the Queen stated a number of proposals - from reforming the social welfare system and making the justice system more transparent, to forging ahead with plans to eradicate child poverty by the year 2020.On foreign policy, it was very much a continuation of stated goals."My government will press for a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, continued progress in Iraq and for effective measures to address concerns over Iran's nuclear program," said the Queen. "My government will work with the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan for security, stability and prosperity."After the annual address, the Queen, accompanied by her husband Prince Phillip, left the chamber for the carriage ride back to Buckingham Palace.

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Gates: New Afghanistan Strategy a High Priority

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US defense secretary says one of his first priorities in new Obama administration will be to re-evaluate US strategy in Afghanistan
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says a new strategy for fighting Islamic extremists in Afghanistan will be a high priority for the administration of President-elect Barack Obama. Gates, who has served as Defense secretary under President George Bush, has been chosen by Mr. Obama to remain in the post. VOA's Kent Klein reports from Washington.Defense Secretary Robert Gates holds a press briefing at the Pentagon, 2 Dec. 2008Secretary Gates told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that one of his first priorities in the new administration, which begins on January 20, will be to re-evaluate U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. "It is very important for us to do everything we can to make sure that the Afghans understand this is their fight, and they have to be out front in this fight," he said. "That is why I am such a strong supporter of accelerating the expansion of the Afghan army."The Bush administration is reviewing the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, and the Obama administration is expected to do the same.Gates said U.S. officials are greatly concerned about terrorist safe havens on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which Mr. Obama has called the number one threat to the security of Americans. Gates said the United States and Afghanistan will increase their efforts to close safe havens on the Afghan side of the border, and he said Washington will emphasize a similar partnership with Pakistan's government to shut down the enclaves on its side. "We are prepared to move as quickly as the Pakistanis are," he said. "I know they are uneasy about the American footprint in Pakistan, and I think we have to be sensitive to their political concerns. At the same time, we cannot do this on our own."Soldiers in a Humvee patrol the perimeter of the Camp Delta detention compound, at Guantanamo Bay's US Naval Base, in Cuba, 06 Jun 2008Secretary Gates also said another high priority will be to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba, where more than 250 detainees suspected of terrorism are being held. Gates said closing the controversial facility will require help from Capitol Hill. "I think it is possible to close it," he said. "I think it does require a joint effort with the Congress. I think some legislation probably is needed as a part of it. I think trying to move forward on that, at least from my standpoint, should be a high priority."The defense secretary commended India for its restraint in responding to last week's deadly attacks in Mumbai. He said the killings were clearly the act of an extremist group trying to target Americans and Britons. But he acknowledged that most of those who died were Indians.Gates is the only Bush administration cabinet member who has been asked to stay on in the Obama administration.

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Zimbabwe Police Turn Back Protesters

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Riot police break up two separate protests in Harare over dismal state of public health, economy
Police officer falls from pickup truck while trying to disperse doctors and nurses demonstrating in Harare, 03 Nov 2008Riot police in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, have broken up two separate protests over the dismal state of public health and the economy.Witnesses say police drove off a group of doctors and nurses protesting in front of Zimbabwe's Health Ministry Wednesday.In the other incident, police using batons beat union members as they demonstrated against tight restrictions on cash withdrawals. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says at least 50 union members were arrested, including the group's leader, Wellington Chibebe.Zimbabwe is mired in a deep economic crisis, marked by extreme inflation and chronic shortages of everything from food to fuel to cash. The country is also dealing with an outbreak of cholera. The United Nations said Wednesday that the epidemic has killed 565 people. Zimbabwe's state-run Herald newspaper said that individuals will now be allowed to withdraw up to $100 million (Zimbabwe dollars) per week from their bank accounts. In another indication of drastic inflation, the Herald reports the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will begin circulating three new banknotes - worth $10, $50 and $100 million (Zimbabwe dollars) - on Thursday.Meanwhile, the government says it will punish rogue soldiers who loot stores and attack civilians. Earlier this week, police clashed with about 100 soldiers who went on a looting spree in Harare.The Herald says the soldiers had been unable to withdraw money from the country's cash-strapped banks. The paper quotes Zimbabwe's defense minister as warning that anyone who tries to incite the armed forces to riot will be held accountable.Conditions in Zimbabwe have deteriorated as the country's political crisis drags on. Power-sharing talks between President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have been stalled for months.Mr. Mugabe blames Zimbabwe's problems on Western sanctions against his government. But critics say Mr. Mugabe has destroyed the country through reckless policies and mismanagement during his nearly 30-year rule.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Anti-Government Protests End in Bangkok, but Uncertainty Remains

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Analysts say political outlook remains clouded, because of concerns over choice of new prime minister
Anti-government protesters have ended their occupation of the airports in Bangkok after a court ruling removed Thailand's prime minister. But as Ron Corben reports from the Thai capital, the political outlook remains clouded, because of concerns over the choice of a new prime minister.Thai officials began cleaning up Bangkok's airports.Passengers from a Thai Airways flight come out from the plane after arriving at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok, Thailand, 03 Dec 2008Earlier in the day, the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy ended its eight-day siege of the terminals. And the first passenger flights in a week arrived at the international airport.The blockade left hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded. Airport officials say it will be several days before operations are back to normal. Since May, the PAD has campaigned against the government, accusing it of acting as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The protests ended after a court ruling dissolved three governing coalition parties, led by the People's Power Party, for breaking election laws.Somchai Wongsawat, left, talks to reporters after court dissolves ruling party and bans him from politics, in Chiang Mai, 02 Dec 2008 The decision ended the 77-day government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.But members of the banned groups shifted to new parties, and they continue to dominate parliament.Sunai Pasuk, with Human Rights Watch here, says next the parties will select a new prime minister. But he says that will not necessarily end the political tensions. "I would say at this point this is only the end of Act One; we are having a cool-off period until the selection of prime minister, that will start next week on the seventh, eighth and ninth of December. These will be three critical days," said Sunai. If the PAD sees the new prime minister as being too close to Mr. Thaksin, the protests could resume. The PAD considers Mr. Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup two years ago, corrupt and authoritarian. He has fled the country to avoid corruption charges.Protesters at main international airport in Bangkok, 26 Nov 2008However, Sunai says Mr. Thaksin's supporters are increasingly frustrated by what they see as a lack of official impartiality in dealing with the PAD, which occupied a government office compound and the airports without punishment.Pro-government groups also accuse the judiciary of bias against Mr. Somchai's government. Sunai says the political situation remains unsettled. "The situation remains very fluid - with all these factors together - the PAD can come back anytime - Thaksin's side remains defiant and it is very likely to take control of the government again so we are back to square one," said Sunai. Kraisak Choonhavan, a member of the opposition Democrat Party, says the outlook appears bleak, with only a slight chance of the governing coalition breaking up.But Kraisak does not expect the PAD to begin new protests soon. He says it is now up to parliament to find a way through the political crisis."There is a chance in the very near future here we are able to go back to the parliament and do the job we can and maintain democracy - as crippled as it is - to make it work somehow," said Kraisak. He says the governing coalition is likely to be weaker this time around, and the government will to have to call an election in 2009.Thailand's current political crisis is the most severe in 16 years. It has pitched Mr. Thaksin's supporters in the rural and urban working class against the middle class and urban elite who make up the PAD.

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US, Japan, S. Korea Agree on North Korean Nuclear Verification

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Negotiators to take samples from N. Korean facilities to confirm Pyongyang's declaration of its programs
Envoys from the U.S., Japan and South Korea say they will push North Korea to allow inspectors to take samples from its nuclear facilities to verify claims that it has ended its nuclear weapons program.US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, right, answers questions as Japan's nuclear envoy Akitaka Saiki, looks on in Tokyo, 03 Dec 2008Following talks in Tokyo Wednesday, the three envoys said they would seek a written document detailing the issue of taking samples.Akitaka Saiki, Japan's chief nuclear negotiator, says he and his counterparts - Christopher Hill of the United States and South Korea's Kim Sook - agree they must take samples from North Korean facilities to confirm Pyongyang's declaration of its programs. He says they will introduce their demands when the six-nation nuclear talks resume next week in Beijing.Wednesday's meeting took place on the eve of one-on-one talks between Hill and his North Korean counterpart Kim Kye Gwan in Singapore. Washington says North Korea agreed to sampling during a meeting with Hill in October, but Pyongyang denies it. The agreement cleared the way for Washington to remove Pyongyang from a terrorism black list. In return, North Korea halted moves to reverse disablement measures at its main nuclear reactor and allowed international inspectors to resume monitoring at the facility.The U.S., Japan and South Korea, along with China and Russia, have been negotiating with the isolated communist regime to end its nuclear activities in exchange for energy and other benefits. Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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UN Security Council Extends Anti-Piracy Measures Off Somali Coast

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US-drafted resolution authorizes states to take all necessary means - including force - to combat piracy
The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution allowing member states to continue fighting pirates off the coast of Somalia for another year. The resolution also offers support for a European Union anti-piracy mission that launches next week. From United Nations headquarters in New York, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.The U.S.-drafted resolution authorized states to continue taking all necessary means to combat piracy - including the use of force.It also laid a legal foundation for a European Union naval operation, known as Atalanta, which is expected to begin next week. Under the European Union flag, France, Britain, Germany and Greece are sending one warship each, and Spain is contributing airpower. The force will patrol near Somalia's pirate-infested waters and escort ships carrying commercial and humanitarian cargo.French UN envoy Jean- Maurice Ripert, 8 Jul 2008French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said he considers the resolution a very important step in the fight against piracy."Piracy is killing. Every day more than three million Somali people are depending on food aid, on emergency relief - which are coming, 95 percent of them - by the sea. So by adopting resolution 1846, the international community is sending a very strong signal of its determination to deal with piracy," he said. Council members said they still need to work out a mechanism for prosecuting suspected pirates once they arrest them. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said it is a difficult issue that must be resolved."We have noted in our resolution the SUA convention - the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Maritime Security - that we believe allows for prosecuting pirates. It provides the jurisdiction for states party to the convention -there are almost 150 countries now that have signed on - we are urging those who are states parties to use the authorities in that convention to deal with this issue," she said. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 07 Nov 2008Council members stressed that the explosion of piracy off Somalia's coast is a symptom of the political conflict and lawlessness in that country, and that these root causes must be resolved to really stop piracy.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked the council to authorize an international stabilization force for Somalia, which would take over from the small African Union force on the ground, and eventually would be replaced by U.N. peacekeepers once the situation has stabilized.

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Muslim School Plan Provokes Anger in Australia

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Hundreds of protesters waving placards gather outside council office to vent frustration over plan for Islamic school in ritzy coastal area known as 'Gold Coast'
Hundreds of demonstrators have protested against plans to build a Muslim school on Australia's Gold Coast. Residents waving placards bearing slogans like "Muslim school - Hell no!" have gathered outside council offices to vent their frustrations. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.Muslim schools have operated in the northern Australian state of Queensland for many years. However, the prospect of another college has provoked public anger.Plans have been submitted for an Islamic school on the Gold Coast, a ritzy coastal community south of Brisbane.Some locals are worried about traffic and are concerned that the new development will only add to congestion on the region's roads. Others have barely concealed their distaste for Islam and have made their feelings known on an Australian radio show."My main concern with the whole deal is what sort of stuff are they going to be teaching these children?" a female caller said. "Are they going to be teaching them radical Islam, go out and become a suicide bomber, oppress the women and all that sort of stuff?""They've got one agenda: get in, take over," a male caller said. "Australians, wake up, for God's sake. If we like our democracy and freedom, we should stop all Muslim immigration to this nation." For the second time in a week, demonstrators have protested outside council offices on the Gold Coast.The local mayor has said he has been shocked by the sentiments expressed by some of those attending the rallies. The council has insisted that the multicultural region, which has more than 80 ethnic groups, has never had a reputation for racial or religious intolerance.Supporters of the Islamic college's Gold Coast application have stressed that concerns that it would promote religious segregation and extremism have been disproved. The college's trustees have said that it would be open to students of all faiths.The council will make a final decision, early next year.Earlier this year, officials rejected plans for an Islamic school on the outskirts of Australia's biggest city, Sydney. Many residents in Camden said the presence of hundreds of Muslim students would harm their community. The council said it had based its decision on town planning issues, such as traffic flows.Australia's Muslim community numbers about 350,000 people. Its members, have often complained about discrimination from the wider community.

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Black-White Comedy Team Remembered for Building Bridges Through Humor

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New book looks at race relations through eyes of two stand-up comedians: Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen
The 1960s and '70s were times of changing race relations in the United States. A new book called Tim and Tom looks at the era through the eyes of two stand-up comics. Mike O'Sullivan spoke with authors Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen about their experience as the nation's first, and possibly last, black and white comedy team.The 1960s were trying times, says comic Tom Dreesen, who co-authored Tim and Tom with former partner Tim Reid."The Vietnam War was raging," said Tom Dreesen. "I just got out of the service. Tim just got out of college. College students were protesting all over America. There were riots across the land. They were protesting against the war. The world was in turmoil."Against this backdrop, Dreesen and Reid worked as community volunteers in an anti-drug program in suburban Chicago. The two friends visited schools and used humor to urge youngsters to stay away from drugs. Dreesen recalls that one student had a suggestion."She said you guys are funny," he said. "You ought to become a comedy team." They embraced the idea and worked out a routine. From 1969 through the early 1970s, they appeared in bars and night clubs, telling jokes about their childhood, their friends and neighborhoods. Dreesen is white and Reid is black, and the two would often touch on the sensitive topic of race.Tom Dreesen (r) and Tim Reid (undated photo)The United States was going through dramatic social changes. Congress had passed the sweeping Civil Rights Act of 1964, banning discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Reid says racism was still a fact of life, and while barriers broke down, most black and white people still led separate lives."The law had been passed, but still, in the height of our career, we called an integrated audience an audience that had maybe, out of 150 or 200, 12 to 18 blacks because they just did not feel comfortable being in that surrounding at that particular time," said Tim Reid. "So whenever they were in the audience, whenever we did a joke, people would look at the black people in the audience and see if they laughed first. And then if they laughed, then everybody joined in."The two comics were sometimes the target of racial remarks from intolerant critics, both black and white, but their humor often got people of both races laughing together. The men have since built successful careers, Dreesen as a standup comic who spent 14 years as a warm-up act for singer Frank Sinatra, and Reid as an actor best known for the role of disk jockey Venus Flytrap on the popular TV series WRKP in Cincinnati. He also starred in the series "Sister, Sister" and the critically acclaimed comedy-drama Frank's Place. Dreesen says comedy is not easy, but performing in front of an audience of 20 or 20,000 can be addictive. He says most comics crave the laughter and applause.DREESEN: "Eighty-five percent of all standup comedians I have ever met in my life are insecure, neurotic, sometimes psychotic, love-starved wrecks. And the other 15 percent are gifted, confident people who say, this is what I do. I know how to write a joke and I know how to tell it." REID: "There really are gifted confident people there?"DREESEN: "Fifteen percent. I include Bill Cosby. I like to think I am in that category, but never trust anyone who tells you they are sane."The comedians say the election of the first black U.S. president has changed the cultural landscape, altering race relations in a good way. Tim Reid says comics will have to adapt, as the great ones have done in the past."Because we have a black president, all bets are off," he said. "And so I think they are interesting times for the future 21st-century Will Rogers or the future kind of person who can step out of the shackles of the old racial stereotypes and create new racial jokes, create new paradigms for comedy."Dreesen says comics all pay their dues and learn their skills from hard experience, but no others have tackled the issue of race as directly as Tim and Tom did. He says both have the scars to prove it - a drunk once put out a cigarette in his partner's face."In the history of show business, no comedy team ever had to pay the kind of dues that Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen paid," said Dreesen. "None. Everybody pays dues and everybody's got their horror stories, but we were America's first black and white comedy team and we were the last.The two men say that Tim and Tom, which they wrote with journalist Ron Rapoport, is more than a tale of two comics. It is a chronicle of a turbulent time of changing race relations, and it shows how the country got through the era with a dose of humor.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-12-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

Thai Court Bans Ruling Coalition Parties from Politics

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Decision prompts anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy to allow flights to resume at Bangkok's international airport
A court has ruled that the Thai prime minister, his party and his coalition partners are banned from politics. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, the decision led the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy to pledge to allow flights to resume at Bangkok's international airport. Anti-government protesters cheer during a rally at Suvarnabhumi international airport, 01 Dec 2008The People's Alliance for Democracy says it will continue some protests at the international airport, but on Tuesday agreed to allow flights to resume. However, airport officials say it could be several days before full operations resume.

Court ruling disbands 3 coalition partiesThe PAD decision came hours after a Thai constitutional court disbanded the three leading parties in the government coalition. A judge read the order banning the Chart Thai Party, one of the coalition partners. The verdicts were announced, under strict security, after the judges were forced to move to another building after the constitutional court was surrounded by pro-government demonstrators. The ruling follows court findings that the main coalition party, the People Power Party, Chart Thai and another partner, violated election laws during the December 2007 general elections. Several executives from each party also were banned from politics for five years.

Ruling removes PM Somchai from office Somchai Wongsawat, left, talks to reporters after court dissolves ruling party and bans him from politics, in Chiang Mai, 02 Dec 2008 The verdict removes Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from office. A PPP spokesman says party members in parliament not directly affected by the ruling will join a new party that already has been created. Deputy Prime Minister Chavarat Charnveerakul has been named interim prime minister until a new coalition government is formed and a new prime minister can be selected.

Government supporters say judiciary staged 'silent coup'Pro-government supporters have accused the judiciary of bias and staging a "silent coup" against Mr. Somchai and his brother-in-law, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The PAD calls the verdict a victory, following months of long protests, including a three-month siege of the main government office building."Today, the constitution court finally dissolved the party that acted as a nominee for Thaksin Shinawatra," said Parnthep Pourpongpan, a PAD spokesman. "We have to consider about the victory. We totally agree that at least we have to review the level of demonstration now at least about how we reduce and how much we reduce."

Protests strand touristsThailand's tourism industry and air cargo have been severely disrupted by the airport occupation, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost income. It is estimated that up to a quarter of a million tourists remain stranded because of the occupation.Soon after the ruling, the government postponed a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, which was to start December 13.

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India Re-Submits Fugitives List to Pakistan in Wake of Mumbai Terror Attack

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Move seen as latest effort to pressure Islamabad to take action to defuse network in Pakistan that allegedly plans, carries out terrorist attacks against India
In wake of the terror attack in Mumbai, India is renewing demands Pakistan hand over wanted fugitives. India's government says a list of alleged terrorists and others has been re-submitted in a formal diplomatic request. VOA correspondent Steve Herman in New Delhi reports the move is seen as the latest effort to pressure Islamabad to take action to defuse the network on Pakistani soil that allegedly plans and carries out terrorist attacks against India. India's external affairs minister, speaking to reporters Tuesday, has given some details of the formal diplomatic note - known as a "

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demarche" - handed to Pakistan's top envoy here. Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, 02 Dec 2008Pranab Mukherjee says the document contains the names of about 20 individuals India has long wanted extradited from Pakistan. "The demarche asks the arrest and hand-over of those persons who are settled in Pakistan and who are fugitives of Indian law," Mukherjee said.List includes India's most wanted manAlthough India's government did not release the names of those on the fugitive list, Indian media say they include the infamous Mumbai crime kingpin, Dawood Ibrahim, and Maulana Masood Azhar - a Pakistani Muslim cleric who, in 1999, was freed from an Indian prison, in exchange for passengers on a hijacked Indian airliner. Ibrahim is considered India's most wanted man. His organization is suspected of involvement in a 1993 bombing in Mumbai that left 250 people dead. Indian media reports say there is also official suspicion some of his underlings may have provided support to the terrorists who struck last week. Azhar leads the group Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is believed to support Muslim separatists in the part of disputed Kashmir which is under Indian control. India initially gave Pakistani officials the list six years ago and says it never received an adequate response. India blames Pakistani elements for Mumbai terror attackThe Mumbai terror attack, which India blames on elements in Pakistan, threatens to send relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors into their worst state since 2002. An intense international diplomatic effort is under way to try to prevent tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad from entering another crisis phase. The two nuclear-capable countries have gone to war against each other three times since their independence in 1947. Among those already here or about to arrive in the Indian capital are the Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Indian Cabinet meeting discusses security strategyTuesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh chaired a meeting of his security Cabinet to discuss strategies. Government officials say among those attending were the defense, foreign and home ministers as well as the chiefs of the armed forces and the national security advisor.In recent days, top Pakistani government officials have vowed to cooperate with India to determine responsibility for the attack on Mumbai. But Islamabad rejects any allegations of complicity, blaming non-state actors which Pakistan says it is also battling.

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Indian Maritime Forces Rebuff Criticism in Wake of Mumbai Attack

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Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Suresh Mehta, acknowledges 'systemic failure' by forces charged with protecting coast
India's maritime forces are defending themselves in wake of criticism they could have prevented the terror attack on Mumbai, which left about 175 people dead. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman in New Delhi reports on the response from the Indian navy and coast guard. India's maritime forces are finding themselves on the defensive following the Mumbai terror attack. India's Naval Chief Admiral Suresh Mehta in New Delhi (File)India's naval chief of staff is acknowledging "public outrage" for perceived security lapses after 10 to 15 terrorists came ashore along the coast of the country's commercial capital.

Admiral points to intelligence failureAdmiral Suresh Mehta acknowledges a "systemic failure" by the forces charged with protecting the coast, but says the navy and coast guard received no specific intelligence they could act upon. "The information available should be actionable. It should have some specifics to it. Whatever actionable have come our way we have always taken action promptly," he said. Admiral Mehta, who formerly commanded the India coast guard also says Indian vessels were patrolling the Arabian Sea off the state between Pakistan and Mumbai.

"The coast guard had deployed a large number of units on the Gujarat coast. There were special units which were over there. Naval ships are also operating off the Gujarat coast," he added.

Fishermen expressed concern about militantsIndia media reports quote fishermen from Gujarat as saying they had repeatedly expressed concern to the government - even writing to the prime minister - about the likelihood of militants from Pakistan capturing their boats to infiltrate India. Indian investigators say the terrorists apparently hijacked a Gujarati fishing trawler at sea to get to the Mumbai coast.Maritime security experts contend that India has too few vessels and personnel to patrol the country's 7,500 kilometers of coastline and too many agencies operating on Indian waters, 23 in all, to allow effective coordination.

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NATO Foreign Ministers Meet in Brussels

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Ministers to discuss candidacies of Georgia and Ukraine; may also hold talks on sending interim force to Democratic Republic of Congo
NATO foreign ministers meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels to discuss the candidacies of Georgia and Ukraine to join the Atlantic alliance. From Paris, Lisa Bryant reports the European ministers may also hold talks on sending an interim force to the Democratic Republic of Congo. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, waves as she arrives at NATO headquarters in Brussels, 02 Dec 2008 The candidacies of Georgia and Ukraine to join NATO are a tricky issue, with alliance members divided over what just how to proceed this week. The Bush administration earlier pushed for a quicker entry process for the two countries, but it says neither is ready to join right now. Both Georgia and Ukraine were given guarantees they would eventually join NATO, earlier this year. At issue is the question of a formal road map for joining, known as a Membership Action Plan or map. France and Germany fear the MAP process may be side stepped, and in particular do not want to anger Russia which is opposed to the two countries joining NATO.Daniel Korski, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, says the ministers may reach a compromise at the end of the meeting -- but there are no guarantees that will happen. "The debate is likely to continue," Korski said. "There is a compromise proposal and the big issue is whether the Germans and the French are happy with that proposal. They will, after all, host the NATO 60th anniversary summit this spring and they'll want to make sure its a success. Certainly its going to be President Barack Obama's first meeting. So there's a lot of push to accept a compromise, but its not going to be certain in the first couple of hours or at least until the foreign ministers meeting is over. European ministers are also expected to discuss in Brussels a U.N. request to send an emergency peacekeeping force to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been torn apart by fighting. France and Belgium are pushing for such a force, but other countries are skeptical about the proposal.

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China Stands by Decision to Postpone Summit with EU

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Officials blame French President Nicolas Sarkozy for decision, citing his scheduled meeting with Dalai Lama later this week in Poland
China is unapologetic for its last minute decision to postpone a major China-European Union summit originally scheduled for this week. Chinese officials say the reason is because current EU head, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, will meet with the Dalai Lama later this week in Poland. Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing. To hear Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao tell it, the reason China postponed the summit meeting with EU leaders is not complicated.Liu placed all the blame squarely on France, saying it is because President Sarkozy is, in the spokesman's words, "bent on meeting the Dalai Lama."The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, 23 Nov. 2008China's discontent with the Dalai Lama is not new. He is the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, which is part of Chinese territory. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of working for independence, while he says he seeks greater autonomy for his homeland within Chinese rule.When asked what China could do to help smooth over tense relations with Europe, Liu said this should be a question for France.Liu says China has done nothing to, "hurt the EU's interests." Instead, he said France and EU leaders should take China's concerns about sovereignty and territorial integrity more seriously.Most of the nearly 50,000 Chinese netizens polled by a website affiliated with the official People's Daily newspaper supported the postponement of the China-EU summit. One netizen went so far as to urge a boycott of French goods. This echoes a similar call earlier this year, when Chinese citizens were angered by protesters who disrupted the Olympic torch relay overseas. France was targeted because the demonstrations were particularly chaotic in Paris. Despite China's current anger directed at France, President Sarkozy is not the only European leader to have met with the Dalai Lama. Others who have met with the Tibetan leader this year include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. The Czech Republic takes over the EU's rotating presidency in January.

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Former Communists Claim Romanian Elections

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But victory does not mean former Communists will be in control of new government
The left leaning Social Democratic Party has won the most votes in Romania's first parliamentary elections since becoming a member of the European Union last year. The party claimed victory with about 33 percent of Sunday's vote. As Stefan Bos reports from Budapest, Hungary the victory does not mean the former Communists will be in control of the new government.After a nail biting vote count, Romania's Central Election Bureau announced that the Social Democrats received a little more than one-third of the vote, less than one percent more than their nearest rival, the opposition Democrat-Liberal Party of Romanian President Traian Basescu.The center-right National Liberal Party of pro-Western Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu came in third with a little more than 18 percent of the vote.Election observers say the results came amid widespread anger over the government's perceived inability to tackle the impact of the global financial crisis on Romania's economy.Romanian Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana, 30 Nov 2008Since October, thousands of workers have lost their jobs at major Romanian factories, and more lay-offs are expected. Social Democrat leader Mircea Geoana expressed his concern about the social tensions.Speaking in front of flag waving supporters outside his party's headquarters, he said "Romanians voted for an intelligent and capable state for a hard time ahead." He added that Romanian voters support his party's message of "change" as Romania starts down a long hard road. However, Geoana made clear that he has no illusions that change can be introduced overnight as millions of Romanians, including pensioners, live in poverty.Yet despite his party's gains, it remains unclear whether the 50-year-old Geoana will be able to become the next prime minister.Under Romania's constitution President Basescu can name the next government leader, regardless of the election results.No party won enough votes to govern alone, forcing the main players to seek coalition arrangements in Romania's difficult political landscape.Smaller parties, including the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, are also expected to play a key role in discussions over a future coalition.But there is international concern that a long period of difficult political negotiations could undermine urgent reforms required by the European Union, such fighting corruption, and further destabilize the country of 22 million people.

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Rights Groups: Sudan Lying About Improvements in Darfur

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Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition and 13 other rights organizations say government continues to conduct large-scale military attacks against populated areas
15 human rights organizations said in a joint report released Tuesday, the Sudanese government is lying about improvements in the situation in Darfur. Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition and 13 other rights organizations said the Sudanese government continues to conduct large-scale military attacks against populated areas, harass aid workers, and allow impunity for the worst crimes committed in Darfur. Sudan wants the U.N. Security Council to suspend the International Criminal Court's consideration of an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the ICC (17 Jul 2008 file photo)The new human rights report said Sudanese officials have been lobbying Security Council members to order the suspension of the ICC investigation of Mr. Bashir.The ICC prosecutor is scheduled to brief the Security Council Wednesday about the progress of his investigation. Earlier this year, the court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Sudan's "whole state apparatus" was involved in crimes against humanity in Darfur. The United Nations reported that five years of fighting in Darfur involving rebels, the Sudanese government and government-backed militias has killed more than 300,000 people, and caused more than 2.5 million others to flee their homes.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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Zimbabwe Relief Agencies Ramp Up Efforts to Combat Cholera

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United Nations Children's Fund will launch four-month emergency response to epidemic in country troubled by health and political challenges
Relief
Agencies in Zimbabwe say they are ramping up emergency programs to
combat a cholera epidemic that has infected more than 11,000 people and
killed nearly 500. The emergency comes as soldiers rampaged in the
capital, Harare, over declining living conditions. VOA's Scott Bobb
reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg.A child walks barefoot past rain water and sewage near Harare, 25 Nov 2008The
United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, says it is launching a
four-month emergency response in Zimbabwe because of what it calls the
"closure" of many hospitals, failing social services and the collapse of
the country's education system.Spokesperson Shantha Bloemen
says years of decline in water, sanitation and health services have
caused a cholera epidemic that has spread to nine of Zimbabwe's ten
provinces and into neighboring countries."The immediate concern
is making sure that we provide life- saving responses which continue to
be providing emergency safe water, doing health education for
communities and keeping the cholera treatment centers going," said
Bloemen.UNICEF has been trucking clean water to high-density
residential areas, distributing water purification tablets and drilling
wells in neighborhoods to prevent the spread of disease.

Humanitarian
groups say the epidemic is the result of deteriorating public services
due to years of economic decline and hyper-inflation.

Soldier rampage adds to citizen stressSome 100
soldiers Monday clashed with police in Harare after taking money from
foreign currency dealers and looting some shops. Media reports say the
soldiers rampaged because they could not collect salaries from
cash-strapped banks.The Zimbabwean government Tuesday blamed
the clashes on undisciplined troops and said military police were
patrolling to prevent further incidents.Frustration is rising
in Zimbabwe over a power sharing dispute between the ZANU-PF party of
President Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change party of
Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai.

Women, children most affected by crisisBloemen of UNICEF says the crisis is affecting women and children of Zimbabwe the most."For
your average Zimbabwean family now, life has become incredibly tough
and this is reaching the breaking point. And I think we have to
remember we have a responsibility to respond and that people can't be
held hostage to politics so we need to make sure we continue to provide
the humanitarian relief that is needed," noted Bloemen.But donor agencies say they are running short of funds partly because of the global economic downturn.The
World Food Program says that next month it will run out of funds needed
to feed five million people, one-half of the Zimbabwean population,
needing food aid. UNICEF has appealed for $9 million to fund
its latest effort.

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Georgia Hosts Key US Senate Runoff Election

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Republican Saxby Chambliss is favored to win race that will help determine whether Democrats can get strong control of Senate
The southeastern U.S. state of Georgia votes to choose a senator in a runoff election Tuesday, that will help determine whether the Democratic Party can get strong control of the U.S. Senate.Georgia Senator Saxby ChamblissIncumbent Saxby Chambliss - a Republican - is favored to win, which would thwart the Democrats' ambition to control 60 of the 100 Senate seats.Sixty seats would create what has been called a "super-majority," giving Democrats the ability to overcome Republican attempts to filibuster, or block legislation from coming to a vote in the upper house of Congress.Democrats already control 58 seats in the incoming Senate, with a recount in a very tight race in Minnesota yet to be decided. Chambliss is facing Democrat Jim Martin in today's runoff, after each fell short in November of the majority required to win outright in Georgia.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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Bush Reflects on His Presidency

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In television interview with ABC News, US president says biggest regret is intelligence failure in Iraq
U.S. President George Bush is taking stock of his years in office, now that his presidency is nearing its end. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports Mr. Bush says that when he was elected in 2000, he never expected he would lead the nation in a time of war.President George W. Bush (file photo)As his second term enters its final days, President Bush is taking time to reflect on the events that may well shape his legacy.In an interview with ABC television, he spoke in unusually candid terms about the achievements and disappointments of his presidency.Mr. Bush said his biggest regret of his eight years in office was the intelligence failure in Iraq - the faulty information on weapons of mass destruction that prompted him to remove Saddam Hussein from power in 2003.He spoke of the difficulties of leading a nation at war, and said he never thought when he first ran for the presidency that he would preside over a major conflict."I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack.' In other words, I didn't anticipate war," said President Bush. "[For] presidents - one of the things about the modern presidency - is that the unexpected will happen."Mr. Bush said that during his presidency, he has had to make a lot of tough decisions. Lately, they have revolved around efforts to revive the ailing U.S. economy.In an interview excerpt that aired Monday on ABC's World News program, the president was asked whether he feels in any way responsible for the nation's economic woes."I have been president during this period of time," said Mr. Bush. "But I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so before I arrived as president."Mr. Bush said the economic crisis played a major role in Democrat Barack Obama's victory over Republican John McCain in last month's presidential election."Obviously, the economic situation made it awfully difficult for John McCain to get a message out," he said. "And I felt that Barack Obama ran a very disciplined campaign."Mr. Bush acknowledged he never thought he would live to see an African-American as U.S. president. But his 27-year-old daughter Barbara, who was with him during a portion of the interview, said she was not surprised to see Barack Obama make history.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-12-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

Obama Names Hillary Clinton Top US Diplomat

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New York senator and former rival is president-elect's nominee for secretary of state
Senator Hillary Clinton (file photo)

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has announced key members of his national security team Monday, including former bitter rival Hillary Clinton as the nominee for secretary of state.In the announcement from Chicago this morning, Obama kept Robert Gates as defense secretary, and named retired Marine General Jim Jones as national security advisor.Mr. Obama's nomination of Clinton comes after the two competed in a long and bruising contest for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.In other announcements, Mr. Obama nominated Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as secretary of Homeland Security. Mr. Obama's foreign policy adviser, Susan Rice, was named ambassador to the United Nations. Former Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder was nominated for attorney general. If confirmed by the Senate, he will be the first African American in that post. To clear the way for Clinton, officials say her husband - former President Bill Clinton - has agreed to disclose the names of all donors to his foundation. He is expected to reveal more than 200,000 names in order to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. He also will refuse donations from foreign governments to his charity, the Clinton Global Initiative. Officials say the former president also has agreed not to hold CGI meetings overseas, and will submit his speaking schedule and business activities for review.

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Mumbai Terror Attacks Heighten Tensions Between India, Pakistan

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Some say attacks could reverse gains from five-year peace process
The terror attacks in Mumbai have heightened tensions between India and Pakistan as Indian officials blame a Pakistan-based militant group for the attack. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the attacks could reverse the gains from a five-year peace process between South Asia's nuclear armed rivals. Indian Muslim girl takes part in candle march to condemn terrorist attacks and in memory of those killed, in Mumbai, 30 Nov 2008Indian investigators say that a gunman captured during the attacks on Mumbai admits he was trained in a camp in Pakistan by the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group blamed for previous attacks in India. In recent days, top Indian officials have blamed Pakistan-based terrorists for the well planned assault. About 10 to 15 heavily armed gunmen attacked different targets across India's business hub, killing and wounding hundreds of people.Pakistan has denied any involvement by its state agencies and vowed to cooperate in the investigation.A strategic analyst at New Delhi's Center for Policy Research, Bharat Karnad, says the terror attacks could strain the improving ties between the countries. But he says New Delhi is unlikely to do what it did following a deadly assault on its parliament by Pakistan-based militant groups in 2001 when it massed troops along its border, bringing the two countries to the brink of war. "I doubt very much whether this government has the will to get into a punitive mode, and order any kind of military counteraction or something of the kind," he said. "That won't happen. But yes relations are in tatters for the moment and that will be the case for a while now."Pakistan has already warned that if tensions with India escalate, it will have to move troops from its Afghan border to the Indian border.Some domestic reports say that the Indian government is considering suspending the peace process that began in the aftermath of the 2001 standoff. Foreign policy experts say talks with Islamabad may be put on hold temporarily, but rule out any "overreaction" on New Delhi's part.Former Indian foreign secretary, Lalit Mansingh, says New Delhi is unlikely to turn its back on "enormous progress" made in relations with Pakistan in recent years."Yes, there is a sense of disappointment that despite very categorical assurances by Pakistani leaders we have not seen the terror tap switched off as we had expected," Mansingh noted. "I think it is going to be taken up bilaterally with Pakistan and it is going to bet taken up through other friendly countries like the United States, Britain and other. But do we suspend normal links with Pakistan? I don't think so."U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice is expected to discuss the terror attacks during a visit to India on Wednesday. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain. India blames Pakistan-based groups for training and arming Islamic militants to conduct terror strikes in India and to foment a separatist insurgency in Indian Kashmir.

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On World AIDS Day, Doctor Says More Pediatrics AIDS Drugs Needed

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Dr. Denis Tindyebwa is regional director of pediatric care and treatment for Glaser Foundation in Tanzania

HIV, the AIDS virus, not only infects adults, but also
affects many children. Millions have become orphans, and many are infected at
birth.

One of the organizations dealing with pediatric
AIDS is the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation. Dr. Denis Tindyebwa is the
foundation's regional director of pediatric care and treatment. From Dar es
Salaam, Tanzania, he spoke to VOA English to Africa reporter Joe De Capua.

"There are more than two million children living
with HIV/AIDS globally and over 90 percent of those children live in Africa and
specifically sub-Saharan Africa. Those children really are not getting the
treatment that they should be getting. Only about 20 percent of the children
are getting the life saving anti-retroviral drugs. But the issue is that these
children in actual fact should not be getting HIV in the first place. And yet,
every day, approximately 1,000 children become newly infected with HIV, the
majority of them through mother-to-child transmission, and the majority of
them, over 90 percent of them, in Africa," he says.

Dr. Tindyebwa says the drugs to prevent
mother-to-child transmission of the AIDS virus are available, but are still not
reaching many pregnant women who need them. Weaknesses in the health system are
the first problem. "The mothers live far away from the health facilities. And
the second reason is that there are not an adequate number of health workers to
provide these services to the mothers," he says.

For those children born with HIV because their
mothers did not receive the preventive medication, he says, "There are efforts
to provide treatment to them. There are drugs that are available, although not
as well as they should be. Unfortunately, many drugs are…usually tested in
adults and then they are given to children and some of them might not be good
for children. But even the ones that are good for children are not readily
available to Africa. But even if they are readily available, they would not
have the clean water to mix the suspensions. We do not have refrigerators to
keep the solutions (cool)."

He says that what's need are simple to use
tablets that combine several medications in one pill.

Dr.
Tindyebwa warns that the younger generation is not as afraid of HIV/AIDS as
their parents or grandparents were. He says that the African culture has
changed because of Western influences, leading a person to have unsafe sex with
multiple partners. He also blames poverty as a driving force of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic.

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Thai Anti-Government Protesters Focus on Airports

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Court could dissolve parties, leading to fall of government and selection of new PM, some analysts say
Anti-government protesters have abandoned their occupation of a government administration building in the Thai capital Bangkok, and are focusing on the airports they have blockaded. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, the shift comes ahead of a court decision this week that may oust the current government.Leaders from the People's Alliance for Democracy, or PAD, asked protesters to leave the government office Monday afternoon, ending a siege that began in August. Anti-government protesters cheer during a rally at Suvarnabhumi international airport, 01 Dec 2008PAD leaders told supporters to move to the two airports the group has occupied and shut down over the past week, saying it was no longer safe for protesters to remain at the office building. Over the past few weeks there have been several small explosions at the compound that have resulted in injuries among protesters and at least two deaths. The protests are part of a campaign against the government led by the People's Power Party. The PAD accuses the government of acting on behalf of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The closure of the city's international and domestic airports is now in its 6th day. Tens of thousands of travelers are stranded, and there are estimates the occupation costs the economy $85 million a day.Attention is now shifting to a constitutional court decision that is expected Tuesday or Wednesday. The court could rule that the PPP and its coalition partners must be dissolved for campaign law violations before the December 2007 election. Chris Baker is an author and commentator on Thai politics."It seems very likely they will dissolve the PPP and possibly other parties; at which point the government falls. What happens after that is less clear. You would still have a functioning parliament. Therefore the next constitutional step would be for that parliament to select another prime minister," he said. But Baker said the opposition may attempt to block the vote for a new prime minister. The PPP has already created a new party identity, which could allow it retain control of the government until a general election is held.PPP party spokesman Kudeb Saikrajang said he is confident the government will remain in power. "The strategy is clear; we have set up a new party, Puan Thai, to welcome members of PPP to join them en mass so that we can continue our majority in parliament. Anyway we don't give up. We will let the newcomers to replace us right now," che said. Pro-government supporters gather for a rally Monday, 01 Dec 2008, in BangkokA ruling against the PPP could prompt the protesters to end their airport blockades. But there is concern in Bangkok that government supporters might become violent, because some have said any verdict that ousts the government would be a "coup by judiciary," which they would oppose. Like former Prime Minister Thaksin, most of the PPP's support comes from the working class and rural communities. The PAD is largely supported by the urban middle class, which considers Mr. Thaksin corrupt.

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Israel Turns Back Libyan Ship Carrying Aid Supplies to Gaza

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Officials say the ship, the Al Marwa, was carrying some 3,000 tons of aid when it was stopped by the Israeli navy
The Israeli navy has ordered a Libyan ship carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to turn back.Libyan workers load food and medical supplies into Al Marwa boat under a giant Palestinian flag a day before it sailed from Sabratha port to Gaza strip, 24 Nov 2008Officials say the ship, the Al Marwa, was carrying some 3,000 tons of aid when it was stopped by the Israeli navy.Israel says there was no physical confrontation when it ordered the ship to turn around.Palestinian officials say the ship is now sailing to the Egyptian port of El-Arish. Gaza's borders have been largely sealed by Israel and Egypt following a violent takeover by the militant Hamas last year.The blockade has been stepped up in recent weeks due to a surge in border clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Zimbabwe's Cholera Epidemic Hits Home

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Humanitarian organizations say country is experiencing major epidemic because of crumbling infrastructure and services
In Zimbabwe more than 400 people have died from an outbreak of cholera and the number of people infected is now believed to be more than 10,000 according to the United Nations. The Zimbabwean government has appealed for aid and blamed the country's problem on western sanctions. Peta Thornycroft has this report on one of the epidemic's victims, a civil rights activist who had survived many arrests on the streets of Harare.Cholera patients wait for treatment at Budiriro Polyclinic in Harare, 26 Nov 2008Julia Chapeyama, 44, a single mother, did not tell her family she was ill, because she was so worried about her 13-year-old daughter, Cynthia, who was in the hospital with cholera.When Chapeyama collapsed last week from the same disease, a friend took her in a wheel barrow to the nearest clinic where she died a few hours later.Chapeyama was a street vendor and member of the pro-democracy group "Women of Zimbabwe Arise", known as WOZA. She had been arrested many times during peaceful demonstrations by the country's notoriously brutal security forces.Chapeyama's friends are now caring for her two youngest daughters. They believe she caught cholera by drinking water from a shallow well in the garden. The well was dug five weeks earlier because her house had been without city water for four months. Chapeyama's 17-year-old daughter, Sandra, said sometimes the city water would come but only briefly and in the middle of the night. "When we fetch water from the tap it will be green with some bacteria and if you put it in the bucket you can see there is dirt in the water," she said.Cholera is a highly contagious form of diarrhea but is easily prevented with the provision of clean water and sanitation facilities and easily treated with rehydration medicines. Humanitarian organizations say Zimbabwe is experiencing a major cholera epidemic because of crumbling infrastructure and services. The United Nations Children's Fund,UNICEF, says the current death rate from the epidemic is four percent -- far higher than the normal death rate of one percent.The epidemic has also spread to neighboring South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. UNICEF has provided hundreds of thousands of water purification tablets to residents of Harare. It is also drilling boreholes and distributing clean water in many of Harare's highly populated suburbs.But experts worry that the summer rains, which are imminent, will worsen the cholera situation.Community leaders say aid and education to combat the cholera epidemic have come primarily from western humanitarian agencies, private organizations such as WOZA and the Movement for Democratic Change party which opposes the ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe. They say the government health ministry has done little.WOZA activist Salina Madukani, said the government's efforts to fight the epidemic have been restricted to making statements."Just words and hearing them talking on television but nothing, they are offering nothing," Madukani said.Public services in most Zimbabwean towns have been deteriorating for more than a decade because of a lack of maintenance by the cash-strapped government.The first democratically elected mayor of Harare, Elias Mudzure of the MDC, warned six years ago that the city's water distribution and sewage systems were in on the verge of collapse. He was sacked by ZANU-PF one year after he was elected and the party took over the city's affairs. ZANU-PF blames western "sanctions' for the cholera epidemic. The European Union and United States have imposed targeted sanctions on senior Zimbabwean officials because of authoritarianism and human rights abuses.However, international donors are feeding nearly one-half of the population and in recent years have provided most of the drugs used in government health services.

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Shuttle Endeavour Lands in California After Space Station Mission

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Bad weather forces officials to divert landing from Kennedy Space Center in Florida
The Space Shuttle Endeavour has landed after completing an 11-day mission to expand living space aboard the International Space Station. VOA's Brian Wagner reports from Miami. Space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-126 crew land at Edwards Air Force Base, California, 30 Nov 2008Endeavour touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in California, after bad weather forced officials to divert the landing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA officials had hoped to land Endeavour in Florida, to avoid the procedure of transporting the shuttle back to its home port.From the space station, Commander Mike Fincke watched the landing and thanked shuttle team members for their work."Congratulations to the crew of Endeavour and the entire team that made that incredible home makeover mission possible," said Mike Fincke. "What a great team we have. We are really proud of everyone."The Endeavour crew was on a 16-day mission that included delivering new supplies and equipment to expand facilities on the International Space Station.The additions of a new bathroom, kitchen and sleeping quarters will enable officials to double the size of the space station crew from three to six people by next year. The station also received a new recycling device that converts urine and sweat into drinking water. Astronauts conducted four space walks during the mission, to install new equipment on the station and repair a solar panel.Endeavour brought home astronaut Gregory Chamitoff, who spent six months living aboard the space station. He is replaced at the station by Sandra Magnus.The next shuttle mission is set for February, when Discovery will deliver additional equipment to the International pace Station.

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Eating Less Red Meat Could Cut Climate-Changing Emissions

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Activists suggest dietary shift away from red meat, dairy could have more impact on greenhouse gas emissions than eating locally
Environmental activists are encouraging Americans to buy more locally grown products to lower climate-changing emissions. But could a shift in the American diet be even more effective? Yes, according to a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. As VOA's Rosanne Skirble reports, the study found that red meat and dairy products are responsible for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions from the food an average American household consumes.

There is an environmental cost in just moving food from the farm to your table. The farther food travels, the greater the emissions from the truck or boat or plane that carries it. The argument goes, if you could minimize that energy use, you could minimize the associated carbon dioxide emissions, says Christopher Weber, associate professor of environmental and civil engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and the study's lead author. Red meat is more greenhouse-gas-intensive than any other food"This isn't just transporting from the pig farm to the person, but transporting the feed from the corn field to the pig, transporting the fertilizer from the fertilizer manufacturer to the corn field and vice versa, going all the way back to, say, moving the oil from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.," he says. The researchers looked at the total life cycle of greenhouse gases emitted to produce the food consumed by an average American household. It turns out that transportation as a whole is not the main offender. It accounts for about 11 percent of those food-related emissions, with only 4 percent in the final delivery stage from producer to retailer. Agricultural and production practices are responsible for almost all the rest.Weber says methane and nitrous oxide from farm animals - in their manure - is far more polluting than the most familiar greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. "These animals are producing a lot of manure which, if it is not handled correctly, which more often than not in this country is true, it produces methane and nitrous oxide, which are 20 and 200 times as potent as CO2," he says. Simply put, red meat is far more greenhouse-gas-intensive than all other foods, and Weber says, "You can have a much bigger impact by eating less grain-fed red meat and dairy in your diet than you can by eating locally."Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor Christopher Weber says a shift in diet could have more impact on the environment than buying locallyWeber says a shift from beef to chicken, fish or eggs, or a vegetable-based diet just one day a week would have more impact on the environment than buying all household food locally for an entire year. "That would reduce your total impact by about 1,000 miles [1,600 kilometers] a year in a standard car," he says. If the average household were to shift totally away from red meat and dairy toward a vegetarian diet or one with some chicken, fish and eggs in it, that would amount to driving 8,000 fewer miles, or 13,000 kilometers. Weber has taken that message to heart. He eats no red meat and prepared his vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner with locally grown produce, knowing his carbon footprint would be lighter. "I haven't actually gone and done the actual calculations of how this would compare to a traditional meal, but I am fairly confident that it would be considerably lower," he says. Weber says in the next step of his research, he hopes to address the emissions impact of land use and different agricultural practices.

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Presidential Transition Process is Civil, Complex

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Handoff from one president to another is a massive undertaking by both sides
When one U.S. president leaves office and the next one takes over, hundreds of people are involved in a thorough, complex handoff of the federal government. This ensures its ongoing function throughout its many departments and agencies. In this segment of "How America Elects," presidential transition officials from several recent administrations describe the process. VOA's Jeffrey Young reports.President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush (File Photo)It is the end of one presidential administration, and the beginning of the next. The U.S. government continues without interruption because of a formal transition process that enables the new president to properly function on his first day in office. When President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office on January 20, his new administration will already have detailed knowledge of the U.S. government's vast operations. That is the result of officials at many levels in the outgoing administration meeting with and familiarizing the new president's key people.Al FromElections can be contentious. But Al From, who handled domestic policy for incoming President Bill Clinton in 1992, says politics is separate from the transition process."You just can't say, you know, We have been in the White House for four years or eight years," he said. "Our party lost the election. The new guys are coming in. Here are the keys. Take over.' The government has to function." The 2000 transition between Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush was held up for more than a month because of the vote recount in Florida. The fight between Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It ruled in favor of Mr. Bush, who then claimed the White House. But despite the political turmoil, the transition was civil and effective.Mack McLartyThe massive size of the U.S. government requires several hundred outgoing and incoming transition officials to properly hand off the reins of power, as President Clinton's first Chief of Staff, Mack McLarty, explains. "There is no way to accomplish this without organizing, breaking down if you will, the various multifaceted aspects of government - Defense, Justice, Commerce - all of the cabinet agencies," he stated. "Of all of the independent agencies like NASA, the Office of Science, the National Endowment [for the Arts] - - on and on and on. It is a big federal government." Paul McNulty handled Justice Department transition for both President Bushes in 1992 and 2000. He describes a detailed process his teams underwent that is common throughout the government. Paul McNulty"The transition at the Department of Justice requires dozens of people working in an audit-like approach to each one of those pieces. Coming in, meeting with the officials of that particular component of DOJ, getting an idea of the budget, the number of people in the component, and the hottest issues on the table at the time. And then bringing that information into a succinct, clear summary, and providing that to the new team of leaders coming into the Department of Justice," he said. Clay JohnsonAnd the work does not stop when the new president is inaugurated. Clay Johnson, who was Executive Director of President Bush's incoming transition team in 2000, says the frenetic pace extends well into the first year of the new administration. "Everybody is working seven days a week for probably the two and a half months of the transition period, and almost certainly for the six to eight months of the, of the first six to eight months of the new administration. It is just a very, very intense time," he stated.

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Controversial Movie on Ataturk Stokes Debate in Turkey

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Documentary 'Mustafa' portrays founder of Turkish republic as hard-living, hard-drinking, melancholy man who felt increasingly detached from country he created
Turks treat Ataturk, the founder of their republic, with great reverence. So when the release of a documentary divulging details of his personal life was released, a furor errupted. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul the documentary on his life, called Mustafa paints Ataturk as a hard-living, hard-drinking, melancholy man who felt increasingly detached from the country he created. Man walks by poster advertising documentary 'Mustafa' in IstanbulThe documentary Mustafa's catchy soundtrack by Goran Bregovic is reverberating across Turkey, as is the subject of the film.Mustafa is the first Turkish film that takes a close look at the private side of the man who was the architect of modern Turkish society. For many, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk has an almost iconic status. But the film's director, Can Dundar, says he is seeking to portray the man behind the legend."While we are accustomed to an image of Ataturk with his loud voice and strong statements, one gets surprised to see a Mustafa who noted down his own adolescence worries," Dundar said. "We also revealed very intimate information from unseen letters, about himself. This film reveals the man that disappeared under all big and cliché words about him." The film explores Ataturk's tough childhood and his difficult early life. But among the films most striking portrayals is Ataturk as a heavy-drinking, chain-smoking womanizer, who loved to party and dance. Giant poster of Mustafa Kemal AtaturkThe film also shows a vulnerable man who felt increasingly alone and frustrated at the end of his life. These revelations caused a storm, drawing strong condemnation from some sectors of the media. On the streets of Istanbul there seems to be many who share such concerns about the film. "It's very bad," one man said. "I did not like it at all. The film Mustafa tries to cheapen the image of Ataturk. We don't need to know he had weaknesses like any other man. Can Dundar is trying to destroy his reputation and his ideas and what he has achieved." A court case has been filed against Dundar for discrediting Ataturk's image - a criminal offense in Turkey. Media professor Haluk Sahin of Istanbul's Bilgi University acknowledges such reaction over a man who died 70 years ago may seem strange to some. But Sahin says Ataturk's legacy remains very much alive in modern Turkey, although he says the film Mustafa is an indication of a paradigm shift in Turkish society."Ataturk was the one the unifying icon to give the people of this country a sense of an identity a sense of pride as citizens of that country," Sahin noted. "Some 70 years after his death Turkey has developed some other unifying images, but Ataturk still remains the dominating one. So that makes the way he's being discussed as sensitive. Our area of tolerance what can be discussed what can be depicted is expanding and this just another sign of this expansion." Dundar has been careful not to get too sucked into the controversy , But he is the first to admit his film is by no means a definitive statement of Ataturk. He sees his documentary as another step in a process to help people to draw their own conclusions over who the man is."The audience will decide upon what kind of man Mustafa is," Dundar said. "Mine is a subjective interpretation. I can't say this is the truth. This is a kind of archeological excavation to reach to his truth." Despite the controversy, or maybe because of it, Mustafa has topped the country's box office for the last 3 weeks, with over a million tickets sold. The film is warmly received by another packed cinema. Many, as they leave to head home or to a nearby café, are engrossed in conversations about the documentary and Ataturk. One of them is Mehmet Tas."The movie is really great, because they always teach us that he always does this," Tas said. "He was in a war and he won this. But we did not know he knew really good salsa dance or that kind of things. It's amazing because it shows the other side of Mustafa and many people doesn't know that." Critics and fans of Mustafa can agree on at least one thing. That the documentary has provoked a passionate debate about who Ataturk really was. His picture adorns most shops, schools and many homes.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more.� Follow economic news on our�Global�Economic�Turmoil page. And, VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.�

Indian Home Minister Submits Resignation Following Mumbai Attacks

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Indian officials say Shivraj Patil's decision follows a meeting of the ruling Congress Party late Saturday
The political fallout from the Mumbai terror attack is beginning to take its toll on the administration of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As Mr. Singh convened an all-party meeting to discuss security, his home minister submitted his resignation. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi. Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, left, and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, right, look on during a Congress Working Committee meeting on the Mumbai terrorist attack, in New Delhi, 29 Nov 2008India's home minister resigned Sunday - the first political casualty after the unprecedented terror attack on the country's commercial capital. Even before Mumbai was attacked, Home minister Shivraj Patil had been a target of opposition parties for his allegedly poor performance as the cabinet member tasked with domestic security. He is to be replaced by the respected finance minister, Palaniappan Chidambaram. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to takeover the finance portfolio. �A senior leader of the opposition BJP party, Arun Jaitley, says the resignation of the home minister will not be enough to address the government's security failures.� �"This government has no moral right to survive now," Jaitley said.�� "It is this weak policy of this government where the entire intelligence network had collapsed, the security responses were poor, the legal framework dealing with terrorism is non-existent. I think the prime minister must address the right questions, he'll find the right answers." �Some of India's major media outlets are blasting the political establishment. The Times of India published a front page comment in its Sunday edition titled "Our politicians fiddle as innocents die." A Hindustan Times columnist blasted what he called incompetent politicians for using "terrorism as an excuse to win votes."Television news channels criticized politicians for showing up at the scene of the terror attacks to make public comments while commandos were still battling the gunmen. Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress Party, which heads the governing coalition, defends the administration, saying it is taking matters seriously. �"It's a very serious issue for the nation that is being grappled with at the highest levels," Singhvi said. The political fallout began as Prime Minister Singh convened an all-party meeting Sunday afternoon to discuss security and attempt to avoid the Mumbai terror attacks leading to political upheaval and possibly sparking communal violence between Hindus and Muslims. Islamic terrorists are blamed for the nearly 60-hour siege of Mumbai which left about 175 people dead, including 18 foreigners, at ten locations.

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Ethnic Clashes Kill 17 in Pakistan

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Security forces are patrolling Karachi, where angry mobs have rampaged in parts of the city, firing guns and setting fire to cars
Pakistani fire fighters struggle to extinguish a fire torched by rioters at a timber market in Karachi, Pakistan, 30 Nov 2008At least 17 people have been reported killed and more than 60 hurt in clashes between rival ethnic and political groups in the Pakistani city of Karachi over the past two days.Security forces are patrolling Karachi Sunday to prevent further violence between members of a political party that represents Urdu speakers, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and another that represents Pashtuns, Awami National Party.� Troops have been given orders to use their guns if necessary.Since Saturday, angry mobs have rampaged in parts of the city, firing guns and setting fire to cars.Today in northwest Pakistan, police say militants attacked a security post in the town of Bannu, close to the Afghan border, killing three police.� Three militants were killed in the fighting.In nearby Lakki Marwat, another three policemen were killed when Taliban insurgents launched rockets at a security checkpoint.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

�

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Kabul Suicide Blast Kills 2 Civilians Near Parliament

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Police say three other people, also civilians, were wounded in Sunday's attack
Afghan officials say a suicide bomb has killed at least two civilians and wounded several others in an attack that appeared to have been directed at a German Embassy officials. VOA's Barry Newhouse has this report from the Afghan capital. A German security man stands guard after a suicide attack on a German Embassy vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, 30 Nov. 2008The attack occurred near Afghanistan's parliament Sunday afternoon, close to a Toyota Landcruiser carrying a group of foreigners. �Witnesses said the bomber was on foot when he tiggered the blast. Mohammedajan, a young bicycle repairman, was working nearby at the time of the explosion. �He says I was talking to one of my friends when the blast occurred. After it, he says we flattened ourselves against the ground until the police came. Afghanistan's parliament is a heavily guarded compound ringed by tall blast walls. The explosion took place some 200 meters away, near a high school and a convoy of NATO troops. �Kabul's police chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi said those killed were civilians. �He says the bomber was targeting a German embassy vehicle. He says none of the officials were wounded in the attack. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the blast and expressed his condolences to the victims. The suicide bombing is the second in Kabul since Thursday, when a car bomb blast killed four people and wounded some 20 others outside the U.S. embassy.Afghanistan has experienced a surge in Taliban attacks this year. But in Kabul in recent months, locals have expressed as much concern over a rise in criminal activity as terrorist attacks. For-profit kidnappings, robberies and car-jackings have plagued Afghan businessmen. Kidnappers have also targeted foreigners. Taliban spokesmen have denied responsibility for many of the crimes, but on Sunday, Kabul's police chief told reporters there is solid evidence of links between some of the capital's criminal gangs and Taliban militants. �

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Obama to Name Hillary Clinton Top US Diplomat

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To clear the way for Clinton to serve as Mr. Obama's top diplomat, officials say her husband - former President Bill Clinton - has agreed to disclose the names of all donors to his foundation
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name his former rival Hillary Clinton as his nominee for Secretary of State on Monday.Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Harrisburg, PA, 21 Nov 2008

Mr. Obama will also announce other members of his national security team during a press conference in Chicago Monday morning.� He is expected to keep Robert Gates as defense secretary and name retired Marine General Jim Jones as national security advisor.Mr. Obama and Senator Clinton competed for the Democratic presidential nomination in a long and bruising contest.To clear the way for Clinton to serve as Mr. Obama's top diplomat, officials say her husband - former President Bill Clinton - has agreed to disclose the names of all donors to his foundation.� Mr. Clinton is expected to reveal more than 200,000 names in order to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest. � Mr. Clinton will also refuse donations from foreign governments to his charity - the Clinton Global Initiative.Officials say the former president has also agreed not to hold CGI meetings overseas and submit his speaking schedule and information about his business activities for review.�

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Zimbabwe Says Cholera Has Killed 425

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Head of a Zimbabwean doctors' association, Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights chairman Douglas Gwatidzo, estimates that cholera has killed more than 800 people in the country
A grave digger works on a gravesite at the Mbudzi cemetary in Harare, Zimbabwe, 25 Nov 2003Zimbabwe's health minister says a cholera outbreak has killed at least 425 people in his country since August.David Parirenyatwa told Zimbabwe's state-run Sunday Mail newspaper the outbreak is likely to worsen as the rainy season begins. He says rainwater could wash human feces into shallow wells, contaminating a key water source for impoverished people.Zimbabwe's economic crisis has led to a collapse in sewage and water systems and garbage collection. Many communities have no clean water, forcing people to dig wells and use latrines in their yards.The head of a Zimbabwean doctors' association, Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights chairman Douglas Gwatidzo, estimates that cholera has killed more than 800 people in the country. He says determining the death toll is difficult because of what he called an information blackout by the government in the early days of the outbreak. The Zimbabwean health minister insists the government's cholera figures are accurate, saying he discusses the outbreak with doctors around the country every day. He says the disease has infected 11,000 people in recent months.Cholera cases also have been reported in neighboring Botswana and South Africa, prompting U.N. officials to warn the outbreak is taking on a dangerous regional dimension.Authorities in the Zimbabwe capital, Harare, are offering free graves to families of cholera victims. A grave costs about $30, a price out of reach for most Zimbabweans struggling to cope with hyperinflation of more than 200 million percent. Cholera causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, but is easily prevented by washing hands, cleaning foods and keeping drinking water away from sewage. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.�

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Calm Gradually Returns to Nigerian City After Riots

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Soldiers restore order after several people killed, hundreds injured in two days of clashes between Christians and Muslims in riot-hit Jos
Reports from the central Nigerian city of Jos say calm is slowly returning after two days of post-election clashes between Muslims and Christians. In Abuja, Gilbert da Costa reports governments troops have taken control of the streets in Jos, though some incidents of sporadic violence were still being reported.Soldiers with the authority to use deadly force to restore order have increased security and are patrolling the streets of riot-hit Jos.Several people were reported killed and hundreds injured in two days of clashes between Christians and Muslims. Local residents say sporadic gunfire could still be heard in some parts of the city, though security has improved.The president of the 50,000 strong motorcycle taxi drivers association in Plateau state, of which Jos is the capital, is Shehu Babangida. He told VOA at least 500 people have been killed in two days of post-election violence as mobs burned homes, churches and mosques."At the moment, I can authoritatively tell you that there are over 500 dead people at the Masalaci [central mosque], apart from serious destruction of property, homes, shops and cars and so on and so forth," he said.Officials say the final count could be much higher as the death toll did not include hospital figures, victims already buried, or those taken to other places of worship.The Red Cross says thousands of people have fled their homes and are seeking refuge in government buildings and religious centers.Some of those displaced say they have had little help from the authorities. Among a group of 10,000 Hausa Muslims sheltering at a local primary school is Abdullahi Mohammed."We are more than 10,000 people - men, children and women. We are choked in one place. We don't have water, no food, not even medicine to take of those who are injured and the children. We don't have Red Cross or any organization looking after us. I don't understand what the government is doing. Government did not recognize where we are," said Mohammed. "They did not even mention us in their media that the people of Tudun Wada are now refugees."A spokesman for Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang said hundreds of youths found to be carrying weapons had been arrested at military roadblocks.The tensions in Plateau have roots in decades of resentment by indigenous minority groups, mostly Christian or animist, toward migrants and settlers from Nigeria's Hausa-speaking Muslim north.

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Pirates Agree to Release Ukraine Ship

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Somali pirates have reportedly agreed to release a Ukrainian ship and its military cargo in return for a $3-million ransom from the vessel's owner
Somali pirates have reportedly agreed to release a Ukrainian ship and
its military cargo in return for a ransom from the vessel's owner.News agencies say several people involved in the case confirmed the deal Sunday, including a spokesman for the pirates, Sugule Ali, a man, Mikhail Voitenko, representing the owner, and a Kenyan maritime official, Andrew Mwangura.The reports said the pirates and the owner of the MV Faina were continuing to discuss how the ransom should be delivered. The pirates initially demanded a $35-million ransom, but later lowered their demand to $3 million.Pirates captured the Ukrainian ship on September 24 in the Gulf of Aden as it headed to Kenya, carrying Russian-made (T-72) tanks, ammunition and other military hardware. About 20 crew members have been held on the vessel, mostly Ukrainians and Russians.Kenya says it was the intended recipient of the Faina's� military cargo. But maritime officials and diplomats in the region have said the cargo was destined for the government of Sudan's southern autonomous region.Somali pirates have captured about 15 vessels in a recent wave of hijackings that has forced international warships to patrol the Gulf of Aden. On November 15, pirates took a Saudi tanker carrying $100 million worth of oil.� Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Counter-Demonstrations Boost Tensions in Thai Capital

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Unknown assailants threw explosives into a crowded site of a government house compound protesters have occupied since late August
Thousands of Thai government supporters have rallied in downtown Bangkok to denounce anti-government demonstrators who are seeking to oust Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.� Meanwhile, explosions at key anti-government protest sites in the Thai capital have left more than 50 people injured as political tensions continued to escalate. As Ron Corben reports, leaders of the anti-government protests have vowed to press on with the occupation ahead of a crucial court decision this week that may lead to the government's resignation. Anti-government protesters shout and cheer to activities on stage during protest at government house in Bangkok, 29 Nov 2008Grenade explosions occurred late Saturday night.� Unknown assailants threw the explosives into a crowded government compound protesters have occupied since late August.� More than 50 people were injured.Attacks also occurred at an anti-government television station with a second attack at the largely domestic airport of Don Muang 30 kilometers from Bangkok. At least two people have died and dozens wounded in the escalating violence of recent weeks.The attacks have risen since the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD occupied the main international airport of Suvanabhumi last Tuesday, forcing the airport's closure. Protests then closed the Don Muang airport two days later. Suwai, a supporter at a pro-government community radio station, says he fears for the country's future. Pro-government demonstrators with one holding a portrait of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather during a rally to support Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat outside city hall Sunday, 30 Nov. 2008 in Bangkok "I feel I am not safe and I look forward and I cannot see the future for my country," Suwai said. "We close the country at the airport,� we cannot import/export.� We can not do business." �PAD leaders Sunday vowed to press ahead with the protests despite crippling the multi-million dollar tourism and travel industry. Industry sources say up to one million jobs are threatened together with accumulating daily financial losses running into millions of dollars. Efforts are underway to assist up to 100,000 stranded passengers to leave through a Vietnam-war era airport at U-Tapao, 140 kilometers southeast from Bangkok.� Thousands of foreign and local passengers have descended on the airport in recent days in a bid to leave Thailand. The national carrier, Thai Airways International, foreign embassies and Thai officials have been working throughout the day to transport as manytravelers out of the country as possible.� Officials estimate the protests could cut in half the number of tourist arrivals to Thailand in 2009, to around sevenmillion people. �Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, now in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Friday declared a state of emergency in and around the two main airport terminals. Police have been attempting to negotiate with the PAD to leave the airports.� Airport authorities say the earliest the terminals may open again isTuesday.Thai police man a checkpoint near the Suvarnabhumi airport compound Sunday 30 Nov. 2008 in Bangkok ThailandAreewat Wortagorn, a PAD supporter, says the situation will only be resolved with the resignation of the Prime Minister, Somchai Wongsawat. �"Somchai out and the government stop to work and then have a new government by the people.� Then we will move out from everyplace from the airport, from Suvanabhumi," Areewat said.On Tuesday a constitutional court is to hand down its verdict on whether Mr. Somchai's governing People's Power Party, and other coalition partners are guilty of electoral breaches. The government would be forced to dissolve parliament. �The PAD has accused Mr. Somchai, the brother-in-law of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, of remaining under Mr. Thaksin's influence. Mr. Thaksin fled Thailand in August amid charges of corruption. He was later found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years prison. But pro-Thaksin supporters have accused the judiciary of bias. Mr. Thaksin gained widespread popularity among the rural and urban poor for his populist economic policies. The middle class accuse him of authoritarianism and corruption.� �

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Romania Holds Parliamentary Elections

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Latest opinion polls show close race between two opposition parties -- the former communist Social Democrats and centrist Liberal Democrats, with about 30 percent support each
Voters in Romania are electing a new parliament Sunday, amid concerns the global economic crisis will bring layoffs and painful austerity measures to the former Communist nation. As Stefan Bos reports for VOA from Budapest, voters are likely to punish Romania's current pro-Western leaders who have been criticized as out of touch with Romanians.Romanian Gypsy women cast their votes in Sintesti, Romania, Sunday, 30 Nov. 2008Polling stations opened early Sunday in Romania for an election that was expected to alter the political landscape.Opinion polls indicate former Communists, now known as the Romanian Social Democrats, may overtake the ruling center-right National Liberal Party of the pro-Western Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu.Although Mr. Tariceanu led Romania into the European Union, there has been concern over his perceived inability to tackle social tensions in the country, including massive layoffs linked to the global financial crisis.The country's main car maker and food and steel factories dismissed some four thousand people last month alone, and many of their suppliers have said they will fire workers as well.Speaking at an election rally ahead of Sunday's vote, Social Democrats leader Mircea Geoana said his party would be the best choice to revive years of economic growth and more social benefits. His comments were translated by France 24 Television. "The approaching crisis calls for a Socialist administration with its stability and professionalism. On the 30th of November we will win our greatest victory," Geoana said.Women walk in front of electoral posters downtown Bucharest, Romania a day before the country holds parliamentary electionsHowever President Traian Basescu, an ally of the opposition Democrat Liberal Party, has the power to name the next prime minister, no matter who wins.In the sixth election since Communism was ended by a bloody revolt in 1989, Romanians will for the first time choose among individual candidates for senators and deputies, rather than party lists, to fill the 452-member parliament.As he cast his ballot, President Basescu said he hoped the new voting system would result in a better functioning Parliament for this nation of 22 million people. He says the new parliament should be filled with "those with experience who have already been in power." Mr. Basescu adds he also wants to see a new, young generation participating in politics who he says represent "courage and cleanness" in politics.Some smaller parties are likely to play a role in future coalitions, including the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, which governed with the current prime minister. The party is backed by many voters of the country's ethnic Hungarian minority of some 1.5 million people. It is expected to receive about five percent of the nationwide ballots cast.� �

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Shuttle Endeavour to Land After Space Station Mission

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NASA officials at Mission Control say they are watching weather patterns in Florida to see when the shuttle Endeavour can safely return to Earth
Space Shuttle Endeavour is preparing to land after an 11-day mission to the International Space Station. VOA's Brian Wagner reports that officials are trying to schedule the landing Sunday to avoid high winds and rain showers in Florida. Clouds move in behind the Vehicle Assembly building as unfavorable weather prevented space shuttle Endeavour from landing at its home base at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., 30 Nov. 2008NASA officials at Mission Control say they are watching weather patterns in Florida to see when the shuttle Endeavour can safely return to Earth. �"The first opportunity for landing at Kennedy Space Center was waved off earlier due to forecasts that showed cross winds out of limits for Endeavour's return, in addition to thunderstorms and rain within the area." Officials say weather may continue to pose a problem for a second opportunity in Florida. If not, weather conditions are good at the back-up landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California.The Endeavour crew was on a 16-day mission to space, which included delivering new supplies and equipment to expand the facilities on board the International Space Station.The additions of a new bathroom, kitchen and sleeping quarters will enable officials to double the size of the space station crew from three to six by next year. The station also received a new recycling device that converts urine and sweat into pure water for astronauts to drink while living at the station. In this photo released by NASA, the 7 Endeavour astronauts and 3 Expedition 18 crew members share a Thanksgiving meal on the middeck of the orbiter, 27 Nov 2008Astronauts conducted four space walks during the mission, to install new equipment to the station and repair a joint on a solar panel.Astronaut Gregory Chamitoff will be returning to Earth aboard Endeavor, after living in space for six months. He is replaced at the station by Sandra Magnus.Saturday, astronauts flew around the station to allow officials to inspect the shuttle for possible damage to the ship's heat shield. The maneuver has become standard procedure since the shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry in 2003 because of damage to its heat shield.The next shuttle mission is set for February, when Discovery is to deliver additional equipment to the space station. �

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2008-11-29T08:58:00.001-08:00

Indian PM Calls High-Level Meetings in Wake of Mumbai Attacks

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Officials say Manmohan Singh wanted details on Mumbai terrorist attacks and responsive actions being taken
India's prime minister Saturday called together the country's top
military and intelligence chiefs. Officials say he wanted details on
the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the responsive actions being taken. In
New Delhi, VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports the government is
finding itself under immediate pressure to show its resolve amid
political criticism. On the day local elections were held in
New Delhi, with polling underway in five other states and Mumbai
counting bodies from the terror attack, top government officials
huddled in the capital. Professor Brahma ChellaneyAn Indian academic security specialist
predicts little will result from the high-level meetings. Brahma
Chellaney of the Center for Policy Research believes Indians have
become accustomed to terrorism. He says officials lack the political
will to make fundamental changes, even after this attack, which he
considers the worst since September, 2001. "Just the way
people here have come to accept corruption they've come to accept a
high level of terrorism," said Chellaney. "It's like a part of life.
This is a kind of attitude which you will not see in most other parts
of the world. This is a terrorist siege of India. This is the whole
country being held hostage again and again by small bands of terrorists
who obviously have the backing of some important actors outside." Opposition
politicians are wasting no time portraying Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh and his allies as soft. Some of the political voices on the right
also emphasize Pakistan and Islamic extremists as culprits, threatening
to worsen tensions between India's majority Hindu and minority Muslim
communities. BJP party newspaper adThe nationalist BJP party, for example, in Friday
newspapers, ran front-page advertisements illustrated with bloody
graphics. It called the government weak, unwilling and incapable of
fighting terror. India's science minister, speaking on behalf of the
governing coalition's top party, Congress, called the ads "a matter of
national shame." Some television news channels have been
running scrolling commentary from viewers calling for revenge against
the culprits and demanding harsher security measures. Strategic
studies professor Brahma Chellaney tells VOA News the government has
resisted tougher relevant laws, fearing their misuse. "There's
a big political controversy in India about counter-terror laws,"he
said. "I don't like special laws for the purpose of combating
terrorism. But the reality is when you are under siege you need certain
laws that will speedily bring perpetrators to justice." Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Singh wants a new federal investigation agency to combat terror. But that is being resisted by the states.The
states have been criticized for a lack of cooperation among themselves
and with the federal government in terror probes. Rivalries among
numerous state and national agencies tasked with law enforcement,
border security and intelligence gathering have also stymied past
investigations. The prime minister met with military and
intelligence chiefs as commandos still were going room to room in the
Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel to secure the damaged Mumbai landmark.
Notably the man in charge of domestic security, Home Minister
Shivraj Patil, was not present. Opposition leaders have been calling
for his ouster for his alleged weak response to terrorist bombings even
before the Mumbai attacks. Patil also convened his own meeting of top officials of various military forces and law enforcement agencies. The
Home Ministry's special secretary for internal security, M.L. Kumawat,
says one immediate change after the Mumbai attacks will be improved
surveillance of India's 8,000 kilometers of coastline. "It
was decided that there's a need to have better coordination between the
navy, coast guard and police by an institutional mechanism and further
upgrade coastal security as expeditiously as possible," he said.Some of the terrorists used boats to infiltrate Mumbai's Colaba coast. Prime
Minister Singh has also called for all political party leaders to meet
Sunday in the capital to discuss the attack, which has shocked the
nation and prompted calls for a clear and quick response.

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Mumbai Siege Over, Indian Forces Kill Last Militants

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Nearly 200 people killed in 60-hour siege
Indian security officials say they have regained control of Mumbai following the most extended terrorist assault in the country's history. Some 60 hours after a group of gunmen threw India's commercial capital into bloody chaos, officials say all of the suspected Islamic militants have been killed or captured. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reports from New Delhi on the end of the days of turmoil that has left nearly 200 people dead.Along the Colaba coastline, at the Gateway of India, gunfire punctuated the early morning hours Saturday. Inside and around the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, a building synonymous with modern Indian luxury, commandos tossed grenades and set fires to flush out the remaining terrorists. An Indian soldiers aims at Taj Mahal Hotel where suspected militants holed up during an assault in Mumbai, 28 Nov 2008Police forces had been overwhelmed. It took days of intense and prolonged battles between elite military squads and well-equipped, fiercely determined insurgents to end the siege at the Taj, the nearby Trident-Oberoi Hotel and the expatriate Jewish community center.

'Terrorists Killed'

The director-general of the National Security Guards, J.K. Dutt, said, "In the Taj, three terrorists have been killed." The National Security Guards spearheaded the operation at the three locations. But Dutt told reporters at the Taj that he would not declare the last of the three urban combat sites secured until hundreds of rooms in the hotel had been cleared. Dutt says an unknown number of terrified guests still need to be persuaded that it is safe to leave the rooms where many had taken refuge since Wednesday evening. It had taken until Friday to eliminate the attackers from the two other sites where a number of civilians were found dead of gunshots. The Trident-Oberoi, like the Taj, had been stormed by the terrorists who made a systematic effort to capture foreigners, especially those holding American and British passports. At the third site, Nariman House, there had been a grim unprecedented assault where Islamic radicals took Jewish hostages. Commandos dropped by helicopter onto the roof of the Jewish community center early Friday engaged in a prolonged battle to free five Israeli hostages. All were found dead late in the day.

Death Toll Could RiseAuthorities say it could take many more days to make an accurate assessment of the carnage. What is clear, so far, is that about 200 people were killed in the attacks, including many foreigners. Hundreds more were wounded in as many as 12 separate assaults.

Hundreds of millions of Indians were transfixed by televised images of burning luxury hotels and bloody carnage at rail stations and cafes where people of all classes and color mingled. Indian allegations of Pakistani ties to the attack threaten to set back recent progress in often tense relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attacks.While India has suffered a wave of terrorist bombings in recent years this attack has rocked the nation and is expected to color the country's political and diplomatic mood for an extended time.

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Thai Protesters Force Police from Airport Checkpoint

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Confrontation ended without violence
Protesters at main international airport in Bangkok, 26 Nov 2008Anti-government protesters in Thailand attacked a second police
checkpoint outside Bangkok's main airport Saturday as a police buildup
raised fears of a violent confrontation.About 150 riot police
withdrew when protesters armed with metal rods and hurling firecrackers
swarmed their position near Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international
airport.Earlier, about 1,000 of the protesters forced police to
abandon another checkpoint in a confrontation that ended without
violence.About 2,000 police supported by troops, some
carrying M-16 assault rifles, have set up a massive cordon around the
airport where protesters with the People's Alliance for Democracy have
shut down operations since Thursday.Thai authorities say the airport will remain closed until at least Monday evening.The
siege has stranded as many as 30,000 travelers per day since it
began and threatens to cost the Thai tourism industry more than $2 billion in coming months.Some airlines have begun
flights out of the U-Tapao naval base south of Bangkok, but the base is
overwhelmed by the numbers of people trying to leave the country. Protests have also shut down operations at the Don Muang domestic airport outside Bangkok.Thailand's Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said Friday that security forces will use peaceful means to end the crisis.Mr.
Somchai said authorities will use negotiation and other means
appropriate to the situation. He spoke from the northern city of
Chiang Mai, where he reportedly plans to remain as the crisis continues
in the capital.The founder of the main protest group, PAD,
Sondhi Limthongkul, said he had rejected a direct appeal to negotiate
from Mr. Somchai. Protesters have insisted they will not leave the airports until the prime minister resigns. The United States on Friday urged the group to walk away from Bangkok airports peacefully.Mr.
Somchai declared a state of emergency around the two Bangkok airports
Thursday, a move that allows him to use security forces to clear the
protesters. The current political crisis began after the 2006
coup that removed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - Mr. Somchai's
brother-in-law. Protesters accuse Mr. Somchai of being a proxy for Mr.
Thaksin.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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Hamas Claims Mortar Fire that Injured Israeli Soldiers

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Israeli officials say three mortar shells were fired across border from Gaza Strip Friday
Islamic militant group Hamas has claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on an Israeli army base that wounded eight soldiers.Israeli officials said three mortar shells were fired across the border from the Gaza Strip Friday.Earlier,
another Palestinian militant group, the Popular Resistance Committees,
claimed responsibility for the mortar fire. But Hamas later said it
was behind the attack.Violence has been increasing despite a truce between Israel and Hamas reached in June.Israel
has responded by tightening its blockade of Gaza, making it difficult
for food, supplies and other humanitarian aid to reach thousands of
Palestinians.Media reports say Egypt will open the Rafah border
crossing with Gaza Saturday to allow Palestinian pilgrims to set out on
the Hajj, or Muslim pilgrimage, to Mecca.The French news agency
quotes an Egyptian official saying only pilgrims will be allowed to
leave Gaza for Saudi Arabia. Some 3,000 Gazans are registered for the
pilgrimage.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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Bush Says He Will Miss Being Commander-in-Chief

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In last Thanksgiving address, Mr. Bush also says country gives thanks for generations of Americans who overcame hardships to create, sustain free nation
President George W. Bush walks across the South Lawn of the White House, 15 Nov 2008 U.S. President George Bush has delivered his last Thanksgiving address,
saying he will miss being commander-in-chief of those serving the
United States to defend its freedom.During his weekly radio
address, Mr. Bush Saturday said the country gives thanks for
generations of Americans who overcame hardships to create and sustain a
free nation, and those who continue to serve the poor, sick and elderly.Mr.
Bush also gave a special thanks to the American people for the
goodwill, kind words, and heartfelt prayers that have been offered
during his eight years as president. He said he was blessed to
represent such decent, brave and caring people.President-elect Barack Obama answers reporter's question during press conference in Chicago, 25 Nov 2008U.S.
President-elect Barack Obama delivered his weekly address earlier this
week on Thursday, encouraging Americans to come together to help renew
the U.S. economy and "make a new beginning" for the country.Mr. Obama said that his newly announced economic team is working hard to confront an economic crisis of historic proportions.But
the president-elect said policies alone will not revive the U.S.
economy. He said it also will take "the hard work, innovation, service
and strength of the American people."Mr. Obama also thanked members of the armed forces and their families for their service and sacrifice.

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US Wants North Korean Verification Commitments on Paper

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US says it expects N. Korea to commit to allow inspectors to take samples from its nuclear sites
The United States said Friday it expects North Korea, during an international meeting in Beijing next month, to commit, in writing, to allow inspectors to take samples from its nuclear sites. North Korea contends it hasn't agreed to sampling as part of verification of its June nuclear declaration. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.The Bush administration is standing firm with its insistence that North Korea agreed to sampling last month, and it said it wants all the verification commitments Pyongyang made put down on paper at the six-party meeting in Beijing next month.China is convening the heads-of-delegation meeting of the Korea nuclear talks December 8 to codify U.S.-North Korea understandings reached last month on how the declaration of Pyongyang's nuclear program, made in June, is to be verified.A satellite image provided by Space Imaging Asia of the Yongbyon Nuclear Center, located north of Pyongyang, North Korea (file photo) U.S. officials have said they include standard provisions of recent disarmament accords, including site visits by inspectors, confirmation of documents, interviews with technicians and the removal of samples from North Korean nuclear sites for analysis elsewhere.North Korea has recently said it made no commitment on sampling, which it said would violate its sovereignty. U.S. officials have said North Korea did commit to sampling, even if it was only a verbal understanding in Pyongyang.In a talk with reporters Friday, acting State Department Spokesman Gordon Duguid said all North Korea promises will be in a written protocol adopted by the six parties in Beijing."Our position is that, at the six-party heads of delegation meeting, verification protocols will be 'six-party-ized,' if I can use a bad verb. And that, at that time, we'll have everything that was included in writing and in understanding formally down on paper," he said.The United States will be represented in Beijing by its chief delegate, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, and by its special envoy for the six-party talks, Sung Kim.Sung Kim, U.S. special envoy to six-nation talks on North Korean disarmament, 24 Nov 2008The State Department said Hill and Kim will leave Washington next Monday for consultations that will take them to Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok before Beijing. An official said Hill and Kim will confer in advance of the verification meeting with counterparts from all parties to the nuclear talks including North Korea.In addition to the United States, North Korea and host China, the talks involve South Korea, Russia and Japan.North Korea has shut down, and is in the process of disabling its nuclear reactor complex in exchange for energy aid from the other parties. A verification protocol is to open the way to the next phase of the process under which North Korea is to scrap its nuclear program, including weapons, in return for diplomatic benefits.

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Witnesses Report More Fighting in Central Nigerian City

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Red Cross officials say at least 20 people killed, 300 injured in Jos on Friday
Fighting around the central Nigerian city of Jos continued Saturday, a day after President Umaru Yar'Adua deployed military troops and imposed a night-time curfew. Gilbert da Costa has been monitoring developments from Abuja and filed this report for VOA.Residents in Jos say sporadic shooting could still be heard on Saturday, and arsonists continued to loot and burn properties. Government troops are struggling to contain rival ethnic and religious groups armed with guns and machetes.Some trapped residents have continued to make distress phone calls for help.Local resident Jude Onwumanan told VOA the fighting seems to be spreading and the security forces are yet to make their presence felt."The situation has gotten out of control to the extent that the security agents don't seem to know how to start to handle it. Immediately after the announcement of the result [last night], Hell was let loose and it escalated the problem which started Friday morning. As we are speaking, corpses are being taken to the various hospitals; houses are being pulled down or burnt," Onwumanan said.The state government announced a 24-hour curfew on Saturday and ordered troops to shoot on sight to enforce the measure.The unrest is the most serious of its kind in Africa's most populous nation since President Yar'Adua took power in May 2007.Information Minister John Odey says security forces have been ordered to restore peace quickly."The president is sad; the federal government is very, very concerned about the lives and properties in Plateau state. We urge the security agencies in collaboration with the state governor to bring the situation under the control as much as possible," he said.Red Cross officials say at least 20 people were killed and 300 injured on Friday. Several more would have died on Saturday, eyewitnesses' say. Thousands had taken refuge in government buildings.The post-election violence was between indigenous Christians and Muslim and Hausa settlers. Rioters torched churches and mosques and burned tires in the middle of the streets.Hundreds were killed in sectarian street fighting in Jos in 2001. Three years later, hundreds died in clashes in the town of Yelwa, leading then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency and impose a curfew.

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UN Envoy in Eastern Congo in Bid to End Conflict

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Olusegun Obasanjo was to meet Saturday with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in rebel-held town of Jomba in volatile North Kivu province
A special U.N. envoy was in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday as part of a new bid to end the civil war in eastern Congo.Former Nigerian President and UN special envoy to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Olusegun Obasanjo (file photo)Olusegun Obasanjo was to meet Saturday with rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in the rebel-held town of Jomba in volatile North Kivu province.Mr. Obasanjo, a former Nigerian president, met Friday with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in the capital, Kinshasa.The meetings come as rebels have advanced amid renewed fighting and a crumbling cease-fire in the east.U.N. officials Friday confirmed that Nkunda's forces have seized the town of Ishasha, near the Ugandan border, and some 13,000 refugees have fled into Uganda over the last few days to escape the fighting.Nkunda's forces have denied violating a cease-fire agreement. They say their actions are targeted at Rwandan Hutu rebels, and not Congolese forces.Mr. Obasanjo's also met with Mr. Kabila and Nkunda in a trip to the DRC earlier this month.In related news, the top U.N. human rights official is calling for urgent action to stop killing, rape and other abuses being committed by government and rebel forces in eastern Congo. Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay urged diplomats meeting in Vienna to make sure the U.N. mission in Congo gets the political backing it needs to respond to the crisis.At the same meeting, the European Union told the U.N. Human Rights Council there is clear evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by both sides in the DRC. It cited widespread cases of rape, summary execution, torture, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers by the warring factions.The U.N. Security Council this week approved a request to send three-thousand more peacekeepers to Congo to join the 17,000 already there. But officials say it could be months before the troops are deployed.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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UNAIDS Urges More Transparency on HIV Reporting

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Study urges countries to adopt flexible policies that reflect how and why latest HIV infections are transmitted
A new report by UNAIDS urges countries to adopt flexible policies that
reflect how and why the latest HIV infections are transmitted. The
report coincides with the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day. For VOA,
Lisa Bryant has more from Paris.An AIDS patient at a hospital in Dakar, Senegal (Nov 2007)The overall story of HIV/AIDS
is not as bleak as its numbers suggest. While an estimated 33 million
people worldwide live with the HIV virus that causes AIDS, the numbers
of new infections have been declining since 2001 and more HIV-infected
people are getting treatment and living longer.But a study
published Friday by UNAIDS suggests countries have much more to do to
fight the epidemic - in large part by adopting combined and flexible
HIV/AIDS-prevention policies - particularly since the pattern of the
epidemic may change over time. Some countries are also not targeting
the most vulnerable populations in fighting the virus - such as
intravenous drug users and men having sex with men. "The message is that
countries need to tailor their prevention programs to the epidemics in
their own specific countries," said Karen
Stanecki, a senior advisor for UNAIDS in Geneva. "And they need to know where
the new infections are occurring in order to do that. And we recommend
a combination-prevention process of doing this where one prevention
program isn't going to do it all." Stanecki says that message has registered in some countries. Namibia is a case in point. "They
have put various strategies into place and they are now seeing
reductions in new infections among young people," she said. "Young
people are delaying sexual activity . They're reducing the numbers of
multiple partners and we've seen increase use in condoms."The
global financial crisis may pose a new threat for cash-strapped
countries. But experts warn that cutting corners when it comes to
fighting HIV/AIDS will leave the world in worse shape in a few years
time than it is now.

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Former UN Envoy and Playwright Team Up Against Rape, AIDS in DRC

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Stephen Lewis and Eve Ensler say women must be protected and included in peace process

One of the tragedies of
the war in the eastern DRC is the huge number of women who have been raped.

Playwright
Eve Ensler is the founder of V-Day – a global movement to end violence against
women and girls that has raised nearly $70 million dollars. She has made
several visits to Panzi Hospital in the DRC's South Kivu Province, where many
rape victims are brought. From Toronto, Canada, she spoke to VOA English to
Africa Service reporter Joe De Capua about her impressions when she paid her
first visit to the hospital.

"Because of V-day…I've spent the last 10 years
traveling to probably 60 and I've spent a lot of time in what I call the rape
mines of the world. You know, in Bosnia, in Afghanistan and Haiti and Kosovo.
But I have to tell you nothing quite prepared me for the level of violence and
atrocities that I heard and witnessed in the Democratic Republic of Congo," she
says.

She says that the war has been allowed to
continue with impunity, describing the government as non-functional and UN
peacekeepers as ineffective. "Because it's gone on for so long, it's become
ordinary. It's become something that's now a part of everyday life. As an
activist said there, rape has become a country sport," she says.

Ensler says estimates put the number of women
raped in the eastern DRC in the last 10 years at up to 400,000. "But the kind
of violence that's going on – the gang rapings, the militias that are released
knowing that they have AIDS and released on communities knowing they have STDs…
Girls as young as four months, six months old, tons of eight year old girls,
teenagers, woman as old as 80…being raped with knives, being raped by guns,"
she says.

Many of the woman who've been raped have fistula
– holes in internal organs, such as the bladder. "I've been back (to Panzi)
three times and each time…there's another two to three hundred women there,
brand new women, who have been raped. And to see women who have been made
incontinent, who are peeing and pooping on themselves because of the kind of
punctures they have inside their bodies, to see women lined up for operations
as a result of sexual violation, it felt like being on the other side of
humanity," she says.

Ensler uses the term femicide to describe
widespread violence against women and girls.

Asked what could be done, Ensler says, "We have
started a huge campaign called Stop Raping Our Greatest resource – Power to the
Women and Girls of the DRC. And we're doing it in partnership with UNICEF and
17 (other) UN agencies, as well as many groups on the ground. We're doing
forums all over the eastern Congo where women are speaking out and breaking the
silence."

She says the campaign is behind the City of Joy,
"which will be the first center for a hundred women who have suffered these
atrocities, but where it becomes a leadership academy so we turn pain to power.
And then we're building an international movement this V-Day where at all the
thousands of events around the world people will be focused on the DRC.… If we
can change the situation in the Congo, we can do it everywhere."

Joining Ensler in calling for immediate action on
the DRC is Stephen Lewis, former UN special envoy for AIDS in Africa and
founder of the Stephen Lewis foundation.

He
says, "The most important thing is to talk with the women of the Congo,
particularly the women who have been raped and subject to sexual violence.
There is a tendency, particularly from the United Nations, to deal only with
the men with guns and think that if they can stop the shooting they've ended
the war. But there's another component to the war. And it's called rape. And
the raping has never ended (In the DRC) from 1996 to this day. And you're never
going to end the war in the Congo until you prevent the violence to the women.
And therefore you've got to involve the women in the peace negotiations. And
incredibly enough, they have never been involved," he says.

Lewis
says the UN special envoy to the DRC has not spoken to the women. "So when the
(UN) secretary-general appoints the former president of Nigeria, Obasanjo –
Obasanjo runs around and he speaks to the rebel head (Laurent) Nkunda and he
runs off to speak to the president of Congo, (Joseph) Kabila, and he'll speak
to (President Paul) Kagame of Rwanda, it's all wrong. The place you start is
with the women because they have been the most ferocious subjects of the war,"
Lewis says.

Lewis
says the sexual violence is fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the DRC. "We all
know that the act of raping, particularly the violence of the sexual assaults,
create tears in the reproductive tracts of the women through which the AIDS
virus can be transmitted. So, inevitably, you have this dual horror. One the
one hand you are subject to a rape, frequently a gang rape, and on the other
hand you end up HIV positive…. And your life is ruined in both aspects. It
reminds me of Rwanda. It reminds me of Darfur. The international community just
stands and watches this happen. We have 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers in
the Congo, whose mandate it is to protect the women and they cannot protect the
women," he says.

The
former UN special envoy is calling for triple the number of peacekeeping troops
in the eastern DRC. "Three years ago, the entire world agreed on a new
international principle. The principle was called the responsibility to
protect. The leaders said to each other if a government is unable or unwilling
to protect its people from grotesque violations of human rights, then the
international community has the right to intervene," he says.

Lewis says that the intervention can
be done "politically, diplomatically, economically or we can send in troops.
And frankly what the Congo needs at this point is troops."

------------------------------------------------------

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-28T09:41:00.001-08:00

Sporadic Gunfire, Bomb Blasts as Mumbai Siege Continues

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Police pursue last of terrorists in heart of Mumbai's tourist district
Clashes between Indian security forces and the remaining terrorists that launched a multi pronged assault on Mumbai continued into the night as authorities slowly regained control of the city . Raymond Thibodeaux has this report from Mumbai where explosions and gunfire rocked the city for a third day. The southern tip of Mumbai, the heart of the city's tourist district, was turned into a battle zone as police tried to capture or kill the last of the terrorists. Indian soldiers aim a grenade launcher at part of the facade of the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai,28 Nov 2008At the historic Taj hotel in the southern tip of the city late Friday, the air was filled with the sound of grenades, sporadic machine-gun fire and helicopters hovering overhead. Indian special forces went room to room in an effort to end the three-day siege by militants who rampaged through the streets of Mumbai and took hostages in two posh Mumbai hotels and at a Jewish community center.By late afternoon, Indian commandos had freed another six hostages, who were escorted to the back of the Taj into a waiting ambulance. None of them appeared to be injured, just shaken up and hungry after more than two days with almost no food.Indian security forces so far have freed at least 200 hostages at the Taj. It is still unclear how many gunmen were involved in the assualt on the building.Security officials have confirmed that several foreigners were killed and more than 20 injured. It is known that among the dead: three Germans, one Japanese, one Canadian and one Australian.Firefighters and ambulances were rushed to the Taj late Friday as a fresh column of smoke could be seen rising from the luxury hotel's roof.Four bystanders were hit by gunfire near the front of the Taj where many journalists have gathered to cover the siege. One of those injured was a journalist for the French Press Agency. An Indian commando comes down a rope to reach the top of Nariman House, 28 Nov 2008Elsewhere in the city, loud blasts and sporadic gunfire erupted at the Nariman House as Indian security forces worked to end the hostage standoff at a Jewish outreach center. A security official told Indian television that commandoes found bodies of what are believed to be terrorists and hostages in the center.With Mumbai as the financial gateway to India, many of the hostages that had been held at the luxury hotels were in India on business. As the siege began, many of their companies apparently called in crisis consultants like Sanjay Vaswani to help the hostages through their ordeal and upon their eventual release. He declined to give the name of the company that had called him in."The eight people we were in charge of were glad to be out. It showed in their faces they were tired," he said.So far, it is unclear exactly how many people have been killed since the coordinated attacks began but authorities said the number is believed to be at least 140 and could go higher once security forces are able to slowly go through the devastated buildings where the fighting took place.

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Mumbai Terror Attack Escalates Tensions Between India, Pakistan

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Accusations by India's top diplomat and other politicians of Pakistani link to attacks causes immediate chill in relations between New Delhi, Islamabad
A diplomatic row between India and Pakistan has erupted over alleged Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks. The chill in relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors comes as commandos in Mumbai launched their final assaults on three sites. The coordinated attacks by unknown militants have left at least 140 people dead and wounded more than 300. VOA correspondent Steve Herman in New Delhi has the story. An injured man leans on a railing after a series of attacks by terrorist gunmen in Mumbai, 26 Nov. 2008 Accusations by India's top diplomat and some of its politicians of a Pakistani hand in this week's terrorist attacks on Mumbai is causing an immediate chill in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has joined the voices here speaking of a Pakistani link to the terrorists who wreaked mayhem across India's commercial capital. The minister says initial evidence points to the terrorists having Pakistani links. Mukherjee also is calling on Pakistan to dismantle the infrastructure in that country which he says assists terrorists. Other Indian politicians and military officials say those who attacked Mumbai came from Pakistan by sea. Pakistan has been quick to respond, condemning such talk. Speaking to reporters in the Indian state of Rajasthan, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi accuses India of politicizing the issue."Do not play politics into this issue. This is a collective issue," said Qureshi. "We are facing a common enemy. And we have to join hands to defeat this enemy." In Islamabad, Pakistani officials say Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called his Indian counterpart to pledge full support to jointly combat extremism and terrorism. In the conversation Mr. Gilani told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Pakistan strongly condemns the attacks on Mumbai. India media report that Mr. Singh asked the Pakistani prime minister to send the head of his country's intelligence service to New Delhi to exchange information about the militants who attacked Mumbai. Mr. Singh, on Thursday, in a national address, said the operation was planned outside the country and warned India's neighbors not to provide a haven for terrorists to launch attacks on India. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they both won independence from Britain in 1947. Militants opposed to Indian rule of the disputed Kashmir region attacked the Parliament here in 2001, pushing the two neighbors to the brink of another war the following year. This July, India accused the Pakistani intelligence service of helping Taliban terrorists bomb the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital. The blast killed 58 people, including two Indian diplomats.

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Thai Police Take First Steps to Enforce State of Emergency and End Airport Protests

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Police have called for anti-government protesters to vacate main airports in Bangkok, which group seized earlier this week
Thai police have called for anti-government protesters to vacate the
main airports in Bangkok, which the group seized earlier this week. Ron
Corben has this report from Bangkok, where the government has declared
a state of emergency around the airports.Anti-government protesters sets up barrier in front of Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, 28 Nov 2008Thousands of
anti-government protesters occupying the international and domestic
airports in the capital were bracing Friday against efforts by security
forces to end the occupation.Leaders of the People's Alliance
for Democracy on Friday said they remain determined to press on with
the protest despite the threat of police action and a growing loss of
public support.The police say they want to negotiate with the
PAD, but it is possible they will use force to clear the terminals.
There is concern about violence, particularly because there are
children among the protesters.Sunai Pasuk, the Thai representative for Human Rights Watch, says the government realizes the world is watching the situation."No
one I believe in the outside world and the majority of the Thai public
- no one is siding with the PAD. [But] they don't want to see a
massacre at Don Muang and Suvanabhumi airport. The police need to take
incremental steps," he said. Sunai says the government is
offering the PAD an exit strategy by allowing the alliance to return to
the government house compound which it seized in late August. "If
they want to continue the protest - well go ahead - and this is a very
deliberate decision not to declare a state of emergency at the
government house as well. The government has thought through very
carefully this time by providing an exit and if the PAD still refuses
to take this opportunity then things can get [a] little ugly," he said.Thousands
of travelers have been stranded by the protest, which is costing the
economy millions of dollars in lost revenue. The airport blockades
particularly hurt the tourism industry, a cornerstone of the Thai
economy.The government is using airports just outside Bangkok
to move passengers, but only a limited number of flights have taken
off. Efforts also are under way to transport up to five thousand Thai
Muslims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Haj. On
Thursday Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency
at the airports. He has rejected calls by the military and the PAD for
him to resign.Around the city this week there have been
sporadic outbursts of violence between the PAD and government
supporters. An anti-government TV station and a pro-government
community radio station have suffered attacks. Naishinawatra
Parboonpart is the manager of the community radio station, run by a
taxi radio service. He expects police to move against the PAD protest
later Friday. He says extra police have been brought in from
the provinces and they will move quickly and once the airports are
reopened it will be better for the nation.The PAD accuses Mr.
Somchai of acting as a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, who fled Thailand in August in the face of corruption
charges. He was ousted in a coup two years ago.Many Thais
speculate that the military may stage a coup, although senior military
officers have denied it plans to unseat the government. Pro-Thaksin
supporters have vowed to challenge the army if there is a coup.

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Somali Power-Sharing Deal Lacks Support from Key Players

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However, international diplomats and some Somali politicians say they are hopeful that deal will pave way toward ending nearly two years of violence in country
International diplomats and some Somali politicians say they are hopeful that a deal signed on Wednesday to share power between the country's transitional federal government and an Islamist-led opposition faction will pave the way toward ending nearly two years of violence in Somalia. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the agreement still lacks support from several key players in the conflict.The agreement reached in the latest round of talks in Djibouti calls for the enlargement of the interim Somali parliament from 275 members to 550.Two-hundred seats are allocated to the opposition group. The remaining 75 seats will go to civil society leaders.The expanded parliament is to appoint a new speaker and hold new elections in January to elect an interim president. The unity transitional government has also been given two more years to consolidate power and to stabilize the country.The U.N. Special Envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, who has been the mediator of the peace talks since they began earlier this year in Djibouti, called the power-sharing deal "very encouraging." Somali interirm President Abdullahi Yusuf (file photo)In Nairobi, the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneburger told reporters that he, too, believed the peace process could yield positive results. But he acknowledged that an on-going personal dispute between Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Nur Adde Hassan Hussein was not helpful to the process. The feud, which erupted in August, has further weakened the government by splitting it into factions."The challenge is to ensure that President Yusuf and the prime minister work together to ensure that this is implemented," said Ranneburger. "Obviously, that is not an ideal relationship. We also have the parliament with its own views. But we are certainly pressing all the institutions of the TFG [transitional federal government] to work together." Publicly, Mr. Yusuf has expressed support for the Djibouti peace talks. He has denied making a proposal last week to move the talks to Libya, where he reportedly enjoys support from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. But parliament members close to the president privately say that Mr. Yusuf strongly disapproves of the power-sharing agreement and does not feel bound by it.The latest agreement between the government and the opposition led by moderate Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed follows a deal signed in June to implement a ceasefire and replace thousands of Ethiopian troops in Somalia with a U.N. peacekeeping force in the coming months. The troops arrived in late 2006, when Ethiopia ousted the ruling Islamic Courts Union, installed the secular government in its place, and ignited an Islamist-led insurgency. The fighting in Somalia has killed thousands of people and has left millions displaced. The opposition has never been able to implement the ceasefire because Islamist insurgents on the ground, led by the militant al-Qaida-linked Shabab group, have refused to join the talks and have continued their fight to throw Ethiopia out of Somalia and to regain control of the country. The chief negotiator for the opposition alliance, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, tells VOA that he is confident a ceasefire would come into effect as soon as Ethiopia withdrew its forces."Yes, the issue is how to deal with the complaints of those who are on the ground because the reason they are fighting is that they are against the presence of Ethiopian troops," he said. "And if you deal with that issue correctly, I think nobody will have the legitimacy to continue fighting."Ethiopia has resisted calls for an immediate withdrawal because it fears Islamists with goals of uniting ethnically-Somali areas of southern Ethiopia with Somalia could fill the power vacuum its troops would leave behind. But Ethiopia has been showing growing impatience with the transitional government in recent weeks and has indicated that it would begin withdrawing troops within the next few weeks.

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IAEA Frustrated Over Lack of Transparency in Iran, Syria

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Agency head Mohammed ElBaradei says Iran and Syria still need to clarify some outstanding issues regarding their nuclear activities
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed frustration Thursday that neither Iran nor Syria been completely transparent about their alleged nuclear activities. For VOA, Lisa Bryant has more on the agency's findings from Paris. IAEA Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei, is seen before the IAEA's board meeting in Vienna, 27 Nov 2008The International Atomic Energy Agency is holding a two-day meeting to examine reports on the alleged nuclear activities of Iran and Syria, both of which has sparked international concern. In comments before the commission on Thursday, agency chief Mohammed ElBaradei said neither country had done enough to assuage concerns about their programs. He urged Iran to clarify a number of issues about its nuclear program and to stop obstructing an IAEA probe into intelligence materials that the United States says shows the country studied how to design atomic bombs."There remain a number of outstanding issues, relevant to the alleged studies and associated questions identified in my last report to the board which give rise to concern and need to be clarified in order to exclude the existence of a possible military dimension to Iran's nuclear program. Regrettably, the agency has not been able to make substantive progress on these issues," he said.Western nations fear Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. But Tehran insists the purpose of its nuclear enrichment program is to make energy.This undated image released during a briefing by senior US officials shows alleged Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help, which was hit by Israeli strikeElBaradei said also Syria has failed to clear suspicion that a desert site bombed by Israel last year was a nuclear reactor. "As I stated in the report, while it cannot be excluded that the building in question was intended for non-nuclear use, the features of the building, along with the availability of adequate pumping capacity of cooling water, are similar to what may be found in connection with a reactor site," he said. In light of this, it is important that Syria provide the agency with documentation in support of its statements concerning the nature and function of the destroyed building." In remarks to reporters earlier this week, the head of Syria's atomic energy commission ruled out follow-up visits to the site by IAEA experts. The IAEA's board has nonetheless approved a Syrian demand for technical assistance in planning a civilian nuclear power plant over U.S. objections.

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South Korean Officials Return From North As Joint Projects Halt

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Both sides are getting ready for a complete border closure the North has promised to enforce next week
South Korean officials who usually work in North Korea have returned home as ties between the two cold war rivals worsen. Both sides are getting ready for a complete border closure the North has promised to enforce next week. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.South Korean tourists return after visiting North Korea city of Kaesong at customs, immigration and quarantine office in Paju near the border village of Panmunjom (DMZ) north of Seoul, South Korea, 28 Nov 2008A South Korean freight train made its final scheduled crossing into North Korea Friday. The daily rail crossings were seen to have such symbolic value that the train often made its journey north completely empty of cargo.The train conductor, Shin Jang-cheol says even though the train service is halted for now, he hopes it can resume again in the future.The train route and a tour program to the North Korean city of Kaesong are the latest inter-Korean projects to go into a deep freeze as ties between the two sides worsen. A joint tourism zone was suspended in July after North Korean soldiers shot a visiting South Korean housewife to death, then refused to cooperate in an investigation.Six South Korean government officials were among those who crossed into the South Friday after leaving their jobs at a joint industrial park in Kaesong. South Korean Unification Ministry Spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon says hundreds more South Koreans will also return.He says out of more than 4,000 South Koreans who have visas from the North to stay in the Kaesong complex, about 1,500 have gotten permission to stay after December 1.December 1 is Monday - when North Korea has vowed to completely restrict crossings of its southern border. Pyongyang is angry at South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, whom North Korean media frequently describe as a "traitor" for his conservative policies.When he took office in January, President Lee ended ten years of efforts by previous governments to seek friendship with the North in exchange for massive aid and investment. North Korea accuses the Lee administration of dragging its feet on implementing agreements made by his two predecessors which promise billions of dollars in South Korean backing for projects in the North. The North has also expressed anger at South Korea's failure to prevent the launch of balloon-carried leaflets into the North by private groups. The leaflets harshly criticize North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and contain sensitive information about his apparent recovery from a stroke.Former President Kim Dae-jung, architect of the so-called "sunshine policy" of open-ended assistance to the North, accused President Lee this week of "intentionally harming" North-South relations.Yoon Sang-hyun, a legislator with the South Korean president's ruling party, says Mr. Lee is right to make South Korean aid consistent with North Korea's cooperation on iss ues like nuclear disarmament.He says the main crisis here is the North Korean government itself. It's not South Korea's policies that need to change, he says, it is North Korea that needs to change.Many analysts say major North-South projects like the Kaesong zone are now in danger of coming to a complete end. Even if Kaesong continues, economists say investors are probably much more fearful about committing resources and staff to the project.

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Ethiopia to Withdraw Troops From Somalia by Year End

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Ethiopians to remain on Somali border, says AU; Withdrawal too dangerous, some diplomats caution
Ethiopia has announced its intention to withdraw its troops from neighboring Somalia by the end of this year. But as correspondent Peter Heinlein reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopian officials have assured the African Union their forces will remain on alert at the border to support the remaining AU peacekeepers if necessary.Ethiopian soldiers in Mogadishu, (file photo)Ethiopia has sent a letter to the United Nations and the African Union saying it will withdraw its forces from positions inside Somalia by the end of December. African and western diplomats confirmed to VOA the letter was delivered several days ago.The pullout would come two years after Ethiopian troops invaded their lawless Horn of Africa neighbor to drive out Islamists who had imposed Sharia law on a large part of the country. Since then, the Ethiopian contingent of between 10,000 and 15,000 troops has been the prime force propping up Somalia's fragile transitional government. They operate alongside a 3,400 strong AU peacekeeping unit known as AMISOM, made up of Ugandan and Burundian soldiers.The letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping announcing the intent to withdraw was sent after Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin publicly warned Somalia's feuding president and prime minister to patch up their differences or be left alone to fight among themselves.The bodies of alleged insurgents lie in Mogadishu after fighting broke out on 21 Nov 2008Many African diplomats have openly expressed fears that an Ethiopian pullout could lead to an immediate collapse of the TFG, as the Somali government is known. But AU Commission Chairman Ping told reporters Wednesday he has received assurances from Ethiopia that they will not completely abandon Somalia, and will remain on the border, poised to return if conditions deteriorate."In spite of withdrawal of the Ethiopians, they will remain committed, just in the other side of the border, and they will intervene, and the African troops will remain there. The AMISOM will remain there and we'll continue to ask strengthening of AMISOM by asking new troops and also financial assistance," he said. Ping said he is preparing for a number of possible scenarios to protect Somalia and the remaining peacekeepers when Ethiopia pulls out. But he expressed hope the Ethiopians could be persuaded to postpone their withdrawal if Somalia's leaders settle their internal dispute."This depends on the behavior of the Transitional Government of Somalia," Ping said. We hope they will understand they are there to help the country to help them and they should stop quarreling… So we hope that this will be the case and then we can continue this operation in Somalia." Ping said negotiations are on to attract more African troops to bolster the AU force so it could shoulder the entire peacekeeping burden once Ethiopia withdraws. Kenya has already said it will soon dispatch a battalion to Somalia. Ping said he is also urging the U.N. Security Council to provide help, in view of the surge of piracy that threatens vital shipping lanes of the Somali coast."We already have a request to the Security Council. [There is] a need for them to come as quick as possible, because the disorder we are seeing on the ocean with piracy is an extension on the sea of the disorder that is going on on the mainland," he said.African diplomats Thursday expressed hope that the current crisis could force governments in the region and the international community to take a fresh look at ways to prevent a turn for the worse in Somalia. The country has been without a functioning government for 18 years. Newly arrived Somali refugees at the Dadaab camp, northeastern Kenya, 16 Oct 2008A combination of lawlessness and civil war has created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. The United Nations estimates 3.2 million people, about 40 percent of the population, are in need of emergency assistance.While asking for anonymity, one senior diplomat from a country considering a troop contribution to AMISOM told VOA, "Ethiopia can't leave now. It's just too dangerous."

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Concern Grows Over Cholera Outbreak in Zimbabwe

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Senior health official appeals for international aid to fight growing epidemic of cholera which has killed nearly 400 people
Humanitarian officials are expressing growing concern over deteriorating health and sanitation conditions in Zimbabwe as crisis talks between political parties show no signs of progress. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our Southern African Bureau in Johannesburg.A child walks barefoot past rain water and sewage near Harare, Zimbabwe, 25 Nov 2008A senior Zimbabwean health official Thursday appealed for international aid to fight a growing epidemic of cholera which he said has killed nearly 400 people.His call came as cholera cases were detected in neighboring South Africa and Botswana, mostly among travelers arriving from Zimbabwe.South African Health Minister Barbara Hogan said South African health services are trying to care for the Zimbabwean victims."Given the scale of the outbreak, the weakened health system in Zimbabwe and the extended cross border movement of people it was agreed that all aspects of our interventions needed to be scaled up and a renewed sense of urgency to deal with this outbreak is needed at all levels," she said.But she added that a major focus should be to help repair sanitation plants and provide clean water in Zimbabwe.The United Nations reported nearly 9,000 cases of cholera in Zimbabwe, saying the water-borne disease had spread due to collapsing health and sanitation systems. Zimbabwe's public services have experienced serious decay due to economic decline, shortages of basic goods and the flight of skilled workers.U.N. officials also said nearly half of the country's population of 10 million people needed food assistance and this number was likely to increase in the coming months. But they said food aid would run out in January unless additional donations were forthcoming. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, left, and new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai pose after signing the power-sharing accord, 15 Sept 2008There have been calls for increased isolation of the government of President Robert Mugabe because of a lack of progress in crisis talks between the country's three main parties.The talks are aimed at forming a government of national unity more than two months after the parties signed a power-sharing accord. Under the accord, Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party is to divide government ministries with two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change which won a majority of parliamentary seats in elections eight months ago.The leader of the main MDC faction, Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai, Wednesday issued a statement saying his party was shifting its focus from the power-sharing talks to the humanitarian crisis.He accused Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party of refusing to implement the power-sharing accord. He also called the mediator in the talks, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, to step down accusing him of failing to understand the country's problems and of supporting ZANU-PF.The statement also criticized the reappointment Wednesday of Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono to a new five-year term. It accused Gono of being the architect of Zimbabwe's economic crisis, characterized by falling productivity, hyper-inflation and 80 percent unemployment.However, Mr. Tsvangirai said his party was not withdrawing from the power-sharing talks and would continue to participate in the discussions.

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Oil Price Decline Undercuts Policies of Oil-Rich Nations

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Countries like Iran, Russia, Venezuela can no longer count on high petrodollar revenues
The plummeting price of oil is having an impact on nations that restrict oil exploration and production to state-owned companies. Analysts say many use the revenues to further their ideological objectives and expand their influence, and falling prices could affect such policies. VOA's Bill Rodgers reports.

The price of oil is down dramatically, from $147 a barrel to less than $55The price of oil is down dramatically, from a record high of $147 a barrel earlier this year to less than $55 in recent days.And analysts say this is having an impact on petroleum-producing countries that have used oil revenues to further their ideological ambitions. Russia's new military resurgence is considered to be fueled by petrodollars. Iran has used its oil revenues to extend its influence in the Middle East and defy sanctions aimed at blocking its nuclear ambitions. And, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has gained power and influence to counter U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere because of the steady flow of oil money. But falling oil prices could weaken a government's hold on power, says energy analyst Kenneth Medlock at Rice University in Houston."It makes it very difficult for the government to remain solvent, basically," Medlock said, "and continue the types of programs that they've had in place when oil prices were higher, or initiated when oil prices rose. And that, of course, for the politicians who are in power, puts them in a very tenuous position."In Iran, concern is rising that the country could face an economic crisisIn Iran, concern is rising that the country could face an economic crisis because of declining oil revenues. This comes as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seeks re-election next year.In Venezuela, spending on social programs and other initiatives to build President Chavez' socialist-inspired state could be affected - though he recently downplayed the effects of falling oil prices. "We're not singing victory, no," Chavez said. "But we have the capacity to resist the crisis. And not just resist it, but to continue investing."Yet Venezuela's opposition scored significant victories in local elections Sunday, in part because of fears the country's oil-fueled economy is sputtering. Venezuela's oil, like that of many countries, is tapped exclusively by its state-run company, PDVSA.Many of these nations have shut out major Western oil companies from accessing their petroleum-rich regions in a policy known as "resource nationalism." The so-called petroleum "majors" like ExxonMobile now control much less oil, says Conoco-Philips head James Mulva. "The state-owned oil companies represent the top 10 reserve holders internationally, and the western international oil majors control less than 10 percent of the world's oil and gas resource base," Mulva said.

Many nations have shut out major Western oil companies from
accessing their petroleum-rich regions in a policy known as "resource
nationalism"One reason for this is the belief by some countries that nationally-owned companies can better protect a nation's oil wealth. But energy analyst Jerry Taylor of the libertarian CATO Institute says there is another reason. "When you have large private corporations generating revenue you are creating potential pockets of resistance in society to the political regime," Taylor said. "And since a lot of these countries find that oil extraction is the major source of income for their economies, owning those industries actually helps crowd out the potential development of opposition."Taylor says while Saudi Arabia's ARAMCO is an example of an efficient and productive state-owned oil company, many others are like Mexico's PEMEX - inefficient and unproductive. According to Medlock, "they've demonstrated in many cases an inability to develop those resources in a timely, efficient manner. And the international majors have the ability to do that. They have adequate commercial incentive to go in and make these things work." And the prospect of pumping more oil and increasing revenues could be attractive to governments, opening opportunities for the western oil majors while eroding resource nationalism.

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Shuttle Crew Departs International Space Station

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16-day mission delivered new facilities, equipment, water recycling system to double space station crew capacity
A NASA image of Endeavor's cargo bay framed through a window on the International Space Station, 26 Nov 2008The space shuttle Endeavor has undocked from the International Space Station after bringing equipment needed to expand its capacity from three to six people.The shuttle left the orbiting outpost Friday with seven astronauts.The astronauts shared a Thanksgiving dinner Thursday with the three-person crew aboard the International Space Station before saying their goodbyes and sealing the hatches between the shuttle and the space station.The shuttle is scheduled to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida on Sunday. As the shuttle departed Friday, it was to loop around the space station so the shuttle crew could photograph its exterior.As part of the 16-day mission, the shuttle crew delivered and installed a new toilet, kitchen equipment, and water recycling system meant to allow the space station to double its crew capacity.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-27T08:18:00.001-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Keep up with APEC coverage on our Global Economic Turmoil page. VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

Commandoes Free Some People from Mumbai Luxury Hotels

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Taj Mahal and Oberoi were invaded by heavily armed gunmen Wednesday, several foreigners are among 101 people killed in terror attacks
The Indian prime minister says the terror attacks in the country's financial capital, Mumbai, were carried out by militants based outside the country. Meanwhile, commandoes have freed some people from the luxury hotels, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi, which were invaded by heavily armed gunmen. An unknown number remain trapped or held hostage. There are several foreigners among the 101 people killed and more than 300 injured in the audacious and massive terror attack. Anjana Pasricha reports for VOA from New Delhi. Foreign tourist breaks down after being rescued safely from hotel following attack in Mumbai, India, 27 Nov 2008 After a day-long operation, commandoes and soldiers evacuated scores of people from the two luxury hotels - which were attacked by gunmen in Mumbai. On Thursday, teams of commandoes mounted an operation at three different locations, two luxury hotels and a Jewish center which were besieged late at night by terrorists. Explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard through the day as security forces stormed the buildings. The gunmen are still believed to be holding hostages, including foreigners at the Oberoi Hotel. Officials say a British, Australian and Japanese national are among those who have died in the attacks.

Prime Minister says attackers based outside countryManmohan Singh (file)In an address to the nation, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the attackers chose high-profile targets and indiscriminately killed foreigners to create a sense of panic. "It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks based outside the country had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country," he said. "We will take the strongest possible measure to ensure that there is no repetition of such terrorist attacks." He warned neighboring countries who provide a haven to militants, and said there would be a "cost if suitable measures are not taken by them."

Police chief says aggressive operation targets terroristsIndia's National Security Guard commandos take positions from an adjoining building of Nariman Bhawan, where suspected militants took Jewish families hostage, Colaba, Mumbai, 27 Nov 2008As the operation to flush out the terrorists continued into the evening, Mumbai's Director General of Police, A.N. Ray, told local television they are mounting an aggressive operation. "Wherever there are these terrorists holed up, we will either catch them alive or shoot them," he said. "So, all our forces are completely geared up. Either they will kill them or nab them." Information about how many terrorists are involved is sketchy. Authorities say several of them have been killed.

Gunmen entered Mumbai by seaThe heavily armed gunmen apparently entered the city via sea and mounted a series of coordinated attacks late Wednesday at 10 locations - including hotels, hospitals, a Jewish Center, a restaurant and a rail station. India's thriving business hub shut down Thursday as authorities grappled with the most audacious terror attack in the country. Stock markets were closed, and several flights were canceled. Mumbai has witnessed terror strikes in the past in 2006 bomb blasts targeting rail commuters killed 186 people. But this is the first time militants have specifically targeted foreigners.

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Iraq's Parliament Approves Security Pact with US

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Agreement allows US troops to remain in country until 2011
Parliament member Osama al-Najaifi speaks to reporters outside parliament in Baghdad, 26 Nov 2008The Iraqi parliament has approved a security pact with the United
States that allows U.S. troops to remain in Iraq until the end of 2011.A majority of Iraqi lawmakers - 144 of 198 present - approved the deal Thursday in Baghdad by a show of hands. The
vote came after last minute deals that included Iraqi Shi'ite leaders
conceding to a Sunni bloc that a referendum on the pact will be held
within six months. Sunni parties also extracted a promise of political
reforms guaranteeing their minority voice a greater say in government. The
U.S.-Iraqi security pact must now be approved by Iraq's three-member
presidential council, a move widely expected, before it comes into
force.It would then replace the United Nations mandate for the U.S. military presence in Iraq that expires on December 31.The
deal calls for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30
as an interim step. It also gives Iraq strict oversight over U.S.
forces in the country.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Bush Marks Last Thanksgiving as President

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US president is spending holiday at Camp David mountain retreat in Maryland; thanks American people for 'good will, kind words and heartfelt prayers' in weekly radio address
U.S. President George Bush is marking America's Thanksgiving holiday at Camp David - the presidential mountain retreat in Maryland. VOA White House Correspondent Paula Wolfson reports it will be a quiet holiday for the Bush family. President George Bush boards Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, prior to departing for Camp David for Thanksgiving, 26 Nov 2008In his weekly radio address - released early to coincide with the holiday - Mr. Bush reflected on his last Thanksgiving Day as president.He offered personal words of thanks to the American people."I am thankful for the good will, kind words and heartfelt prayers that so many of you have offered me during the past eight years," said President Bush. "I have been blessed to represent such decent, brave and caring people. For that, I will always be grateful and I will always be honored."In his address, the president made special mention of Americans who serve their communities and their country - including members of the military who are far from home during the holiday season."Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency," said Mr. Bush. "And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors. In this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans."Mr. Bush is expected to make holiday telephone calls to members of the military from Camp David on Thanksgiving Day.He is scheduled to spend several days at the secluded mountain retreat with members of his immediate family.President-elect Barack Obama will be observing Thanksgiving at his home in suburban Chicago, with a houseful of guests.On Wednesday, the president-elect, his wife and their two children volunteered at a Chicago church, handing out food to the needy. He said he wanted to make sure his daughters realize how fortunate they are and to impress upon them the importance of helping others.

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Americans Celebrate Thanksgiving Holiday

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Millions participate in traditional feast with friends and family centered on turkey or ham, squash, cranberry dressing and pumpkin pie
US troops eat their Thanksgiving meals at base in Baghdad, Iraq, 27 Nov 2008 Millions of Americans are celebrating the annual Thanksgiving Day
holiday Thursday with a traditional feast with friends and
family.

Thanksgiving, which is held in the United States on the fourth Thursday
of November, is one of the biggest travel holidays of the year. The
day is centered on a meal usually including turkey or ham, potatoes or
squash, stuffing, cranberry dressing, and pumpkin pie.President George Bush is spending the holiday at the Camp David presidential retreat outside of Washington, while his successor, President-elect Barack Obama is in Chicago.Thanksgiving feast shuttle astronauts will eat in space consists of green beans and mushrooms, candied yams, cranapple dessert, cornbread stuffing and smoked turkeyEven the astronausts and a cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station are marking the day. The U.S. space agency NASA says the crew of the orbiting outpost are dining today on a special freeze-dried meal of traditional foods. In addition to the feast, many Americans spend the day watching nationally televised events such as New York City's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, sponsored by Macy's department store, a national dog show, and football games.Friday after Thanksgiving is seen as the official start to the holiday-shopping season, with many stores offering big discounts and opening in the pre-dawn hours for the rush of shoppers.The United States has officially observed Thanksgiving since 1863, although the first Thanksgiving is believed to have taken place in 1621.That year, British colonists at the Plymouth settlement in what is now the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts held a feast with a Native American tribe the Wampanaog, who taught the colonists how to grow food and hunt for game in their new home.

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Obama: Top Priority Will Be Struggling US Economy

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US president-elect announces new member of economic team: former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, who has been nominated as chairman-designate of Economic Recovery Advisory Board
President-elect Barack Obama has left little doubt that the struggling U.S. economy will be his number one priority when he takes office on January 20. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.President-elect Barack Obama (r) with former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, chairman-designate of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, 26 Nov 2008On three consecutive days, Barack Obama held news conferences to announce members of his economic team, and to reassure the public that turning around the weakened economy was on the top of his presidential agenda."My first priority and my first job is to get us on the path of economic recovery, to create 2.5 million jobs and to provide relief to middle class families," he said.Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker says the president-elect's relentless focus on the economy is clearly by design."They may have initially planned to make their national security appointments first," he said. "But now it appears that they have moved the economic team to the head of the cue. So I think that really is a measure to reassure the public because so much of the problem involved with the economic crisis is psychological."Voters said the weak U.S. economy was the main issue in the presidential election, so Mr. Obama has little choice but to make economic revitalization his top priority, even before he is sworn in as president in January.But Mr. Obama made many other promises during the campaign, including promises to address energy, health care reform and climate change.Rutgers expert Ross Baker says action on some of those issues may have to wait. "The agenda of the president-elect has really been set by the economic crisis," he said. "Any newly elected president would have to do deal with this and it is certainly affecting many of his plans. I suspect that some of his efforts to curb greenhouse gases and so on may have to be set aside temporarily. I think that certainly his proposals on national health insurance may have to be postponed."Mr. Obama has moved quickly to put his economic team in place, as well as key members of his incoming White House staff.That has not always been the case with presidential transitions.For example, former President Bill Clinton got a late start on many of his appointments, and that caused him problems early in his first year as president."This incoming administration has done a wonderful job of studying the mistakes of the past and figuring out two things," said Bruce Buchanan, a presidential scholar at the University of Texas. "One, how important it is to have your plan ready to go, to take advantage of this brief window of opportunity to hit the ground running. The Obama team is now taking shape much earlier than either the Clinton or Carter teams did. And it also means that you need to involve the opposition party early in the deliberations."In the coming weeks, Mr. Obama is expected to announce his foreign policy and national security team, including some familiar faces.The current Defense secretary, Robert Gates, is reportedly willing to stay on in the new administration.Mr. Obama is also expected to name former Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.Bruce Buchanan says the Clinton choice is Mr. Obama's most surprising so far."It is risky," he said. "It is a bold move by Obama to attempt to work with someone against whom he fought so vigorously so recently. It's also a widely believed fact that the Clinton's represent not only great talent, but also great complexity and difficulty and ambitions of their own, and it's an open question whether Mrs. Clinton can subordinate herself to even a President Obama."There are plenty of precedents for appointing former political opponents to the cabinet.In 1824, President John Quincy Adams chose rival Henry Clay to be secretary of state.Following the election of 1860, President Abraham Lincoln reached out to several former opponents and included them in his cabinet, a feat documented by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin in her 2005 book entitled 'Team of Rivals'.It's a book Mr. Obama often cited during the 2008 campaign for the White House.

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Thai Government to Declare State of Emergency at Bangkok Airports

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Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's cabinet makes decision in effort to end People's Alliance for Democracy's occupation of airports
Thailand's Cabinet plans to declare a state of emergency around two Bangkok airports to end opposition blockades. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok the failure to break the political deadlock has led to increased fears of violence between pro and anti-government supporters. Thailand's Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat talks with reporters in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, 26 Nov 2008Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat's Cabinet made the decision to impose emergency law at the airports in a meeting Thursday in the northern city of Chiang Mai.Thousands of protestors led by the People's Alliance for Democracy occupy the international and domestic airports at Bangkok, halting all flights. Kudeb Saikrajang, a spokesman for the governing People's Power Party (PPP), says the plan is to create an emergency zone around the airports. The question, however, is whether security forces will enforce the decision. "The government has to order the law enforcement officers to do their duty to clear the area. But whether the law enforcement officers will do their duty by the order of the government - I don't know," Kudeb said. The PAD leaders ignored calls by the prime minister and the Thai army chief to end the occupation of the international airport, which began Tuesday, and the blockade of the domestic airfield, which started Thursday. The army chief also has called on the prime minister to dissolve parliament and call new elections, which Mr. Somchai says he will not do. Thousands of passengers have had travel plans disrupted. The Thai news media and members of the tourism industry have widely criticized the PAD. But PAD spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan says the occupation will continue until the prime minister resigns. Mr. Somchai rejects that demand, saying his government is democratically elected. "We don't worry about [the public backlash] because we follow the constitution - we still have a right to continue our rally peacefully. That is what we are doing - we are going to fight for," Parnthep said.The government also says the situation may force it to cancel the annual meeting of the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The meeting is to be held next month in Chiang Mai.The PAD's steadfast stance adds to fears of increasing clashes with government supporters. In recent days several small explosions have occurred in Bangkok and there have been sporadic battles between groups. Small blasts at a PAD compound in the city have killed two protesters and injured scores. Many political analysts and Thai citizens express fear that violence would push the military to step in, leading to widespread bloodshed or a takeover. The PAD accuses Mr. Somchai of acting as a proxy for his brother-in-law, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was ousted in a coup two years ago after being accused by the urban middle class of corruption and authoritarianism. Mr. Thaksin fled Thailand in August just before a court sentenced him to two years in jail for corruption. But he remains popular with the urban working class and in rural areas because of his populist economic policies.

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4 Killed in Car Bombing Near US Embassy in Kabul

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Mid-morning blast appears to target convoy of foreign troops at busy traffic circle
A suicide car bomb attack near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul has killed at
least 4 people and wounded 18 others. The mid-morning blast appeared to
target a convoy of foreign troops at a busy traffic circle. VOA's Barry
Newhouse reports from the Afghan capital.Afghan policeman near site of explosion in Kabul, 27 Nov 2008Witnesses at Kabul's
landmark Massoud traffic circle said the bomber was driving erratically
as he neared a convoy of foreign troops. This man says he was
standing near the road, when the bomber almost hit him. He says the
driver then hit three other cars and exploded. The Massoud
traffic circle is a busy intersection in an upscale area of Kabul that
contains foreign missions, international organizations and news
agencies. The U.S. Embassy is located about 200 meters away,
behind two heavily fortified checkpoints. The embassy was hosting a
Thanksgiving Holiday foot-race and some foreigners were arriving at the
time of the explosion.Interior Ministry spokesman Zamary
Bashary says officials believe the attacker was targeting the convoy of
international troops. "Prior to reaching the convoy, the
bomber who was sitting in a small vehicle, detonated the bombs that
were in the car and as a result of that unfortunately, a number of
civilians were killed and a number were injured," said Bashary.One bystander said most of the victims were city sanitation workers. President
Hamid Karzai condemned the blast, saying Afghans are fed up with such
attacks after 30 years of invasions and terrorism. Foreigners
in Kabul have been targeted in a string of recent kidnappings and
shootings. The city's last suicide attack occurred nearly a month ago
at the Afghan Culture Ministry, when three militants stormed the
building, killing five people.

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Somali Police Search for Kidnapped Foreign Journalists

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Unidentified gunmen abducted two European journalists Wednesday, after they reported on piracy in Boosaaso area
Police in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region of northern Somalia, are
searching for journalists who were kidnapped in the port city of
Boosaaso. As Derek Kilnerreports from VOA's East Africa bureau in
Nairobi, two European journalists, along with two Somalis, were
abducted on Wednesday, after reporting on piracy in the area.A
British reporter and a Spanish photographer were abducted by
unidentified gunmen as they left the International Village hotel in
Boosaaso, for their airport on Wednesday. The National Union of
Somali Journalists identified the men as Colin Freeman of the Daily
Telegraph newspaper, and photojournalist Jose Cendon, as well as two
Somali journalists who were acting as fixer and translator. The
journalists had been in Somalia for the past week, reporting on the
activities of pirates in the area and were preparing to leave the
country. Puntland's presidential media advisor, Bile Mohamoud
Qabowsade, told VOA that the journalists were traveling without armed
security guards.He said he had told the Somali fixers before
the journalists arrived that it would be difficult to guarantee the
journalists' safety without additional security. They had obtained
security guards but had let them go before traveling to the airport. He
said the police and other security services are working hard to locate
the journalists and secure their release.Foreign journalists
and aid workers have been prominent targets for kidnappers in Somalia,
who are generally looking for ransom payments. Over a dozen foreigners
have been abducted in Somalia this year, a particularly high figure
given that the number of foreigners operating in the country has
steadily declined over the past two years. Earlier this month, two
Italian nuns were kidnapped from a town on the border between Somalia
and Kenya.Puntland had long escaped much of the violence that
has plagued southern and central Somalia, but security has deteriorated
in the past year. Six people were killed in twin suicide bombings in
Bosasso in October.The hijacked Saudi-owned oil tanker MV Sirius Star is at anchor off the coast of Somalia, 19 Nov 2008 Meanwhile over 200 crew members - most of
them foreigners - are being held on hijacked ships off the coast of
Somalia. The seized vessels include a Saudi Arabian tanker carrying
over $100 million worth of oil, and a Ukrainian ship carrying over 30
military tanks.Security in Somalia has steadily declined since
the latest insurgency, pitting Islamist rebels against the struggling,
internationally-backed transitional government, and its Ethiopian
allies, began in January 2007.On Wednesday, the transitional
government signed an agreement to share power with a moderate Islamist
faction, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia. But the more
radical al-Shabab faction has rejected the deal and vowed to continue
fighting

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Arab Nations Call for Palestinian Reconciliation

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Ministers say Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should remain in power until deal reached between Hamas, Fatah
Arab League foreign ministers' emergency meeting at the League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, 26 Nov 2008 Arab governments are calling on rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah to work together toward reconciliation.Arab foreign ministers maintained their neutrality during a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday, aimed at resuming dialogue between the Palestinian groups.The two sides have been deeply divided since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah in 2007, leaving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party with authority only in the West Bank.Mr. Abbas has threatened to call elections early next year if the Palestinian factions do not reconcile by then. Hamas has rejected the plan, saying Mr. Abbas has no power to dissolve the current parliament in which Hamas has a large majority.The Arab ministers say the Palestinian president should remain in power until a deal is reached.The group also said Arab governments would send food and medicine into the Gaza Strip, which has been blockaded by Israel following recent cross-border rocket attacks and clashes.Earlier on Wednesday, officials said a Libyan boat loaded with 3,000 tons of food, medicine, and other supplies left the Libyan port of Zuwara and headed for Gaza.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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US-Based Habitat for Humanity Builds Homes for America's Poor

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Charity organization has built 300,000 houses with zero-interest mortgages - in effort to reduce poverty
Scores of volunteers continue to put up new homes, like these in Naples, Florida The U.S.-based charity, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 300,000 houses for low-income people around the world since the group was founded in 1976.

Habitat helps to construct homes and offers zero-interest financing for low income people, in an effort to reduce poverty.

VOA's Brian Wagner visited one fast-growing community built by Habitat in Florida.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Keep up with APEC coverage on our Global Economic Turmoil page. VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

Thai Army Chief Calls for New Elections

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General Anupong Paochinda orders protesters to leave airport, end campaign against prime minister
General Anupong Paojinda Thailand's army commander has urged the government of Prime Minister
Somchai Wongsawat to step aside and call a new election to resolve the
country's political crisis.Speaking Wednesday after a meeting
of military, government and business leaders, General Anupong Paojinda
denied he was staging a coup. He also ordered anti-government
protesters to leave Bangkok's international airport and to end their
campaign against the government.The prime minister's office and protest leaders quickly rejected the suggestions.People's
Alliance for Democracy leaders say they will not leave the Suvarnabhumi
international airport until Mr. Somchai steps down.Tensions
between the two sides continue to escalate. Police say a gang of
government supporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai shot dead an
anti-government activist on Wednesday.The incident occurred just before Mr. Somchai arrived at an airport in the northern city.Mr.
Somchai was originally expected to return to Thailand's international
airport from an overseas trip, but flew to Chiang Mai instead. PAD protesters took over the international airport on Tuesday after months of demonstrations, stranding thousands of travelers.Thailand's current crisis began over two years ago when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup.Elections late last year failed to resolve the situation when former allies of Mr. Thaksin were voted into office. Protesters accuse Mr. Somchai of being a proxy for his brother-in-law, Mr. Thaksin.Protests
in Thailand intensified on Monday when opposition supporters forced
parliament to delay a session by blocking access to the building. On
Tuesday, anti-government protesters chased down government supporters
on a major highway in the capital, Bangkok. At least 11 people were
wounded during the street fight, some with gunshot wounds.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Obama Expected to Name More Economic Advisors

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US president-elect will name Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head new economic advisory panel, announce new stimulus package that could cost as much as $500 billion
President-elect Barack Obama answers reporter's question during press conference in Chicago, 25 Nov 2008U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name more appointees to his economic team Wednesday.The Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that Mr. Obama will name former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head a new economic advisory panel.This week, Mr. Obama has already identified several people he wants to hold key economic posts in his administration, including his choice for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, and Congressional Budget Director, Peter Orszag.He has also announced plans for a new economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $500 billion, and which he hopes will create or save 2.5 million jobs over a two year period.

Bush administration to spend $800 billion to buy up debt linked to home mortgagesThe outgoing administration of President George Bush has also announced plans to spend up to $800 billion to buy debt linked to home mortgages, and to spur consumer lending. The U.S. Congress earlier approved a $700 billion bailout fund to help banks and other financial companies.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the new plan will encourage financial institutions to increase lending to consumers and small businesses.By buying mortgage-related debt, the government also hopes to provide relief to the ailing housing industry. A wave of home foreclosures and mortgage defaults triggered the current credit freeze and the broader economic slowdown.

Obama instructs economic team to curb government spendingMr. Obama is also proceeding with a plan to trim government spending. He said he will direct his economic team to go through the federal budget to find unnecessary or outdated government programs that can be eliminated to save costs.The President-elect has also said bank executives should do without annual bonus payments, to show they recognize the struggle that many Americans are going through because of the economic crisis.In an interview with ABC news scheduled to air later Wednesday, Mr. Obama said executives who are already worth tens of millions of dollars should show they are willing to make some sacrifices.The government has provided billions of dollars in recent months to help large financial companies.

Report finds reduction in Gross Domestic ProductNew reports will be issued Wednesday that will provide a glimpse into the state of U.S. manufacturing, consumer sentiment, employment and home sales.On Tuesday, a government report showed the measure of all goods and services produced in the United States (the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP) shrank by one-half of one percent between July and September. The report is one of the latest signs that the U.S. is facing a serious economic downturn.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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EU Unveils Economic Recovery Package

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European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso unveils package in Brussels as he urges EU countries to coordinate their economic recovery efforts
The European Union is urging EU member states to approve an ambitious $260-billion economic stimulus package.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, left, gestures while speaking during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday 26 Nov. 2008European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso unveiled the package today in Brussels as he urged EU countries to coordinate their economic recovery efforts. The proposals include extensions to welfare and unemployment benefits, tax cuts, and $6.5 billion to support the European auto industry.Most of the funding will come from national governments, and it remains to be seen whether member states will agree to the plan when they debate the proposals in December.Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that Britain will host the next G-20 meeting of key industrialized and developing nations in April. Mr. Brown said he had already spoken with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who confirmed he will attend the summit. The People's Bank of China Wednesday said it is slashing interest rates for the fourth time since September in an effort to boost economic growth. The bank said it will lower the key one-year lending rate by more than one percent and reduce the amount of money that banks must hold in reserves, in order to increase lending.Britain reported Wednesday that its economy shrank by one-half of one percent between July and September - its first decline in 16 years. The contraction coincided with a sharp drop in consumer spending.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Iraqi Parliament Delays Vote on Security Pact until Thursday

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New deal may allow US troops to remain in Iraq for additional three years
Iraq's speaker of parliament says lawmakers have delayed a vote on a long-awaited security pact with the United States until Thursday.Parliament Speaker al-Mashhadani (C) and pol. leaders discuss the security pact in Baghdad (file)The vote was scheduled Wednesday on the deal to allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq for another three years, but political factions have been wrangling over some of the conditions.Parliamentary speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani says he still believes there will be an agreement. He did not elaborate on the reasons for the delay.Iraqi Shi'ite and Kurdish parties are believed to have enough votes to secure narrow passage of the pact in the 275-member assembly. But they are urging parliament's main Sunni faction, the Iraqi Accordance Front, to back the deal to give it greater legitimacy. The Sunni faction is demanding political reforms giving it a greater say in political decisions. It also wants the security pact to be put to a national referendum.Members of the ruling Shi'ite coalition say they are willing to hold a national referendum on the security pact next year. Once approved, the security pact will replace the United Nations mandate for the U.S. military presence in Iraq. That mandate expires on December 31.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Israeli PM: Agreement Possible With Palestinians

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Ehud Olmert says two sides do not need months to make a decision on a peace agreement
Israel's prime minister says he believes he can reach agreement with the Palestinians on core peace issues soon, despite his limited time in office.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud OlmertEhud Olmert said in Washington Tuesday that the two sides do not need months to make a decision on a peace agreement. He was speaking a day after meeting with U.S. President George Bush, who helped to relaunch Middle East peace talks last year.Time is running out for both leaders, who said they wanted to conclude a Middle East peace deal by the end of this year. Mr. Bush leaves office on January 20, and Israel will elect Mr. Olmert's successor three weeks later.Israel again shut its borders with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to rocket attacks from the Hamas-run territory.Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Malki said he is very worried about the situation following Israel's frequent closures of the aid-dependent territory. Prime Minister Olmert denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.In other news, the human rights organization Yesh Din says the Israeli military filed charges against just six percent of Israeli soldiers accused of criminal offenses against Palestinians from late 2000 until 2007.In a report released Tuesday, the groups says more than 1,200 investigations were opened against military personnel, and only 78 of them resulted in charges being filed. Of those soldiers indicted, many were given sentences far from the maximum sentences permitted by law.Yesh Din says its report is based on information provided by the Israeli Defense Force.Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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Indian Navy Insists Destroyed Ship Was Controlled by Pirates

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But International Maritime Bureau backs claim of Thai fishing company that vessel was trawler that had been seized by pirates
India's navy says its warship, which sank a pirate-controlled vessel in the Gulf of Aden, had no indication the ship it encountered at sea may have been a Thai fishing boat with hostages on board. The owner of the Ekawat Nava 5 says the Indians should not have fired on the hijacked vessel, which may have claimed the lives of up to 15 fishermen. VOA correspondent Steve Herman has the story from New Delhi. In file photo made available by Indian navy, warship INS Tabar, right, escorts MV Jag Arnav to safety after rescuing it from hijack attempt by Somali piratesThe International Maritime Bureau is backing the claim of a Thai fishing company that the vessel destroyed by the Indian navy off Yemen was a trawler that had been seized by pirates. The IMB says one Thai fisherman died and 14 others are missing as a result of the maritime clash on November 18. India's navy is reiterating its claim that the vessel it encountered 285 nautical miles from shore was a "mother ship" of a group of pirates, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, who first fired upon the Indian naval ship Tabar. Indian Navy Lt. Commander Rajesh Nair tells VOA News the warship had no choice but to retaliate. "Any vessel, on challenging in international waters, is a threat. It being a pirate ship, it was acting as one and we had to fire upon them," he said.The navy spokesman says the crew of the Tabar saw no markings on the hostile vessel indicating it might have been a legitimate fishing vessel that had been seized. The owner of Sirichai Fisheries in Thailand, Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, tells VOA News he is angry that the Indian navy frigate did not try to search for and render aid to his men who were on the destroyed trawler, the Ekawat Nava 5."They have to accept that OK, they sank our boat by accident or mistake or whatever," he said. "And we'd like to ask them whether have they looked for the missing crew because they are humans. Even during war, if people survive, you have to help them no matter whether they're enemy or not." The IMB says other vessels in the area, including naval ships, were quickly notified that the Kiribati-registered boat, with a crew of 16, had been hijacked. A Cambodian survived and was rescued five days later by Yemeni fishermen. He told them one of his Thai colleagues had died at sea while they awaited rescue, but he did not know the fate of the others - some of whom may have been killed on board when the Indian navy opened fire.

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South Korean Officials Plan Exit from Joint Industry Zone in North

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Seoul bringing home at least six of its officials prior to border closure promised by North
North and South Korea are drawing a step closer to what some fear may
become the shutdown of a highly symbolic joint industrial project. As
VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, the South is bringing home at
least six of its officials prior to a border closure promised by the
North.Women workers sewing in Kaesong, North Korea South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun
says government officials will depart the Kaesong industrial park in
North Korea and return home this week.He says on Friday
afternoon, they will cross the military demarcation line separating the
two Koreas and "pull out" to the South.The Kaesong park, built
and managed by South Korea, is one of the centerpieces of the South's 10-year effort to engage the communist North peacefully with aid and
investment. However, North-South relations have steadily chilled since
conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in January and
tightened the no-strings-attached generosity of previous
administrations.Mr. Lee, whom the North labels a "traitor," has
made South Korean assistance more contingent on Pyongyang's cooperation
on key issues, such as getting rid of its nuclear weapons arsenal. This
week, the North suspended a tour program to Kaesong and halted daily
freight train service from the South. A separate tourism program to
the North's Mount Kumgang has been frozen since the North's military
shot a visiting South Korean housewife to death, then refused to
cooperate in an investigation of the incident. Pyongyang has warned it
will completely restrict border crossings by South Korea starting
Monday.South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-Joong (file photo)South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong told
lawmakers Wednesday he cannot rule out the complete shutdown of the
Kaesong industrial project. He says he views the possibility of a shutdown as unlikely - but one he cannot eliminate completely from consideration.Kim
adds, North Korea's latest decisions have nothing to do with a hardline
policy by South Korea. Rather, he says, North Korea is unwilling to
resume dialogue with South Korea.North Korea accuses the Lee
administration of failing to uphold previous North-South agreements
which promise the North billions of dollars in infrastructure
investments and aid. In a radio interview this week, the chairman of
President Lee's conservative ruling party described those agreements as
"impractical."North and South Korea are still planning to sit
down together next month at multinational talks aimed at ending North
Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities. Those talks also involve the
United States. U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said
Wednesday any attempt by Pyongyang to isolate South Korea from its
American ally would be unsuccessful.

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Botswana's Foreign Minister Says Mugabe Must Be Isolated

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Phandu Skelemani says neighboring African countries need to close their borders with Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe looks on during the opening plenary of the Southern African Development Community Extraordinary Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, 09 Nov 2008Botswana's foreign minister says the international community must isolate Zimbabwe to end the regime of President Robert Mugabe.In
an interview aired on British radio Wednesday, Phandu Skelemani also
said African countries need to close their borders with Zimbabwe.
Skelemani said President Mugabe could not stay in power if his
landlocked country was cut off from fuel for a week.Power-sharing
talks between Mr. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change have stalled since the sides signed a
basic agreement in September. The talks resumed in South Africa Tuesday, but MDC officials say they are pessimistic about reaching a final deal. The parties are divided over which will control key ministries in a proposed unity government.On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said an agreement is urgent in light of Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis. The
U.N. says more than 360 people have died and almost nine-thousand have
been infected in a cholera outbreak that began three months ago. Zimbabwe's
deputy health minister, Edwin Maguti, said Wednesday the situation is
"under control," and that there is no need to declare an emergency.
The deputy health minister blamed the cholera cases on sanctions
imposed by Western governments.Those sanctions are travel bans
and asset freezes aimed at individual government officials and Mugabe
allies. The United States sanctioned four more supporters of Mugabe on
Tuesday, saying they had helped the Zimbabwean leader undermine
democracy.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Teen Mega-Hit 'Twilight' Centers on Vampire Romance

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Movie is adapted from 2005 novel by Stephanie Meyer that began as series of four books
A moody romantic drama with more than a touch of the supernatural brings to the big screen the first in a series of romance novels enjoyed by teenaged girls around the world. Alan Silverman has this look at Twilight.Bella Swan and Edward Cullen feel an instant chemistry when they meet (appropriately enough) in their chemistry class at Forks High School in a rural corner of the American Pacific Northwest. Misty and rainy much of the year, the tiny town has the perfect climate for Edward and his 'family' who need to avoid sunlight. The Cullens are a clan of vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood in order to live in peace among mere mortals.Bella is mortal, but the love she and Edward share transcends that fundamental difference even though every moment they spend together puts her life at risk.Stephenie Meyer, right, on set of TwilightTwilight is adapted from the 2005 novel by Stephenie Meyer that began as a series of four books which, translated into 20 languages, have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide and built a huge, mostly teenaged, fan base, which still amazes author Meyer."I don't know why people respond to these books," Meyer says. "I know why I do because I wrote it for me. It is exactly what I wanted to read so, of course, I'm really hooked on it. For other people …it's kind of bizarre, actually."Meyer admits she is not especially fond of vampires, but with the success of the books and now the screen adaptation, she has a theory about the appeal.Scene from Twilight"You look at the monsters we scare ourselves with and most of them are disgusting and gruesome and covered in nasty things and we just want to get away from them," she notes. "They are just there to scare us. Then we've got vampires who are often beautiful and eternally youthful and rich and cultured and they live in castles. There are so many things that are ideals in our culture that we want that they have. So there is this double-edged sword: they are going to kill us and they are terrifying and yet we may even want to be one."Director Catherine Hardwicke, who has tapped into, perhaps, more realistic teenaged experiences in previous films including Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, believes Meyer's story reaches for something deep and romantic.Catherine Hardwicke on the set of Twilight"I think when you read the book if you let yourself go with it you get into this tale of obsessive love that is almost intoxicating …almost like you are on a drug," Hardwicke says. "I thought that would be interesting to create that world of just falling so deeply in love with somebody and that connection; and then you have this razor's edge of tension. You cannot go too far. You can't get too passionate or you'll end up in a pool of blood, dead. So that is pretty cool. There are so many layers that work to draw you into her storytelling."However, Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, says it was hard to speak some of the dialogue that reeks of so much passion on the page.Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight"You read it in a book through a girl's personal perspective and it works because that is how she experienced it; but to see it in real life, physically walking and talking and moving around, it doesn't work," Stewart explains. "There were times when I thought 'is this so stupid? Am I making a total fool of myself?' But I had to go through that to get to where I needed to be.""I like melodrama a lot and I don't think it's really done in the movies any more - these kind of operatic stories - and I really thought it was that," adds English actor Rob Pattinson, who co-stars as Edward. Pattinson says he knew his big challenge was to make a creature so often depicted as frightening into someone Bella - and the audience - can love.Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight"I was trying to humanize him as much as you can," he explains. "There is obviously the leap where you say, okay, if you get bitten by one of these guys then you live forever and you have all this kind of stuff; but I found once you know the fact of their existence it was quite easy to accept that and just say, okay, I have an unquenchable thirst for human blood and I never sleep and I'm going to live forever and I have super-strength and super-speed: how would I behave as a human from that point onwards? So I really didn't think about like playing a vampire. I just thought of the sum of its parts with the word 'vampire' on top. I didn't think about playing a vampire at all."To the legion of fans who love the novel so much: Kristin Stewart hopes they will embrace this interpretation."I care about the book just as much as they do," Stewart says. "I felt such a responsibility to the story and for the character, separate from what anybody else felt about it, and that drove me to do what I did. You project yourself onto her. Every girl who reads it experiences it through her. While you are reading the book you 'are' Bella, so there is really nothing right or wrong that I could have done."Twilight, with a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, also introduces many of the characters that play important roles in the subsequent books. So the material is ready if the success of this first film launches a series of Twilight sequels.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Keep up with APEC coverage on our Global Economic Turmoil page. VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

Global Financial Crisis Impacts China's Economic Growth

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World Bank cuts 2009 growth forecast for China to 7.5 percent - lowest point in nearly two decades
The World Bank says it expects China's economic growth will slow to its lowest point in nearly two decades - as the global financial crisis continues to take a toll on the world's fourth largest economy. Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing. Chinese worker walks past cargo waiting to be loaded onto trains at train station in Beijing (file photo)The World Bank is predicting China's economic growth rate for 2009 will slow to 7.5 percent. This number is nearly two points lower than China's expected growth rate for this year, of 9.4 percent. World Bank economist Louis Kuijs says China's downturn will worsen in the first half of next year largely because of weakening export demand. Although there is no way to make China fully immune, Kuijs says the Chinese government can take steps to help minimize the effects of the global crisis on the country. "We
are seeing a weak external sector, we're seeing a rather weak private
sector demand in general, but we are seeing a government that steps in
and that is trying to do everything it can to keep growth at a decent
rate, and has the financial means and, we would say, the administrative
capacity to make that happen," he said.China recently announced a multibillion dollar stimulus plan, which calls for injecting money into the economy through spending on construction, tax cuts, and aid to the poor and farmers. World Bank China representative David Dollar applauded the package, saying more spending on social programs and aid to the poor in the countryside should help boost growth. In a separate issue, Dollar said the lending agency and the Chinese government are in initial talks about providing financing for loans to other developing countries."The World Bank group is talking to China about ways in which it could contribute some additional financing of the World Bank group that will help developing countries," he said.The
World Bank forecast is in line with projections by investment banks,
which have cut their China outlook several times, as global conditions
worsen.

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US Economy Shrinks More Than First Thought

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Government report says GDP contracted by half a percent in third quarter - or two-tenths of a percent worse than first estimated
A mother and daughter shop for a Barbie at a Toys R Us store, in New York, 21 Nov 2008The world's largest economy shrank between July and September more than first thought.A government report Tuesday says a measure of all the goods and services produced in the United States shrank by half a percent in the third quarter. That is two-tenths of a percent worse than first estimated.Economists blame the shrinkage in the GDP on the sharpest fall in consumer spending in decades.Officials and investors watch consumer spending carefully because consumer demand drives about two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.To boost faltering spending, Washington has just announced a new loan program to help companies that issue credit cards, make student loans, and finance automobile purchases. The effort is also aimed at making more loan money available to home buyers.Also Tuesday President-elect Barack Obama is expected to announce more appointments to his team of economic advisers.On Monday, Mr. Obama nominated New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary. He also named Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to head the policy-making National Economic Council.Meanwhile, a leading international economics organization warns many of the world's major economies could soon suffer the worst recession since the 1980s.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is forecasting declines in the United States, Europe and Japan.The organization's chief economist, Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel, also says the number of unemployed across OECD member economies may rise by eight million.Also Tuesday the World Bank said it expects China's economic growth will slow next year to its lowest rate in nearly two decades. The bank today cut its 2009 growth forecast for China to 7.5 percent because of the global financial crisis, nearly two points lower than the expected rate for this year (9.4 percent). World Bank economist Louis Kuijs says China's downturn will worsen in the first half of next year because of weakening export demand.He says that while China cannot avoid the global financial crisis, it can take steps to minimize its impact on the country.China has already announced plans for a multibillion dollar stimulus plan to boost its economy. The plan calls for spending on construction, tax cuts and aid to the poor and farmers.On Monday, Britain announced its own economic stimulus package to combat the effects of the financial crisis there, while the United States said it could take more measures to repair its shattered financial system.Britain's finance minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, announced a $30-billion package to get people spending again.He also said Britain's economy could shrink by as much as 1.25 percent next year. The U.S. Treasury and U.S. central bank are expected to announce Tuesday a new lending program to make more financing available to American consumers.Asian markets soared Tuesday in reaction to the latest actions by treasury officials in the United States and Britain.

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Obama Announces Head of Domestic Policy Council

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Melody Barnes tapped to help shape incoming administration's economic and health care policy
President-elect Barack Obama has picked Melody Barnes to direct the White House Domestic Policy Council.Mr. Obama told reporters in Chicago that Barnes will be working hand-in-hand with the new administration's economic team to shape policy for the ailing U.S. economy. The president-elect said Barnes will also play an instrumental role in health care reform and work closely with the incoming secretary of Health and Human Services, reported to be former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle.Barnes has a lengthy background in public policy, including seven years as chief counsel to Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts on the Senate Judiciary Committee. She also served as executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning research institute. The center was formerly headed by John Podesta, who was chief of staff to former President Bill Clinton and now heads the Obama transition team.Mr. Obama called Barnes the "perfect fit" for the position, citing her experience on a variety of issues, and her dedication to finding solutions for middle class families.

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Efforts to Oust Thai Government Stalling Despite Mass Rallies

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Although government has taken soft approach to protesters, there are growing fears of violence
Efforts by anti-government protestors to force the administration of
Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to resign appear to be stalling.
Although the government has taken a soft approach to the protesters,
there are growing fears of violence. Ron Corben has this report from
Bangkok. Anti-government protesters take a rest outside Don Muang airport in Bangkok, 25 Nov 2008Opponents of the Thai government early Tuesday moved
their protest to the temporary government offices at an airport outside
Bangkok in their effort to force Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to
resign.The rallies, seen as a "final push" by the
anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD, on Monday
forced parliament to delay its session by blocking access to the
building. While the government has taken a hands-off approach
to the protests, there were reports Tuesday evening of shooting between
groups of government opponents and supporters. In addition, about 50
government supporters were seen rallying Tuesday, and blocking streets.
It is not clear if anyone has been injured.The PAD
accuses Mr. Somchai of trying to pass constitutional amendments to halt
corruption cases against his brother-in-law, former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat (l) speaks during press conference at Bangkok airport, 17 Oct 2008But Mr. Somchai, who has been in Peru for a
meeting of Asia Pacific leaders, dismisses the accusation. He
criticizes the PAD for leading a rebellion. Public support for
the PAD appears to waning. It has occupied a government administration
building since late August and its leaders say they want to prevent the
cabinet and parliament from conducting any business.Political
commentator and author Chris Baker says the PAD's confrontational
strategy makes the government appear to be defending democratic ideals.
"The PAD and the people behind them have time after time have
challenged the very basis of electoral democracy by actions such as
disrupting the parliament, by the coup, by wishing to get rid of
one-man-one vote. This has turned those who are opposing them - that is
the Thaksin forces - into the defenders of democracy - the simplest
form of democracy - so this has become a massive confrontation," said
Baker. Security forces have so far avoided any direct
confrontation with the PAD protests. Authorities seek to avoid a repeat
of a clash last month in which two people died and about 400 wounded.The
Thai army chief says the military will use "all necessary measures" to
avoid clashes by rival groups, and he rejects PAD calls for a coup.Thailand
has faced political uncertainty since 2005, when opponents of Mr.
Thaksin began protesting his government, accusing him of being corrupt
and authoritarian. He was ousted in a coup in 2006, but his supporters
were elected to power a year go. But Mr. Thaksin, who this
week has reportedly vowed to return to politics, maintains strong
support in rural areas and among the urban working class who support
his populist economic policies of low cost health care.

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Bin Laden's Driver Heads Home to Yemen

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Salim Hamdan cleared of more serious charge of being part of al-Qaida conspiracy to attack US; will serve remainder of sentence in Yemen
2008 file photograph of sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by U.S. Military, of defendant Salim Ahmed Hamdan U.S. media reports say Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, currently being held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, is being transferred to his home country of Yemen. A Guantanamo military jury in August sentenced Hamdan to five years and six months in prison for supporting terrorism. That sentence amounted to five months, taking into account time served.The media reports quote unnamed senior defense officials, who say Hamdan will serve the remainder of his sentence in Yemen. Hamdan was cleared of the more serious charge of being part of al-Qaida's conspiracy to attack the United States. A Pentagon spokesman did not deny or confirm the reports of the move. Meanwhile, a lawyer for 17 Chinese Muslims held in Guantanamo for seven years asked a federal court to release the men into the United States. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington blocked a federal judge's order of the immediate release of the men into the U.S. until a hearing on an appeal filed by the government.The United States has denied Beijing's requests to repatriate the men, saying they could be tortured if they are returned - a fear Beijing says is unfounded.China's Foreign Ministry says the men belong to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a separatist organization considered a terrorist group by China, The U.S. and the United Nations. The 17 detainees are Uighurs, a mostly Muslim minority group from China's far-western Xinjiang region. The men were cleared for release as early as 2003. But the Bush administration has not been able to find a third country willing to accept them.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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North-South Korea Contacts Wither as Border Closure Date Draws Near

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Two countries are negotiating details of reducing staff at joint industrial park located in North
North and South Korea are negotiating the details of reducing staff at a joint industrial park in North Korea. The talks are a possible prelude to closing the highly symbolic project altogether. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, North-South relations are experiencing their deepest chill in more than eight years.North Korean workers labor at South Korean shoe factory in inter-Korean industrial park at Kaesong ( Oct 2007 file photo)South Korea says it is giving North Korea information it has requested in order to tighten its border with the South.Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said Tuesday Seoul is talking to the North about the logistics of major staff reductions at a joint industrial project in the North Korean city of Kaesong. He says North Korea has asked for a list of those South Koreans who will be staying, and those who will be leaving, as well as a a list of vehicles that will stay behind.The Kaesong industrial park has been one of the symbolic centerpieces of South Korea's 10-year effort to engage the communist North through massive aid and investment. It employs more than 30,000 North Koreans as factory laborers producing basic goods like sneakers and cookware.Now, North Korea is expelling what it calls "unnecessary" South Korean managers of the Kaesong project. Pyongyang is also ordering staff reductions at a joint tourism zone at North Korea's Mount Kumgang - where operations have been frozen since July's deadly shooting of a South Korean housewife by North Korean soldiers. The moves are part of a phased plan leading to what North Korea says will be the complete sealing of the North-South border next week. On Monday, Pyongyang cancelled a South Korean tour program to Kaesong and prohibited border crossings by South Korean freight trains.Lee Myung-bak (file photo)North Korea blames the chill in relations on South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who took office in January. Mr. Lee put an end to the no-strings-attached funneling of billions of dollars in South Korean wealth to the North. He has demanded progress on several issues, including the fate of South Koreans possibly abducted to the North, and diplomatic efforts to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.North Korea has called President Lee a "traitor," and warns it will turn South Korea into "debris" if he does not fulfill North-South agreements which promise massive spending on the North.Pyongyang has also lambasted South Korea for failing to stop balloon-borne launches of leaflets into North Korean territory by South Korean civic groups. The leaflets are severely critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and contain sensitive information about his apparent recovery from a stroke.Park Sung-hak, a North Korean defector and one of the main planners of the launches, said Tuesday in Seoul the launches will continue.He says his group had actually decided to stop the launches in accordance with a request from the South Korean government. Now, however, in light of the the North's latest menacing actions, he says his group has no choice but to continue sending the leaflets.

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Opposition Gains Ground in Venezuela

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President Chavez's party wins control of 17 of 22 states, opposition's gain includes Venezuela's two most populous states Miranda and oil-rich Zulia
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's term limit proposal could face an increased challenge now that the opposition has made modest gains during Sunday's local elections. Zulia's Governor Manuel Rosales, left, celebrates with Zulia's governor-elect Plablo Perez after National Electoral Council announced results of elections, 24 Nov 2008Political analysts predict the opposition's improved influence will force Mr. Chavez to use a new strategy to get enough support for a law that would allow him to run for re-election in 2012 and beyond. In what is seen as a victory for the opposition, voters rejected ending term limits in a referendum last year. Analysts say opposition gains in Sunday's election might further indicate that voters do not want to end the restrictions. Venezuela's electoral agency says Sunday's voter turnout was 65 percent. Mr. Chavez's socialist party won control of 17 of the 22 states. Authorities say the opposition won the other five, including the country's two most populous - Miranda and oil-rich Zulia. In addition, the opposition won the mayor's seat in the capital, Caracas. Opposition candidates also won in Maracaibo, Venezuela's second biggest city and in Sucre municipality, once a base of support for Mr. Chavez. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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New Joint Project Explores Plan to Pipe Oil, Gas to India

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Petroleum officials from India, Turkey and Israel to meet in December to discuss plan that aims to use combination of pipelines and supertankers running between three countries
India, Turkey and Israel are exploring a plan to use a new route to pipe and ship oil and gas to India. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the proposed pipeline will give energy-hungry India easier access to the vast oil and gas supplies of Central Asia. Petroleum officials from India, Turkey and Israel will meet next month to discuss a project to transport oil and gas to India using a combination of pipelines and supertankers running between the three countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks on during luncheon meeting with members of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Bangalore, 24 Nov 2008The plan was discussed by Indian and Turkish officials during a five-day visit to India by Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Wrapping up the visit Monday, Mr. Erdogan told business leaders in Bangalore that the proposal will give India easier access to energy supplies from Central Asia and the Caspian region. The oil and gas will be carried via a pipeline from the Caspian region to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The supplies will then be taken via supertankers to Israel, fed into pipelines running to Israel's Eilat port, and finally make their way to India via the Red Sea.An analyst at the Indian Defense and Strategic Institute in New Delhi, Shebonti Ray Dadwal, says the proposed route carries many economic and political benefits for India. "It is going to be cheaper if the oil comes via the Red Sea, as the pipeline will allow it to," he explained. "I believe it is going to be four dollars a barrel cheaper to transport it through the pipeline. Also politically it will allow us to avoid the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz… In the event of a war that is going to be blocked. This is an alternative route." India is heavily dependant on oil imports, and worries that any instability in the Middle East region could disrupt supplies of oil to the country.Those concerns have prompted India to look for both alternative sources and alternative routes to ensure the smooth flow of its massive energy requirements. The new route via Turkey and Israel is being discussed at a time when there has been virtually no progress on a long-pending proposal to build a massive gas pipeline between Iran, Pakistan and India. India has been moving slowly on that project because of strong security concerns over much of the area that the pipeline will travel through. The United States has also strongly opposed the project.

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Civil Rights Groups Denounce Hate Crimes Against Hispanics

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Five national civil rights organizations hold a joint news conference in Washington
U.S. civil rights group are expressing outrage at what police say was a hate crime committed near New York City two weeks ago when a group of teenagers beat and stabbed to death an immigrant from Ecuador.Five national civil rights organizations held a joint news conference in Washington on Monday to denounce what they describe as an increase in hate crimes against Hispanic immigrants in the United States. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story from Washington.Marcelo Lucero came to the United States from Ecuador 16 years ago and worked at a dry cleaners in New York. On November 8, he was walking with a friend when he was surrounded and taunted with racial slurs by seven teenagers. His friend fled. The youths allegedly beat Lucero. Police say one of the teenagers stabbed Lucero in the chest, killing him. New York prosecutors say the teenagers regularly got together to hunt down and hurt Hispanic men for fun. A 17-year-old from the group has been charged with murder. The other six have been charged with gang assault and hate crimes. All seven have pleaded not guilty.The crime has unleashed outrage, with New Yorkers gathering several days later for a rally to protest the violence.Here in Washington on Monday, a number of prominent civil rights leaders held a news conference to call attention to the crime and incidents of hate speech in the United States.Civil rights leaders say the election of Barack Obama, who soon will be the nation's first African American president, sends a positive message about the progress that has been made in race relations. However, they say the election does not mean that racial problems have been resolved as the recent killing in New York illustrates.National Council of La Raza Janet Murguia is President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, the largest civil rights and advocacy group for Hispanics in the United States. She called the brutal murder of Marcelo Lucero a "wake up call for America"."Thankfully, hate did not win in this election," said Janet Murguia. "But unfortunately, hate still permeates in our society."FBI statistics show that attacks on Hispanics increased by more than 40 percent from 2003 to 2007. Experts says the increase might even be larger because many Hispanics who are in the country illegally shy away from going to the police to report crimes for fear of being deported. Civil rights advocates say some elected officials and talk radio and television hosts share part of the blame for creating a hostile climate by using anti-immigrant rhetoric. Marc Morial is President and CEO of the National Urban League, an organization dedicated to increasing opportunities for African Americans and other ethnic minorities. He says all of the nation's civil rights groups are standing together to try to put an end to the hate crimes. "We are unified in saying that whether that hate crime is directed at an African immigrant or a member of the Latino community or an African American, someone who is Asian or Jewish or Arab, it is the very same thing - it is a hate crime," said Marc Morial.Advocates say hate speech and hate mongering on the Internet has increased dramatically since Barack Obama was elected earlier this month. Some experts say it could be a backlash against what many view as a huge step forward for the country in overcoming racial prejudice and bigotry.

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Auction Recalls Hollywood Legend Steve McQueen

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Actor left legacy of dozens of Hollywood movies and many mementos, some of which are now in hands of movie fans
A recent auction of show business memorabilia recalled a time when Steve McQueen was one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Mike O'Sullivan spoke with McQueen's former wife about the mementos from her attic and her memories of the actor.Steve McQueen in scene from The Thomas Crown AffairA 2008 commemorative Ford Mustang inspired by McQueen's 1968 film Bullitt sold for $60,000. His U.S. passport sold for $9,000.The sale, at the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields, brought $19,000 for the shotgun the actor used in the film The Getaway. Steve McQueen was known for such movie hits as The Great Escape, an action-packed war film that featured McQueen making a dramatic escape from a German prison camp.In Le Mans, he portrayed a driver in the celebrated French auto race. McQueen was an avid racer and did many of his own driving scenes, deferring to his stuntman only when directors insisted. McQueen did much of the motorcycle riding for The Great Escape. Stuntman Bud Ekins took over to do a dramatic jump over a barbed wire fence. Ekins also did much of the wild driving through the streets of San Francisco in Bullitt, after filmmakers worried that the star might be injured. McQueen first gained fame on a weekly television series, playing a Western bounty hunter in the 1958 program Wanted: Dead or Alive. He went to act in such classic films as the star-studded Western The Magnificent Seven, and the disaster epic The Towering Inferno. McQueen's ex-wife, Neile Adams, got the idea for the sale of Hollywood mementos after she watched a DVD of The Thomas Crown Affair, the 1968 crime thriller starring McQueen and Faye Dunaway. In a romantic scene, they were drinking from brandy glasses."Something clicked in my head, and I said I have those somewhere," said Neile Adams. "And I ran downstairs to the basement and started rummaging around and there they were. Because Steve loved to walk off the set, if he liked something, he'd just walk off the set and he'd say, 'Look what I brought you, honey."Those glasses brought $3,200 at auction.The handgun that McQueen used to practice his cowboy quick draw sold for $6,000. Adams recalls it once gave her a good scare."And at that time, Westerns were very big," she said. "He used to just practice with that gun. And he thought it was empty, and I just was walking in from the grocery store. Well, he didn't realize that there was still a bullet in there. And I walked in and 'bam,' it went right through the grocery bag. And I dropped it and went on the floor. I said, 'Are you trying to kill me?'"McQueen always had his wild side. He had a troubled childhood and spent time in a California home for problem youngsters. That experience, and a later stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, instilled some discipline, and his good looks and natural talent would make him a movie icon. Adams has told the story in the book My Husband, My Friend. She recalls that the two met in New York City when he was a struggling actor and she was a Broadway dancer. They were married for 15 years before they divorced. But Adams says they remained good friends. She recalls the actor as funny and charming, but moody."You could take a dictionary, and every adjective would apply to him," she said. "He was charming. He was darling. He was adorable. He was a pain the neck. He was mean. He was everything."Steve McQueen's good looks, cool manner and strong presence on the screen brought him international fame. He left a legacy of dozens of Hollywood movies and many mementos, some of which are now in the hands of movie fans. He died of cancer in 1980 at the age of 50.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-24T09:59:00.001-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Keep up with APEC coverage on our Global Economic Turmoil page. VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

Bombings Kill at Least 19 in Iraqi Capital

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Dozens have also been injured in the two attacks that ripped through Baghdad Monday morning
Iraqi police say at least 19 people have been killed in two bombings in the capital, Baghdad. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo.An Iraqi woman cries out in pain as she is treated for burns after a bus bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, 24 Nov. 2008Iraqi police say at least a dozen employees of the Iraqi Trade Ministry were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a passenger bus transporting them to work.A second explosion took place less than an hour later, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a checkpoint leading into Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Five people, including two members of the Iraqi army, were killed in the blast. Officials say at least 12 people were wounded. In a third explosion, a roadside bomb apparently targeting an Iraqi police patrol reportedly killed one person and wounded five others.The Green Zone houses Iraq's parliament, the U.S. Embassy and several Iraqi government offices.Iraq's parliament has been debating a new military pact with the United States at quarters inside the Green Zone. Sargent Chris Stagner, a spokesman for U.S. military forces in Baghdad, called the acts a despicable attempt to strike fear into the hearts of Iraqis and negatively affect their quality of life.Iraqi security forces inspect the wreckage of a bus bombing in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, 24 Nov. 2008The bombing at the Green Zone checkpoint had by far the most political impact of the three explosions, with Iraqi intelligence services coming under attack at their heavily manned checkpoint, just dozens of meters from their headquarters.The last time the Green Zone came under attack was on October 7th, when two separate explosions, just outside the Zone wounded a handful of civilians and an Iraqi soldier.Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki says that a vote by parliament not to approve the new three-year U.S.-Iraqi military pact would have the undesired consequences of forcing coalition forces to withdraw at the end of their December 31 U.N. mandate.Mr. Maliki says that he is asking parliament to vote to approve the new U.S.-Iraqi military pact because the alternative, a sudden U.S. withdrawal, would have undesirable consequences and would probably not be in Iraq's best interests.The Iraqi parliament is scheduled to vote on the new military pact on Wednesday, amid attempts to obstruct approval by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and his 30-member parliamentary block, along with a coalition of Sunni Arab and secular groups.Analysts say attempts to postpone debate of the new accord could disrupt the process entirely, or force the debate to continue until year's end. They say the annual Islamic pilgrimage, or Haj, begins around December 7, and many top Iraqi politicians will leave for Saudi Arabia, soon, paralyzing all political business.

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Obama Names Choices for Top Economic Posts

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New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner named to lead the Treasury Department
President-elect Barack Obama, right, introduces Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner and Council of Economic Advisers Chair-designate Christina RomerU.S. President-elect Barack Obama has nominated New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner to lead the Treasury Department, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council, and Christina Romer to his Council of Economic Advisers.

Geithner has been deeply involved in the current administration's effort to rescue battered U.S. financial markets. Mr. Obama said Geithner has a "unique" insight into the crisis.

The president-elect said he is drawing his economic team from the "best minds in America" and credited Summers with good work in coping with previous international economic crises.

Mr. Obama said crafting an effective economic recovery plan is the new team's top priority. He called for a big stimulus package that will "jolt the economy back into shape" and said he intends to create two and a half million jobs.

The stimulus plan will be far larger than the one the Bush administration used to briefly boost the U.S. economy earlier this year, and much bigger than the $175 billion package Mr. Obama had proposed earlier.

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Pirates Holding Saudi Tanker Dismiss Islamist Threats

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Pirate leader tells VOA the supertanker Sirius Star remains anchored off the Somali coast, though residents of Haradhere tell VOA the pirates took the ship out of the area
The leader of a Somali pirate group holding a Saudi-owned supertanker carrying $100 million in oil has denied reports the group has moved the vessel away from the coast of the central Somali town of Haradhere, where it had been anchored for more than a week. Eyewitnesses said the pirates moved the ship after Islamist militants threatened to rescue the supertanker by force. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has this exclusive story from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi.

Click image to see larger mapSpeaking to VOA by satellite telephone aboard the hijacked supertanker, the pirate leader, who refuses to be identified, insisted the vessel is still anchored off the coast of El Gaan near the central Somali town of Haradhere.

The pirate said his group has not taken the tanker from the area and they are not concerned about being attacked by the al-Shabab or by any other Islamist group. He declined to confirm reports that his group may reduce the $25 million dollar ransom demand for the release of the tanker and its 25-member crew.

A resident in Haradhere, who wished to remain anonymous because of security concerns, told VOA the pirates took the ship and headed out to sea two days ago. That ship is very far from town now, the resident said. He added the pirates fled because they feared Islamist militias were preparing to mount an assault to free the ship.

The hijacked Saudi-owned oil tanker MV Sirius Star is at anchor off the coast of Somalia, 19 Nov 2008 On 15 November, pirates brazenly attacked the Saudi-owned Sirius Star, a 330-meter supertanker transporting two million barrels of crude to North America. The pirates captured the ship nearly 800 kilometers off shore as it sailed toward the Cape of Good Hope.

Somali Islamist groups waging an insurgency against the country's transitional federal government and its Ethiopian backers called the hijacking a crime against Islam and have demanded the immediate release of the tanker.

The condemnation is a show of unity from an Islamist movement that has split and is now largely divided between the Islamic Courts Union, which was ousted from power by Ethiopia with U.S. support in early 2006, and the far more radical Shabab group, once the military wing of the courts. It is listed as an al-Qaida-linked terror group by the United States.

There are unconfirmed reports that dozens of Islamic courts militiamen, who control Haradhere, stormed the port last Friday to hunt for the pirates.

Somali pirates have carried out dozens of successful hijackings of private yachts, bulk carriers, and freighters off the coast of Somalia this year, earning them tens of millions of dollars in ransom. Their activities have driven up shipping costs and insurance premiums, prompting navies from the United States, India, Russia, and several NATO countries to dispatch more warships to the area to safeguard global trade and commerce.

In the southern port city of Kismayo, the spokesman of the city's Shabab-led administration, Hassan Yacub, denies western allegations the militants are colluding with pirates and benefiting from ransom payments. He told VOA the Islamists will stamp out piracy if they regain power in Somalia.

The Shabab spokesman said an Islamist administration in Somalia would safeguard the waters off its coast, and said pirates who do not stop their activities would be dealt with severely.

In recent months, Islamists have re-captured most of southern and central Somalia and are closing in on the Somali capital Mogadishu. There were hardly any acts of piracy during the six months the Islamic Courts Union was in power in 2006. Under Islamic law, piracy is punishable by death.

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Dozens of Rebels, Troops Killed in Sri Lanka Fighting

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Officials say 120 rebels, 27 soldiers were killed and 80 rebels, 70 soldiers wounded
Sri Lankan soldiers patrol in a railway station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 23 Nov 2008Heavy fighting rages on in Sri Lanka's rebel-held north as the military continues its campaign to push the Tamil Tigers from the area.Defense officials say Monday 120 rebels were killed and 80 wounded during clashes Sunday near the Tiger's political capital of Kilinochchi.The pro-rebel Web site TamilNet reports that 43 government soldiers were killed. However, military officials say 27 soldiers died and 70 were wounded. It is not possible to confirm the military or rebels' claims in Sri Lanka's civil war because journalists are banned from traveling to the conflict zone.The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 to create an independent state in Sri Lanka's north and east. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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Protests Force Government to Postpone Parliament Meeting in Bangkok

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Protesters blocked building's gates in effort to prevent lawmakers from holding session on constitutional amendment
Thailand's opposition has called on the government to open talks with anti-government protesters, in a bid to ease political tension after a major rally outside parliament prevented a joint house meeting from taking place. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, the rally that drew tens of thousands opposing the government went off peacefully, after police and security forces allowed it to proceed.Thai riot police officers confront anti-government protesters during a mass rally in Bangkok, Thailand Monday, 24 Nov. 2008A rally by tens of thousands of anti-government protesters surrounded parliament in the Thai capital, Monday, leading the house speaker to postpone a joint session aimed at passing key legislation. By mid-morning speakers from the People's Alliance for Democracy or PAD, triumphantly told supporters the government was unable to hold the meeting. Electrical power supplies had been cut to the parliament building.The PAD has laid siege to a government administrative building since late August, in a bid overthrow the government, which it claims to be a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Early Monday, police allowed the tens of thousands of demonstrators to gather outside the parliament. The peaceful nature of the rally stood in contrast to a similar protest in early October, when security forces opened fire with tear gas and two people died and some 400 others were injured.Elsewhere Monday, hundreds of anti-government protesters blocked access to the Metropolitan Police headquarters and other key ministries.Chris Baker, an author and commentator on Thai politics, says, despite the absence of violence, the outlook remains uncertain, with both pro- and anti-government sides looking to a "trial of strength" in numbers to win public support. He says the PAD's strategy had been to concentrate on what he calls "symbolic targets." "This is quiet a clever strategic move, to concentrate when forces (the PAD has) on key symbolic targets in the capital," Baker said. "Obviously, particularly first government house, now the parliament. So it's really come down to this trial of strength about what forces you can put on the streets and public places. Where this ends, God only knows."The rally comes as pro-government rallies have been staged, in recent weeks -- also drawing tens of thousands of supporters -- calling for a return to power of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The PAD says it fears the government is looking to pass key constitutional amendments to halt investigations and court proceedings against Thaksin, his family and supporters.Last month, judges found Thaksin violated conflict-of-interest laws in 2003 when his wife purchased land from a government fund. They sentenced him to a two-year jail term. But, despite the back-down by the government, tensions remains high. In recent days, grenade attacks on the PAD's stronghold at the government house compound have left two people dead and more than 20 others injured. The opposition Democrat Party has called on the government and the opposition to start talks. Party Spokesman Buranaj Samutharak says the government must give assurances the constitutional amendments will not proceed, at the present time. "It is incumbent in order for the negotiations -- if they were to take place and proceed. The government needs to unequivocally give its word or action that the constitutional amendment motion would not be part of any parliamentary session," Buranaj said. Thailand remains deeply politically divided. The PAD has proposed "new politics," with parliament being made up of elected and appointed representatives, a move seen as disenfranchising many voters in rural areas.But the urban middle class has accused Thaksin of authoritarianism, as well as threatening the role of independent institutions, including the judiciary.Thaksin remains strongly popular -- especially among the urban working class and in key north eastern rural areas, where his grassroots support was built on populist economic policies, such as low-cost health care and cheap loans for development.

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North Korea Shuts Down City Tour

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Many South Koreans fear shutdown of joint industrial park will happen in near future
North Korea has taken more steps to restrict crossing of its border by South Koreans, warning it may soon sever contacts with the South, completely. As VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, the latest steps involve tourism and freight trains, but many South Koreans fear the shutdown of a joint North-South industrial park is in the near future.South Korean tourists listen to North Korean guide, right, during visit to Kaesong, 22 Nov 2008North Korea says it is serious about a warning it issued this month to further restrict crossings of its border by South Koreans on the first of next month.South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun says Pyongyang took several major steps Monday to restrict border crossings.He says North Korea is suspending a tour program operated by South Korea to the Northern city, Kaesong. Daily railroad crossings by South Korean freight trains are also to be curtailed.North and South Korea have remained technically at war for 55 years. A 1953 armistice, signed three years after North Korea invaded the South, has maintained a fragile peace along their heavily fortified border.An historic 2000 North-South summit warmed ties and opened floodgates on a wide range of aid and economic cooperation projects funded by the South. The two showpieces of the South's engagement efforts were a joint tourism zone at the North's Mount Kumgang and an industrial park near Kaesong.The Kumgang project was suspended after North Korea's military shot an unarmed South Korean tourist to death in July, then refused to cooperate in an investigation. North Korea says it will partially expel staff from both the Kaesong and Kumgang zones.Spokesman Kim quotes a North Korean official who says it is up to South Korea whether Kumgang's operations resume.North Korea's public disposition toward the South has markably worsened since the January inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. His election ended ten years of liberal presidencies that were criticized for policies toward North Korea that were overly generous and one-sided.North Korea has repeatedly referred to Mr. Lee as a "traitor" and threatened to turn South Korea into "debris" unless he continues on his predecessors' policies.The next major freeze in North-South relations may come on December 1 - when North Korea has vowed to seal off the inter-Korean border completely. Analysts say that would effectively put an end to the Kaesong industrial park.

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Chavez Allies Win Majority in Venezuela Local Elections

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Opposition makes important gains
Hugo ChavezVenezuela election officials say President Hugo Chavez's allies won a majority in Sunday's election, while the opposition made important gains. The electoral agency says that voter turnout was 65 percent for the fiercely contested election. Mr. Chavez's socialist party won control of 17 of the country's 22 states. Authorities say the opposition won the other five, including the country's two most populous -- Miranda and oil-rich Zulia. Election officials say the Caracas mayor's office shifted from a supporter of the president to the opposition. Mr. Chavez's brother, Adan, won a tight race to succeed their father as governor in the president's home state of Barinas. Twenty-two governorships and more than 300 mayoral posts were at stake in the vote. Turnout was heavy Sunday. Lines snaked around some polling place hours after closing time. In the last regional vote four years ago, Mr. Chavez's allies won all but two of the 22 states. But analysts had predicted a smaller win this year as voters' main concerns are high crime rates, inflation and government corruption.Last year, Mr. Chavez lost a referendum that would have allowed him to seek re-election indefinitely. As he campaigned for his fellow party members, he said Sunday's vote could decide the future of socialism as well as the future of Hugo Chavez.President Chavez has been in office since 1999.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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Revising TV Ads To Relay Anti-Smoking Message

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Study shows how viewers react to ads
In November, the American Cancer Society sets aside a day it calls "The Great American Smokeout". The smokeout is designed to encourage smokers to quit for one day. In addition to the smokeout, researchers have been trying to find a more effective way of discouraging people from using tobacco products. In this report, Carol Pearson looks at the effect of anti-tobacco ads.

Some of the ads use disturbing images to play on young people's fears of contracting a tobacco-related diseaseAnti-tobacco commercials have been around on television for decades. Their purpose is simple: to encourage people to quit smoking or not ever start.

Some of these ads, directed at young people, use disturbing images or play on their fears of contracting a tobacco-related disease. Researchers at the University of Missouri looked at how viewers of these ads absorb the message. Paul Bolls and fellow researcher Glenn Leshner at the University of Missouri studied the effects of repulsive images in the ads watched by young people.By attaching electrodes to their facial muscles and monitoring their heart rates, they measured their responses."The combination of telling individuals that tobacco kills you and trying to intensify that fear with disgust-evoking images backfires," Bolls said.The study took place at the university laboratory which evaluates the effect that information portrayed in the media has on people.

By attaching electrodes to their facial muscles and monitoring their heart rates, the researchers measured their responses"What happens in this case I think is that emotional response is increased so much that people actually withdraw from the message, so anything really that occurs after the point at which they withdraw is not going to be remembered."The researchers found that the viewer's attention and recollection increased when the ad was limited to either a repulsive image or something that evoked fear. Ads that had a combination of both were overwhelming.

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Putting Leftovers to Work for The Homeless

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DC Central Kitchen recycles food to combat hunger and create jobs
Robert Egger used to manage a night club. But 20 years ago, he created a kitchen in Washington DC that feeds the hungry. DC Central Kitchen collects food that otherwise would go to waste and turns it into nutritious meals for the homeless. VOA's June Soh takes you there and reports on how founder Robert Egger also creates opportunities for the underprivileged.Robert Egger founded D.C. Central Kitchen 20 years ago.In a bustling kitchen in Washington, D.C., two tons of surplus or leftover food are reprocessed every day. About 4,500 meals are prepared and distributed to homeless shelters, drug treatment and senior citizen centers in the DC area.Robert Egger founded D.C. Central Kitchen 20 years ago. He was a night club manager when the idea for the kitchen came to him. He had volunteered one night to deliver food to the homeless. "I went out and asked simply where did food come from," Egger said. "And I found that was purchased. And I kept thinking, I was working in restaurants all my life. We throw away a lot of food. That is good food. If they go get that food, they would probably feed more people better food."Soon after, D.C. Central Kitchen was born. The kitchen retrieves unused meats, vegetables and other ingredients and makes complete meals from them.

The kitchen retrieves unused meats, vegetables and other ingredients and makes complete meals from them"Every single day we have refrigerated trucks go out to restaurants, hotels, hospitals, universities and safely pick up the food that they have left over," said Egger.The kitchen also runs cooking classes, on site. Egger said that the classes are for "unemployed men and women, men and women out of prison, older people who need new work. We offer a chance during a course of 12 week job training program to learn basic skills." Many of the students used to receive free food. Now, while they learn to cook, they work in the kitchen, contributing to the community. Michael Robb was a drug dealer. He is also the father of two young daughters. He completed the culinary program two years ago. "I learned how to make an honest living," Robb said. "It means a whole bunch to me. This education is my family." The kitchen also uses volunteers. Each year, about 8,000 people help out.

Each year, about 8,000 volunteers help out the kitchenCourtney Raneri is a student at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She and other Gettysburg students came during school break." It is a great experience," Raneri said. " I am part of this because I think it is a great cause and a great organization." Twenty years later, DC Central Kitchen is prominent. Egger often receives visitors from across the country and overseas: Today, it's from India."They are interested in something a little bit different from charity," Egger said. Egger's childhood dream was to own a great night club. He says the kitchen is like a club. It helps people with food instead of music. "It is a really exciting place," Egger added. "I don't think I could ever work anywhere else."

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Australian Volunteers Rescue 11 Beached Whales, But Many More Die

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Fifty three of the large marine mammals died when they were caught unexpectedly in shallow water and pushed towards the shores of Tasmania
Australian scientists are using satellite technology to track 11 whales that survived a mass stranding in the southern state of Tasmania over the weekend. The long-finned pilot whales were the only survivors of a pod of 64 found beached near the small town of Stanley. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.A veterinarian from Taronga Zoo, left, prepares a syringe and sedative for the abandoned and lost baby humpback whale front, at the Pittwater in Sydney, Australia (File) Volunteers spent the weekend tending to the stranded whales, which had beached themselves near Stanley on Tasmania's north-west coast. Fifty-three of the large marine mammals died but rescuers did manage to save 11 others.They were taken back into deeper water. Tracking devices the size of a matchbox were attached to the dorsal fin of five long-finned pilot whales.The devices show the whales have been swimming freely in open seas in Bass Strait, the large body of water that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland.Scientist Rosemary Gales hopes the global positioning technology will last."That is a little bit of an unknown because we haven't done this before. It partly depends on how often the fin, the dorsal fin is out of the water because it can only transmit out of the water and then that in turn has an effect on its battery life. But we are hoping several weeks at this point," said Gales.Volunteers spent hours in the cold sea water helping the whales before the survivors were transported by road to another beach and released.The rescue was co-ordinated by national park ranger Chris Arthur, who says it was a fantastic effort by people who were eager to help."They gave up a weekend. People got sunburnt. People got engaged with these animals and it is new technology and it is a new experience to actually know that the effort that people have put in is successful and we will just monitor it and see where we go," said Arthur.Tasmania is a notorious whale trap. Eighty percent of Australia's whale strandings happen there. Researchers are baffled as to why the whales swim ashore. Scientists believe the latest case near the town of Stanley was simply an accident and that the whales were caught unexpectedly in shallow water and were pushed towards the shore by the tide.Pilot whales are among the smaller whales, growing up to about five meters in length.Early examinations of the dead animals have shown no sign of disease. Further tests will be carried out and the whales will be buried on Tuesday at the beach where they washed ashore.

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Your VOANews.com Headlines (UTF-8)

2008-11-23T10:21:00.001-08:00

Five years after Georgia's Rose Revolution and weeks after the Russian-Georgian War, correspondent Sonja Pace visited the Caucasus nation to check on Georgia: Beyond the War. Our special report includes video, an interactive timeline, slideshows and more. Keep up with APEC coverage on our Global Economic Turmoil page. VOANews.com, with its new community site USAVotes2008.com, will continue to provide you with coverage on the transition from President Bush to President Obama.

APEC Defends Free Trade Stand at Summit in Peru

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Leaders from across Pacific Rim denounce protectionism
Pacific Rim leaders are endorsing steps they hope will increase trade and boost the ailing global economy. VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson reports from the Asia Pacific summit in Lima, Peru.Soldiers fold the Peruvian flag at the end of the first day of the meeting of heads of state of the APEC summit in LimaLeaders from across the Pacific Rim - which accounts for roughly half of the world economy - are declaring war on protectionism.They say for the next year - no matter how bad things get - they will refrain from raising any new barriers to trade and investment.In a joint declaration, the 21 members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum also pledged to push for revival of world trade negotiations that collapsed in July. Throughout this summit, leader after leader has warned of the perils of protectionism.In a speech to a meeting of corporate executives - held concurrently with the summit of presidents and prime ministers - U.S. President George Bush warned of a pending disaster if the nations of the world respond to the global financial crisis by turning inward. He invoked the turmoil of the economic depression that began in 1929. "One of the enduring lessons of the Great Depression is that global protectionism is a path to global economic ruin," he said.In taking these steps, APEC leaders endorsed the principles outlined last weekend at a meeting in Washington of the world's 20 largest industrial and emerging economies.Nine of the Pacific Rim leaders now in Lima attended the Washington gathering - including Russian President Dmitri Medvedev.When the formal APEC discussions ended Saturday, he sat down for a one-on-one meeting with President Bush. It was their first such encounter since Russia invaded Georgia in August.Neither man mentioned Georgia in brief comments to reporters. Instead, they talked about the nature of the U.S. Russia relationship. President Bush spoke first. "We have had our agreements. We have had our disagreements. I have tried to work hard to make it a cordial relationship, though, so that when we need to work together we can and when we disagree we are able to do so in a way that is respectful to our two nations," he said.The Russian president struck a similar chord. He too spoke of differences and agreements, stressing the importance of continued dialogue.White House Press Secretary Dana Perino later described their talks as cordial, but honest. She said they discussed their differences on Georgia, and the need to work together on Iran. Earlier in the day, Mr. Bush met behind closed doors with the President of South Korea and the Prime Minister of Japan - talks that focused on North Korea's nuclear ambitions.Perino said everyone involved in the six-party talks with North Korea has agreed to resume negotiations in early December. She said a specific date would be announced by China, the host country for the talks with Pyongyang.

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Obama Aide: President-Elect Will Move Fast on Economy

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In his Democratic address Saturday, Mr. Obama said his plan would involve rebuilding roads and bridges, modernizing schools, and developing alternative energy sources
A senior aide to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama says the next administration is committed to getting an economic recovery package implemented as soon as possible.Appearing on Sunday morning U.S. talk shows, David Axelrod said Mr. Obama wants to work with lawmakers on his plan immediately after taking office January 20.A U.S. Secret Service agent, right, holds the door open for President-elect Barack Obama In his Democratic address Saturday, Mr. Obama said his plan would involve rebuilding roads and bridges, modernizing schools, and developing alternative energy sources. He also said he hoped to create or save 2.5 million jobs by January of 2011.On Monday, the president-elect is expected to officially announce leaders of his economic team. Transition officials say this will include Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary.Geithner, a Treasury official during the Clinton administration, is president of the New York Federal Reserve.U.S. stocks rose sharply Friday after it was widely reported he would likely become treasury secretary. Geithner is one of the top central bank officials who set U.S. interest rate policy and made other decisions aimed at keeping inflation and unemployment in check. President-elect Obama also is expected to name Lawrence Summers as director of the White House National Economic Council.Summers, a former Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, will advise Mr. Obama in the White House. He is a former Harvard University president and has also served as the chief economist of the World Bank.

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Obama, Karzai Discuss Improving Afghan Security

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Afghan President's office released statement Sunday saying Mr. Obama pledged in a phone call Saturday to bolster US efforts to fight terrorism and improve security in the region
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has spoken with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama about the effort to improve security in Afghanistan next year. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Kabul the conversation is the first between the two leaders since Mr. Obama won the presidential election.Hamid Karzai (file)President Karzai's office released a statement Sunday saying Mr. Obama pledged to increase the U.S. commitment to fighting terrorism and improving security in the region. Mr. Obama has long advocated boosting U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan by drawing down U.S. forces in Iraq. The top U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, said last week he does not currently have enough troops to provide security in parts of the country. He urged Mr. Obama to speed the deployment of as many as 20,000 additional troops after he takes office. The first additional U.S. brigade, numbering between 3,500 and four-thousand troops, is scheduled to arrive in January. U.S. Spokesman Colonel Greg Julian says those forces are headed to eastern Afghanistan, an area the military calls R.C. East, which has seen a surge in Taliban attacks this year. "They are going to move into areas that are currently not covered. We do not have enough forces to cover all of R.C. East, so they will be separated into areas where there are no existing forces," Julian said. The harsh Afghan winter usually brings a lull in fighting, but U.S. and NATO forces say they plan to keep pressure on Taliban fighters during the coming months.Commanders say they are re-training all Afghan border police in eastern Afghanistan and building 165 new posts along the so-called Durand Line that serves as a de-facto border. NATO Spokesman Brigadier General Richard Blanchette says forces are also improving cooperation with Pakistani forces through a joint-mission called Operation Lionheart that targets militants in Afghanistan's Kunar province and Pakistan's Bajaur tribal region. "In this clearing operation, Pakistani forces in Pakistan and Afghan and ISAF forces in Afghan are coordinating operations along the border applying pressure to any insurgents attempting to cross into or out of Bajaur," Blanchette said.During his presidential campaign, president-elect Obama criticized President Karzai's government, saying it should work harder, and address corruption and the massive opium trade. Following Mr. Obama's election win, Mr. Karzai also had strong words for the president-elect, demanding he end Afghan civilian casualties and focus on militant sanctuaries outside Afghanistan. Sunday's statement from President Karzai's office did not say if the two discussed the criticisms.

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Abbas May Call for Palestinian Elections

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says if the dialogue does not succeed, he will call for elections early next year
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he may call early parliamentary and presidential elections if a reconciliation deal is not reached between his Fatah faction and its rival, Hamas.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (File)Mr. Abbas says if the dialogue does not succeed, he will call for elections early next year. The Palestinian leader made the comments to a meeting of his Palestine Liberation Organization Sunday in Ramallah.On Saturday, Mr. Abbas urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama to support an Arab peace plan that offers Israel recognition in exchange for a withdrawal from occupied lands.The Arab peace initiative was first proposed in 2002 by dozens of Arab countries who do not have ties to Israel. Egypt and Jordan are currently the only countries that recognize Israel.Mr. Abbas said under the plan, Israel would live in a "sea of peace" with the Arab world, instead of in an "island of peace." He made the remarks Saturday during a conference in the West Bank city of Nablus.The Palestinian leader's party recently ran Hebrew-language ads in Israeli newspapers to promote the peace proposal. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has welcomed the plan as a positive gesture, but says changes are needed on the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.In another development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said members of the international Middle East quartet (which consists of the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union) may meet to discuss the peace process before the year's end. He made the comments Saturday after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Thai Protesters Mass for Final Push to Topple Government

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Leaders of the protest group, which calls itself the People's Alliance for Democracy, hope for 100,000 demonstrators to turn out
Thousands of anti-government protesters have gathered in the Thai capital of Bangkok to prepare for what they say will be the "final battle" in their push to topple the government.Anti-government protesters set up a tent on the road during a rally outside Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, 23 Nov. 2008Supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) began massing Sunday outside the prime minister's office compound. Leaders of the group say they hope around 100,000 demonstrators will take part in a march on parliament Monday morning to disrupt a scheduled session of lawmakers.Meanwhile, police made their own preparations. Local television showed police manning steel barricades and trucks with water cannons. At least 2,000 government troops are on standby in case street battles break out in front of parliament.Several thousand government supporters held a counter-protest Sunday at a temple on the outskirts of Bangkok.The PAD has camped on the grounds of Government House since August, demanding that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resign. The protesters accuse him of being a proxy for his brother-in-law, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006 for alleged corruption.Eight of the protesters were injured in a pre-dawn grenade attack Saturday outside the prime minister's office compound. On Thursday, a grenade attack on the grounds of the compound killed one protester and injured 23 others. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and protesters have refused to allow police to enter the compound to investigate the incidents.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Calm in Guinea-Bissau After Attack on President's Home

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Military and government sources in the West African country say a group of soldiers fired on the president's home in the capital, Bissau, early Sunday
Officials in Guinea-Bissau say the situation is "under control" after an overnight attack on the home of President Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira.Military and government sources in the West African country say a group of soldiers fired on the president's home in the capital, Bissau, early Sunday. Witnesses say a gun battle between attackers and security guards lasted several hours before calm was restored.Officials say at least one person was killed in the fighting, and several others wounded.There has been no official word on the status of Mr. Vieira, though a Portuguese news agency (Lusa) quotes a diplomatic source as saying "the president is fine."Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade says Mr. Vieira called him during the attack. Mr. Wade, who described the attack as a mutiny, says he offered to fly the Guinea-Bissau president out of the country but that Mr. Vieira refused. The African Union has expressed concern at the situation. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping issued a statement saying the AU rejects any unlawful change of government, and condemns any attempt to seize power by force.Mr. Vieira was elected president of Guinea-Bissau in 2005. He previously ruled the country from 1980 to 1999, with the backing of the military.The attack comes a week after parliamentary elections in Guinea-Bissau. Preliminary results showed a party led by a Vieira ally doing poorly, while, the former ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won a strong majority of seats.Guinea-Bissau has experienced considerable unrest since winning independence from Portugal in 1974. Mr. Vieira withstood several coup attempts during his earlier rule before being ousted in 1999. His successor, Kumba Yala was toppled in a 2003 military coup. Experts say that in recent years, the country has also become a prime conduit for drug trafficking.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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Second Phase of Elections Held in Indian-Controlled Kashmir

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Heavy troop deployment prevents an election-boycott march called by Kashmiri separatists
The second phase of polling for the legislative assembly in Indian-administered Kashmir were held today amid heavy security arrangements. The polls that began on November 17 will be held in seven phases through December 24.Kashmiri women wait to cast their vote outside a polling station in Lar, India, 23 Nov 2008It was yet another day of an undeclared curfew in Srinagar and major towns of Indian-administered Kashmir. Heavy deployment of troops prevented people from coming out in response to an election-boycott march called by Kashmiri separatists. In Ganderbal and Kangan constituencies voting picked up early. There were lesser crowds than seen in the first phase, but despite the boycott call by separatists many people voted.Mehraj-uddin was waiting for his turn to vote in a long line in Watlar village of Ganderbal district. He says the village has remained very backward in the past six years, and voters came out to choose a candidate who would bring some development to the area.Apart from Kangan and Ganderbal, four constituencies of Jammu province also voted. Officials said 40 percent voting was recorded until afternoon. At some places like Kurhama in Ganderbal district, anti- election protesters clashed with police and raised pro-freedom slogans.The protesters accused police and troops of barging into their houses and beating residents.The protesters chanted, "We want only freedom. We are boycotting the polls. We will not vote at any cost." The separatist alliance, All Parties Hurriyat Conference, said authorities were using undemocratic means to suppress poll-boycott campaigns. Authorities have detained more than two dozen separatists in recent weeks, some of them under the infamous Public Safety Act, which allows detention up to two years without trial. Calls for separatist marches or protests are met by undeclared curfews.Saturday, police shot dead two anti-election election protesters in Baramulla, fueling further protests.Kashmir has seen some of the biggest pro-freedom demonstrations in the past few months.

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Venezuelans Vote in Critical Local Elections

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President Hugo Chavez faces a critical test of his grip on power in the elections
Hugo Chavez (file photo)Venezuelans are voting in state and municipal elections Sunday.President Hugo Chavez faces a critical test of his grip on power in the elections. Mr. Chavez say he needs his allies to win in key states in order to continue to build a socialist nation.He has threatened to cut off funds, or even deploy tanks, in areas the opposition wins. Mr. Chavez's ex-wife and brother are among the opposition candidates. The elections come a year after Mr. Chavez suffered a defeat of a referendum that would have allowed him to seek re-election indefinitely. Mr. Chavez has been in office since 1999.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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Dalai Lama Satisfied with Tibetans' Preference to Continue with Autonomy Push

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Tibetan spiritual leader says he is pleased Tibetan leaders in exile have agreed to continue to pursue what is called the "middle way" of seeking greater autonomy for Tibet rather than independence from China
The Dalai Lama says he is pleased Tibetan leaders in exile have agreed to continue to pursue what is called the "middle way" of seeking greater autonomy for Tibet rather than independence from China. But the Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters Sunday it is premature to immediately decide that no further formal discussions should be held with the Chinese government. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from Dharamsala, India. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, Dharamsala, 23 Nov. 2008The Dalai Lama is warning of unspecified dangers if Tibetan political leaders in exile are not careful in their strategy towards China. The Tibetan spiritual leader spoke to followers in the Indian town of Dharamsala a day after the conclusion of an unprecedented six-day meeting of nearly 600 Tibetans leaders from around the world. The conference expressed a preference to continue the push for meaningful autonomy, rather than outright independence from China. But delegates also acknowledged the growing number of people inside Tibet and in the diaspora who prefer independence. Speaking to reporters at the Namgyal Monastery after his speech, the Dalai Lama expressed satisfaction the Tibetan delegates heeded his call to clearly express their opinions, regardless of his perceived preferences. "I think (it was a) very, very frank discussion, some cases heated discussion. So I'm satisfied," he said. "You see they expressed fully what they believe without sort of hesitation, without fear." The Dalai Lama called the meeting in this Indian mountain town where he has lived since fleeing Tibet following a failed rebellion in 1959. China invaded Tibet in 1950 and contends the region has historically been an integral part of the country. The conference also made clear Tibetan impatience with the hardening stance of the Chinese in the recent formal talks in Beijing. Leaders of the Tibetan exile government on Saturday said no further talks requesting autonomy should be held for the time being. But the Dalai Lama says it is too soon to declare such a decision. "Wait another month. Then we'll decide," he said. The spiritual leader added he is eager to let Tibet's foreign supporters have their say at a conference set to be held in New Delhi at the end of the week. There is also speculation that a special session of the parliament in exile will be called shortly. It is not scheduled to meet again until next March. The Dalai Lama also told reporters that while political leadership is now in the hands of the elected Kalon Tripa or prime minister and the parliament, he has a "moral responsibility" to continue as spiritual leader until his death. He again hinted at the possibility of choosing his successor while he is still alive, instead of a reincarnate being selected after his passing. He spoke at length about the merits of a "young girl" possibly being chosen as the next Dalai Lama, commenting that women have "more or less" achieved equality with men but are frequently more compassionate.

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Space Shuttle Astronauts Tend to Broken Equipment

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They work for more than seven hours during spacewalk
Astronauts on the International Space Station are conducting the longest space walk of their mission Saturday to work on repairing a damaged piece of equipment.Two astronauts will float outside the orbital outpost for more than seven hours as they work on cleaning and lubricating a joint that turns solar panels to face the sun.The job was made more difficult after a $100,000 tool kit drifted away from the astronauts on a previous spacewalk.Meanwhile, engineers back on earth will try to solve a problem with a newly installed system designed to recycle astronauts' urine into drinking water.The system shut down twice during testing on Friday. Scientists hope they can still collect enough samples of purified urine and other waste water to bring back for analysis.The U.S. space shuttle Endeavour is on a 15-day mission to expand and improve the International Space Station's living space. The shuttle is scheduled to return to earth in just over a week.The mission coincided with the 10th anniversary of the ISS. It is said to have orbited the earth more than 57,500 time since the first component of the space station was launched in 1998.Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.

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