World

June 25, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - "I am deeply disturbed by the recent events in Zimbabwe and condemn the actions of President Robert Mugabe in the strongest possible terms. The United States and the international community must be united, clear and unequivocal: the Government of Zimbabwe is illegitimate and lacks any credibility.

I welcome yesterday's United Nations Security Council statement condemning the violence sweeping Zimbabwe, and underscoring that the Zimbabwean government's campaign of repression and brutality has made it impossible for the June 27 elections to be free and fair. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is absolutely right when he says that run-off elections under these circumstances would lack any legitimacy.    » read more »

June 25, 2008 -- PRESIDENT BUSH: It's been my honor to welcome a friend, President Talabani, back to the Oval Office. He is the President of a free Iraq. He is a man who's been on the front lines of helping to unify Iraq and to help Iraq recover from a brutal regime -- that of Saddam Hussein.

George W. Bush shakes hands with Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq: White House photo by Eric Draper.

I complimented the President on the progress that the government has made. I complimented the President on the fact that as security has improved, he and his fellow officials are reaching out to all aspects of society to help people realize the blessings of a free life.    » read more »

24 June 2008 -- U.S. President George Bush says the United States will do it all it can to help the victims of the typhoon that struck the Philippines over the weekend. Following talks at the White House with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, Mr. Bush announced plans to send a U.S. aircraft carrier to the scene.

President Bush says the USS Ronald Reagan and other naval assets are moving into place.

"We are happy to do it. We want to help our friends in the time of need," the president said.

With President Arroyo at his side, Mr. Bush also expressed America's condolences to the victims of the storm and their families.    » read more »

25 June 2008 -- The U.S. military says a roadside bombing in Baghdad has killed an American soldier - the 10th U.S. fatality in Iraq since Monday.

The military says the powerful bomb went off Wednesday in the predominantly Shi'ite eastern half of Baghdad.

Iraq has seen an increase in deadly attacks on Americans in recent days. Bomb attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed seven U.S. nationals Tuesday, including soldiers and civilians. On Monday, a gunman killed two U.S. soldiers south of Baghdad.

At least 26 U.S. troops have died in Iraq this month, an increase over the 19 who died in May. But, U.S. fatalities are well below last year's figures and the U.S. military says violence in Iraq has dropped to a four-year low.    » read more »

June 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Edward M. Kennedy today introduced a bill to establish a senior position at the White House to coordinate, develop and implement strategies to more effectively address the plight of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons. Since the 2003 invasion, more than four million Iraqis have been displaced from their home or have become refugees. Senator Kennedy is Chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees.    » read more »

June 23, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Clinton today issued the following statement:

“The deepening political crisis in Zimbabwe is a growing concern that needs attention from the United States and the international community. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, withdrew from a Presidential runoff that was to be held this week, calling the process an ‘illegitimate sham.’    » read more »

June 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement after the International Trade Commission (ITC) concluded that Chinese pipe producers have injured U.S. manufacturers for several years by dumping circular welded steel pipe exports into our market - a practice which has been enabled through Chinese pipe producers receiving illegal government subsidies.

"I appreciate and support the ITC determination. This is the first case in the history of U.S. trade agreement enforcement involving subsidies in China that has resulted in the imposition of countervailing duties by the U.S. Department of Commerce.    » read more »

23 June 2008 -- Chinese authorities say they have punished 31 officials and fired 12 others because of their poor handling of relief supplies and response to the country's massive earthquake last month.

China's top anti-corruption official, Ma Wen, told reporters Monday that most of the demerits and firings were a response to complaints about misuse of tents and improper distribution of food and other goods.

China's May 12 quake killed nearly 70,000 people and left millions homeless. The government has previously warned that it would come down hard on those who misused aid funds or relief supplies.

Corruption is rampant across China, and there is concern about the use and destination of donations.    » read more »

Addressing global concern on climate change and water to have greatest impact on Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 16 June 2008 – Climate change and water shortage have emerged as the top issue with the greatest impact on Asia, according to a survey of business leaders by the World Economic Forum. The survey showed that an overwhelming 81% of the 55 business leaders voted for “addressing growing global concern over environmental challenges such as climate change and water” as the top choice of issues with potential impact on Asia.

Other major concerns include “preventing political and economic instability linked to rising food and energy prices” and “managing the social, environmental and infrastructural implications of rapid urbanization”.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express his grave concerns over the Burmese military junta’s restricting foreign aid to millions devastated by the recent cyclone, and to ask whether the junta’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law. Kerry has requested a legal opinion from the State Department.    » read more »

Seoul -- 17 June 2008 -- South Korea's biggest labor confederation says its members will go on strike, next month, to protest the policies of the country's president. The labor troubles heap new crisis on an administration facing mass street protests about trade with the United States.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions announced Tuesday it would conduct a nationwide general strike on July 2. And, KCTU president Lee Seok-haing says that is just the beginning.

Lee says after the strike, there will be several days of organized labor protests.

The KCTU is an umbrella union group for more than 600,000 members, working in nearly every sector of the country's economy.    » read more »

17 June 2008 -- Iraqi officials say a car bomb has killed 51 people and wounded 75 others at a market in a mainly Shi'ite area of Baghdad. Tuesday's bombing in the Hurriyah district of western Baghdad was the deadliest in the Iraqi capital in more than three months.

The car bomb triggered a fire that engulfed a multi-story building containing shops and apartments. Many of the victims were trapped in that building.

Baghdad had been relatively calm since May 11, when U.S. and Iraqi forces began observing a truce with Shi'ite militants that ended weeks of fighting.

In another attack Tuesday, an Iraqi television news reporter, Muhieddin Abdul-Hamid was shot dead near his home in the northern city of Mosul.    » read more »

17 June 2008 -- Great pandas have been a boon to zoos that can afford them, but they have raised visitors' expectations and put pressure on smaller zoos to show off
Forestry officials in China say they estimate that the powerful May 12 earthquake destroyed or damaged more than 80 percent of the giant panda's remaining habitat.

Giant panda: Photo by Chi King (CC)

A senior forestry official told a Hong Kong newspaper the "South China Morning Post" that about two-thirds of the wild population is likely dead, injured or facing starvation.    » read more »

17 June 2008 -- The Pentagon says reports that Taliban forces have taken over several villages in southern Afghanistan are false, and that any Taliban offensive in the area will be defeated.

The Pentagon says a U.S. patrol in the Arghandab district of Kandahar Province Tuesday encountered no Taliban forces.

Troops in Kandahar City, Afghanistan: Photo by Pierre Gazzola (CC)    » read more »

17 June 2008 -- U.S. officials say there are no talks with Lithuania about hosting a missile defense site, even though talks with Poland's new government have been moving more slowly than the United States would like. But the Pentagon spokesman says time is running out on the Bush administration and officials might be forced to move to what he calls "a backup option."

The Pentagon and State Department spokesmen are disputing a statement attributed to Poland's chief negotiator (Witold Waszczykowski) by the Reuters News Service. The report says the United States has opened a parallel set of talks with Lithuania in case the effort to negotiate the placement of missile interceptors in Poland fails.    » read more »