News for Wednesday, February 28, 2007

• Stocks in Asia Close Sharply Lower Share prices in the Asia-Pacific region closed sharply lower following heavy selling in China and the United States. Government officials tried to calm the market, saying their economies remain strong. VOA's Heda Bayron reports from Hong Kong.
• Car Bombing in Baghdad Kills 10 Iraqi police say a car bomb blast in southern Baghdad has killed at least 10 people and wounded seven others.
• Aborigines Take Joint Possession of Traditional Lands Aborigines in Australia have taken joint control of World Heritage-listed rain forests under a historic land rights agreement. The deal covers 6,000 square kilometers in the state of New South Wales. Tribal chiefs hope it will provide jobs and enable indigenous communities to become less dependent on welfare. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
• 2 Picasso Paintings Stolen From Artist's Granddaughter French police say two paintings by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso have been stolen from his granddaughter's home in Paris.
• Serbia Detains 4 New Suspects in 1999 Killings of 3 Americans Serbian prosecutors say authorities have detained four new suspects in connection with the killing of three American brothers of ethnic Albanian origin during the Kosovo conflict.
• N. Korea Asks South to Resume Humanitarian Projects North and South Korea are talking to each other again, after Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests sparked a seven-month freeze in dialogue. At ministerial talks in Pyongyang, North Korea has suggested a resumption of "humanitarian projects" - which experts assume is a request for the South to restart shipments of food and fertilizer. VOA's Kurt Achin has more from Seoul.
• NATO Had Intelligence on Militant Threat Before Afghan Attack The NATO force in Afghanistan says it had prior intelligence reports that militants were operating near a U.S. military base hit by a suicide bomber during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
• US Will Not Extradite CIA Agents to Italy A senior U.S. legal official says the United States will refuse any Italian extradition request for CIA agents indicted on charges of a role in the abduction of an Egyptian cleric and terrorist suspect.
• Energy Expert Says China's Economic Growth Must Slow Before Energy-Reduction Goals Can be Met An expert on China's energy says the country will have difficulty reaching its energy-reduction goals as long as economic growth remains above 10 percent.  He also says China might surpass the United States as the number one emitter of climate-changing carbon dioxide as early as next year.  Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
• Uganda Rebel Leader Says LRA Will Not Renew Expiring Truce A Ugandan rebel leader says his group will not renew a truce with the government set to expire Wednesday.
• Report: US Economic Growth Weaker Than First Estimated The U.S. economy grew at a slower pace than first estimated at the end of last year.
• Activists, Villagers Protest Burmese Dam Project Activists and villagers are urging the government of Thailand to delay its plans to build four hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in military-ruled Burma.
• Violence Continues in West Bank Israeli forces have killed two senior members of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group responsible for recent suicide bombings in Israel. VOA's Jim Teeple reports from Jerusalem, Israeli forces also moved large numbers of troops back into the West Bank city of Nablus, after a partial withdrawal on Tuesday.
• India's Government Proposes Measures to Boost Agriculture, Cut Inflation India says it will boost its sluggish agricultural sector to ensure that the country's rising economy brings more benefits to millions of poor people. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the Congress-led government has also promised measures to check inflation.
• African Jazz Gets New Voice For years. African jazz has been a genre considered almost extinct. The once-dominant style has been overshadowed first by soul music and now by hip-hop.  
• Stocks Recover on US Markets, Continue Losses in Europe, Asia U.S. stocks made some gains as trading opened on Wednesday. The major indexes recovered some of the ground lost in Tuesday's global sell-off that saw U.S. stocks suffer their biggest losses since the terror attacks in 2001.
• US, North Korea to Hold Talks Next Week Senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats will meet in New York next week to discuss initial steps toward normalizing relations.  The creation of the bilateral U.S.-North Korea working group is part of the six-party Korean nuclear agreement reached February 13 in Beijing.  VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• Japan, Russia Bolster Relations Japan and Russia have agreed to step up economic cooperation and seek resolution to a 60-year old territorial dispute.
• Congo Militia Come Forward to Disarm A U.N. official has announced members of a notorious militia group in northeast Democratic Republic of Congo have come forward to disarm. Franz Wild has the details for VOA from Kinshasa.
• UN Report Says Kenyans Getting Poorer Many Kenyans are dismayed over the findings of a United Nations report that says poverty has increased in the East African nation and that the rich-poor gap has widened. Cathy Majtenyi has more for VOA from Nairobi.
• FIFA President Says 2018 World Cup Should be Held in N. America International Football Federation president Sepp Blatter says the 2018 World Cup tournament should be held in North America, and he dismissed suggestions England would get the nod.
• Iraq to Host Security Talks on March 10 Iraq has announced an initial conference of world and regional powers will be held in Baghdad on March 10 to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.
• Bangladesh Opposition Party Calls for Parliamentary Polls by June Bangladesh's main opposition party is calling for the interim government to hold parliamentary elections by the middle of this year.
• Yushchenko Resubmits Foreign Minister, Security Chief Candidates Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has resubmitted to parliament the names of his candidates for foreign minister and security chief, just days after lawmakers rejected the two nominations.
• Chinese Woman Contracts Bird Flu, New Outbreaks Elsewhere in Asia China has confirmed a new human case of bird flu, the first in seven weeks.
• Chad Refuses UN Peacekeepers, Would Welcome Civilian Force The central African nation of Chad has refused to accept a proposed U.N. peacekeeping force along its border with Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.
• Entrepreneur Nolan Bushnell Serves High Tech Restaurant Fare A pioneer in the video game industry, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, is blending high-tech entertainment with high-end cuisine in a new venture called uWink. Mike O'Sullivan reports, Bushnell hopes to bring computer consoles to corner restaurants throughout the United States and overseas.
• Federer, Nadal Reach Quartefinals of Dubai Tennis Championships The world's top two men's tennis players - Roger Federer of Switzerland and Spain's Rafael Nadal - have reached the quarterfinals of the men's Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates.
• US Lawmakers Accuse China of Unfairly Manipulating Currency U.S. lawmakers from both parties are stepping up their criticism of China, which they say is manipulating its currency to give exporters an unfair edge.  VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.
• US Lawmakers Question Pyongyang's Nuclear Commitments Members of Congress are expressing skepticism but also some hope about North Korea's commitments to take steps toward nuclear disarmament made in an agreement in six-party talks in Beijing February 13. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
• Iraq to Host Security Talks on March 10 Iraq has announced an initial conference of world and regional powers will be held in Baghdad on March 10 to discuss ways to stabilize Iraq.