News for Tuesday, March 13, 2007

• UN Nuclear Chief in North Korea to Discuss Closure of Nuclear Facilities The head of the United Nations nuclear agency is in North Korea to discuss how the agency can help Pyongyang end its nuclear program.
• Security Council may discuss additional Iran sanctions Tuesday U.N. diplomats say six world powers have made major progress on a resolution that would impose more sanctions on Iran for its controversial nuclear program.
• Australia, Japan to Sign Historic Defense Accord Australian Prime Minister John Howard has dismissed suggestions that a new security pact with Japan will harm his country's ties with China. Mr. Howard is on an official four-day visit to Japan, and is preparing to sign a historic defense treaty with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
• Chavez Promises More Aid to Haiti, Criticizes Bush Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has made a brief stop in Haiti at the end of a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean in which he harshly criticized President Bush, who also is visiting the region.
• Iraqi PM Visits Insurgent Stronghold of Ramadi Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has made an unannounced visit to the western city of Ramadi, a stronghold of Sunni Arab insurgents.
• Senegalese Villages Fight Against Forced Child Marriage In parts of rural Africa, some parents force their daughters to marry as young as eight-years-old. This is so there is no chance the girls can get pregnant before marriage, and ruin the families' honor. Other times, it is to secure the bond between two families. Though illegal, this practice is hard to prosecute because the families often live in remote areas far from any courts of justice. But a number of village leaders in West Africa are working to end this tradition with the help of women who were forced to marry young. Phuong Tran has this report from border villages in Senegal near the Mauritanian border.
• German Court Rejects Effort to Stop Deployment of Jets to Afghanistan Germany's constitutional court has rejected a request by two lawmakers to prevent the deployment of German fighter jets in Afghanistan to support NATO forces there.
• String of Suicide Attacks Kill At Least 3 in Southern Afghanistan Police in southern Afghanistan say a string of suicide attacks has killed at least three civilians and wounded 12 other people.
• Egypt Detains 9 Muslim Brotherhood Members Egyptian security forces have detained nine more members of the country's largest Islamist opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood.
• Economic Specialist Says Using GAP Leads to Sustainable Livelihood This is the fifth and final installment in the feature series: Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in Africa. GAP is a product of many institutions involved in agricultural interests and is used to increase farm productivity, improve quality and expand markets. This report looks at GAP’s promotion of attainable economic goals.  Voice of America's Cole Mallard reports.
• China Faces 'Great Difficulties' Finding Jobs for Everyone China's top labor official says that with 24 million new people set to enter the urban labor market this year and millions of urban dwellers already out of work, the government is facing "great difficulties" in creating new jobs. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
• Son of Bangladesh's Former PM Denied Bail in Corruption Case The son of Bangladesh's former prime minister is among 150 senior politicians detained in corruption investigations. As Anjana Pasricha reports, the emergency government installed in January is cracking down on reports of graft.
• Cambodian Court Sentences Prince in Absentia The deposed leader of Cambodia's royalist party has been sentenced in absentia to 18 months in jail on breach of trust charges.
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Honors Hip-Hop Act for First Time The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the United States has honored a hip-hop act for the first time in its history.
• US Investigators Probe Sub-Prime Mortgage Lender A top U.S. mortgage lender says it is being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, amid speculation that the company is headed for bankruptcy.
• Top US Military Officer Draws Fire for Comments on Homosexuality Marine General Peter Pace, the top-ranking U.S. military officer, has drawn criticism from a gay-and-lesbian advocacy group after calling homosexual acts immoral.
• Shi'ite, Sunni Split Feeds Iraq Conflict For the last year, Iraq has been consumed by violence that has pitted Shi'ite Muslims against Sunni Muslims. Some see the battle as religious, dating to the 17th century disagreement over who would succeed the Prophet Muhammad. Others say it is a modern day fight for political dominance.
• China's Top Legal Officials Call For Reduction in Executions China's top law-enforcement agencies are calling for a reduction in executions in the country. Sam Beattie reports from Beijing.
• Suspended Pakistani Justice Appears Before Judicial Council The suspended chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court has appeared before a judicial panel to face allegations that he misused his authority.
• Somali President's Residence Attacked in Mogadishu Several mortar shells have hit the Somali presidential palace in Mogadishu, hours after interim President Abdullahi Yusuf arrived at the residence.
• Democratic Senator Again Calls on US Attorney General to Resign Democratic Senator Charles Schumer has again called for the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales over the controversial firings of eight federal prosecutors.
• Bush, Mexican President Calderon Endorse Immigration Reform President Bush has expressed confidence that his talks with Mexican President Felipe Calderon will yield positive results, despite what he calls "an ambitious agenda."
• US Calls for Immediate Release of Zimbabwe Opposition Leaders Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has reiterated U.S. calls for the release of Zimbabwean opposition leaders arrested and beaten in a protest near Harare Sunday. Rice said the incident shows the "ruthless and repressive" nature of the government of President Robert Mugabe. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• Viacom Sues Google, YouTube for $1 Billion U.S. media giant Viacom has sued the leading Internet search provider, Google, and its online video-sharing business, YouTube, for more than $1 billion in alleged copyright violations.
• British Government Proposes Landmark Carbon Emission Goals The British government has proposed legally binding targets for reducing carbon emissions, becoming the first country to outline a legal framework for confronting global warming.
• Zimbabwe Opposition Leaders Hospitalized After Court Appearance Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and other activists have been taken to a hospital following a court appearance in the capital, Harare.
• Top US General Calls Homosexuality Immoral The top U.S. military officer has said homosexuality is immoral, sparking renewed controversy about the status of homosexuals in the U.S. military.  VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
• Lebanon Arrests Six Men Suspected in February Bombing Officials in Lebanon say they have arrested six men who have confessed to bus bombings last month outside the capital, Beirut. 
• Mauritanian Candidates Court Second-Round Votes For the first time in their history, Mauritanians are preparing for a second round of presidential polls.  Finalists Sidi Ould Sheik Abdellahi and Ahmed Ould Daddah have less than two weeks to get the backing of the 17 candidates they defeated in elections last Sunday.  The runoff is necessary, because no candidate got more than 50 percent of the vote.  Kari Barber reports from our regional bureau in Dakar.
• Violence Threatens Nigerian Elections As Nigeria's election day draws near, the tide of political violence is rising. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa reports from Abuja that the use of violence as a political tool has been common in Nigeria.
• UN Report: World's Forests in Better Shape The Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) presented its biannual report on the State of the World's Forests. It said most countries in Europe and North America have reversed centuries of deforestation. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.
• Cyprus Opens Bidding for Oil Exploration Cyprus has formally opened a bidding process to license offshore oil and gas exploration, despite objections from Turkey.
• France's High Court Annuls a Gay Marriage France's highest court has declared the country's first gay marriage unlawful and annulled the union between the two men.
• Democracy Activists Urge UN to Probe Rights Abuses in Burma Former participants in a 1988 uprising against Burma's military led government are calling on the United Nations to launch a new probe into alleged human rights abuses there.
• Malysz Wins Second Straight World Cup Ski Jumping Event Three-time world ski-jump champion Adam Malysz of Poland has won his second straight World Cup event for his fifth win of the season and 34th of his career.
• British Hostages Released in Eritrea British officials have expressed relief at the release of five European hostages kidnapped in Ethiopia nearly two weeks ago and handed over earlier Tuesday to officials in neighboring Eritrea.  The status of eight Ethiopians traveling with the group remains unknown.  VOA's Sonja Pace reports from London.
• Zimbabwean Opposition Leaders Sent to Hospital Under Police Guard Morgan Tsvangirai, the founder of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, arrived in a Harare court Tuesday with a badly swollen face and a large gash on his head. But when government officials told the court that the case against the opposition leaders was not yet ready, Tsvangirai and about 50 other detainees were taken under armed guard to a private hospital in Harare. Opposition lawyers have accused police of beating Tsvangirai and fellow detainees following their arrest on Sunday. Peta Thornycroft has more on the story for VOA from Harare.
• US Accuses Sudan of Backtracking on Darfur Commitments The U.S. State Department Tuesday accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of backtracking from commitments he made on the introduction of new peacekeeping forces in violence-torn Darfur. U.S. officials say Sudan could face punitive action if it reneges on its promises. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• President Putin, Pope Benedict Hold Talks at Vatican Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pope Benedict XVI met Tuesday in the highest-level Kremlin-Vatican talks in more than three years.  The meeting was the first between Mr. Putin and the German pontiff.  Sabina Castelfranco has more for VOA from Rome.
• Experts Predict Decline in US Home Prices; Stocks Down U.S. corporate economists meeting in Washington Tuesday heard predictions that this will be a down year for home prices. Worries about the housing market were among the reasons why stocks on Wall Street dropped more 240 points for the second largest one-day decline this year. VOA's Barry Wood has more.
• Report Urges Greater US Efforts to Secure Radiological Material A new report by a U.S. government watchdog agency says the U.S. Department of Energy has made only limited progress in securing many of the most dangerous sources of radiological material in the former Soviet Union, leaving them vulnerable to terrorists. The report was the focus of a congressional hearing Tuesday, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.
• US Lawmakers Press Bush Administration on Haiti Congressional lawmakers have pressed a Bush administration official on U.S. assistance to Haiti, saying Washington needs to do more to help the island nation climb out of poverty. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
• Zimbabwean Opposition Activists Released Morgan Tsvangirai, the founder of Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and dozens of opposition activists jailed last Sunday were released late Tuesday into the custody of their attorneys. The detainees were allegedly beaten and tortured while in police custody. Peta Thornycroft has more on the story for VOA from Harare.