News for Monday, March 19, 2007
• US Says North Korean Funds to be Unfrozen The United States says North Korean funds that had been frozen in a Macau bank will be released to a Chinese account - a move U.S. officials say resolves a matter that had threatened the North Korean nuclear disarmament process. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing.
• US, N. Korea Resolve Dispute Over Frozen Funds United States says it has resolved its dispute with North Korea over $25 million frozen in a Macau bank. The announcement came as diplomats from six nations open a new round of nuclear disarmament talks. VOA's Luis Ramirez reports from Beijing.
• Bank Report Says Asia's Property Market Prospects Are Promising A Hong Kong bank says Asia's property market is healthy, and a South Korean lender has joined forces with a Japanese bank to strengthen their position in Asia's financial sector. Claudia Blume at VOA's Asia News Center has more on these and other stories in our weekly look at regional business news.
• Mexico's Oil Company Said to Be in Critical Condition A leading Mexican politician says the State Petroleum Company Pemex is in crisis and urgently needs to undergo radical change and modernization. James Blears in Mexico City reports for VOA.
• Australian Prime Minister Vows to Stay the Course in Iraq Australian Prime Minister John Howard has returned home from secret visits to Iraq and Afghanistan. The conservative leader has pledged continued support for U.S.-led campaigns in both countries. Despite much opposition in Australia to the Iraq mission, Mr. Howard appears to hope that national security will prove to be a vote winner in an election due later this year. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
• 70s Revolutionary Turned-Writer Battisti Arrested French and Italian police say 1970's revolutionary-turned-writer Cesare Battisti has been arrested in Brazil. The Leftist Italian fugitive has been eluding police since a prison break 26 years ago. Extradition proceedings were immediately set in motion after Battisti's arrest early Sunday, but it could take several months before he is handed over to Italian authorities. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.
• At Least 20 Killed in Bomb Blasts in Kirkuk and Baghdad Iraqi authorities say nearly 20 people have been killed in separate bombings Monday.
• Internal Rules Governing Khmer Rouge Tribunal Reached Cambodian and international judges have reached an agreement on the rules that will govern running of the coming human-rights trial of the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Rory Byrne reports from Phnom Penh.
• Survey Says Afghans Think Corruption is Worse than Ever A survey released Monday says a majority of Afghans believe corruption is at its worst in more than 20 years.
• Kenya Experiencing the Effects of Deforestation, Climate Change The U.N. Climate Change Conference, held recently in Nairobi, Kenya, renewed the world's attention to what is commonly known as global warming, which most scientists say is caused by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions largely coming from rich countries. But experts say deforestation in developing countries such as those in Africa also exacerbates the effects of climate change. The Lake Naivasha area of Kenya is experiencing many of the effects of climate change, as Cathy Majtenyi reports.
• Nigerian Troops Continue Raids on Militants' Hideouts Nigerian security forces are continuing raids on suspected hideouts of militants in the unruly Niger Delta. For VOA, Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports that the Nigerian military hopes the crackdown will stem violence in the region.
• Bush To Make Statement on 4th Anniversary of Iraq War No summary available.
• Tibetans Hope For Improved Treatment of Refugees in Nepal Tibetan activists are hoping political change in Nepal will lead to better treatment of refugees from Tibet. But as VOA's Steve Herman reports in New Delhi, China's influence over Nepal still poses a threat to the Tibetans.
• Congolese Refugees In Burundi Resettle In the US The first batch of Congolese refugees who had survived a massacre at a transit center in northwestern Burundi almost three years ago are on their way to the United States to re-settle there. They are among a group of more than 500 Congolese refugees who had been impacted by the massacre. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.
• N'Sync's Fatone, Country Star Billy Ray Cyrus Among Celebs on New Season of 'Dancing With the Stars' On March 20, Lost Highway Records will release the Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price collaboration, Last of the Breed. The double CD features newly recorded versions of 22 classic songs composed by Harlan Howard, Cindy Walker, Mickey Newbury, and others. They also added two new tracks, "Back To Earth," which Willie Nelson wrote, and "Sweet Jesus," penned by Merle Haggard and Kenny Vernon. Guests on the album include Kris Kristofferson, Vince Gill and the Jordanaires. On March 15, Nelson, Haggard and Price kicked off a 10-date tour in support of "Last of the Breed."
• Iraqis Express Frustration as War Enters 5th Year As Iraqis mark the fourth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, many people are expressing frustration and fear about the future of their country. VOA's Margaret Besheer spoke to Iraqis in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, where many have gone to flee the violence of Baghdad.
• Musician Kid Rock to Sue Woman Who Filed False Police Report Kid Rock won't face charges after a woman claimed he pushed her headfirst into a snowbank after a night of drinking.
• Top Al-Qaida Terror Suspect Confesses to Plotting USS Cole Attack Al-Qaida terror suspect Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash has confessed to planning the bombing of the USS Cole and says he was involved in the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa.
• Siberian Mine Blast Kills at Least 61 Russian officials say the death toll in Monday's explosion in a Siberian coal mine has risen to 61.
• US Embassy Convoy in Afghanistan Hit by Suicide Car Bomb A suicide car bomb attack on a U.S. embassy convoy in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, has killed one Afghan teenager and injured several other people.
• Opposition Leader Says Zimbabwe Oppression at New Level Morgan Tsvangirai, founding president of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change, says President Robert Mugabe has launched a new phase in the suppression of opposition voices. Peta Thornycroft spoke with Tsvangirai at his home, where he is recuperating from injuries sustained while in police custody a week ago.
• Cate Blanchett Negotiating Role in New 'Indiana Jones' Movie Indiana Jones is returning - and Cate Blanchett may be along for the ride.
• Tuberculosis Still a Major Threat Worldwide Saturday, March 24th, is World Tuberculosis Day and the 125th anniversary of the discovery of the bacterium that causes the lung disease. But many experts say humankind has not advanced much in combating the disease since that discovery, using containment tools that are centuries old. The most commonly used TB drug appeared more than 30 years ago, yet the emergence of hard-to-treat, drug resistant forms is outdating the medicines. Voice of America Science and Health Correspondent, David McAlary in Washington tells us that the face of tuberculosis is an old face. It is also a young face. It is an African face . . . an Asian face . . . a Middle Eastern face . . . the face of anyone, anywhere. But for all, it hurts to breathe. The TB bacterium is eating their lungs.
• Guantanamo Detainee Admits to Planning Major Attacks The U.S. Defense Department says an al-Qaida detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention center has confessed to helping to organize the attack on the U.S. embassy in Kenya in 1998 and the attack on a U.S. navy ship in Yemen in 2000. The admissions are contained in a transcript released Monday of a hearing held at Guantanamo a week ago. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.
• Italian Journalist Freed in Afghanistan Enthusiasm and relief in Italy greeted the release of La Repubblica journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, released by his Afghan kidnappers after holding him hostage for two weeks. Italian authorities said Mastrogiacomo is in good health and is expected to return home on Tuesday. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome.
• US, South Korean Negotiators Work to Conclude Trade Deal U.S. and South Korean negotiators are working around the clock in Washington and Seoul to clinch a major trade agreement that analysts say could add $20 billion to their already robust trade. The two sides are working to meet a congressional end-of-the-month deadline. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.
• WHO Calls For Urgent Action Against Multi-Drug Resistant TB in Asia-Pacific About two million people in the Western Pacific region develop tuberculosis each year. Poverty, an aging population and rising HIV infections are helping spread the respiratory disease. On World Tuberculosis Day, health experts in Asia stress the urgency of controlling a much bigger medical threat: drug resistant tuberculosis. VOA's Heda Bayron has more on the story from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong.
• Castro Seen Returning to Power, But Cuba's Style Changing Foreign and domestic officials close to Cuba's ailing president, Fidel Castro, say he is recovering from his intestinal operation last year, and may resume some of his official duties in Cuba's government soon. But, as VOA's Miami correspondent Brian Wagner reports, experts say the new leadership is already putting its stamp on the government in Havana.
• Ex-White House Aide Denies Distorting Climate Reports The former chief of staff of the White House environmental policy office has denied charges that he sought to politicize government reports on the causes and effects of global warming. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill Philip Cooney defended himself before a congressional committee.
• Study: Poor Seen as Representing Huge, Untapped Market A study financed by the private sector affiliate of the World Bank finds that the world's four billion poorest people represent a huge under-served market for business. VOA's Barry Wood reports.
• US Grants Visas to Ahmadinejad, Entourage, for UN Appearance The Bush administration said Monday it has approved visas for a U.N. visit by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a large contingent of other Iranian officials. The Iranian leader has asked to address the U.N. Security Council when it votes on a resolution tightening sanctions on Iran for refusing to stop enriching uranium. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.
• South Africa Seeks to Ease Proposed UN Sanctions On Iran South Africa is asking the U.N. Security Council to reopen negotiations on a draft resolution increasing penalties against Iran for its nuclear program. The resolution had earlier been agreed on by world powers. Correspondent Peter Heinlein at U.N. headquarters reports the South African request could delay adoption of the measure.
• Sudan's President Denies Involvement in Darfur Violence Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir denied in an interview with NBC news Monday that his government had any involvement in the violence in Darfur. VOA's Sean Maroney reports from Washington.
• Bush, Indonesian President Discuss Security, Trade Issues President Bush has called his Indonesian counterpart, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to discuss security and trade issues.