News for Saturday, April 21, 2007
• Violence, Delays Precede Nigeria Presidential Election No summary available.
• Microsoft Chairman: Technological Innovation to Come from Asia Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates says Asia is fast catching up to the West in technology training and research, and he predicts that some of the next major technological advances will be coming from the region. Gates was speaking at the annual Boao Forum, which opened Saturday in Southern China with more than 1,400 leaders of government, business and academia discussing innovation and sustainable development. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
• Egypt Convicts Egyptian-Canadian Man of Spying For Israel An Egyptian man with dual Canadian citizenship has been convicted in a Cairo courtroom of spying for Israel.
• North and South Korea Wrap up Economic Talks North and South Korean officials are wrapping up four days of economic talks Saturday on food aid, test-runs of cross border trains and other joint projects.
• US Secretary of State to Attend International Conference on Iraq The U.S. State Department has announced that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel to Egypt next month to attend an international conference on Iraq.
• Top Chinese Communist Official Meets Fidel Castro Cuban officials say President Fidel Castro has met with a member of China's Communist Party, in another sign that the aging leader is recovering from last July's intestinal surgery.
• Bombing in Baghdad Kills at Least Three A bomb planted on a bus has killed at least three people in Baghdad's predominantly Shi'ite neighborhood of Sadr City.
• Heavy Fighting Continues For Fourth Day in Somalia Heavy fighting between Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian forces in Somalia has continued for a fourth day in the capital, Mogadishu.
• Family of Virginia Tech Killer says he 'Made the World Weep' The family of Cho Seung-hui, the man who killed 32 people during a shooting rampage at Virginia Tech University, says "he has made the world weep."
• Bush: Nation Praying for Virginia Tech Victims President Bush has paid tribute to the 32 people killed during a shooting rampage this week at a university in the eastern state of Virginia.
• French Voters Head to Polls Sunday in Presidential Election's First Round The first round of voting in the French presidential election takes place on Sunday. It's a close race between the top two candidates, but large numbers of voters are still undecided. Anita Elash reports for VOA from Paris.
• US to Offer Russia Cooperation on Missile Defense System A published report says the United States has offered to integrate some of its missile defense systems with Russia in an effort to ease Moscow's opposition to the U.S. using sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.
• Iraq's PM Says Troops are Unified in Fighting Terrorism Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Iraqi forces are unified in battling terrorism throughout Iraq, especially in Baghdad and al-Anbar province.
• Space Tourist and Space Station Crew Return to Earth A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two crew members and an American space tourist has returned to earth safely in Kazakhstan.
• First Overseas Polls Open in French Presidential Election The first overseas voting has begun in the French presidential election, as more than 40 million voters in France enjoy a traditional day of reflection Saturday ahead of Sunday's vote.
• Colombian President Denies Links to Far-Right Militias Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has again denied allegations that he supported right-wing militias, after former U.S. Vice President Al Gore withdrew from a joint appearance in response to the accusations.