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Asian, European Leaders Pledge Economic Reform
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At the end of their two-day summit in Beijing, 40 members of the Asia-Europe
Meeting (ASEM) made a show of unity to reassure frightened investors and try to
bring stability to world markets
Asian and European leaders have promised to take effective and comprehensive
actions to reform world monetary and financial systems.ASEM delegation members
during closing of 7th Asia Europe Meeting in Beijing, 25 Oct 2008At the end of
their two-day summit in Beijing, the 40 members of the Asia-Europe Meeting
(ASEM) made a show of unity to reassure frightened investors and try to bring
stability to world markets.During the meeting, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said
officials must use every means to prevent the financial crisis from having an
impact on the real economy. He called for stricter regulation of economic
systems, saying lessons must be learned from the current crisis.The Chinese
premier said China will take an active part in the Group of 20 summit on the
financial crisis that U.S. President George Bush will host in Washington on
November 15th. The G-20 includes major industrialized nations and key
emerging-market countries like China, India and Brazil.Stock markets around the
world suffered major losses last week. Key U.S. stock indexes closed down more
than three percent Friday. European markets also fell, closing down as much as
five percent after a report that the British economy is on the brink of
recession. Markets in the Middle East began a new week of trading Sunday with
indications that the downward trend is continuing. All the indexes there
opened sharply lower.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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McCain Dismisses Polls Showing Him Behind Obama
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During an interview on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, McCain -- a Republican --
said the race is very close
U.S. presidential candidate John McCain has dismissed recent opinion polls that
place him behind his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.An image of Sen. John
McCain is seen on a television as the media pool watches live in the parking
lot of KWWL-TV as McCain participates in "Meet the Press" in Waterloo, Iowa, 26
Oct. 2008During an interview on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, McCain -- a
Republican -- said the race is very close. He added that he believes he will
win the November fourth election.Recent polls show McCain trailing Obama -- in
some cases by double digits.Senator McCain was to hold a rally today in the
midwestern state of Iowa before heading to Ohio, considered one of the most
important states to win in the election. Senator Obama will appear at two
rallies in Colorado. On Saturday, he campaigned in the neighboring state of
New Mexico, and even farther west in Nevada. The Illinois senator returned to
the campaign trail Saturday after visiting his gravely ill grandmother in
Hawaii. Madelyn Dunham, who raised Obama, turns 86 Sunday.In a separate
development, Obama's aides announced former President Bill Clinton will
campaign with the Democratic candidate for the first time at a rally this week
in Florida.
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Israel Heads for Early Elections After Livni Fails to Form Coalition
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Tzipi Livni's failure to form a government is a setback for efforts to reach a
peace deal with the Palestinians by year's end
Israel is headed for early elections, after Prime Minister-designate Tzipi
Livni on Sunday announced she has given up efforts to form a coalition
government. Livni's failure to form a government is a setback for efforts to
reach a peace deal with the Palestinians by year's end. VOA Jerusalem
correspondent Luis Ramirez reports. Israeli Foreign Minister and Kadima Party
leader Tzipi Livni speaks following a meeting with Israeli President Shimon
Peres at his residence in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008For weeks, Tzipi
Livni has been negotiating with Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party. Livni was
elected head of the centrist Kadima party last month, and was due to replace
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who resigned last month amid corruption
allegations. Livni was given several weeks to form a coalition government or
face early elections.On Sunday, Livni announced she was dropping efforts to
form a government. She said she decided to stop the talks when it became clear
that parties were taking advantage of the opportunity to pose what she said
were illegitimate economic and political demands. Livni told reporters on
Sunday she had informed President Shimon Peres that, given the circumstances,
there would have to be elections as soon as possible. It is now up to President
Peres to call for the poll, which could take place in February, more than a
year ahead of schedule.Parties in Israel are deeply divided over how to resolve
the conflict with the Palestinians. The Shas party has opposed any Israeli
concession on Jerusalem, the eastern part of which the Palestinians want as the
capital of a future Palestinian state. Livni was unwilling to promise Shas
hundreds of millions of dollars it demanded for welfare and religious programs.
The party's support base is largely among Israel's impoverished,
ultra-conservative Jewish factions. Speaking on Israeli radio, Shas leader Eli
Yishai said his party cannot be bought and will not sell Jerusalem. He said
that has been the party's message since the start of talks, and once its
demands on Jerusalem and child allowances were not met, the party decided it
could not join the government. Livni has preferred to push for a negotiated
settlement with the Palestinians. Her centrist position will be put to the
test in new elections that analysts say will be tough for her party to win.
Support has been building in Israel for Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing
Likud party, as many Israelis have expressed growing uneasiness over what they
perceive as the growing threat of Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Concern is
also mounting over instability in the Palestinian territories, which are
divided between the moderate Fatah faction in the West Bank and the rival
militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip. With Israel's internal politics in
turmoil, prospects of negotiating a deal with the Palestinians soon appeared
unlikely.A Palestinian negotiator on Sunday said he hopes Israel will stay the
course and continue with the peace process. Talks brokered by the United States
since last November have made little visible progress, and both sides said it
will be difficult for them to reach an agreement by year's end as Washington
has urged them to do.
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Israeli Settlers Rampage After Settlement Dismantled
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Palestinian residents say Jewish settlers vandalized graves in a Muslim
cemetery and slashed car tires after Israeli forces dismantled a settlement
outpost
Israeli soldiers stand guard as a Palestinian man harvests olives near the
Jewish settlement of Tal Romeda outside the West Bank city of Hebron, 24 Oct
2008Jewish settlers rampaged through the West Bank city of Hebron Sunday after
Israeli forces dismantled a settlement outpost.Israeli authorities say at least
four settlers were arrested, including a few who attacked members of Israel's
security forces, in this latest occurrence of settler violence.Palestinian
residents say the settlers vandalized graves in a Muslim cemetery and slashed
car tires.The incident occurred one day after Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas deployed hundreds of security officers to the city as part of a widening
security crackdown. Officials say nearly 600 security forces entered the city
before dawn on Saturday. They say the deployment took place with the
coordination of the Israeli army, in a city divided between Palestinian and
Israeli residents.Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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Iraq's Main Sunni Party Suspends Ties with US
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Move comes after an Iraqi man was killed and five arrested in a raid in
Fallujah
Iraq's largest Sunni political party says it has suspended official contacts
with U.S. military and civilian personnel after an Iraqi man was killed and
five arrested in a raid in Fallujah.In a statement Saturday, the Iraqi Islamic
Party demanded an explanation about what happened, along with an apology. The
party also demanded assurances that those responsible will be punished.The
party said the targets of the raid were party members. But the U.S. military
said one man had been arrested and one had been killed in a joint U.S.-Iraqi
raid against a suspected militant in Fallujah.Also Saturday, the U.S. military
in Iraq said Iraqi security forces captured 15 suspected criminals and al-Qaida
in Iraq terrorists in separate operations in northern Iraq during the past
several days, October 21 through 24.The individuals are believed to be linked
to intimidation attacks, weapons smuggling, attacks against coalition and Iraqi
forces, and other criminal activities. They were detained during operations in
Mosul, Samarra and Husaybah.
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Afghan, Pakistan Leaders to Meet in Islamabad to Discuss Insurgency
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Afghans are hoping the conference can agree on a road map to peace for both
countries
About 50 Afghan political and tribal leaders have gone to Pakistan for a
meeting with their Pakistani counterparts to discuss the insurgency on both
sides of the border. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman in Kabul reports the
Afghans are hoping the conference can agree on a road map to peace for both
countries. Politicians, respected elders and Muslim clerics from Afghanistan
and Pakistan will hold talks - dubbed as a mini-jirga -- in Islamabad from
Monday to see if they can agree on joint action to end the rising violence by
al-Qaida and Taliban militants. The jirga system has been used for more than
one thousand years by the region's Pashtun tribal leaders to decide important
matters. The two-day meeting in Pakistan is seen as a follow-up to a grand
jirga last year in Kabul, when Afghans and Pakistanis pledged not to let their
respective countries become training centers and sanctuaries for terrorism. The
reality is that militants, fighting both governments, continue to operate in
the two countries.The Afghan delegation, composed of all the major ethnic
components in the country, is being led by former foreign minister Abdullah
Abdullah. Just before boarding the flight from Kabul to Islamabad, he told
reporters the Afghans would do their best to reach agreement with their
Pakistani counterparts on the path to peace. But Abdullah cautions against
expectations of quick results, saying it is difficult to solve a deep-rooted
problem by taking just one step. Analysts say the jirga system can play a major
role as Pashtuns live in both countries and some sympathize with the Taliban,
who are also mainly Pashtun.With attacks on the increase in Afghanistan and
Pakistan the mini-jirga could decide to expedite dialog with the Taliban. Many
prominent voices in the international community are endorsing the idea of talks
with the fundamentalist rebels here, if the Taliban agree to the Afghan
government's conditions to recognize the country's constitution and lay down
their weapons. Afghanistan's Taliban have expanded the number of bombing
attacks in their guerilla war against the government. In Pakistan, the Taliban
there have been linked to al-Qaida and their Afghan counterparts. There are
70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, combating the insurgency and helping to
rebuild the country devastated by decades of war and the Taliban regime, which
was ousted by U.S. forces seven years ago.
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Militants, Pro-Gov't Group Clash in Northwestern Pakistan, 15 Dead
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Officials say three commanders are among the 10 militants killed in the battle
Sunday in the Matta district of Northwest Frontier Province
Pakistani officials say at least 15 people have died in a gunbattle between
militants and local pro-government fighters in the northwestern Swat
valley.Officials say three commanders were among the 10 militants killed in the
battle Sunday in the Matta district of Northwest Frontier Province. At least
five pro-government fighters also died.A Pakistani armored vehicle fires toward
Taliban positions in Loi Sam, in the Bajaur tribal region, Pakistan, 25 Oct
2008Reports say the fighting began after militants took at least 60 people
hostage.In the same province today. police say the brother of Pakistani Taliban
chief Baitullah Mehsud was shot dead and left in a canal in Bannu district.
Residents say the victim, Yahya, was not involved in Taliban activities. It is
not clear why he was killed.In the nearby Bajaur tribal region Sunday,
Pakistani security officials say government forces killed at least eight
militants with the help of military helicopters. The military says nearly 1,500
suspected militants and 73 troops have died during a two-month-long offensive
in Bajaur. Bajaur borders Afghanistan and is one of the tribal areas where the
Pakistani government previously had little influence. Taliban and al-Qaida
militants regularly launch cross-border raids into Afghanistan from the
mountainous region.On Saturday, the military said it recaptured a key border
town in Bajaur, dealing a severe blow to the militants' communication lines.The
commander of the Bajaur offensive, Major-General Tariq Khan, said Loisam
village was destroyed in heavy fighting. He warned it could take several more
months before Pakistani authorities gain complete control of the region.The
United Nations says the fighting has displaced about 190,000 people, many of
whom have fled to Afghanistan.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters, AFP and AP.
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Congolese Rebels Seize Military Base, National Park
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Unknown number of people have been killed as civilians fled the area where
rebels loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda and government troops traded
gunfire
Indian UN soldiers drive past people fleeing fighting, near Kibumba, some 40
kilometers north of Goma in eastern Congo, 26 Oct 2008Rebels in the eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo have seized a military base and captured the
headquarters of a national park.Forces loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda
launched a new offensive in North Kivu province Sunday, overrunning an army
base near the town of Rumangabo and driving park rangers out of Virunga
National Park.Civilians fled the area as rebels and government troops traded
gunfire and artillery. Witnesses say an unknown number of people were
killed.Virunga is home to about 200 rare mountain gorillas. The park has often
been the scene of battles, and conservationists worry about the impact on the
gorilla population.Nkunda's followers seized the same military base near
Rumangabo earlier this month, although the army soon drove them back
out.Officials from the World Food Program say the renewed fighting has driven
some 200,000 people from their homes since August. The newly-displaced join
another 1.2 million driven from their homes since early 2007, when the clashes
began.The agency warned last week that the situation is deteriorating and that
it urgently needs assistance to keep up with the needs of the displaced
population.Nkunda says his rebel militia is defending Tutsi civilians from Hutu
fighters from neighboring Rwanda. Some information for this report was provided
by AP and Reuters.
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US Pledges Additional $320 Million in Fight Against Bird Flu
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Pledge announced at international conference in Egypt at Red Sea resort of
Sharm el-Sheikh
A U.S. official says the United States will provide an additional 320-million
dollars for the global fight against bird flu.Paula Dobriansky (file
photo)Undersecretary
of State Paula Dobriansky announced the pledge Saturday at an
international bird flu conference in Egypt at the Red Sea resort of
Sharm el-Sheikh.She warned against complacency in fighting avian flu, which the
United Nations says could cause a pandemic.The
U.S. pledge brings to about $950 million Washington's total
contribution to fight bird flu, which has killed 245 people in Asia,
Africa and Europe since 2003. In some cases, the avian virus
has been passed from infected birds to humans with fatal results.
Experts fear the virus could become transmissible from person to person.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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Phillies Wins Dramatic World Series Game 3
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Host Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-4, in a dramatic Game 3 contest that
ended well past midnight Saturday
The Philadelphia Phillies have taken a two games to one lead in Major League
Baseball's best-of-seven World Series. The host Phillies beat the Tampa Bay
Rays, 5-4, in a dramatic Game 3 contest that ended well past midnight
Saturday. VOA Sports Editor Parke Brewer was there and has a report. The
ground crew moving water off the tarp, 25 Oct 2008The Phillies scored on a
short infield hit by catcher Carlos Ruiz with the bases-loaded and no one out
in the last of the ninth inning to gain the 5-4 victory in Game 3.With strong,
gusting winds and hard rain, it looked for awhile like the first outdoor game
of this World Series might have to be postponed.The first two games had been
played at the Rays' indoor stadium in Florida.But the storm system finally
moved through Philadelphia, and after a 91-minute delay from the scheduled
start time, the game got underway at 10:06pm. It was the latest start to a
game on record in World Series history.The Phillies had their patient fans in
sold-out Citizens Bank Park on their feet in the very first inning.Shortstop
Jimmy Rollins led off with a single, took second on a walk to the next batter,
advanced on a wild pitch and scored on a ground ball out to first by second
baseman Chase Utley.The fans packed into the concourse under cover out of the
rain, 25 Oct 2008The Rays tied the game in their next at-bat, but the Phllies
went right back ahead in their half of the second inning on a solo home run by
Ruiz. Utley and Phillies' slugger Ryan Howard made it 4-1 in the sixth inning
on back-to-back solo home runs. The Rays cut the lead to 4-3 in the seventh
inning and tied the game at 4-all in the eighth.For the nearly 46,000
Philadelphia fans who stuck around until the Phillies scored the winning run in
the ninth inning at almost 2 am, the wait was worth it.All three games in this
series have been close, and Phillies' manager Charlie Manual said they could
have gone either way."We're 2-1, and actually we could have been 3-0, or
basically Tampa could have been 3-0. I mean games have been real close, and
there's been chances for both teams to win all the games," said manual. "And,
so far, it's been an outstanding series."Ryan Howard, who broke out of his
hitting slump with his home run, put this win in perspective.
"It was definitely huge, you know, to come out here and win the first game here
in Philly [Philadelphia]. You know, you definitely want to come out and try to
set the tone and put you in a good position to try to come out tomorrow
[Sunday] and try to get another game," said Howard.This was the first World
Series game in this East coast city in 15 years, and the Phillies will try to
take a commanding three games to one lead at home in Game 4 Sunday night.
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