Nigeria Pushes to Eradicate Polio, Vaccinates Millions of Children

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A Nigerian health education organization, says the Nigerian government must go beyond encouraging compliance and compel all Nigerians to immunize their children

Nigerian health workers Saturday began house-to-house immunization of 25 million children under the age of five in a new drive to halt the spread of polio.

Polio jingles fill up the airwaves as thousands of men and women in green and white aprons fan out across Nigeria administering polio vaccines to those under the age of five years old.

In a calamitous setback in mid-2003, Nigeria's northern states halted the vaccination campaign for a year after rumors swept the region that the vaccine contained the AIDS virus or was part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslim girls. Within a couple of years, scores of once polio-free countries have had outbreaks traceable to Nigeria.

Aminu Ahmed, a polio victim, heads the polio victims association in Kano, a city hit particularly hard by the virus. "If I reach your house, first of all I will ask you 'do you like your son to be like me?' If you say yes we are leaving you to go. If you say no okay give your children to [be] immunized. You survive your children because you don't know the time polio will 'arrest' your son," he said.

Despite efforts of people like Ahmed, polio rates are climbing in Nigeria. So far this year, Nigeria has had 30 cases of polio-induced paralysis, compared to 19 in the first two months of 2008.

The Rotary Club is one several polio partners. Its northern Nigeria district head Gordy Antai says some health workers are not sufficiently committed to polio eradication. "We really need to get the political will. We need to talk to the government so that we can ensure that the right people are sent to the field. Because some people are complaining they are not prepared, some people are complaining they are tired and so on," he said.

Polio vaccinations in Kano resumed in 2004 after clinical trials in and outside Nigeria proved the vaccines were safe. But many people are still skeptical and refuse to administer polio vaccines to their children.

A Kano resident, Isiaku Gumawa, says the high priority for polio innuculation to the detriment of more pressing diseases has contributed to the rejection of polio vaccinations in parts of the north. "I will prefer they take up malaria and sometimes Guinea worm, and one of the sicknesses which is very common and in every home. If the general public realizes that what is disturbing them has been tackled, what they don't know they will give attention because they have seen the benefits. Now everybody has malaria, they didn't care about malaria but they come to polio, which is not in every home. In my opinion, this is the mistake the authorities made," he said.

Generally, an increased number of people are now willing to allow their children take polio vaccines as a result of sustained vaccination campaigns. Even radical Muslim clerics, who led the 2003 boycott, are now campaigning for the acceptance of polio vaccination. Ibrahim Mohammed is the Jumat Imam of Karfo community in Kara Local Government Area of Kano state. Speaking through a translator, he said "He uses a lot of strategies to inform people, especially the stand of taking vaccines in Islam; He is able to bring out the Koran and the Prophet's book which we call Hadith. He is able to make sure people realize what Islam says about prevention. And then he writes sermons during Friday's prayers to speak to people that attend the mosque about the importance of preventing polio."

The immunization campaign in Nigeria is part of a $67 million United Nations-supported program spanning eight other countries in the region: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Togo.

U.S. billionaire Bill Gates was in Nigeria recently to announce a $50 million grant to support polio eradication.

A veteran polio fighter in Kano, Dr. Lola Mobugunje, says with the availability of more funds and the commitment of campaigners polio eradication will happen sooner than later. "I am very positive that we will see the end of polio eradication the way it was done to small pox. It is a matter of time. We will see the end of it," he said.

Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease mainly affecting young children. It is caused by a virus transmitted through contaminated water or food.

The World Health Organization has listed Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as the only polio-endemic countries in the world.

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US, China Hold Military Talks after 5-Month 'Pause'

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China and the United States ended two days of military talks in Beijing on Saturday. This comes five months after China froze virtually all military exchanges between the two countries, in response to a major U.S. arms sale to Taiwan in October.

At the beginning of the two-day talks in Beijing on Friday, the Chinese Defense Ministry's Major General Qian Lihua said that China-U.S. military relations "remain difficult."

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Sedney during a press conference in Beijing, China, 28 Feb 2009

Yet as the talks ended Saturday, Qian's U.S. counterpart was describing a different mood entirely. David Sedney, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, told reporters these were the most positive and productive talks he has participated in between the U.S. and China military establishments in his 18 years of experience.

"They were the best not because we pretended that everything was fine and that everything was resolved, but because we worked very seriously to address the obstacles while at the same time engaging in some discussions in some of the new areas, like counter-piracy, where we came up with some really concrete ways to move forward," he said.

Besides praising China's anti-piracy efforts in waters off the coast of Somalia, Sedney said progress was made in discussing issues like military transparency.

The U.S. delegation also briefed the Chinese on American activities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and neighboring regions. Sedney said he described U.S. President Barack Obama's plan for an ongoing strategic review in Afghanistan, as well as Mr. Obama's decision to send 17,000 additional troops there.

"They were quite interested, as they pointed out, Afghanistan and Pakistan are both neighbors of China and they follow those situations very closely," said Sedney. "It's one of those areas where we do have some shared objectives. We both are concerned about terrorism, we both are concerned about extremism."

Sedney said the Chinese side acknowledged that more countries need to give assistance in Afghanistan, but no specific requests were made of the Chinese government during these talks.

Although Sedney was overwhelming in his praise for the frank and friendly nature of the talks, the one issue where it seems little progress was made was Taiwan.

China, which considers Taiwan as part of its territory, cancelled most cooperative events in the military sphere after the U.S. made a $6.5 billion arms sale to the self-ruled island last October. Sedney said this sale, which includes advanced weaponry such as 30 Apache helicopters and 330 Patriot missiles, is still moving forward.

Sedney called the last five months of frozen exchanges a "pause" that gave both sides more perspective on the need for continuing dialogue. He said both the U.S. and China agreed to hold high-level military exchanges very soon.

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A Year after Violence, Annan Urges More Action by Kenyan Leaders

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Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki (l) and opposition chief Raila Odinga sign agreement in Nairobi, 28 Feb 2008

Saturday marks the first anniversary of the power-sharing agreement between Kenya's two main political factions, which put an end to two months of ethnic and political violence that killed over 1,000 people. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who mediated the agreement, called on Kenya's leaders to renew their commitment to the reforms they agreed to address, if they want to avoid a return to violence.

One year ago, Kenya's president, Mwai Kibaki, and his chief opponent in the December 2007 election, then-opposition leader Raila Odinga, signed an agreement to share power. The agreement installed Mr. Odinga in the newly-created job of prime minister.

The deal put an end to the violent protests and ethnic attacks that had killed over 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands following the disputed announcement of Mr. Kibaki's re-election.

So far, the coalition has held, and widespread violence has not returned. But Kenyans appear increasingly pessimistic about the coalition government's ability or commitment to address the major challenges facing the country, from corruption, to constitutional reform, to punishing the perpetrators of last year's violence.

In a recorded audio address, Mr. Annan echoed this sentiment.

"Whilst considerable progress was made in the early stages of the process, that momentum has been lost. One year after the signing of the power-sharing accord, Kenyans are feeling frustrated at the slow pace of change. I can understand those sentiments," he said.

In addition to the political arrangement - in which Mr. Odinga's party controls a majority in parliament and half the Cabinet appointments, while Mr. Kibaki retains the powerful presidency - the country's leaders agreed to tackle underlying problems that contributed to the violence. Mr. Annan says there has been little progress in this regard.

"The root causes of last year's crisis need to be comprehensively addressed if the country is to avoid a repeat of the violence. These include constitutional and institutional reforms, land reform, and reducing the huge gap between the haves and the have-nots. Other priorities are creating more jobs for youth, equal access to opportunities, promoting ethnic harmony, ending the culture of impunity, and promoting transparency and accountability," he said.

A new constitution was to be introduced within a year of the new government, but there has been little action so far. The government has introduced a bill to create an independent tribunal to try those suspected of organizing the post-election violence, but lawmakers have so far rejected it. Much of the government's energy has been spent responding to other crises, including a food shortage, and a series of corruption scandals.

The latest crisis to hit the government is the recommendation by the U.N.'s special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings that Kenya's police commissioner and attorney general step down for their role in allowing widespread executions by the police force.

On Friday, a coalition of NGOs urged the government to endorse the rapporteur's recommendations. The director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Muthoni Wanyeki, said his findings are the product of a comprehensive investigation.

"In light of this the undersigned organizations hereby demand that the government takes all measures to one, forthwith retract their ill-advised dismissal of the U.N. rapporteur's report and acknowledge the wide spread of state-perpetrated executions," said Wanyeki.

The government's spokesman has rejected the rapporteur's recommendations, though others in the government, including Justice Minister Martha Karua, an ally of the president, have said the government will consider them.

Such political divisions, both between the major parties, and between members of the same faction, have been on open display since the coalition was formed.

In a statement released Friday, President Kibaki said the government had made "commendable progress" toward fundamental reforms, including the creation of commissions to investigate post-election violence and the electoral system. He said the government was working on recommendations by the commissions.

In an interview published in newspapers Saturday, Prime Minister Odinga said the coalition has been laying the foundation for future reform, and that more progress would come by the time the next elections arrive in 2012.

But in a recent poll, a majority of respondents said the government has not had any major accomplishments. And a majority also said they thought the government would not hold together until the next elections.

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Central Asia Emerges from Soviet Past

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In recent years, Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union have emerged as increasingly independent players in a region where Moscow was the only player for most of the 20th century. Central Asia's strategic location in the middle of the world's biggest continent and its generous supplies of energy and water offer local leaders an opportunity to balance international interests with their own.

Uzbekistan on Wednesday agreed to allow NATO to use its territory to transport non-military cargo to Afghanistan; partially reversing the 2005 eviction of the United States from an Uzbek air base after Washington criticized the country's human rights record. Turkmenistan has also indicated it would allow transfer of NATO humanitarian cargo. But earlier in February, Kyrgyzstan evicted the United States from its Manas air base near Bishkek after Russia offered that country a multi-billion dollar aid package.

Political observers say these decisions reflect a new direction of foreign policy for Central Asian countries. They say it allows them to makes decisions based on the best deals, be it with Russia, the United States, China, or the European Union.

Murat Suimbayev

However, Murat Suimbayev, Professor of international relations at Kyrgyz State University in Bishkek, says Central Asian countries are still not as independent of Russia as they would like to be.

Suimbayev says Central Asian countries cannot, for example, sell cotton to the United States, but they can to Russia, so accordingly, there is little prospect of the U.S. becoming a significant trading partner in Central Asia. This, he says, was a factor that made it so easy for Uzbekistan to reject a strategic partnership with America in 2005 and why Kyrgyzstan evicted the U.S. from its Manas airbase. Suimbayev adds that the decisions were relatively painless in terms of trade or security.

Though Kyrgyzstan's decision may have been influenced by Russia, Moscow's relations with Tajikistan have cooled over the past two years. Andrei Grozin, head of the Central Asia Department at Moscow's CIS Institute, says this is because of mounting problems in Tajikistan.

Grozin says Tajikistan is looking for a power center that could help solve those problems. He says he doesn't know if that center will be the United States, the European Union Russia or China, but suggests it does not matter to Tajik leaders. Grozin notes, however, that Russia does not want to assume responsibility for the problems of Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries during the current global economic downturn.

While Grozin recognizes Central Asia's potential for investment, including fossil fuels and hydroelectric power, he says they involve significant risk. He notes that the Obama administration is not likely to add Central Asian troubles to the burden it is already carrying in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Analysts say the U.S. interest in Central Asia beyond fighting the war in Afghanistan is not clear. But Washington is interested in pipelines that would deliver Central Asian oil and gas to the West, circumventing Russia. Currently, Moscow has a regional pipeline monopoly, but Alexey Malashenko, a Central Asian analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center, says it is likely to be broken.

Malashenko says the question is how Russia will lose its monopoly, and what it will do to preserve its influence and positions along alternate routes. He says maintaining that influence is very important, and if Russia has smart people, they will take care of the matter; if not, there's nothing Russians can do about it.

Where Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have large supplies of oil and natural gas, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have an abundance of a more vital commodity -- water. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have shortages.

Grozin says the issue of water is an irritant in Uzbek-Tajik relations. Tajikistan is considering construction of a dam, which Tashkent fears would give Dushanbe too much political leverage.

Malashenko agrees about the importance of water in Central Asia. He says water is [the region's] most painful and dangerous issue, because if a local conflict erupts, it won't be over borders or ethnic problems, but for water, because water is life. He says no one has been able to serve as an intermediary, or to offer a solution to the problem [of water shortages], though everyone has tried -- Russia, the Chinese and now Europe.

Maleshenko says, although Central Asian countries are members of several regional economic and security organizations, there is more conflict than cooperation among them. He notes numerous border disputes and poor economic ties as reflected by the absence of direct flights between Tashkent and Dushanbe. Grozin adds that Kazakhstan, the regional economic leader, has begun deporting its neighbors' impoverished migrant workers, and is involved in a contest for regional political leadership with Uzbekistan. Grozin says the global economic crisis has also limited the potential to develop Central Asia.

Grozin says all of the problems we see today in the economies of post-Soviet Central Asia are tied to sharply diminished interest in the region by international players. He says it is an area that remains interesting, but not a priority.

Malashenko says the countries of Central Asia are forging their own national identities, though memory of the Soviet Union and a time of no borders still lingers, particularly among the older generation. But he hastens to add that few would favor a return of Soviet rule, especially the young.

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Proverbs: Some Listeners’ Favorite Sayings

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More Expressions About A Common Truth or Belief. Transcript of radio broadcast:


Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

A proverb is a short, well known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Many proverbs give advice about the best way to live.

Recently, we presented a program about proverbs. We asked our listeners to send us their favorite proverbs. A short time later, we received suggestions from around the world. We heard from listeners in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

The top proverb among these listeners is this one: "Where there is a will, there is a way." This means that you can rise above your problems if you have a goal and work very hard.

Some listeners liked another proverb: "Strike while the iron is hot." This means it is best to take action quickly and at the right time. Another favorite proverb was, "God helps those who help themselves."

Xu Da-ju from China wrote that his country has thousands of proverbs. Several of them are also used in the United States. One example is "Birds of a feather flock together." This means that people who are alike often become friends or spend time together.

Another proverb is "Blood is thicker than water." This means family ties are stronger than other relationships. A similar proverb states "Charity begins at home." A person should help his family or close friends before helping others.

Alina from China sent us this proverb: "He who would climb a ladder must begin at the bottom." That is good advice when working around your home or looking for a job.

Antonio Jose from Brazil says his favorite proverb is "Tell me who walks with you, and I'll tell you who you are." Didier Vermeulen of France sent us this one: "It does not matter the speed you go. The most important thing is to never stop."

Wafaa from Egypt says his favorite proverb is, "Think twice, act wise." He also says he is making an effort to use this saying in his life.

Another favorite proverb among our listeners is "Practice makes perfect." This means you will become good at something if you keep doing it. Another popular proverb is: "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

Najeeb from Afghanistan sent us this proverb: "If you risk nothing, then you risk everything."

And, here is the favorite proverb of Marius Meledje in Ivory Coast: "Your defeat now is your victory in the future." He says it means you can learn from your mistakes. This will help you do better when facing similar situations in the future.

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This VOA Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. We will present more programs about proverbs in the future. And you can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

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John Lewis, 1920-2001: He Created One of the Most Famous Jazz Groups in America, the Modern Jazz Quartet

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Lewis combined classical music with traditional jazz to create songs for himself and the three other members of his quartet. Transcript of radio broadcast:

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about pianist John Lewis. He created one of one of the most famous jazz groups in America, the Modern Jazz Quartet.

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VOICE ONE:

John Lewis

John Lewis was known for his creativity. He was a skilled piano player and musical director of the Modern Jazz Quartet for almost fifty years. He wrote and arranged all the music for the small group. Mister Lewis was responsible for the group's sound and its identity.

John Lewis was interested in jazz, blues, and bebob, a music with a great deal of energy. Yet he was also greatly influenced by his training in European classical music. Classical music is expressive and intense, but is also structured. He thought jazz should be presented the same way.

John Lewis combined classical music with traditional jazz to create songs for himself and the three other members of his quartet. He believed music should be simple and clear, yet played in a meaningful way. Here is one of the Modern Jazz Quartet's big hits, "Django."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

John Lewis was greatly influenced by the piano style of the famous jazz bandleader, Count Basie. Like Basie, Lewis believed in making every note of music count. He depended as much on silence as he did on notes to get his message across.

John Lewis often used a form of music called fugue. Fugue is a series of opposing melodies used to create a complex effect. Mister Lewis also combined written music with music that the group invented as it went along.

This new kind of jazz attracted both lovers of jazz and classical music. It also appealed to people who did not necessarily like jazz. Here is an example of fugue in the song "Alexander's Fugue."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Modern Jazz Quartet members from left, John Lewis, Connie Kay, above, Milt Jackson, below, and Percy Heath, right.

The Modern Jazz Quartet included John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath and Connie Kay. The group made its first recording in nineteen fifty-two. And they continued to play together, with a seven year break, until nineteen ninety-nine.

John Lewis was as concerned about appearances as he was about the music. The musicians had to dress well for every performance. They played mostly in concert halls instead of small dance clubs. Lewis believed jazz should receive the same respect as classical music.

VOICE TWO:

John Lewis was born in La Grange, Illinois, in nineteen twenty. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He started playing the piano when he was seven. As a teenager, he played professionally in churches around Albuquerque. He soon was playing in local dance halls.

Lewis studied anthropology and music at the University of New Mexico. In nineteen forty-two, he joined the Army and served in Europe during World War Two.

After the war, Lewis moved to New York City and played in Dizzy Gillespie's big band. He also studied for his master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music.

VOICE ONE:

John Lewis played in the rhythm section of Gillespie's band. Other members were drummer Kenny Clarke, bass player Ray Brown and vibraphone player Milt Jackson. The four often performed together while the horn players in the band rested.

The four band members continued to work together after leaving Dizzy's group in the late nineteen forties. At that time, they were criticized for not playing "true jazz." But they continued anyway. Ray Brown and Kenny Clarke soon left the group. Bass player Percy Heath and drummer Connie Kay replaced them. In nineteen fifty-two, the group became the Modern Jazz Quartet and established its own identity.

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen fifty-six, the Modern Jazz Quartet played a series of concerts in Europe. The group helped make jazz popular with many music listeners in Europe. The members of the quartet had become major stars by the time they returned to the United States.

The Modern Jazz Quartet continued to perform all over the world for sold-out crowds until the late nineteen seventies. People loved the group's teamwork and their amazing sound. Listen as we play "Vendome", another big hit.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Critics say John Lewis's "less is more" piano style and Milt Jackson's energy on the vibraphone were the secret to the group's long-lasting success.

Yet over the years, Mister Jackson expressed dissatisfaction with limits that were put on his talents. The group separated in nineteen seventy-four. However, the members of the quartet reunited after seven years. They played together until Milt Jackson's death in nineteen ninety-nine.

In addition to his work with the Modern Jazz Quartet, John Lewis worked for many years as musical director of the Monterey Jazz Festival in California. He wrote the music for several Hollywood films. He taught at Harvard University and the City College of New York. And he helped establish a jazz school in Massachusetts.

VOICE TWO:

Through the years, John Lewis worked with some of the biggest names in jazz, including trumpet player Miles Davis. Yet for all the praise Lewis received, he was known for putting the interests of the group over the individual.

John Lewis lived a quiet life with his wife, Mirjana, in New York City. In March, two thousand one, he died of cancer. He was eighty years old. His death officially marked the end of a historic period in modern jazz.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. Our audio engineer was Roy Benson. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.

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Obama Says He Is Ready for Budget Fight

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President Obama's broadcast address, 28 Feb 2009

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on lawmakers to pass his huge federal budget, and says he is ready to fight for the reforms it includes.

President Obama admits that it will not be easy to persuade Congress to pass his $3.5 trillion spending plan for the 2010 fiscal year. In his weekly broadcast address, the president says lobbyists and special interest groups will oppose his plans to reform the health care, banking and energy industries, among others. But he says he will not back down.

"I know these steps will not sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business, and I know they are gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them is this: so am I," he said.

Mr. Obama says his budget fulfills promises he made during last year's presidential campaign. Among them was a pledge to end tax breaks for wealthy Americans. His plan would have the wealthiest five percent pay $1 trillion in higher taxes over the next decade, while most others would get tax cuts.

"I did not come here to do the same thing we have been doing or to take small steps forward, I came to provide the sweeping change that this country demanded when it went to the polls in November. That is the change this budget starts to make, and that is the change I will be fighting for in the weeks ahead," he said.

The White House predicts the United States will enter the new fiscal year with a budget deficit of $1.75 trillion - the largest since World War II, and four times the size of this year's deficit.

In the Republican Party response, Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina criticizes the cost of the budget. He says Washington is "in a state of denial" about government spending.

"This week, the president submitted to Congress the single largest increase in federal spending in the history of the United States, while driving the deficit to levels that were once thought impossible," he said.

Mr. Obama proposed his first federal budget on Thursday, and pledged to bring the deficit back down over several years.

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Palestinians on Strike over Israeli Plan to Demolish Homes

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A new land dispute in Jerusalem that could force hundreds of Arabs from their homes is stirring up Palestinian anger.

Palestinians went on strike in protest over Israel's plans to demolish 88 Arab homes in disputed East Jerusalem. Schools and shops are closed in East Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank.

The strike was called after Israeli municipal officials and security forces visited several homes in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan near Jerusalem's Old City. That raised fears that the demolition of the houses is imminent.

One of the Palestinian strikers, East Jerusalem shopkeeper Mounzar Karadi, said Israel is not interested in peace.

"The peace process is not existing any more after more houses demolished, more land taken, more settlements have been built in the West Bank," he said. "People became desperate, hopeless, and the situation is very bad."

Palestinian youths watch a bulldozer destroy a house in the Silwan neighborhood of east Jerusalem, 05 Nov 2008

Jerusalem Municipality officials say the homes slated for demolition were built illegally and they are simply imposing the law. But Palestinians say they cannot get building permits and that Israel is trying to drive Arab residents out of Jerusalem.

The city, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims, is one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel sees Jerusalem as its eternal capital while Palestinians see it as the capital of their future state.

The outgoing Israeli government was prepared to relinquish parts of Jerusalem under a peace deal with the Palestinians, but former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not. Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party have been tasked with forming the next Israeli government, putting him in line to recapture the prime minister's job if he can form a coalition. He has vowed that Jerusalem will never be divided again.

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ASEAN Summit in Thailand Focused on Global Financial Crisis

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has opened its annual summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, with a display of confidence in facing the global financial crisis. But, Rights groups are expressing disappointment with the lack of engagement on human rights.

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva delivers a speech at the open ceremony at the 14th ASEAN in Cha-am, Thailand, 28 Feb 2009

The ASEAN summit officially opened Saturday with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressing confidence in the organization's ability to weather the global financial crisis.

Mr. Abhisit said Southeast Asia had made it through both the Cold War and the 1997 Asian financial crisis by acting together. He said their response to the global slow-down would be no different.

"We'll be severely tested from now on, both as a group and as a part of a broader Asian region," said Mr. Abhisit. "As the financial crisis deepens, the world will look towards our region for action and for confidence, which is exactly what we in ASEAN are set out to do."

Before the start of the summit, leaders from the 10 member countries held meetings to discuss challenges in the region.

They signed various technical agreements on economic and trade cooperation.

The most important deal was a landmark free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand that could add tens of billions of dollars to their collective economies.

An activist holds a poster at ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, 28 Feb 2009

The ASEAN summit is being held under the banner of being a "people's" ASEAN, and for the first time involved direct engagement with rights groups.

But on Saturday government delegates from Burma and Cambodia refused to meet with rights groups' representatives from their own countries, despite the dialogue being on the official schedule.

Debbie Stothardt

Debbie Stothard is a coordinator with the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, also known as Myanmar. She says the rights groups had no choice but to withdraw their Burmese and Cambodian representatives from the dialogue.

"We were put in a position where, as usual, the dialogue would be canceled simply because of Myanmar, and in this case Cambodia, being inflexible and being too afraid to face their own civil society," she said.

Women's Caucus representative Wathshlah Naidu said rights group representatives from Laos and Brunei did not take part in the meeting either, apparently out of fear for repercussions from their governments.

Soe Aung

Soe Aung is with the Burmese rights group delegation that was not allowed at the meeting. He told journalists ASEAN needed to change its policy of non-interference or no change would ever come to Burma.

"As long as the change did not take place in Burma, the ASEAN will not change at all," he said. "So, Burma's human rights violations continue. Arrest and imprisonment of the politicians, activists, will not bring ASEAN any further."

Rights groups have been critical of ASEAN's formation of a human rights body that has no power to criticize or punish human rights violators.

ASEAN Human Rights Panel Chairman Sihasuk Phuangketkeow at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, 28 Feb 2009

The chairman of the panel forming the body, Sihasuk Phuangketkeow, defended it Saturday saying its purpose was not to single out violators but to increase awareness by promoting human rights protection.

"You can condemn, but probably you might not be able to make a difference on the ground," he said. "So, we're talking about making a difference, about preventing human rights abuses. And, you have to start somewhere."

ASEAN was formed in 1967 as an anti-Communist alliance during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Its members now include the communist governments of Vietnam and Laos and military-run Burma, a pariah state that overthrew a democratically elected government. The other members are Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines.

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Second Mass Grave Found in Bangladesh

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A second mass grave has been unearthed at the headquarters of the mutinous paramilitary border guards in the Bangladeshi capital. More than 75 bodies have been found, mostly senior military personnel, but dozens more officers have not been accounted for. Meanwhile, the head of the Bangladesh army is pledging support for the two-month-old civilian government amid fears soldiers will launch reprisal strikes for the slaying of so many of their colleagues and members of their families.

Amid a three-day period of national mourning, which began Friday, Bangladesh is still coming to grips with the extent of this week's massacre at the Dhaka headquarters of the paramilitary border guards.

Uniformed bodies of army officers, shot and bayoneted, continue to be found in mass graves at the compound of the force they commanded, the Bangladesh Rifles, known as the BDR.

Seeking to allay fears that a grieving and angry army could seek revenge against the mutinous paramilitaries, the army chief, General Moeen Ahmed, met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He is said to have pledged the military's loyalty to the civilian government and urged the nation to stay calm.

Sheikh Hasina Wajed (file photo)

The prime minister is calling the uprising a well-planned conspiracy.

She says, at this point, all BDR members are presumed guilty and the government will find out who is responsible for the killings.

In an effort to end the two-day mutiny, the prime minister initially promised amnesty for the rebels. But the army's second-in-command, Lieutenant General Mohammad Abdul Mubin, says that is not going to happen.

The general declares the troops who took part in what he calls "barbaric and grisly acts" cannot be pardoned and will not be pardoned.

For a second day along the 4,000 kilometer long border with India, the BDR guards were not observed at their posts. Analysts and Indian media say it is unclear whether they are inside the barracks or have fled.

Several hundred soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles, who either escaped from the scene of the carnage in Dhaka or abandoned their posts across the country, have been detained.

Bangladesh border guards prepare to surrender arms at their headquarters in Dhaka, 26 Feb 2009

Rebels of the paramilitary force claimed they took action during the uprising to protest their poor pay and mistreatment by their commanders, who come from the army.

Bangladesh, since winning independence in a 1971 war with Pakistan, has suffered numerous military takeovers and coup attempts.

The prime minister's father, Sheikh Mujibuy Rahman, who was the country's first head of state, was killed in a 1975 military coup.

Ms. Hasina, previously prime minister for five years until 2001, regained power in democratic elections two months ago, ending a period of emergency rule by a military-backed government.

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Two Cases, Recession Bring New Attention to Domestic Violence

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Experts say the economic downturn could lead to an increase in abuse of women, and make it harder to leave abusive relationships. Transcript of radio broadcast:

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

President Richard Nixon used to say that the first civil right of every American "is the right to be free from domestic violence." That was forty years ago, a time of civil disorder and high crime. "Domestic violence" really meant crimes between strangers. Now it means the opposite, with two recent reminders in the news.

About 20 people in Caldwell, Idaho, marched against family violence last October as part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

On February twelfth, outside Buffalo, New York, Muzzammil Hassan, a well-known local businessman, told police that his wife was dead. Officers found Aasiya Zubair Hassan with her head cut off. The couple created the Bridges TV network, an effort to unite American Muslims and increase understanding across cultures.

In the days before her death, Aasiya Hassan had taken legal steps to divorce her husband. She had also requested a restraining order demanding he stay away from her. Now he is charged with murder.

Another case involved two popular young singers. On February eighth, Los Angeles police arrested Chris Brown after a fight that reportedly left injuries on his girlfriend, Rihanna. No charges have yet been brought, but Chris Brown said in a statement that he was "sorry and saddened" over what happened.

Rihanna and Chris Brown performing together in New York last December

The Justice Department says domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of abusive behavior used by one partner in any relationship to control another partner. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, or economic abuse -- controlling someone's finances.

Women are more likely to experience domestic violence, but men are also victims. And groups are working to bring more attention to abusive teenage relationships.

In the United States each year, an estimated four out of one thousand females older than twelve are victims of non-fatal domestic violence. Justice Department researchers say this is down sixty percent from nineteen ninety-three.

Still, the National Network to End Domestic Violence says programs across the country served more than sixty thousand victims on any average day last year.

Researchers say women are more likely to be victimized by their partner during times of financial stress. The United States has lost more than three and a half million jobs since the recession began more than a year ago. But about half of those jobs have been lost in the last three months.

Richard Gelles at the University of Pennsylvania studies domestic violence. He says he does not expect an increase in domestic killings as a result of the economy. But he does expect an increase in other kinds of abuse. He also says the economic situation will make it more difficult for some victims to leave abusive relationships.

Physical abuse is always a crime, but domestic violence laws differ from state to state. Claire Wright at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, says legal protections do not always cover all kinds of abuse. She also says abusers may simply change their method of exercising control, to try to reduce their chances of getting caught.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

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Clinton Cautious on Palestinian Reconciliation Efforts

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday reconciliation efforts between the main Palestinian factions will not mean progress for the region unless Hamas accepts international terms for peace talks with Israel. Clinton spoke to VOA in advance of her first trip to the Middle East as Secretary beginning late Saturday.

Clinton acknowledges her trip comes at a sensitive time in both Israeli and Palestinian politics, but says the circumstances will not affect the Obama administration's commitment to seeking a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.

In an interview with VOA, the Secretary said she will go to the international donor conference on Gaza reconstruction in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Monday with a significant U.S. pledge - widely reported to be $900 million in new assistance.

But she made clear the aid package will not benefit the radical Islamic movement Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007.

She said the United States wants to strengthen a Palestinian partner committed to the peace-making principles of the international Middle East Quartet including recognition of Israel and renunciation of violence. She said aid money will only be spent if it is clear U.S. goals will not be undermined or subverted.

Fatah's Ahmed Qurei (l) and Hamas' Mussa Abu Marzug speak during their meeting in Cairo, 26 Feb 2009

In that regard, she sounded a cautious note about the Cairo agreement Thursday between Hamas and the mainstream Fatah movement aimed at creating a new Palestinian unity government.

"I believe that it's important, if there is some reconciliation and a move toward unified authority, that it's very clear that Hamas knows the conditions that have been set forth by the Quartet, by the Arab [League] summit," she said. "And they must renounce violence, recognize Israel and abide by previous commitments. Otherwise, I don't think it will result in the kind of positive step forward either for the Palestinian people, or as a vehicle for a reinvigorated effort to obtain peace that leads to a Palestinian state."

In addition to attending the donors conference, Clinton will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and several Arab and European foreign ministers on efforts to advance the peace process.

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell in Cairo, Egypt, 28 Jan 2009

She'll also confer there with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, who has been in the region since Tuesday and has met with the principals in Israel's post-election coalition negotiations, including Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu.

The right-leaning Israeli Likud party leader has not endorsed the two-state solution that is the basis of U.S. policy, but Clinton side-stepped a question as to whether the prospect of a Netanyahu-led government was a matter of concern.

"Our policy remains, as it is the policy of the Quartet, and the Arab League peace initiative, to move toward a two-state solution," she said. "And there is not yet a government in Israel, so clearly we have not had an opportunity to consult with anyone. But we will certainly convey our strong commitment to a two-state solution."

Clinton will spend two days in Jerusalem and commute to nearby Ramallah in the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Later in the week she attends a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, and ends the trip with talks with Turkish officials in Ankara.

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Obama Announces Iraq Exit Plan

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President Barack Obama speaks during a visit to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, 27 Feb 2009

President Barack Obama says the United States will withdraw most of its combat troops from Iraq in the next 18 months. Roughly one-third of the troops would stay through 2011 to provide security and training.

Almost six years after the war in Iraq began, President Obama has assigned a date to the end of the war. "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," he said.

The president made his announcement Friday at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina. Thousands of Marines there have been sent to Iraq, and thousands more are getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan.

The 18-month timetable is slower than the 16-month withdrawal Mr. Obama had promised voters last year, but still accelerates the U.S. exit.

The president's schedule for leaving Iraq was the one recommended by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and other top military advisers.

Mr. Obama plans to pull out roughly two-thirds of the 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. He says those who remain will train Iraqi security forces, protect civilians and fight terrorism. "After we remove our combat brigades, our mission will change from combat to supporting the Iraqi government and its security forces as they take the absolute lead in securing their country," he said.

The last U.S. troops are to leave Iraq by the end of 2011, under an agreement between the two countries.

Mr. Obama said another part of his strategy is for the U.S. to work with all the nations of the Middle East, including Iran and Syria. "Every nation and every group must know-whether you wish America good or ill-that the end of the war in Iraq will enable a new era of American leadership and engagement in the Middle East," he said.

Republican Senator John McCain, who sharply criticized Mr. Obama's Iraq withdrawal plan during last year's campaign, now says he is cautiously optimistic that the plan will work. "The greatest risk will be present ahead of the December elections, and conditions could worsen before or even after they take place. With these factors in mind, I believe the president's withdrawal is a reasonable one," he said.

In his speech at Camp Lejeune, President Obama also confirmed that Christopher Hill will be the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Hill was the Bush administration's lead negotiator with North Korea.

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Pakistani Protests Heat Up Following Supreme Court Ruling

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Pakistani protesters battled police for a third day on Friday following a Supreme Court decision upholding a ruling that banned former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from holding elected office because of a past criminal conviction. Critics of the government say the crisis in Pakistan is likely to worsen the country's economic difficulties, and could distract the U.S.-backed government from its fight against terrorism.

Supporters of former Prime minister Nawaz Sharif have been holding street protests and battling police since Wednesday when the Supreme Court banned Sharif, the leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N, from running in future elections. The ruling also disqualified and removed his younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, as the head of the government in the province of Punjab.

Nawaz Sharif, left, speaks as his brother Shahbaz Sharif looks on in Lahore (file

Sharif and his PML-N, which is Pakistan's second largest party, have accused President Asif Zardari of being behind the court ruling.

The political atmosphere further deteriorated after the president imposed executive rule (known as governor's rule) in Punjab in an attempt allegedly to bring his Pakistan Peoples Party, or PPP, to power in the province that had been ruled by Sharif's brother.

In a speech delivered late Thursday, Sharif urged officers and police in Punjab not to obey the orders of what he called "unconstitutional rulers". The former prime minister promised that officers who will do so will be rewarded once his party returns to power in Punjab.

Anti-government demonstrators chanting anti-Zardari slogans at protests in Punjab clashed with police who fired tear gas in an effort to disperse the crowds. Scores of people were detained.

Many critics of the government's actions say that at a time when the country is faced with rising threat of extremism, the Pakistani president should have allowed the PML-N-dominated provincial legislature to elect a new majority leader to replace Sharif's brother.

Even Sharif's critics like Senator Mushahid Hussain of a smaller opposition party in the parliament, known as PML-Q, are criticizing the president for imposing executive rule in Punjab.

"It is a recipe for destabilization and it has the potential, a domino effect, of unraveling the whole system if it is not reversed in time," he said. "There was no justification at all for trying to topple the Punjab government or try to convert a minority into a majority through executive fiat, which has been done. It is a reversion to the worst practices of bad politics of the past."

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari (file)

President Zardari's party, the PPP, leads a centrist coalition government. His spokesman has rejected allegations that the federal government had anything to do with the court decision.

Sharif's PML-N and Zardari's party have been the two main rival political parities of Pakistan struggling for power. They are known for trying to sabotage the government when the other party is in power.

Observers say that the political turmoil that erupted in Pakistan this week has added a new dimension to the Obama administration's regional review of U.S strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan for defeating al-Qaida-led terrorists.

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US Economy Shrinks More Than Expected in Fourth Quarter

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Hand-lettered sign stands in window of art gallery headed for closure in New Orleans, Louisiana, 7 Feb. 2009

A U.S. government report released Friday shows that output in the U.S. economy fell at a faster pace in the October to December quarter than previously reported. Gross domestic product fell at more than a six percent rate.

It was the worst quarterly performance for the U.S. economy in 26 years. Output declined at a 6.2 percent rate in the October to December period. Last month the government agency that collects economic data said the 4th quarter decline was a more modest 3.8 percent. The figures will be revised again next month as more data becomes available.

Economists are divided as to whether the pace of output shrinkage is accelerating or stabilizing. The 4th quarter pace of decline was more severe than what most forecasters expected. John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Bank, says the fourth quarter was likely the lowest point of the recession that began in December 2007.

"The fourth quarter was the worst quarter in the recession," he said. "Each quarter going forward is probably going to be a smaller negative number. "

Silvia bases his relative optimism on the likely impact of increased government spending that is intended to cushion the economic decline and stimulate recovery.

"I would say that in the private sector you're probably going to have [continued] recession," he said on Bloomberg Television. "It's only the government spending that is really going to get you positive GDP numbers, probably by the fourth quarter of this year."

For all of 2008 the U.S. economy registered a 1.1 percent advance, due mainly to significant growth in the second quarter of the year. An overall decline is expected for 2009.

Bad as the U.S. numbers are, they are even worse in Japan. The Japanese economy - the second biggest - is contracting at a 10 percent rate in the latest period. The global downturn is impacting all of the major industrial economies with Europe, North America and Japan all registering output shrinkage. Leaders of nations comprising 80 percent of global output, the Group of 20, will meet April 2 in London to discuss coordinated measures to lift the global economy out of its worst downturn in 60 years.

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Iraqi President Meets With Iranian Officials in Tehran

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, shakes hands with his Iraqi counterpart Jalal Talabani, during official welcome ceremony in Tehran, 27 Feb. 2009

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is visiting Tehran, Friday to meet with top Iranian leaders.

President Talabani was greeted at the airport in Tehran by top Iranian officials, as he arrived in the early morning Friday for his second visit to the Iranian capital in just over two years. Mr. Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party has traditionally been close to Iran.

Mr. Talabani, arrived for a three-day visit on the return-leg of a trip to South Korea, with a high-level delegation of Iraqi officials from the ministries of trade, electricity and foreign affairs.

Al-Iraqia TV reports that Iran is offering $1 billion in aid and trade credits to Iraq, in addition to helping with its electricity grid and other infrastructure projects.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali Debbagh says Iraq is an ideal trading partner for Iran. He says that the Iraqi market is open and any country or company or business can export to us, since we rely on a free-market system, based on competition. And I think that Iran has many products that it can export to us, provided that they do not flood our markets, either, since we have our own national industries to think about.

The Iraqi leader met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, as both country's delegations discussed trade and cooperation in the fields of education, culture and electricity. Ahmedinejad, who himself visited Iraq in March 2008, says that both country's can cooperate in multiple domains, now that relations are improving.

He says that the climate is improving between both countries and that they have many fields in which to exchange expertise, including industry, electricity, education and culture.

Iran and Iraq fought a bloody, eight-year war between 1980 and 1988, in which a half a million Iraqi and Iranian soldiers as well as civilians are believed to have died and many more injured and wounded.

Mr. Talabani will also reportedly met with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the head of Iran's Expediency Council Aly Akbar Hashemi Rafsandjani.

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Prosecutors Rest Case Against Former Liberian President

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Prosecutors in the Hague have rested their case against former Liberian leader Charles Taylor who is accused of war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone. There are concerns that the special court is running out of money.

The prosecution formally rested its case Friday after hearing from 91 witnesses in just over a year. Mr. Taylor is facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape, enslavement, and conscription of child soldiers.

The 11-count indictment alleges that the former Liberian rebel chief led members of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front across the border and he acted as their effective leader for much of Sierra Leone's ten-year civil war.

Mr. Taylor has pled not guilty to the charges which are being heard in a special court jointly established by the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone. The Freetown session of that court reached its final verdict Wednesday, finding the three most senior surviving members of the rebel RUF guilty of murder, sexual enslavement, and attacks against U.N. troops.

Mr. Taylor's trial had been moved to The Hague because of fears that his supporters might disrupt proceedings held in Sierra Leone.

Stephen Rapp (file photo)

Now the special court says Mr. Taylor may go free regardless of the trial if international donors do not cover a $5 million shortfall in the special court's $28 million budget. If the money runs out, Prosecutor Stephen Rapp expects defense attorneys to ask for his release.

"The defense would be in there trying to move to get Taylor freed because it wouldn't be fair to hold him if he couldn't be tried. And that would be a strong argument on their part," he said. "We would, of course, resist it. We would fight to keep him detained. But that is the kind of risk that a court faces. You can't hold somebody in jail indefinitely unless you are able to give him a trial."

Unlike the special courts for Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia which are funded by mandatory dues, Rapp says the special court for Sierra Leone is supported by voluntary contributions.

"It's sometimes a very challenging thing to raise these funds because states don't commit to say we will give you this much this year and this much next and this much the following year," he said. "Each year they have to make a decision."

"And in every country in the world, there are other needs that their government has to respond to. Particularly now with the world economic crisis that has hit some developed countries very hard, and who have very high budget deficits and a lot of needs within their borders, it's difficult to get the pledges that we need," he added.

Rapp expects a verdict by early next year, but only if money is provided to get the court through its funding gap this June, July, and August.

"It's been certainly a well-managed case," he said. "Since Taylor got the attorneys that he wanted, it has moved ahead very, very quickly. And it would be a tragedy if this case were somehow not to be able to be concluded."

The special court has scheduled oral submissions from Mr. Taylor's defense to begin April 6 on a Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. If that is denied, defense lawyers say the former Liberian leader will be their first witness.

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Israel's Netanyahu Fails to Bring Moderates into Coalition

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Israel's Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu (r) and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni shake hands prior to their meeting in Tel Aviv, 27 Feb 2009

Two weeks after Israeli elections, negotiations on forming a moderate national unity government have failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Israel's hawkish Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu met with his moderate rival, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, but failed to persuade her to bring her Kadima party into a government headed by him. Livni, who has served as chief negotiator with the Palestinians, said Mr. Netanyahu refused to endorse the principle of "two states for two peoples."

This meeting has ended without agreements on issues that I see as substantial, Livni said.

Mr. Netanyahu opposes the creation of a Palestinian state on grounds that it would threaten Israel's security, but he said he is ready to compromise for the sake of unity.

Mr. Netanyahu said he intends to continue peace talks with the Palestinians, though he did not elaborate on what approach he would take. He said a broad unity government is necessary to confront the serious security and economic challenges facing Israel. He specified the growing nuclear threat from Iran.

Without Livni, Mr. Netanyahu may have no choice but to form a right-wing government with smaller parties that support settlement expansion in the West Bank and oppose territorial concessions to the Palestinians.

While Mr. Netanyahu may sympathize with those views, that is not the government he wants because it could put Israel on a collision course with the United States, which is hoping to help Israel and the Palestinians forge a peace agreement.

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Johns Hopkins School Calls for UN Investigation into Burma's Handling of Cyclone Nargis Recovery

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A young survivor of the cyclone Nargis wait for relief supplies in Bogalay, Burma, 13 May 2008

A report led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine has called for a United Nations investigation into Burma's handling of aid and assistance to cyclone hit regions last year, accusing the military government of crimes against humanity. Relief groups are calling on Asian countries and the international community to press Burma's military government towards greater transparency and accountability in receiving assistance.

The report, a joint project of aid workers from the Thai-Burma border and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, charges Burma's military government with abuse and corruption in its handling of aid and recovery to the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region hit by last year's cyclone Nargis.

The report charges Burma's military of resisting international and regional aid, interference in assistance, confiscation of aid and resale, arrest of aid workers, discrimination in aid along ethnic lines, forced labor and confiscation of land.

Chris Beyer of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Chris Beyer, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says the key recommendation is for a United Nations investigation into the charges that may represent "crimes against humanity."

"Taken together there is an argument to be made for an assessment and we call for an investigation of crimes against humanity - that is based on the Rome Statute article 7-IK - essentially its based on the argument that there has been intentionally great suffering, mental and physical health," he said.

The project report, After the Storm: Voices from the Delta, was centered on interviews with relief workers and Burmese army defectors over several months after the devastation of the cyclone in May that claimed tens of thousand of lives.

Immediately after the cyclone, over 300 Burma aid workers from the Thai-Burma border worked as teams delivering assistance into the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region, often undercover to avoid military checkpoints and arrest.

Burma's military government has been widely criticized for its slow response to the disaster and restrictions it placed on access of assistance to the region, including direct aid from neighboring Asian countries.

Beyer says, based on the interviews with aid workers, the allegations of misconduct and abuse highlighted in the report appeared to be widespread throughout the Delta Region.

"We can say with some confidence that most of what was being reported was common," he said. "Force relocation, virtually everybody we interviewed reported forced relocation, forced labor was also common, forced child labor less common. The confiscation, thefts and resale of relief aid was ubiquitous - that appeared to be very much standard operating procedure throughout the area."

Dr. Cynthia Maung

Dr. Cynthia Maung, who oversees a Burmese health clinic in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, said the Association of South East Asian Nations - ASEAN - and international community had to pressure the military to be held accountable in the delivery of aid.

"As you see in the report and as we found out in the information inside Burma - the relief effort should be more thorough and more accountable," she said. "Our aim is to how to become more effective to deliver assistance as well as for the reconstruction of the country, how to rebuild or broaden the cooperation between the community organization and the international comunity".

The report stands in contrast to a recent positive review by the tripartite U.N, ASEAN and Burma's military, that the leadership "had gained a higher degree of confidence" in working with the international community. The tripartite assistance group called for a further $700 million in funding over three years to assist in longer term recovery to cyclone affected regions.

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Southern African Ministers Plan Regional Summit to Examine Zimbabwe Recovery Plan

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Southern African ministers meeting in South Africa have pledged to help Zimbabwe's reconstruction and plan to hold a special regional summit on the matter soon.

Ministers of the Southern Africa Development Community ended their meeting Friday in Cape Town with a promise to help Zimbabwe rebuild its economy, infrastructure and social services.

South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (file photo)

But the meeting's chairperson, South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, cautioned that obtaining funds for the massive undertaking will take time.

"We are all, in SADC, determined to help Zimbabwe mobilize resources but I can't guarantee how much will be raised when. The economic environment globally, is difficult so we will do our best," said Dlamini-Zuma.

She said SADC leaders are to hold a special summit on Zimbabwe, hopefully before the G-20 summit in April. The ministers said they would approach bilateral and multilateral donors to help finance the effort.

Zimbabwe's new unity government has proposed a $2 billion package aimed at reviving the economy, which has declined by 40 percent in the past 10 years, and restoring deteriorating infrastructure and public services.

Experts estimate that at least $5 billion will be needed to finance the reconstruction long-term.

However, they say Zimbabwe may face difficulties in obtaining funds from some donors because it is behind on repaying previous debts to some of them.

An official with the African Development Bank said his organization would not be able to provide any new financing until such arrears were paid up. But an official with the Development Bank of Southern Africa said Zimbabwe was current with his organization and could seek reconstruction money from it.

Other donors, in particular Western governments, have rejected any support other than direct humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe because of corruption and human rights abuses under President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party.

Robert Mugabe (file photo)

Mr. Mugabe two weeks ago entered into a power-sharing government with long-standing opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who became prime minister.

But Western governments have indicated no aid would be forthcoming as long as Mr. Mugabe remains in the government.

There are reports of in-fighting between senior officials of ZANU-PF and Mr. Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, each of which controls about one-half of the Cabinet ministries.

South Africa's Dlamini-Zuma said SADC ministers had discussed these reports with the Zimbabwean delegates.

"There will be teething problems but they [the Zimbabweans] assured us that they are all determined to make it work. And they have a mechanism which they are already using to deal with all those issues that may be problematic," she said.

Morgan Tsvangirai speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, 15 Jan 2009

Mr. Tsvangirai this week complained that Mr. Mugabe had appointed senior government and diplomatic officials without his consent as required by the power-sharing agreement that created the unity government. Mr. Mugabe rejected the charge saying the appointments were made before the government was created and therefore were legal.

The Zimbabwean prime minister also accused senior officials of blocking the release of some 30 political prisoners, some of whom have been detained for months without access to lawyers or medical care.

SADC officials said the issue was raised during the ministerial meeting and the ministers were told the prisoners would be released on bail but would still face the charges against them.

On Saturday Mr. Mugabe will attend a celebration marking his 85th birthday for which organizers say they have raised one quarter million dollars in donations. Mr. Tsvangirai says he will attend.

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Elephant Poaching Increasing in Kenya

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Kimani, a huge bull elephant, can be seen with a tracking collar in the Ol Pejeta conservancy near Mt. Kenya (File)

Conservationist groups are warning of a recent increase in the poaching of elephants in Kenya. Groups say that the trend reflects the UN's approval of a one-time ivory sale late last year, and a growing demand for ivory in China.

Amboseli National Park, which lies along the border with Tanzania in Kenya's south, under the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, is renowned for its herds of elephants. The park has long been seen as a safe environment for the animal.

But according to a recent report from the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, at least 19 elephants have been killed around the park in the past year. And Amboseli is not alone. Five elephants have been killed in Tsavo National Park, in the southeast. And according to Patrick Omondi, head of species management at the Kenya Wildlife Service, which runs Kenya's national parks, elephant poaching more than doubled last year.

"Within the last one year, we have seen an upsurge in poaching in many parts of Kenya, even in some of the parks that have never experienced poaching during this international ban period," said Omondi. "Last year alone, we lost 98 elephants for their ivory compared to 48 that we lost in 2007, so it more or less doubled."

For Omondi, and others, the reason for the increase is no mystery. The international ivory trade has been banned for the past two decades. But last year, the United Nations, under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, approved a one-time auction of ivory from four southern African countries - Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe - with large, stable populations of elephants. The auction is the second, along with a previous sale in 1997, since the ban went into effect.

The ivory for sale, of over 100 tons, was officially drawn from existing stockpiles. But many observers feared that opening up any sort of market for ivory would encourage illegal poaching.

"It has always gone hand in hand," said Alice Owen, the East Africa representative of the Born Free Foundation. "If there is sale of ivory then people want it, even up here in East Africa where they haven't approved sales."

Also driving the increase in poaching, many believe, is a growing demand for ivory in China, which was allowed to participate in last year's auction for the first time.

"Chinese have been involved in a lot of smuggling," said Omondi. "In fact, in the last year we have arrested so many Chinese nationals with illegal ivory in our international border.

This week China's foreign ministry released a statement reaffirming its commitment to the international ban on ivory trading. But the government's statement that it places posters warning against ivory trading in the consular sections of its embassies in Africa itself suggests that a problem exists.

Many observers fear that the threat of poaching could be worse in other parts of Africa, such as Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where enforcement efforts are not as sophisticated as in Kenya and where record-keeping is not as extensive.

The current threat is not on the same scale as in past decades. In the 1970's and 1980's, the world's elephant population dropped by hundreds of thousands, with Kenya hit particularly hard, before a ban on the ivory trade was established in 1989. But still, Omondi says the trend is worrying.

"We have not reached the levels of the 1970's and 1980's, but the rate at which the demand for ivory is growing across the continent and I believe in the world is worrying and is something that requires collaborative efforts," he said.

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Women's Rights Group Opens Chapter in Morocco

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A French women's rights group that led major marches to denounce violence to women in France's immigrant heavy suburbs is opening its first formal chapter in the Muslim world - in Morocco. But the reception is mixed for the group, with some finding its name - as well as its existence, offensive.

Five years after it was launched, the rights group, Ni Putes Ni Soumises, or Neither Whores nor Submissive, has become a household name in France. It has fought hard against forced marriages and other abuses against women here, particularly immigrant women - many of whom live in poor income neighborhoods in cities and suburbs.

Now, it is taking its cause across the Mediterranean - to Morocco, which five years ago passed a widely praised family law. Among other things, the legislation legally recognized equality between men and women.

Sihem Habchi (File photo)

But the association's president, Sihem Habchi believes there is still plenty of work to be done in Morocco and other Muslim countries before women's rights are fully recognized - and she believes her group can help.

"I just went to Morocco ...two weeks ago and I met two women who need help. They have been forced to marry in Morocco. They were born in France. So Ni Putes Ni Soumises is close to them," Habchi explained. "They ask me how I can help them come back to France or have a peaceful life in Morocco and run away from harassment of their family."

Although Morocco will be the first opening of a chapter in the Muslim world, Habchi's group works with other women's rights groups in Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. She notes the Muslim world is beginning to change - pointing, for example, to Saudi Arabia's first female minister. And she dreams of linking European groups with those of the Arab and Muslim worlds.

Not everyone appears to be happy with the French association's future presence in Morocco. There are reports that some in Morocco are offended by its name, Neither Whores Nor Submissive, and believe it does not fit in with local culture. But Habchi believes the fact that some members of her association come from these backgrounds - Habchi is of Algerian descent - can help.

"We talk about forced marriage that happens in our country of origin," Habchi said. "Perhaps we can use that - the fact that I'm also Algerian and other women in our movement are also Moroccan, French and Moroccan, European and Moroccan. We can use that to work in the country of origin."

The group still has plenty of work left to do in France, as well. The association's current vice president carries the scars of ongoing abuses here - she says her former boyfriend set her on fire in 2005 because she refused to marry him. A court sentenced him to 20 years in prison this month.

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