International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned his post from a New York City jail cell, where he is battling charges of sexual assault.
The IMF released his letter of resignation early Thursday. Dated Wednesday May 18, Strauss-Kahn's letter says he feels compelled to resign to protect the institution.
He says he wants to devote all his strength, time, and energy to proving his innocence.
Defense lawyers are seeking to get him released on bail, as a grand jury considers whether to formally indict the man who once was considered a leading French presidential hopeful.
A court official told reporters that a judge will hear arguments for bail at a hearing on Thursday. A judge ruled earlier this week that the wealthy, 62-year-old French national could be a flight risk.
Meanwhile, the hotel maid whom the IMF chief has been accused of assaulting was reported to have testified against him Wednesday.
A lawyer for the 32-year-old woman said she would tell a grand jury in New York that there was "nothing consensual" about her encounter in Strauss-Kahn's hotel room last week.
The woman, a widowed mother originally from Guinea, alleges that Strauss-Kahn groped and assaulted her in his luxurious hotel suite, and that he tried to rape her.
The New York grand jury is listening to testimony from her and others in secret, to determine if there is enough evidence to indict Strauss-Kahn. The grand jury decision is expected to be announced at a hearing Friday.
Strauss-Kahn denies the charges, as well as allegations that he tried to flee the country after the incident. Strauss-Kahn's lawyers say the IMF chief went out to lunch after leaving the hotel. They insist that the Paris flight on which he was arrested had been booked long before.
Strauss-Kahn has weathered past scandals. In 2008 he apologized for what he termed an "error in judgment" for an affair with one of his subordinates. Also, a lawyer for French writer Tristane Banon says she may make a legal complaint against Strauss-Kahn, claiming that he sexually assaulted her in 2002.
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President Barack Obama delivers a major address Thursday about historic changes in the Middle East and North Africa, and their impact on U.S. policy toward the region. The address comes as the U.S. stepped up pressure on Syria's government in response to its crackdown on protesters, and urged faster movement toward political transition in Yemen.
[Speech begins at 15:40 UTC and can be seen and heard here on voanews.com]
The speech will be broad in scope, as Mr. Obama focuses on the peaceful democratic movements for change that have swept the region, discusses implications for U.S. policy, and offers what administration officials call some concrete policy proposals.
He will give his assessment of the impact of popular uprisings that have led to political changes in Egypt and Tunisia, and which continue in places like Syria, Libya and Yemen.
Senior administration officials say Mr. Obama will speak of a moment of opportunity, after a decade of great tensions and divisions, in which people of the region and U.S. policy can begin to turn the page toward a more positive and hopeful future.
The stalemated Israel-Palestinian peace process will be an important element. However, Mr. Obama is expected to frame it as part of a wider picture and say that leaders on both sides of that conflict should seize an opportunity for peace.
Speaking to reporters this week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that where Mideast peace efforts are concerned, Mr. Obama will not say that this is a "now or never" moment, but will make the case that change generally must be embraced by all in the region.
"While change can be unsettling, it can even be scary because we don't always know where it is headed, it is something in this case to be embraced, because the opportunity is there to help shape a better future for the region and for the world," Carney said.
President Obama's address, to be delivered at the State Department, comes as the U.S. and other countries step up pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in response to his government's bloody crackdown against protesters.
Mr. Obama has signed an executive order freezing assets of Mr. Assad and six other Syrian officials in American financial institutions. Similar sanctions were imposed on Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi as a means of pressuring him to give up power.
Not known is whether President Obama will specifically call on the Syrian leader to step down. But on the eve of the speech, the White House pointed reporters to remarks by a senior administration official discussing new sanctions targeting Mr. Assad. "President Assad has a clear choice: it's either lead this transition to democracy, or to leave," the official said.
On the eve of the address, the U.S stepped up pressure on Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was urged by Mr. Obama's counter terrorism advisor, John Brennan to move forward immediately with political transition.
Senior administration officials also outlined another key aspect of President Obama's speech, involving a series of initiatives focused initially on Egypt and Tunisia, to support economic modernization, reform, and stability.
President Obama is expected to outline a combination of debt relief and investment steps. Officials say these would amount initially to about $1 billion with an additional $1 billion in loan guarentees, along with additional financing from multilateral development banks.
As he speaks about the potential of the Middle East and North Africa, President Obama is also expected to draw a contrast between the violent ideology of al-Qaida, and democratic aspirations of peaceful protesters.
Speaking about the U.S. killing of Osama bin-Laden recently, Mr. Obama's national security advisor Tom Donilon said al-Qaida's faces a real challenge from the popular uprising known as the Arab Spring.
"The Arab Spring presents al-Qaida with a potent ideological challenge. For its entire existence, al-Qaida's message has been that violence is the only path forward. It has never had an affirmative program, which speaks to the aspirations of people in the Middle East, and it could not have been further removed from or relevant to those who came to Tahrir Square this past January," Donilon said.
The day after President Obama's address, he welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to the White House to discuss ways to end the deadlock in Palestinian-Israel peace efforts.
Israel and Palestinians continue to accuse each other of responsibility for stalemate, caused among other things by Israel's settlement policy in the occupied West Bank, and exacerbated by the recent political unity pact between the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas. White House officials have sought to downplay descriptions of Mr. Obama's address as being merely an update of his 2009 speech in Cairo delivered about six months into his presidency in which Mr. Obama called for a "new beginning" between the United States and Muslims around the world.
White House officials say Thursday's address, amid the Arab Spring, will be Mr. Obama's effort to explain to the region and the world what U.S. values and principles are and how these will be applied in supporting the democratic aspirations of the people in the region.
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Iraqi officials say two bombs have killed at least 17 people near police headquarters in the northern city Kirkuk.
They say at least 40 people were wounded in the blasts on Thursday.
The Associated Press quotes police official Sherzad Mofari as saying the first blast took place in the building's parking lot and then a nearby car exploded a few minutes later as police officers were rushing to the scene.
Kirkuk is located about 250 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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U.S. President Barack Obama has made outreach to the Muslim world a signature of his presidency. He tries again with a speech Thursday, but recent events may have made his audience less receptive.
President Obama's address comes as the most successful of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- in Tunisia and Egypt - are overshadowed by more violent conflicts, in Libya, Syria and beyond.
Surveys indicate that the upheaval has lowered opinions in the Arab and Muslim world of the U.S., in particular Obama. The U.S. leader was criticized for seeming at first one step behind the popular movements, despite their embodying the democratic values America espouses.
By early February, Obama seemed to catch up with the trend, at least as it played out in Cairo's Tahrir Square. "The United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Egypt, and around the world," said the president.
But many in the Middle East and North Africa saw America's support of the protest movements across the region as uneven.
Toward Bahrain, home of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, and Yemen, a partner in counter-terrorism, U.S. criticism was more muted. In contrast, Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, a long-time provocateur, felt the West's military might.
And U.S. military action did not stop there, as President Obama dramatically revealed. "Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden," he said.
There is little affection for the al-Qaida leader among the majority in the region, but the unilateral raid in Pakistan brought to mind previous U.S. missions in Muslim lands.
Those past images were something the president has sought to erase.
Obama came to Cairo early in his term, with a message of reconciliation that many felt was much needed after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But within months, critics argued that Obama's promises of better relations were not matched by deeds. They wonder if this speech will be any different.
Said Sadek of the American University in Cairo believes Obama could go far to improve relations with two key steps. "Number one is aid, you know, not only financial aid, but also institution building, restructuring, technical assistance, education scholarships. You need to change the area to be ready for democracy and assist the transition to democracy," said Sadek.
The other, he says, is if Obama takes a new approach to finally solve problems between Israelis and Palestinians. He feels they would benefit both those parties and people in the region's autocratic leaders.
"Those people were trading on the Palestinian question like many Arab regimes and so it is very important that we stop them from having this excuse so they can face their own people," said Sadek.
Obama's words may have disappointed in the past, but if this speech offers concrete actions, the president may find a warmer audience.
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The United States on Wednesday invoked sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad and six senior officials in his government for human rights abuses.
Administration officials announced the sanctions one day before President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a major speech on the recent Middle East uprisings.
President Obama expanded existing sanctions against Syria's government and blocked top officials' assets in the United States and its jurisdictions. The president's executive order also bars U.S. individuals or companies from dealing with those officials.
It is the first time that the U.S. government has targeted President Assad personally with sanctions.
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The order charges that numerous elements of the Syrian government have overseen and carried out attacks on protesters, harassed demonstrators and political activists, and repressed democratic change.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday that further sanctions would be imminent, if Syrian officials did not stop the violent crackdown.
"The window is narrowing for the Syrian government to shift focus away from repressing its people and towards meeting the legitimate aspirations of its people," said Carney. "And as I said, we are looking at additional measures that we can take, and we continue to enforce the measures already taken."
Obama's executive order targets President Assad, Vice President Farouk al-Shara, Prime Minister Adel Safar, the interior and defense ministers, the head of Syria's military intelligence and the director of the country's political security agency.
Activists in Syria say that at least 700 civilians have been killed since protests against Assad's rule began two months ago.
Obama imposed a first round of sanctions against Syria last month, aimed at Syria's intelligence agency and two of Assad's relatives.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the authorities have made some mistakes in their handling of anti-government protests since mid-March.
Assad told a group of dignitaries that most of the blame lay with poorly trained members of the security services, according to government TV. But he said Syria had now "overcome the crisis" and it was coming to an end.
The admission comes as new reports of attacks on civilians are taking place in a town near the border with Lebanon.
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Video on a Facebook website showed scores of protesters chanting slogans against the government in Syria's third largest city of Homs Wednesday, heeding a call for a nationwide general strike. Other reports, however, said that shops were open, due to a heavy security presence in the city.
Witnesses in the capital Damascus say that the strike did not appear to have attracted much support in the more visible parts of the city. The French Press Agency reported some unrest in a lower-class neighborhood of Aleppo, along with a large demonstration in Ifrin, north of the city.
Overnight, a campus protest at Aleppo University was broken up by government militiamen and hundreds of students were arrested. It was the second straight night that Aleppo students came out to protest.
A Syrian opposition group on Facebook showed video of several hundred protesters chanting against the government in Damascus' Kurdish quarter of Rukn al Din, Tuesday.
Syria's Council of Ministers also met Wednesday to discuss reforms that have been promised by President Assad. Information Minister Adnan Hammoud described plans to reform the judiciary:
He says that the Council of Ministers decided at Wednesday's meeting to set up a committee to reform the judicial system and to devise a strategy to reform the judiciary at all levels, including re-organizing judicial bodies and increasing the number of judges.
Meanwhile, in Yemen the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation group of oil-producing countries, proposed a deal, which aims to end months of unrest and stabilize the region. The parties were expected to sign the agreement Wednesday, officials said. However, given the number of times Saleh has backed out of resigning in recent weeks, some opposition leaders said they remained skeptical. Protesters have been threatening to storm the presidential palace and other government buildings.
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A senior U.N. official warns conditions in Libya are continuing to deteriorate and life-saving assistance is urgently needed.
In launching the appeal, U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, Panos Moumtzis, says his main concern is for the western part of Libya where 80 percent of the population lives. "Our concern for the west is that the situation in the west due to the sanctions, with the low availability of medical supplies, of food supplies, the fuel embargo, the cash flow shortages-it is really like a time bomb ticking where the longer the crisis lasts, the more grave the humanitarian situation is," said Moumtzis.
The UN envoy acknowledges the difficulties people are facing in the besieged city of Misrata. But, he notes relief ships have been able to bring supplies to the port of Misrata from time to time and distribute food, water and other essential goods to the population.
But, he says the situation in the capital Tripoli and in the Western Nafusa Mountains is worse. He tells VOA when he was in Tripoli two weeks ago, he saw for himself the terrible impact of the conflict and sanctions upon the people.
"There were very long queues-two kilometers long at petrol stations, people, civilians queuing up with their cars. I stopped and asked and they told me that they wait for up to three days to basically refill their car because of the lack of fuel. Now the lack of fuel has a snowball effect on everything because goods are not being transported in the country, public transport is being significantly reduced or paralyzed. The children do not go to school. People find it very difficult to go to work. I saw a significant number of shops really closed while I was there," he said. "Over 60 percent of health workers have left the country."
Moumtzis is calling for a humanitarian pause that is a temporary halt in hostilities by all parties. This would allow aid workers to gain access to people in war-torn areas and provide them with assistance.
He says he is going to Tripoli to negotiate with all sides for guarantees of safety so relief workers can do their jobs without fear.
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At least 12 people were killed and more than 80 others injured in violent protests in northern Afghanistan over the killing of four people in a NATO raid overnight, while another 13 died in a suicide attack on a police bus in the east Wednesday.
Authorities in northern Takhar province said more than 2,000 demonstrators clashed with police in Taloqan, the provincial capital. The protesters shouted slogans against the U.S. and Afghan governments and carried the bodies of those killed in the raid through the streets.
Afghan officials say four civilians were killed during the overnight NATO operation, but the coalition says those killed were armed insurgents who tried to fire on them. NATO said it was targeting a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan who had been moving weapons and explosives in the province.
In Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a police bus Wednesday, killing at least 13 people and wounding 20 others. Local officials said the dead included both police and civilians.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the coalition night raid that he said killed four members of a family, as well as the suicide attack. He said the NATO operation was not coordinated with Afghan forces, although NATO said the operation was carried out by a joint force.
The Afghan leader demanded an explanation from the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, saying "these types of operations" have not stopped despite warnings from the Afghan government.
During Wednesday's protests, police and security forces fired shots to disperse the crowds, who threw stones at a nearby German military base. At least least two German soldiers and three Afghan guards were wounded.
Separately on Wednesday, NATO says an insurgent attack killed one of its service members in southern Afghanistan.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Senior leaders of the Pakistani Taliban are vowing to fight with renewed zeal to avenge the death of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden.
Pakistani Taliban leaders made the promise in interviews with news agencies broadcast on Wednesday, the same day at least 70 suspected Taliban insurgents launched two attacks on a Pakistani security checkpoint near the Afghan border.
Pakistani police officials said two waves of insurgents armed with guns and rockets targeted the Sangu Mera checkpoint on the outskirts of Peshawar. They said the initial attack came just after midnight, with the second attack coming a few hours later.
They said the attacks left two police officers dead and five more wounded. Police said at least 15 militants were killed.
In an interview with the Associated Press released Wednesday, Pakistani Taliban deputy commander Waliur Rehman said his insurgent group would complete Osama bin Laden's mission and take up the fight with "new zeal."
Another top Pakistani Taliban commander made similar comments to the Al Jazeera in a report broadcast Wednesday.
It is not the first time the Pakistani Taliban have promised to avenge bin Laden's death.
Last week, the Pakistani Taliban took responsibility for a pair of suicide bombings in Khyber Pakhtunkwa province that killed at least 80 people.
U.S. Special Forces killed bin Laden during a raid in his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2.
Meanwhile, motorcycle-mounted gunmen killed at least four Shi'ite Muslims Wednesday in a suspected sectarian attack in the southwestern city of Quetta.
Police said four other people were wounded.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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South Africa's finance minister has called for the next head of the International Monetary Fund to come from a developing nation.
Pravin Gordhan said Wednesday that such a candidate would ensure the interests of both developed and developing nations are reflected in IMF policies.
Gordhan said there are several eligible contenders, but he did not list any of them.
South Africa's former finance minister, Trevor Manuel, has been raised in media reports as one possible candidate.
The current IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is awaiting trial in New York on charges of attempted rape.
The IMF post has traditionally gone to a European since the fund was created in 1945. Emerging world powers, such as China, have suggested it is time to reconsider that arrangement.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Madrid and other cities across Spain to protest against the country's weak economy and high jobless rate ahead of Sunday's local and regional elections.
The mostly peaceful demonstrations were largely organized through social media such as Twitter. Many of the protesters are young, with the jobless rate for those under the age of 25 at nearly 45 percent. They say they are tired of the unemployment and corruption among politicians.
Recent polls have predicted large losses for the ruling Socialist Party, as voters express anger over austerity measures and the government's handling of the economic crisis.
The opposition Popular Party is expected to make major gains on Sunday, which could lead to a return to power in general elections due by next March.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Senegalese truck drivers are resuming transport through Gambia after a two-month blockade imposed due to complaints of mistreatment and harassment by Gambian security forces.
Trucking in Senegal involves a long, often pot-holed route that cuts across Gambia, the small, 35-kilometer-wide country along the Gambia River.
It is an important road for Senegal because it is the most direct route between fruits and vegetables from the agricultural south to the Sahelian north.
Senegalese truckers are cautiously resuming this route after a two-month blockade of Gambia's border that drivers imposed because of what they call harassment and human rights abuses by Gambia's highway patrol.
Papiss Sadio is a driver based in the southern Senegalese city, Ziguinchor. He says he and his fellow transporters did not want to go the much longer way around Gambia, through Senegal's eastern Tambacounda, but felt they had no choice.
Sadio says he has never been arrested but has had colleagues who have been thrown in jail. He says, if a Senegalese driver gets into a traffic accident in Gambia, that driver will most likely be blamed and put in jail, whether or not he has insurance.
Other drivers report having extra taxes and fees levied on them at one of Gambia's many checkpoints, further antagonizing the long-standing rift between the two countries.
The countries were both part of the medieval Wolof empire before colonial powers France and England divvied them up, giving Senegal to the French and tiny Gambia to the British.
Sadio says Gambians think the Senegalese are their enemies, but that is not the case. He says they are all brothers and sisters.
Mediation by Senegal's government seems to have resolved the situation for now, although for how long is uncertain. Sadio says this has been a problem since he began professional driving, nearly two decades ago.
Sadio says the situation seems to be improving since the blockade was lifted and he is hopeful it stays that way.
Truckers are far from the only ones with complaints of harassment in Gambia. Journalists and opposition members are often targets of Gambian police. Human rights groups say rights violations have become a fact of life under President Yaya Jammeh, who has ruled the country since 1994 and says his re-election later this year is a "foregone conclusion."
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The crew members of the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour have begun a nearly two-week mission on the International Space Station, where they will install a $2 billion magnetic device that scientists hope will unravel some mysteries of the universe.
Endeavour docked with the orbiting laboratory Wednesday as part of the shuttle's final space journey and next-to-last mission of U.S. space agency NASA's shuttle program. After the hatches were opened, Endeavour's six astronauts - five Americans and one Italian - entered the space station and were warmly greeted by its six occupants.
NASA says the docking went smoothly. It says the Endeavour crew led by American astronaut Mark Kelly will begin the installation of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer on the space station on Thursday. The costly device is designed to search for anti-matter and dark matter particles that scientists say could help explain how the universe was formed.
The Endeavour astronauts also will unload spare parts for the space station and conduct four spacewalks, the first of which is scheduled for Friday.
On Monday, three of the six other astronauts on the space station will climb into a Russian Soyuz capsule to return to Earth after a five-month stay.
Endeavour lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday. It will be retired when it returns on June 1 and put on display in Los Angeles. Endeavour began its first mission in 1992 and is the youngest of the three remaining U.S. space shuttles.
NASA will end the shuttle program with the scheduled launch of Atlantis in July. The third shuttle, Discovery, returned from its final flight in March. NASA is retiring the shuttles due to high operating costs and to free up funds to develop spacecraft that can travel farther into space.
After the final shuttle flight, the only way for astronauts to reach the orbiting research lab will be on Russian space capsules. Private U.S. companies hope to develop new spacecraft in the coming years that can resume the transportation of crews into space.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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Egyptian authorities have released the wife of ousted President Hosni Mubarak after she agreed to hand over about $3.4 million in accounts in two banks and a villa in Cairo.
Suzanne Mubarak was released on bail, Tuesday. Authorities had detained her on charges of corruption, for allegedly abusing her husband's influence for unlawful personal gain.
Mubarak remains in detention on charges that include embezzlement of public funds and the killing of anti-government protesters. On Wednesday, the ruling military council dismissed media reports that it might pardon Mubarak. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces released a statement that says it does not interfere in judicial affairs.
Mubarak and the former first lady were both hospitalized at a facility in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The former president was admitted to the facility in April after suffering heart problems. Mrs. Mubarak was admitted on Friday after complaining of chest pains.
Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising in February after ruling Egypt for more 30 years. There are varying, but unverified, estimates of the Mubarak family wealth.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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A 114-year-old Brazilian woman has been identified as the world's oldest living person.
Record-tracking organization Guinness World Records named the new titleholder, Maria Gomes Valentim, on Wednesday.
Guinness says Valentim attributes her longevity to a healthy diet. It says she eats a roll of bread every morning with coffee and fruit, and treats herself occasionally to a glass of wine.
Guinness says Valentim was born on July 9, 1896, in Carangola in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. She has lived there all her life.
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At 114 years and 313 days, Valentim is 48 days older than the world's previous known oldest person, American Besse Cooper. Cooper, of the U.S. state of Georgia, will now hold the title of oldest living North American.
The editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, said Valentim represents an unprecedented accomplishment for Brazil.
The organization says it has received several claims from potential Brazilian "super centenarians," but none were ratified because of a lack of evidence and documentation.
She married Joao Valentim in 1913, and was widowed in 1946. They had one son. Her family also included four grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.
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