Seven Republicans who would like the chance to defeat President Barack Obama in next year's presidential election held their first major debate Monday in the early contest state of New Hampshire.
Coming into this first major debate of the 2012 campaign season, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is seen by many as the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination and he continues to lead in public opinion polls.
Romney wasted little time in going after President Obama's economic record.
"He didn't create the recession, but he made it worse and longer," said Romney. "This president has failed and he has failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy going."
One of Romney's leading rivals is former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty who criticized President Obama as what he called an economic "declinist".
"If China can have five percent growth and Brazil can have five percent growth, then the United States of America can have five percent growth and I don't accept this notion that we are going to be average or anemic," said Pawlenty.
Former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich also hammered away at President Obama's handling of the economy.
"The Obama administration is anti-jobs, anti-business, anti-American energy. They [Congress] ought to start creating jobs right now for those 14 million Americans [out of work]," said Gingrich. "This is a depression now."
Gingrich has vowed to remain in the campaign despite a mass walkout by his senior campaign staff last week.
Monday's debate also featured an announcement from Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann that she is now an official candidate for president.
Bachmann vowed to repeal President Obama's health care reform law, as did many of the other contenders, and urged Republicans to unite behind a nominee next year.
"We need everybody to come together because we are going to win, make no mistake about it," said Bachmann. "And, President Obama is a one term president!"
Although much of the debate focused on the domestic economy, foreign policy issues were discussed, including U.S. support for NATO efforts in Libya, which several of the candidates oppose.
"He has turned his back on American allies and he has embraced our enemies," said former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum.
Georgia businessman Herman Cain also took part in the debate, as did Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the only Republican contender who favors the pullout of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
The candidates also discussed immigration, abortion and energy issues.
Throughout the evening, the seven Republicans kept up their attacks on President Obama's economic record, especially the high unemployment rate that now stands at 9.1 percent.
Obama is well aware that improving the jobs picture is central to his re-election hopes next year and he made that clear again Monday during an economic speech in North Carolina.
"I will not be satisfied until everyone who wants a good job that offers some security has a good job that offers security," he said.
Among those Republicans who were not at Monday's debate but who could still join the presidential field are former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
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More Syrians fled to refugee camps in Turkey Monday after Syrian military forces took control of the rebellious northern town of Jisr al-Shughour. Activists say about 7,000 Syrians have sought sanctuary across the Turkish border.
Syrian government TV showed images of burned-out cars and buildings in Jisr al-Shughour Monday, claiming that army troops captured the town from "armed gangs" and were welcomed by residents with open arms. The state TV showed old women kissing the newly arrived soldiers on their cheeks.
Town residents who fled to nearby Turkey, however, told a different story. They say government troops destroyed many of their houses, burned fields of wheat, and killed their cattle. Witnesses say the Army's Fourth Brigade under President Bashar al-Assad's brother, Maher, led the fight to retake the town.
Dissident soldiers who said they were protecting civilians in Jisr al-Shughour appear to have fled before the army's arrival. Syrian state TV said one soldier and two armed men were killed as government forces moved in early Sunday, backed by tanks and helicopters.
The town had been under a tightening noose for several days, after the government accused armed gangs of killing security personnel there.
Syrian opposition activists say that 1,300 civilians have been killed nationwide in the government crackdown which began in March against protesters demanding political reform and the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
In Libya, rebel forces claim to have gained ground, despite heavy artillery barrages, on the outskirts of the port city of Misrata. Al-Jazeera television also showed footage of fighting in the Western Mountains, claiming that the rebels now control the towns of Zintan and Yafran.
Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied rebel claims Sunday that they had taken parts of the oil port of Zawiya, 25 kilometers from the capital Tripoli. A rebel victory in Zawiya would cut the coastal road between Tripoli and the Tunisian border, a key supply route.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle met rebel leaders in their eastern stronghold of Benghazi and announced that Germany now recognizes the rebel Transitional National Council as the "sole and legitimate representative" of the Libyan people.
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for African nations to sever ties with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and demand his removal.
Speaking from a lectern where Gadhafi has often addressed African assemblies, the secretary of state acknowledged the Libyan leader's influence in the 53-member body. But she urged African leaders to stand up for the organization's democratic ideals and take the lead in demanding his ouster.
"I know it is true over many years, Gadhafi played a major role in providing financial support for many African nations and institutions, including the African Union, but it has become clearer by the day he has lost his legitimacy to rule, and we are long past time when he can or should remain in power," said Clinton.
In the first-ever address by a U.S. secretary of state to the African Union, Clinton called for the continent's leaders to isolate Gadhafi diplomatically.
"I urge all African states to call for a genuine cease-fire and to call for Gadhafi to step aside," she said. "I also urge you to suspend the operations of Gadhafi's embassies in your countries, to expel pro-Gadhafi diplomats, and to increase contact and support for the [rebel] Transitional National Council."
Speaking to an A.U. plenary hall packed with diplomats and dignitaries, Clinton hailed the so-called "Arab Spring" bringing about democratic reforms in parts of North Africa and the Middle East. She praised people in countries long ruled by dictators who are now demanding new leadership, often, as she put it, "at the top of their lungs."
"In places where jobs are scarce and a tiny elite prospers while most of the population struggles, people, especially young people, are channeling their frustration into social, economic and political change," said Clinton. "Their message is clear to us all, the status quo is broken, the old ways of governing are no longer acceptable, it is time for leaders to lead with accountability, treat their people with dignity, respect their rights, and deliver economic opportunity. And if they will not, then it is time for them to go."
In what was billed as a major policy address, Clinton received applause for acknowledging the plight of African women, calling them "the hardest-working women in the world."
"So often what they do is not included in the formal economy, it is not measured in the GDP, and yet if all the women in Africa, from Cairo to Cape Town decided they would stop working for a week, the economies of Africa would collapse," she said.
Secretary Clinton was due to visit a number of projects designed to empower women during the final day of her Africa tour. But her visit was abruptly cut short due to concern about an ash cloud caused by a volcanic eruption in neighboring Eritrea.
She flew back to Washington late Monday.
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North and South Sudan have agreed in principle to demilitarize the tense Abyei border region and invite Ethiopian troops to keep peace along the disputed frontier. The talks are entering a third day, bogged down over questions of how Abyei is to be administered after the south secedes July 9.
Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir left the Ethiopian capital late Monday after two days of difficult talks with southern Sudanese leader Salva Kiir. The talks, under the guidance of a panel led by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, are to continue Tuesday with a deputy taking over for Mr. Bashir.
Mbeki panel spokesman Barney Afako said the two sides had tentatively agreed to withdraw all forces from the heavily militarized Abyei region before the south secedes. They also agreed to accept deployment of Ethiopian peacekeeping troops.
But Afako conceded a lot must be done to ensure a smooth transition on July 9. "In principle the two parties agreed to the demilitarization. They agreed to a role for the Ethiopian forces. What is now left is to look at the proposals that the panel has put for this period. And as you know there are a lot of details to be worked out," he said.
A senior diplomat close to the talks says one of the big stumbling blocks is the future administration of Abyei. The north is said to be insisting on equal representation on any administrative body. Southern leaders argue a 50-50 split would not reflect the ethnic makeup of the region.
Spokesman Afako says two days of negotiating had failed to break the impasse on the Abyei question. "The question of the administration of Abyei is still on the agenda. How do you constitute an administration that ensures that the events that have just taken place, that we've seen the past few weeks do not repeat themselves. I think that is an issue on which we're going to see more representations from the parties, and they'll be engaging each other on that point," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met briefly with negotiators for both sides during a visit to Addis Ababa Monday. Her visit was cut short, however, because of a volcanic eruption in nearby Eritrea.
In a speech at the African Union, she applauded efforts to reach a negotiated settlement on contentious issues, in keeping with the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended decades of civil war in Sudan. "South Sudan is less than one month away from becoming the world's newest state, and the governments of Sudan and South Sudan have made laudable progress in implementing certain provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but recent developments along the border, particularly in the Abyei region, are deeply troubling," she said.
Speaking to reporters in Tanzania earlier in the day, Clinton welcomed Ethiopia's offer of peacekeeping troops as part of a United Nations mission. She said the mission would be eventually strengthened beyond the initial two Ethiopian battalions. She did not elaborate.
The secretary of state's visit to Addis Ababa briefly overlapped with President Bashir's, but US officials said the two did not meet. Mr. Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges.
Lebanon has formed a new Cabinet five months after the militant group Hezbollah and its allies forced the country's coalition government to collapse.
A government official announced the new Cabinet led by Hezbollah-backed Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday. The Hezbollah-led bloc holds the majority of seats in the 30-member Cabinet.
But within hours, the coalition showed signs of weakening. The new prime minister will need to replace at least one member before he presents his new government to parliament for approval.
Druze politician Talal Arslan, a Hezbollah ally, resigned from his appointment as state minister Monday, blaming the move on political differences between him and Mikati.
The country has functioned without an official government since mid-January, when the pro-Western government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri fell apart.
Hezbollah members and their allies withdrew from the national unity Cabinet at that time due to disagreements about a United Nations-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A sealed draft indictment submitted by U.N. prosecutors is believed to implicate Hezbollah members in the Beirut truck bombing that killed the elder Hariri.
Mikati secured the prime minister's post in January with the support of Hezbollah and other opposition blocs in parliament. Some in Lebanon fear the growing influence of his pro-Syrian and pro-Iranian backers.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Lebanon on its formation of a new government in a telephone call Monday. Syria is a strong ally of Hezbollah.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party will have an unprecedented third term after winning a decisive victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
However, the ruling party failed to win the two-thirds majority needed to carry out constitutional reforms, forcing Erdogan to seek support from other political parties. He has vowed to reach out to the opposition, saying the vote result shows the new constitution will be achieved by compromise.
The prime minister has promised to amend the constitution, written in 1982 when Turkey was under military rule.
In the 550-seat parliament, the ruling party won 49.9 percent of the vote, or 326 seats. That's the most since it came to power 10 years ago, but short of the 330 needed to call a referendum. The main opposition Republican People's Party garnered 25.9 percent of the vote, or 135 seats, and the Nationalist Action Party won 13 percent of the vote, or 53 seats.
The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party also did well in Sunday's vote, increasing the party's seats from 20 to 36. Analysts say the pro-Kurdish party's strong showing played a role in denying the ruling party a bigger win.
It is not clear what changes the prime minister plans to make. Turkey and Erdogan's government often are cited as a model for supporters of democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. But political opponents have said they believe Erdogan is becoming more autocratic, less tolerant of the opposition, and is moving Turkey away from a secular state to a more Islamic-style government.
His backers say the amended constitution would guarantee more rights for minorities, including Kurds. Observers say Kurdish support could be crucial in drafting the new constitution, which Kurdish leaders say should recognize the Kurds as a distinct element of the nation, and should grant them autonomy.
The Kurds had threatened to boycott Sunday's vote after Turkey's main election board announced plans to ban seven Kurdish candidates from running. That decision was later reversed. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting for an ethnic homeland since 1984. That fighting has killed about 40,000 people. Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group.
Although Sunday's vote was peaceful, the Anatolia news agency reported police arrested 34 people in the mainly Kurdish southeastern province of Batman for allegedly trying to coerce people into supporting Kurdish nationalists running as independents.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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A suicide bomber struck an Islamabad bank on Monday, killing one person in the first such attack in the Pakistani capital in more than a year and a half.
Monday's blast ripped through the small bank in the Pakistani capital - shattering glass and damaging nearby vehicles.
The bomber detonated his explosives after being intercepted by a bank security guard.
Speaking at the scene of the attack, Islamabad's police chief, Wajid Durrani spoke to the press saying that it was the bomber and the guard that stopped him for inspection that died in the blast and he promised to launch an investigation. But that it would only be then that there would be an explanation as to how he was able to enter the area.
No group claimed responsibility for the first suicide bombing in Islamabad since December 2009, when one person was killed in an attack on navy headquarters.
There are a number of new police checkpoints in the capital and Monday's suicide bombing happened far from any sensitive or high value targets.
Security has been in a state of high alert following the May 2 killing of leader Osama bin Laden. The Pakistani Taliban has vowed to avenge the al-Qaida leader's death. Twin bombings on Saturday killed 34 people in the northwestern city of Pakistan.
The attacks come as US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides holds economic and trade talks with Pakistani officials in Islamabad. Nides is the latest U.S. official to visit Pakistan in a bid to repair relations that were further strained following the covert U.S. raid that killed bin Laden.
Deputy Secretary Nides said Monday that Americans do recognize the high price that Pakistanis have paid in the ongoing war against terrorism.
"Pakistanis have suffered terribly at the hands of violent extremists," said Nides."Your army and security forces have paid a heavy price. We respect your sacrifice. We grieve with you over the loss of so many innocent people wantonly murdered by terrorists."
US officials have long been asking Pakistan to step up operations against extremists, particularly in the North Waziristan tribal area, where Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants have launched attacks against NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan. But Pakistani officials say they are already stretched thin fighting and will not be able to launch any such attack anytime in the near future.
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Yemen's political opposition has held talks with the country's acting leader, seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is in Saudi Arabia recovering from injuries suffered in a rocket attack.
The Associated Press says Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur Hadi and opposition leaders met Monday and worked out a framework for discussions on a transition of power.
Saleh is recovering in a Saudi hospital from serious injuries he sustained in an explosion at his Yemen presidential compound in early June. In his absence, anti-government activists have renewed calls to start the process of setting up a transitional government council. Opponents have been calling on Mr. Saleh to leave office immediately.
Peace talks have stalled for months as Saleh rejected several overtures from Arab Gulf neighbors to unlock the political impasse.
In other news, officials in Yemen say airstrikes targeting Islamist militants in the country's south have killed three people. The officials Monday said the strikes hit the Abyan province town of Jaar, which is under control of militants linked to al-Qaida.
On Saturday, Yemeni defense officials said clashes between government forces and al-Qaida in the province killed at least 30 people, with casualties on both sides. They said 18 militants and nine soldiers were killed in the fighting in the coastal town of Zinjibar.
Yemen had been battling al-Qaida and separatists before anti-government unrest erupted earlier this year
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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Vietnam's navy has conducted live-fire artillery drills off the country's central coast following increased tensions with China over control in the South China Sea.
The naval exercises began near an unoccupied island 40 kilometers from Vietnam's central coast, in an escalation of tensions between Vietnam and China over disputed waters within the South China Sea.
Vietnamese government officials called the exercises "routine training," but Chinese state media, quoting academics, strongly criticized the drills as "a military show of force to defy Beijing."
Competing claims
The growing tensions between Vietnam and China follow accusations by both nations of intrusions into each other's territorial waters in the South China Sea, reported to be rich in oil and gas reserves.
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Indonesia, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, as well as China and Vietnam, have competing claims over the sea area that is marked by several island archipelagos.
Carl Thayer, a political scientist at the University of New South Wales in Australia, says after Vietnam navy's live-fire exercise, the question is now how China will react.
"China is ... being heavy handed to stop oil exploration activities in its waters," says Thayer. "And since its claims overlap it's a question now how far is China going to push it because China has not responded to any of these issues in a conciliatory fashion."
Also Monday, the Philippines government announced it is changing how it refers to an area in the South China Sea, where it has competing claims with China. A government spokesman says the waters surrounding the disputed Spratly Islands will now be called the West Philippine Sea.
Vietnam protests
Disputes in the South China Sea
1988, March - China sinks three Vietnamese vessels near the Spratly Islands, killing more than 70 Vietnamese.
1991 - China passes the Law on Territorial Waters and Their Contiguous Areas, laying out its claim to territorial sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
1995, 1999 - The Philippines discovers Chinese constructions on Mischief Reef, an island located in the Spratly Island chain. Despite efforts to resolve the dispute, more structures are found on the reef in 1999. Manila says the structures are a military installation while Beijing says they are for fishermen.
2002 - China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations sign a non-binding Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
2009, March – Chinese ships and fishermen harass a U.S. naval vessel in the South China Sea. According to the Pentagon, the Chinese vessels harassed the Impeccable, about 120 kilometers off Hainan island, south of China.
2011, May – Chinese vessels cut an exploration cable on a Vietnamese oil survey ship in waters, within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone.
2011, June - The Philippines complains that Chinese ships offloaded building materials and erected marker posts on reefs to the west of its island of Palawan, within Manila's exclusive economic zone.
The tensions with Vietnam have led to rare nationalist anti-Chinese protests, which Vietnamese authorities have allowed to take place outside the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi.
On Sunday, one man in the demonstration was seen with a banner reading, "China! Stop violating territorial water of Vietnam."
One Hanoi demonstrator called for protests over what he termed an intrusion in Vietnam's territorial waters and land. He told the crowd the Vietnamese have strongly protested China's actions, accusing Beijing of killing fishermen and urging China to stop its slander.
Vietnam also called for international mediation into the dispute. China has said it wants to settle the issues on a bilateral basis. The United States has expressed concern over recent developments saying the displays of force could lead to heightened tensions.
Ripple effects
But Thayer says the conflict could also impact ties within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has boosted links among East Asian nations such as China as well as with the U.S. and Russia.
"If the U.S. should take some action it's just going to make China adopt an even more hardline. And I would suspect that it would even wreck the East Asian Summit because a majority of countries would take a line against China," Thayer says.
The territorial disputes with China area expected to be a major issue during the ASEAN Regional Forum in July. The East Asia Summit, which Asian leaders and the U.S. president are expected to attend, is scheduled for November.
The suspects in the murder of 16 Russian journalists remain at large, according to a recent poll by the Committee to Protect Journalists. It's very rare, in the former Soviet Union, for the Kremlin to make any arrests in the murders, and even if they do, many of those, who are apprehended, eventually go free. But, the recent arrest and convictions in two high-profile cases, have many wondering if the Kremlin is finally cracking down or if it political maneuvering in the run up to next year's presidential elections.
It was top news all over Russia. Police said they finally arrested 36-year-old Chechen Rustam Makhmudov in the 2006 high-profile shooting of prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Politkovskaya covered the war in Chechnya and was often critical of the Kremlin and its alleged human rights abuses.
Polikovskaya's former colleague Sergei Sokolov, deputy editor of Novaya Gazeta, called the arrest a "development in the case" but he questioned the timing.
He says he wonders why it took the police so long to capture the suspect
Sokolov was also quoted in the Russian media as saying that, "he'd be very interested to know how the suspect managed to leave Russia and come back from his journey while his name was on the international wanted list."
Sokolov's own newspaper is less circumspect. It investigated Politkovskaya's murder and has implicated the Russian Security Service.
Politkovskaya's son, Ilya, says the government has a long way to go before Russians believe the arrest of his mother's killer is anything but political.
He says we have to wait and see if Makhmudov's guilt will be proven. But even that won't even be enough. We need to know who actually masterminded my mother's murder.
The arrest of Politkovskaya's alleged killer isn't the only one. Just a few weeks ago, a court jailed a Russian nationalist for life, for the murder of Novaya Gazeta, a reporter and a human rights lawyer.
"There's a lot of coincidences these days," said Anna Sevortian, who heads Human Rights Watch n Moscow. "We might expect new things flooding the informational context of political life in Russia just because the elections are looming."
The Kremlin disputes accusations of political posturing. Officials consistently claim they're committed to solving the cases of slain journalists and point to the recent arrests and convictions as examples.
Andrei Kortunov, who is with the New Eurasia Foundation, says even if the Kremlin's renewed interest in crimes against journalists is a pre-election ploy, it may not be such a bad thing.
He says that Russia is entering a new political season and maybe the Kremlin is ready to listen to the voices that are raising concerns about the state of the profession.
There are still at least 16 unresolved journalist murders in the former Soviet Union.
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Participants at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Indonesia are calling on governments in Asia to lead the world in reducing poverty.
In the year 2000, 192 countries agreed to support the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and significantly reduce child mortality rates by 2015.
In the years since, many Asian countries have experienced sustained double digit economic growth that has raised the living standards of millions of people.
But Rajat Nag, Managing Director General of the Asian Development Bank, joined a panel of economists and leaders at the World Economic Forum in Jakarta who say governments must do more to meet the Millennium Development goals.
Nag says despite the robust growth, 900 million people still live on $1.25 a day, 450 million people lack access to clean water, and more than 100 million children still die each year during childbirth.
He says governments in Asia must do more to fund basic nutrition programs, provide health care and education. Nag says paying for these programs will mean significantly raising taxes.
"In Asia the average taxes collected as a percentage of GDP is likely under 10 percent. In the developed world it is easily 20 percent. So there is a huge amount of public resource mobilization which needs to happen. Not just by raising tax rates but by increasing the tax base, improving the tax collection," said Nag.
Indonesian Vice President Boediono says while significant progress in reducing poverty has been made in his country, he agrees that more programs and increased tax revenues are needed to address the problem.
"I belong to the school that the government should play an appropriate role and even in and especially in the social program, should intervene, proactively. And this requires financing and that I think has to be, to come from our own resources," stated Boediono.
American economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs says Asian countries experiencing robust economic growth should shoulder the responsibility for poverty reduction with a mix of public and private initiatives. He says the slow economic recovery in the developed world has left Europe looking inward and the United States overly focused on cutting taxes.
"My own country the United States wants it for free. We're on a constant tax cutting binge. The rich want no taxes," said Sachs. "They say let the market do it but we end up without the social policy. We have lots of poverty. We end up without the environmental policy."
While U.S. income tax rates are still higher than those in Asia, they remain lower than those in European countries. Opponents of higher taxes say they inhibit economic growth from private business that ultimately does more to lift people out of poverty.
Sachs says Asia's dynamic economic growth in recent years also brings an increased responsibility to meet its pledge to eradicate extreme poverty in the next four years.
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Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is appealing to the International Labor Organization for continued help in improving her country's dismal record on human rights and labor rights. Unable to leave Burma, she made her appeal via video to delegates attending the annual International Labor Conference in Geneva.
In her video message, Suu Kyi, expresses her gratitude to the International Labor Organization [ILO] for its steadfast work on behalf of the Burmese people.
She said social justice is the base of lasting peace, and few organizations have succeeded in pursuing this goal as has the ILO.
Burma's pro-democracy leader praised the ILO's achievements in improving international labor standards, employment and social protection for workers around the world. The 65-year-old Nobel Laureate urged the ILO to build upon these successes to make sure all nations adopt policies, which lead to social justice.
"Here I would like to make a special appeal for my own country, Burma," said Suu Kyi. "Once upon a time it was considered the nation most likely to succeed in Southeast Asia. But now it has fallen behind almost all the other nations in this region. The work of the ILO in our country has highlighted the indivisibility of social, political and economic concerns."
She noted the ILO's efforts to eliminate forced labor and the recruitment of child soldiers have broadened to include the cause of prisoners of conscience and freedom of expression, and to get Burma's military leaders to embrace the rule of law.
The ILO has been combating forced labor in Burma for more than a decade. Little progress has been made to eliminate this practice, despite repeated promises by the military junta to end forced labor and to reform the country's labor laws.
Earlier this month, a special ILO committee overseeing the situation of Burma, also known as Myanmar, expressed regret that no substantive progress has been made toward complying with a 1998 Commission of Inquiry to end forced labor and to prosecute those involved in this practice.
Suu Kyi said the Burmese people have been struggling for political change in Burma for a very long time. She said they are hungry for a society based on social justice joined to political and economic progress.
"We look to the ILO to expand its activities in Burma to help usher in an era of broad-based social justice in our country," she said. "We are particularly concerned that our workers should be enabled to form trade unions, concerned with the highest international standards as soon as possible."
In an emotional appeal to the ILO, the Burmese pro-democracy leader notes failure in one nation raises obstacles in the way of progress in all other nations. Suu Kyi said Burma must not be allowed to fail and the world must not be allowed to fail Burma.
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A volcanic ash cloud from Chile has left thousands of travelers stranded for a second day in Australia and New Zealand. Strong winds have carried the ash more than half way around the world since Chile's Puyehue volcano erupted more than a week ago.
The cloud of volcanic ash has been blown 10,000 kilometers across the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and has drifted over parts of southern Australia and New Zealand causing travel chaos for thousands of travelers.
The main concentration passed over New Zealand yesterday and into the Pacific Ocean, but there are still small parts of the cloud which have broken off and that's affecting airlines in Australia," noted Gordon Jackson. He is a meteorologist with the Volcanic Ash Center in Darwin.
Scores of flights have been canceled over the past two days. Services between New Zealand and Australia have been disrupted, along with many domestic routes in both countries.
Australia's national airline Qantas said all flights in and out of the southern island of Tasmania, and those to New Zealand were grounded Monday.
Other carriers have, however, decided to resume flights. Virgin Australia said it believed it was safe to fly to Melbourne, Tasmania and New Zealand, adding its planes would fly around or under the ash.
Air New Zealand has kept its passengers services in the air by rerouting flights and flying at lower altitudes "to completely avoid the ash". The airline said it was monitoring developments closely.
Professor Richard Arculus, a professor of geology at the Australian National University, believes the ash cloud will soon be blown back towards South America.
"You can see the ash coming. It has come all the way around the Atlantic and across the Southern Ocean, Indian Ocean and is almost going to do a loop on itself. It is heading back towards South America. So it will take a few days for that to disperse. The question of course for travelers is - what is the density of particles per cubic meter, that's the thing the airlines worry about," said Arculus.
The Puyehue volcano in Chile has been erupting for the past week, throwing South American air travel into chaos as it spews ash high into the atmosphere.
In neighboring Argentina the cindery cloud has closed roads, blanketed grazing pastures and a ski resort. Local and international flight schedules have been severely disrupted.
Last year a volcano in Iceland sent vast plumes of ash over parts of Europe, grounding more than 100,000 planes as authorities were concerned over potential damage from the razor-sharp ash particles to jet engines.
In November eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Merapi caused the cancellation of dozens of flights.
Back on my Feet is a non-profit organization that works with people living in homeless shelters -- many addicted to drugs and alcohol. The group sponsors run near the shelters to help those in need improve their health and self esteem. Back on my Feet has branches in several cities in the United States
Participants reclaim their life
Nick Finnigan says he is happier and healthier since he started running with Back on my Feet six months ago. His life had spiraled out of control because of drug and alcohol addiction that began when he was 16. His substance abuse cost him his marriage and he's not been able to hold a job during the past several years.
"I think, I'll never stop thinking about the drugs. But I just know I can't go back to that and that's not what I want. I have 2 kids out there. I haven't been involved in their lives and I want to be involved in their lives," Finnigan explains.
The 33-year-old is now living in a homeless shelter called Clean and Sober Streets that offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. Finnigan joins others from the shelter, along with Back on My Feet staff and volunteers, for early morning runs several times each week. He says running with Back on My Feet is helping him get his life back on track.
Frances Thunder, a Back on my Feet volunteer, says no one runs alone. "There's always somebody running with you to talk over what's going on in your day, your week, what your struggles are," she notes.
Gretchen Gates, Program Director for Back on My Feet in Washington, says running gives the homeless a sense of accomplishment. "You come to the circle in the morning and you're greeted with a hug and a smile," she says, "and you're a member of Back on Your Feet and that's the biggest thing we can give people."
Dena Cooper hopes running with Back on My Feet will help her overcome a drug habit. She made a good living, she says, until drug addiction took over her life. She briefly sought help at Clean and Sober Streets last year, but left to go back to a life that almost destroyed her.
"I felt alone and really lonely," she says. "And I went back to my comfort zone, and my comfort zone was my friend[s] who get high and that is what I ended up doing."
Cooper hopes this time will be different, and says running helps her release stress. She is grateful for the help she is getting and would like to begin a new career helping other women who have hit bottom.
Finnigan says it is his goal to get a job and have a place of his own. He says he is determined to stay away from drugs and alcohol and follow his dreams.
Thanks to Clean and Sober Streets and Back on My Feet he sees a better life at the end of his struggle.
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Government spokesmen in Jordan say a reported attack on King Abdullah was a quarrel with police, not an attempted assault on the monarch.
A security official said earlier Monday that some youths threw stones and empty bottles at the king's motorcade as he visited the southern town of Tafila.
However, a government spokesman denies there was any attack. He says some young Jordanians were trying to greet the king and became riled when police tried to push them away.
The king went to Tafila to inspect several development projects.
On Sunday, King Abdullah said he is pursuing reforms that will allow future governments to be formed based on an elected parliamentary majority. The measure is a key demand of pro-democracy protesters calling for greater political representation.
In a nationally televised address, the king said a royal commission is now exploring "possible amendments" to the constitution.
He did not elaborate on the reforms or give a timetable for implementation, saying sudden change could lead to chaos and unrest.
King Abdullah is considered an important U.S. ally. He vowed a tougher fight against corruption while warning the Jordanian media and political parties against creating a climate of hatred.
Since January, the king has faced protesters demanding a newly elected parliament to replace one widely seen as ineffective and complacent.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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