Syrian state television says the nation's army started operations on Friday to "restore security" in the northern city of Jisr al-Shughour near the Turkish border.
State television says the army moved to gain control of the city at the request of residents, who the report says asked the military to arrest "armed gangs" the government says killed 120 security personnel earlier this week. Residents had earlier said loyalists soldiers had attacked troops who defected or refused to fire on civilians following a pro-democracy rally in the city last week.
Witnesses said troops and tanks had amassed outside the city on Thursday. But activists say most of Jisr al-Shughour's 50,000 residents had fled for Turkey before the operation began.
Meanwhile, pro-democracy activists called for new demonstrations Friday against President Bashar al-Assad's government. Rights groups say at least 1,100 people have been killed in the Syrian crackdown that began in March and more than 10,000 people arrested. In Geneva, the Red Cross called on Syria to give it "meaningful access" to those who have been wounded or detained.
Also Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he talked with the Syrian leader in the last few days, pressing him to reform his government. Erdogan called the Syrian crackdown "unacceptable" and described the treatment of the bodies of women killed by security forces as an "atrocity."
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday more than 2,500 Syrians have entered his country and Turkey says it has no intention of closing its borders. The influx prompted Turkish authorities to set up three camps to handle the crisis.
Residents said thousands more people have escaped to nearby villages just inside Syria and are prepared to cross into Turkey at any time.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are unfolding at the United Nations.
Russia said Thursday it opposes a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning Syria for its crackdown on anti-government protesters. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevick says Syria's unrest does not pose a threat to world peace or security.
He commented a day after European members of the Security Council presented a revised resolution calling for an immediate end to the violence in Syria and for humanitarian access. It also urges Syria's government to enact genuine political reforms.
Separately, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has accused Syria of trying to "bludgeon its population into submission" with its crackdown on protesters. Navi Pillay said Thursday it is "utterly deplorable" for any government to deploy tanks, artillery and snipers against its people.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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A new round of suspected NATO airstrikes shook the Libyan capital and its suburbs early Friday, a day after allied and Arab nations pledged more than $1.1 billion to help Libya's opposition council and civilians affected by the country's conflict.
The 22-member Libya Contact Group announced the series of financial measures Thursday as they met in the United Arab Emirates to plan for a Libya without its embattled leader, Moammar Gadhafi.
Among the donors, Italy - Libya's former colonial ruler - said it will commit nearly $600 million in assistance to Libyan rebels, including loans and fuel products. France pledged more than $420 million in support. Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey also promised funds.
The United States did not offer direct aid to the rebels. But it announced an additional $26.5 million in humanitarian relief to all Libyans.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the conference Gadhafi's "days are numbered." She later described the rebel Transitional National Council as the "legitimate interlocutor" of the Libyan people - one who takes part in dialogue or conversation, sometimes in an official capacity.
Australia went a step further, joining a handful of countries - including France, Britain, Italy and Qatar - in formally recognizing the rebel council as the legitimate government of Libya.
Clinton said talks are under way with people close to Gadhafi that have raised the "potential" for a transition of power. Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd also referred to what he called multiple "feelers" from the Tripoli government, saying the Libyan leader's end "may come sooner" than expected.
In Washington Thursday, CIA chief Leon Panetta said in Senate testimony that the NATO military operation and strong economic sanctions are putting tremendous pressure on Mr. Gadhafi's government. Panetta is U.S. President Barack Obama's nominee to replace Robert Gates as defense secretary.
Meanwhile, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade met with Libyan opposition leaders in the rebel stronghold, Benghazi. He told journalists Thursday the sooner Gadhafi leaves, the better.
Heavy NATO bombardments hit military and command targets across Tripoli Tuesday and Wednesday in some of the heaviest strikes since March. The assaults included air raids near Gadhafi's residential compound.
A Libyan government spokesman said NATO dropped more than 60 bombs on Tripoli Wednesday, killing 31 people and injuring dozens. Another Libyan official denied accusations that Gadhafi's regime has committed human rights violations.
Mustafa Shaban commented on Thursday, a day after the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said investigators have evidence Mr. Gadhafi ordered mass rapes of women considered disloyal to his regime.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said his team is looking into whether the Libyan leader provided soldiers with Viagra-like medicines in order to promote the rape of women. He said he may present new charges of mass rape against Gadhafi.
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Hundreds of Syrian refugees have crossed into Turkey to escape the latest upsurge of unrest in Syria. Turkey is bracing itself for a potential major exodus, as protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad escalate. There are growing concerns the destabilization in Syria could spill over into Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday more than 2,500 civilians have entered his country since the unrest in neighboring Syria began in March. The influx prompted Turkish authorities to set up three camps to handle the crisis.
Hundreds of Syrians are continuing to cross into Turkey to escape President Bashar al-Assad's weeks-long crackdown against anti-government protesters. Some of the refugees are believed to be from the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where 120 security troops were reportedly killed Monday during the anti-government demonstrations.
The government has issued orders for security forces to hit back, accusing the protesters of being armed bandits.
With the escalating violence, political scientist Soli Ozel says a major crisis could be looming; 250 refugees fled the conflict last month.
"You are liable to get massive influx of people trying to escape the war zones," Ozel said.
The Iraq crisis saw tens of thousands of people seeking refuge in Turkey, and according to Turkish media reports, facilities for 10,000 refugees are now being prepared.
There is visa-free travel between Turkey and Syria, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday the border would remain open.
Mr. Erdogan said at this point, closing the border is out of question. He said his government is following the developments in Syria with concern, and urged Damascus to show more tolerance toward its citizens and take concrete steps toward reform as soon as possible.
The Turkish prime minister has pressed President Assad to introduce reforms, but has resisted domestic and international pressure to take a tougher line, saying Damascus should be given time.
But the escalating crisis has seen Ankara toughening its language towards Damascus. Diplomatic correspondent for the Turkish daily Milliyet, Semih Idiz, says the government is taking an increasingly more nuanced stance.
"We understand there is still a dialogue between Bashar al-Assad and the prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan. On the other hand, the Syrian opposition met in Turkey and that could not have gone down very well in Damascus," Idiz said.
One reason behind Ankara reaching out to Syria is that it has a restive Kurdish population, which political scientist Nuray Mert of Istanbul University says has close ties with the Kurdish rebel group, the PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state.
"We know that there are very close links between PKK and Syrian Kurds, and this [is] another threat of destabilization in Turkey because anyway we have huge problems concerning the Kurdish problem," Mert said.
One of the main factors behind the rapprochement between the two countries was President Assad's crackdown against Syrian Kurdish nationalists. Now, according to diplomatic correspondent Idiz, Ankara fears Mr. Assad may be reaching out to his restive Kurdish population.
"We understand Bashar al-Assad is now trying to co-opt the Kurds. What happens to them politically and how they interact with northern Iraq and the Kurds in Turkey is of relevance [to] Ankara," Idiz said.
With the Syrian president increasingly isolated and desperate, concerns in Turkey that instability could spread to its territory are growing.
"Many people in the bordering areas in Syria and Turkey have relations, and there is the Alevi and Sunni situation also, [which] plays out in Turkey. Do not forget Turkey has Alevi population that numbers anything up to 12 million," Idiz said.
Ankara will be hoping the Syrian crisis can be defused by government reforms and negotiations with the Syrian opposition, but as violence increases, observers say that is looking unlikely.
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Yemeni officials say government forces have killed 12 people suspected of links to al-Qaida as they battle to regain territory lost to Islamist militants in the south of the country. This comes as a leading American newspaper says the U.S. has stepped up air attacks on suspected extremists during Yemen's political unrest.
The report of increased U.S. military strikes was welcomed by some in Yemen, who have feared the growing influence of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and other militant Islamist groups.
The New York Times, quoting unidentified U.S. officials, said Washington resumed the air strikes in recent weeks, fearing Yemen's leadership crisis would allow militants to make headway.
Yemeni journalist and political analyst Nasser Arrabyee says, with President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Saudi Arabia for treatment of wounds from an attack last Friday, the timing makes sense, especially in the south.
"It is getting worse there because Abyan, in particular, and Jahar, in more particular, is the stronghold of the jihadists," he said. "And what happens in Zinjibar is they declared it the second Islamic emirate after Jahar. Al-Qaida now is exploiting the unrest in the country - in the whole country, not only in the south. And what is happening now is that they are making some gains."
VOA's Susan Yackee speaks with Robert Powell, Senior Middle East analyst with The Economist intelligence unit, about the situation in Yemen:
Arrabyee argues that now is a good time to strike these forces, whether by the Yemeni government or the United States.
Yemen's defense ministry said Thursday that its forces had killed 12 militants in these southern areas although, in the past, it has overstated its claims as the government tried to prove itself a strong counter-terrorist ally.
Arrabyee says he is inclined to believe the latest report.
"It's difficult to say how many, but it is sure that dozens were killed from both sides," he said. "This is very possible because there was very fierce fighting over the last two days."
The jihadist offensive comes against a backdrop of anti-government political protests which began four months ago. The calls for President Saleh's ouster turned violent in recent weeks, as tribal opponents of the government and other armed groups joined the fray.
In the capital, Sana'a, an uneasy truce is holding between forces of the al-Ahmar clan and the government. But pressure continues to build for the interim government to move beyond Saleh's presidency and form a transitional council.
Protester Tareq Saeed was among the demonstrators out in force Thursday.
Saeed rejected reports from Saudi and Yemeni officials that Saleh's condition is improving, saying the demonstrators don't care. He said the most important point is that the president has left the country and "is finished," as he put it. Now, he added, is the time to look to building a new future.
But the political reforms envisioned by the protesters would seem unattainable as long as al-Qaida and other jihadists continue to expand their influence. U.S. officials have spoken of the imperative of battling the militants.
So far, the success of the reported stepped-up campaign of air strikes is unclear. A U.S. drone attack last month targeted the Yemeni-American al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki, but missed, while The New York Times says another U.S. airstrike last Friday killed a mid-level al-Qaida operative in southern Yemen.
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Officials in U.S. President Barack Obama's administration say they are confident that U.S. and NATO actions in Libya will bring the end of Moammar Gadhafi's rule.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney did not confirm or deny remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that people close to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi are offering to negotiate his departure from power.
Carney said, however, the Obama administration's policies are helping to push Gadhafi toward the exit.
"The policies that we have pursued unilaterally, the policies we have pursued with our partners, are having the desired effect, which is putting the squeeze on the Gadhafi regime, making it clear to those around him that their days are numbered, that they are making a very fateful choice if they stay with Gadhafi, because they will not control Libya in the future," said Carney.
Carney told reporters Thursday the White House is confident that members of Gadhafi's inner circle will continue to leave.
"We have seen a number of defections," he said. "I am not trying to hint at any news here, but I am confident there will be more, because the United States and our partners remain committed to the policies that we have been implementing now for a number of months."
NATO has increased the number of bombing runs in the Tripoli area in recent days.
Clinton made her comments in the United Arab Emirates. More than 20 nations meeting there pledged more than $1 billion dollars Thursday to help Libya's opposition council and Libyans affected by the fighting in their country.
At the White House, Carney would not say when or if the United States will officially recognize the opposition Transitional National Council as Libya's government. He did, however, say the U.S. backs global efforts to support the group financially.
"We support efforts at the international level, through the United Nations, to make Gadhafi regime assets available to the Council, to help fund it," he said.
Also Thursday, CIA Director Leon Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee that opposition forces in Libya have made gains in the east and west, and Gadhafi's government is weakening.
Panetta has been nominated as defense secretary, and was testifying in his confirmation hearing.
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Nations backing military action in Libya have finalized a monetary fund to assist the country's opposition and pledged more than one billion dollars to the rebels' cause. At a meeting in Abu Dhabi, members of the Libya Contact Group also said that their attention is now focused on preparing the North African nation for a post-Moammar Gadhafi era.
Speaking at the end of Thursday's meeting, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan assured that the financial mechanism agreed to would satisfy the needs of the Transitional National Council, the political body formed to represent Libya's anti-government rebels.
The total amount of aid on offer is still to be tallied. But on Thursday nations pledged more than one billion dollars. Officials previously agreed to set up the temporary fund during talks in Rome last month.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says there is now consensus that the rebel council is ready to handle the support.
"There was a lot of work done led by the Qataris, the Emiratis and the Kuwaitis and many of the rest of us to establish this mechanism with sufficient transparency and accountability because the last thing we want is to put the TNC in a position where the money flows, but they don't have the systems in place to put it to good use. We think that they do now and we're working to assist them," she said.
Officials have stipulated that the money on offer is meant to cover "necessary" costs like salaries and food supplies and not be used for weapons purchases.
NATO this week extended its air operation in Libya for another 90 days and intensified its bombing in the capital, Tripoli. Mr. Gadhafi said he would remain in his country "dead or alive."
But officials meeting in Abu Dhabi, including Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, believe the defiant leader is rapidly losing legitimacy.
"The overall conclusion of this conference is that the days of Gadhafi are coming to an end and that they are coming potentially to a rapid end and therefore the challenge of the international community is to prepare for a post-Gadhafi Libya," he said.
Rudd said the Libya Contact Group is now focusing on building an interim administration to govern Libya after Mr. Gadhafi's exit. He also brought attention to the humanitarian situation, saying more needs to be done to ensure that Libyans affected by war have food, shelter and medical aid.
Latest reports say nearly one-sixth of Libyan nationals have been displaced by the conflict.
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Libyan opposition forces trying to oust Moammar Gadhafi from his four decades in power are heading to China to seek support. Foreign Ministry official Chen Xiaodong announced the visit at a briefing Thursday - just as an envoy from Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi wrapped up a two-day visit during which he urged China to help secure a ceasefire. China also says Libya's future should be freely determined by its own people.
The envoy from the Libyan leader traveled to China, earlier this week, seeking help in securing a ceasefire between his battered government and the rebels. On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry official Chen Xiaodong revealed a delegation from the Libyan opposition would also soon be in Beijing to seek Chinese backing.
Chen said Beijing is "ready to receive" the Libyan rebels in the near future - though he did not specify a date.
Chinese diplomats and rebel leaders met recently in Qatar and in the rebel's main base in the Libyan city of Benghazi.
Analysts speculate China is seeking a larger role as peacemaker because it secures much of its oil from the region.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at regular media briefing Thursday China hopes the Libyan factions involved in armed conflict immediately begin a ceasefire to prevent further humanitarian disaster.
Hong says political means such as discussion and dialogue should be used to end the crisis.
He says Beijing wants to see relevant parties in Libya quickly resolve the crisis through political means.
Hong also re-asserted China's opposition to military actions that exceed a U.N. Security Council resolution authorization. Chinese authorities have said that NATO air strikes on government positions in Libya go beyond the U.N. mandate.
During his two-day visit to Beijing, Gadhafi's envoy Abdelati Obeidi said his government is ready to agree to a total ceasefire and hoped China will help broker such a temporary peace settlement.
Chen Xiaodong, who Chinese state media identified as director general of the Foreign Ministry's West Asian and North African Affairs Department, was quoted as saying China has stepped up its push to persuade the two sides in the conflict to seek "an amicable settlement through dialogue".
He also said China is mulling additional humanitarian aid for Libya.
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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has held a hearing on President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta. Panetta, the current Central Intelligence Agency Director, was warmly received by the panel, but faced a number of tough questions on his ideas about the size and pace of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and plans by the president to cut the nation's defense budget.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the Senate panel quickly made clear in their remarks that Leon Panetta's confirmation to be the next Secretary of Defense by the full Senate is virtually certain. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised Panetta and then hit him with rapid fire questions on a number of challenges he will face.
"I just think the president has put together an A-plus national security team, and you are one of the lynchpins of that," said Graham. "So now some hard questions. [Both Graham and Panetta laugh]
Several senators gave Panetta credit for being the person President Obama put in charge of the operation to capture or kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Panetta said he believed the killing of bin Laden in May gave the United States the best chance it has had since September 11, 2001 to defeat the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Troop levels in Afghanistan was a major focus of the hearing. President Obama has pledged to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan this July, with a goal of ending U.S. military operations in the country by the end of 2014. Democratic Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Carl Levin has called on the president to withdraw 15,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Levin quoted the president as saying it it is time for Afghans to start taking responsibility for their own future.
"The president has also said that the reductions starting in July will be quote significant, and not just a quote token gesture," said Levin. "I support that decision."
But there were also several senators on the panel worried that the progress achieved during ten years of U.S. forces fighting in Afghanistan could be jeopardized by a hasty pull-out. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona:
"I would agree with Secretary Gates that any drawdown should be modest so as to maximize our ability to lock in the hard-won gains of our troops through the next fighting season," said McCain.
Panetta refused to be pinned down on whether the reductions of U.S. troops from Afghanistan should be "modest" or "significant", saying only he agrees with the president that they should be "conditions-based."
Several senators expressed concern that any progress in Afghanistan is threatened by the terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which enable terrorists to constantly cross over the border to attack U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. Panetta said he shares these concerns, and the Obama administration has conveyed them to the Pakistani government.
"We need to have their cooperation, we need to have their partnership in confronting what frankly is a common enemy here," said Panetta. "You know terrorism just isn't our problem, it is their problem."
Asked about progress in Libya, Panetta said there are signs that military and economic pressure are showing "some signs" of working and that he expects they could force Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to step down if the United States and its NATO allies keep up the pressure on him.
If confirmed by the Senate, Panetta would take over the Pentagon at a time when the U.S. is involved in conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, and President Obama has called for an additional $400 billion in cuts to defense spending. Some senators said they do not want military decisions to be dictated by budgetary constraints. Panetta assured the panel that his first and foremost mission will always be to protect the United States.
"I do not believe based on my long experience in government and working with budgets that we have to choose between strong fiscal discipline and strong national defense," he said.
Panetta vowed to eliminate wasteful spending by the Pentagon, and said the country owes its to U.S. service members and their families to give them the best possible benefits and health care.
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As U.S. politicians review the American policy in Afghanistan in advance of an expected drawdown of troops next month, many Afghanis wonder about the future of international efforts in their country.
Many Afghans watched with concern as the U.S. Congress debated the future of international assistance in the war-ravaged nation.
The congressional report presented Wednesday about Afghanistan and the appointment hearings for the nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the country, Ryan Crocker, are both events leading the news in Afghanistan.
Worries of a premature departure
Many Afghans, especially in the capital Kabul, are worried that the West may leave too quickly and abandon them, like the U.S. did after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. A development that ultimately led to civil war and the rise of the Taliban.
Sayid Mohammed Azam, a Kabul businessman and former official in the Afghan government, warns that if the West leaves too quickly, it all could happen again.
"It will be the same situation as soon as the pro-communist government collapsed in Afghanistan," said Azam. "The Soviet troops withdrew and there was no, you know, strong administration to fill the gap. And the country went into chaos and civil war. At the end of the day, the emergence of the Taliban… so they not only destroyed our country, but they also pose a great security threat and well being of the world community."
The report on Afghanistan, delivered Wednesday by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, D.C., also warned of a collapse if the departure of the West is too abrupt.
Cost effectiveness, corruption concerns
It also reported that little has been achieved, however, in the effort to establish a strong government and civil society in Afghanistan that could stand on it's own. This is despite nearly $19 billion spent over the last 10 years.
The report says the U.S. government's spending often has overwhelmed the local Afghan economies and fostered corruption.
Many also argue, though, that it isn't just Afghans who are guilty of pocketing money that is intended to build up the impoverished, wartorn and remote country. As Kabul student Mohammed Iqbal sees it, those who came from abroad are equally corrupt and to blame.
"Corruption is all over Afghanistan," he said. "Including, our government and also the foreigners which came here."
Some Afghans who spoke to VOA also expressed criticism that the foreign community does little to provide long-term opportunities for them, instead focusing too much on security or war fighting.
Hopes for improvement
For businessman Azam, the fact that the West is focusing on these issues is a positive, and hopefully both sides will improve.
"I think this report that was prepared by the congress is very helpful; I hope this attention brings positive changes," he said. "We could and we can do a lot of more things, and more effectively and far better."
A day after the congressional report and hearings, and following a phone conversation with President Barack Obama, the Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai did announce they would be forming a commission to look into corruption and spending.
Karzai is scheduled to travel soon to Pakistan for a two-day visit to discuss regional talks aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict. It is widely believed that will include some sort of negotiation with some elements of the Taliban.
But many military commanders say those talks must be held from a position of strength. At a meeting in Brussels on Thursday, some NATO defense ministers warned that if the U.S. pulls a significant number of its troops, exactly at a time when there are gains being made on the ground, it could lead to disaster in Afghanistan.
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NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says operations in Afghanistan remain a "key operational priority" for the alliance and predicted the Afghan government will take full control of security by 2014.
He spoke in Brussels at a meeting of NATO defense ministers and those from non-NATO allies in the international security force in Afghanistan.
The meeting is addressing the scheduled drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan later this year, after a decade of establishing and defending a democratic government against the Taliban.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in attendance, in what will be his last meeting with that group before retiring at the end of the month.
Gates has been calling for the drawdown to proceed at a cautious pace, as the U.S. lessens what has been a lead role in the international effort.
Tuesday in the Afghan capital Kabul, on a farewell visit to U.S. troops, Gates said the coalition is on track to deliver "a decisive blow" against the Taliban.
Gates steps down June 30.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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The earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year served as dramatic reminders that people everywhere should be ready for disasters. Here in the United States, scientists say California will one day be rocked by a major earthquake. Local authorities are trying to ensure that everyone is ready.
Children "duck, cover and hold on" in practices that remind all Californians to be ready for an earthquake.
A 6.7 magnitude quake struck near the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge in 1994, killing 57 people and injuring thousands.
Experts say a much bigger temblor, possibly of magnitude 7.8, is likely to hit near Los Angeles on the southern San Andreas Fault in coming years. It could result in thousands of deaths and billions of dollars in damage.
Northern California could also be struck, as San Francisco was in the disastrous earthquake and fire of 1906.
The American Red Cross sells disaster kits, and everyone should have one, says Red Cross education specialist Lisa Klink. They should also have a stock of essential supplies for a disaster.
"You really may be stuck on your own for a couple of days and should really be prepared for that," said Klink. "We advise people to have a least three day's worth of food and water and supplies at home, ideally a week, but at the very least, three days."
Some Californians take the message to heart. Nicole Perzik, who is walking her dogs in the park, says she's ready.
"I've got water and all kinds of supplies in case something happens, especially when you own pets," said Perzik. "That's what makes me feel more aware."
California is home to people from all over the world, and part of the challenge is getting out the message that they need to be prepared.
Some have experienced other disasters, including tornadoes and flooding that recently devastated parts of the American Midwest. Midwestern transplant Barry Goldenberg says he has experienced those and is ready for earthquakes.
"They don't bother me as much as they do some other people who may be from Los Angeles or from California because maybe I'm used to natural disasters," noted Goldenberg.
California has some of the strictest building codes in the world, but officials worry about schools and say that even in safe buildings, people can be injured.
They need to be prepared, says Mark Benthien of the Southern California Earthquake Center.
"Our real first responders are ourselves and our neighbors," said Benthien. "The first government responders would be the firefighters and such, and they'll come, but they may not come for quite some time."
The American Red Cross and local fire departments offer preparedness training, and officials there say everyone needs an emergency plan in place in advance of a disaster.
Film producer Stanley Isaacs took a preparedness course and he and his wife were ready for the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
"I was back from location on a movie and I had assembled a vest, because I had a vest that I was wearing on location, and I put flashlight, tools and stuff in there, and the night of the quake, I put it on and I handed her a radio and a flashlight," recalled Isaacs. "And she felt comforted and never forgot the fact that I had given that to her."
He created and now sells the so-called Grab-N-Go survival vest, complete with emergency supplies, including water, a radio and flashlight.
Scientists say a major quake will rock California. The only questions are when it will happen and if people are ready.
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India's most eminent artist, Maqbool Fida Husain, has died in London at the age of 95.
Tributes flowed in from the India's President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, artists and ordinary citizens when news of Maqbool Fida Husain's death in London was reported in India.
M.F. Husain was known as the "Picasso of India," and his works sold for millions of dollars.
The artist, working on a sketch (Reuters).
His impact in India's world of art cannot be underestimated, said Neha Kirpal, founder of the Indian Art Fair, which organizes exhibitions of contemporary Indian art.
"For many decades now he's been one of India's most celebrated painters and also one of the artists who has put Indian art on the world map," Kirpal added.
But the Muslim artist became embroiled in controversy after he painted nude Hindu deities, and depicted India as a nude woman.
Angry Hindu radial groups called the paintings an insult to their religion. They offered a reward for his death, vandalized some of his works on display at art galleries and slapped hundreds of legal cases against him.
In 2006, the artist finally left his Indian home to live in Dubai. Four years later he accepted Qatari citizenship.
Husain poses in front of one of his paintings in 2003 in Bangalore, India (AFP).
The artist refused to comment on the controversy, saying he remained deeply rooted to India, and was only living overseas to do his work.
He apologized for the paintings and told an Indian television interviewer that maybe his art had not been understood.
"I am in the idiom of modern art, contemporary that is very difficult to understand," he said. "There a figure or a woman I paint, though it nude, but that figure is not realistic.
Husain's decision to give up his Indian citizenship triggered a huge debate in the country. Artists and many citizens said authorities should have done more to ensure that its most eminent painter could work without harassment in his homeland.
The government said it was willing to offer him protection. Neha Kirpal says it became possible to display his work earlier this year in New Delhi at the international art fair organized after the government provided security.
"The previous two years we were not able to showcase his works," Kirpal said. "Previously I know there have been problems and there have been a few attempts to jeopardize some of his works and therefore galleries have been hesitant to show them."
Questions about artistic freedom and the need to promote tolerance will continue to be posed even after Husain's death. Kirpal's thoughts on the subject are shared by many other artists and citizens.
"For Husain sahib or anyone else, as a country we must be responsible to protect freedom of expression. It is a fundamental right and if that were to be the reason that someone needs to move out of the country, then that is not acceptable," Kirpal said.
Among those who spoke up in defense of his art was the Supreme Court, which said nudity should not be regarded as obscenity and is common in Indian art.
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Through coups, conflicts and other upheavals, one constant for many West African countries has been the presence of a national beer. After going years without one, Guinea-Bissau is now hoping to revive its own local beer tradition following the reopening of its only beer factory.
The sound of clinking bottles echoes in the humming Pampa beer factory, Guinea-Bissau's lone brewery located along a long, dusty road in the country's sleepy capital of Bissau.
The former Portuguese colony of 1.6 million people is now in the midst of a slight identity crisis when it comes to beer. Pampa resumed production in March after a long hiatus but has yet to recapture the market it once enjoyed against Portuguese competitors, as well as the highly popular seasonal drinks of cashew juice and wine. Guinea-Bissau's chief export is cashews, making it something akin to the snack nut capital of West Africa.
Pampa's marketing director, Ben Nair Lopes da Costa, does not think they have much to worry about, though.
She says the group that is now in charge of Pampa is more stable than previous owners, the quality of the beer has improved and the factory's technicians have better experience.
Pampa has had quite a bumpy history over the last few decades, not unlike Guinea-Bissau itself. The brand was founded by Portuguese investors just as the country gained its independence in 1974, only to be nationalized and purchased by Guineans a few years later. The company changed hands a few more times after that, before the brand had to shut down completely in 1998 when the country's economy broke down due to a two-year civil war.
Yet somehow, surviving near bankruptcy and wars, Pampa has persisted. At the end of 2010, a group of Moroccan investors under the title Holding ABC, Incorporated bought the company outright and rebooted the brand.
Inside the factory, a large copper vat contains all the ingredients that give Pampa its crisp and tangy malt flavor. Da Costa says the key to Pampa's unique, if slightly acquired flavor, is the water.
She says they use Guinea-Bissau's natural mineral water pumped from 160 meters below the ground.
According to market research, Guineans consume, on average, 15 to 20 million liters of beer annually. Pampa's target is to sell 3 million liters by the end of the year and 10 percent more each year after that.
In its pre-war heyday, it sold about 5 million liters annually.
But competition still poses challenges for the company. Portuguese import Cristal is pervasive in cafes and bars around town. And cashew wine, in season right now, is a potent and bitter fermented contender that retails on the street for less than a $1.
Da Costa says Pampa's biggest obstacle is it has to import 90 percent of its materials from abroad, including malt, sugar, bottles, caps and shipping cartons. Da Costa adds that Cristal has a competitive advantage over Pampa because it doesn't have the problem of import taxes, as well as interruption in supply.
In fact, the malt Pampa has to import comes from Belgium by way of Portugal. Still, Pampa's owners think Guineans will slowly come around and hope to capitalize on this thirst for a hometown brew. After all, Senegal has Flag and Gazelle, Ghanians drink Star, and Gambians can chill beachside with an icy Julbrew.
Da Costa says Guineans prefer Pampa when they try it and are very nationalistic and proud of local products. They want to support their own economy.
A visual survey of one of Bissau's popular nightclubs showed most of its patrons drinking Cristal. A waiter named Alberto says people are aware that Pampa is available again, but they still gravitate toward imported beer. Both Cristal and Pampa sell for around $1 or $1.50 depending on the spot, so the price factor just isn't that significant.
And what about Guinea-Bissau's high ranking officials and elites, will they drink a local brew over imported? When asked his preference, Guinea-Bissau's Attorney General Amine Michel Saad wrinkled his nose before diplomatically stating he's a "whiskey man."
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Groundbreaking virtual reality technology developed in Australia has been sold to China where it will be used to improve the safety of mine workers. The iCinema system is a 360-degree, 3D safety simulator that teaches miners how to survive life-threatening events underground. It has been installed at one of China's leading mine safety research installations, the Shenyang Institute of Coal Technology and Engineering Group.
This experimental program allows miners to step into a virtual underground world and feel part of the scenery.
Participants are surrounded by a circular screen and wear 3D glasses. They are immersed in the simulated environment through flowing images from 12 projectors and a 24-channel sound system.
Up to 30 trainees can take part at one time. They can ride on a virtual underground mine vehicle that travels through a labyrinth of tunnels modeled on an actual mine in Australia's New South Wales. Participants say they feel like they can reach out and touch the simulated roof bolts.
The head researcher, Professor Dennis Del Favero, is the director of the iCinema Research Center at the University of New South Wales.
"We believe it will almost certainly save lives because there is nothing like real life simulation. Miners require a high level of skill. They face dangers that are unparalleled in many ways and probably the only parallel with the dangers of working in a mine is working as a member of the defense force in a battlefield," said Del Favero.
China's mining industry is the most dangerous in the world. In recent years, officials estimate averages of six miners are killed on the job every day. Chinese authorities have closed down hundreds of illegal mines and increased safety inspections to try to reduce the danger.
The Australian-made simulator is in many ways similar to a giant video game aimed at preparing miners to recognize the danger signs for a variety of hazards. One of the biggest threats in coal mines are gas explosions and the simulator tries to prepare miners for the worst.
"The trainee would realize they would have been killed in that event if it happened underground. But what they can actually do in the simulator is move through the event and look at the physical damage it does to people but also the physical consequences and physical damage it has on machinery," Del Favero explained. "And we're now moving through, we're trailing through and all around us we can see the consequences, the destruction of the outburst."
The project has taken seven years to develop at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, through the collaboration of the College of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Engineering and the School of Mining. There has also been input from the mining industry, trade unions and the government.
The technology is used at four sites around New South Wales, where it has trained thousands of people during the past three years.
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NATO has launched more airstrikes near the residence of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as global powers gathered to discuss a Libya without him.
Loud explosions rocked the Libyan capital Tripoli late Wednesday, with the first bombs striking an area near Gadhafi's compound and the second attack near a hotel where foreign journalists have been staying. A Libyan government spokesman said NATO dropped more than 60 bombs throughout the day, killing 31 people and injuring dozens of others.
While NATO continued its air bombardment, Western and Arab nations gathered in the United Arab Emirates Thursday for talks to plan a Libya after Gadhafi is forced out.
The group is also expected to discuss measures to activate a fund agreed to in May that would provide financial and other assistance to the Libyan rebels' National Transitional Council.
Foreign ministers from the 22-nation Libyan Contact Group, which includes the U.S., France, Britain and Italy, as well as delegates from the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council and other regional bodies, will attend the meeting.
On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates challenged five key military allies to assume a greater share of the NATO-led air campaign against Gadhafi's forces.
At a NATO meeting in Brussels, Gates said the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey should enhance their limited participation by joining in strike missions against ground targets. He also called on Germany and Poland, two countries not active at all militarily in Libya, to help in some form.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the alliance is preparing for a Libya without its authoritarian leader. The NATO chief said Gadhafi's departure is no longer a question of "if" he goes, but rather "when."
NATO is operating under a U.N. mandate that calls for taking all necessary measures other than occupation to protect civilians and civilian areas from attack by Gadhafi's forces.
Also Wednesday, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said investigators have evidence that Gadhafi ordered mass rapes of women considered disloyal to his regime. Luis Moreno-Ocampo said his team is looking into whether the Libyan leader provided soldiers with Viagra-like medicines in order to promote the rape of women. He said he may present new charges of mass rape against Gadhafi.
Separately, the U.N. special envoy for Libya arrived in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi Wednesday for talks with opposition leaders. Jordanian AbdulIlah al-Khatib came from Tripoli, where he reportedly held talks with officials from Gadhafi's government.
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Japan's national broadcaster says a draft statement from the U.N. nuclear agency calls on Japan to provide a "more transparent" report on the crisis at its Fukushima nuclear plant.
NHK Television said Thursday the statement was prepared for a meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency to be held in Geneva on June 20. A team of IAEA experts recently visited Japan to study the nuclear accident and is expected to report its findings at the same meeting.
The network said the draft report calls on Japan to accurately report on the nuclear crisis and share its assessment so that the world can learn from the accident.
The Japanese government and the plant's operators have been heavily criticized in Japan for being slow to acknowledge the seriousness of the accident, caused when a March 11 tsunami knocked out cooling systems at the plant.
Only in recent days has the Tokyo Electric Power Company admitted that nuclear fuel in three reactors at the plant appears to have melted down and burned through the bottom of their primary pressure chambers.
In a new revelation Thursday, the government said minute amounts of strontium-90 have been detected in 11 soil samples taken from as far as 62 kilometers from the Fukushima plant. Japan's nuclear safety commission said the concentrations were not high enough to pose a health threat.
However strontium-90 is one of the most dangerous by-products of a nuclear accident. When ingested, it tends to concentrate in bones and bone marrow, where it can cause cancer and leukemia.
A memo obtained by the Financial Times says the U.S. military effort in Libya is costing hundreds of millions of dollars more than first estimated.
The Pentagon memo, which the newspaper says was given to some U.S. lawmakers, says the military is spending $2 million a day on air strikes, refueling operations and intelligence gathering missions. That adds up to a cost of $60 million a month.
Earlier estimates from the Defense Department said the U.S. was spending about $40 million a month on its Libyan operations.
The Financial Times says U.S. military operations in Libya could cost Washington almost $300 million more than the Pentagon anticipated.
The increased costs are a concern for the U.S. military because the money comes from its normal budget. Funding for the U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq come from separate, supplemental budgets.
NATO has been leading the air campaign against the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Ghadhafi. Earlier this week, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged five key military allies to assume a greater role in the effort.
Last month, Gates said the total cost for U.S. operations in Libya had reached $750 million.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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China's state media are accusing the United States of trying to provoke trouble between China and its Asian neighbors.
The Communist Party-controlled Global Times newspaper quoted a policy expert Thursday commenting on written remarks provided by U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta to a Congressional panel considering his nomination to be the next U.S. secretary of defense.
In the remarks, reported by the Bloomberg news agency, Panetta said China appears to be building the capability "to fight and win short-duration, high-intensity conflicts" along its borders.
Shi Yinhong, director of the Center of American Studies at the Renmin University of China, told Global Times that Panetta's comments could be seen as a provocation intended to exaggerate tensions between China and its neighbors.
Shi also said that China will never provoke conflicts with its neighbors.
Despite Shi's assurance, China is engaged in simmering diplomatic disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines over actions by its military vessels in the South China Sea. Late last month, Chinese vessels cut an exploration cable on a Vietnamese oil survey ship in waters well within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone. Manila also accuses China of intruding into its exclusive waters.
China also engaged in a bitter dispute with Japan last year over an incident in the East China Sea. A senior Chinese general was quoted this week confirming for the first time that China will soon launch its first aircraft carrier.
Panetta said in his remarks to Congress that China appears to be focusing its military build-up on potential contingencies involving Taiwan, including possible U.S. military intervention. He said the United States should closely monitor China's military growth while seeking ways to preserve peace, enhance stability and reduce risk in the region.
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German authorities say the death toll from one Europe's worst E. coli outbreaks is up to at least 26.
They say more than 2,600 have been sickened since late May as a result of the mysterious bacteria. Nearly all the victims live in or visited northern Germany.
E. coli and how it is transmitted
E. coli is an abbreviation for Escherichia, which is a large and diverse group of bacteria. Most strains are harmless, others can cause illness. Symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. The major source is cattle, but other animals, foods and liquids may spread contamination to people.
Shiga toxin-producing E. coli
This is a dangerous form of E. coli known by the acronym STEC. The best known strain of this STEC (also called 0157) was identified in 1982. Transmission and symptoms are similar to the most common form of E. coli.
EHEC
A very serious infection is enterohaemorrhagic E. coli known by the acronym EHEC. It produces toxins, known as verotoxins or Shiga-like toxins. It may lead to life threatening diseases such as hemolytic uremic syndrome, or HUS.
HUS
Scientists believe this is responsible for the European outbreak, originating from a potentially life threatening strain of STEC (0104). HUS afflicts the kidneys, blood and central nervous system.
Authorities have failed to find the cause of the outbreak.
Overturning initial suspicions, German investigators have ruled out home-grown organic sprouts, as well as lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers from Spain. Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar is demanding full compensation from Germany for losses suffered by farmers in her country.
Spanish farmers whose revenue has been hard-hit by the outbreak, on Wednesday gave away some 30 tons of fruit and vegetables to people in Madrid.
After heated discussions Wednesday, EU Farm Commissioner Dacian Ciolos raised his aid package offer to $306 million to help farmers recoup some of their losses from unsold vegetables because of the E. coli crisis. He had initially proposed $220 million in aid.
Russia and some other countries have banned all vegetables from the EU.
Russia is expected to address the E. coli outbreak Thursday,as part of a two day summit with EU leaders in Nizhny Novgord, Russia.
E. coli symptoms include stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and in extreme cases kidney failure and death.
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Environmental organizations say Indonesia's recently announced moratorium on developing new forest land is not slowing the rate of deforestation nor reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Environmentalists are calling for more restrictions and oversight of logging, mining and palm oil companies if the country is going to reach its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions 26 percent by 2020.
Developers ignore ban
Environmental groups say the two-year ban on new development in 45 million hectares of designated forest area is not deterring logging companies from cutting down trees for timber and paper products, and is not stopping developers from burning and converting large forest areas for palm oil plantations.
Nor has it changed Greenpeace's strategy to confront companies like Asia Pulp and Paper, one of the world's largest producers of wood products, for what it says are the company's illegal and destructive environmental practices.
Greenpeace has been successful in the past in convincing international companies like Burger King Nestle to stop doing business with APP Indonesian Greenpeace Campaigner Bustar Maitar is now calling upon toy companies Mattel and Hasbro to follow suit.
"They are using the packaging; the paper packaging produced by APP which we know is APP [and] is destroying forest in Sumatra. So what we are asking Mattel to do is, to asking their supplier to stop using natural forest for their products," said Maitar.
APP declined VOA's request for an interview. But the company issued a statement disputing Greenpeace's allegations, saying it follows legal guidelines, uses 95 percent recycled paper in packaging, and is working towards 100 percent sustainable plantations by 2015.
Moratoriums ineffective
Lou Verchot, a climate change scientist with the Center for International Forestry Research says confronting businesses that may exploit the environment will not stop development in forest lands. He says the moratorium also by itself will have little effect. Some companies were able to gain vast concession rights before the ban was put in place and others are able to operate because there is little monitoring and enforcement in rural areas.
"Forests tend to be in remote areas of Indonesia. The access is not easy. The government is not particularly present. Law enforcement is a problem. Zoning enforcement is a problem," Verchot explained.
The moratorium is part of the country's $1 billion deal with Norway to reduce Indonesia's carbon dioxide emissions, which primarily come from burning forests and peat lands for farming and other development. Indonesia is the world's third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, which many scientists say contributes to global warming.
Money maker
Verchot says the $1 billion pledge from Norway pales in comparison with the $20 billion Indonesia makes each year in trading forest products with the United States alone.
Despite the moratorium's immediate limitations, Verchot says Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's decision to initiate the ban is an important step to develop environmentally sustainable business practices.
"If you are asking me if I am encouraged, I certainly am encouraged. I think it was courageous of the president to make the declaration. I think he is precipitating a discussion that needs to happen within Indonesian society. So its positive. At the same time the game's not over. The game's not won. There is still more that need to be done," said Verchot.
He says giving developer's incentives to increase productivity in existing plantations and replanting trees must go along with increased conservation and enforcement practices.
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Leon Panetta, nominated to become the next U.S. defense secretary, is a government official and former Democratic congressman with extensive budget experience.
The current chief of the Central Intelligence Agency, Panetta headed the White House budget office under President Bill Clinton and also served as chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee for four years.
Panetta's budget skills will be put to the test as President Barack Obama is expected to call on him to oversee an additional $400 billion in cuts to defense spending. The 72-year-old Panetta will have to balance that with national security needs and the challenge of U.S. military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Panetta was elected to his first of eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, representing a district in California.
He is credited with bringing Congressional connections and cohesion to the CIA, which he took over in 2009.
In the 1990s, after heading the White House budget office, Panetta also served as chief of staff to President Clinton.
Following a stint as an Army intelligence officer, Panetta started out his political career working for Republicans, eventually becoming head of the Office for Civil Rights under President Richard Nixon. He left the post because of a disagreement and switched to the Democratic Party in 1971.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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