The White House strongly condemned the crackdown on anti-government protesters that left 28 people dead Friday, and says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is leading his nation down a "dangerous path."
Witnesses and activists say at least 10 deaths occurred in the northwestern province of Idlib. The military shelled targets in the provincial city of Maaret al-Numan. State-run news reports said an armed group had attacked security forces in the city and set several government buildings on fire.
Meanwhile, Assad has been avoiding calls from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Ban tried to call the Syrian leader several times, but a U.N. spokesman said Assad would not come to the phone.
Meanwhile, witnesses and activists say security forces used live ammunition to disperse anti-government protesters in several other cities. They say protesters were killed in Damascus and in the southern Daraa region.
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A separate military siege is unfolding in Jisr al-Shughour, a town in the northern region near the Turkish border. Military forces moved into the town after the government said "armed gangs" in the region had killed 120 security personnel.
Residents of the town have been fleeing, many of them into neighboring Turkey. Turkish news reports said Friday the number of Syrians who had crossed the border had swelled to about 3,000.
Diplomatic efforts to quiet Syria's unrest are unfolding on several fronts.
United Nations diplomats held new talks on Friday on a draft resolution that calls on the Security Council to condemn the Syrian government's crackdown. Many Western nations back the measure but Russia and China have voiced opposition.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Syrian government for its crackdown on protests. The semi-official Anatolia news agency quotes him as calling the crackdown an "atrocity" and saying the Syrian government has not behaved "humanely." He added that Turkey is making plans for a refugee buffer zone on the border.
Russian special envoy Mikhail Margelov said Friday that he planned to meet soon with representatives of Syria's opposition.
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.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Tens of thousands of people have turned out for rallies across Yemen, where some called for the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and others voiced their support for the injured president.
The largest demonstrations took place in the capital, Sana'a, on Friday. Chanting anti-government protesters urged Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur Hadi to set up a transitional government council.
The French news agency reports opponents of Mr. Saleh have agreed on seven potential candidates and plan to present their names to the vice president.
Meanwhile, government loyalists cheered reports from Saudi Arabia that President Saleh's condition had improved. He traveled to that country to seek treatment for facial and burn injuries that he sustained in a rocket attack on his presidential compound last week.
Western news reports say large demonstrations also took place in Taiz, Yemen's second-largest city, as well as several other locations.
Meanwhile, officials in Yemen say an air raid on suspected Islamic militants in the southern part of the country has killed at least three people.
Few details of the attack near the town of Jaar were immediately available. One official told the French news agency the strike killed three relatives of an al-Qaida militant.
Suspected al-Qaida gunmen last month seized the nearby city of Zinjibar after fighting in which scores of soldiers were killed. But troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh have launched a counter-attack to try to regain control of the city.
In a separate incident, suspected separatists in southern Yemen attacked a military checkpoint. At least three Yemeni soldiers and two militants were killed in the skirmish.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned NATO allies Friday that they need to share more of the burden in the more than 60-year-old transatlantic alliance. His comments came during his last policy speech before stepping down as defense secretary at the end of the month.
Gates had a dire warning for NATO allies - that the time for America covering more than 75% of the coalition's defense spending is over. "The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the United States' Congress - and in the American body politic writ large - to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.
Speaking Friday in Brussels in what has been billed as his last policy speech before retiring June 30, Gates reminded the coalition of his past concerns that NATO would become a two-tiered alliance. "Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership but don't want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable," Gates said.
Gates pointed to the ongoing operations in Libya as an example.
He said that even though all 28 NATO members voted for the mission against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, less than half have participated and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission.
He blamed this on dwindling resources. "Frankly, many of those allies sitting on the sidelines do so not because they do not want to participate, but simply because they cannot. The military capabilities simply aren't there," Gates said.
Gates quoted one estimate that total European defense spending has fallen by nearly 15% in the decade since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
He said this has affected Afghanistan - the first "hot" ground war in NATO history. "Despite more than two million troops in uniform - not counting the U.S. military - NATO has struggled, at times desperately, to sustain a deployment of 25,000 to 40,000 troops, not just in boots on the ground, but in crucial support assets," he said.
He said NATO allies must take a united way out of Afghanistan and not operate on their own timelines determined by domestic financial pressures.
But as the U.S. military considers billions of dollars in spending cuts to ease Washington's own growing deficit, Gates warned that future U.S. politicians - not shaped during the Cold War like him - might not consider the return on America's investment in NATO worth the cost.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling on Pakistan to help his country achieve stability.
Mr. Karzai arrived in Islamabad Friday for a meeting with his counterpart Asif Ali Zardari. Following talks, both presidents told reporters that Afghanistan-Pakistan relations remain strong, with both countries sharing the common goal of peace and prosperity.
The Afghan leader said the "brotherly role" of Pakistan is critical to defeating terrorism in the region.
Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been previously hampered by mistrust.
President Karzai has repeatedly called for Pakistan to do more to fight militants in the border region who launch attacks in neighboring Afghanistan. And Mr. Karzai has said bin Laden's killing in Pakistan showed that the war against terrorism should focus on Islamabad and not Kabul.
The United States has urged Pakistan to play a productive role in Afghanistan's reconciliation process with the Taliban.
Pakistan was one of only three countries that recognized Afghanistan's Taliban-led government in the 1990s. And some members of Pakistan's intelligence services are thought to maintain links with the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan.
The head of Afghanistan's peace council, former President Burhanuddin Rabani, is part of Mr. Karzai's delegation to Pakistan. Mr. Rabani on Friday discussed Afghan reconciliation efforts with pro-Taliban cleric Fazlur Rehman, who heads a prominent Islamic party in Pakistan.
A joint peace commission is also scheduled to meet during Mr. Karzai's two-day visit.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Turkey goes to the polls this Sunday, with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AK) fighting on its record of a decade of unprecedented economic growth. Its main adversary, the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), is seeking to reinvent itself on a platform stressing that with growth has come increasing authoritarianism. For both parties, the support of younger voters will be crucial, with a third of the electorate under 25 years old. .
The campaign song of the ruling Justice and Development Party blasts out on the streets of the Besiktas district of Istanbul. The party is standing on its impressive record of nearly uninterrupted economic growth since it came to power in 2002, turning the country from the "sick man of Europe" into an economic tiger.
Giving out campaign literature is university student Ayse Demir. She says it is that transformation that has drawn her to the party.
Watch related Henry Ridgwell video report
"About 10 years ago, all the people were saying we had to join the European Union," she said. "But now, I don't think so. Because we can be power without European Union. For example, the Middle East; now all the Middle East countries want to as Turkey it's important."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a host of huge infrastructure projects - roads, hospitals and even new cities. His platform is very different from the last general election, when he emphasized his democratic credentials in facing down Turkey's then-powerful army over its opposition to his choice for president. Now he faces the main opposition Republican People's Party.
A CHP campaign TV advertisement is aimed at the youth vote. It stresses the party's policies for women and ethnic minorities. It also warns of the dangers of what it calls the government's growing authoritarian rule, citing increasing censorship of the Internet and state surveillance of telephones. The party, under the new leadership of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is seeking to reinvent itself as a modern social democratic party and discard its staid pro-statist image.
At CHP campaign headquarters in Istanbul, party supporters claim its transformation is being rewarded. They say there has been a 10-fold increase in youth volunteers. One of them is law student Melis Ayanit.
"We needed a change, a new political ideology and this change came with Mr Kilicdaroglu. The people changed, now we have more young people in the party." Ayanit said. "The young people saw the power of the first party. We are threatened. We are really threatened. For example, I don't want to talk on mobile phone with my friend for political subjects. Because I am afraid, because someone can hear me."
According to opinion polls, CHP is set to increase its support by as much 50 percent from the last election. But with Turkey's economy growing at nearly nine percent, the same polls are predicting that the prime minister should still win a comfortable majority. The size of that majority is considered of crucial importance.
The prime minister has set a target of a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which will enable him to introduce constitutional reform. Sabiha Senyucel Gundoga of the Istanbul-based think tank Tesev says whether Mr. Erdogan achieves that goal will dictate in what direction the country is heading.
"Having the number of votes of 367 gives them big, big opportunity to make any changes that they want," Gundoga said. "If there is a constitution with a consensus, everyone is satisfied to certain extent. Otherwise if there are tensions in that political climate, the polarization will be much more tense."
While there is little excitement about the question of who will win, there is growing expectation - if not concern - over the margin of victory in this Sunday's poll.
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India has expressed disappointment with a U.S. court ruling that cleared a Pakistani-born Canadian national of charges of helping to plan the deadly 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
India is pressing ahead with its own investigations against Tahawwur Rana.
The trial of the 50-year-old businessman was conducted in a Chicago court and was closely followed in India.
Rana was found guilty of providing support to the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and of involvement in a plot to attack a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad.
But the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty" for the charge that concerns India - involvement in the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
Rana had been accused of helping David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American, scout targets in India's financial hub before the terror strikes. Headley had said he used Rana's immigration firm as a cover when he traveled to India.
Home Ministry Secretary for Internal Security, U.K. Bansal said the acquittal came despite evidence produced to substantiate charges relating to the Mumbai attacks.
"We are therefore disappointed that Rana was acquitted on counts of conspiracy to provide material support to the Mumbai terrorist attack. However it may be remembered that Rana was tried in a U.S. court in accordance with the U.S. law," he said.
In a statement, the Home Ministry said that Indian agencies investigating charges against Rana were waiting for proceedings in the U.S. court to conclude.
Bansal says authorities now hope to get documents and other evidence from the United States. He says the National Investigation Agency, or NIA, will then decide whether to pursue the case in India.
"After examining the verdict in the U.S. court and after reviewing the documents, and evidence that it expects to receive, NIA will take a decision on filing a charge sheet against Headley, Rana and others in an Indian court," noted Bansal.
India was hoping the trials of Rana and Headley will uncover links between the Mumbai terror attacks and Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI.
New Delhi has accused the Pakistan-based Islamic militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, of carrying out the attacks.
In testimony last month, Headley, who has already pleaded guilty of terrorism charges, said Lashkar-e-Taiba had received help from Pakistani intelligence.
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says African governments must do more to fight corruption and encourage cross-border commerce to better benefit from U.S. trade preferences.
Secretary Clinton says the Obama administration is committed to extending trade preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. But renewing that duty-free access requires everyone involved to decide whether they are willing to do what's necessary to make the most of those benefits.
"A business is only as successful as the environment in which it operates. A shipping company cannot thrive if it's overwhelmed by government regulations and drowning in paperwork. Buyers and sellers can't do business if they are harassed by corrupt officials. A strong economy requires a supportive business climate that empowers every entrepreneur," explained Clinton.
Secretary Clinton says Africans face long-standing obstacles to diversifying AGOA exports that are still dominated by textile and oil products. "Trade officials are under pressure to protect their own home-grown industries. Government leaders of smaller countries are concerned that larger countries will gain too much influence. Business owners worry about losing out to competitors across the border. Now these are not problems unique to Africa, but they have a disproportionate impact on Africa," she said.
She says it is ultimately up to Africa's leaders to decide whether they have the political courage for greater economic integration. "It does mean you have to take on entrenched interests and respond to concerns about new competition, while making the case over and over again as to why the people in your country will benefit from expanded trade. I know this is difficult. Although I am out of politics now, I understand how hard it is to tell a longtime supporter something he doesn't want to hear. But sometimes it's the right and important thing to do," said Clinton.
Secretary Clinton spoke at the close of a forum on the AGOA trade preferences that have been the cornerstone of U.S. investment in Africa for more than ten years.
Business and civil society leaders at the meeting called on the Obama administration to do more to encourage direct investment in Africa.
Chungu Mwila, director of private sector development for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, says, "I think there is a lot more that the U.S., being the strongest economy in the world, can do by assisting in capacity building of our industries, by ensuring that some of the American companies come and look around. After all, Africa is no longer such a risk[y] place."
The Obama administration wants U.S. lawmakers to extend beyond next year a provision allowing AGOA-eligible nations to source raw textile materials from third countries.
Mwila says that extension, and the renewal of AGOA as a whole, will bring more business to a continent that it making itself more attractive to investors.
"We have very liberal economic regimes. Our macro-economic fundamentals are being put in place. For example, the inflation rates have come down. The exchange rates are stabilizing. And the economic growth rate is one of the highest globally, around five or six percent. You don't even get that in the U.S," said Mwila.
Secretary Clinton says the Obama administration's approach to Africa is based on partnership not patronage, focusing not on handouts but on supporting economic growth that underlies long-term progress with the ultimate aim of helping developing countries chart their own future and end their need for aid altogether.
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Japan's nuclear safety agency says two emergency workers at a crippled nuclear power plant have been exposed to more than twice the legally permitted level of radiation.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Friday a third worker from the Fukushima plant is undergoing further tests after initial findings showed high exposure.
The agency issued a warning against the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, for violating the government-set limit on radiation exposure and ordered the company to draft measures to prevent similar incidents.
The Fukushima nuclear plant was damaged when a March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the 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 another development Friday, Japan's government said survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami need long-term mental health care. In its annual paper on suicide prevention, the government said survivors may be undergoing shock, stress and depression from the overwhelming losses.
The report said they also feel may guilty for escaping death.
More than 23,000 people are dead or missing following the March natural disasters.
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United Nations investigators have found evidence that crimes against humanity may have been committed in Ivory Coast both by forces loyal to the West African country's ex-president Laurent Gbagbo and by forces loyal to his opponent and successor, Alassane Ouattara.
Three investigators were sent to Ivory Coast by the United Nations Human Rights Council in May. Their job was to probe alleged attacks against the population since the country's presidential election last November.
What they found, the panel said Friday, was evidence of possible crimes against humanity having been committed on both sides of the political divide.
They said rape and murder were carried out through generalized and systematic attacks, targeting people based on their assumed political sympathies.
The investigator's report is set to be discussed at the Human Rights Council next Wednesday and until then they have declined to speak with VOA about its findings.
But they're not the first to say that forces loyal to Ivory Coast's current leader, Alassane Ouattara, may have committed major crimes in recent months.
The international rights groups Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both accused Ouattara's followers of targeting suspected supporters of former leader Laurent Gbagbo.
Deputy Director for Africa at Amnesty, Véronique Aubert, says that Ouattara must bring the situation under control. "He's the president and that's why we expect him to issue clear public instructions to security forces to comply with Ivorian law and international human rights law," she said.
On Thursday the U.N. mission in Ivory Coast accused Ouattara's supporters of carrying out attacks in the south and west in areas where there is known support for Gbagbo.
The U.N. human rights officer in Ivory Coast, Guillaume Ngefa demanded an immediate and impartial investigation into the attacks.
When Ouattara was sworn in last month he vowed to end the violence in Ivory Coast and to investigate alleged atrocities.
Christian Kramer, research assistant for the LSE IDEAS Africa Program at the London School of Economics, says Ouattara is in a difficult situation because he came to power by relying on a number of armed gangs and rebel groups that he did not have control over.
"Now he has to wrestle the control back from these rebel forces because these groups, these armed gangs and to some extent mercenaries, are now coming back to him and saying 'we helped you into power and now we would like you to show some gratitude for that,'" said Kramer.
Kramer says now as president, Ouattara is responsible for the country's security and must take charge.
And he says the U.N. report is part of an important process that may lead to reconciliation. "We're now actually looking at a country that is finding itself willing to make a new start. So the reports that are coming out of the big cities all over the country in Ivory Coast are saying people are back on the market, people are finding their way back into their lives. So it can even be argued that the UN report, as damning as it may seem at the first look, at the same time it's a major component and a very important component of bringing the country back into peace and restarting the social and economic and political life of the country," he added.
The U.N. investigators said Friday that they were unable to put a precise figure on the death toll since November's disputed election. But they estimate that around 3,000 people have been killed.
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Tens of thousands of people are fleeing from intense fighting along the undefined border region between northern and southern Sudan, with humanitarian officials warning the violence is getting worse.
The United Nations said Friday conditions have deteriorated rapidly in the north's South Kordofan state, where civilians are getting caught between the north's Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the south's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
U.N. officials in Geneva said an estimated 40,000 people - two-thirds of the population - have fled from the state capital of Kadugli. They said roadblocks have also been set up, preventing humanitarian aid from getting through. They also said there are an increasing number of reports of civilians being shot and killed when they return to their homes for food and other necessities.
Meanwhile, south Sudan is accusing the north of carrying out bombing runs in the south's Unity state. SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer accused the north of trying to occupy parts of the territory and said southern forces were bracing for a ground assault.
South Sudan voted to secede from the north in January and will officially declare independence next month.
The vote was the culmination of a 2005 peace deal between the warring sides but many issues, including a defined border and the fate of the oil-rich Abyei region, have never been decided.
On Friday, U.N. independent expert Mohamed Chande Othman called on both the north and south to adhere to the peace deal and stop the situation from unraveling further.
Othman also raised concerns about growing allegation of killings, rape and other human rights violation in Abyei after Sudanese forces occupied the area.
The U.N. has previously called on Khartoum to withdraw its forces.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Bloomberg and Reuters.
Israeli police briefly entered Jerusalem's holy mount complex on Friday to disperse Palestinian demonstrators who Israeli authorities say were hurling rocks.
The Old City compound is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
Israeli police say they used stun agents to disperse the crowds that threw rocks at Israeli security stationed outside the gate. No injuries were reported.
The Old City complex is a religious site for Jews, Muslims and Christians. A Muslim clerical authority operates the compound under Israel's security watch.
The complex contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. It is also the site of ancient Jewish temples.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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The incumbent Justice and Development Party - or AK Party as it is known in Turkey - is looking forward to winning a third term in the general elections on Sunday. The party launched their election campaign with the slogan, A Vision for 2023. 2023 is the centennial of the Turkish republic. In an exclusive interview with the VOA Turkish Service, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis, one of the party leaders, said that Turkey's biggest issue is democratization.
He says progress in the democratization process would help solve other political, social and economic problems.
"Traditionally Turkey's biggest problem is the struggle between the political will of the people or its representatives and the political will of those who have been appointed in the state. As long as this struggle isn't resolved other daily problems such as unemployment, economic problems, counter-terrorism, concerns on rights and freedoms continue," he said.
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"The Justice and Development Party - which rose to power in 2002 and consolidated its power in 2007 - is determined to put the people in charge in 2011. We are determined to take the most important institutional step to empower the will of the people," he added.
"For the first time in our history we will take the steps necessary to draft a constitution written by elected civilians. The incumbent and the opposition agree that in this country we do not want a constitution drafted by the military; but a civilian constitution. We will take the necessary steps to draft a constitution that every citizen can own, a constitution that will embrace every citizen," said Minister Bagis - referring to the new Constitution the JDP government hopes to draft.
Democratization
Bagis, a member of parliament representing Istanbul, says that democratization is Turkey's number one priority. However, the opposition in recent times has been arguing that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government is increasingly authoritarian and illiberal in its policies. Bagis rejects the claim that authoritarianism is on the rise in Turkey.
"Turkey has never been so transparent," said Bagis. "There used to be taboos in this country. Ten years ago people were afraid to say they were Kurdish. Today the state television broadcasts Kurdish language programming 24 hours a day. Today, Turkish universities have Kurdish studies departments. There is a prime minister that dines with Alevi citizens, a president who has visited a Cemevi for the first time since Ataturk."
"One can freely discuss civil-military relations in Turkey today, you would be afraid to in the past. Religious differences were avoided in Turkey in the past, but now you have an EU Affairs Minister that regularly meets with minority religious leaders. Now, I know that we have some problems, some that take some more time to resolve. But we're working on this. Following our apprentice period, we are in our professional time - and we can solve Turkey's chronic problems, we have proven that we can solve them," he added.
The JDP election manifesto states "Our goal is to make Turkey one of the top 10 economies of the world; with $500 billion in exports; $2 trillion national income; a country at peace with its history and values; with a population that is [...] happy by the year 2023."
'Economic growth, political stability'
Following the 2001 financial crisis in Turkey an IMF supported reform program laid the foundations for sustained growth in the Turkish economy. Until 2008 Turkey enjoyed an average of six percent annual growth and thanks to a strong banking sector the economy faired relatively well during the global financial crisis. A new middle class emerged in Turkey - especially in Anatolia. Inflation declined to its lowest levels in 30 years.
However, at the same time Turkey has a serious current accounts deficit problem; demand for hot money is a cause of concern and unemployment is a serious problem. Official figures indicate that unemployment is around 12.4 percent; 17 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Bagis says that for economic growth, political stability is a must.
"Unemployment is not just a problem for Turkey but for Europe at large and for the United States. However, our unemployment rate is below the average of the European unemployment rate. There are European countries with 20 percent unemployment. While banks were going bankrupt in Europe and the U.S., not a single Turkish bank in the past nine years suffered a loss. Unemployment is on the decline," he said.
"Yes, it hovers around 10 percent, but our vision for 2023 to bring unemployment below five percent is very strong. God willing, we will bring unemployment lower by taking the necessary steps in the period ahead of us. To create jobs for our unemployed brothers and sisters we must have stability. No one will invest in a country where there is no stability; and there will be no employment in a country that is not invested in…"
"Since we paid attention to stability and security; $17 billion of global capital was injected in Turkey annually. After the June 12 elections, with four more years of stability, Turkey will become like Brazil, China and Russia in terms of foreign capital investment. And this will bring employment [down]," he continued.
'Turning point'
Minister for EU Affairs, chief negotiator and Istanbul deputy Egemen Bagis said that the June 12 elections will be a turing point for Turkey.
"Turkey, with its 8.9 percent growth rate is the most dynamic European country. With our highly educated, young population - coupled with our economic growth - Turkey will become one of the rising stars of the world," he said.
The ruling Justice and Development Party hopes to secure 40 - 46 percent of the national vote in the elections on Sunday.
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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Libya's southern neighbor Chad supports efforts to drive Moammar Gadhafi from power. She met with Chad's foreign minister at a trade conference in Zambia, where they also discussed ongoing violence in southern Sudan.
Clinton said Chadian President Idriss Deby's government supports Gadhafi opponents who are fighting to topple the Libyan leader.
"The Chadian government does not support Gadhafi," she said. "They have made that very clear. They want to see a peaceful resolution to the conflict. We are very supportive of their efforts to reach out to the Transitional National Council, which they have been doing in a more sustained way in recent days."
Clinton met with Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki in Zambia at a meeting on U.S. trade preferences. She said the government in N'Djamena is an important part of the international coalition bringing pressure on the Libyan leader to step down.
"They are cautious about the outcome and wanting to see it move toward a point of resolution, and we think again they can be valuable in sending a clear message that Gadhafi must go," said Clinton.
Libya and Chad have had a long and often violent relationship with Gadhafi forces, which have launched four separate invasions of Chad between 1978 and 1987. The Libyan leader has generally supported President Deby, though, especially in his fight against Chadian rebels based in Sudan.
Throughout the crisis in Libya, there have been unconfirmed reports that Gadhafi has recruited Chadian forces to help fight his opponents.
Secretary Clinton came to Zambia from a meeting in the United Arab Emirates where the 22-member Libya Contact Group pledged more than $1 billion to help Libya's opposition council. Secretary Clinton told the conference that Gadhafi's "days are numbered," but the United States offered no direct aid to the rebels, promising instead an additional $26.5 million in humanitarian relief to all Libyans.
During her talks with the Chadian foreign minister, Clinton said they also discussed ongoing violence in Sudan where the mainly-Christian south has voted to secede from the mostly-Muslim north.
Faki has met with both sides. And Secretary Clinton says the Obama administration appreciates Chad's mediation.
"We are quite concerned at the outbreak of violence along the border, not just in Abyei, but other places in Sudan," said Clinton. "And we are conscious that the clock is ticking on southern Sudan's independence."
The U.N. Security Council has condemned Khartoum's takeover of the disputed border region of Abyei ahead of southern Sudan's independence next month. The U.N. refugee agency says that as many as 100,000 civilians have now fled Abyei.
There also is fighting in Southern Kordofan where Amnesty International says plainclothes Sudanese security forces in the besieged towns of Kadugli and Dilling are killing people suspected of supporting the Sudan People's Liberation Army of the south.
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In Thailand, the political campaign season is fully under way ahead of next month's closely contested national elections. While much of the attention is on the standoff between the ruling Democrat Party and the opposition Pheu Thai party, there are scores of lesser-known parties vying to be heard.
But one political movement that has played a major role in politics in recent years is now urging people not to vote at all.
Hundreds of members of the People's Alliance for Democracy, known as the Yellow Shirts, marched Friday through Bangkok's financial district for their unique campaign encouraging Thai people not to vote in the July nationwide election.
The PAD supporters say politicians running for a July 3 election are power hungry and corrupt and should not be allowed to govern.
The protesters rode in the back of pick-up trucks holding mock campaign signs and flyers depicting politicians as animals.
"Vote no!...Tiger! Dog! Buffalo! Uhh! Vote no."
(Photo VOA - Daniel Schearf)
The bright yellow signs feature animals dressed in business suits and they are posted across the city. Authorities are threatening to take down the irreverent posters because they say they do not support any candidates or parties.
While campaign events for the ruling Democrat Party and the opposition Pheu Thai party draw huge crowds at rallies across the country, it is not clear how much public support there is for the no vote campaign.
Krich Thepbamrung is a Yellow Shirt supporter who says if enough people refuse to vote then authorities will be forced to address systemic corruption.
"Yes, we want to choose the leader but it means everything must change first," he says. "[We] must change the politics system first. [It does] not mean from democrat [democracy] to be communist to be other thing - no. We also, we like democracy. We want a democracy. But, it's not mean democracy by vote one time then they hold the power, corruption and corruption. There is a history from so long times ago until today."
The PAD has been an influential party in Thailand's politics ever since it spurred public protests against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Yellow Shirts accused Mr. Thaksin of being authoritarian, corrupt, and disloyal to the monarchy. He denied the charges but was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup and later fled into exile to avoid jail for corruption.
The PAD returned to the streets after political allies of the former prime minister won a plurality of seats in parliament in 2007. Yellow Shirt protests against the government in 2008 eventually led to the one-week occupation of Bangkok's main airports.
Political deal-making later brought the Yellow Shirt supported politician Abhisit Vejjajiva to power as prime minister.
But since then, the movement has split into several groups that wield less influence.
Besides the faction calling for voting no in the upcoming election, an extremist faction is calling for a suspension of democracy. Another political faction called the New Politics Party is running candidates in the upcoming election.
Even Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, whose party rose to power partly because of the Yellow Shirt protests, is no longer supported by many in the group. Early this year the PAD turned against Mr. Abhisit for not being tough enough on neighbor Cambodia over a border dispute.
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A senior U.S. diplomat visiting Asia says China did not expect North Korea to abruptly cut-off dialogue with South Korea last week. North Korea had announced it has no need for talks with the Seoul government just days after leader Kim Jong Il visited Beijing.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell visited Beijing and Seoul this week to discuss the deadlocked talks over Pyongyang's nuclear program and the issue of sending food aid to North Korea.
After visiting Beijing, Campbell says Chinese officials indicated they did not expect that their close ally would soon announce that it was cutting off dialogue with Seoul.
"I think it would be fair to say that the Chinese interlocutors were concerned by the disruption in talks and a little surprised and very much want to see improvement in dialogue between the North and South," stated Campbell.
North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il visited China shortly before that announcement, but apparently gave no indication that Pyongyang was about to walk away from talks with the South.
During a news conference in Seoul Friday, Campbell called on China to press North Korea to re-open talks with the South.
Tension between the two Koreas rose after Pyongyang accused the Lee Myung Bak government of bribing the North to hold a summit between the two leaders.
Seoul admits to holding secret talks with the North over a potential summit, but denies Pyongyang's allegations.
On Thursday, an official from North Korea's National Defense Commission said it will release tapes from that meeting if the South does not confess.
Seoul wants the North to make its own admissions about the sinking of a South Korean navy ship last year as well as apologize for the deadly attack on Yeonpyeong Island.
Some critics say Seoul needs to drop those requests if it wants to improve relations with the North.
But Kurt Campbell says Washington continues to support the South's position.
"We are closely in alignment with our strategies and we believe that the essential approach that South Korea has laid out is the right one. We would like to see a resumption of talks and dialogue, but we also believe that the South Korean approach will bear fruit," he said.
The future of talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program is uncertain while the two Korea are not speaking. Those negotiations have remained deadlocked for more than two years.
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A high-level conference on the global AIDS response is wrapping up at the United Nations, with world leaders agreeing to a political declaration on intensifying efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS.
Member states are expected to sign the declaration Friday at the close of the New York conference.
Among other commitments, the document sets a goal of getting 15 million HIV-positive people on anti-retroviral drugs by 2015. That would more than double the number of people currently receiving life-saving treatment.
And on Thursday, world leaders at the conference launched a new initiative to significantly reduce the number of children born with HIV by 2015.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said developed nations have successfully eliminated mother-to-child HIV transmissions by treating women while they are pregnant. He said this proves mother-to-child transmissions can be stopped in the developing world as well.
In 2009, some 370,000 babies were born with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Nearly all of them were born in sub-Saharan Africa. The U.N. wants to reduce that number by 90 percent in the next four years.
The plan calls for increasing access to anti-retroviral drugs and other prevention services for mothers and children, integrating health care services for women and empowering women to take charge of their health and that of their children.
The United States pledged $75 million for the new initiative.
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