I'm John Dryden, from theVOANEWS Centre in Washington.
Chinese troops and medical teams have been dispatched to areas of SichuanProvince where the country’s worst earthquake in decades struck on Monday. Authorities say the quake killed at least 10000 people in Western China, the state-run Xinhua News agency reports that relief teams were headed to areas on foot, butwere nearly 70 kilometers from their destination as early as Tuesday, storms have prevented military rescue helicopters from reaching the site.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is critical that Burma's military government speed up the process of receiving and delivering aid to those affected by last week’s cyclone. In comments Monday at a special briefing on Burma, Mr. Ban warned that unless more aid gets into the country more quickly, Burma could face an outbreak of infectious disease that could dwarf the current situation. The Burmese government says nearly 32, 000 people are confirmed dead from the cyclone and nearly13, 000remain missing.
Israel police have raided Jerusalem's City Hall as part of corruption investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Mr. Olmert is accused of accepting bribes from US bussinessman Morris Talansky. Both men say the funds were legal campaign contributions.
The Bush administration is urging Iranian-backed militants to cease hostilities in Lebanon and respect the country's democracy. From the White House, VOA's Machael Bowman reports.
The White House says the Middle East needs a stable Lebanon and describes Hezbollah’s influence in the country as troubling, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino address the subject amid reports of fighting in northern Lebanon, and as President Bush prepares to depart on a trip to Israel.
There are innocent Lebanese who are caught in the middle of this conflict. The President has been calling for many months for the outside influencers to get out of the way and let the Lebanese have the democratically elected government that they’d voted for.
Lebanon's Hezbollah-led opposition quit the cabinet a year and a half ago, and a stalemate between the two sides has prevented parliament from electing a new president. The United States regards Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Fighting broke out in Lebanon last week after the government took steps to rein in Hezbollah's power base. Arab foreign ministers say they will send a delegation to Beirut to discuss the situation. Machael Bowman, VOA news, the White House.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his party is withdrawing from the Federal Cabinet because the two leading parties have failed to reach an agreement on reinstating / deposed judges. Mr. Sharif said that members of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz will resign their Cabinet posts in the six-week-old government, but he also promised his party would not join the opposition.
Chad has closed its border with Sudan, in response to Khartoum's decision to break diplomatic relations with N'Djamena following a rebel attack on the Sudanese capital. Chad denies any involvement in Saturday's unprecedented attack by Darfur-based rebels on Khartoum. Sudanese forces are hunting for any rebels who remainin the capital area, after the army reported killing 46 fighters and capturing 300 others on Sunday.
Thousands of Mexicans dressed in white marched silently Sunday to protest drug related violence. VOA's Greg Flakus reports.
Ordinary citizens in Mexico are reacting with alarm as the war between rival drug smuggling groupserupts in city centers and residential neighborhoods.Law enforcement experts say drug gangs are reacting violently to efforts by police and the army to break up their operations. Death threats sent to many police departments have provoked at least some police officials to resign, those who do not resign often pay a heavy price for their devotion to duty. Saturday gunmen killed Municipal Police Chief Juan Antonio Roman in front of his house in Ciudad Juarez. He fired back at his assailants, but was outnumbered and outgunned. At least nine federal agents have been killed during the past two weeks as well. President Felipe Calderon started the war on crime shortly after he took office in December 2006. While some political observers and many citizens worry that the drug cartels may be winning the fight. Calderon is calling for his countrymen to stand firm against the criminals. Greg Flakus, VOA's news, Houston.
US Immigration Agents have arrested more than 300 people during a raid on a kosher meat processing plant in Mid-West State Postville. / Official said the raid at the Agriprocessors Inc was part of an investigation into illegal immigration and ID theft.