5 Hostages Found Dead in Mumbai Jewish Center
11.28.08
posted by pondy
The bodies of five hostages have been found in the Mumbai Jewish center, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official said today. Police say they are in the final stages of wrapping up the operation at the center. At least 146 people, including eight foreigners, have been killed since gunmen sailed into Mumbai on boats on Wednesday and attacked nine locations.
Full Story
Bush Urges China to Improve Human Rights
08.07.08
posted by pondy
197 views
1 comment
On the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing, President Bush said Thursday that he had "deep concerns" about basic freedoms in China and criticized the detention of dissidents and believers, even as he praised the extraordinary gains China has made since he first visited more than three decades ago. The comments represented a rebuke to China's leaders, though a measured one.
Full Story
From Voice of America news:
"The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings. So America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates, and religious activists. We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labor rights not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential. And we press for openness and justice not to impose our beliefs, but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs," he said.
The president also praised China's rapid economic growth over the last few decades of economic liberalization. He expressed hope that political and social reforms will follow.
"Change in China will arrive on its own terms and in keeping with its own history and traditions. Yet change will arrive. And it will be clear for all to see that those who aspire to speak their conscience and worship their God are no threat to the future of China. They are the people who will make China a great nation in the 21st century," he said.
Mr. Bush repeated Washington's call for Beijing to behave responsibly in its new role as a world economic power. He said a dialogue between the United States and China aims to ensure long term growth.
"Through these discussions and others, we are making clear to China that being a global economic leader carries with it the duty to act responsibly on matters from energy to the environment to development in Africa," he said.