Tag Archives: G20 Summit

U.S. Urges Political Reform in ME / U.S. Sends Aid to New Zealand / Technology for the Poor

Posted on by

The United States urges Middle Eastern countries to work toward political reform in response to protests across the region. The U.S. is also sending aid to New Zealand after it was struck by a powerful earthquake. Finances ministers met at the G20 summit in Paris to discuss ways to prevent another financial crisis. And we’ve got a pair of stories on how new inventions can help the world’s poor.

Political Reform in the Middle East
(mobile version)
The United States urges Middle Eastern countries to take concrete action and work toward political reform in response to protests across the region, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton, right, welcomes the process for a new Tunisia and for a new Egypt, and says the United States “will continue to be a supportive partner to the peoples of both countries as they seek a better future.”

U.S. Rushing Aid to New Zealand
(mobile version)
A U.S. disaster assistance team and a specially trained urban search and rescue team are being sent to help New Zealand officials in the aftermath of a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck near Christchurch February 22. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is “deeply saddened by the news that a second major earthquake in six months has struck Christchurch. On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send our sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand.”

A U.S.-Africa Partnership
(mobile version)

The commander of the U.S. Africa Command says an enhanced partnership between his command and 53 African nations is working to maintain regional stability. “What we do are things that our partners desire of us to do,” says Army General William “Kip” Ward.

Compromise at the G20 Summit
(mobile version)
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 major economic powers met in Paris February 18–19 and worked on strategies to prevent another financial crisis.

Inventing to Help the Poor
(mobile version)
Many technology and entrepreneurship programs at U.S. universities are bringing together students and faculty from different departments to collaborate on designing low-cost, simple devices that address problems facing the world’s poor. At Right, the Q-drum for hauling water.

Spreading Low-Tech Solutions
(mobile version)
Low-tech breakthroughs have the potential to improve the lives of the world’s poor, but not without an efficient means of getting new products to people who need them. Government bureaucracy and other challenges have limited the impact of some low-tech devices.

Obama in South Korea / Sharing Power in Iraq / Trying to Explain Iran

Posted on by

President Obama discusses new G20 regulations and urges North Korea to get serious about nuclear disarmament. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton applauds a new Iraq power-sharing deal. In China, clean energy policies are a priority. A new food security fund aims to reduce global poverty. Pakistani Peace Builders help with flood relief. And finally, meet Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American author whose goal is to explain the sometimes baffling Iranian landscape.

G20 Agrees on Regulations, Trade
The Group of 20 major economies agrees to implement tighter financial controls to prevent another global financial crisis and to achieve more sustainable and balanced economic growth. “For the first time, we spelled out the actions that are required … to achieve the sustained and balanced growth that we need,” says President Obama, right.



Obama to N. Korea: Get Serious
North Korea must show “a seriousness of purpose” before nuclear disarmament talks can resume, President Obama says. “We’re not interested in just going through the motions with the same result.” 

In Iraq, New Power Sharing
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton praises Iraq’s new power-sharing agreement, which was struck by rival factions after eight months of negotiations. “Iraq’s political leaders have worked together to agree on an inclusive government that represents the will of the Iraqi people,” says Clinton

Toward A Greener China
China will aggressively pursue clean energy policies for the foreseeable future, driven mostly by the desire to reduce its dependence on overseas energy supplies, according to U.S. experts.

A New Food Security Fund
Partners in the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program is a new fund set up to increase agriculture productivity and reduce poverty. Ethiopia, Niger and Mongolia will receive the fund’s second round of grants totaling $97 million. The fund is supported by the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain, Australia and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Pakistani Peace Builders
Pakistani Peace Builders (PPB), an independent cultural diplomacy campaign launched in May, aims to counteract American stereotypes and misperceptions of Pakistanis. Following the devastating floods that struck Pakistan in late July, PPB added a humanitarian angle to its cultural mission and cofounded Relief4Pakistan to mobilize flood relief funds.

Explaining Iran
Hooman Majd, an Iranian-American author, has spent years writing about the complicated relationship between the United States and an Iranian political, social and religious landscape that outsiders find baffling. In his latest book, The Ayatollahs’ Democracy, Majd, right, interviews Iranian figures of all stripes to explain a pivotal and dramatic moment in modern Iranian history, the highly contested 2009 election in which President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.

Obama Ends Asia Trip

Posted on by

President Obama is in Japan for the last stop of his nine-day Asia trip. After meeting with officials and regular citizens alike in India and Indonesia, and participating in the G20 in Korea, the president traveled to Yokohama, Japan where he will deliver remarks at the CEO Business Summit and attend a number of events related to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

Regarding the G20 meeting the president said:

“The work that we do here is not always going to seem dramatic. It is not always going to be immediately world-changing. But step to step, what we’re doing is building stronger international mechanisms and institutions that will help stabilize the world economy, ensure economic growth and reduce some tensions.”
The president will head back to the United States this weekend, but he won’t be there for long. Mr. Obama will soon be back on Air Force One to travel to next week’s NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal.

How did President Obama do on his Asia trip?

Justice in Cambodia / A Storm Watch in Haiti / The Shahnameh

Posted on by

During a visit to Cambodia, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for justice. Preparing for his own trip to Asia, President Obama will focus on the economy at the upcoming G20 Summit and APEC Forum. In Haiti, aid workers prepare for a tropical storm. Find out what Islam teaches about protecting the planet. And finally, a 1,000-year-old book commissioned by Iranian kings is now on display at the Smithsonian.

Seeking Justice in Cambodia
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urges Cambodian leaders to confront their country’s troubled past by bringing to justice Khmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity in the 1970s. Clinton’s visit to Cambodia is part of her 13-day trip to meet with leaders of at least eight East Asian and Pacific nations. At right, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong greets Secretary Clinton at the Phnom Penh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


Economy the Issue at APEC, G20
Fostering global economic growth through the Group of 20 (G20) advanced economies is fundamental to a lasting recovery at home, says a senior Obama administration official. The economy figures strongly into President Obama’s four-nation Asian trip that includes stops in India and Indonesia before the G20 in South Korea and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Japan.

Haiti’s Tropical Storm Watch
The U.S. Agency for International Development has 20 members of its Disaster Assistance Response Team in Haiti to help prepare the country for Tropical Storm Tomas, which could hit the island this week.

Islam and the Environment
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin was recently in Washington to talk about his upcoming book, Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet. Abdul-Matin says his book is written not only with the Muslim reader in mind, but for anyone interested in learning more about Islam’s connection to the environment.

Photo Gallery: The Art of the Shahnameh
The Poet Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh combines myth and history in the epic tale of a nation. The Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. is celebrating the book’s 1,000th anniversary by showing illustrations from grand editions commissioned by kings of Iran. At left, after a journey to the end of the world, Alexander (an important figure in the Shahnameh, known to others as Alexander the Great), encounters a talking tree that foretells his death. Explore this photo gallery featuring other such images from the Shahnameh.

U.S., E.U. Face Issues Ahead of Summit || New Trends in Farming || President Obama on MTV

Posted on by

The United States and the European Union prepare for a summit. Woman are taking the lead in agriculture in many developing countries. Meet Modadugu Gupta, a pioneer in the field of aquaculture. And President Obama appears on MTV.

Critical Issues Ahead of the G20 Summit
In October 2008, at the peak of the financial crisis, world financial leaders cooperated to take “exceptional action” to stabilize the global financial system. However, in recent months, trans-Atlantic differences have emerged over a variety of international financial issues. Now, less than one month before the summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Seoul, South Korea, the United States and European Union are facing a critical test of their will to agree on financial issues critical not only to their own economies, but to the rest of the world too. Above, Obama with other G20 leaders.

Growing Opportunities for Women Farmers
In rural Kenya, women have very few resources of their own, but are primarily responsible for feeding their families and doing the bulk of the household and farm work. Now, 80 percent of the farmers are women. In this feature, we profile women who have taken the initiative to change their lives, and, in the process, increase the perception that women can contribute economically to their society.

Photo Gallery: A Pioneer in Fish Farming
Modadugu Gupta, who witnessed the struggles of local fisherman while growing up in eastern India, is a biologist and humanitarian whose work has multiplied the quantity of edible fish in Asia and improved the lives of farmers. Gupta was also instrumental in getting women involved in fish farming, and now they outnumber male fish farmers in many countries. “My father used to take me to the seashore, and I saw the fishermen coming in. They could hardly meet their daily needs. That’s where my interest in fisheries started,” says Gupta, who received the World Food Prize in 2005. Learn more about Gupta and his techniques in this photo gallery.

President Obama on MTV
President Obama led a discussion on MTV last week; an appearance that helped him connect with the country’s youth.  Approximately 250 people attended the event, and many more tuned in on MTV, Country Music Television (CMT) and Black Entertainment Television (BET), all of which are known to attract young audiences.