Tag Archives: New Zealand

U.S., Mexico Unite Against Drugs / “Heavy” Team Aids after NZ Quake / 50 Years of the Peace Corps

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The U.S. and Mexico vow to work together to fight drug trafficking. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for a new nuclear weapons treaty. The U.S. and international relief organizations are increasing their efforts to airlift those fleeing from the violence in Libya. The Los Angeles “heavy” team has flown to New Zealand to help after the earthquake. And, the Peace Corps turns 50.

U.S.-Mexico relations

U.S., Mexico Anti-Drug Efforts
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President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon pledged to work more closely to thwart continuing illicit drug trafficking and its related violence. “As I’ve said before, President Calderon and the Mexican people have shown extraordinary courage in the fight for their country,” Obama said during a joint press conference at the White House.

A Nuclear Materials Treaty
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calls for the Conference on Disarmament to move ahead quickly on a proposed multilateral treaty that would ban the production of nuclear-weapons using fissile materials. “Our long-term goal, our vision, is a world without nuclear weapons,” says Clinton.

Airlifting Libyan Refugees
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President Obama announced that U.S. planes will fly Egyptian citizens home from Tunisia, where they fled to escape weeks of violence in Libya. Obama’s announcement came as an internationally-backed airlift began, with more than 50 flights carrying migrant workers home.

“Heavy” Team Aids after NZ Quake
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After the February 22 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, The U.S. Agency for International Development called the Los Angeles County Urban Search and Rescue “heavy” team. Within about 30 hours, the 74-member unit and all their equipment were flying across the Pacific. Explains Los Angeles Battalion Chief Larry Collins, “It’s heavy muscle coming in.”

Peace Corps Marks 50 Years
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On March 1, the Peace Corps celebrated 50 years of service. President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps as a challenge to American college students to give up two years of their lives to help people in countries in the developing world. Over five decades, more than 200,000 volunteers have served 139 host countries. At right, the community of Likpe Todome in the Volta region of Ghana with their Peace Corps volunteer, Leanne Polachek.

New U.S. Pressure on Libya / The Kiwi Quake / A Boost in Biotech Crops

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President Obama says it is time for Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi to go. Rescuers continue to search for survivors of the New Zealand earthquake, though hope is dimming. An American blogger digitally speaks with students in Palestine’s West Bank about social media as a means for social change. February is Black History Month in the United States. And studies show large gains in the production of biotech crops.

Obama Backs Qadhafi Ouster
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President Obama calls on Libya’s leader, Muammar Qadhafi, to leave power now, saying that he and his government must be held accountable for violating the human rights and brutalization of the Libyan people. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton further amplifies the president’s position, saying that it is clear the Libyan people want Qadhafi out of power.

Kiwi Quake’s Deadly Toll
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A U.S. Search and Recovery team is on the scene in Christchurch, New Zealand hoping more survivors can be pulled from the city’s rubble. New Zealand Police put the death toll at 113 late February 25, while 70 survivors have been found alive in the days since the 6.3 magnitude quake. More than 200 people are still thought to be missing.

Social Media, Social Change
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Blogger Zerlina Maxwell spoke with 25 students in the Palestinian Territories’ West Bank via digital video conference for a State Department dialogue on “Promoting Social Media as a Means for Change.” Speaking about Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as president of Egypt, Maxwell said, “I think that social media allowed me, someone who is sitting in New Jersey with a computer, to experience that moment as if I were there.”

Black History Month
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Each February, Black History Month honors the struggles and triumphs of millions of American citizens and their contributions to the nation’s cultural and political life. February was chosen because it includes the birthdays of President Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Biotech Boosts Small Farm Yield
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Between 1996 and 2010, the production of crops genetically modified to increase yield rose 87-fold, surpassing 1 billion hectares, according to new statistics from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. Of the 15.4 million farmers planting such biotech crops, 90 percent are small, resource-poor farmers in developing countries. Developing countries produce 48 percent of global biotech crops. Above, a farmer tends to genetically enhance papayas in Hawaii.

Obama Condemns Violence in Libya / Human Rights Abuses in Iran / Social Networks Help Missing Kids

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President Obama calls on the world to unite in condemnation of the Libyan government’s violent response to protests seeking new leadership. President Obama offers condolences to the people of New Zealand in the aftermath of a major earthquake. The U.S. has designated two Iranian officials for “serious human rights abuses in Iran.” And social networking is helping missing children.

Obama Condemns Violence in Libya
President Obama says it is imperative that the world speak “with one voice” to condemn the suppression of peaceful demonstrators in Libya and to support their universal rights, and adds that the administration is preparing “a full range of options” that the United States can take unilaterally and multilaterally in response to the ongoing violence.

Aftermath of Quake in New Zealand
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President Obama has conveyed the condolences of his family and the United States to the people of New Zealand affected by a second major earthquake in just six months. “As our New Zealand friends move forward,” Obama says, “may they find some comfort and strength in knowing that they will have the enduring friendship and support of many partners around the world, including the United States.”

Human Rights Abuses in Iran
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The U.S. Departments of State and Treasury have announced the designation of two Iranian officials for “serious human rights abuses in Iran.” “These designations underscore our enduring commitment to support Iranians seeking to exercise their universal rights and express our solidarity with victims of torture, persecution and arbitrary detention,” says Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner.

Finding Missing Kids Online
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Authorities in Canada, the United States and elsewhere are using social media as a tool to help find missing children. Police in Canada have established Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts to post descriptions of suspected child abductors and Facebook has partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the U.S. Department of Justice to expand a U.S. system that alerts the public when children go missing.

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

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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.

Clinton in New Zealand / Help for Haiti / The World’s Small Farms

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton continues her Asia Pacific trip, stopping in New Zealand. The U.S. is helping Haiti deal with nature’s latest onslaught. We’ve got two reports on the U.S. congressional elections, one looking at the balance of power in the Senate and another at its impact on President Obama’s agenda. On the eve of President Obama’s trip to India, there is a call for a renewed U.S.-India partnership. Indonesia has become a test bed for entrepreneurship. And finally, in agriculture, there is a focus on small farms.

U.S., New Zealand Sign Accord
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray Stuart McCully signed The Wellington Declaration to enhance the partnership between the nations. The agreement is designed to address a variety of issues including nuclear nonproliferation, counterterrorism and climate change. “This Wellington Declaration makes it clear that we want to cooperate across the board in every aspect of our civilian efforts and our military as well,” says Clinton.

U.S. to Provide Storm Relief in Haiti
The United States has supported the Haitian government’s response to Tropical Storm Tomas by prepositioning relief supplies for 125,000. An official said U.S. relief supplies are stockpiled in several areas of the country and they are able to get these supplies out quickly to those in need.

Democrats Keep Senate Gavel
The results of U.S. midterm elections will shift the composition of the Senate a bit to the right as Republicans gain seats, but Democrats will retain control of the chamber when the next Congress convenes. The Democrats will control at least 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, with the outcome of the race in Alaska yet to be determined.

After Election, No Shift in U.S. Foreign Policy
Republican gains in the November 2 congressional elections will present new challenges for President Obama and his legislative agenda, but his foreign policy objectives are not expected to change.

McCain: Expand U.S.-India Ties
Senator John McCain says the U.S.-India strategic partnership, substantial though it is, should be expanded greatly in coming years for the benefit of both countries and the Asia-Pacific region. “The potential to expand our partnership is immense,” McCain said on the eve of President Obama’s state visit to India.

Indonesia’s Entrepreneurs
As Indonesia gets ready to welcome President Obama November 9, the country already has become a test bed for his administration’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship. Indonesian entrepreneurs have formed the Global Enterprise Program Indonesia, which launches in Jakarta in mid-November as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week.

New Tools Boost Small Farms
Agribusinesses are designing tools to help smallholder farmers in countries seeking to produce more food. Such measures may slow down a predicted food shortage in years ahead, as the world’s population continues to grow, especially in regions like Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. At right, an Indian farmer heads to work on a tractor designed for use on small plots.