Chinese President Hu Jintao meets with President Obama and other U.S. officials during a one day state visit. R. Sargent Shriver dies at 95. The vote in Southern Sudan represents an “historic milestone.” The U.S. brings street lights and new security to Kabul, Afghanistan. And finally, meet Arab-American Singer Gaida and her New York Arabic music.
President Hu’s State Visit
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President Obama welcomes China’s President Hu Jintao to the White House calling for greater cooperation in security and economic relations, and also calling for greater respect for universal human rights. “We have an enormous stake in each other’s success,” Obama says at the formal White House arrival ceremony on the south lawn. It is the eighth time the two world leaders have met face-to-face in two years.
Sudan’s “Historic Milestone”
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Southern Sudan’s referendum on self-determination marks “a historic milestone” for the Sudanese, says Ambassador Princeton Lyman, head of the U.S. State Department’s Sudan Negotiation Support Unit. Lyman testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs January 18.
Sargent Shriver: 1915-2011
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R. Sargent Shriver, founder of the Peace Corps, the Special Olympics and programs to combat poverty in the United States, dies at age 95 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Lighting the way in Kabul
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has spent $160,000 to install 28 streetlights along a busy commercial street in the Afghan capital of Kabul and another 170 or so will go up in coming months. The project is funded by the Army Corps’ Commander Emergency Response Program, which targets projects that directly benefit a local community.
Meet the Songstress Gaida
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Arab-American Singer Gaida was born in Germany, raised in Syria and is currently a New Yorker. Since her professional debut in 2006, Gaida has won rave reviews and her work has appeared in several movies. “I call my music New York Arabic music,” Gaida, above, says. “It is like me: I am an Arab New Yorker.”