Tag Archives: committee

Taliban leader rejects U.S. attempts to lure away fighters with money

A top Taliban political leader delivered a message Friday to President Obama, calling his attempt to lure away Taliban fighters with money “an old weapon that has failed already.” Obama meets Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who will tell the U.S. leader how a large deployment to Afghanistan would affect the military

Ahmadinejad: Iran ready for nuclear cooperation

Iran’s hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad struck a rare conciliatory note Thursday, saying that the Islamic republic was ready for nuclear cooperation with Western powers. “We welcome the exchange of fuel, technical cooperation and construction of power plants and reactors and we are prepared to cooperate (in those areas),” he said.

$5M Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership: No 2009 Winner

When Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim announced an annual $5 million prize to reward Africa’s best leaders, he warned that there would be years when “we wouldn’t award the prize.” Just three years on, and despite considering “some credible candidates,” the prize committee said on Monday that no prize would be awarded in 2009. In announcing the decision, committee member and former Botswana President Ketumile Masire said the panel “noted the progress made with governance in some African countries, while noticing with concern recent setbacks in other countries.” The non-award is, of course, a powerful indictment of Africa’s still patchy governance and the continent’s most recently retired leaders

Obama signs $7.5 billion Pakistan aid bill

President Obama signed legislation Thursday providing an additional $7.5 billion in assistance to the Pakistani government. The aid guarantee comes as the Pakistani government combats a wave of attacks believed to have been orchestrated by Taliban militants and as the Obama administration works on a comprehensive review of U.S.