U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to London Tuesday for talks with top British officials on an escalating row within NATO over troop levels in Afghanistan. The Bush administration wants NATO countries to commit more troops to Afghanistan, especially in areas of heavy fighting with Taliban forces. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has led a congressional delegation to Colombia to study a proposed trade deal. In Miami, VOA's Brian Wagner reports the Bush administration has been pressing Congress to pass the deal.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to Colombia Thursday with 10 House Democrats in an effort to boost congressional support for a free-trade agreement with that country. The Bush administration faces an uphill battle to win election-year approval for the Colombia trade deal. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

China appreciates the position of the U.S. administration, including the remarks of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice herself, that opposes Taiwan's "referendum on UN membership", Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Wednesday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith is on his way to the United States where it is understood he will discuss Australia's withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged European allies not to put off what she called "tough decisions" on the final status of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province.

SECRETARY RICE: Why don't we just start with your questions. Sue.
QUESTION: Do you think that you're going to get a resolution today? Do you think that you're going to be (inaudible)?

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says world powers are making progress towards a new United Nations resolution to impose sanctions on Iran, but stresses they are still short of an agreement.

Rice spoke after arriving in Berlin Tuesday, for a meeting of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China) and Germany on Iran's nuclear program. She said participants still have some way to go.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says her talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders have convinced her that both sides want the upcoming U.S.- sponsored Mideast peace conference to succeed. VOA's Jim Teeple reports Secretary Rice has traveled to the occupied West Bank for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and other Palestinian leaders.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said fighting Kurdish militants in northern Iraq would demand persistence and commitment but vowed to redouble US efforts to help Turkey tackle the problem.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has defended new U.S. sanctions on Iran designating Tehran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and its elite Quds force as a supporter of terrorism in the Middle East.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won tempered Egyptian support in her quest to nudge Israelis and Palestinians closer together ahead of a Mideast peace conference to be held in November or December.