U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he does not consider China a strategic threat, in spite of the country's sharply rising defense spending and capability. Still, the top U.S. military officer says the United States must be prepared to respond to any threat that develops. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

China has rejected U.S. criticism of its human rights record, accusing Washington of hypocrisy for not addressing its own abuses. In a tit-for-tat response to the U.S. State Department's annual human rights report, China issued its own report accusing Washington of systematic abuses both abroad - in Iraq and Afghanistan - and at home. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

The new U.S. commander in Iraq says a joint U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in Baghdad and other areas will take months and that some "sensational" insurgent attacks will inevitably continue.

The Pentagon has approved a request from the top U.S. commander in Iraq for the deployment of 2,200 more U.S. military police to help handle an anticipated increase in people detained during the ongoing Baghdad security crackdown.

Iran remains a top concern for the United States because of Iran's refusal to restrict its nuclear program. The U.S. also accuses Iran of supporting terrorist groups in the Middle East. VOA's Ernest Leong reports.

The crisis over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs was initiated in 2002, when U.S. officials said North Korea had admitted violating a previous agreement by pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium. Now that six-nation talks may be producing progress in eliminating Pyongyang's far more advanced plutonium-based program, Washington has softened its tone about uranium enrichment.

The U.S. State Department's 2006 Human Rights Report cites Venezuela and Cuba for violating citizens' rights and harassing non-governmental organizations.

The U.S. State Department's annual human rights report, released Tuesday, says some African countries are making progress, while others are regressing or lagging behind.

The United States Embassy in Moscow has confirmed that two U.S. women have been hospitalized for possible thallium poisoning.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is in South Korea on the third stop of a tour to confer with diplomatic partners aiming to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. He is calling on the international community to be "attentive" to whether Pyongyang fulfills its nuclear promises, and stands firm on U.S. accusations that the North has pursued a uranium-based nuclear program.

President Bush is expanding U.S. aid for education, health care, housing and other programs for Latin America. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports from the White House the announcement came just days before the president is scheduled to make a five-nation tour of the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has released the State Department's 2006 Human Rights report, which cites the genocide in Sudan's Darfur region as "the most sobering reality of all."