Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki says that Iraqi forces, backed by U.S. troops, are ready to launch a fresh campaign to target militants in the capital, Baghdad.

The United States has condemned the Sudanese government for bombing rebel positions in the troubled Darfur region in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed financial restrictions on three Syrian institutions suspected of proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday deployment of an East African stabilization force in Somalia is an urgent need following the rout of Islamic militiamen by Ethiopian forces and troops from the Somali interim government. The United States is committing more than $16 million in new humanitarian aid for Somalia.

North Korea is expected to have another nuclear test. World already said his word imposing the sanction 1718 but apparently such politics do not bring results and stability to Korean peninsula.

The federal government has released a report saying emergency responders in most U.S. cities still do not have the equipment and training they need for "interoperability" -- the ability to communicate easily with each other during a crisis.

Recently, the European Union has adopted some of the world's strictest policies on e-waste and potentially hazardous chemicals. Economic and environmental impacts of the new regulations will be felt far beyond Europe, says Stacy D. VanDeveer, a visiting fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies.

The United States said Wednesday it wants to see an inclusive process to choose a new leader in Turkmenistan, and that the Central Asian country has a long way to go to achieve that goal. Opposition groups complain of being shut out of the process to choose a new president to succeed the late authoritarian ruler Saparmurad Niyazov, who died December 21. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, the Democratic Party's 2004 candidate for vice president, has announced he is running for the Oval Office itself. He joins two other announced candidates and a number of others who are reported considering a run for the White House in 2008. As VOA's Peter Fedynsky reports, two of those prospects are already attracting considerable attention.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford said in a 2004 interview the Iraq war was not justified and he disagreed with President Bush's decision to invade the country.

The United States said Thursday there has been some "positive movement" by Sudan in allowing deployment of advance elements of new U.N. and African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. However, the State Department says the international community is not yet prepared to set aside a threat of punitive action against the Khartoum government. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

U.S. President George Bush says he is making good progress on a revised strategy for Iraq. VOA White House correspondent Paula Wolfson reports, the president spoke in the midst of consultations at his Texas ranch with his top national security advisers.