(CNN) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it has approved a new vaccine to prevent seasonal influenza. Agriflu, made by Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, is not intended to protect against the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu. The vaccine was approved using an accelerated approval process, the FDA said. Novartis demonstrated that the vaccine induces levels of antibodies in the blood that are effective in preventing seasonal influenza, but it still needs to conduct further studies. Agriflu, for ages 18 and older, is administered as a single injection in the upper arm and is available in single-dose, prefilled syringes, according to the FDA. Novartis produces another licensed vaccine for seasonal influenza, Fluvirin, approved for ages 4 and older. Although no vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing disease, vaccination is the key to flu prevention, according to the FDA. Novartis spokesman Eric Althoff said Agriflu is made in Siena, Italy, with eggs, and it has been available in Europe under the brand name Aggripal. This approval, he said, will add to future seasonal vaccine supplies.

According to the FDA, how was AgriFlu approved?

Answer: swine flu.

Answer: vaccine to prevent

Answer: using an accelerated approval process,

Answer: induces levels of antibodies in the blood that are effective in preventing seasonal influenza,

Answer: protect against the H1N1 virus,

Summary:
Agriflu, made by Novartis, is not intended to protect against the H1N1 virus .
The vaccine was approved using an accelerated approval process, the FDA said .
Vaccine induces antibodies in the blood that are effective in preventing seasonal influenza .


(CNN) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the revised version of $700 billion bank bailout plan intended to bolster the ailing U.S. financial system.

Wall Street traders had been watching developments in Washington closely.

The House rejected the original bill on Monday, sending stocks tumbling around the world.

But lawmakers approved the rescue package, backed by U.S. President George W. Bush and Treasury chiefs, Friday after the U.S. Senate passed it by a large majority on Wednesday.

Congress voted 263 to 171 in favor of the bailout bill.

President Bush signed the bill into law Friday afternoon.

Stocks on Wall Street slumped Friday, as the brutal week ended. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.5 percent, according to early tallies. For the week, the Dow ended down 818 points, the biggest weekly point loss in seven years and the third-biggest weekly loss on a point basis ever.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.4 percent Friday and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.5 percent.

Bush thanked all those involved and said the bill was essential to stopping the crisis on Wall Street becoming a crisis in the wider economy.

Bush said it sent a message to the rest of the world that the U.S. was ready to take action to ease the credit crunch.

He said it would take sometime for the bill to have an impact on the American economy.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said he applauded the vote.

"It demonstrates the government's commitment to do what it takes to support and strengthen our economy. The legislation is a critical step toward stabilizing our financial markets and ensuring an uninterrupted flow of credit to households and businesses.

"The Federal Reserve will continue to work closely with the Treasury as it undertakes these new initiatives. We will continue to use all of the powers at our disposal to mitigate credit market disruptions and to foster a strong, vibrant economy," Bernanke said.

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, the author of the plan, said Americans would appreciate the leadership of their elected representatives.

"We will move rapidly to implement the new authorities, but we will also move methodically," he said.

Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the vote that hearings would be held into how the U.S. economy end up needing the bailout.

Pelosi said the U.S. needed regulatory reform to prevent the same situation being repeated in the future.

She said a much better bill may have been achievable in different circumstances, but the situation was urgent and middle class needed to be protected.

Stock markets around the world have endured days of turmoil as a consequence of uncertainty over Washington's response to the credit crisis.

U.S. markets opened brightly Friday, following heavy losses the previous day, amid fresh expectation that the bailout plan would go through. By 11.50 a.m. (1550 GMT) the Dow Jones was up 1.79 percent and the Nasdaq was up 2.80 percent.

Asian markets slipped earlier in the day with Japan's Nikkei Exchange closing the week down 215.05 points, or about 1.9 percent at 10,939.71 -- a new three-year low. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.9 percent to 17,682.40 and key indexes across the region were all down.

European markets were flat in morning trading, but rallied after Wall Street opened with London's FTSE 100 up 2.15 percent, Paris' CAC up 2.96 percent and Frankfurt's DAX up 2.55 percent.

The banking world has been in turmoil in recent weeks with many institutions scrambling for survival as credit has dried up, leaving many holding "toxic" subprime debt following the collapse in U.S. house prices.

In the latest development Friday, troubled U.S. bank Wachovia announced it would merge with Californian banking giant Wells Fargo in a deal valued at approximately $15.1 billion. (Full story)

The merger will include all of Wachovia's banking operations, Well Fargo said. Wachovia had looked set to be sold to Citigroup in a deal brokered by the federal government.

The core of the Senate financial bailout bill is a plan to buy troubled assets from banks, but the proposal includes a number of new provisions aimed at ordinary people struggling under the

What is the amount that the U.S. House of Representatives in the bill?

What companies benefited from the bailout?

Answer: The House

Answer: $700 billion

Answer: Well Fargo

Answer: the original bill

Answer: U.S. President George W. Bush and Treasury chiefs,

Answer: Monday,

Answer: bolster the ailing U.S. financial system.

Answer: to buy troubled assets from banks,

Answer: $700 billion

Answer: a plan to buy troubled assets from banks,

Answer: President George W. Bush and Treasury chiefs,

Summary:
U.S. House of Representatives backs revised $700 billion bank bailout bill .
Lawmakers rejected rescue plan Monday; passed by Senate Wednesday .
Wall Street stocks rallied on expectation bill would be passed .
Bailout enables U.S. Treasury to buy up bad debts to ease credit crisis .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Navy has captured seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the first arrests by a U.S.-led task force set up to curb rampant piracy off the Horn of Africa, a Navy spokesman said Wednesday. Seven men suspected of trying to pirate a tanker raise their hands before their arrest in the Gulf of Aden. Sailors from the cruiser USS Vella Gulf arrested the men Wednesday in the western Gulf of Aden -- a waterway between Africa and the Middle East -- after a distress call from the 420-foot (128-meter) tanker Polaris. The tanker reported that men aboard a small skiff were attempting to board the ship using ladders, but its crew removed them before the would-be hijackers could get aboard, the Navy said. The Vella Gulf found and boarded the skiff, and the tanker's crew identified the men aboard the skiff as their would-be hijackers. The skiff's men were taken aboard the Vella Gulf, the flagship of the task force now patrolling the western Gulf of Aden, and eventually will be transferred to Kenya for trial, said Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet. Piracy has become a chronic problem off the Horn of Africa in recent years, with some pirates operating from largely lawless Somalia. Pirates attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 in the waters off the coast of Somalia in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The task force led by the Vella Gulf was set up in January in an effort to clamp down on the attacks in the region, the southern approach to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.

Who is part of the antipiracy task force?

what Men tried to board tanker from skiff?

what Cruiser was patrolling Gulf of Aden as part of U.S?

Answer: The

Answer: western Gulf of Aden

Answer: would-be hijackers.

Answer: USS Vella

Answer: Polaris.

Answer: seven

Summary:
Seven men captured after failed attack on ship, U.S. Navy says .
Men tried to board tanker from skiff, but crew removed ladders, Navy says .
Navy cruiser found skiff after tanker made distress call .
Cruiser was patrolling Gulf of Aden as part of U.S.-led, antipiracy task force .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee are expected to ask a federal judge Monday to shut down Web sites they allege scam customers trying to buy Olympic tickets, according to court documents. The Web site www.beijingticketing.com is accused in a lawsuit of scamming Olympic ticket buyers. The IOC and the USOC filed lawsuits on July 22 against several Web sites -- primarily www.beijingticketing.com and www.beijing-2008tickets.com -- for illegally using Olympic trademarks to dupe customers into giving them credit card, passport and banking information. Lawyers for the IOC and USOC are expected to petition U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White on Monday to permanently shut down several sites listed in the lawsuit. The lawsuit names the company XL & H Ltd, known as Xclusive Leisure & Hospitality Ltd. and six other Web sites believed to be fraudulent. Several consumers who purchased tickets from the site contacted the USOC when they did not receive tickets, despite numerous calls and e-mails to the Web sites founder, according to a USOC press release. The scam has hit Olympic fans in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, England, Japan, China and Norway, according to media reports. Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates told local media that relatives of the country's softball team had been victims of the site. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the New South Wales Government set up a hotline for those duped out of tickets. The hotline has received hundreds of calls from around the globe with consumers detailing losses as high as $57,000. The IOC and USOC successfully secured a restraining order on July 23 in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona, that shut down www.beijing-2008tickets.com, according to court documents. That site is now shut down and no contact information is available. The site www.BeijingTicketing.com priced tickets for Friday's Olympic opening ceremony at about $2,000, with events such as swimming selling for between $300 and $500. The site is the first entry that comes up for a Google search for "Olympic tickets," second only to the authorized dealer of Olympic tickets, www.cosport.com. The Web site ww.beijingticketing.com site lists a London phone number, which rang unanswered. The site lists an office address in Arizona. The site boasts tickets for nearly every Olympic event, with some events showing sell-outs already. The site also looked to assure ticket buyers of its authenticity with a note at the bottom of the site. "Beijing 2008 Ticketing is a well known tickets agent and a trusted market place for buyers to find book Olympic tickets," the note stated. "We assure 100% guaranteed tickets delivery."

What site besides www.BeijingTicketing.com  was named in suit?

What kind of ticket sites have bilked customers?

What did the fake ticket sites do as claimed by USOC and IOC?

Which 2 Chinese travel sites are named in a suit?

Answer: scam customers

Answer: primarily www.beijingticketing.com and www.beijing-2008tickets.com

Answer: Web sites they allege scam customers

Answer: scamming Olympic ticket buyers.

Answer: primarily www.beijingticketing.com and www.beijing-2008tickets.com

Summary:
USOC, IOC claim fake ticket sites have bilked customers using their trademark .
Sites www.BeijingTicketing.com and www.beijing-2008tickets.com named in suit .
One site claims "We assure 100 % guaranteed tickets delivery"


(CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service has just entered "The Twilight Zone." "The Honeymooners" is one of 20 classic TV stamps that will soon find its way on the corner of envelopes. The classic show appears on one of 20 stamps released this week, featuring 1950s hit television shows. The first-class stamps include images of "Dragnet," "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy," "Lassie," "The Lone Ranger," "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Perry Mason." "All of the classic television shows represented on these stamps represent the collective memory of a generation well deserving of entertainment," said James C. Miller III, a Postal Service board member. "It was a generation that survived the Great Depression and fought World War II. They were pioneers -- creative geniuses -- who brought television shows of the 1950s into our homes, breaking new ground to provide entertainment for everyone." The retro-style stamps, featuring black-and-white images of the shows, were designed by Carl Herrman, an artist from Las Vegas, Nevada. The Postal Service releases several commemorative stamps annually. This year's releases have included civil rights pioneers, President Abraham Lincoln and author Edgar Allan Poe.

How many classic TV shows will be honoured?

What age of tv will the new postage stamps commemorate?

How many classic TV shows will be honored?

What artist designed the retro-style stamps?

New postage stamps will commemorate what?

Answer: Carl Herrman,

Answer: 20

Answer: 1950s

Answer: civil rights pioneers, President Abraham Lincoln and author Edgar Allan Poe.

Answer: 20

Answer: Carl Herrman,

Answer: Carl Herrman,

Answer: 1950s hit television shows.

Summary:
New postage stamps will commemorate "Golden Age of TV"
"The Honeymooners," "I Love Lucy" among 20 classic TV shows honored .
Retro-style stamps were designed by artist Carl Herrman .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Postal Service spent more than $792,000 "without justification" on meals and events in one five-month period even as it reported losing $3.8 billion this year, the agency's inspector general says in a report. Employees spent $792,022 on meals and external events "without justification for food purchases, purchased alcohol without officer approval and exceeded the dollar limit for meals," the report says. Among the purchases were crab cakes, beef Wellington and scallops at an installation ceremony for one of several postmasters in the United States, the report says. Despite the Postal Service's mandate to curtail spending, its inspector general found that "imprudent spending continues to occur, including continued purchases of gift cards from unauthorized vendors and expensive items purchased as employee recognition awards and retirement gifts." Read the full report (PDF) Such purchases conflict with the agency's goal to drive down costs, according to the report, which covered spending during several months in late 2008 and early 2009. The Postal Service reported a $3.8 billion net loss for the 2009 fiscal year, despite cost-cutting and reductions in retiree health benefit payments. Asked about the expenses, a Postal Service spokesman pointed to an agency response included in the report. In that response, the agency's vice president and controller, Vincent Devito, agreed to enforce a spending limit on events and recognition awards as well as make sure employees justify business meal expenses. "We agree that further policy enforcement is essential to ensure that the policy is followed and imprudent spending is no longer an issue," Devito wrote. "It appears there is still work to be done in curtailing spending even further during this time of economic uncertainty." Among the report's findings: • There was "no business justification" for $355,451 of food provided at a September 2008 national sales educational conference; it included a $96-per-person dinner and a $500 "bartender charge." • An installation celebration for one postmaster -- the report didn't say where -- included "unallowable food purchases" totaling more than $17,000. The menu included "crab cakes, beef Wellington, shrimp and scallops" even though Postal Service guidelines allow for only "light snacks" at such events. • There was "no business necessity or justification" provided for $77,757 in breakfast meals for events between September 2008 and February 2009. The report, issued December 3, documented purchases for lodging, table linens, flowers and other items "that we consider excessive during this challenging economic time." "Such purchases are in direct conflict with the Postal Service's objective of driving down costs in all operations and processes," the report said. "Moreover, the public's image of such purchases could have a detrimental effect on the Postal Service's public image." The report cited two Postal Service districts that purchased movie tickets for $14,140 to give incentives to employees after the postmaster general "issued a memo directing a curtailment of spending." It also documented the purchase of 30 retirement watches, costing $216 each, in another district. A CNN investigation this year revealed that the Postal Service spent $1.2 million to buy the lakefront home of an employee who was relocating. The purchase was part of a policy that allowed the Postal Service to pay for employee homes when they moved, whatever the cost. Months after the story, the Postal Service changed its policy to limit home purchases to $800,000.

What financial loss amount was reported in 2009 fiscal year?

what does the agency's vice president say?

What employee incentive did districts spend $14,140 on?

what do the purchases conflict with goal?

In what year did was a $3.8 billion loss reported?

What did the purchases for the ceremony include?

What were crab cakes, beef Wellington and scallops purchased for?

Answer: $3.8 billion

Answer: "We agree that further policy enforcement is essential to ensure that the policy is followed and imprudent spending is no longer an issue,"

Answer: movie tickets

Answer: to drive down costs,

Answer: $14,140

Answer: 2009

Answer: crab cakes, beef Wellington and scallops

Answer: an installation ceremony

Summary:
Purchases included crab cakes, beef Wellington, scallops for postmaster installation ceremony .
Report cites districts for buying $14,140 in movie tickets as employee incentives .
Purchases conflict with goal to cut costs after reporting $3.8 billion loss in 2009 fiscal year .
"It appears there is still work to be done in curtailing spending," agency's vice president says .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged businessman Robert Allen Stanford with orchestrating an $8 billion fraudulent investment program. Stanford presents a trophy to the winners of his Twenty20 cricket tournament in November 2008. Stanford is the tycoon who bankrolled the Twenty20 Super Series cricket competition in the West Indies last year. The Texan has also contributed millions of dollars to the West Indies Cricket Board in an attempt to boost their flagging fortunes. Rose Romero, Regional Director of the SEC's Fort Worth Regional Office in Texas, said, "We are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world." Stanford allegedly fabricated historical return data to prey on investors. The SEC says the investigation is on-going. Reuters.com reports three of Stanford's companies are involved in the SEC probe including Texas-based Stanford Group Co, Antigua-based Stanford International Bank and investment adviser Stanford Capital Management. The SEC Web site said Stanford International Bank CFO James Davis and Stanford Financial Group chief investment officer Laura Pendergest-Holt also face charges. It added that U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor granted a temporary restraining order freezing the defendants' assets and appointed a receiver to marshal those assets, as part of a request for emergency relief for the benefit of defrauded investors. The SEC's complaint alleges that the fraud centered on a program in which Stanford International Bank promised "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates." SIB allegedly acted through a network of Stanford Group Company financial advisers to sell approximately $8 billion of "certificates of deposit" to investors. The bank boasted a unique investment strategy that it said allowed it to receive double-digit returns on its investments for the past 15 years, the SEC said. Early Tuesday, CNBC reported federal marshals were seen entering the offices of Stanford Financial Group in Houston. Reuters reported an eyewitness saw a sign taped to the window stating the company is now "under the management of a receiver." Stanford Financial Group could not immediately be reached for comment. According to the SEC's complaint, a close circle of Stanford's family and friends operates SIB. Its investment committee, responsible for managing the bank's multi-billion dollar portfolio of assets, includes Stanford; Stanford's father, who lives in Mexia, Texas; another Mexia resident with business experience in cattle ranching and car sales; Pendergest-Holt, who had no financial or securities experience prior to joining SFG; and Davis, Stanford's college roommate. The SEC alleges an additional scheme relating to $1.2 billion in sales. Stanford Group Company advisers are accused of using materially false historical performance data to create a mutual fund program called Stanford Allocation Strategy, the release said. According to the complaint, the false data helped grow the program from less than $10 million in 2004 to more than $1 billion, generating SGC - and ultimately, Stanford - about $25 million in 2007 and 2008. In the UK, the Press Association news agency reported that the England and Wales Cricket Board has ceased negotiations with Stanford, who was expected to become a major backer of a proposed tournament in England from 2010.

Who is charged in alleged multi-billion dollar fraud?

Who is the tycoon who bankrolled the cricket Twenty20 Super Series?

Answer: The

Answer: Robert Allen Stanford

Answer: $8 billion fraudulent investment program.

Answer: Robert Allen Stanford

Answer: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Answer: Robert Allen Stanford

Summary:
Robert Allen Stanford charged in alleged multi-billion dollar fraud .
Securities and Exchange commission says probe is continuing .
SEC alleges fraud of 'shocking magnitude that spread tentacles throughout world'
Stanford is the tycoon who bankrolled the cricket Twenty20 Super Series .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Senate gave final approval Friday to a $787 billion recovery package that President Obama hopes will help boost an economy in freefall with a combination of government spending and tax cuts and credits.

Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at right on the Senate floor Friday.

Approved earlier by the House, the plan -- which went through multiple permutations as it bounced back and forth on Capitol Hill over the past week -- now goes to Obama's desk, where he plans to sign it into law by Presidents Day.

Spending in the package includes about $120 billion for infrastructure -- new projects repairing bridges, roads, government buildings and the like -- more than $100 billion for education and $30 billion on energy-related projects that Obama says will create "green jobs."

More than $212 billion goes to tax breaks for individuals and businesses, and another $267 billion is in direct spending like food stamps and unemployment benefits.

The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that the plan will create between 1 million and 3 million jobs.

Most individuals will get a $400 tax credit, and couples will get $800.

The vote by the Senate took several hours longer than a simple roll call of its 100 members generally would. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, attended a wake for his mother until about 8 p.m. Friday.

Voting began about 5:30 p.m. Then, the Senate chamber sat nearly empty until Brown arrived to vote about five hours later.

He was flown from Ohio to Washington on a plane provided by the White House, which said no commercial flights were available that would have allowed Brown to cast a vote and return to Ohio in time for his mother's funeral Saturday.

As had been the case when the original version of the package passed, the stimulus package garnered no Republican support in the House. The compromise legislation, which was hammered out by House and Senate leaders and White House staff over the past several days, passed in the House on a 246-183 vote.

Three Republicans -- Susan Collins and Olympia Snow of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania -- supported it in the Senate. Their support was needed to give the plan the 60 votes needed to keep it from being shut down by Republican parliamentary procedures.

All Democrats in the Senate supported the plan. Seven House Democrats opposed it.

Although the package was signed off on by leadership Thursday, a written version wasn't available to most lawmakers until about 11 p.m.

Some Republicans in the House expressed frustration over how little time they had to read the 1,000-plus-page bill, and others predicted ruin if it passed.  Watch the stimulus pass without GOP support Â»

"Just because Republicans spent too much money after September 11 and lost our way on financial matters doesn't mean the Democratic party should be allowed to wreck our ship of state," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tennessee. "This is taking us quickly down the wrong road. Vote no."  Watch the GOP say 'Americans deserve better' Â»

Other lawmakers, however, said they were hopeful the stimulus plan would get the economy back on track.

"We know this bill alone will not solve all of our economic woes overnight. We know that the road back to economic stability and prosperity will require hard work over time," said Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado. "But this bill is the right size and scope necessary to truly help us turn things around."

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, who returned to Capitol Hill for votes this week, was not present for the final vote because he returned to Florida to continue his recovery from brain cancer.

The bill passed the Senate 60-38.

Here's how the compromise bill is expected to affect individuals:

Most individuals will get a $400 tax credit, and most couples will get an $800 credit. That amounts to an extra $13 a week in a person's paycheck, starting in June. That's less than what Obama campaigned on: $

What was the vote for this bill in the House?

Where was Sherrod Brown before this vote?

How many Republicans backed the measure?

The Senate approves the bill with what vote?

What was the final number of the bill approved by the House?

Answer: 246-183

Answer: a wake for his mother

Answer: Three

Answer: U.S. Senate

Answer: 60-38.

Answer: passed in the House on a 246-183

Answer: $787 billion recovery package

Answer: 246-183

Answer: a vote

Answer: $787 billion

Answer: Sen. Sherrod Brown,

Summary:
Senate approves bill with vote of 60-38 .
Sherrod Brown casts deciding vote after being flown from mother's wake .
House approves bill 246-183; no Republicans back measure .


(CNN) -- The U.S. State Department said Sunday it was "deeply disturbed" at the deportation of 20 Uyghur asylum seekers from Cambodia back to China. The deportation "will affect Cambodia's relationship with the U.S. and its international standing," said acting State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid in a statement. It occurred on Saturday at the request of China, the U.S. said. "The United States is deeply concerned about the welfare of these individuals, who had sought protection under international law," Duguid said. "We are also deeply disturbed that the Cambodian government decided to forcibly remove the group without the benefit of a credible process for determining refugee status and without appropriate participation by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees." Kitty McKinsey, a coordinator with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees agency in Asia, told CNN on Saturday that the refugees had been seeking asylum. China's northwestern region was wracked by ethnic violence between Han Chinese and Uyghur Muslims earlier this year, and the Uyghurs fled to Cambodia to escape the unrest. McKinsey said the UNHCR considers the deportation a breach of international law, and Uyghur human rights activists have expressed concern about the move. The Uyghur American Association also expressed concern in a statement. The 20 were held in handcuffs and leg shackles and were not given any food to eat on Friday, according to the association. They were part of a group of 22 Uyghurs seeking refuge in Cambodia, all of whom were under UNHCR protection when taken into custody. "The United States strongly opposed Cambodia's involuntary return of these asylum seekers before their claims have been heard," the State Department said. Duguid urged the Chinese government to "uphold international norms and to ensure transparency, due process and proper treatment of persons in its territory" now that the Uyghurs have been returned. Cambodian and Chinese officials could not immediately be reached for a response. But a Cambodian state media outlet, Agence Kampuchea Presse, reported that Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is to arrive in Cambodia on Sunday for a three-day visit.

What is the reason the Uyghurs felled to Cambodia?

How many Uyghurs where deported back to China?

Answer: escape the unrest.

Answer: Cambodia

Answer: 20

Answer: asylum seekers from Cambodia back to China.

Summary:
U.S. condemns deportation of 20 Uyghur asylum-seekers from Cambodia back to China .
Uyghurs fled to Cambodia to escape ethnic violence in China's northwestern region earlier this year .
The 20 refugees were held in handcuffs and leg shackles and not given food, said Uyghur American Association .


(CNN) -- The U.S. Treasury Department will begin selling bonds Wednesday to help the Federal Reserve, which has had to loan out an unprecedented amount of money to businesses because of the credit crisis.

CNN's Ali Velshi says the Fed needs access to large amounts of cash to keep Wall Street confident.

The Fed announced Tuesday it would authorize the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to lend up to $85 billion over two years to insurance giant American International Group. In return, the government will receive a 79.9 percent stake in the company, which has 74 million clients in 130 countries.

The first Treasury auction for the central bank will be for $40 million. The Treasury bills will mature in 35 days, allowing the Fed access to quick cash.

But what does this mean to American taxpayers and an ailing U.S. economy? CNN senior business correspondent Ali Velshi breaks it down.

Q: What does this mean in layman's terms?

A: The Federal Reserve keeps a lot of money in supply to help banks, and basically, when they help them, it means they loan them money. As this credit crisis intensified, the Fed invited more and more banks to come and borrow from it and would accept collateral that was not as high-quality as it would typically accept. The Fed was the lender of last resort for a bank; you paid a premium to borrow money from the Fed, and you had to give them your best collateral.

What's happening now is you still pay a premium, but you can go with lower collateral. The thinking behind that is the more banks feel free to go to the Fed to borrow money, the less likely they are to get money at higher interest from other sources and the less likely they are to fail as a result. In other words, if they feel that there is an ability to borrow money from the Fed -- if they absolutely have to to stay afloat -- that facility is there.

Well, the number of banks that have taken advantage of this has caused the reserve at the Federal Reserve to go from about $800 billion to, by some estimates, as low as $200 billion. And when they do things like the bailout of AIG, that's where that money comes from.  Watch experts discuss what the bailout means for consumers Â»

So you do the math, and there's some sense that the Fed could run out of money to finance these banks, to give loans. And just the idea that the Fed could run out of that money causes Wall Street to panic because it says, "If four more banks were to fail, the Fed wouldn't have money to bail them out, so we're in a bad situation."

So the thinking is: Let's increase the Federal Reserve's reserve, and that's what this auction is. It's the first in a series of auctions -- this one will be for $40 billion -- where the Treasury on behalf of the Federal Reserve issues bonds that they will sell at auction, the way they normally do, and they'll be for 35-day periods. So the Fed gives out those bonds, and in exchange, gets cash and the Fed sits on that cash and uses it for whatever it needs.

Q: Why would the government bail out a company like AIG but let Lehman Brothers file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection?

A: Speaking frankly, the world can do without another investment firm. If an investment bank fails, any remaining investment bank can hire more people and take their jobs. AIG is not an investment bank. As a principal insurer, it insures consumers, it insures businesses and it insures business ventures, so it's not just that your corner store needs insurance.

AIG insures things like rigs and Hollywood movies and those subprime mortgage-backed securities. The utter failure of business that would ensue from a failure of AIG would be catastrophic and would actually leave the government having to pick up a few things along the way.

The best analogy I've been able to come up with is to use an

When is this bond auction going to happen?

When did the US Treasury hold its first bond auction?

How much was the loan that the government gave to AIG

Answer: U.S. Treasury Department

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: Ali Velshi

Answer: Wednesday

Answer: $85 billion

Answer: Ali Velshi

Answer: the Fed needs access to large amounts of cash

Answer: American International Group.

Answer: $85 billion

Answer: U.S. Treasury Department

Summary:
U.S. Treasury to hold its first bond auction Wednesday, for $40 billion .
CNN's Ali Velshi says the Fed needs more money to keep Wall Street confident .
AIG has so many "tentacles," allowing it to go under could've been catastrophic .
High interest on $85B loan, government stake in AIG could bode well for taxpayers .


(CNN) -- The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan has a unique résumé: he served two tours in the country as a general, training Afghan police and troops, before trading his uniform for a diplomat's business suit. His career history may give Karl Eikenberry's word particular weight as President Obama struggles to come up with a way forward in Afghanistan. Eikenberry sent private cables to Obama last week, urging the president not to rush to send more troops to Afghanistan -- although the top U.S. military commander there, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, wants 40,000 more pairs of boots on the ground. Initial reports about the cables sent by Eikenberry appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times. All three newspapers attributed the reports to senior U.S. officials, without identifying them. Two U.S. officials confirmed to CNN that Eikenberry sent two cables to Washington expressing reservations about troop increases amid uncertainty over President Hamid Karzai's government. Neither Eikenberry nor the White House would comment on the contents of private advice between the envoy and the president, but the reports alarmed Karzai enough that his office sought confirmation from the U.S. Embassy about them, a Karzai spokesman told CNN. Karzai's office did not get the information it sought, the spokesman said. Whatever Eikenberry told the president, the ambassador is unusually well versed in the military problems facing Afghanistan. He retired from the Army after nearly 40 years of service with the rank of lieutenant general on April 28 -- one day before he was sworn in as ambassador, according to his State Department biography. His long military career included time in Kabul as U.S. security coordinator and chief of the Office of Military Cooperation. "Afghanistan has been at the center of my career since 9/11, when the terrorist-commandeered aircraft crashed into the Pentagon just below the office in which I was working," Eikenberry said at his Senate confirmation hearing in March. "There is no silver bullet and no quick, cheap or easy solutions. There is no substitute for more resources and sacrifice," he said then. But, he added: "There is no exclusively military solution to the issues we and our partners confront in Afghanistan." He also advised the U.S. secretary of defense on China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia, and was deputy director for strategy, plans and policy on the Army staff. But he's not new to embassy life, having served as defense attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. Eikenberry has a master's degree in east Asian studies from Harvard, an advanced degree in Chinese history from Nanjing University in China, and is a certified translator from Mandarin Chinese. He's also clearly attached to his wife, Ching, insisting in his Senate confirmation hearing that she accompany him to Kabul even though State Department rules barred spouses because the country is so dangerous. He prevailed. He and his wife are hosting a dinner Saturday night in Kabul for a visiting U.S. lawmaker.

What title did Eikenberry hold whilst he served time in Kabul

When did Eikenberry advise the secretary of defense?

After how many years service did Eikenberry retire from the army

what did he advise US secretey of defense

Name the four countries that he advised the US secretary of defense on

Answer: U.S. security coordinator

Answer: for strategy, plans and policy on the Army staff.

Answer: nearly 40

Answer: sent private cables to Obama last week,

Answer: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia,

Answer: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia,

Answer: Eikenberry

Summary:
Eikenberry retired from the Army after nearly 40 years of service .
Military career included time in Kabul as chief of Office of Military Cooperation .
He advised U.S. secretary of defense on China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia .


(CNN) -- The U.S. diplomatic courtship with Iraq in the 1980s continued despite Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons. Click on the links to read once-classified documents from the Reagan administration.

Once-classified documents show the U.S. continued its courtship with Iraq despite use of chemical weapons.

Date: December 5, 1986 Subject: U.S.-Iraqi Relations: Picking Up the Pieces Summary: After disclosures that the United States was secretly providing weapons to Iraq's enemy, Iran, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy recommends strengthening commercial ties with Saddam Hussein because "U.S.-Iraqi relations are in crisis." Read the document (pdf)

Date: March 3, 1988 Subject: Iraq's Foreign Policy: Deeper into the Mainstream Summary: Anticipating an end to the Iran-Iraq war, a State Department official is optimistic that continued ties between the United States and Iraq will lead Saddam Hussein "deeper into the mainstream." The author concludes that "fears of Iraq's aggression seem exaggerated." Two weeks later, Iraqi forces attack Kurdish civilians in Halabja with poisonous gas. Read the document (pdf)

Date: December 29, 1988 Subject: Export-Import Financing for Iraq Summary: In the closing days of the Reagan administration, the State Department's top human rights official argues that continued financial aid to Iraq "can simply not be squared with our worldwide human rights policy." However, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Murphy counters that U.S. financial ties with Iraq have "far greater use with Baghdad as a carrot than as a stick." A year and a half later, Iraq invades Kuwait. Read the document (pdf)

Who did diplomatic courtship continue with?

From which administration are the  once-classified documents?

What administration are the documents from?

What continues despite use of chemical weapons?

From what adminstration did the once-classified documents come from?

Answer: U.S. diplomatic courtship with Iraq in the 1980s

Answer: Iraq

Answer: U.S.-Iraqi Relations: Picking Up the Pieces Summary:

Answer: Reagan

Answer: Reagan

Answer: The

Answer: the Reagan administration.

Summary:
Diplomatic courtship with Iraq continued despite use of chemical weapons .
Read once-classified documents from the Reagan administration .
Subjects include "Export-Import Financing for Iraq" and "Iraq's Foreign Policy"


(CNN) -- The U.S. government Thursday announced its highest penalty for coal mine safety violations, $1.85 million, for a collapse that killed six miners in Utah last year. Supervisory Mining Engineer Joe Zelanko on Thursday describes the earth movements at Crandall Canyon mine. Insufficient pillar support and activity in areas that should not have been mined caused the August Crandall Canyon mine collapse, federal investigators found. The government fined the mine operator, Genwal Resources, $1.34 million "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year," plus nearly $300,000 for other violations. The government also levied a $220,000 fine against a mining consultant, Agapito Associates, "for faulty analysis of the mine's design." The mine's owner had insisted that earth movement detected at the time of the collapse had caused the disaster. But investigators found instead that the collapse caused the earth movement. "It was not -- and I repeat, it was not -- a natural occurring earthquake," said the government's top mine safety official, Richard E. Stickler. Stickler, the acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, said, "pillars failed under excessive load and ejected coal very violently." Stickler also said the mine's operator "was taking more coal than allowed from the barrier pillars and the floor." "This dangerously weakened the strength of the roof support," Stickler said. In addition to the six miners killed in the initial cave-in August 6 in northwest Emery County, three would-be rescuers died 10 days later in a subsequent collapse. The bodies of the six miners killed in the initial collapse were never recovered. Richard Gates, the lead investigator for the government, said the pillars in the mine "simply were not large enough to support the load." That resulted in a "catastrophic failure of pillars over a broad area," as large as half a mile, he said. University of Utah scientists said in June that the collapse was not the result of an earthquake. "As seismologists, we're as certain as we can be that the seismic event registered as a magnitude-3.9 shock was due to the collapse of the mine and not a naturally occurring earthquake," said Walter Arabasz, director of the university's Utah Seismograph Stations, in a written statement. Earlier this year, a Labor Department report criticized Mine Safety and Health Administration officials for approving plans for a risky mining technique, known as retreat mining, that was in use before the collapse. In the process, miners remove pillars of coal that support the roof of a chamber one by one, allowing the roof to collapse behind them. Mine owner Bob Murray repeatedly denied in the days after the disaster that his company practiced retreat mining at Crandall Canyon. He later admitted that the practice had been used at the mine but said it was not being done at the time of the disaster.

What led to Crandall Canyon collapse?
Who was fined for the collaspe?
What caused the collaspe?
What was the operator charged with?
What led up to the collapse?
Where was the mine collapse?
Who was blamed for the mine collaspe?
Who was fined more than $1.5 million?

Answer: Insufficient pillar support and activity in areas that should not have been mined

Answer: Genwal Resources,

Answer: Insufficient pillar support and activity in areas that should not have been mined

Answer: "for violations that directly contributed to the deaths of six miners last year,"

Answer: Insufficient pillar support

Answer: Utah

Answer: Genwal Resources,

Answer: Genwal Resources,

Summary:
Feds: Violations by Utah mine's operator led to 2007 collapse that killed six .
Bad design, improper mining led to Crandall Canyon collapse, feds say .
Mine operator fined more than $1.5 million .


(CNN) -- The U.S. government warned consumers Sunday to avoid oysters from San Antonio Bay in Texas after investigators found the oysters caused a highly contagious virus.

Consumers who bought San Antonio Bay-harvested oysters on or after November 16 should throw them away, the Food and Drug Administration announced. The agency also advised restaurant managers and grocers not to serve or sell the Texas oysters.

About a dozen cases of norovirus-related illnesses in North Carolina and South Carolina were "definitely linked" to oysters recently harvested from the San Antonio Bay, FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle told CNN.

Texas' health department has already recalled all oysters harvested from the bay between November 16 and November 25, the health department said in a statement on its Web site. San Antonio Bay has also been closed to commercial oyster harvesting, the statement said.

Texas authorities are still investigating how the oysters were contaminated and where they were distributed, Chappelle said.

Noroviruses cause gastroenteritis, also known as the stomach flu. They are highly contagious, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aside from contracting the virus from food or drink, one can become ill by touching contaminated surfaces and then their mouth, or by coming into direct contact with an infected individual.

Symptoms associated with the virus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping. Affected individuals often experience low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. The illness typically lasts one to two days according to the CDC.

Anyone who ate the now-recalled oysters and who are now showing symptoms of norovirus should see a doctor and contact the local health department.

CNN's Khadijah Rentas contributed to this report

Which state are investigating how the oysters were contaminated?

what does the us government warn against?

What are Texas authorities investigating?

Which oysters are the U.S. government warning against eating?

Answer: oysters from San Antonio Bay

Answer: oysters from San Antonio Bay in Texas

Answer: Texas

Answer: oysters from San Antonio Bay in Texas

Answer: highly contagious virus.

Answer: from San Antonio Bay

Answer: highly contagious virus.

Summary:
U.S. government warns against eating oysters from Texas' San Antonio Bay .
Oysters contaminated with highly contagious noroviruses, which cause stomach flu .
Texas authorities are investigating how oysters were contaminated .


(CNN) -- The U.S. military did major damage to the site of one of the wonders of the ancient world while converting it into a base, the United Nations said in a new report. An U.S. soldier looks over the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq in 2004. The site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was converted into Camp Alpha shortly after the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. The troops and their contractors caused "major damage" by digging, cutting, scraping and leveling while they were revamping the site to meet military standards, the U.N. cultural agency, UNESCO, said in a report. "Key structures that were damaged include the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way," the report added. The Ishtar Gate, an entrance to the northern part of the city, is decorated with animals that portray the symbol of the god of the city of Babylon. "Damage to the gate includes smashed bricks on nine of the bodies of the animals adorning the gate," according to the report. A military official said she had not seen the U.N. report, but added that one of the reasons troops set up a base at the site was to safeguard it. "Coalition forces first occupied the Babylon site in April 2003 during the ground campaign of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a purpose, among others, of protecting the ruins from looting after the provincial museums in Babylon and Kufa were robbed of their entire contents," said Lt. Col. Tamara Parker, a spokeswoman. "U.S. forces respect historical sites in Iraq," she added. The United Nations lists additional damage to the site, including trenches used as firing positions and barbed wire secured to various spots. The stakes used to set up the barbed wire damaged walls, according to the report. Babylon, an hour's drive south of Baghdad, dates to ancient Mesopotamia. The city on the banks of the Euphrates River was the home of Hammurabi and later Nebuchadnezzar, who built the famous gardens for his wife. Alexander the Great wished to make Babylon his capital, but died before realizing his plan. During colonial times, archaeologists hauled off Babylon's artifacts to Europe. Some of those artifacts can be seen in a museum in Berlin, Germany. The site was occupied by Camp Alpha from September 2003 till December 2004, the report said. The United States has agreed to pay $800,000 to help rehabilitate the Babylon site, an Iraqi official said. "We were very disappointed when multinational forces took over these ancient sites as bases although they knew how important these sites are to Iraqis and to the entire world," said Abdulzahra al-Talaqani, spokesman for the ministry of tourism. Plans are under way to clean up the area in August with the help of hundreds of volunteers, according to al-Talaqani. The U.N. report noted that U.S. troops were not solely responsible for ruining the 4,000-year-old city. Before their arrival, local residents had contributed to the damage, mostly through development, the report said. "The features of the western side of the city of Babylon disappeared many years ago due to encroachment by agriculture and development on the archaeological zone," the report said.

How much is the U.S. paying to clean the site?

What does the U.N. report claim about Babylon?

What landmark suffered extensive damage?

Answer: $800,000

Answer: Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Answer: Camp Alpha

Answer: U.S. military did major damage to the site

Answer: The site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Answer: U.S. military

Answer: site of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Answer: U.S. military

Answer: major

Summary:
U.N. report claims U.S. troops damaged city of Babylon during Iraq invasion .
Camp Alpha was built on site of Iraq's historic Hanging Gardens .
Report cites extensive damage to Ishtar's Gate, Processional Way .
United States to pay $800,000 to clean Babylon site .


(CNN) -- The U.S. military is distributing pamphlets in eastern Afghanistan in an effort to find a soldier who has been missing for more than two weeks, the military said Thursday. A soldier mans a weapon at the rear of a U.S. Army helicopter over Afghanistan in May. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for kidnapping the soldier, who has not been identified, along with three Afghan soldiers. All went missing on June 30 in southeastern Afghanistan. The military believes the soldier may have been moved to various locations, including across the border into Pakistan, U.S. military officials said. There are two versions of the pamphlets, which are in the Pashto language and were made available to CNN by U.S. Forces Afghanistan. One shows the image of an American soldier shaking hands in a group of kids with the message, "One of our American guests is missing. Return the guest to his home. Call us at ..." and lists a phone number. The other shows a U.S. soldier kicking down a door, and then an outstretched hand with the superimposed image of a soldier, his head and arms drooping, and the words, "If you do not release the U.S. soldier then ... you will be hunted," Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said Thursday. Soldiers have posted and handed out the pamphlets across Ghazni and Paktia provinces over the past 24 hours, Mathias said. Days after the soldier went missing, a senior U.S. military official said, he and the three missing Afghan soldiers were captured by low-level militants and then quickly "sold" to the clan and network led by warlord Siraj Haqqani, who is believed to be deeply involved in the action. The Haqqani clan operates on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border and is well known to the U.S. military. The soldier apparently left his small outpost on his own on June 30 with no apparent means of defending himself, the official said. Taliban commander Mulvi Sangeen said the U.S. soldier visited a military post in the Yousaf Khel district in Paktika province, got drunk, and was ambushed while returning to his car. Sangeen said the soldier was taken to a safe place. Paktika and Paktia provinces are adjacent. CNN could not independently verify Sangeen's claims. A source with the U.S. military denied the claim that the soldier was drunk. "The Taliban are known for lying, and what they are claiming [is] not true," the source said.

have they identified him yet?
Who went missing?
In which country the soldiers gone?
What do pamphlets say?
Who kidnapped soldiers?

Answer: has not been

Answer: American soldier

Answer: Yousaf Khel district in Paktika province,

Answer: One shows the image of an American soldier shaking hands in a group of kids with the message, "One of our American guests is missing. Return the guest to his home. Call us at ..." and lists a phone number.

Answer: The Taliban

Summary:
Taliban says it kidnapped U.S. soldier, who has not been identified .
Soldier, with 3 Afghan soldiers, went missing June 30 in southeastern Afghanistan .
Pamphlets come in two versions: One has an appeal, the other has a warning .
Soldier apparently left outpost on his own with no means of defending himself .


(CNN) -- The U.S. military is promising action to address conditions in a barracks at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, after a soldier's father posted images on YouTube showing a building that he said "should be condemned." A soldier battles overflowing sewage in the Fort Bragg barracks shortly after coming home from Afghanistan. "This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell," Ed Frawley said of the building where his son, Sgt. Jeff Frawley, had to live upon his return this month from a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan. Frawley said Monday that Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Dick Cody called him to say he shares Frawley's anger and that "there's no excuse." Cody said he would not want his own sons or any troops to return to such conditions, Frawley said. Frawley's 10-minute video shows still photos from throughout the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust. Paint -- which Frawley said is lead-based -- is chipping. Ceiling tiles are missing. A broken drain pipe allows sewer gas into the building, while another one has tissues stuffed into it in an apparent effort to stop the gas from coming in. Photos from the communal bathroom show some of the most disgusting images. In one, a soldier stands in a sink to avoid what Frawley describes as 3 inches of sewage water that filled the floor when toilets overflowed.  Watch the run-down conditions that soldiers have been living in » At times, "sewage water backs up into the sinks in the lower floors of these barracks," Frawley said in his narration. "The soldiers have to tell one another who's taking a shower when they turn the sinks on, or the person taking the shower gets scalded with hot water." Frawley said the Army promised to have new barracks ready when his son's unit, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, returned. "The conditions depicted in Mr. Frawley's video are appalling and unacceptable, and we are addressing the concerns he expressed," said Maj. Tom Earnhardt, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne, in a written statement. "Our paratroopers are our most valuable resource, and our commitment is to their well-being. Our actions now must represent the best we can do for our soldiers." "Fundamentally, we acknowledge these conditions are not adequate by today's standards," he added. "The images in Mr. Frawley's video are alarming, and our soldiers deserve the best conditions we can provide as an institution."  Watch an interview with Frawley » Officials at the base invited the media into the barracks and acknowledged that there are serious problems. Earnhardt said the building had been mostly unused during the 15 months Frawley and his unit were away. Fort Bragg has a massive construction project under way to create housing, but it is behind schedule, Earnhardt said. The buildings used by the 82nd Airborne are about 50 years old, he said. Earnhardt said the incident with the overflowing toilet took place the first day after the unit's return and has been addressed. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is among government officials who have responded to the video. In a written statement, she called living conditions in the barracks "unacceptable" and said the situation "must be immediately corrected." Ed Frawley said he is "hoping no one gets fired. I just want to see it get fixed." "They have the slowest contractors in the world," he said, adding that people in jail live "in better conditions." E-mail to a friend CNN's Mike Phelan, Sarah Carden and Mary Lynn Ryan contributed to this report.

what did the video show
what does the video shows?
what the soldier's father says?
what was in the picture
what did the father say

Answer: still photos from throughout the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust.

Answer: a building that he said "should be condemned."

Answer: "This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell,"

Answer: the building, which appears to be falling apart and filled with mold and rust.

Answer: "This is embarrassing. It's disgusting. It makes me mad as hell,"

Summary:
Video shows moldy, rusty building with paint chipping; broken drain pipe .
Picture: Soldier in a sink to prevent 3 inches of sewage water from overflowing .
"This is embarrassing. It's disgusting," soldier's father says .
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Dick Cody: "There's no excuse" for conditions .


(CNN) -- The U.S. military said it is investigating claims from Syria that U.S. helicopters based in Iraq killed eight people and wounded another Sunday in an attack inside Syria's territory Sunday. A U.S. army Apache helicopter flies over southern Baghdad, Iraq. Syria's state news agency SANA said four U.S. helicopters crossed the border and struck a farm about 8 kilometers (5 miles) inside Syria before returning to Iraqi airspace. The raid occurred about 4:45 p.m. (1345 GMT). The helicopters hit a civilian building under construction on the farm, killing a father and his four sons, a married couple and another man, SANA said. Syria's deputy foreign minister contacted the U.S. embassies in Damascus and Baghdad, SANA said. Military officials are investigating the claims, Sgt. Brooke Murphy, a U.S. military spokeswoman, told CNN. "Unfortunately, we cannot confirm anything at the moment," she said. The attack occurred near the town of Al-Bukamal, which is home to a Red Crescent camp for Iraqi refugees. The town is across the border from the Iraqi city of Qaim, which has been a major route for Sunni Arab fighters battling U.S. troops in Iraq.  Watch CNN's Cal Perry explain the implications of the possible attack » Syria has said it has made efforts to secure the 600-km desert border, which is marked largely by a sand wall. But Maj. Gen. John Kelly, the U.S. commander in western Iraq's sprawling Anbar province, told reporters last week that much of the border remains "uncontrolled." "We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement, not much, through Anbar, because of our activities out there," Kelly said. But he said Iraqi intelligence believes al Qaeda operatives and others "live pretty openly on the Syrian side, and periodically we know that they try to come across." Syria demanded Iraq's government "immediately investigate this serious violation" and bar U.S. forces from striking Syria from its territory. The Syrian government summoned U.S. and Iraqi diplomats to the Foreign Ministry in Damascus to condemn the attack, SANA reported. CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report, Nada Husseini, Mike Mount and Cal Perry contributed to this report.

How many SANA says helicopters from Iraq?

How many helicopters from Iraq crossed the border into Syria?

Who were killed near the Iraq-Syria border?

How many helicopters crossed border about 5 miles into Syria?

Answer: four

Answer: four

Answer: eight people

Answer: U.S. military

Answer: helicopters based in

Answer: Syria's

Answer: Damascus

Answer: four

Summary:
State news agency says 3 men, 1 woman, 4 children killed near Iraq-Syria border .
SANA says 4 helicopters from Iraq crossed border about 5 miles into Syria, hit farm .
Syrian government summons U.S., Iraqi diplomats to Foreign Ministry in Damascus .
U.S. Military says it is investigating claims, cannot confirm anything right now .


(CNN) -- The U.S., European Union and international security organizations Friday called for an end to fighting between Georgia and militant separatists that has dragged in Russian forces. Russia's Channel 1 shows heavy tanks purported to be on their way to South Ossetia. President George Bush and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict in Georgia, the White House confirmed. Both men were attending the opening of the Summer Olympics in the Chinese capital and spoke during a luncheon hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao. White House spokesman Tony Fratto did not provide any additional details. But Putin, according to his spokesman, said: "There are lots of volunteers being gathered in the region, and it's very hard to withhold them from taking part. A real war is going on." White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said: "I want to reiterate on [President Bush's] behalf that the United States supports Georgia's territorial integrity and we call for an immediate cease fire. "We urge all parties, Georgians, South Ossetians and Russians to de-escalate the tension and avoid conflict. We are working on mediation efforts to secure a cease fire and we are urging the parties to restart their dialogue." The U.S. military was also reviewing plans for the possible evacuation of the more than 2,000 of its citizens in the Republic of Georgia, two military officials said Friday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his counterparts in the United States and Germany and the European Union's foreign policy chief that Georgia was the aggressor and should immediately withdraw its troops from South Ossetia. The EU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are sending envoys to Georgia to secure a cease-fire, but a senior U.S. State Department official said the United States would only send a representative after a cease-fire is in place. The European Union said it was working with other parties "towards a ceasefire in order to prevent further escalation of this conflict." EU spokeswoman Christina Gallach told CNN: "We think it is not acceptable to see these scenes of bloodshed and destruction." OSCE chairman-in-office, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb, said: "The intense fighting in the South Ossetian conflict zone risks escalation into a full-fledged war. "War would have a devastating impact for the entire region. I urge the Georgians, South Ossetians and Russians to cease fire, end military action and stop further escalation. We need to pull back from the brink of a full-fledged war." NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer issued a statement Friday saying he was seriously concerned about the recent events in the region, and he called on all sides to end armed clashes and begin direct talks.  Watch more about NATO's attempts to help Georgia » Carmen Romero, a NATO spokeswoman in Brussels, said NATO was in regular contact with Georgia's president and was talking to Russia. Britain also urged all sides to bring an immediate end to the violence. "We are monitoring developments. We urge an immediate cease-fire in the fighting in South Ossetia and for a resumption of direct dialogue between all parties." Georgia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, is now looking west and has ambitions of joining NATO. South Ossetia has longed for and sometimes fought for independence since the 1920s when the Soviet Government made it an autonomous region within Georgia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Georgia broke away from Moscow in 1991 and South Ossetia voted overwhelmingly for its own independence. Violence has been mounting in the region in recent days, with sporadic clashes between Georgian forces and South Ossetian separatists. Georgian troops launched new attacks in South Ossetia late Thursday after a top government official said a unilateral cease-fire offer was met with separatist artillery fire. An emergency session of the U.N. Security Council on Friday discussed the dramatic escalation of violence. The session ended Friday morning without a statement about the fighting.

Which country has ambitions of joining NATO?

Answer: Friday

Answer: Georgia and militant separatists that has dragged in Russian forces.

Answer: attempts to help Georgia

Answer: U.S., European Union and international security organizations

Answer: Georgia,

Summary:
International organizations call for end to fighting in breakaway Georgia region .
Fighting in South Ossetia escalated Friday; Russian tanks moved to the region .
President Bush: The United States supports Georgia's territorial integrity .
Georgia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, now has ambitions of joining NATO .


(CNN) -- The U.S.-led war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has been a tough slog, a nearly eight-year conflict replete with gloom. U.S. Staff Sergeant Robert Brunner secures an area in the Baraki Barak district of Logar Province on August 22. Lately a lot of the news from Afghanistan seems particularly grim for the United States and its allies. More U.S. troops have been killed there in August than in any month since the war began. There are indications that more U.S. troops could be deployed to the country. The Afghan presidential elections this month were rife with charges of fraud. Corruption plagues the political system. The poppy trade is flourishing. And, in the words of the top U.S. military official, Adm. Mike Mullen, the "Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated." Support for the war hit a new low among Americans, a CNN poll found this month. So why do the United States and its allies continue to pour money and troops into Afghanistan? "The importance of the place is pretty substantial," said Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. Al Qaeda has used that part of the world as a sanctuary, he said. Neighboring Pakistan has been serious about vanquishing the militants there and that helps the fight against militants in Afghanistan. A victory for al Qaeda in a conflict there would represent an important public relations triumph for the militants, he said. He understands why Americans are displeased but said people need to feel that progress is being made in the region. "We haven't been winning for eight years," O'Hanlon said. "They want to know why." U.S. President Barack Obama has tackled the question head-on. The al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan represent an urgent threat to the United States, he said in March, just as they were when al Qaeda attacked the United States in 2001, when the then-ruling Taliban harbored the terror network. "Many people in the United States -- and many in partner countries that have sacrificed so much -- have a simple question: What is our purpose in Afghanistan?" the president said. "After so many years, they ask, why do our men and women still fight and die there? And they deserve a straightforward answer. "So let me be clear: Al Qaeda and its allies -- the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks -- are in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "Multiple intelligence estimates have warned that al Qaeda is actively planning attacks on the United States homeland from its safe haven in Pakistan. And if the Afghan government falls to the Taliban -- or allows al Qaeda to go unchallenged -- that country will again be a base for terrorists who want to kill as many of our people as they possibly can." The questions have come up in Britain, too, where the deaths of 15 British troops in July stirred outrage and criticism of Britain's strategy in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gordon Brown told his countrymen that British involvement in that country now is as crucial as it was after the 2001 terrorist attacks. "In 2001 the case for intervention in Afghanistan was to take on a global terrorist threat and prevent terrorist attacks in Britain and across the world," he said. "In 2009 the overriding reason for our continued involvement is the same -- to take on, at its source, the terrorist threat, and prevent attacks here and elsewhere." Obama said the Afghan insurgency "feeds instability" in Pakistan and Pakistan extremists have the proven ability to undermine the Afghan government. He cited the importance of confronting the heroin trade that finances the insurgency. Obama has listed several objectives in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, such as promoting an accountable Afghan government and self-reliant security forces, developing a stable government and strong economy in Pakistan, and disrupting terror networks. Pakistani security forces have been battling militants in the northwestern part of the country, and drone strikes thought to be conducted by the United States have been carried out from Afghanistan against militants in Pakistan. "The future

who give specific details of this
how many deaths
what has hit a new low

Answer: Barack Obama

Answer: 15

Answer: Support for the war

Summary:
Number of U.S. military deaths in August stands at 46, highest monthly toll .
Support for the war has hit a new low among Americans, says CNN poll .
Among allies, political leaders have had to defend sending troops to Afghanistan .
U.S. military: Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated."


(CNN) -- The United Nations is urging countries to invest in green jobs working with "sustainable forest management" to address the growing problem of unemployment worldwide. A deforested area appears in a rain forest in Brazil's Para state  in October. At least 10 million such jobs could be created, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization will say in a report to be released this week. The report does not mention any countries but is aimed at "mainly regions with substantial rural unemployment and degraded land areas," said C.T.S. Nair, chief economist in the U.N. Forestry Department and one of the authors of the report. While all countries could benefit from investing in these green jobs, Nair said, Asia and Africa -- and to some extent Latin America -- could benefit the most. India, China and almost all countries in Africa stand to benefit, he added. The United Nations said it already is seeing indications that some countries -- such as the United States, India and South Korea -- are interested and taking action to invest in sustainable forest management by making it part of their economic stimulus plans. Sustainable forestry aims to prevent depletion of forests by managing them and making sure their use does not interfere with natural benefits or the local environment. For example, in forests where wood is being removed, the United Nations is suggesting that people be hired to monitor and manage how much wood is taken out to ensure the forest does not become depleted and can grow back fully. Managers also would make sure the wood harvest wouldn't affect biodiversity and the water supply. The report will be discussed and analyzed next week at the U.N. Committee on Forestry meeting in Rome, Italy. The Food and Agriculture Organization has designated next week as World Forest Week.

What is the goal of sustainable forestry?

What does sustainable forestry aim to prevent?

What kind of jobs should countries invest in?

Which continents could benefit the most from green jobs?

What type of jobs support sustainable forest management?

What continents stand to gain most from these jobs?

Answer: prevent depletion of forests by managing them

Answer: depletion of forests

Answer: next week at the U.N. Committee on Forestry meeting in Rome, Italy.

Answer: green

Answer: Asia and Africa

Answer: green

Answer: Asia and Africa

Answer: in Rome, Italy.

Summary:
U.N. says countries should invest in green jobs for "sustainable forest management"
Sustainable forestry aims to prevent depletion of forests .
Asia and Africa could benefit the most from such jobs, report co-author says .
Report will be discussed next week at meeting in Italy .


(CNN) -- The United Nations' refugee agency said Tuesday that more Africans have fled poverty and conflict on the continent during the first 10 months of this year than in all of 2007. A woman who has been displaced by the current fighting in the Congo. The bulk of the more than 96,000 African refugees headed to Yemen and Italy, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office. The rest sought refuge in Malta, Greece, Spain and the Canary Islands, the agency said. Last weekend, at least 60 refugees died en route to Yemen, a frequent destination for Somali and Ethiopian refugees, according to Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF. UNHCR said most of those who died were forced overboard in deep water off Yemen's coast by smugglers who demanded more money than the $100 they paid for the journey. "Those who did not or could not pay extra were severely beaten by the smugglers," UNHCR said in a news release Tuesday. "Up to 40 -- mainly Ethiopians -- [were] thrown overboard despite their pleas for mercy." Andreas Koutepas, MSF's field coordinator in southern Yemen, said such a high number of refugee deaths in a short period of time "is not usual at all." "For the whole of September until now, we've had 27 dead and now suddenly we reach this number," Koutepas told CNN from MSF's base in Ahwar, Yemen. "We are quite shocked here." About 30,000 African refugees arrived on boats on Italy's shores during the first 10 months of this year compared with 19,900 refugees last year, according to UNHCR. In Malta, an estimated 2,600 boat people arrived in the first nine months of this year from North Africa, compared with 1,800 last year, UNHCR said.. The agency said that from January to October this year, 509 of those attempting to make the journey to Italy and Malta died, compared with last year's death toll of 471. More than 38,000 people have made the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen during the first 10 months of this year, a "considerable increase from the 29,500 who made the same journey during the whole of last year," UNHCR said Tuesday. However, the death toll on that route has remained lower so far this year: more than 600 have died or disappeared en route to Yemen compared to 1,400 killed last year. In late September, at least 52 Somalis died when the boat smuggling them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen broke down, and they were left adrift with no food or water for 18 days, according to the U.N. Many are fleeing the war in Somalia, but Koutepas of MSF told CNN on Monday that he has noticed a recent increase in the number of refugees from Ethiopia. "It used to be 10 percent of total arrival, and now it's around 50-50," he said. Yemen is a common destination for Somalis fleeing economic hardship and war because of its proximity. It is also an attractive location because Somalis receive automatic refugee status in the fellow Muslim country. New smuggling routes, including some based out of Djibouti -- which lies north of Somalia and is much closer to Yemen -- have also led to the increase in refugees, according to the UNHCR. But according to the Yemen Post, Yemen is just a stopping point for most of the refugees, who then travel on to the wealthier Persian Gulf states or Europe and the United States. Earlier this year, Yemen's coast guard stepped up patrols of its coastline in an attempt to deter the smugglers. Some of the smuggling boats seized by Yemen's coast guard are given to Somali fishermen who suffered losses in the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. As part of a $19 million operation, UNHCR operates shelters and reception centers for the refugees in Yemen and has increased its efforts to discourage people from making the illegal crossing to Yemen. It has also sponsored training programs for coast guard personnel and other officials. MSF said the plight of the refugees has

What have more Africans fled this year than in 2007?

Answer: Yemen and Italy,

Answer: fled poverty and conflict

Answer: 96,000

Answer: 96,000

Answer: poverty and conflict

Answer: Yemen and Italy,

Answer: poverty and conflict

Summary:
More Africans have already fled poverty and conflict so far this year than in 2007 .
Bulk of the more than 96,000 African refugees headed to Yemen and Italy, U.N. says .
Rest sought refuge in Malta, Greece, Spain and the Canary Islands .


(CNN) -- The United States and Russia were absent Wednesday as representatives from countries from around the world gathered to sign a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs. French troops examine cluster bombs collected after the Lebanon conflict of 2006. Some 111 countries were due to adopt the Convention on Cluster Munitions at an all-day signing ceremony in Oslo, Norway. But four of the biggest cluster bomb makers -- Russia, China, Israel and the United States, which claims the devices are a vital part of its defense strategy, stayed away. Cluster Munition Coalition activists behind the agreement expressed disappointment at the absence of the big four, but insisted it wouldn't undermine the treaty as it passes into international law. "Obviously it's very disappointing that those countries aren't here, but at the same time, the strong message that this treaty sends will make it very clear to those countries that these are unacceptable weapons and inappropriate in future conflicts," CMC Co-Chair Richard Moyes told CNN from Oslo. "The treaty and the stigma that it builds will make it practically and politically much more difficult for them to use these weapons again in the future," Moyes added about the absent countries. "Many of their partners will no longer be allowed to use these weapons, and clearly recognize these weapons as far too costly in humanitarian terms." Cluster munitions, which break apart in flight to scatter hundreds of smaller bomblets, are described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a "persistent humanitarian problem." Most of a device's bomblets are meant to explode on impact, but many do not. Credible estimates show the weapons fail between 10 and 40 percent of the time, leaving civilians at risk of harm from unexploded ordnance, the ICRC says. In addition to calling for a total, immediate ban of the weapons, the Oslo accord calls for strong standards to protect those injured. It urges that contaminated areas be cleaned up quickly and weapons immediately destroyed, the CMC said. The agreement requires the destruction of stockpiles of the weapons within eight years, said Thomas Nash, coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Earlier this year, a U.S. State Department representative called it "an absolute moral obligation" to rid a battlefield of unexploded ordnance after battle, but the insists cluster munitions are an important part of its defense strategy that can be regulated post-conflict. During the 34-day war in Lebanon in 2006, the United Nations estimated that Israel dropped 4 million bomblets, 1 million of which may not have exploded, according to the ICRC. More than 250 civilians and bomb-disposal operators have been killed or injured by them in southern Lebanon since the war ended. Cluster bombs were also used in the 1999 war in Kosovo. In more than 20 countries, according to the ICRC, cluster bombs have created lasting "no-go" areas, rendering them as dangerous as minefields. Laos is the most affected country. Millions of bomblets dropped during the Vietnam War continue to kill civilians more than three decades later.

What did Russian not sign?
Who makes bombs?
What does the US insist?
Who was absent from the signing?
Where are they made?
Who makes cluster bombs?
Who was absent from the treaty?
Who are the top producers?

Answer: a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs.

Answer: Russia, China, Israel and the United States,

Answer: cluster munitions are an important part of its defense strategy that can be regulated post-conflict.

Answer: United States and Russia

Answer: Russia, China, Israel and the United States,

Answer: Russia, China, Israel and the United States,

Answer: United States and Russia

Answer: Russia, China, Israel

Summary:
United States, Russia absent from signing of cluster bomb ban treaty signing .
U.S., Russia, China, Israel are top four cluster bomb producers .
U.S. insists the devices are important part of its defense strategy .


(CNN) -- The United States are aiming to win the Solheim Cup for a fourth successive occasion when they face Europe in the 12th edition of the women's team golf tournament, which begins at the Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Ireland on Friday.

The competition, an exact replica of the men's Ryder Cup, begins on Friday morning with four foursomes, where the players alternate playing the same ball, before the afternoon's four fourballs -- which sees each player playing their own ball.

Saturday's two sessions then follow exactly the same format, before Sunday's 12 individual singles, which will determine the winners.

With a total of 28 points up for grabs, the winning team is the first to reach 14 1/2 points, with the Americans securing 16-12 triumphs in Illinois in 2009 and Sweden in 2007.

Alison Nicholas, who is captaining Europe for a second time following their 2009 defeat, has paired Maria Hjorth and Anna Nordqvist in the opening foursomes match -- with the Swedish duo lining up against Michelle Wie and Cristie Kerr.

The English duo of Karen Stupples and Melissa Reid face Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome in the second of the foursomes, while the third sees veteran Scot Catriona Matthew and Spanish rookie Azahara Munoz against Stacy Lewis and Angela Stanford.

And Friday's morning session is completed by Suzann Pettersen of Norway and Sweden's Sophie Gustafson facing Brittany Lang and Juli Inkster -- who becomes the oldest-ever Solheim Cup player at the age of 51.

The United States lead Europe 8-3 overall and both Nicholas and her American counterpart Rosie Jones are aware of the need to get a good start in the competition.

Nicholas told the official Solheim Cup website: "I think I have a good blend in my team and I am very happy with the way the draw has worked out.

"Catriona, for instance, is a great leader and gets on so well with everyone. She has lots of experience and I think she will make a great pairing with Azahara. They are both steady players."

The United States come into the match as favorites to retain their title, with four of the world's top 10 amongst their ranks.

"I've put Michelle and Cristie out first because they are both good leaders," Jones told the official website.

"They have played a lot together and had success. I want them to get out there and put up a point."

She continued: "I've got heavy hitters in every match. I have a master plan and I'm going to stick to it as much as possible. But you have to wait and see how the matches go and maybe adjust."

European team: (number of previous Solheim Cup appearances in brackets)

Melissa Reid (Eng) (-)

Laura Davies (Eng) (11)

Karen Stupples (Eng) (1)

Suzann Pettersen (Nor) (5)

Sophie Gustafson (Swe) (7)

Maria Hjorth (Swe) (4)

Anna Nordqvist (Swe) (1)

Caroline Hedwall (Swe) (-)

Catriona Matthew (Sco) (4)

Azahara Munoz (Sp) (-)

Sandra Gal (Ger) (-)

Christel Boeljon (Net) (-)

United States team:

Michelle Wie (1)

Julie Inkster (8)

Cristie Kerr (5)

Paula Creamer (3)

Angela Stanford (3)

Brittany Lang (1)

Brittany Lincicome (2)

Morgan Pressel (2)

Christina Kim (2)

Vicky Hurst (-)

Ryann O'Toole (-)

Stacy Lewis (-)

How many times have the American women won?

What happens at the Killeen Castle resort?

When is the 12th edition of golf's Solheim Cup?

When does the 12th edition of the Solheim Cup start?

Answer: win the Solheim Cup

Answer: fourth successive occasion

Answer: Solheim Cup

Answer: Friday.

Answer: Solheim Cup

Answer: Killeen Castle Golf Resort

Answer: Killeen Castle Golf Resort in Ireland

Answer: Friday.

Summary:
Europe and the United States begin the 12th edition of golf's Solheim Cup on Friday .
The American women are aiming to win the title for a fourth successive time this weekend .
The action starts at the Killeen Castle Resort in Ireland with the opening fourballs .


(CNN) -- The United States believes that some members of Pakistan's spy service provided support for the deadly bombing last month of India's Embassy in Afghanistan, a U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN Friday. The Indian Embassy in Kabul was badly damaged in the July 7 bombing. Pakistan strongly denied the allegation Friday, but Afghanistan and India have previously accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack which killed 58 people including an Indian defense attache. The official told CNN the evidence was not strong enough to draw a firm conclusion but there is a "strong suspicion" the Taliban was behind the attack, and that some unspecified aid came from Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI. The official would not say how the intelligence was gathered, but he said the evidence was presented to senior Pakistani officials by a top CIA official, Deputy Director Stephen Kappes. The New York Times, sourcing U.S. government officials, reported Friday that the United States intercepted communications between Pakistani intelligence officers and militants who carried out the attack in Kabul. Pakistani Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the report "unfounded and malicious" and an "effort to malign the ISI," -- Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence. The bombing killed 58 people. "The ISI is a very disciplined organization, manned by military officials. It has played the most crucial role in the war on terror and apprehended members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and those linked to the attack on mainland America on 9/11," Abbas said. Abbas said "despite our insistence, no evidence has been provided to us about these allegations." Afghanistan claims Pakistan informally supports militants operating from havens in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions near the porous 1,500-mile border the two countries share. Earlier this month, Afghan lawmakers directly accused Pakistan's ISI in connection with a string of attacks in Afghanistan. Among these were the Kabul strike and an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai at an April 27 military ceremony. A senior Afghan government official said the charges were based on phone intercepts of conversations of plotters in Kabul with ISI officers in Pakistan. A U.S. government official, who would not comment on the specifics of the New York Times story, said, "We've long noted the troubling reports of a relationship between the ISI and the Taliban, and the incident at the Indian Embassy seems to fit the pattern of those reports." India has previously blamed militants from Pakistan for the July 7 car bombing at the embassy. Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan's high commissioner to Britain, and Hamid Gul, former head of the ISI, firmly denied the agency's involvement in the attack.  Watch Pakistan deny the allegations » "There seems to be a bit of sensationalism in this story," Hasan said. He said the government has regularly denied claims that ISI is involved with militants in Afghanistan and noted that Pakistan has been cooperating in the fight against terrorism. Gul said the claims are "preposterous" and "totally false," and cautioned that the CIA has been proven to be wrong about intelligence in the past. The New York Times report also sourced the U.S. officials as saying "there was new information showing that members of the Pakistani intelligence service were increasingly providing militants with details about the American campaign against them, in some cases allowing militants to avoid American missile strikes in Pakistan's tribal areas." Pakistan and Afghanistan have a tumultuous past. During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, religious schools in Pakistan helped train fighters who battled the Soviets. After the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 1996 and imposed fundamentalist rule, Pakistan was one of the few countries that recognized the regime diplomatically. It dropped its support after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Washington and New York. Pakistan also has a troubled history with India, and in the past India has accused the ISI of supporting militant separatists in Indian-administered Kashmir, which has been the root of two wars between them.

Who denies it spy agence helped plan bombing?

Which country's agents where involved in the attack?

What was the number killed in the bombing?

Who said this was an 'effort to malign the ISI'?

Who does U.S. intelligence point to in attack?

Who accused Pakistan in a role in the attack?

What did Maj. Gen Athar Abbas say about the report?

Answer: Pakistan

Answer: Pakistan

Answer: Pakistan's

Answer: 58

Answer: Pakistani Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas

Answer: some members of Pakistan's spy service

Answer: Afghanistan and India

Answer: "unfounded and malicious" and an "effort to malign the ISI,"

Summary:
U.S. intelligence points to Pakistan agents involved in attack on Indian Embassy .
Pakistan denies its spy agency helped plan bombing that killed 58 .
Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the report was an "effort to malign the ISI"
India and Afghanistan both accuse Pakistan of role in the attack .


(CNN) -- The United States shares the blame for Mexican drug trafficking and the attendant violence that has killed thousands in the past year alone, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Mexico for a series of meetings on the drug crisis and other issues. "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said en route to Mexico City, Mexico, according to pool reports. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. So, yes, I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility." Clinton will meet with President Felipe Calderon and other Mexican leaders to discuss bilateral strategies for the drug war. But her aides said she will also make an effort to show that the U.S.-Mexican relationship is not restricted to matters related to drug violence. As Clinton arrived in the Mexican capital Wednesday, a day after the United States unveiled its plan to improve security along the southern border, the United States' investment in the drug war emerged as a predominant theme.  Watch Clinton acknowledge the U.S. role in Mexico's drug war » She emphasized that the United States has already appropriated $700 million in aid to Mexico, and Congress wants to see how the administration is applying it before sending more. "We are going to demonstrate that we are spending it in an accountable and effective manner that will assist the Mexicans" in law enforcement and justice, she said. The United States needs to stop the flow of guns, body armor and night-vision goggles to the cartels, Clinton said. "When you go into a gunfight or are trying to round up these bad guys and they have military-style equipment that is much better than yours, you start out at a disadvantage. Since we know the vast majority of that comes from our country, we are going to help stop it from getting there in the first place." Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the United States, called the Obama administration's willingness to accept co-responsibility "a very encouraging sign."  Watch Sarukhan share his thoughts on the U.S. move » "I think that the fact that the Obama administration is seized with the importance of this issue is a clear indication that they understand that, to defang the drug syndicates in Mexico, we have to eliminate two of their most powerful sources -- bulk cash from the United States into Mexico and illicit weapons." In most instances, local and state police "are outgunned by the drug syndicates," which has necessitated the use of federal forces, he said. The Mexican army arrested a man Mexico calls a top drug cartel chief and four of his bodyguards, the government announced Wednesday. Hector Huerta Rios, also known as "La Burra" or "El Junior," was arrested Tuesday in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, outside Monterrey in Nuevo Leon state, a little more than 100 miles from Mexico's border with the United States. The Obama administration announced a crackdown on border violence and on the smuggling of cash and weapons into Mexico on Tuesday, a step that could mark an end to a nasty blame game over where responsibility for the violence lies. Clinton called the fighting "a terrible law-enforcement problem" in U.S. cities along the Mexican border, but said it does not yet pose a major threat to overall U.S. security. "This is more about trying to act proactively," she said in an interview with CNN's Jill Dougherty in Mexico City. "We need to help them, or we'll see the results in our own country. "[Traffickers] are distributing these drugs in our country. They're causing all kinds of criminal activity in our country. It has an effect on us, so we want to prevent it from going any further." Clinton will visit a Mexican police base to show U.S. support for the nation's embattled police force. And she will travel to Monterrey, a thriving industrial town, to

Who said fighting does not pose a threat to US security?

Does the fighting pose a major threat to U.S. security?

What does Clinton say fuels the drug trade?

Answer: Clinton

Answer: Arturo Sarukhan,

Answer: "Our insatiable demand for illegal

Answer: the flow of guns, body armor and night-vision goggles

Answer: not yet

Answer: "Our insatiable demand for illegal

Summary:
NEW: Clinton says fighting does not pose major threat to U.S. security -- yet .
Mexico's U.S. ambassador says willingness to share an "encouraging sign"
"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," Clinton says in Mexico .
U.S. needs to stop flow of guns, body armor, night-vision goggles to cartels, she says .


(CNN) -- The United States should use the "utmost caution" as it makes the Asia-Pacific region a key focus of its newly announced military strategy, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary published Friday.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama and top defense officials unveiled a new U.S. defense strategy that focuses heavily on the Asia-Pacific region, a fast-growing economic powerhouse with numerous potential flashpoints that the administration has identified as crucial to U.S. interests.

While resulting in a leaner force, the new strategy also calls for the U.S. to increase its military's "institutional weight and focus on enhanced presence, power projection, and deterrence in Asia-Pacific," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday.

While welcoming a peaceful U.S. role in the region, Xinhua's commentary Friday warned the United States against acting like a "bull in a china shop."

"The U.S. role, if fulfilled with a positive attitude and free from a Cold War-style zero-sum mentality, will not only be conducive to regional stability and prosperity, but be good for China, which needs a peaceful environment to continue its economic development," the Xinhua editorial said.

"However, while boosting its military presence in the Asia-Pacific, the United States should abstain from flexing its muscles, as this won't help solve regional disputes."

The new defense strategy, which still lacks many specifics, is meant to pare U.S. defense spending by at least $487 billion over the next decade and drops a long-standing doctrine calling for the ability to fight to simultaneous ground wars.

The result will be a more "agile, flexible, ready-to-deploy, innovative and technologically advanced" force prepared to counter terrorists, rogue states and the threat of nuclear weapons worldwide, Panetta said Thursday.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the focus on the Asia-Pacific region is crucial.

"The strategy talks about a shift to the future," he said Thursday. "And all of the trends -- demographic trends, geopolitical trends, economic trends and military trends -- are shifting toward the Pacific."

With U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, the focus on the Asia-Pacific region has become a key theme of the administration's foreign policy commentary in recent months.

In November, Obama toured the region to highlight its economic and strategic importance to U.S. interests and announced plans to eventually station a task force of up to 2,500 Marines in Australia

"The United States is a Pacific power, and we are here to stay," he said at the time, pledging that the coming defense cuts would not affect the country's military posture in the region.

He reiterated that pledge Thursday.

"As I made clear in Australia, we will be strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region,," he said.

What does make Asia-Pacific a key focus?

Answer: its newly announced military strategy,

Answer: a new U.S. defense strategy

Answer: military strategy,

Answer: new U.S. defense strategy

Answer: "The U.S. role, if fulfilled with a positive attitude and free

Summary:
U.S. officials announced new defense strategy this week .
It makes the Asia-Pacific region a key focus for U.S. military power .
Xinhua editorial says U.S. "should abstain from flexing its muscles" in the region .
"All the trends" are pointing toward the Pacific as strategic focus, top U.S. general says .