http://192.168.2.6/english/1117/20061113VOA.mp3

It's 15:00 universal time, and here is news from the Voice of America.
From the VOA news center in Washinnton. I'm Janine Herbst.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is calling for complete/ reshuffling of his cabinet but he didn't give any details of the changes he wants to make. Meanwhile in violence today a suicide bomb attack killed at least 35 people, wounding another 60 at a police recruitment center in Baghdad. Most of those killed were young men waiting to join the force. Iraqi police also report car bombs and roadside bomb blasts in Baghdad killed at least 10 people today.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says defending Washington's veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning last week's Israeli attack in Gaza that killed 19 Palestinian civilians. The resolution condemns Israel's military offensive in particular a strike that killed those 19 Palestinians which were mostly women and children. Israel has expressed regret for the deaths and says that the strike was a mistake caused by unspecified technical errors.

Vietnam has reopened (or has opened rather) a weeklong meeting of officials representating the / 21 economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group as called APEC. The meeting culminates with the summit of leaders whose economies account for about / half of the world's trade. VOA's Luis Ramirez is reporting from Hanoi that issues range from expanding free trade and cutting bureaucracy to crack down on terrorist financing.
On the agenda are hard issues that leaders need to tackle to keep their economies competitive. Informal meetings among senior officials of APEC's 21 economies kicked off Sunday with Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Lee Cong Phung calling on delegates to do more to bring down tradebarriers and ensure that poor nations also benefit from freer trade.
"I hope that at this meeting we could reach common agreements and solution to ensure the success of the whole APEC year 2006. I'm therefore glad to call up on you to show flexibility."
APEC organizers hope the discussions will help revive World Trade Organization negotiations stalled because of disputes between richer and poorer nations mainly over agriculture subsidies. Meeting Sunday also focused on tackling the pirating of copyrighted goods, a practice the United States and others in the group/ say costing their manufacturers hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Luis Ramirez VOA news Hanoi.

Protestors in Bagladash set fire/ on buses and trains in and around Dhaka today during a transport blockade that's aimed at forcing electoral reforms. News reports indicate most commercial activity in Bagladash has been affected by these protests. Few vehicles could be seen on streets of Dhaka today but thousands of police are on duty. A fourteen party opposition alliance is calling for the removal of country's chief election commissioner before national elections next January.

United Nations humanitarian chief is in Southern Sudan for a meeting with an elusive leader of Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army trying to discuss humanitarian issues. VOA's Noel King has the story.
The Lord's Resistance Army has waged a 21-year rebellion against the Ugandan government in which thousands of people have died and more than a milion have been displaced. Rebel leader Joseph Kony has eluded capture by the Ugandan government for 2 decades. The International Criminal Court in the Hague wants Kony to stand trial for war crimes. UN Humanitarian Chief Jan Egeland travelled with a delegation that includes Southern Sudan's vice President Riek Machar to meet with Kony. The government of Southern Sudan has mediated the ceasefire between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Ugandan government. Peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA began in June but have stalled frequently. The rebels have said they will not sign a peace deal unless the charges from the International Criminal Court are dropped. Mr Egeland arrived in Sudan on Friday for visits to the Southern Sudanese capital of Juba and Sudan's embattled Darfur region. Noel King for VOA news, Khartum.

UN peace keeping troops have tightened security in the Democratic Republic of Congo a day after 4 people were killed in clashes between security forces and supporters of the presidential election challenger vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba. Security forces say the city is calm today as UN troops guard Mr. Bemba's offices and residence that was the scene of Saturday's fighting. Troops loyal to Mr Banba say they were fighting police as well as members of the Republican guard. Those members are loyal to PresidentJoseph Kabila.

I'm from Washington. I'm Janine Herbst. VOA news. More news on the internet.