President Barack Obama speaks during a joint press conference with Indian PM at White House, 24 Nov 2009

US - AFGHANISTAN:  U.S. President Barack Obama says he intends to "finish the job" in Afghanistan and will soon announce his decision on U.S. troop levels for the war there. President Obama said Tuesday at the White House that he will explain his decision to the American people after this week's Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. The president says it is in U.S. strategic interests to make sure al-Qaida and its allies cannot operate effectively in the region and Afghanistan's stability is important to that process. Mr. Obama held his final meeting on a new Afghanistan war strategy with members of his national security team Monday.

Former Tuol Sleng prison chief Kaing Khek Iev.

CAMBODIA - UN TRIAL:  Prosecutors in the trial of former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav -- known as Duch -- have demanded that he be sentenced to 40 years in jail for his role in the killing of thousands of Cambodians. Co-prosecutor William Smith told the U.N.-backed tribunal on Wednesday that Duch spread terror across Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge's 1975-1979 rule. Smith said Duch should be held accountable for what he called his "unrelenting brutality" at S-21 prison in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh.

Members of the media try to identify their colleages who were dumped together with three vehicles along the hillside grave in Ampatuan, Maguindanao Province, 25 Nov 2009

PHILIPPINES - MASSACRE:  Philippine officials say the death toll from an election-related massacre in the country's south has risen to 57. Authorities found 11 more bodies Wednesday buried in mass graves following Monday's attack on a campaign convoy in Maguindanao province on Mindanao island. The convoy was carrying journalists and supporters of a would-be candidate for provincial governor when about 100 gunmen ambushed it. Officials say at least 18 journalists were killed, making it the deadliest attack on the media ever recorded anywhere.

A pedestrian crosses a footbridge over early afternoon traffic on a smoggy day in Beijing, 17 Sep 2009

CHINA - CLIMATE CHANGE:  China says it will seek binding pollution targets when world delegates attend an international climate change conference next month in Copenhagen. One of China's key climate change negotiators, Li Gao, says Beijing will not accept that the Copenhagen summit ends with what he called an empty political declaration. December's summit was originally slated to be a gathering that would deliver a new treaty to replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. However, negotiations to reach a new agreement on carbon emissions -- which scientists say are the chief cause of global warming -- have been frustrated by a rift between developed and developing nations.

President Barack Obama (r) wecomes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India during State Arrival Ceremony in the East Room of the White House, 24 Nov 2009

US - INDIA:  U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. partnership with India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century, as he hosted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House on Tuesday. The two leaders pledged to work together to strengthen the global economy, curb climate change, limit nuclear proliferation, and fight terrorism. President Obama accepted Mr. Singh's invitation to visit India next year. Both Mr. Singh and President Obama expressed a need for political stability in South Asia.

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba, the black cube seen at center, inside the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, 09 Dec. 2008

MUSLIMS - HAJJ:  Muslims from around the world are in the Saudi city of Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. At least two and a half million people are expected to take part in the annual ritual as authorities work to overcome warnings of swine flu and safety concerns. Disease experts say crowded conditions during the Hajj make the kingdom a prime location for the massive spread of the H1N1 virus. Saudi officials began a swine flu vaccination campaign ahead of the Hajj rites.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Oct 17 2009 file photo)

IRAN - LATAM:  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Venezuela on the latest stop of a regional tour aimed at boosting ties with supporters of Iran's controversial nuclear program. Mr. Ahmadinejad arrived in Caracas late Tuesday and was welcomed at the airport by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro. The Iranian president and his Venezuelan ally, President Hugo Chavez, are due to meet Wednesday. Both leaders are known for their anti-American rhetoric. They are expected to discuss business cooperation between their two nations.

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