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It is 15:30 universal time. I'm Steve Ember
in Washington.
Senator Barack Obama has claimed the
presidential nomination of American's Democratic Party. The senator spoke late
Tuesday to crowd thousands of supporters in /Minisota. He won 2118 democratic
delegates needed to capture the party's nomination. Mister Obama is the first
African-American to become the expected presidential candidate for a major
political party. The senator praised his opponent senator Hillary Clinton as a
leader who influenced millions of Americans. Senator Clinton has refused to
admit defeat. She said she plans to meet with her supporters and party
officials before making a final decision.
American navy ships are preparing to leave
waters near the coast of Burma
because the country's government has refused to accept American aid. American /
//says the USS SX and its supporting ships will leave Thursday. The ships have
been waiting from Burma
permission to take the aid to survivors Cyclone Nagles. The storm struck/ more
than a month ago. Adam Kitting said the United States attended 15 times to
persuade Burmese military leaders to let the ships enter Burmese ports. He said
the ships would return if Burmese leaders change their decision. The French
Navy also has suspended its efforts to send aid and is leaving the area.
The United Nations says it will take 15
billion to 20 billion dollars each year to ease the problem of rising food
prices. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged countries to work together and
quickly to fight the problem. The UN chief spoke Wednesday to an international
conference in Rome, Italy. Delegates from more than 180
countries are attending the conference. World Bank President R also spoke to
the delegates. He urged governments to lift trade barriers. He said these
barriers are partly to blame for sharp price increase for many products.
South Korea says it is ready to provide 50,000 tons of corn to North Korea. In
a /, Minister / said South Korea
had offered the corn to North
Korea last month. But, he said, the North
has yet to comment on the offer. Mister Cane told newspaper reporters in Seoul that he hopes the
North Korean government will acceded. If not, he said, his country will share
the food through international aid agencies.
The Indian government has raised the
country's fuel prices for the second time this year. The government says the
price of fuel for automobiles will be raised by about 12 cents a liter. This
raw fuel will be increased by about seven cents. But the price of / will not be
raised. Many poor people used / for cooking. Officials say the price increases
are necessary to help India's
state oil companies. The oil companies are suffered tens thousands of dollars
in losses.
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