Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced new U.S. sanctions against North Korea Wednesday focused on halting money-making schemes employed by the regime to fund its nuclear program.
“These measures are not directed at the people of North Korea, who have suffered too long due to the misguided priorities of their government,” Clinton said at a news conference. “They are directed at the destabilizing, illicit, and provocative policies pursued by that government.”
The U.S. will freeze assets of businesses and individuals associated with the North Korean regime, and collaborate with banks to stop illegal financial transactions.
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In South Korea, Clinton announces sanctions against the north
Clinton announces $500 million in aid to Pakistan
AP,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Monday to convince skeptical Pakistanis that American interest in their country extends beyond the fight against Islamist militants by announcing a raft of new aid projects worth $500 million.
The projects, which include hospitals and new dams for badly needed electricity, are part of a $7.5 billion aid effort to win over Pakistanis suspicious about Washington’s goals here and in neighboring Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are being killed in ever greater numbers in an insurgency with roots in Pakistan.
Mistrust over U.S. intentions in Pakistan is in part due to Washington’s decision to turn away from the nuclear-armed country after enlisting its support to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Ex-Obama, Clinton fundraiser gets 12 years for fraud
A wealthy Manhattan investment banker and former top Democratic fundraiser was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for defrauding banks of $292 million, some of which he donated to politicians including Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Al Gore.
Hassan Nemazee, 60, had reached a plea deal in March, admitting that he cheated banks out of the money and pleading guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan said he’ll get out of prison in about a decade.
Nemazee was the national finance chairman of Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign; he also raised money for Obama and a long list of other prominent Democrats. He was Sen. John Kerry’s New York finance chairman during his failed 2004 presidential run.
For first time, U.S. will submit criticism of its own human rights record to U.N.
CNSNews, “For First Time, U.S. Will Submit Criticism of Its Own Human Rights Record to U.N. Human Rights Council”
by Penny Starr
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that the State Department is soliciting comments from citizens, advocacy groups and other non-governmental organizations on the human rights record of the United States.
“Human rights are universal, but their experience is local. This is why we are committed to holding everyone to the same standard, including ourselves,” Clinton told a press briefing at the State Department, where she unveiled the “2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.”
Clinton said the U.S. is now gathering facts on its own record because – as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council – it is participating in the UNHRC’s “universal periodic review” process.
CNSNews article continues here.