News Briefs
Published: Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Updated: Sunday, February 14, 2010 19:02
Update for War in Afghanistan In Kandahar, Afghanistan U.S. Commanders say they will devote the majority of the fresh troops expected from the White House to secure the country's troubled southern region. They plan to boost this volatile city with more troops because this is the Taliban's main power base. President Barack Obama is expected to announce his new, revamped war strategy in an address early next week. Obama is expected to adopt a plan to deploy between 20,000 and 40,000 more troops to help the 68,000 U.S. troops there now fighting the war.
Solution for U.S.'s Energy Problems The Obama Administration is pressured to solve the nation's energy problems with a massive federal program that is comparable to the Manhattan Project. The program is investing in a once-in-a-generation shift in U.S. science. The U.S. government's multibillion-dollar endeavor for energy research will bring in 17 big U.S.-funded research facilities from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. After many years of deflated budgets, these labs are ramping up to develop new electricity sources, trying to build more-efficient cars and addressing climate change. In fiscal 2009, the Obama administration increased the funding by 18%, to $4.76 billion, to the Department of Energy's Office of Science. They oversee 10 national labs and fund research for another seven. The office is expected to receive $1.6 billion in government stimulus spending for these laboratories.
South Africa Pulls Out of Recession South Africa's economy is recovering from its first post apartheid recession in the three months, as three consecutive quarters of contraction for manufacturing rebounded. South Africa's GDP grew 0.9% annually, quarter-on-quarter. The economy shrank 2.8% in the previous quarter, after a 7.4% contraction in the first quarter. This is the first recession in 17 years in more than a decade to grow. It has put growing pressure on President Jacob Zuma, who was elected in April running for a populist platform to tackle poverty decline and permit job creation and growth. South Africa's unemployment rose to 24.5% in the third quarter as a result 484,000 jobs were lost in the three months, Statistics South Africa said last month.
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