News EnglishAugust 14, 2008 2:48 pm

Bush urged to declare major disaster for wildfire-stricken California

    LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday asked U.S. President George W. Bush to declare a major federal disaster for California due to wildfires.

    In a letter to Bush, Schwarzenegger said the severity of damage caused by the wildfires underlined the necessity for such a major disaster declaration by the president.

    The governor said that since May 22 this year, California has been reeling under 2,096 wildfires which have scorched more than 1.3 million acres (530,000 hectares) of land.

    "In fact, as of the date of this letter, a total of 306 homes have been destroyed by the wildfires, and thousands more are threatened," Schwarzenegger said. "While many of these fires have been contained, there are 12 active fires that continue to burn and threaten the lives and safety of the people of California."

    In June, Bush made an initial federal emergency declaration to help Californians cope with the effects of the wildfires at the request of Schwarzenegger.

    But Schwarzenegger said in the letter that the president should amend his previous emergency declaration and declare a major federal disaster for California due to the wildfires’ severity.

    The response to these fires has severely taxed California’s resources, and total disaster costs are in excess of 175.7 million dollars, the governor said.

    The situation in California has been impacted further by the prolonged drought conditions and lower-than-normal precipitation spanning the past few years, he said, stressing that "the effects of the drought have been far-reaching."

    "I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and affected local governments, and that supplementary federal assistance is necessary," said the governor.

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News English 2:45 pm

California’s Schwarzenegger launches U.S.-Mexico border governors conference

    LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday launched the 26th annual Border Governors Conference (BGC) with the aim of "building green economies" throughout the border region.

    Addressing the conference, Schwarzenegger renewed his pledge to cooperate on increasing environmental protection, fighting climate change and building commerce in the U.S.-Mexico border region.

    "Together we have accomplished a great deal over the past year and, today, we are building on our common desire to make the border region an economic powerhouse by building green economies that will improve the lives of all border residents," Schwarzenegger said at Universal Studios Hollywood.

    "Our common border makes us more than just neighbors, it makes us partners in working to create a more vibrant economy and healthier environment," he said.

    Building on the economic success of California’s environmental leadership, the BGC will focus on increasing the number of green companies, green initiatives and green public-private partnerships to create a thriving green economic border region, the governor said.

    The conference is partnering with a leader in the green revolution, General Electric. With 12 billion dollars in clean technology revenues in 2006, General Electric will help underscore the economic and environmental benefits of establishing the border region as a leader in innovative, clean technology, according to a statement issued by Schwarzenegger’s office.

    Spanning nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers), the U.S.-Mexico border is the busiest international border in the world with approximately 250 million people crossing annually.

    The U.S. states along the border are California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The Mexican states are Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.

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News English 2:43 pm

3 Coalition troops die in Afghan explosion

    KABUL, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Three service members of the U.S.-led Coalition forces were killed in an explosion while on a dismounted patrol in southern Afghanistan Thursday, the U.S.-led military said.

    As usual the names and nationalities of the slain soldiers were not released, according to a short Coalition statement issued from the U.S. air base in Bagram, north of the Afghan capital Kabul.

    The casualties brought the death toll of foreign troops this year in Afghanistan further beyond 100.

    Around 70,000 international troops, of whom some 53,000 were commanded by the NATO and others by the U.S. military, are in Afghanistan, offering trainings to Afghan forces and conducting counter-insurgency operations.

    War-ravaged Afghanistan saw a sharp surge of Taliban-led attacks against local-based foreign troops and Afghan forces over the past three months and has increasingly been the scene of militancy-related violence and insecurity.

    In a related development, a suicide car bomb against the NATO-led force killed one foreign soldier and four civilians on Aug. 11in Kabul.

    Some members of the Afghan parliament said recently that international troops’ activities in Afghanistan should be brought under law control and a timetable for their withdrawal from the country be set, saying their deployment here has led to escalated responsive attacks from the Taliban.

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