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European Union
A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said on Tuesday. The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of October. Although the NATO ships have successfully delivered nearly 30,000 tons of humanitarian supplies to the impoverished nation, they have not been able to stem the upsurge in pirate attacks on foreign shipping in one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. (101 words)
New Delhi, India
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Pakistan yesterday to cooperate "fully and transparently" in investigations into the Mumbai attacks that have upset India-Pakistan relations. India has said the 10 militants who rampaged through its financial capital killing 171 people were from Pakistan, including one surviving gunman. If Pakistan fails to act swiftly against those responsible, India has threatened to pull out of a nearly five-year-old peace process between the nuclear rivals. "This is the time for everybody to cooperate and to do so transparently, and this is especially a time for Pakistan to do so," Rice told a press conference in New Delhi. (103 words)
Ottawa, Canada
Canada's minority Conservative government may seek the temporary suspension of Parliament to stop opposition parties from voting it out and taking power, an aide to Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday. The Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Quebecois signed a deal on Monday committing them to bringing down the government, just seven weeks after it won re-election with a strengthened minority, and forming a coalition government to replace the Conservatives. The opposition says Harper is not doing enough to tackle the fallout from the financial crisis, so they proposed forging a coalition of Liberals and New Democrats, with the separatist Bloc promising its support. (105 words)
Manila, the Philippines
Philippine lawmakers allied to President Gloria Arroyo quashed an impeachment motion against her yesterday, shielding her from opposition moves to unseat her for the fourth time in as many years. Eleven opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber when it became apparent that an overwhelming majority of the 238-member House of Representatives would throw out the impeachment complaint. Voting 183-21, with three abstaining, the House of Representatives adopted a report by a congressional justice panel dismissing the impeachment complaint for lack of substance, blocking a possible trial in the Senate. The complaint against Arroyo, due to serve until mid-2010, were based on charges of corruption, bribery and human rights abuses. Apart from surviving four impeachments, she has also escaped three attempts by troops since 2003 to seize power. (128 words)
Cambridge, United States
Harvard University says its endowment has tumbled $8 billion in the four months since the end of the last fiscal year. The school’s endowment is the largest in higher education. The estimated 22 percent decline is the school's sharpest endowment drop in modern history. The endowment was valued at $36.9 billion on June 3. The school has said its U.S. stock portfolio and foreign equity portfolio had taken hard hits recently. The university's president warned that the estimated drop may be conservative because some money managers have yet to report figures.
Question 6: What can we know about the world’s efforts to fight pirate attacks?
Question 7: At a press conference in New Delhi, what did US Secretary of State Rice urge Pakistan to do?
Question 8: What is Canada’s Minority Conservative Government likely to do according to the news?
Question 9: Which of the following statements is true about the political situation in the Philippines according to the news?
Question 10: At least how much has Harvard University’s endowment dropped since the end of the last fiscal year?
