Clinton pledges American leadership in Asia

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that the United States will continue to forge a leadership role in Asia, as she began a major trip to the region.

The United States will use its tools of diplomacy, defence and development to maintain regional stability and promote security, economic growth and trade, Clinton said in a speech at the East-West Center in Honolulu, the first leg of her trip.

Following the speech, Clinton was due to fly to Vietnam to attend the East Asia Summit before a brief stop in China. She then heads to Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia during the nearly two-week trip - the longest of her tenure.

The flight to China's Hainan Island was a late edition to her itinerary, reflecting the sensitive nature and simmering tensions in US-Chinese relations. Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit Washington early next year.

During the speech, Clinton sought to downplay the differences between the two countries, saying the United States is working closely with China to create a relationship of mutual interests, but reiterated the US position that Beijing must be more open to US exports and business, and to working towards combating climate change.

"In the 21st century it is not in anyone's interest for the United States and China to see each other as adversaries," Clinton said.

"We are committed to getting it right," she said.

The United States has been frustrated by China's alleged artificially low valuing of the yuan, which Washington believes places American exports at a disadvantage and hurts jobs.

Clinton's visit comes ahead of President Barack Obama's plans to travel to the region. Obama is expected to arrive in India on November 6 with stops also planned in Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. Obama will be in South Korea to attend the G20 summit.
 

Obama defends record on Jon Stewart's Daily Show

Washington - Less than a week before mid-term elections that could see his Democrats lose control of Congress, US President Barack Obama appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart late Wednesday in a last effort to reach out to young voters.

Obama, the first sitting president to appear on the popular Comedy Central show, defended his record by citing gains such as healthcare reform, a growing economy and financial regulatory overhaul.

"I'm feeling great about where the American people are, considering what we have gone through," Obama said. "We have gone through two of the toughest years since the Great Depression." But while there was "still a lot of good stuff happening," he acknowledged that "people are frustrated , a lot of folks are hurting out there."

Comedian Stewart asked Obama why it was that two years after he won the presidential election after running on a "very high rhetoric of hope and change," his fellow Democrats now "seem to be running on 'Please, baby, one more chance'."

Obama said, "When I won and we started the transition and we looked at what was happening in the economy, a whole bunch of my political folks came up and said, 'Enjoy this now because two years from now, folks are going to be frustrated'. And that is, in fact, what's happened."

But he said that over the last 18 months his administration had prevented another Great Depression, and they had seen nine consecutive months of private sector job growth, an "historic" health care reform, financial regulatory reform, and "done some things that folks don't know about."

To which Stewart quipped, "What have you done that we don't know about? Are you planning a surprise party for us, filled with jobs and healthcare?"

Obama responded by citing a government-sponsored health insurance programme for children and tougher regulations on credit card companies.

"Over and over, we have moved forward an agenda that is making a difference in people's lives each and every day," Obama said. "Is it enough? No. And so I expect, and I think most Democrats out there expect, that people want to see more progress."
 

Canadian Khadr apologizes to wife of slain soldier

Washington - Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, known as the "child soldier," apologized Thursday at a Guantanamo Bay sentencing hearing to the wife of a US solider he killed in Afghanistan.

Khadr directly addressed the widow of Sergeant First Class Christopher Speer and her two children, the Toronto Star reported.

"Im really, really sorry for the pain I have caused you and your family. I wish I could do something that would take this pain away from you," he said.

Khadr, 24, pleaded guilty during a US military commission hearing earlier this week in Guantanamo as part of an agreement with the military prosecution that limits his sentence.

Speer's wife, Tabitha, who was in the courtroom, shook her head as Khadr spoke, while gripping the arm rests of her chair. The sentencing hearing continued on Thursday with Tabitha Speer speaking before Khadr and expressing no sympathy for him.

"You'll forever be a murderer in my eyes. It doesn't matter what you say from this day on," she said, frequently referring to how her two young children will grow up without a father.

In 2002, Khadr was 15 years old when he was taken into custody in Afghanistan and later charged with murder and other terrorism-related charges.

The sentencing hearing is expected to wrap up this week. Khadr cannot be sentenced to more time in prison than the terms reached under the plea deal. While those terms have not been made public, it has been reported that the deal called for Khadr to serve eight years in prison - one year in US custody and the remaining seven in Canada.

He could have faced live imprisonment had he been convicted in a trial.