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 President Bush says this agreement marks the start of a new era in U.S. Russian relations. "Old arms agreements sought to manage hostility and maintain a balance of terror," he added. "This new agreement recognizes that Russia and the West are no longer enemies."

 The pact will reduce the number of Russian and American strategic nuclear warheads by about two-thirds to the lowest levels in decades.

 It is dramatically different from arms control agreements of the past. This treaty is unusually brief a mere three pages. It was negotiated in a matter of months, not the years of bargaining that marked earlier agreements.

 President Bush says it takes into account the realities of the post Cold War world, calling it the most dramatic nuclear arms reduction in history. He also notes that four days after the signing ceremony in Moscow, NATO will formalize a cooperation agreement with Russia.

 Mr. Bush told the German parliament Thursday that a generation that grew up during the Cold War, will usher in a new day in relations between the transatlantic alliance and Moscow.

 "Many generations have looked at Russia with alarm. Our generation can finally lift this shadow from Europe by embracing the friendship of a new democratic Russia," he said.

 The president noted during his stay in Berlin that because of this evolving relationship, the United States is able to deal with Russia even when their are differences of opinion. He said one area of concern that he intends to raise during his talks in Moscow is the problems caused by Russian nuclear cooperation with Iran. 

"That's going to be a topic. One way to make the case is that if you arm Iran, you're liable to get the weapons pointed at you; that you've got to be careful in dealing with a country like Iran," he said.

 A senior administration official later described Russia's support for Iran's nuclear program as "the single most important proliferation threat there is."

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President Bush is pressing Germany and Europe to stand with the United States in the war on terrorism. There are concerns in Europe about a widening anti-terror campaign that could target Iraq. Mr. Bush told the German parliament that the threat posed by Baghdad cannot be ignored. 

The president says America cannot and will not stand alone in combating terrorism. He says Europe is just as vulnerable as the United States to a terrorist attack. "Those who despise human freedom will attack it on every continent," he said. "Those who seek missiles and terrible weapons are also familiar with the map of Europe. " 

In his speech to the German Bundestag, the president referred to the lessons of history. He said Germany and Europe must stay involved in the anti-terror campaign. "Like the threats of another era, this threat cannot be appeased, or cannot be ignored," he said. "By being patient, relentless and resolute, we will defeat the enemies of freedom." 

Mr. Bush told German lawmakers that the threat is not just from terrorists, but from nations like Iraq that seek weapons of mass destruction that could end up in terrorist hands. 

Earlier, at a news conference with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the president said there is no war plan on his desk. But he said the danger posed by Iraq warrants a strong response. "We've got to deal with it," said George W. Bush. "We can play like it's not there. We can hope it goes away. But that's not going to work. That's not going to make us safer." 

The president came to Europe knowing there is great skepticism across the continent about expanding the war on terrorism, particularly the possibility of military action against Iraq. 

Protesters took to the streets during his visit. A few people in the Bundestag briefly heckled his speech, and some Germans have condemned his description of an "axis of evil." Mr. Bush said they can argue with his words, but not with the nature of the problem. "Call this a strategic challenge," he said. "Call it, as I do, axis of evil. Call it by any name you choose, but let us speak the truth." 

It was the president's last public appearance in Berlin, bringing an end to a visit that lasted under 24 hours. His next stop is Russia, where he will sign a treaty to slash nuclear weapons arsenals by two-thirds over the next decade. 

Mr. Bush hailed the new treaty during his stay in Berlin, and praised the growing friendship between Russia and the United States. But he acknowledged there are areas of friction. The president said he will warn Russia not to transfer weapons technology to Iran. He said the Russians must realize that if they arm Iran, one day, those weapons could be used against them. 

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The Bush administration has intensified its telephone diplomacy on the Kashmir crisis, and is sending Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to the area for talks with Indian and Pakistani leaders on a mission beginning June 4. Secretary of State Colin Powell spoke with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Thursday and is expected to be in contact with senior Indian officials Friday. 

Officials here say Secretary of State Colin Powell, who's in Europe with President Bush, spoke twice Thursday with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and three times with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in a continuing effort to ease South Asian tensions. 

Mr. Straw goes to the region for talks next week, to be followed a week later by Deputy Secretary of State Armitage, a former top Pentagon official who has maintained close ties with military leaders on both sides. 

At a briefing, State Department spokesman Philip Reeker again stressed U.S. concern about danger of a confrontation over Kashmir spinning out of control, and said it is "vital" for all sides in the crisis to exercise restraint and reduce violence. 

"We understand India's frustrations and anger over continued terrorist actions, but would reiterate that rather than being the solution, military action in this crisis would create even greater problems," said Mr. Reeker. "It's important for India and Pakistan to resume a productive dialogue over the issues that divide them, and that includes Kashmir. An important component to this process is an end to infiltration into Kashmir, and as we've done before, we call upon Pakistan to do all it can to achieve this objective." 

In that regard, spokesman Reeker took note of President Musharraf's statement Wednesday that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used as a base for terrorist actions. 

India blames Pakistani-based extremists for a series of terrorist acts on its side of the "line of control" in Kashmir, including last week's bus attack that killed more than 30 people, most of them family members of Indian troops. 

The United States has been coordinating its Kashmir peace efforts with Britain and the European Union, whose external affairs commissioner, Chris Patten, is currently in the area. 

A senior administration official said here Wednesday the United States has offered specific ideas for de-escalating the military showdown between the two nuclear-armed South Asian powers. 

India has resisted the idea of U.S. mediation over the Kashmir issue itself, which has been a point of contention, and periodic conflict, between the two countries since their independence in 1947. 

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The U.S. Senate has given final approval to a bill that aims to better prepare the United States for a bioterror attack. The measure now goes to President Bush for his expected signature. 

By a unanimous 98 to 0 vote, the Senate passed a bill that offers assistance to the federal, state and local governments to prepare for and respond to bioterror attacks. 

The measure, which the House approved Wednesday, authorizes $4.6 billion over two years. 

More than $600 million is to go for producing and stockpiling vaccines, while $300 million is to go for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to upgrade its facilities. 

The bill also calls for protecting food and water supplies and developing emergency plans at all levels of government. 

Senator Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, is the chief sponsor. He said, "This is the single greatest investment our nation has ever made in public health." 

Republican Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee is a co-sponsor. He said, "It combines sound policy and enhanced resources to better prepare our nation and to provide security to the American people." 

The bill is a compromise between House and Senate versions of the legislation. 

The measure is a response to a series of anthrax attacks last year. The Senate itself was a target. 

An anthrax-laced letter was discovered in Majority Leader Tom Daschle's office in October, while another letter addressed to Senator Patrick Leahy was discovered later. 

Five people in Florida, New York, Connecticut and Washington DC died after anthrax letters were sent through the mail. The incidents are still under investigation. 

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The Israeli Embassy in Paris has been completely destroyed by a fire that broke out early Thursday morning. The cause is under investigation although authorities think it was an accident. There will be a careful investigation into the fire, in part because of a recent series of anti-Semitic incidents in France. 

Soon after the fire was reported in the early morning hours, flames were shooting out of the embassy's first floor windows. The fire, described as hot enough to shatter the building stones, quickly spread to four other floors. It took 150 firefighters more than two hours to control the fire, and several of them were injured doing so. 

No one from the embassy was reported hurt. Several neighboring apartments on the exclusive side street near the Champs Elysees had to be evacuated. 

The cause is under investigation by the police, the judiciary and a special laboratory. French authorities are well aware that several synagogues and Jewish school buses in France have been the targets of arson attempts in recent months. But Israel's ambassador to France, Elie Barnavi, said he believes the fire might well have been caused by a short circuit in the wiring. The embassy has been undergoing renovations. French authorities said they also believe the fire started by accident. 

The acting prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, his minister in charge of security, the foreign minister and the mayor of Paris all went to the scene in the middle of the night. The prime minister said in the current climate anything related to Israel was a serious matter and the government wanted to show its solidarity and sympathy. 

The Israeli foreign ministry is sending a team to inspect the ruins and evaluate the loss. Ambassador Barnavi said this was a tough blow for his staff and that years of work had been destroyed. 

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The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted to extend the international force in Afghanistan for another six months. But, Council members did not heed calls to expand the force to areas outside of the capital city of Kabul. 

The United Nations does not control the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. But the Security Council must authorize the 19-nation force in order to give the troops legitimacy. 

The troops essentially guard Kabul and the interim government of Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, who has asked to have the force expanded to other major cities. 

By passing the U.S.-sponsored resolution, the Security Council has rebuffed the request. 

Turkey is taking over the command of the 4,600 troops June 20 from the British on the condition that the force is not expanded. 

The resolution acknowledges that the "situation in Afghanistan still constitutes a threat to international peace and security." But the resolution also says providing law and order throughout the country is the responsibility of the Afghans themselves. 

Afghanistan says it needs about $300 million to build a national army and air force. Britain, France, Germany and the United States are among the nations committed to creating and training an Afghan army, a police force and drug interdiction agents. 

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Thirteen-year-old Akuac Malong, poses in Madhol, Sudan, Dec. 13, 1997, following her release from enslavement

The eight-member commission, including representatives from the United States, Britain, Norway, Italy and France, did not accuse Sudan's Islamic government of being directly involved in the slave trade. 

But it did say that the authorities in Khartoum have long turned a blind-eye to the abduction and forced servitude of villagers in the western and southern parts of the country by government-armed militias.
 
 

AP
John Danforth

Released Wednesday in Khartoum, its report says the militiamen have been burning and looting villages in the rebel-controlled south, and abducting and enslaving residents, mainly women and children, since the start of the country's civil war two decades ago.

 Thus it says the pattern of slave-taking is "to a substantial degree" a product of the counter-insurgency strategy of successive Sudanese governments. 

Philip Reeker VOA Photo - M. O'Sullivan

 Mr. Reeker said the commission also recommends strengthening institutions that identify and return abducted persons, and setting up a monitoring mechanism to end slave raids. No accurate figures exist on the number of enslaved persons in Sudan, but estimates range from 10,000 to ten times than number.

 The report said both sides in the conflict had engaged in human rights violations and that the rebels had also abducted people and forced civilians to join them. 

It was announced earlier this week that Mr. Danforth will stay on in the Sudan envoy's post and that U.S. settlement efforts will continue focussing on support of the Kenyan-led East African peace initiative of "IGAD," the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.
 
 

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China faces a growing problem of cross-border trafficking of women and children. The United Nations says that as many as 10,000 Chinese women every year are abducted and sold into sexual slavery in southeast Asia.

 VOA’s Beijing correspondent Leta Hong Fincher recently traveled to Yunnan in Southern China, and shows us how the slave trade in women has affected two families there in this traffic of tears.
 
 

Yu Kang, mother of Yingxiang victim of sex trafficking

Yingxiang died of AIDS after being forced to work as a prostitute

 After two years of silence, Yingxiang wrote a letter to her sister, Xiao Yu. She described a nightmarish journey at gunpoint through the jungles of Burma.

 “When she arrived in Burma, the men ordered her to change clothes. They started haggling over a price," said her sister. "That’s when my sister realized they were selling her. They asked, how much do you want to pay for her?”
 
 

Xiao Yu VOA photo - L. Hong Fincher

 Yingxiang ended up at a brothel in Malaysia, forced to provide sex without pay. 

Last year, the family received news that Yingxiang had died of AIDS.

 Yingxiang was just one victim of a network that smuggles thousands of Chinese women into Southeast Asia every year.

 Most of these women are ethnic minorities from Yunnan and Guangxi in southern China, among the poorest regions in the country.
 
 

A scene in rural Yunnan, China VOA photo - L. Hong Fincher

 Some women, like Yingxiang, are kidnapped. But many younger girls leave by choice, lured by the promise of a better life.
 
 

'May' VOA photo by L. Hong Fincher

 May finally agreed to go with the men and two other girls. A few days into their journey across Burma, May realized she had been tricked. But it was too late to escape. She wound up at a brothel in Malaysia with some 200 Chinese women. “I was sick the first time the Malaysian pimp inspected us. We refused to give into him, so the pimp got angry,” she said.

 May’s pimp confined her and another Chinese girl to a small house outside Kuala Lumpur. She was forced to have sex with a Malaysian man who stayed in her room for seven days. “There was a guard watching over me the whole time. He never let me go outside, not even to eat. The guard brought all my food into the room,” she said.

 May says she cried at first and tried to resist, but the man beat her. “That whole week, I never said a single word to him. I was too afraid,” she said.

 May spent almost two years prostituting herself in slave-like conditions. Then Malaysian police found her, and she was returned to China. 

May is now married with a one year old son. But she’s too ashamed to talk to her husband about her time in Malaysia.

 The Chinese government says it’s trying to crack down on the trade in women and children. But many traffickers still return to the same villages looking for new victims.

 Yingxiang’s mother identified two men from her village whom she believes abducted her daughter. But the police failed to press charges. “Police arrested the men twice, and just let them go again. We don’t have any evidence, so there’s nothing the police can do,” she said.

 Xiao Yu still treasures her sister’s last letter from Malaysia. “Dear Dad and Mom, I hope you’re well. Dad, you asked me to send money home, but I’m sorry I still can’t send you anything," she said. "I am very sick in Malaysia, and I can’t adjust to the life here.”

 The family never heard from her again.

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U.S., European, and Russian leaders are urging India and Pakistan to go back to the negotiating table quickly as fear of war between the two nuclear-armed rivals grows. 

President Bush says the tense situation in South Asia is a top issue of concern during his European trip. 

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is with the president and plans to talk to Indian leaders by telephone Friday. He spoke to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Thursday in a bid to cool tensions. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday on the pressing need for India-Pakistan peace talks. 

European Commissioner Chris Patten meets with Indian officials in New Delhi Friday. U.S. Deputy of State Richard Armitage will leave for India and Pakistan June 4. 

The flurry of diplomacy comes as top Western officials express fear of a South Asian nuclear war. 

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told CNN television on Thursday that a nuclear exchange, which could lead to the death of millions of people, is possible if the situation gets out of control. 

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who plans to go to the region during the coming week, says terrorism must end and peace talks must restart. If not, he says, devastating consequences could ensue. 

India accuses Pakistan of backing Muslim separatists who launch terrorist attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has vowed to end terrorism, and says it gives only moral support to the separatists. 

India and Pakistan have massed more than one million troops along their border since a deadly attack on the Indian Parliament in December. 

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 President Bush says the agreement ends a long chapter of confrontation and opens up an entirely new relationship between two former foes. "It's an historic and hopeful day for Russia and America," he said. "It's an historic day for the world as well."
 
 

 President Putin, speaking through a translator, said the agreement was the result of a joint effort. "It's the decision of two states, which are particularly responsible for international security and strategic stability," he said.
 
 

 During a news conference, the two leaders were asked why they still need so many warheads, if the United States and Russia are now friends.
 
 

 President Putin said some stockpiles are needed to guard against future threats from other countries. He noted that during their talks, he agreed with Mr. Bush that a great danger is posed by nations that seek weapons of mass destruction that could get into terrorist hands.

 Mr. Putin said he offered assurances that a Russian program to help Iran build a nuclear power plant does not pose a proliferation threat, and will not provide Tehran with technology that could have military applications. "Cooperation between Iran and Russia is not of a character that would undermine the process of non-proliferation," said Vladimir Putin.

 The Russian leader said the United States is involved in a deal to provide North Korea with a nuclear power plant, in exchange for assurances that Pyongyang has dropped its nuclear arms program. North Korea, Iran and Iraq have been called an "Axis of Evil" by President Bush, who fears all three could one day put the most dangerous weapons of all in the most threatening hands. 

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After hours of summit talks in Moscow, the United States and Russia remain at odds over a nuclear power plant in Iran. Russia is helping to build the plant. But the Bush administration says the joint project poses a security threat. 

George W. Bush (left) at news conference with Vladimir Putin (right)

 President Bush said he raised America's concerns during his summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We spoke very frankly and honestly about the need to make sure that a non-transparent government, run by radical clerics, doesn't get their hands on weapons of mass destruction," Mr. Bush said. 

The Russian leader defended the project. Speaking through a translator, he denied the deal to construct a power plant will provide the Iranians with technology that has military applications.

 "Cooperation between Iran and Russia is not of a character, which would undermine the process of non-proliferation," Mr. Putin said. 

President Putin drew a comparison to U.S. involvement in a deal to provide North Korea with light water nuclear reactors, in exchange for assurances that Pyongyang will not seek to develop nuclear weapons.

 "I'd like to point out also that the U.S. has taken a commitment upon themselves to build a similar nuclear power plant in North Korea," Mr. Putin said. 

President Bush has linked North Korea, Iran and Iraq saying they comprise an "Axis of Evil" that seeks weapons of mass destruction and could put them in terrorist hands.

 During their joint news conference, Mr. Bush said he had received assurances from the Russian leader about the nuclear power project in Iran. He said they will keep talking about the matter, adding it is in the best interests of the United States and Russia to resolve the problem. 

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John Paul II in Bulgaria

Pope John Paul II cleared Bulgaria of any link to a Turkish gunman who tried to kill him in 1981. The pope's spokesman said the pontiff told Bulgaria's president during a meeting that he "never believed in the so-called Bulgarian connection."

 A Turkish man, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot the pope in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican more then 20 years ago. After the incident, the gunman said the Bulgarian secret service hired him to assassinate the pontiff. 

Italian authorities later charged three Turks and three Bulgarians with conspiring to kill the pope. But they were acquitted because of the lack of evidence.

 The Roman Catholic church leader arrived in Bulgaria Thursday evening for his first visit to the Balkan country.

 On Friday, the pope visited an Orthodox Cathedral in Sofia. The visit and a meeting with the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church are designed to overcome long-standing differences between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

 Similar differences between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches have prevented the pope from visiting Russia. Russian Orthodox church officials accuse the Catholic church of trying to convert Orthodox believers to Catholicism.

 While the pope has yet to visit Russia, he has traveled to many formerly Communist countries such as his native Poland and Romania.

 But the constant travel that the pope used to take in stride now appears to be taking a toll on his health. During this five-day trip, in which he also traveled to the Caspian Sea country of Azerbaijan, the pontiff has appeared tired and weak.

 While saying mass in Azerbaijan, the pope asked an aide to finish the service, something he has done often in recent months. His speech is often slow and labored. For the first time the pope used a motorized lift to help him get on and off the plane.

 Pope John Paul II completes his visit to Bulgaria on Sunday. 

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Most Asian markets ended lower this week, with Hong Kong's property shares in particular taking a beating. Japan's Nikkei index, however, managed to surpass last Friday's close. 

In Tokyo, the Nikkei closed at 11,976, up 1 percent from last Friday. Export-oriented shares rose after the Bank of Japan intervened this week to combat the rise in the yen's value. Toyota gained almost 4 percent Friday. Japanese exporters benefit from a weaker yen, which makes their goods cheaper overseas. 

Peter Churchouse is a strategist with Morgan Stanley Asia. "In Japan, I think there is some sense we are going to see economic recovery, perhaps a little more than people were expecting a month or two ago, and I think that's playing into slightly improved prospects for the market," he said. 

South Korea's Kospi index shed 2.4 percent this week, to 854 points. Still, some telecommunications and electronic shares rallied Friday. 

S.K. Telecom rose by almost 4 percent on news that it is willing to take part in a share swap with fixed-line telecommunications provider KT. 

In Taiwan, the Taiex ended 1.4 percent down from last Friday's close, at 5,706 points. A rally in technology stocks Friday erased some of the losses the market saw early in the week. Plus, some shares rose on news that China and Taiwan might resume talks to establish direct transport links across the Taiwan Strait. 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell almost 3 percent from last week's close, ending at 11,626. 

Mr. Churchouse said a ratings downgrade of major property companies earlier in the week hurt the Hong Kong market. 

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 The IWC gathering in the Japanese whaling town of Shimonoseki may be remembered as the group's most divisive meeting to date. It was marred by unprecedented bitterness between countries such as Japan, which want to lift the ban on commercial whaling, and those such as the United States, which support the ban. 

Pro-whaling nations voted down a compromise Friday to renew limited whaling rights for native populations Russia and the United States. Moscow and Washington say the hunts allow small aboriginal groups to meet subsistence needs and have no commercial benefit.

 Japan opposes what it calls the hypocrisy of those hunts, saying they take endangered species. Japan suffered a series of defeats at the five-day IWC meeting, including a bid to lift the 16-year ban on commercial whaling and a request to take 50 minke whales from its coastal waters. 

John Bowler, a campaigner for environmental group Greenpeace, said Japan's position was a protest against anti-whaling nations. "It is quite easy to see that they have had a disastrous time here, and have become a little bit desperate and tried to use this blocking motion, whereby they said we will not give this aboriginal quota to Russia and the United States if they do not agree to our coastal quote for 50 minkes. The big difference is that you cannot equate what is termed an aboriginal subsistence quota against what the Japanese call coastal whaling, which is basically commercial whaling done in coastal waters," Mr. Bowler said. 

There were two small victories Friday for proponents of aboriginal whaling. The IWC renewed a permit of the Makah American Indians of the U.S. Pacific Northwest to take five gray whales. Members also allowed the small Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to double its annual quota of humpback whales to four.

 Conservationists at the conference suffered a loss when proposals to create two whale sanctuaries in the southern Atlantic and southern Pacific were turned down. The meeting will also be remembered for a walkout by Iceland's delegation, which angrily left after its bid for full membership was denied. Iceland resigned from the group a decade ago in protest of the commission's anti-whaling stance.

 Next year's IWC gathering will be in Berlin. 

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 Over the next 10 years, the treaty calls for the United States and Russia to reduce their stockpiles of long-range nuclear weapons by two-thirds. Both countries will store some weapons, rather than destroy their nuclear arsenals. A joint commission will be established to carry out the terms of the treaty.

 At a news conference after the treaty-soigning ceremony, Mr. Bush said the United States and Russia have entered a new era of friendship. Mr. Putin said today's agreement marks a move forward to ensure international security.

 Mr. Bush says he and Mr. Putin spoke frankly about Iran. Washington has raised concern about Moscow's help to Iran in building a nuclear power plant. Earlier, the two leaders met privately at the Kremlin. Their talks focused on international terrorism, the Middle East and economic issues. The two presidents also signed a declaration on the new strategic