Algeria Picture

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA - Passport or proof of U.S. citizenship or voter’s registration card, along with picture ID, required, return/onward ticket, and proof of funds needed for tourist stay of up to 6 months. Contact the Embassy of Antigua and Barbuda, 3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016 (202/362-5122/5166/5211) for further information. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: Treasury's Dam on Financial Counterterrorism

How then are we going about the search for terrorist money? Since mid-September, we have put together an interagency task force that includes the Treasury's enforcement and international affairs components, CIA [Central Intelligence Agency], the Departments of State and Justice, the FBI and the NSC [National Security Council]. This task force works to identify potential financial intermediaries of suspected terrorists and their associates. A new Financial Terrorist Asset Tracking Center is also looking at all terrorist organizations worldwide so that we can create a big picture profile of what the financial infrastructure of these groups look like. ... [Read More]

USIS Washington File: TEXT: NANCY RUBIN 4/8 REMARKS TO U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Whether this commission and its mechanisms can actually treat women's rights issues with a human rights approach, however, will depend on how well they monitor and report on the human rights of women. For the present, little information flows into U.N. human rights bodies from women's groups and others fighting for the human rights of women. Nongovernmental groups of women's advocates are human rights defenders, too. They should be recognized as such and their insights and information included in the work of the thematic and country rapporteurs -- not as an afterthought, but as an essential component of the human rights picture. ... [Read More]

Foreign Entry Requirements

U.S. Department of State [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Transcript: Summers, Sperling, Brainard Briefing on Meeting

Q: I am from Kyodo News. My question is about the Japanese economy. Recently the Japanese Central Bank has decided to maintain its zero interest rate policy. However, the Bank's monthly report released yesterday, depicted a brighter picture of the Japanese economy, this seems to be indicating that the bank is ready to end the practice at its next policy setting meeting. What can you tell us about that assessment? ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: One-Third of Computer Software Pirated, Industry Says

The inclusion of these new categories paints a broader, more accurate picture of the global software piracy problem based on IDC's extensive industry and market knowledge. The study found that while $80 billion in software was installed on computers worldwide last year, only $51 billion was legally purchased. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Byliner: Fight Terror Through Reform

With the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, the United States has entered the picture as a force to support and encourage reforms originating in the region. The initiative draws upon the message of progress recently articulated by, among others, the Arab League, which recently cited the importance of reform in its Tunis Declaration; the Arab Business Council, which spoke out about building a better business and investment climate in the region; the United Nations Arab Human Development Reports; and civil society, through reform conferences in Alexandria, Cairo, Sanaa and Istanbul. ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Byliner: Zoellick Says Trade Can Support Reform in Middle East

The larger picture is one of a new and deeper economic and political partnership with Morocco, a bright light of reform and moderation in the Islamic world. For too long, the Middle East and North Africa has been a place of stagnant economies, religious extremism and lack of hope. Democracy is rare, small businesses are stymied by governments and a favored few, and militants want to turn back the clock to the seventh century. ...

Unfortunately, here at home, some don't see that bigger picture. Opponents of these free-trade agreements are preoccupied with demands for extra provisions on labor, claiming for example that unions have been pressured by government. But these objections, made by labor unions that don't want foreign competition, are self-defeating. The agreements with Morocco and Bahrain, like the Jordan agreement, require our partners to enforce their labor and environmental laws and strive to upgrade standards. The critics ignore the labor reforms Morocco has already enacted. The United States is the only nation pressing to include enforceable labor and environmental protections in its trade agreements. ... [Read More]

Vol 35 No 3, July - September 1997 Page 31

We hand out papers to learners. These papers depict scenes, illustrations, actions. (The drawings do not have to be perfect; stick figures can be used instead). Once the pictures are handed out, we ask learners to examine them. We then ask them to describe the pictures one at a time. A pause is marked after each picture description. The pause aims at making learners store, memorize, and summarize what has been said. The weakest or shyest learners are given a chance to speak, even if only one word. We prompt learners with questions like: What do you see in picture one? How many animals do you see? Can you name them? Learners will probably not know, mistaking undoubtedly, the fox for a dog. ... [Read More]