A U.S. congressional committee approved a resolution condemning the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide

A U.S. congressional committee approved a resolution condemning the 1915 slaughter of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, rejecting a last-minute Obama administration effort to derail it and putting a chill on relations with Turkey.The House panel's resolution, approved on a 23-22 vote, faces an uncertain future in Congress. But it nonetheless could damage U.S. relations with Turkey, a vital ally in the Middle East and Central Asia. Within minutes of the vote, Ankara said it was recalling its ambassador from Washington for consultations. Turkey took the same step in 2007, when the committee passed a similar resolution.

The vote was carried live on most Turkish television and radio news channels and was seen as a significant blow to Turkey's already limping attempt at rapprochement with Armenia.

U.S. court dismissed a female employee of sexual harassment case in the United Nations

As women from around the world gathered at the United Nations this week to discuss gender equality, a US court threw out a case involving sexual harassment of a UN woman employee because her bosses refused to lift the diplomatic immunity of the alleged high-ranking perpetrator.The embarrassing timing of the judgment by the US appeals court in New York prompted one women's rights group to challenge the UN's claims at this week's conference to be an equal opportunity employer, at least when it comes to dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.Mr Ban's office, noting the appeals ruling, stated: “At this stage of the proceedings it would not be appropriate for the secretariat to comment further on the matter.”

“The UN system doesn't work,” he said. “Immunity is not necessary in such cases. It may be justified in places where there's no functioning legal system – but not in New York or Geneva.

After the matter is still under repair

US safety officials announced on Thursday that they had received more than 60 complaints from Toyota owners who were still experiencing sudden unintended acceleration even though their vehicles had been repaired by Toyota dealers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has come under pressure from Congress and consumer safety groups because of allegations that it responded too slowly to warnings of problems in Toyota vehicles, said it had the authority to order Toyota to “provide a different solution” if current efforts were not working.

The news marks yet another problematic development for Toyota, which is grappling with a massive vehicle recall, a loss of trust among consumers and a potential criminal investigation into its handling of safety issues.

China and Japan co-operation in Africa

　Plans to transform the east African oil sector by building a pipeline from south Sudan to the Kenyan coast were boosted yesterday when a Japanese company expressed interest in joining the project.The project would be the boldest yet by a Japanese company in Africa. China has also been studying the proposed pipeline and Toyota Tshusho said that co-operation with Beijing was possible. 　At present, the oil is exported via pipelines leading through northern Sudan to an export facility on the Red Sea. The government of the semi-autonomous south wants the new pipeline to reduce its dependence on the north and to create an export route via Kenya.

China National Petroleum Corporation, a state-owned company, has the largest foreign stake in Sudan's oil industry and Beijing received 79 per cent of Sudan's petroleum exports in the same period.Japanese diplomats acknowledge that, in common with China, securing oil and other natural resources in Africa is one of their main objectives.