Prime Minister Bertie Ahern of the Republic of Ireland has informed the news media that he is stepping down from office on May 6th, 2008. He was accused of having been accepting illegal payments since the 1990s. He declares that he never accepted any corrupt payments but concedes that the accusations are interfering with his ability to run his office effectively. This resignation will end Ahern’s eleven-year term as Prime Minister. He said the resignation would follow his scheduled speech to the joint houses of Congress in Washington, D.C. Ahern claims that this speech will be one of his proudest acts as a public official.
NATO had determined that the number of troops needed in Afghanistan is 47,000. At this week’s summit meeting in Romania the leaders are close to agreement in authorizing the increase in the number of troops to meet the necessary quota. Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that one of the items slowing down this approval is NATO’s role in assuring that countries share the same ratio of responsibility in Afghanistan. President Bush has used the question of threats from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as cause to push for more troops. The U.S. currently has about 28,000 troops there. They are expecting that number to increase this coming summer to 32,000. Canada and Britain are asking NATO to look not just at the number of troops each country has in Afghanistan, but to look at each country’s risk asserting that some countries have troops there but keep them far from the conflicts.
Clinton and Obama, Democratic presidential candidates are campaigning across Pennsylvania making stops at gas stations and at other businesses that rely heavily on oil products. They are spreading the promise of tackling high gas prices, Big Oil profits and a reduction in carbon emissions. Obama is suggesting $150 billion investment to support this campaign promise. Clinton wants Big Oil Companies to pay $50 billion to support research for alternative fuels and to help auto manufacturers reduce gas consumption. She is also campaigning on the issue to release some of the fuel reserves being held by the government.
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