the syrian opposition does not have that. >> suarez: npr's deborah amos. deb, good to talk to you. >> thanks, ray. >> woodruff: the set is stage for punishing one of the nation's most aggressive competitors. the bill aimed at china's currency cleared a 60-vote threshold this evening. the move comes as unemployment here in u.s. remains high and jobs continue to go overseas. newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman has our story. >> reporter: the colorful chinese currency known as the you-want has been a target of u.s. political leaders for years. they argue it's deliberately undervalued to give chinese companies price advantages in international trade. the issue reached the u.s. senate today in a bill to allow counterveiling duties on chinese goods for currency manipulation. economic action against china has undeniable political appeal as lawmakers watch jobs moving to china even as american unemployment sits stubbornly above 9%. >> we need to fight for and defend aggressively every single job this country has. as against unfair trade practices, we

the syrian opposition does not have that. >> suarez: npr's deborah amos. deb, good to talk to you. >> thanks, ray. >> woodruff: the set is stage for punishing one of the nation's most aggressive competitors. the bill aimed at china's currency cleared a 60-vote threshold this evening. the move comes as unemployment here in u.s. remains high and jobs continue to go overseas. newshour congressional correspondent kwame holman has our story. >> reporter: the colorful chinese currency known as t you-want has been a target of u.s. political leaders for years. they argue it's deliberately undervalued to give chinese companies price advantages in international trade. the issue reached the u.s. senate today in a bill to allow counterveiling duties on chinese goods for currency manipulation. economic action against china has undeniable political appeal as lawmakers watch jobs moving to china even as american unemployment sits stubbornly above 9%. >> we need to fight for and defend aggressively every single job this country has. as against unfair trade practices, we n

it was broadcast on a syrian- based television station. in it, qaddafi called for millions of libyans to protest against the national transitional council now running the country. he said, "rise up, go out in the streets. the conditions in libya are unbearable." in afghanistan, hundreds of people protested in downtown kabul, demanding that foreign troops leave the country immediately. they marched through the streets of the capital, carrying signs and shouting "no to occupation!" the rally came a day before the 10th anniversary of the u.s. invasion. the nobel prize in literature was awarded today to swedish poet tomas transtromer. he was recognized for rich imagery in works that often explore death, history and nature. the 80-year-old writer has penned more than a dozen collections of poetry and been translated into more than 60 languages. transtromer is the first poet to win the literature prize in 15 years. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: and we turn to the life and work of a man who helped define

but syrian forces opened fire on the rallies, killing at least 24 people. in all, more than 3,000 people have died in the now seven- month-long crackdown. for a second day, secretary of state hillary clinton delivered a blunt warning to pakistan over its anti-terror efforts. newshour correspondent kwame holman has our report. >> holman: the secretary of state renewed u.s. demands that pakistan crack down on militants endangering american-led efforts in afghanistan. >> terrorism is a challenge we share, and we want to work together to root out all of the extremists who threaten us, including the taliban and the haqqani network. we should be able to agree that, for too long, extremists have been able to operate here in pakistan and from pakistani soil. >> holman: the haqqani network is a particular focus, blamed for ongoing and deadly attacks on u.s., nato, and afghan forces. it operates from pakistan's borderlands and is believed to be behind recent spectacular attacks in kabul: on the u.s. embassy last month, and on a high-profile hotel in june. but the sec

ford had played a high-profile role since the syrian uprising began this year. in july, he angered the assad government by visiting the city of hama as protests began there. and last month, his convoy was pelted with eggs and tomatoes as he arrived at the office of a leading opposition figure. in washington today, state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said the regime had conducted a smear campaign against ford. >> you've seen the incidents he's encountered. on top of that incidents of state run media going after him personally and the concern is that this could lead to further violence. >> ifill: the syrians responded by recalling imad moustapha, their ambassador to washington. to put all this in context i'm joined now by michele dunne who has served in both the white house and as a state department diplomat. also with us is marina ottaway, a middle east watcher for the carnegie endowment for international peace. and finally hisham milhem,he washington bureau cheif for "al arabiya" news. marina ottaway, we've been talking about transitions of a sort in sy

ford had played a high-profile role since the syrian uprising began this year. in july, he angered the assad government by visiting the city of hama as protests began there. and last month, his convoy was pelted with eggs and tomatoes as he arrived at the office of a leading opposition figure. in washington today, state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said the regime had conducted a smear campaign against ford. >> you've seen the incidents he's encountered. on top of that incidents of state run media going after him personally and the concern is that this could lead to further violence. >> ifill: the syrians responded by recalling imad moustapha, their ambassador to washington. to put all this in context i'm joined now by michele dunne who has served in both the white house and as a state department diplomat. also with us is marina ottaway, a middle east watcher for the carnegie endowment for international peace. and finally hisham milhem, the washington bureau cheif for "al arabiya" news. marina ottaway, we've been talking about transitions of a sort in

kuds brigade incidentally is also the group that is alleged to have been employed in syria to suppress syrian democrats. when you think about syria, when you think about iran's increasing tensions, with saudi arabia, the losing of its position, it now has a popularity of 14% amongst the muslims in the middle east. to think that they would dare something like this in the united states where they have only killed one opponent-- and that was 30 years ago-- it seems that audacious but this is a regime that has done crazy things before. other regimes.... >> brown: briefly, charlie, what happens next? >> well, today the one defendant who is in custody was... met a judge for the first time and did not enter a plea but has a court-appointed lawyer who said he will plead not guilty when the time comes for that. we'll have to see as this case unfolds what other information shakes loose. >> brown: charlie savage, abbas milany, we'll watch with you. thanks for now. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> ifill: still to come on the newshour, the trial for the underwear bomber; senators levin and isaakson; tough c

ford had played a high-profe role since the syrian uprising began this year. in july, he angered the assad government by visiting the city of hama as protests began there. and last month, his convoy was pelted with eggs and tomatoes as he arrived at the office of a leading opposition figure. in washington today, state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said the regime had conducted a smear campaign against ford. >> you've seen the incidents he's encountered. on top of that incidents of state run media going after him personally and the concern is that this could lead to further violence. >> ifill: the syrians responded by recalling imad moustapha, their ambassador to washington. to put all this in context i'm joined now by michele dunne who has served in both the white house and as a state department diplomat. also with us is marina ottaway, a middle east watcher for the carnegie endowment for international peace. and finally hisham milhem, the washington bureau cheif for "al arabiya" news. marina ottaway, we've been talking about transitions of a sort in

the crowds waved flags and pictures of the syrian president as music and chanting rang out. anti-government protesters meanwhile held rallies elsewhere across the country. secretary of state hillary clinton has arrived in kabul, afghanistan, on an unannounced visit. she flew in late this evening and was greeted by u.s. military and diplomatic officials. clinton plans to press afghan president karzai to continue reconciliation efforts with the taliban. in another development today, roadside bombs killed two nato troops in eastern afghanistan. floods threatening bangkok, thailand grew ever more critical today and the prime minister admitted her government is overwhelmed. she insisted officials are doing all they can, but she urged reporters to stop asking if the city will be inundated. we have a report from john sparks of "independent television news" on the situation just north of bangkok. >> reporter: some use shovels, others use their hands. students and teachers, secretaries and road sweepers, everyone digging furiously in the blistering heat. no time to lose on bangkok's

yesterday, thousands of syrians rallied in support of president bashar al-assad in damascus. but protesters released video of opposition rallies that also took place across the country. the people of bangkok, thailand fought a desperate battle today against the worst flooding in decades. more than 280 people have died since july in a growing disaster brought on by monsoon rains. we have a report from john sparks of "independent television news." >> reporter: bangkok-- teeming metropolis and the nation's capital under threat by flood waters from the north on the outskirts, motorways backed up and cut to a single lane, many of its riverside homes already consumed. this is the chao praya-- runs through bangkok-- it has already burst, just a thin line of sandbags holding it back. they're calling it bangkok's defensive wall, but it's under strain in pathum thani at city's northern edge. men on the ground here working to patch it up. further on, we found a giant car plant, owned by honda, now deserted, and marooned in waters 15 feet deep. we saw motorists stuck on flyovers, forced

united nations estimates some 3,000 people have been killed by security forces in protests against the syrian government this year.ri palestine became a full member of the united nation's cultural agency, unesco, today. that led the u.s. to immediatelr cut off funding to the world body. u.s. law bars assistance to any u.n. agency that accepts palestinian membership. in washington, state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said the move was unfortunate. >> today's vote by the member s states of unesco to admit palestine as a member is regrettable, premature and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the middle east. >> sreenivasan: the u.s. has maintained that a palestinian state can only be achieved through direct negotiations with israel.an israel's foreign ministry warned the move will undermine future efforts to resume middle east peace talks. the nato mission in libya came to an official end today.ec all told, the nato alliance ran a seven-month long sea and air campaign before moammario qaddafi's regime collapsed. it included a total of 9,600 strike

united nations estimates some 3,000 people have been killed by security forces in protests against the syrian government this year. palestine became a full member of the united nation's cultural agency, unesco, today. that led the u.s. to immediately cut off funding to the world body. u.s. law bars assistance to any u.n. agency that accepts palestinian membership. in washington, state department spokeswoman victoria nuland said the move was unfortunate. >> today's vote by the member states of unesco to admit palestine as a member is regrettable, premature and undermines our shared goal of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the middle east. >> sreenivasan: the u.s. has maintained that a palestinian state can only be achieved through direct negotiations with israel. israel's foreign ministry warned the move will undermine future efforts to resume middle east peace talks. the nato mission in libya came to an official end today. all told, the nato alliance ran a seven-month long sea and air campaign before moammar qaddafi's regime collapsed. it included a total of 9,600 strike sorties to

the crowds waved flags and pictures of the syrian president as music and chanting rang out. anti-government protesters meanwhile held rallies elsewhere across the country. secretary of state hillary clinton has arrived in kabul, afghanistan, on an unannounced visit. she flew in late this evening and was greeted by u.s. military and diplomatic officials. clinton plans to press afghan president karzai to continue reconciliation efforts with the taliban. in another development today, roadside bombs killed two nato troops in eastern afghanistan. loods threatening bangkok, thailand grew ever more critical today and the prime minister admitted her government is overwhelmed. she insisted officials are doing all they can, but she urged reporters to stop asking if the city will be inundated. we have a report from john sparks of "independent television news" on the situation just north of bangkok. >> reporter: some use shovels, others use their hands. students and teachers, secretaries and road sweepers, everyone digging furiously in the blistering heat. no time to lose on bangkok's n

meanwhile, activists said at least nine syrians were killed by security forces today. and nine soldiers died when a grenade hit their bus. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jeff. >> brown: and we turn to the debt and bank crises in europe, as leaders-- the 17 who use the euro and some who don't-- gather to try to resolve their differences. we begin with a report from laura koonsberg of "independent television news" in brussels. >> reporter: what is in and what has germany ruled snout close attention to the detail is still being done in brussels tonight and people may find it falling short. for all, fine tuning is going on but leaving the euro zone leaders to it the p.m. said it's on its way. >> we made good progress tonight. it's very much there britain's interest that we solve these prices. we made good progress on the bank recapitalization. that wasn't what was agreed, it would only go ahead when the parts of the package go ahead. >> reporter: but the draft deal on the table seen by it vie news is not all. that funding for banks-- nearly $100 bi