Study: USDA still plagued by civil rights problems

Despite acknowledging a legacy of discrimination, the Agriculture Department is still plagued by civil rights problems that have in the past led to unequal treatment of minorities seeking loans and other help, according to a government-commissioned report Wednesday.

Most of the employees interviewed by a private consulting firm did not believe the department, sued over the years by blacks, Hispanic, American Indians and women, had a civil rights problem. Research by the Jackson Lewis LLP Corporate Diversity Counseling Group "substantiated in part the anecdotal claims of neglect, at best, and wide-spread discrimination, at worst" at the department.

Aircraft carriers gain clout in naval power

ABOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE (AP) -- Despite growing controversy about the cost and relevance of aircraft carriers, navies around the world are adding new ones to their inventories at a pace unseen since World War II.

The U.S. - with more carriers than all other nations combined - and established naval powers such as Britain, France and Russia are doing it. So are Brazil, India and China - which with Russia form the BRIC grouping of emerging economic giants.

Turkey hosts UN forum on world's poorest nations

ISTANBUL (AP) -- Speakers at a United Nations forum on Monday urged the world's poorest nations to help their vulnerable citizens by pursuing good governance, while some leaders said rich countries had not done enough to help developing regions.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among some 8,000 delegates who converged on Istanbul for the conference on "least-developed countries," which lists 48 members in its ranks. Thirty-three are in Africa, 14 are in Asia and one - Haiti - is in the Americas.

The five-day conference opened with dire warnings about the threat of rising food and fuel prices, and climate change, to the poor, but there were also calls to seize investment opportunities in developing countries.

Protection fees, stolen ammo extend Somalia's war

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somalia receives about $1 billion a year for humanitarian, development and security projects. But the amount of money that actually benefits Somali citizens is far, far less.

Analysts say wasted, stolen and diverted money may be feeding the conflict that the funds are supposed to be trying to end. Bullets bought by international donors and intended for Somali soldiers instead were sold on open markets to insurgents.

Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said his government doesn't see a lot of effort by U.N. agencies to monitor spending.

The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, argued that the entire international community and Somali government need to improve transparency.

China auto market cools as GM sales fall in April

SHANGHAI (AP) -- General Motors Co. and its joint ventures sold 203,367 vehicles in China in April, down nearly 5 percent from a year earlier as growth cools in the world's largest auto market.

GM said Friday that sales by its flagship venture Shanghai GM rose 7.4 percent to 96,219 vehicles in April. That rise was offset, however, by slowing sales growth for its other China operations. GM and its ventures sold 213,115 vehicles in China in April 2010.

China's auto market, which overtook the U.S. in 2009, is still growing, with sales up 32 percent last year to over 18 million vehicles. Overall sales are forecast to rise more than 10 percent this year, topping 20 million vehicles.