The President briefs the press on progress made at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs Magazine, and Rana Foroohar, senior editor of Newsweek’s international editions, join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the weeks top stories.

They discuss the debate over next steps in the war in Afghanistan, as top U.S. military commanders call for yet more American troops. They also examine the global economic summit in Pittsburgh — what the leaders accomplished as their ranks increased from a group of eight to a group of 20.

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It is a conflict that has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in six years, and forced up to three million people to flee their homes.

But, according to the UN’s outgoing military commander in Sudan, the war in Darfur could be over.

He has described the situation as no longer a war, but rather a low-intensity conflict with major battles now few and far between.

However, with the root causes of the conflict unresolved and in the absence of a solid peace treaty, the situation remains unpredictable.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall reports from Darfur.

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Bloomberg Television speaks to Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

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An experimental vaccine being tested in Thailand has shown signs of protecting people from infection by the virus that causes AIDS.

US military and Thai health officials announced in Bangkok that for the first time ever, an experimental vaccine prevented infection from the HIV virus. Thai authorities say the treatment given to healthy volunteers cut the number of expected HIV infections by almost a third.

“It is found that the vaccine has 31.2 per cent efficacy in reducing the risk of HIV infection,” Withaya Kaewparadai, the Thai health minister, said.

The world’s largest AIDS vaccine trial included more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand.

It is the first time any HIV vaccine has even partially succeeded in a clinical trial.

Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV. Scientists say the study used strains of HIV common in Thailand. Whether such a vaccine would work against strains in the US or Africa is unknown.

Al Jazeera’s Aela Callan reports from Bangkok.

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The largest country in Europe, Germany, is going to the polls this weekend. The election campaign has been dominated by concerns about the economy. Signs of recovery have been seen but the country has been badly affected by the global recession.

Many workers have had to accept reduced hours and reduced pay as an alternative to being laid off.

Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips reports from Hamburg, a port city hit hard by the global economic downturn as the world ran out of money to buy German goods.

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Bloomberg Television speaks to STATFOR CEO George Friedman on the G-20 Summit. The discussion primarily focused on the Iranian nuclear issue. It is Mr. Friedman’s view that diplomatic options have evaporated leaving only a military option.

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The river Ganges is the lifeblood of the indian subcontinent feeding water to hundreds of millions of people. But the river’s future is under threat. A UN climate report indicates that the Himalayan glaciers, which feed the Ganges, may disappear in 20 years.

Hamish Macdonald reports from Varanasi, the Holy City on the Ganges. The problem is not a new one. We’ve known about the threat to the Ganges for a decade. We just refuse to take the steps required. From a 1999 BBC:

The sacred river Ganges in India is one of the most enduring images of the country.

With its banks lined with holy men and devout Hindu pilgrims, the river flows inexorably from the mountains to the sea. The waters are believed to have a healing or preservative effect.

Hindus believe that sins can be washed away by bathing in the Ganges.

Pilgrimage routes criss-cross these mountains, and the devout brave harsh conditions to do their religious duty.

No Himalayan pilgrimage is more important than the journey to the source of the Ganges.

A test of faith

Two days hard walking from the nearest road, remote, rugged – a place to let the cares of the world flow downstream with the sacred river.

One pilgrim, known as Kalidas, said that people of all ages come – on foot.

“It is very important to walk,” he says.

“While walking, the suffering that a person goes through individually will make that person transcend from the body level to the mind.”

In a wall of ice at the end of the Gangotri glacier the Ganges is born.

The icy waters are deeply sacred to many Indians, and here holy men bath away their sins and offer prayers, even as the ice crumbles above them.

Environmental damage

But concern is growing in India about environmental degradation and its effect on the sacred river. That is the problem. In recent years, the glacier has been retreating and the implications for India are frightening.

According to geologist Dr H C Nanwal, glaciers are the major source of India’s fresh water.

“If they melt faster than they form, it means shortages and drought downstream,” he says.

He adds: “We have to do something to stop this destruction.”

In the past 50 years, the ice has been melting five times faster than before.

Sometime in the next millennium, the holy Ganges could dry up.

2030 looms fast.

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Bloomberg Television talks with President of the Republic of Congo Dennis Sassou-N’Guesso about oil in the Congo. President Dennis Sassou-N’Guesso is embroiled in a corruption scandal brought on by a lavish lifestyle exposed by a vulture hedge fund.

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In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke about the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. Several countries, led by the U.S., are considering additional sanctions against Iran and North Korea if they dont curb their nuclear programs.

I will repeat that I am committed to diplomacy that opens a path to greater prosperity and a more secure peace for both nations if they live up to their obligations, Obama said. But if the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards, if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stabilityif they are oblivious to the dangers an escalating nuclear arms race in both East Asia and the Middle East, then they must be held accountable.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he expects next week’s discussions with the West about Iran’s nuclear program to be free and open, but called on the worlds nuclear powers to give up some of their weapons too.

Mansour Farhang is a professor of international relations at Bennington College and was revolutionary Irans first ambassador to the United Nations. He joins Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss how Ahmadinejads nuclear stance is influenced by domestic Iranian politics, Israel and other concerns.

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