The financial crisis is likely to diminish the status of the United States as the world’s only superpower.

On the practical level, the US is already stretched militarily, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and is now stretched financially.

On the philosophical level, it will be harder for it to argue in favour of its free market ideas, if its own markets have collapsed.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali pirates on a hijacked cargo ship holding battle tanks and hostages said Thursday that they were ready to battle any commando-style rescue attempt.

The warning came a day after the Somali government gave foreign powers a blank check for using force against the pirates, while U.S. warships continued to circle nearby and a Russian frigate headed toward the standoff. More on Somali pirates say they will fight commando raid

Ethiopia’s fractious political opposition is planning a unified parliamentary campaign to demand a complete withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia. But as VOA’s Peter Heinlein reports from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is under pressure by the international community to hold the line at a time of hopeful diplomatic maneuvers and deteriorating security conditions.