contributes thousands of peacekeepers to
the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in the Sudanese region of Darfur. The possible withdrawal of these troops would be a massive blow.
Fierce fighting has been continuing for a sixth day between government forces and Islamist insurgents in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Medical officials say more than 100 people have been killed since the Islamists launched a fresh offensive on Monday. Thousands of people are fleeing the city as the insurgents try to capture a key road.
Tens of thousands of people have taken part in a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington led by a conservative talk show host, Glenn Beck, who once described President Obama as a racist who hated white people.
The former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has also been addressing the event. Paul Adams reports from Washington.
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to the edge of the World War II monument, a vast
assembly
of Americans has gathered here in the centre of Washington to
reaffirm
their patriotism and share their conviction that this country has lost its way.
Opponents of the rally's organizer, charismatic conservative commentator Glenn Beck, have attacked him for holding the rally on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
Mr Beck insists the timing is an accident.
This is the World News from the BBC.