(NNPA)—The daggers are starting to come out between the U.S. and China as the Asian giant displaces the U.S. as Africa’s number one trading partner.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, at a recent forum on trade in Zambia, made slighting references to China’s growing African role.

“We are concerned that China’s foreign assistance and investment practices in Africa have not always been consistent with generally accepted international norms of transparency and good governance,” she said.  “(China) has not always utilized the talents of the African people in pursuing its business interests.”

“It is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave.  And, when you leave, you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there,” Clinton continued.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)—In addition to sending a letter to Iran's supreme leader seeking the release of two American hikers, Muhammad Ali's wife says the boxing champ is also willing to go there to help make it happen.

But Lonnie Ali says such a visit would depend on her husband's health. Parkinson's Disease has limited his speech and physical activity.

APPEALS TO KHAMENEI—In this Sept. 19, 2009, photo, boxing great Muhammad Ali looks to the field prior to an NCAA college football game between Louisville and Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. Ali has pleaded with the government of Iran to release two American hikers arrested in 2009 and charged with spying.  (AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)

A week after announcing his 2012 campaign, Obama sent Black senior White House advisors into African-American communities across the U.S. to share stories about how the administration is working to enhance their quality of life.

TAKING A BREAK—President Barack Obama walks from the White House in Washington,  D.C., April 23, to his limo, for an afternoon of golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

by Mark Stevenson

MEXICO CITY (AP)—Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim widened his lead over other billionaires on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people March 9—the same day his flagship company said he is a victim of monopolistic practices.

WORLD’S RICHEST MAN—Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim, left, and British financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, right, help Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez at the inauguration of the Soumaya Museum’s new home in Mexico City, March 1. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Slim’s fortune was estimated to have risen to $74 billion well ahead of Bill Gates’ $56 billion and investor Warren Buffett’s $50 billion. French luxury-goods magnate Bernard Arnault was fourth with $41 billion.

Slim gained the most in the past year. His wealth increased $20.5 billion from last year’s estimate of $53.5 billion by Forbes, which attributed the increase to a rise in Mexican stock prices as well as successful mining and real estate projects carried out through his Grupo Carso conglomerate.