VOA标准英语2009年-Oil Firms Accused of Whitewashing Burma Pi

A human rights group has accused Western oil firms of whitewashing abuses connected with a gas pipeline in Burma. The group also says Burma's military government has siphoned billions of dollars from the project, helping to keep them in power. Worke

VOA标准英语2009年-Suicide Truck Bomb Kills 23 in Northern Ir

Iraqi officials say a truck bomb has killed at least 20 people and wounded 27 others in a Kurdish village in northern Iraq. An Iraqi man sits in the ruins of a Kurdish village after a predawn suicide truck bombing in Wardek, southeast of Mosul in no

VOA标准英语2009年-Humanitarian Situation in Northern Yemen D

U.N. aid agencies say the humanitarian situation in northern Yemen continues to deteriorate as the battle between the Yemeni government and rebels allied to al-Qaida rages on. The agencies say tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the confli

VOA标准英语2009年-West, Central Africa Fall Behind Global Im

The U.N. children's fund says infant morality around the world has dropped nearly 30 percent during the past two decades. But that improvement in child survival is far smaller in West and Central Africa where growing populations are straining health

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Urges Students to Work Hard

A new school year in the United States has begun with a touch of controversy. It surrounds a welcome back speech to students from President Barack Obama that was seen in classrooms around the country. In some communities, parents staged a boycott of

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama to Push Controversial Health Care Pl

President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress in a few hours seeking support from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and the American people for an overhaul of the U.S. health care system. Majority Democrats vow to push forw

VOA标准英语2009年-Some Japanese Families Face Hunger During

Aid groups say thousands of Japanese families are living under the poverty line. For many that means they cannot afford to put food on their tables. One organization is trying to fix Japan's hunger problem. Helping families in need Shoppers check pr

VOA标准英语2009年-Israeli Rights Group Says Most Gaza Offens

A leading Israeli human rights group says most of the people killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza eight months ago were civilians - many of them children. Those findings contradict statistics from the Israeli military, which has said most of the cas

VOA标准英语2009年-SADC Leaders Conclude Summit in Kinshasa

Leaders of 15 southern African states are have concluded a two-day summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, expressing support for efforts to mediate political confrontations in several member nations. But they have delegated the crisis in Zimbab

VOA标准英语2009年-South Sudan Reacts Angrily to Report of Po

A senior leader of South Sudan's ruling party says its suspicions of foul play on the part of the North have been confirmed by a new report that finds discrepancies in the oil figures reported by Khartoum. Oil revenue sharing is a crucial component

VOA标准英语2009年-China Moves to Internationalize Currency

China says it will sell $880 million worth of yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong, in what analysts say is a first step toward widening the use of the currency outside the country. A tourist displays Chinese yuan Starting September 28, investors in

VOA标准英语2009年-Flooding Displaces Hundreds of Thousands i

Nearly 600,000 West Africans are affected by floods, following three months of rain. The unusually heavy rainy season is expected to continue through the end of September. The latest United Nations assessment of West African flooding says more than

VOA标准英语2009年-South Korea, US Show Unified Front on Nort

South Korea and the United States are wrapping up senior diplomatic talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons with a show of unity. They say a six-nation process that has been underway for six years must be preserved. Stephen Bosworth, US special envoy

VOA标准英语2009年-West Africans Displaced by Flooding

Heavy rains in West Africa have affected more than 350,000 people. Our correspondent reports, flooding has killed at least 32 people in Ghana and Burkina Faso. View of the flooded streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 01 Sep 2009 More than 150,000 p

VOA标准英语2009年-Sri Lanka Expelling Senior UN Official

Sri Lanka's government is ordering the spokesman for the U.N. Children's Fund to leave the country. Our correspondent reports the expulsion stems from comments by the official that appeared in the international media in recent months. Sri Lanka The

VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Leader Threatens Somaliland

The spiritual leader of the radical Somali militant group al-Shabab has sharply criticized the leadership of the breakaway region of Somaliland for having ties with Ethiopia. The radical leader also called the brand of democracy practiced in the Som

VOA标准英语2009年-Rescue Efforts Continue After Indonesia Ea

Rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Indonesia. The government has confirmed the deaths of 64 people but that number is expected to rise. Residents, rescue workers search for victims at site where earthquak

VOA标准英语2009年-British Prime Minister Defends Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown staunchly defended his government's Afghanistan policy and said troops would stay until Afghan forces can go it alone to defend the country. The prime minister's comments come amid rising casualties among British

VOA标准英语2009年-Preliminary Afghan Election Results Give K

For the first time since the August 20 presidential election in Afghanistan, the preliminary vote totals now show incumbent Hamid Karzai with a percentage high enough to avoid a runoff. But the country's electoral watchdog, backed by the U.N., says

VOA标准英语2009年-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mourned Foll

After a nearly 24-hour search that involved sophisticated aircraft, satellites, commandos and even spear-toting tribal villagers, the wreckage of a helicopter carrying an influential Indian politician was spotted on the slope of a jungle hill. The d