VOA标准英语2008年-China to Pay Record Prices for Australian Miner

Chinese steel makers have agreed to pay record prices for iron ore from the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. In a deal signed this week, Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has secured increases that almost double the price of some grades o

VOA标准英语2008年-Weaving Project Revives Traditions, Empowers Ku

By Suzanne Presto Irbil 17 June 2008 The Kurdish Textile Museum in Irbil has launched a new program aimed at creating job opportunities for women, while reviving traditional Kurdish weaving skills. VOA's Suzanne Presto in Irbil attended the opening

VOA标准英语2008年-Iraqi Troops Prepare for Next Stage of Amarah O

By Suzanne Presto Irbil 17 June 2008 Iraqi government forces are preparing for the next phase of a planned crackdown on militants and outlaws in the capital of southeastern Iraq's Maysan province. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from the northern city

VOA标准英语2008年-US Company Launches Effort to Save Global Cocoa

Like people around the world, Americans love a good bar of chocolate or anything containing the confection. But climate change and diseases are ravaging cocoa bean crops in many parts of the world, eroding production and raising prices of the essent

VOA标准英语2008年-Border Patrol Program Improves Security on US-M

Arrests of illegal aliens along the US/Mexico border have increased over the past year according to records of the US Department of Homeland Security. The records show a 73 percent increase in arrests and prosecutions over the past year. Officials a

VOA标准英语2008年-Confusion Reigns as Mauritanian Men Straddle Tr

Men in Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, say they are finding it harder to find a wife or stay married if they do. Mauritanian men say their lives and those of women around them are on a difficult straddle between traditional rules and more modern p

VOA标准英语2008年-Mauritania's Students Feel Disillusioned With D

University students in Mauritania say they feel disillusioned with democracy, one year after a series of elections ended years of military-dominated rule. They say it seems corruption, insecurity and their prospects for a better life are getting wor

VOA标准英语2008年-Rights Activist Says State-Sanctioned Rape Wide

A Burmese human rights activist says Burma's military government continues to use rape as a weapon to subdue ethnic minorities. She urges Burma's neighbors to put pressure on the military to stop sexual violence against women. Claudia Blume reports

VOA标准英语2008年-Corn Prices Up Again Following Midwest Floods

Corn prices are surging on the world market after devastating floods in the U.S. heartland destroyed many crops shortly after they were planted. Corn is also in high demand these days, because it is used for making the alcohol fuel additive called e

VOA标准英语2008年-Hungary Opens Eastern Europe's First Sun-Powere

Government officials from more than 30 countries gathered in Hungary Friday for the opening of Central and Eastern Europe's first conference center powered by renewable energy. The building of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Easter

VOA标准英语2008年-Thai Prime Minister Survives No-Confidence Moti

The Thai prime minister and his cabinet have defeated an opposition parliamentary no-confidence motion. The government's five-party coalition closed ranks against opposition accusations of economic mismanagement and a heated debate over national sov

VOA标准英语2008年-Australia Opens Sanctuary for Trafficked Women

The Salvation Army has opened Australia's first safe house for victims of human trafficking. The charity estimates that more than 1,000 people are brought to Australia each year as modern day slaves, to work in industries such as agriculture or in t

VOA标准英语2008年-UN Chief Hails Progress on North Korean Nuclear

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is pressing ahead with a presidential runoff election Friday, without an opponent and in the face of global calls, including from his neighbors, to postpone the poll. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern A

VOA标准英语2008年-As Zimbabwe's Mugabe Presses Ahead, Analysts Sa

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is pressing ahead with a presidential runoff election Friday, without an opponent and in the face of global calls, including from his neighbors, to postpone the poll. VOA's Delia Robertson reports from our southern A

VOA标准英语2008年-US Supreme Court Rules Americans Have Right to

For the first time in history, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a definitive ruling on the right of Americans to own guns. A five-to-four majority of the court ruled that individual citizens have the right to own firearms, and in the process it str

VOA标准英语2008年-Vietnam Considers Navy Exercises with US, as Ho

A senior U.S. Navy admiral says Vietnam is considering fresh offers he made this week for joint naval exercises. The admiral made the offers during the first ever visit to Vietnam by one of the U.S. Navy's hospital ships. VOA's Al Pessin reports fro

VOA标准英语2008年-US Says Zimbabwe's Mugabe Government Not Legiti

Britain says Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe can expect more pressure from the international community due to the deteriorating situation in his country before Friday's presidential runoff vote. A senior official in London also says Britain supp

VOA标准英语2008年-Philippine Divers Find Bodies, No Survivors in

Divers in the central Philippines have found bodies but no survivors inside a ferry that sank during a typhoon with more than 800 people on board. Since the vessel capsized Saturday more than 40 survivors and dozens of bodies have been recovered at

VOA标准英语2008年-US Court says Guantanamo Detainee Not 'Enemy Co

A decades-old U.S. government program to send future leaders from foreign countries to the United States is gaining new attention - particularly in France, where it is targeting minorities, including Muslims, and aims to present a more accurate imag

VOA标准英语2008年-Ugandan Rebel Leader Calls for Return to Negoti

The United States said Monday the government of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe cannot be considered legitimate in the absence of a presidential runoff election. In the wake of opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai's forced departure from the c