VOA标准英语2009-France Sets up Commission to Study Wearing o

The French National Assembly has agreed to set up a commission to study the wearing of the head-to-toe Islamic covering known as the burqa. The decision was made a day after the country's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, spoke out against the garment. A

VOA标准英语2009-US Soccer Team Squeaks Into Confederations C

The U.S. Soccer Team has overcome long odds to reach the Confederations Cup semifinals in South Africa. The U.S. defeated Egypt, 3-0, and got help from Brazil, which beat World Cup champion Italy by an identical 3-0 score. USA's Charlie Davies, top,

VOA标准英语2009-Obama Signs Anti-Smoking Law

U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law Monday sweeping new legislation regulating the nation's tobacco industry. The bill gives the federal government the ability to regulate the production and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. Pre

VOA标准英语2009-Zimbabwe State Media Accuses Tsvangirai of D

Zimbabwe's state media is accusing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of flouting cabinet rules because he published a pamphlet about his ongoing visit to western countries without cabinet permission. President Robert Mugabe's office says the legality

VOA标准英语2009-Peace Fragile in Pakistan's Northwestern Bun

The infiltration of Taliban militants into Pakistan's northwestern Buner district, earlier this year, marked the end of a controversial peace deal to allow strict Islamic law in Swat Valley, in return for peace with the militants. The fight to wrest

VOA标准英语2009-Mobile Money Democratizes Uganda's Banking S

A growing number of Ugandans are starting to utilize a service called Mobile Money to transfer millions of dollars via text message on their mobile phones. The phenomenon is democratizing banking in Uganda and changing the country's socioeconomic la

VOA标准英语2009-Russia's Ingush Republic President Wounded i

The head of Russia's troubled Ingushetia region was critically wounded in an assassination attempt Monday. President Yunus Bek Yevkurov survived but at least one other person was killed and several others wounded. A 12 June 2009 photo of Ingush Pres

VOA标准英语2009-Rights Report: Zimbabwe Abuses Could Constit

A study by human rights groups in southern Africa say torture and other abuses in Zimbabwe have been so widespread and systematic that they could be considered crimes against humanity. And it says these abuses continue, causing a major blemish on th

VOA标准英语2009-UN Commission to Start Bhutto Assassination

The United Nations secretary-general has appointed a three-person commission to investigate the circumstances of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December 2007. The commission will begin its work on July 1. In Februa

VOA标准英语2009-Israel's President Supports Iran Protesters

Israel is weighing in on the Iran crisis. While one elder statesman has come out in support of the reformists, other Israelis are taking a more cautious approach. Israel's President Shimon Peres pauses during a meeting in his residency, 21 Jun 2009

VOA标准英语2009-India Issues Warning of Attacks From Domesti

India's government is warning of possible violent strikes by radical leftist insurgents. The alert comes as paramilitary forces conduct the most concerted effort in years to repel Maoists who control large swathes of eastern forests. Policemen take

VOA标准英语2009-Eyewitnesses Say Iranian Police Use Force to

Witnesses say Iranian riot police have fired tear gas to break up a new opposition rally in the centre of the capital Tehran, hours after a stern warning to protesters. According to eyewitness reports, Iranian police Monday attacked hundred of demon

VOA标准英语2009-US Senators Debate Supreme Court Nominee's C

A high-ranking Republican senator says President Barack Obama's nominee for a seat on the Supreme Court should apologize for a comment made years ago about the roles of race and gender in judicial opinions. Meanwhile, Democratic senators are downpla

VOA标准英语2009-D-Day Remembered 65 Years After Allied Invas

On June 6, 1944 over 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, in northern France, in a push to liberate Europe from Hitler's Nazi forces. Now, 65 years later, the memories of that day linger along that windswept coast and its quiet v

VOA标准英语2009-Obama's Speech to Muslims to be Part of Leng

The White House said President Barack Obama's upcoming speech in Cairo is part of a concerted effort to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world, but will not magically accomplish that goal by itself. President Barack Obama at the White House, 0

VOA标准英语2009-Clashes Return to Somali Capital

At least eight people have died in renewed fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Islamist insurgents and pro-government forces have clashed repeatedly since insurgents launched an offensive last month. Body of a Somali government soldier killed

VOA标准英语2009-US Treasury Secretary Assures China Its Doll

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is reassuring the Chinese government that its huge holdings of dollar assets are safe. As evidence of the importance of the Sino-American relationship, China is Secretary Geithner's only destination on this t

VOA标准英语2009-Explosion Rips Through Baghdad Market

An early-morning explosion at a Baghdad vegetable market killed four people and wounded 13 in the second attack at the same market in just over two weeks. Despite Monday's bloodshed, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said that civilian deaths were down dr

VOA标准英语2009-Displaced Niger Delta Residents Seek to Retu

Many of the people displaced in the Niger Delta by the current military offensive say they are eager to return home. We report from the makeshift camp at Ogbe Ijoh where supplies and patience are in short supply. A fleeing Ijaw woman baths her child

VOA标准英语2009-State Funeral for Former Sudanese President

Thousands of Sudanese attended a state funeral for former president Jaafar Nimeiri, who led the country from 1969 to 1985. Mr. Nimeiri died Saturday, at age 79. A Sudanese holds a poster showing former Sudanese President Gaafar Numeiri during his mi