VOA标准英语2009年-Taliban Control Spreads in Afghanistan

Eight years after the terror strike on the United States, which prompted an invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban, there are indications that the insurgents are continuing to widen their reach inside the country. Meanwhile, some high-ranking B

VOA标准英语2009年-US, Other Major Powers Propose Early Meeti

The United States, the four other permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany are seeking an early meeting with Iran to explore that country's willingness to negotiate over its nuclear program. The decision Friday follows an Iranian

VOA标准英语2009年-US Envoy Back in Israel to Push Peace Effo

U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell has begun meetings with officials in Israel to revive stalled peace efforts. Among the obstacles that Mitchell is facing is Israel's continuing expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

VOA标准英语2009年-Lawmakers Give Mixed Reaction on Obama Hea

President Barack Obama's address Wednesday night to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on the issue of health care reform is drawing reaction from U.S. lawmakers. The president used strong language to clarify what reform proposals would do, pledge

VOA标准英语2009年-Late Philippines President Aquino's Son to

The son of deceased former Philippine President Corazon Aquino has declared his candidacy for president in next year's polls. The decision comes after strong public clamor for Senator Benigno Aquino III to carry on his mother's democratic legacy. Ph

VOA标准英语2009年-US Envoy to Sudan Returns for Darfur Meeti

U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration returns to the African nation Wednesday for a five day visit. Gration heads to Sudan to continue his mediation of North-South negotiations and to travel to the devastated western region of Darfur. US special

VOA标准英语2009年-French General Takes Over Senior NATO Job

For the first time in NATO history, one of the alliance's supreme commanders is from a country other than the United States. Air Force general Stephane Abrial of France has taken over the job of Supreme Allied Commander Transformation for NATO. Step

VOA标准英语2009年-Who: Suicide Leading Cause of Death Worldw

The World Health Organization says suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and one of the three leading causes of death for young people under 25. To mark World Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on September 10, the World Health Organizatio

VOA标准英语2009年-Senegalese Refugees Speak Out Amid Increas

Southern Senegal is experiencing some of the worst fighting in years, as violence between separatist rebels and army loyalists flares. The fighting has left one small town in rural Senegal deserted, as farmers are forced to leave their crops to lang

VOA标准英语2009年-Somaliland President Shuts Down Parliament

The president of Somaliland has forcibly closed the breakaway republic's parliament after it began debating impeachment charges against him, just a few days after elections were indefinitely postponed. The speaker of Somaliland's Lower House of Parl

VOA标准英语2009年-Former Congolese Rebels Desert DRC Army

Hundreds of former rebels have deserted the Congolese army in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, citing complaints about pay and their assigned military ranks. The U.N. mission in Congo says discussions with the breakaway group are ongoing. T

VOA标准英语2009年-Indonesia 'Surprised' by Australian War Cr

Australia has played down fears that a police investigation into the deaths of five journalists in East Timor will spark a diplomatic dispute with Indonesia. Australian police have begun a war crimes investigation into the deaths of the five newsmen

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