VOA标准英语2009年-Dueling Claims of Victory in Afghan Presid

Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission is asking voters and the media to ignore claims by competing camps that their candidates captured a first-run victory in the presidential election. Meanwhile, a prominent U.S.-government funded institute

VOA标准英语2009年-Afghan Vote Results May Be Delayed

Complaints about fraud in Thursday's presidential and provincial council elections in Afghanistan may further delay the announcement of official results. Officials continue to issue statments saying claims that anyone is leading the presidential con

VOA标准英语2009年-Report Slams Israeli Claim of Settlement F

Israel is under fire again for alleged settlement expansion, this time in a report by an Israeli watchdog group. The settlers are crying foul. Caravans used for housing are seen at a Jewish outpost on a hilltop near the northern West Bank settlement

VOA标准英语2009年-Kim's Funeral Opens Door to High Level Tha

On the day South Korea formally bid farewell to its former president, the country's current president held a groundbreaking meeting with a team of high-level North Korean envoys visiting to pay respects. A vehicle putting up a portrait of late forme

VOA标准英语2009年-Ghana Debates Viability of Biofuels

Africa is central to the worldwide growth in biofuels, with Dutch, American, Swedish, Japanese, German, and British firms all competing for farmland to grow the next generation of energy producing crops. Some farmers in Ghana are concerned about wha

VOA标准英语2009年-Thousands of Displaced in Kabo Living in A

The United Nations refugee agency says it finally managed to gain access over a week ago to a remote northern area of the Central African Republic, following months of insecurity. A UNHCR spokesman tells VOA aid workers found more than 2,000 displac

VOA标准英语2009年-Uproar Over Swiss Apology to Libya

Switzerland is in an uproar over the government's decision to apologize to Libyan leader, Muammar Gadhafi, for the arrest of his son and daughter-in-law last year in Geneva for abusing their domestic servants. Libya had demanded an apology as the pr

VOA标准英语2009年-Libyan Lockerbie Bomber Could be Released

The man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, could be released from prison next week on compassionate grounds, according to British television. The reports of a release have prompted mixed reactions from famil

VOA标准英语2009年-Switzerland Loses Status as 'Tax Paradise'

An agreement to settle a long-standing tax evasion suit between Swiss banking giant UBS and the U.S. Justice Department has received mixed reviews in Switzerland. Swiss media disagree on the potential consequences of the deal. But all agree that Swi

VOA标准英语2009年-Clashes Between Houthi Rebels, Yemeni Gove

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and a Shi'ite rebel group in the north of the country appears to have intensified, with reports of casualties on both sides. Image taken from video released by the office of rebel leader Abdel Malik al-Hawth

VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says US Supports Sirleaf

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given a big boost of support to embattled Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf whose Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended that she be barred from holding further public office. Liberia's

VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Urges Political Reconciliation in

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday called for political reconciliation in Liberia, using her political career as an example. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (r) with Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Monrov

VOA标准英语2009年-Kenya's Food Crisis Worsening

Kenya's government is announcing new emergency steps to address the country's growing food crisis. But critics say the government's actions are too little, too late. The emergency plan announced by the Kenyan Cabinet this week includes mobilizing th

VOA标准英语2009年-In Aceh, Indonesia Foreign Aid Creates Ten

The 2004 tsunami that ravaged Indonesia's Aceh province helped convince Acehnese separatists and the central government in Jakarta to work together to end 30 years of war and rebuild the province. August 15 marks the fourth anniversary of the peace

VOA标准英语2009年-US Retail Sales Down, Jobless Claims Up

One day after the U.S. central bank signaled a possible end to America's longest recession since World War II, new data suggest continued weakness in several economic sectors. Shoppers move through the check-out line after a shopping trip to Wal-Mar

VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Militants Enforce Laws Alien to

In Somalia, militant Islamists have begun enforcing new laws in the areas they control that are challenging the views of many traditionally moderate Muslims in the country. The leader of al-Shabab militants in Somalia's Banadir region, which include

VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Says Liberia Making Progress in Fi

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf's government is making significant progress in the fight against corruption. Secretary Clinton addressed Liberia's national assembly in Monrovia. U.S. Secretary of

VOA标准英语2009年-Gates Might Agree to More Troops for Afgha

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates indicated Thursday he might be receptive if his new commander in Afghanistan asks for more troops, but he is still concerned that having too many foreign forces in the country could alienate its people. Defense Se

VOA标准英语2009年-Muslim Preachers Killed in Somalia's Puntl

At least five Muslim preachers from Pakistan have been shot to death outside a mosque in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland. There are reports that two more may have died in a hospital from their wounds. The motive behind the shootings is

VOA标准英语2009年-Scientists: Australian Aboriginal Knowledg

As Australia's federal parliament prepares to vote this week on a sweeping carbon trading program, scientists say that aboriginal fire management practices could help reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Indigenous techniques have limited