VOA标准英语2009年-World Markets Lower Amid Further Signs of US Ec

World markets were mostly lower on Wednesday amid more dire U.S. economic news and a move by Germany to facilitate bank nationalization. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up one-tenth of a percent, while other U.S. indexes were just slightly lowe

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Security Council Welcomes Darfur Goodwill Ag

The United Nations Security Council has welcomed the signing of an agreement between Sudan's government and the country's main rebel group to pursue a negotiated settlement to the Darfur conflict. But the agreement, signed on Tuesday in Qatar, is no

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Probes Extrajudicial Killings In Kenya

A United Nations official is in Kenya to investigate reports of unlawful executions. Human rights groups in the country have accused the police force, as well as the military, of numerous extrajudicial killings in the past two years, many in respons

VOA标准英语2009年-Signs Show Possible Thaw in US-Syrian Relations

The new Obama administration appears to be taking tentative steps towards resuming dialogue with Syria, while the key step of sending a new U.S. ambassador to Damascus for the first time in three years remains up in the air. A visit by Senate Foreig

VOA标准英语2009年-Algiers to Host 2nd Pan-African Culture Festiva

Algeria is preparing to host the second Pan-African Culture Festival, and the first in 40 years. The event hopes to draw hundreds of thousands of people to Algiers this July to celebrate Africa's artistic renaissance. Khalida Toumi was a young girl

VOA标准英语2009年-WFP Starts Food Vouchers in Burkina Faso

The United Nations is giving food vouchers to poor families in Burkina Faso who have access to private sector markets, but can not afford higher food prices there. The innovative program is alsp helping local shopkeepers. This is the first time the

VOA标准英语2009年-Darfur Rivals Sign Deal in Doha

Sudan and Darfur's most active rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, has signed a declaration of good intentions in Doha. Qatar has been mediating talks between Khartoum and the rebel group since last Tuesday. Sudanese rebel group JEM lead

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Reports 40 Percent Increase in Afghan Civili

The United Nations says the number of civilians killed during 2008 in Afghanistan rose 40 percent from the year before. The 2,118 civilians reported killed last year is the highest number since the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban government in

VOA标准英语2009年-Clinton Pledges Improved Coordination With Japa

The subject of North Korea was prominent in talks in Tokyo between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top Japanese government officials. Clinton is on her first overseas trip in her new job and her first stop in Asia is America's long-time

VOA标准英语2009年-State Department Says Nuclear-Free Korea Remain

The State Department said Tuesday the complete dismantling of North Korea's nuclear program remains the goal of the Chinese-led six-party negotiations with Pyongyang. The comment followed an assertion by a leading U.S. academic that North Korea appe

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Orders More US Troops to Afghanistan

In his first major military move as Commander-in-Chief, President Barack Obama has approved a nearly 50 percent increase in the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, on top of a smaller increase ordered by former-President Bush and already implement

VOA标准英语2009年-Study Calls for New US Strategy in Afghanistan

A major independent research institute has issued a report calling for urgent and significant changes in U.S. military strategy toward Afghanistan. The call comes just as President Obama has launched his own strategy review, and as NATO defense mini

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Marks First Major Presidential Achievemen

President Barack Obama marked his first major political achievement on Tuesday when he signed the economic stimulus bill into law in Denver, Colorado. The question now, most analysts say, is whether Mr. Obama will be able to build momentum with his

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama to Sign Massive Economic Stimulus Bill In

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to sign the $787 billion economic stimulus plan into law at a ceremony in the western city of Denver, Colorado on Tuesday. Mr. Obama calls it a major milestone on the road to recovery for the U.S. economy, wh

VOA标准英语2009年-Japanese PM First Foreign Leader to Visit Presi

Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso will meet Tuesday with President Barrack Obama. He will be the first foreign leader to visit the White House since the new administration took office last month. Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso speaks during session a

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Agency Proposes Selective Industrialization

A United Nations agency is offering what it calls a conceptual breakthrough to uplift the world's poorest people. The U.N. Industrial Development Organization contends selective industrialization offers the best chance for smaller, developing countr

VOA标准英语2009年-Galveston, Texas Still Struggling to Recover fr

Five months after Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston, Texas, the island city on the Gulf of Mexico below Houston is struggling to recover. The economic slump in the nation as a whole has made the task more difficult, but many islanders are determine

VOA标准英语2009年-Signs of Progress Reported in Congo Peace Negot

Negotiators for the Congolese government and a rebel group in the country's east have reached a preliminary agreement, after talks in the eastern town of Goma. Neither side has released details of the discussion, which would only set the stage for f

VOA标准英语2009年-AU Says Somalia Attack Will Not Deter Peacekeep

The African Union said its peacekeeping mission in Somalia will not be deterred by Sunday's terrorist bomb attack in Mogadishu that killed 11 Burundian peacekeepers and wounded dozens more. AU tanks patrol the street in Mogadishu on 09 Feb 2009 The

VOA标准英语2009年-Freed Guantanamo Detainee is Back in Britain

Terror suspect Binyam Mohamed, who was a British resident, has returned to the United Kingdom after being released from Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, where he had been held by U.S. military authorities for more than four years. Mohamed says he went