VOA标准英语2009年-Pakistani, Afghan Diplomats to Meet With US Off

The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan are scheduled to take part in the Obama administration's strategic review of South Asia policy here in Washington this week. The three-party talks come on the heels of a peace agreement between Islam

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Chief Urges Burma to Release All Political P

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again urged Burma's military government to release all political detainees after only a token number of political prisoners were freed during a general amnesty that began Saturday. The U.N. chief also says he i

VOA标准英语2009年-Egypt Temporarily Opens Gaza Crossing

Egypt is partially opening its border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The border crossings are a key issue in Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire talks. Palestinian men wave red Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian flags behi

VOA标准英语2009年-British PM Calls for Return of Traditional, Con

Writing in Britain's Observer newspaper, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is calling for a return to old-fashioned, conservative banking practices. It is a change for Mr. Brown who as Treasury Secretary for a decade was a proponent of the light regulator

VOA标准英语2009年-US Governors Debate Obama Mortgage Rescue Plan

President Barack Obama's plan to aid millions of Americans who are at risk of losing their homes is getting a mixed review from state governors who gathered in Washington for a three-day meeting. A rash of home foreclosures helped plunge the United

VOA标准英语2009年-European Leaders Discuss Common Ground in Econo

European leaders agreed to a common platform to combat the global financial crisis that includes oversight of all financial markets and products around the world. The proposed measures were drafted in Berlin in preparation for a key meeting of the w

VOA标准英语2009年-UN: Food Shortages, Poverty Forcing Rohingya to

The United Nation's World Food Program says food insecurity and malnutrition faced by Burma's Muslim Rohingya people, remains a key reason for thousands of Rohingya fleeing the region each year. The WFP is calling on Burma's military government to e

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Meets with Governors on Economy

U.S. President Barack Obama says the nation's governors will be held accountable for money flowing into their states as part of his economic stimulus plan. The money should start arriving this week. President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden before add

VOA标准英语2009年-Palestinian Residents Brace for Demolition of H

Palestinians in East Jerusalem are protesting what they say are preparations by Israel to demolish scores of Arab homes. The Arab residents accuse the Israelis of trying to push them out of Jerusalem, which both Israel and the Palestinians claim as

VOA标准英语2009年-US Says Burmese Prisoner Release Insufficient

The United States has welcomed Burma's release of about 20 political prisoners, but said the military government should free all its political detainees including democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Obama administration is reviewing U.S. policy t

VOA标准英语2009年-South Korea Says North Increasing Special Force

South Korea says North Korea is enhancing its military strength by deploying a new missile and increasing its number of light and mobile elite forces. As analysts warn of an imminent missile test by the North, officials in Seoul say Pyongyang's mili

VOA标准英语2009年-Al-Shabab Group Threatens More Terror Attacks i

Somalia's militant al-Shabab group has promised to launch more attacks against African Union peacekeeping troops a day after 11 soldiers from Burundi were killed in blasts claimed by the group. On an Internet website, al-Shabab posted pictures of th

VOA标准英语2009年-Egyptian Economists Worry About Falling Suez Ca

Egyptian economists are fretting, as the global economic crisis bites, hitting vital sources of government revenue, like tariffs from Suez Canal traffic. The canal authority reported that traffic for January was off by 22 percent, and that revenue w

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Expected to Give Sober, but Hopeful Addre

President Barack Obama addresses the U.S. Congress and the nation in a few hours, and faces huge expectations regarding the U.S. economic crisis. Democratic and Republican lawmakers made remarks ahead of the president's speech to a joint session of

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama's Speech in Congress Expected to Address

U.S. President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress for the first time, about the challenges the nation faces. The economy will be the main topic in the nationally-broadcast speech. President Barack Obama (file photo) The economic c

VOA标准英语2009年-Obama Administration Signals Thaw in Relations

Vice President Joe Biden gave a hint to the Obama administration's attitude toward relations with Russia in a Feb. 7 foreign policy speech in Munich, Germany. US Vice President Joe Biden addresses International Conference on Security Policy in Munic

VOA标准英语2009年-Taliban Militants Extend Cease-Fire in Pakistan

Pakistani Taliban militants in the country's troubled Swat valley say they are indefinitely extending a cease-fire with the government. Swat Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah is expected to soon announce the terms of the cease-fire. Residents of Swat

VOA标准英语2009年-Mortars Greet Somali President's Return to Capi

Heavy fighting in Somalia's capital between Islamist rebels and government forces has killed at least 13. The clashes come a day after Somalia's new president returned to the country from neighboring Djibouti. A Somalian boy wounded in a mortar atta

VOA标准英语2009年-Imprisoned Businessman and Kremlin Critic Faces

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formerly Russia's richest man, has been transferred from a Siberian prison to Moscow to face trial for alleged embezzlement and money laundering. Khodorkovsky is already serving an eight-year sentence on charges of fraud and ta

VOA标准英语2009年-UN Official Calls for Investment in Climate Tec

senior United Nations' official in Asia says the financial crisis hitting regional economies is an opportunity to boost investment in green technologies to impact climate change. The comments by U.N. Undersecretary General Noeleen Heyzer, head of th