VOA标准英语2009-European Union Budget Chief Wins in a Landslide

The European Union's budget commissioner has won Lithuania's presidential election getting roughly 69 percent of the vote according to official results. The results are just about what early exit polls had indicated. Voter turnout was about 51 perce

VOA标准英语2009-Netanyahu, Obama To Meet At White House Monday

Israel's new prime minister begins a visit to Washington Sunday for talks with U.S. officials on Israeli-Arab peace prospects and Iran's nuclear program. Benjamin Netanyahu The thorny issue of Palestinian statehood will top the agenda when hawkish I

VOA标准英语2009-President Obama Delivers Address to Notre Dame G

U.S. President Barack Obama has delivered the commencement address to graduates of one of America's leading Roman Catholic universities, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His visit and acceptance of an honorary degree angered religious protes

VOA标准英语2009-Sri Lanka Readies for Major National Celebration

Sri Lanka is preparing for a major celebration following the battlefield defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, ending a quarter-century civil war. Joyous outbursts that are mixed with some lingering anxiety, especially among the minority T

VOA标准英语2009-EU Budget Chief Becomes Lithuania's First Woman

Official results show European Union budget chief Dalia Grybauskaite has won the presidential elections in her native Lithuania, with nearly 70 percent of the vote. But she has little time to celebrate as the Baltic nation faces a major economic cri

VOA标准英语2009-Italy Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration

Italy is cracking down on illegal immigration and under an agreement with Libya has begun sending boatloads of migrants back to Africa. Italy's lower house of parliament has approved a new security bill by that redefines illegal immigration as a cri

VOA标准英语2009-Obama Delivers Inspirational Message to Class of

U.S. President Barack Obama has delivered his first commencement address since taking office, a speech to the graduating class of Arizona State University, in the American southwest. The president has a lot of advice for the class of 2009. President

VOA标准英语2009-Sri Lanka Rebels Concede Defeat

Sri Lanka's rebels have announced they would be laying down their guns to prevent what they call further unnecessary slaughter of Tamil civilians by government troops. The island nation's military says it has defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil

VOA标准英语2009-China, Australia to Build Final Leg of Asian Rai

Chinese and Australian engineers are gearing up to build the final stretch of track in the Trans-Asian Railway, which will link Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Vietnam and China through Cambodia. The Cambodian government has divided the countr

VOA标准英语2009-Global Warming Threatens Pacific's Bountiful Cor

Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea have set new plans to protect the Coral Triangle - a 5.5 million square kilometer area that holds the largest biodiversity in the oceans. Scientists consider it to be the marine

VOA标准英语2009-US House Approves Iraq-Afghanistan Funding

The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a nearly $97 billion spending measure that funds the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and provides counter-insurgency funding for Pakistan. The Senate is expected to vote next wee

VOA标准英语2009-Fundamentalists Call for Kuwaiti Women to Boycot

Kuwaiti voters go to the polls for their parliamentary elections Saturday. Some Kuwaiti Islamic fundamentalists are urging women candidates and voters not to participate in politics, saying it is anti-Islamic. But others are dismissing this claim, s

VOA标准英语2009-North Korea Cancels Contracts at Joint Industria

An industrial venture once celebrated as a symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas may be endangered by a sharpening dispute between the two sides. North Korea is essentially tearing up the agreements that make the zone run. North Korea's of

VOA标准英语2009-UN: Kenya Agrees to Plan for Maritime Pirate Pol

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Kenya has agreed to help launch a new strategy for combatting piracy off the coast of Somalia. The proposal calls for police from the Horn of Africa to deploy on international warships to arrest Soma

VOA标准英语2009-UN Official Hints at War Crimes in Sri Lanka

The U.N. human rights office says war crimes and crimes against humanity may have been committed during the conflict in Sri Lanka, possibly by both the government and Tamil Tiger rebels. A Sri Lankan Defense Ministry photo shows army soldiers patrol

VOA标准英语2009-International Pressure Mounts on Burma Over Dete

International pressure for the release of Burma's opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, from prison is mounting. But Burma's pro-democracy activists and opposition politicians say the international response, including from the United Nations, needs t

VOA标准英语2009-Guantanamo Military Tribunals to Resume

The Obama administration will restart military-run trials for some terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The tribunals will include new legal protections for the detainees. US President Barack Obama (file photo) President Barack Obama issued

VOA标准英语2009-Aung San Suu Kyi Charged With Violating House Ar

Lawyers for detained Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she is being charged with violating the terms of her house arrest and will soon face trial. The charges appear related to an American man who also faces charges for sneaking into he

VOA标准英语2009-Huge Struggle Ahead if Britain's Brown is to Kee

Celebrated internationally just six months ago for his call to spend our way out of the global downturn, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's political fortunes have soured dramatically on the domestic stage. Under the backdrop of a deep recession

VOA标准英语2009-Grassroots Effort Emerges to Fight Russian Corru

A group of private Russian citizens is seeking to establish a network of corruption victims as a means of advancing President Dmitri Medvedev's plans to battle the country's oppressive bureaucracy and courts. Participants at an organizational meetin