VOA标准英语2013--North Korea Offers Direct Talks with US

North Korea Offers Direct Talks with US North Korea says it is offering direct talks to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula. The United States says North Korea must first meet its international obligations to end its nuclear program. North Korea mu

VOA标准英语2013--Some Aid Programs in Sahel Prefer Cash to Food

Some Aid Programs in Sahel Prefer Cash to Food It's market day in the village of Sadio, but it is also payday for these 800 beneficiaries of Catholic Relief Service's Yokkut program. Yokkut means resilience in the local Wolof language. By paying part

VOA标准英语2013--US-EU Set to Pursue Trade Deal, Possibly World’s Biggest

US-EU Set to Pursue Trade Deal, Possibly Worlds Biggest British Prime Minister David Cameron stood with U.S. President Barack Obama and European Union leaders to make the announcement. We are talking about what could be the biggest bilateral trade de

VOA标准英语2013--Congress Debates Limiting US Farmers' Role in Food Aid

Congress Debates Limiting US Farmers' Role in Food Aid When starvation looms, speed is critical. But while the U.S. provides more emergency food aid than any other country, speed is not what it does best. Andrew Natsios witnessed this shortcoming fir

VOA标准英语2013--US Agriculture Industry Opposes Changes to Food Aid Program

US Agriculture Industry Opposes Changes to Food Aid Program Plano, Illinois, farmer Bill Wykes has been behind the wheel of a tractor for almost four decades, planting and harvesting corn and soybeans on land his family has owned even longer. Through

VOA标准英语2013--Obama to Visit Senegal Amid Growing Sahel Terror Threat

Obama to Visit Senegal Amid Growing Sahel Terror Threat France blitzed into Mali in January with air strikes and 4,000 ground troops to push back a southern offensive by al-Qaida affiliates still active in the Sahel-Sahara region. There are no indica

VOA标准英语2013--Berlin Program Helps Minorities Enter Workforce

Berlin Program Helps Minorities Enter Workforce Ayse is a Turkish-German Berliner employed by the city. She found her job through Berlin Needs You At the program's recent annual meeting, counselors said they'd hit a milestone - 25 percent of new hire

VOA标准英语2013--Hope for Change in Iran Tempered With Caution

Hope for Change in Iran Tempered With Caution Supporters of the new president-elect marched through the streets of Tehran to celebrate. Rowhanis election on the first ballot, with more than 50 percent of the vote, surprised many experts. On Monday, R

VOA标准英语2013--Egyptian Support for Syrian Rebels Still Words Over Action

Egyptian Support for Syrian Rebels Still Words Over Action Syria's civil war has increasingly drawn in outsiders, from individual fighters to regional and international powers lining up on opposing sides. Egypt recently has stepped up its role, but t

VOA标准英语2013--Iran's Rowhani Promises New Era

Iran's Rowhani Promises New Era President-elect Hassan Rowhani took to the podium to make clear his victory represents a new era, hinting at a new start with world powers, including the United States. The issue of relations between Iran and America i

VOA标准英语2013--Paris Exhibit Captures Mandela's Journey

Paris Exhibit Captures Mandela's Journey In front of Paris city hall sits a bleak reminder of South Africa's apartheid regime. It's a reproduction of the Robben Island prison cell where Mandela spent 18 years in captivity. It's part of an exhibition

VOA标准英语2013--Turkey's PM Hits Back at International Critics of Crackdown

Turkey's PM Hits Back at International Critics of Crackdown After weeks of anti-government demonstrations in cities across Turkey, there was a moment of quiet as demonstrators staged silent protests. In Istanbul's Taksim Square - where the protests b

VOA标准英语2013--US Maintains Presence in Jordan

US Maintains Presence in Jordan A detachment of F-16 fighter jets and patriot missile batteries are staying at the request of Jordan. U.S. officials say the aim is to help Jordanian forces in their efforts to prevent a spillover of the Syrian conflic

VOA标准英语2013--Kerry Heads to Doha for Syria Talks

Kerry Heads to Doha for Syria Talks As rebel and government forces continue to fight north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, diplomats are pressing for the negotiated solution of a transitional authority for Syria. There is a unanimity about the importan

VOA标准英语2013--Shark Fin Consumption Declines in Hong Kong

Shark Fin Consumption Declines in Hong Kong Harvesting is what fishermen call the brutal act of cutting the fins off of living sharks and throwing the torso back into the ocean. Around 50 percent of all shark fins worldwide are traded through Hong Ko

VOA标准英语2013--Kerry Praises Genetically Modified Crops

Kerry Praises Genetically Modified Crops U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday the United States supports the use of biotechnology to develop so-called smart crops that can withstand droughts and floods and require less fertilization. So

VOA标准英语2013--Basic Steps Help Protect Personal Information From Hacking

Basic Steps Help Protect Personal Information From Hacking U.S. government officials say the surveillance covered only metadata - the patterns of the phone calls and internet messages - not the substance of the communications. According to reports, a

VOA标准英语2013--Protests Continue in Turkey, But Methods Changing

Protests Continue in Turkey, But Methods Changing Istanbul's Taksim Square. These standing man protests, as they are called, began Monday after the government quashed mass demonstrations, which it said were fomenting violence and chaos. The early pro

VOA标准英语2013--Numbers at 18-Yr. High as UN Observes World Refugee Day

Numbers at 18-Yr. High as UN Observes World Refugee Day Four-year-old Shahad laughs and jokes with her older sister in their makeshift home. She appears a happy, young girl; but the scars and burn marks on her smiling face tell the story of her begin

VOA标准英语2013--Russia, China Downgraded in US Trafficking Report

Russia, China Downgraded in US Trafficking Report Modern-Day Slavery Human trafficking is a worldwide problem, with an estimated 27 million people trapped in modern-day slavery. Only a small fraction of them, about 46,000, were identified last year,