Russian President Dmitri Medvedev is calling for major police reforms, including a 50 percent reduction in the number of officials working at Interior Ministry headquarters and sub-units. The Kremlin
The release of the original "We Are The World" on March 7, 1985 was an instant success. It became the fastest-selling U.S. pop single of all-time, and by the end of the decade, was the best-selling s
An investment group out of Australia has unveiled a $600 million plan to create a massive farm project in Cambodia. However, human rights workers are concerned that this deal, and others like it, will
Hollywood is gearing up for the Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. The event March 7 is the highlight of the year for the American movie industry. Nominees who attended a recent luncheon say
The commander of U.S. military relief efforts in Haiti said Wednesday that the operation is becoming more civilian and more Haitian, but that there is still an important role for his troops in the ear
The ability to communicate using complex spoken language is a uniquely human characteristic, but surprisingly little is known about how we developed language when our close primate relatives, like chi
The DNA testing of several prominent Egyptian mummies has revealed the identities of the mother and the father of famous boy king Tutankhamun. Egypt's head of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, says tests also revealed what killed Tut.
In Malaysia the sodomy trial of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim is to resume after the Court of Appeals rejected a motion to strike down the charges. No matter the outcome, the salacious nature of the
The teams of athletes gathered in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics have trained and honed their skills to win medals. But another team - from the Royal Canadian Mint - has used all of its skills and
Thousands of fans who thought they would get to witness a Winter Olympics event got bad news because of the bad weather at Cypress Mountain, one of the Olympic venues for the Vancouver Games.
Coffee, computers and piston engines - could we imagine a world without them? These are intricate parts of every day life for most of us and the knowledge that led to them was either invented by or p
BOB DOUGHTY:I'm Bob Doughty.SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:And I'm Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we travel around the world exploring the history of chocolate. Its story begins wi
India is expected to spend $100 billion in the next decade on its military. The South Asian nation is believed to be the world's largest buyer of weaponry, and there is an intense competition among f
The Australian government plans to attract Islamic banks after publishing its first report on this booming area of finance. The government wants Australia to become a finance hub for almost one billio
This is the VOA Special English program SCIENCE IN THE NEWS. I'm Steve Ember.BARBARA KLEIN:And I'm Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell how less salt can lead to better health. We will also tell abo
Ukrainian election officials say they will not consider Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's complaints of presidential election fraud. Opposition leader Victor Yanukovich defeated Ms. Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points in the February 7 runoff election. Voters have mixed feelings about Ms. Tymoshenko's attempts to win the presidency.
Eric Seelenfreund and his dog Murphy are unmistakable against the white snow of the Whistler Olympic venues. Eric wears a bright red and black parka with a huge Maltese cross on the sleeve. He wears a black cap with the same emblem and the words 'Squaw Valley K-9 Pro Patrol'.
BOB DOUGHTY:Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.BARBARA KLEIN:And I'm Barbara Klein. The United States has thousands of "ghost towns." These are communities that once we
Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.Every language has its ways of expressing strong emotions -- surprise, shock, anger.The expressions range from mild to strong, from exclama
VOAVOICE ONE:I'm Steve Ember.VOICE TWO:And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Jane Jacobs. She was an activist for improving cities.(MUSIC)VOICE ONE:
VOA To mark the occasion, many Americans will spend big bucks on chocolates and other candy. But in a New York pizza parlor, a young woman named Christy explains that her high school boyfriend has ot