http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Sat, 18 May 2013 20:32:08 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA China is acknowledging that some government officials have tried to avoid a crackdown on extravagance by holding secret sauna parties and hiding alcohol in plastic water bottles. The state-run People's Daily published a front-page commentary Wednesday warning officials against engaging in "underground" lavish lifestyles funded by public money. The article was published under the byline of He Yong - the same name as a high-ranking Chinese anti-corruption official.  It ... http://www.voanews.com/content/china-some-officials-holding-secret-sauna-parties-hiding-liquor/1652326.html http://www.voanews.com/content/china-some-officials-holding-secret-sauna-parties-hiding-liquor/1652326.html Wed, 01 May 2013 09:28:49 -0400 Asia Michael Lipin Clothes swapping has become an increasingly popular way for women in the United States to give away undesired items from their wardrobes and get something fresh in return. Enthusiasts in the Washington area and beyond have attracted hundreds of new participants to their events in recent months, using social media to spread the word. Swappers say the events are an opportunity to stay fashionable on a budget, and to be charitable and environmentally friendly at the same time. One of the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/social-media-draw-more-us-women-to-clothing-swaps/1652239.html http://www.voanews.com/content/social-media-draw-more-us-women-to-clothing-swaps/1652239.html Wed, 01 May 2013 06:52:45 -0400 USA Michael Lipin Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has appealed for calm and dialogue as Sunni protesters battle his security forces for a third consecutive day in several parts of northern and central Iraq. In a nationally-televised address on Thursday, Maliki urged Iraqis "not to remain silent" about what he called efforts by "terrorists" to drag the country toward a sectarian civil war. He warned that if sedition spreads, there will be "no winners and losers, everyone will ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iraqi-pm-appeals-for-calm-as-protests-continue/1648992.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iraqi-pm-appeals-for-calm-as-protests-continue/1648992.html Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:55:05 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/iraqi-pm-appeals-for-calm-as-protests-continue/1648992.html#relatedInfoContainer Supporters of a new scholarship for international students at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University say they are backing the program in the hope that it will produce future world leaders with a better understanding of China. American billionaire investor Stephen Schwarzman announced the scholarship bearing his name at a ceremony Sunday in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. The Tsinghua program will fund one-year master's degrees for 200 students, almost half of them ... http://www.voanews.com/content/beijing-scholarship-to-promote-understanding-of-china/1646827.html http://www.voanews.com/content/beijing-scholarship-to-promote-understanding-of-china/1646827.html Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:38:53 -0400 Asia Michael Lipin A surge in violence in Iraq is highlighting the security challenges facing the country as it prepares to hold its first election without foreign troop support on Saturday. In the deadliest of several bombings across Iraq this week, a suicide bomber attacked a Baghdad cafe popular with Iraqi youths Thursday, killing at least 27 people. Nationwide attacks also killed more than 30 people on Monday. Iraqi authorities have pressed on with plans to hold Saturday's provincial council elections ... http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-election-challenges/1644654.html http://www.voanews.com/content/iraq-election-challenges/1644654.html Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:52:15 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin The head of Syria's main Islamist rebel group has sworn allegiance to al-Qaida, deepening a rift with moderate rebels over how to rule the nation if they topple President Bashar al-Assad. Abu Mohammad al-Golani, leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, or Nusra Front, made the pledge of loyalty to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message posted on militant websites Wednesday. Golani also acknowledged that his group receives logistical support and training from al-Qaida's Iraq-based ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-islamist-nusra-rebels-deepen-rift-with-moderate-opposition/1639010.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syria-islamist-nusra-rebels-deepen-rift-with-moderate-opposition/1639010.html Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:30:02 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin North Korea has urged foreigners to leave South Korea to avoid a possible military conflict, but Pyongyang's latest warning apparently has done little to disrupt life in Seoul. North Korean state television broadcast a message Tuesday, telling tourists and enterprises to evacuate Seoul and South Korea "for their own safety," because of the risk of what it called a "nuclear war." But businesses in Seoul were operating normally after the threat, and there was no sign ... http://www.voanews.com/content/seoul-ignores-north-korea-warning-for-foreigners-to-quit-south/1638195.html http://www.voanews.com/content/seoul-ignores-north-korea-warning-for-foreigners-to-quit-south/1638195.html Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:49:07 -0400 Asia Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/seoul-ignores-north-korea-warning-for-foreigners-to-quit-south/1638195.html#relatedInfoContainer The heaviest exchange of fire between Israel and Gaza in months is drawing attention to Salafist groups in the Palestinian territory.   A group calling itself the Mujahedeen Shura Council says it has launched several rocket strikes on southern Israel since Tuesday. In the latest salvo, Israelis rushed to bomb shelters early Wednesday. Hours earlier, the Israeli military sent warplanes to attack militant targets in open areas of northern Gaza.   There have been no ... http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-gaza-palestinians-salafist-militants/1634176.html http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-gaza-palestinians-salafist-militants/1634176.html Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:02:44 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/israel-gaza-palestinians-salafist-militants/1634176.html#relatedInfoContainer Prosecutors in the U.S. state of Colorado say they will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing 12 people and wounding dozens more in a shooting rampage at a movie theater in 2012. The prosecution's announcement at a Monday court hearing in Centennial, Colorado prompted the judge to say the case against accused gunman James Holmes likely will drag on for years. Prosecutor George Brauchler said he decided to pursue the death penalty against Holmes after taking into ... http://www.voanews.com/content/prosecutors-seeks-death-penalty-in-colorado-cinema-shooting/1632853.html http://www.voanews.com/content/prosecutors-seeks-death-penalty-in-colorado-cinema-shooting/1632853.html Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:05:31 -0400 USA Michael Lipin Chinese rescuers have found 15 more bodies of miners buried by a huge landslide in Tibet, and frantically searched for survivors from Friday's disaster despite dwindling hopes of finding anyone alive.  The official Xinhua news agency said the bodies were uncovered Sunday, raising the confirmed death toll to 17, with another 66 miners still missing. The miners were at a camp in the Maizhokunggar county of the Tibetan Autonomous Region when the mountain above them collapsed early Friday, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/chinese-rescuers-find-more-bodies-in-tibet-landslide/1632233.html http://www.voanews.com/content/chinese-rescuers-find-more-bodies-in-tibet-landslide/1632233.html Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:50:11 -0400 Asia Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/chinese-rescuers-find-more-bodies-in-tibet-landslide/1632233.html#relatedInfoContainer A Syrian rights group says fighting between government and rebel forces has intensified in a strategic part of Aleppo, the country's commercial hub, with shells killing four civilians and forcing many others to flee.  The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the shelling hit the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud on Sunday, as government troops tried to prevent rebels from taking the hilltop area. Control of Aleppo has been divided between the two sides for months, with ... http://www.voanews.com/content/shells-hit-key-district-syria-aleppo/1632197.html http://www.voanews.com/content/shells-hit-key-district-syria-aleppo/1632197.html Sun, 31 Mar 2013 18:28:14 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin The United Nations is preparing to send a team to Syria to investigate whether chemical weapons were used earlier this month in a deadly rocket attack near Aleppo. Investigators are likely to face major challenges from establishing the facts in a war environment to carefully handling suspected chemical samples. There were survivors of what the Syrian government says was a chemical weapon attack by rebels on the northern town of Kahn al-Asal. Many of the people rushed to a hospital in nearby ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-team-faces-tough-task-in-syrian-chemical-probe/1631022.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-team-faces-tough-task-in-syrian-chemical-probe/1631022.html Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:58:50 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/un-team-faces-tough-task-in-syrian-chemical-probe/1631022.html#relatedInfoContainer Chinese President Xi Jinping has promised to cooperate with African nations on the basis of equality, a pledge aimed at easing African concerns about Beijing's growing influence on the continent. In a keynote speech to Africans in Tanzania's economic hub of Dar es Salaam Monday, Xi said China insists on "equality among all countries irrespective of their size and strength." He also expressed opposition to what he called the practice of "the big bullying the small and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/xi-tries-to-ease-african-concerns-about-china-influence/1628494.html http://www.voanews.com/content/xi-tries-to-ease-african-concerns-about-china-influence/1628494.html Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:20:49 -0400 Africa Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/xi-tries-to-ease-african-concerns-about-china-influence/1628494.html#relatedInfoContainer Syria's opposition movement was in disarray Sunday, as the head of the main exiled opposition group resigned, and rebels inside the country rejected the group's appointment of an interim prime minister.   Syrian National Coalition leader Mouaz al-Khatib announced his resignation on his Facebook page. He complained that the international community has not done enough to help the Syrian people defend themselves from the forces of President Bashar al-Assad, who has been fighting ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-opposition-in-turmoil-khalib-quits-hitto-rejected/1627690.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-opposition-in-turmoil-khalib-quits-hitto-rejected/1627690.html Sun, 24 Mar 2013 13:05:26 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-opposition-in-turmoil-khalib-quits-hitto-rejected/1627690.html#relatedInfoContainer New research shows Pakistan's growing purchases of Chinese military hardware have helped Beijing become the world's fifth biggest exporter of conventional arms, overtaking Britain. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says Pakistan bought 55 percent of China's weapons exports in the years 2008 to 2012. Pakistan and China are longtime allies. A Pakistani defense analyst says Islamabad's main purchases include Chinese tanks, fighter jets, patrol boats, guns, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/china-arms-exporter-5th-largest/1623754.html http://www.voanews.com/content/china-arms-exporter-5th-largest/1623754.html Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:48:05 -0400 Asia Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/china-arms-exporter-5th-largest/1623754.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian rebels appear to have seized a large number of weapons from a government arms depot near the northern city of Aleppo.  Activists posted several videos to YouTube on Saturday and Sunday showing crates of weapons and ammunition they say were seized from the arms depot in the town of Khan Toman.  In one video, Islamist rebels loaded dozens of the crates onto a truck. In another, rebels inspected the interior of a seized building containing crates of rockets and other arms. There ... http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-rebels-appear-to-make-big-weapons-seizure/1623280.html http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-rebels-appear-to-make-big-weapons-seizure/1623280.html Sun, 17 Mar 2013 15:36:40 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/syrian-rebels-appear-to-make-big-weapons-seizure/1623280.html#relatedInfoContainer The United States and Israel are among the world's closest allies, but their leaders have had a rocky relationship over the past four years. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have disagreed in public repeatedly on how to deal with Iran's controversial nuclear program and Jewish housing on occupied land claimed by Palestinians. That poses a challenge to the two leaders as they prepare to meet in Israel this month. Their first major dispute began in ... http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-netanyahu-israel/1621153.html http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-netanyahu-israel/1621153.html Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:39:57 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-netanyahu-israel/1621153.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian opposition activists say rebels have put more pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, launching an offensive to retake a former rebel stronghold in central Syria and establishing a religious council in the east.   The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels stormed the Baba Amr district of the central city of Homs on Sunday, about a year after government forces drove them out in a month-long battle that killed hundreds of people. Assad had visited Baba Amr ... http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-say-syria-rebels-raid-homs-create-council-in-east/1618796.html http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-say-syria-rebels-raid-homs-create-council-in-east/1618796.html Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:01:58 -0400 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-say-syria-rebels-raid-homs-create-council-in-east/1618796.html#relatedInfoContainer North Korea appears to be preparing its people for a potential conflict with the U.S.-backed South, by taking steps to camouflage public transport and broadcasting messages from citizens in favor of war. South Korean and Japanese media reported Wednesday that authorities in Pyongyang have begun to cover up buses and trains with camouflage netting, a precautionary measure that has not been seen in the North Korean capital for years. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the situation in ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-prepares-public-for-potential-conflict-with-south/1616568.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-prepares-public-for-potential-conflict-with-south/1616568.html Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:53:10 -0500 Asia Michael Lipin, William Gallo http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-prepares-public-for-potential-conflict-with-south/1616568.html#relatedInfoContainer Syrian activists say rebels have captured the governor of the northern province of Raqqa, after largely pushing government forces from the area's capital city. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday the fighters seized Hassan Jalili, calling him the highest-ranking official to be captured since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began. The rebels took control of large parts of Raqqa city on Monday, but activists say clashes continue in some areas ... http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-syrian-rebels-capture-provincial-governor/1615326.html http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-syrian-rebels-capture-provincial-governor/1615326.html Tue, 05 Mar 2013 05:00:38 -0500 Middle East Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/activists-syrian-rebels-capture-provincial-governor/1615326.html#relatedInfoContainer