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 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:06:55 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA Nelson Mandela's foundation is going ahead with plans to mark his 95th birthday next month, despite his ongoing hospital stay. The foundation said that on July 18, the former South African president's birthday, charities, businesses and individuals will take part in a day of service called the Mandela Day campaign. Participants are being asked to do good deeds for 67 minutes to mark Mandela's 67 years of activism and public work. Some of the suggested actions include ... http://www.voanews.com/content/foundation-to-mark-mandelas-95th-birthday/1684951.html http://www.voanews.com/content/foundation-to-mark-mandelas-95th-birthday/1684951.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:09:39 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) A human rights group is calling on Sierra Leonean authorities to investigate a suspected arms dealer. U.N. investigators have alleged Ibrahim Bah supplied arms to rebels during Sierra Leone’s civil war. The civil war lasted 11 years, ending in 2002. During that time, RUF and AFRC rebels committed many atrocities, including murder, amputations, rape, kidnapping and torture. Ibrahim Bah, also known as Ibrahim Blade, allegedly provided arms and other support to the rebels. “Ibrahim Bah was ... http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-arms-dealer-19jun13/1684946.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sierra-leone-arms-dealer-19jun13/1684946.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:52:02 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Joe DeCapua) The fragile health of former South African president Nelson Mandela has been making headlines in recent days. But a new exhibition in Paris takes a step back -  looking at Mandela's evolution from political prisoner to one of the world's most beloved and respected politicians. Produced by the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, the show kicks off a year of cultural events in France featuring South Africa. Incidentally, the French capital recently made Mandela an honorary citizen. ... http://www.voanews.com/content/paris-exhibit-captures-mandela-journey/1684921.html http://www.voanews.com/content/paris-exhibit-captures-mandela-journey/1684921.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:36:51 -0400 Europe webdesk@voanews.com (Lisa Bryant) U.S. President Barack Obama set forth his vision for advancing toward a world free of nuclear weapons in a speech Wednesday at the historic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1684902.html http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1684902.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:19:00 -0400 Europe Brazil is deploying federal police to protect Confederations Cup football venues, as mass protests against government spending turned violent. In Brazil's most populous city, Sao Paulo, 50,000 people massed at the main cathedral. While mostly peaceful, the demonstration followed protests that drew 250,00 people across the country Tuesday, with small bands of radicals splitting off to fight with police and break into stores. The Justice Ministry says the National Force special police ... http://www.voanews.com/content/brazil-sends-federal-police-to-suppress-protests/1684893.html http://www.voanews.com/content/brazil-sends-federal-police-to-suppress-protests/1684893.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:16:52 -0400 Americas webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) Saudi Arabia's years of economic growth have been good to Abu Ahmad, an Egyptian ceramics worker in the city of Medina, who since 1997 has run his own business installing tiles and marble floors in new villas.   But after spending 16 years building up his company, the father of four now fears he might lose everything, not for lack of market demand in an economy where high oil revenue is fueling a construction boom, but because he is a foreigner.   Around the country, the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-crackdown-on-illegal-firms-threatens-thousands/1684898.html http://www.voanews.com/content/saudi-crackdown-on-illegal-firms-threatens-thousands/1684898.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:12:27 -0400 Middle East webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) The western state of California is known for wildfires that can quickly burn out of control, and this year the fire season has been extremely busy. Because of the fire risk, the state has some of the most experienced firefighters in the industry. It also enlists the help of prisoners to stop the fires.   Every morning, a select group of inmates in orange jumpsuits heads to work as firefighters. If there is no fire to fight, they painstakingly clean all the tools necessary to create the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/inmates-fight-fires-gain-skills-for-life-after-prison/1684894.html http://www.voanews.com/content/inmates-fight-fires-gain-skills-for-life-after-prison/1684894.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:53:21 -0400 USA webdesk@voanews.com (Elizabeth Lee) http://www.voanews.com/content/inmates-fight-fires-gain-skills-for-life-after-prison/1684894.html#relatedInfoContainer Mozambique is bracing itself for attacks by the former rebel group, Renamo, which is threatening an offensive on a scale not seen since the end of the civil war 20 years ago.   Speaking in the capital, Maputo, Renamo’s spokesman, Jeronimo Malagueta said that beginning Thursday, Renamo guerrillas would start blocking the economically crucial Sena railway line used by foreign companies to transport coal to the coast.  He also warned people not to use the country’s national ... http://www.voanews.com/content/rebel-group-threatens-mozambique-railway/1684883.html http://www.voanews.com/content/rebel-group-threatens-mozambique-railway/1684883.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:53:12 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Jinty Jackson) http://www.voanews.com/content/rebel-group-threatens-mozambique-railway/1684883.html#relatedInfoContainer Wednesday marks the one year anniversary of Assange's successful asylum bid here to avoid extradition to Sweden to answer questions on sexual assault claims. The 41-year-old fears Sweden will hand him over to U.S. authorities, who would try him for helping facilitate one of the largest information leaks in U.S. history.        In an off-camera interview with Reuters a year after he took refuge within these walls, Assange said he remained hopeful he would ... http://www.voanews.com/content/assange-completes-full-year-at-ecuador-embassy-in-london/1684864.html http://www.voanews.com/content/assange-completes-full-year-at-ecuador-embassy-in-london/1684864.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:40:05 -0400 Europe webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters) Top officials of the U.S. central bank are discussing how much and how soon to reduce their efforts to speed up economic growth. The chairman of the Federal Reserve will report their decisions Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.  Ben Bernanke has previously said the bank will cut stimulus efforts if  the unemployment situation improves further or inflation rises strongly. Stock markets have been very volatile as nervous investors try to guess what the Fed will do. Back in 2008, the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/markets-watch-bernanke/1684856.html http://www.voanews.com/content/markets-watch-bernanke/1684856.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:34:52 -0400 Economy webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) U.S. President Barack Obama says Syria's government has lost its legitimacy by killing tens of thousands of its citizens in a bloody civil war, but he refused to describe the type of military support Washington will provide rebel forces.   Speaking at a news conference Wednesday in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama said reports the United States is heading into a new Middle East war in Syria are exaggerated.   He reiterated his view that President Bashar ... http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-silent-on-us-arms-to-syrian-rebels/1684851.html http://www.voanews.com/content/obama-silent-on-us-arms-to-syrian-rebels/1684851.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:30:55 -0400 USA webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) China says a North Korean official has expressed a willingness to return to long-stalled six-party talks on dismantling his nation's nuclear weapons program. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said top North Korean nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan made the comment Wednesday in a meeting with Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing. In an article posted on its website, the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Kim as saying Pyongyang is willing to hold a dialogue with all parties ... http://www.voanews.com/content/china-north-korea-willing-to-resume-6party-nuclear-talks/1684843.html http://www.voanews.com/content/china-north-korea-willing-to-resume-6party-nuclear-talks/1684843.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:27:14 -0400 Asia webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) President Barack Obama has defended U.S. government surveillance activities, saying it has saved lives in countries around the world.  The president seeks to reassure Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German people, as well as Americans, about the nature of the program. At a joint press conference with the German leader, Obama said the program of Internet surveillance, called PRISM, has been effective while the court-approved process has strictly limited encroachment on privacy. ... http://www.voanews.com/content/in-germany-obama-defends-us-surveillance-programs/1684799.html http://www.voanews.com/content/in-germany-obama-defends-us-surveillance-programs/1684799.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:25:58 -0400 USA webdesk@voanews.com (Kent Klein) Present warming trends could roll back decades of development and exacerbate poverty in some of the world’s poorest regions in South Asia, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new World Bank study, which calls for urgent action to reverse global warming because the window for action is narrowing rapidly.        From declining food production to water shortages, more extreme heat waves to floods, the picture painted by the new World Bank report is ... http://www.voanews.com/content/report-global-warming-could-reverse-development/1684795.html http://www.voanews.com/content/report-global-warming-could-reverse-development/1684795.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:18:51 -0400 Asia webdesk@voanews.com (Anjana Pasricha) http://www.voanews.com/content/report-global-warming-could-reverse-development/1684795.html#relatedInfoContainer Foreign Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their dialogue partners are gathering in Brunei for a three-day meeting beginning June 29.  The ASEAN meetings are expected to discuss a range of security and economic issues.  Top diplomats representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, 16 Western and Asian countries, and the European Union will meet in Brunei, a sultanate on the Malaysian island of Borneo. The three-day ASEAN Regional Forum will ... http://www.voanews.com/content/southeast-asian-nations-partners-to-discuss-regional-security/1684758.html http://www.voanews.com/content/southeast-asian-nations-partners-to-discuss-regional-security/1684758.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:56:24 -0400 Asia webdesk@voanews.com (Daniel Schearf) Gunmen have raided a village in northern Nigeria and killed at least 48 people in a revenge attack targeting a local vigilante group. Witnesses say dozens of gunmen arrived on motorbikes early Tuesday in the village of Kizara, moving from house to house and shooting at residents. Some of the gunmen climbed on top of a hill and opened fire on villagers who tried to escape the attack. Zamfara state officials say the gunmen were part of a group of cattle rustlers that have been terrorizing ... http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-dozens-in-northern-nigeria-village/1684740.html http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-dozens-in-northern-nigeria-village/1684740.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:40:08 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News) http://www.voanews.com/content/gunmen-kill-dozens-in-northern-nigeria-village/1684740.html#relatedInfoContainer The U.S. Senate has voted in favor of automatic citizenship for foreign-born children adopted by American families. The chamber added the measure to landmark legislation to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, a top priority of President Barack Obama’s agenda. Senators have proposed scores of amendments to the immigration bill, and Tuesday the Senate voted on four of them. Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar co-sponsored the foreign adoption proposal, saying needy children deserve a chance at ... http://www.voanews.com/content/senate-includes-foreign-adoptees-in-us-immigration-reform-bill/1684745.html http://www.voanews.com/content/senate-includes-foreign-adoptees-in-us-immigration-reform-bill/1684745.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:37:01 -0400 USA webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman) For many Egyptians, the year since Mohamed Morsi became the nation's first democratically elected president has been a failure. After a year of dreadful economic decline, energy and water shortages, lack of security and what some see as the president's overbearing, exclusive, Islamist agenda, they now want to do something about it. Across the country, activists with the Tamarod - or Rebel - campaign have been collecting signatures expressing lost confidence in Morsi and demanding ... http://www.voanews.com/content/morsi-critics-demand-early-egypt-elections/1684744.html http://www.voanews.com/content/morsi-critics-demand-early-egypt-elections/1684744.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:33:55 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Elizabeth Arrott) http://www.voanews.com/content/morsi-critics-demand-early-egypt-elections/1684744.html#relatedInfoContainer South Africa is preparing to host the biggest radio telescope in the world.  Along with Australia, the country has been chosen to host the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), which will be 50 times more sensitive than any equipment so far and will seek answers to the origins of the universe.  About three hours from Cape Town lies the arid and barren Karoo desert.  Soon, that desert will play host to part of the world's largest radio telescope. The SKA will be 50 times more ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-africa-to-host-worlds-biggest-telescope/1684726.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-africa-to-host-worlds-biggest-telescope/1684726.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:16:01 -0400 Science & Technology webdesk@voanews.com (Emilie Iob) Militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for what officials are calling a suicide bomb attack on a United Nations compound in the Somali capital. http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1684728.html http://www.voanews.com/media/photogallery/1684728.html Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:15:00 -0400 Africa