|  |  |  | | | | | Voice of America | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The drug-related deaths of popular entertainers like Whitney Houston have focused attention on drug and alcohol abuse, both inside and outside the entertainment industry. Celebrities may be at special risk, but some in the industry say they are addressing the problem. The shocking stories are familiar - lives cut short by alcohol and drug abuse. Cocaine contributed to Whitney Houston's death. She drowned in her bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel earlier this ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The leaders of the Group of Eight major economies plan to address Africa's food security when they meet at a mountain retreat near Washington, DC this week. But, Europe's economic situation will demand much of the group's attention. The European debt crisis, and its possible effects on the world economy, will be on the minds of the G8 leaders when they meet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. French President Francois Hollande will be among ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Obama's decision to support same sex marriage in the United States could have an impact on what is expected to be a close presidential election in November. But most experts believe the president's fate is still tied to the domestic economy. At a New York fundraiser featuring singer Ricky Martin, President Obama's supporters applauded his recent announcement in support of same sex marriage. "We have never gone wrong when we expanded rights and ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Obama's decision to support same-sex marriage in the United States could have an impact on what is expected to be a close presidential election in November. But most experts believe the president's fate is still tied to the domestic economy. At a New York fundraiser featuring singer Ricky Martin, President Obama's supporters applauded his recent announcement in support of same-sex marriage. "We have never gone wrong when we expanded rights and ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | WHITE HOUSE - President Barack Obama welcomes NATO leaders to his home town of Chicago this coming weekend for a summit focused on Afghanistan, burden-sharing and other challenges facing the alliance. The U.S. and NATO are withdrawing from Afghanistan under a timetable that will have all foreign combat forces out by 2014. Despite high profile Taliban attacks, NATO says Afghan government forces are on track to fully shoulder the security burden. President Obama, earlier this ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Former Bosnian-Serb Army Commander, General Ratko Mladic, is facing 11 charges, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in a trial that starts Wednesday at a United Nations tribunal in the Hague. The 70-year-old former commander is accused of ordering the massacre of about 8,000 men and boys outside the Bosnian city of Srebrenica and the bloody siege of Bosnia's capital Sarajevo in the early 1990s. Mladic, a career military man, trained at the academy of the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  ULPANA, Beit El, Occupied West Bank - The European Union this week continued the international condemnation of Israel's policy of building settlements in largely Palestinian areas. The enclaves are a stumbling block to restarting peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. But in a minor win for Palestinians, an Israeli court has ordered three small West Bank settlements to be demolished after ruling they were illegal. The houses of Ulpana overlook Beit El, an Israeli settlement of ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The Obama administration has launched an initiative to find more effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease, saying the deadly brain-wasting disorder is one of the most serious health challenges facing the nation. The ambitious, two-tiered strategy aims to have better treatments for the disease by 2025, as well as provide much-needed help now to families of patients suffering from the progressive disorder. Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative condition that attacks ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Award-winning Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, regarded as the father of modern Latin American literature, died Tuesday in Mexico City at age 83. The Panamanian-born Fuentes focused mainly on contemporary Mexico and what he saw as its political failures. He published his first novel, The Air is Clear when he was 29. This was followed by such acclaimed works as The Death of Artemio Cruz, Old Gringo, and Aura. Fuentes also was a college professor and served ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who is set to earn billions when the social networking giant goes public on the U.S. stock market Friday, has drawn criticism for renouncing his U.S. citizenship in a move that could save him millions in taxes. The Singapore resident still will end up paying fees, but experts say the benefits of expatriation for Saverin, and many others, may outweigh the costs. Saverin's stake in the company is estimated at nearly $4 billion. As a U.S. citizen, ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who is set to earn billions when the social networking giant goes public on the U.S. stock market Friday, has drawn criticism for renouncing his U.S. citizenship in a move that could save him millions in taxes. The Brazilian-born, Singapore resident will still end up paying a hefty amount to the U.S., but financial experts say the benefits of expatriation for Saverin, and many others, may outweigh the costs. Saverin's stake in the company is ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  A territorial squabble between China and the Philippines over a small group of islands in the South China Sea has not evolved into a going green agreement. But a decision by both countries to implement a ban on fishing in the region has helped to temporarily defuse tensions between them. From May 16 – August 1, China said it will stop fishing in an area that encompasses the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island to the Chinese), a small group of islands it claims as part of its ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  News media in the United States are reporting that the federal government has opened a criminal investigation into the more than $2 billion trading loss sustained by the JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment bank. Sources told various news outlets on Tuesday that the Justice Department probe is at an early stage. The investigation is being started only days after JPMorgan's chairman and chief executive, Jamie Dimon, disclosed the loss that stemmed from complex trading transactions in the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng says U.S. diplomats are holding discussions with their Chinese counterparts on plans for him to travel to New York for a teaching fellowship, but have been asked to maintain a low profile on the case. In an interview with VOA, Chen said an official, sent and authorized by the central government, visited him in the hospital to discuss details of the trip to the United States. Chen says he thinks the trip will take place eventually, despite the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng told a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday he is concerned about the persecution he says his relatives have faced following his escape from house arrest in April and flight to the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Chen's actions triggered an intense round of negotiations between the United States and China. He was later released to a hospital in Beijing, where he is now waiting for Chinese authorities to approve a request to travel to the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  PARIS - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's new President Francois Hollande sought common ground in resolving Europe's economic crisis during their first meeting in Berlin on Tuesday. But, the two leaders hold sharply different views. Hours after being sworn in as France's new president, Hollande was in Berlin, holding dinner talks with Chancellor Merkel. At a joint press conference, Merkel said she hoped that debt-strapped Greece would remain in the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | German Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's new President Francois Hollande sought common ground in resolving Europe's economic crisis during their first meeting in Berlin on Tuesday. But, the two leaders hold sharply different views. Hours after being sworn in as France's new president, Hollande was in Berlin, holding dinner talks with Chancellor Merkel. At a joint press conference, Merkel said she hoped that debt-strapped Greece would remain in the euro zone ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New French President Francois Hollande has met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, shortly after his inauguration as France's first Socialist leader in 17 years. During their first official meeting, the two leaders were expected to discuss their differences on how to revive Europe's economy and avert the euro crisis looming in the wake of Greece's political and financial problems. Holland's first attempt to fly to Germany following his inauguration failed ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Forces from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) have sent local leaders to reach out to protestors in Gao – after a protest Monday ended in violent clashes between MNLA forces and civilians. "The MNLA today in Gao is trying to talk to the people to organize security and organize the town. If they want to protest peacefully, they can protest peacefully, but not kill people," said a spokesman for the MNLA, Moussa ag Assarid. Ag Assarid added forces from the MNLA ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  CAIRO - With U.S. troops reportedly guiding air raids from a nearby base for the first time, Yemeni jets attacked positions of al-Qaida insurgents Tuesday in southern Yemen's Abyan province. Yemeni officials said a "four-pronged assault" on the militants was being waged on the ground, backed by heavy artillery and aerial bombardment, and that U.S. troops stationed at al-Annad air base in Lahj province were providing logistical support. The reported participation of U.S. ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The United Nations is calling for more than $500 million in emergency aid for the people of South Sudan. Late last year the UN appealed for nearly $800 million to fund humanitarian operations in South Sudan but it received about a third of that amount. The UN said the bulk of the $505 million it needs would go toward providing food to tens of thousands of South Sudanese, many of whom are returning home from Sudan. The UN Humanitarian Aid Program Coordinator in South Sudan, Lisa ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  HOUSTON, TEXAS - The discovery of 49 decapitated and handless corpses on a highway near the city of Monterrey, in Mexico's northern Nuevo Leon state on Sunday, has drawn attention once again to the brutal drug war that has claimed more than 50,000 lives in that Latin American nation during the past six years. Shortly before the discovery in Monterrey, dozens of bodies were found in the border city of Nuevo Laredo and in the central city of Guadalajara. In Nuevo Leon, authorities ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations says a roadside blast hit a convoy carrying a group of its unarmed observers near the Syrian city of Hama on Tuesday, damaging their vehicles but not injuring the monitors. Meanwhile, Syrian activists have accused the government of killing at least 20 mourners at a funeral in the same area. The U.N. mission in Syria says a convoy of four of its vehicles was struck by a blast from an improvised explosive device as it drove through the town of Khan ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Syrian activists say government forces have shot and killed at least 20 people at a funeral procession in central Syria while U.N. military observers were in the area. The activists say the shootings happened Tuesday in Khan Sheikhoun, near the city of Hama. There was no independent confirmation of the casualties. A spokesman for international peace envoy Kofi Annan says a convoy of four U.N. vehicles visiting Khan Sheikhoun was struck by a roadside bomb, damaging three of the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  GENEVA - The World Food Program says a program in Somaliland that allows people to buy food with cash vouchers instead of receiving handouts is proving to be a huge success. Based on the favorable results, WFP says it plans to expand the initiative to other accessible parts of Somalia. The World Food Program says thousands of people in Somaliland are enjoying a better, more varied diet since it introduced its voucher scheme. Under the program, people receive $80 worth of ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  SEOUL - South Korea's foreign ministry says China has been holding four of its citizens in Dandong, activists linked to North Korean refugees, since their arrest March 29 in Dalian. Spokesman Cho Byung-je says Seoul is asking Beijing to handle the case in a fair and swift manner. "South Korea understands that the investigation is proceeding based on procedures under Chinese law," said Cho, who did not comment on specific accusations because formal charges have yet to be ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN - The United Nations has voiced concern about South Sudan's ailing economy and says its people could suffer from spiraling inflation in the coming months, while around half the population already faces food shortages. South Sudan has taken in little revenue since January, when the government shut down oil production amid a dispute with Sudan over transit fees. South Sudan's U.N. humanitarian coordinator, Lise Grande, said Tuesday the organization ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DUBAI - Analysts say a united Arab front against Iran looks less likely after the Gulf Cooperation Council this week delayed deciding on forming a stronger political union. Speaking at the talks in Riyadh on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said the announcement of a new union had been postponed so that all GCC states could be included and "not only two." Media reports predicted Saudi Arabia and Bahrain would form an initial alliance that other Gulf countries ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The European Union says that economic growth in the 17-nation euro currency bloc stalled in the early months this year. Earlier projections in recent weeks signaled that the eurozone had fallen into a recession in the January-to-March period this year, after contracting three-tenths of a percent in the last three months of 2011. But the region's economic powerhouse, Germany, unexpectedly advanced by half a percentage point in the first quarter, enough to lift the rest of the currency ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The U.N. World Food Program said time is running out to prevent the full impact of the food crisis in Africa's Sahel region. It said a donor funding shortfall of hundreds of millions of dollars could soon affect emergency aid programs. WFP West Africa spokesman Malik Triki said food crises in the Sahel have become more frequent in recent years – but not like this. "This current food crisis in the Sahel is one of the most complex and widest reaching food crises to hit the Sahel ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 3 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here . For part 2, click here . An Iranian opposition group is in U.S. Federal Appeals Court trying to get the State Department to remove its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. While the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) says it has replaced violence with political activism, the State Department has not de-listed the group. Day-after-day, supporters of the Iranian opposition MEK hold protests outside the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 3 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here. For part 2, click here. An Iranian opposition group is in U.S. Federal Appeals Court trying to get the State Department to remove its designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. While the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) says it has replaced violence with political activism, the State Department has not de-listed the group. Day-after-day, supporters of the Iranian opposition MEK hold protests outside the U.S. ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Social media giant Facebook says it is raising the price of the company stock it is offering to the public. The Internet-based social network site had initially said the more than 337 million shares of stock it is selling would be priced between $28 and $35 a share. But with strong demand for the stock from large institutional investors, Facebook said Tuesday it is boosting that range to between $34 and $38 a share. Facebook plans to set the exact price Thursday, ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  NAIROBI - Despite impressive economic growth rates across Africa, many of the continent's people remain food insecure. That is the major finding of Africa's first Human Development Report , released Tuesday in Kenya's capital. In the lead-up to the report's launch, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki painted a grim picture of his continent's food security situation. "Sub-Saharan Africa is most affected, with an estimated 239 million people, representing 30 percent ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 2 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here. For part 3, click here. The U.S. Treasury Department is reported to be investigating at least one prominent American for allegedly supporting the Iranian opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a group on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In this segment we look into the extensive - and expensive - public relations campaign mounted by the MEK to pressure the U.S. to rescind the terrorist designation. ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 2 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here . For part 3, click here . The U.S. Treasury Department is reported to be investigating at least one prominent American for allegedly supporting the Iranian opposition Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), a group on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. In this segment we look into the extensive - and expensive - public relations campaign mounted by the MEK to pressure the U.S. to rescind the terrorist designation. ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  An unidentified man set himself on fire outside the Oslo courthouse where confessed killer Anders Behring Breivik is being tried. Police said Tuesday the man doused himself with liquid before setting himself on fire in an apparent attempt to breach the security fence. Authorities told the Reuters news agency he also mumbled something but that officers on the scene could not make out what he was saying. Witnesses said the man appeared to be a Norwegian in his 50s. Officials say he was ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  JOS, NIGERIA - In what is known as Nigeria's "Middle Belt," sectarian clashes have killed thousands of people in the past eleven years. In an effort to prepare communities for outbreaks of violence, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Nigerian Red Cross Society are training community members in emergency response techniques. Outside a small school in the countryside of Plateau State, this Nigerian Red Cross trainer scrutinizes his students as they learn ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  NATO has invited Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to the alliance's summit in Chicago, a day after the country's prime minister proposed reopening ground supply routes to international troops in Afghanistan. Zardari's spokesman said the president was considering the invitation, which he described as "unconditional" and not linked to the opening of supply lines "or to any other issue." Islamabad closed the supply routes to NATO nearly six months ago ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Greece will hold a new election after coalition talks fell apart Tuesday. The fresh round of voting follows a May 6 ballot that failed to elect a clear winner. Political leaders have been scrambling for days to form various coalition governments, but none have been fruitful. On Tuesday, Greek politicians conceded that a new vote is the only answer. The second election is expected to take place on June 17. In the May election, a majority of voters supported parties that oppose ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  India says it has decided to cut imports of Iranian crude oil by 11 percent, following pressure from the United States to isolate the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program. India's minister of state for petroleum, R.P.N. Singh, said Tuesday that Indian refiners now plan to import 15.5 million metric tons of crude oil from Iran this fiscal year, down from 17.44 million tons the year before. Singh said India was "consciously trying to diversify its ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  More than 130 world leaders are expected to gather in Rio de Janeiro next month for the summit, which is also referred to as "Rio+20," a nod to the 20th anniversary of the original Rio Summit. The goal of the meeting is to secure political commitment toward sustainable development and energy, as well as addressing new and emerging challenges. Nearly two billion people, about one-third of the world's population, don't have access to energy, according to the United Nations. ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Nearly two billion people, about one-third of the world's population, don't have access to energy, according to the United Nations. So the leading goal for the upcoming 2012 United Nations Earth Summit is "energy for all" by the year 2030, mostly from renewable and sustainable resources. More than 130 world leaders are expected to gather in Rio de Janeiro next month for the summit, which is also referred to as "Rio+20," a nod to the 20th anniversary of the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  Syria said more than half of eligible voters turned out for a May 7 parliamentary election boycotted by opposition groups who said it had no credibility while the government pursues a deadly crackdown on dissent. Syrian election committee chairman Khalaf al-Izzaoui said Tuesday the voter turnout reached 51 percent, equivalent to five million people. There was no independent monitoring of the election, and opposition activists said there was little voting in towns and villages where ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 1 of a 3-part series. For part 2, click here. For part 3, click here. Much attention has been focused on the Iranian dissident group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. In this series we look at how the Marxist-Islamist group grew to be part of the revolution that led to the 1979 overthrow of the Shah of Iran and now plays an outside opposition role to Iran and its ruling clerics. The Iranian ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This is part 1 of a 3-part series. For part 2, click here . For part 3, click here . Much attention has been focused on the Iranian dissident group, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. In this series we look at how the Marxist-Islamist group grew to be part of the revolution that led to the 1979 overthrow of the Shah of Iran and now plays an outside opposition role to Iran and its ruling clerics. The Iranian ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  JAKARTA, INDONESIA - Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's second-highest ranking official, is on a three-day trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he is reportedly drumming up support for foreign investment in one of the world's most isolated countries. Kate Lamb reports from Jakarta. While most nations shun North Korea, Indonesia has maintained good relations with the country since 1961. When North Korea and Indonesia were both part of the non-aligned movement, the only trip the ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The United Nations is urging Uganda to prosecute a captured field commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Ugandan forces captured Caesar Acellam, one of the LRA's top military leaders, in the Central African Republic on Saturday. Since then, multiple Ugandan officials have said Acellam could receive a pardon under the country's Amnesty Act. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, said in a statement late Monday that she hopes ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  The United Nations is urging Uganda to prosecute a captured field commander of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Ugandan forces captured Caesar Acellam, one of the LRA's top military leaders, in the Central African Republic on Saturday. Since then, multiple Ugandan officials have said Acellam could receive a pardon under the country's Amnesty Act. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special envoy for children and armed conflict, said in a statement ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  KAMPALA - Uganda is at the beginning of a months-long budgeting process for the country's next fiscal year. AIDS activists are already alarmed at a proposed reduction in the health budget and are demanding more money to curb the country's epidemic. The possibility of funding cuts come despite ambitious targets set by the government last December to virtually eliminate mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015. Kampala also pledged to double the number of new HIV patients on treatment ... | | | | | | | | | |  | |  | |  |
